Tag Archives: Aristotle

I’ll see your platitudes, & raise you a euphemism….

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Ffolkes,

“Wisdom and good sense guard life from harm.” — Smart Bee

August 1 2014 026

    The aphorism above the picture of the owl is mostly true, in the sense that it is ages old wisdom, time-tested, part of the legacy of such ideas that are passed down from generation to generation, throughout all of our common history as humans…. I use the term “mostly true” because, in spite of the good things that happen when one pays attention to the truth (wisdom), and uses that to try to avoid mischance in life, (good sense), there are times when nothing will protect us from the hardships that life can dump on us without any warning…. All of us, no matter how stable, intelligent, and careful we are, step in a pile of crap we failed to note, now and again….

In a very real, and yet, foolish sense, the presence of the owl is an attempt by someone to acknowledge the truth of the aphorism, and to try to utilize the information…. but, in a different way, that fails to recognize their own part in maintaining a state of being where wisdom is useful, and welcome, and good sense is merely a matter of paying attention to what is real. In short, they hope, that by having the owl (a SYMBOL of wisdom, not the real thing….) outside their home, it will provide the shield that good sense would otherwise engender, thus making the home a sanctuary from reality’s demands….

Thinking is too hard, so, the owl is supposed to prevent the necessity from arising for these folks, a concept far too common for my taste, and, to my way of thinking, a big part of why things are so messed up in our world….. But, that’s a topic for another section, since this is only supposed to be a warm-up…. It does, as a matter of course, often grow out of that mold, but, I do try to keep it within reason…. Whether or not that actually happens is somewhat of a risky proposition, much of the time, so, I tend to take it the way it comes, then go with the flow….. whatever that means, or entails….

What it shouldn’t entail is a complete new beginning….. Somehow, since penning the above opening paragraphs, my brain dropped into hibernation, or some sort of frozen state that began to affect my typing….. I almost started to apologize for using a picture of my own, but, caught myself before I would have needed to resort to any sort of force. I’m thinking, though…. at this point, some sort of forceful tactic may be necessary, as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of movement in there yet, that I can see…. but, then what I expect to see when peering into my own frozen brain, I couldn’t say…

Perhaps I should try to….. Nah. Last time I tried that, I had to carry out three unconscious Gentle Readers myself, and almost ended up in bed for a week. Maybe we should…. nope. Better not. That one almost exploded, last time I broke it out. It seems just about ALL of our emergency intro-killing methodologies have either been over-used, or, as we used to say down at the rodeo, they’ve been rode hard, and put away wet, thereby making them all but useless for our purposes….

Shoot, that means we have to use #4 again, and I just got over the last time…. Oh well, such is life in the fast lane, I suppose…. Okay, stand back….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“There is much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge.” — Bertrand Russell

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Albert Einstein was a late talker as a child. His parents were understandably worried. finally at the supper table one evening, He broke his silence to say, The soup is too hot. Greatly relieved, his parents asked why he never said a word before. Young Albert replied, “Because up to now everything was in order.” — From ‘The Little, Brown Book Of Anecdotes’ by Clifton Fadiman

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-presidency-and-the-press-20140804?utm_source=regular&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&email=alphagigoid@gmail.com

“Even before Obama and his new politics burst onto the scene in 2008, we knew we lived in a country that is evenly but drastically split in its worldview. Now that the opposition can rewrite the news as it’s happening, the two sides can essentially live in separate realities – which is perhaps what we’ve always wanted. It’s becoming clear, though, that two casualties of this new order are efficacious, fact-based governing and an independent, fact-based press.

Amid the barrage of criticism, as Obama strains to respond to every new crisis, the White House’s moves begin to look like guesses, or even shrugs. “When you don’t know what you can plan for,” Gibbs says, “then you’re watching and reacting. And in this town, if you’re just watching and reacting, it never ends well.”” — excerpted from the above article

Okay…. So, I bet, at this point in the post, you’re preparing yourself for a rant, which, I know you know, requires some rather extensive preparation in order to be able to fully appreciate all the nuances of the arguments presented…. You gotta be able to suspend belief in what is often held to be true, which can be frightening for some…. that’s why we offer the Valium before heading out…. Today, however, I’ve decided to forgo the usual diatribe, in favor of another old school pearl that will accomplish the same poking and prodding, but with less effort….

The above article was interesting, if a bit on the pollyanna-ish side…. but, then, what could be expected by someone who is a former presidential press secretary…. He does provide a rather cogent insider’s viewpoint of the issue of political coverage by the media, and in the process, manages to give a pretty clear picture of some of the issues and problems we have observed in the relationship between the media and the administration of all previous presidents…. It’s a situation that, as is pointed out here, has been deteriorating for many years, and is now at a point where neither side is able to trust the other….

That’s fine with me, as that way, we don’t have to pretend to believe any of it…. so, for now, let’s take some shots at the bozos who play in that particular game of bones….

“The extravagance of government rhetoric is inversely proportional to the seriousness of the act involved.” — Smart Bee

“It is only the ignorant who despise education.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 571

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

“I don’t vote.  It just encourages them.” — A Maine woman

“If good intentions are combined with stupidity, it is impossible to outthink them.” — Marion J. Levy, Jr.

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

“I got out of bed for *this*?” — Smart Bee

Perfect! Bracketed by SB, seven one-liners, all of which make a pointed criticism about those who engage in the disgusting practice of running for office, which, together, form an indictment, based on ample evidence of rampant cupidity….

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Once again, I’m subjecting y’all to another of my older poems, mainly because I don’t feel much like either searching out something worthwhile, or opening a vein to write a new one…. So be it, gigoid has spoken… Here’s one of the older ones, from October of 2012…..

Raging at Aging

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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“Know thyself”? If I knew myself, I’d run away.” — Goethe

Some might accuse me of a level of laziness beyond the boundaries of acceptability, of setting a poor example for others to emulate; to them, I can only say, “well, there you go.” Everyone’s entitled to their opinions, right? If it makes them feel better to point out what I consider to be one of my finest qualities, with the apparent intent of convincing me it is a flaw, well, they’re welcome to speak their minds. It’s a free country, and last time I checked, we still had free speech…. not private, but, free… Of course, they’d also be welcome to do it somewhere else, which I usually will insist upon, even going so far as to provide them with a parting boot to the ass, as a token of my respect and esteem…

Having thus disposed of such petty annoyances, I can proceed to the reason for any such derogatory judgments, which, as you’ve probably guessed by now, is yet another pearl from the archives…. This one won’t be a burden, so much, as, A) it isn’t a rant, or a discussion…. and, B) it’s original intent was to be fun, or funny, or, at minimum, a reasonable facsimile of either one…. I think it hits that nail a couple of good whacks, but, then, I’m not the best judge of that, I’m thinking…. I might be the laziest judge, but, not the best, from more than one standpoint, and, I’m sure, legal position….

Now that I’ve blathered sufficiently, here is what I found for section three today…. Please enjoy it, or, what the good of wading through such a healthy dose of my best nonsense?…..

From 10/1/2012:

Life can be a confusing time, especially for those unequipped for its sense of whimsy….. It can make us look foolish, a lot, and easily, but think of how amusing that is for other people, eh? There are small benefits hidden in the most egregious tasks, if undertaken cheerfully…. Today, I find myself out of ranting mode, and into Pearling mode…. Thus, I present for your amusement and edification, the following group of pearls, and though all are of the stand-alone variety, they can be, and have been, woven together into an monumental idea of great stature, one that could conceivably make great changes happen in the life of anyone who takes it to heart….

It could also be ignored completely, and your life will not suffer at all for its loss…. That’s the magic of true pearls of virtual wisdom…. They are only good for what you use them, and nothing else…. It’s not exactly an efficient process, but one that satisfies…. So, enjoy this short trip through logic, past deduction, around wild fantasy, and onward even further, into relative meaning, though, sadly, with bells and whistles absent their traditional positions of honor…..

“Even for a wizard there will often come times when someone close to you, perhaps even your spouse, criticizes your habits by comparing them to those of animals. This is distinctly unfair to the animals, who have far better habits than we in many areas. When, for example, have you seen a frog collecting taxes or a squirrel running for electoral office? Present arguments like these to those people who criticize you. If they still do not see the wisdom of your ways, you may then feel free to bite them.” — The Teachings of Ebenezum, Vol. IX

“The interval between the decay of the old and the formation and establishment of the new constitutes a period of transition which must always necessarily be one of uncertainty, confusion, error, and wild and fierce fanaticism.” — John C. Calhoun (Careful, this one is real, and should not be treated without due care and respect, just as you would with any stinging insect…..)

DUMBO- sucked into the engine of a 747. — The TRUE fates of your favorite Disney characters (Sad, but true…..)

“The universe has fascinated mankind for many, many years, dating back to the very earliest episodes of Star Trek, when the brave crew of the Enterprise set out, wearing pajamas, to explore the boundless voids of space, which turned out to be as densely populated as Queens, New York. Virtually every planet they found was inhabited, usually by evil beings with cheap costumes and Russian accents, so finally the brave crew of the Enterprise returned to Earth to gain weight and make movies.” — Dave Barry

Anything free is worth what you pay for it. — Smart Bee (Caution: this one is also real…. ignore at your peril…..)

Death is only a state of mind.  Only it doesn’t leave you much time to think about anything else. — Smart Bee

And finally, as the perfect finish to such an entropically enhanced pearl…..

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

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“I don’t like talking to philosophers. I’m always worried that they might be laughing behind my back because they know I don’t exist.” — Smart Bee

I like being able to end the day’s work with a personal pearl; I like to smile, what can I say? This one is perfectly ME, as it makes me do what I do best, which is laugh at myself, and my pedantic, pathetic need to pretend I’m an intellectual, when what I really am is a hedonistic polymath with bozoid tendencies, and a large portion of chutzpah…. It works for me…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Being alone can be a gift….

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Ffolkes,

“Being intelligent is not a felony.  But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.” — Lazarus Long

cats_14

  Deipnosophist: a person adept at conversation at table. From Greek, deipnosophistai,  title of a Greek work by Athenaeus (3rd century), describing learned discussions at a banquet, from deipnon  meal + sophistai  wise men (from Dictionary.com)

Yesterday’s post began with a quote from Athenaeus, the author of the book described in the above definition; at the time, I didn’t know what the word deipnosophist meant, which is why I looked it up…. Being one who considers himself a deipnosophist, it was the only thing to do…. Besides, I always enjoy learning new words, ideas, or just about any old thing at all, so, it was a no-brainer for me to seek out the meaning…. I can’t help it, it’s the way I am; if I don’t know, I want to find out….

This morning, I find myself very, very late, having indulged myself in an extra hour and a half of sleep…. In order to soothe my guilt, and the slight emotional edginess I get when my reality refuses to respect my plans, I’m going to have to go old school a lot, and will dip into the archives heavily to fill out the three sections below…. The first section should be okay; it’s a short mini-rant, or two, I started on yesterday, so I can just finish them with an old school target practice session…. I’ll pick from the archives for two and three, so, be prepared, if you please, and don’t forget to update your log sheets….

That’s it, that’s all I’ve got today…. Just some minor housekeeping, a short bit of self-aggrandizement, disguised as self-deprecation, and a touch of honesty; it’s not Ibsen, but it’s Art…. or, at least, it’s imitating Art…. Oh, that’s right, I’m trying to work on Art’s fraternal twin, Rufus, so, maybe today’s material will resemble him, in the eyes, or maybe the chin…. Ah, the hell with it, I’m jumping in, ffolkes; y’all can come along if you like….

Oh, almost forgot…. the picture again came from a feature on the London Daily Telegraph, but, I forget when…. just google the picture itself, if you really want to know who took it….

Shall we Pearl?…..

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

In case there are any among you who do not understand why this quote is here, I refer you to the opening quote from Bob Heinlein. Together, the two make the statement I’m hoping to share with you…. Remember what they did to Galileo, when he told the exact same argument that Aristotle gives here, to the prelates of the church, a thousand years later, and was found to be a heretic….

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Okay, so, here are two short mini-rants, whose point lies in the articles to which the link will take you. Please read, and then call your congressional delegates to tell them to stop giving in to the corporate interests, and give people the right to their own property….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Law-changed-to-allow-unlocking-cellphones-5663147.php

“CTIA-The Wireless Association, which represents major wireless providers including AT&T, Sprint Corporation, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless, said in a statement: “Even though the vast majority of Americans enjoy upgrading to new devices once their contract terms are fulfilled, we recognize that some consumers may want to unlock their devices to move to another carrier.” It noted, however, that even though the phone is unlocked it might not work on other carriers because platforms and spectrum holdings vary,”

    “….which is quite deliberate,to ensure we make a massive profit on those millions of useless pieces of toxic waste, as well as to ensure nobody else can make anything from them, once they are no longer on our network.”   …. as the statement didn’t continue, even though it is true….

Point made, I think, so, onward, to a discussion of the Plague of Evil that continues to shame our culture…. Read the article, and think about all the other ways our culture brainwashes its citizens into keeping women in the unenviable position of subjugation…. It’s not just prejudice ffolkes, it’s oppression in its worst incarnation….

This issue, by the way, is one I’ve been harping on for years; to begin this segment of the rant, here is a short diatribe on the same subject from the archives…..

From 3/31/2012:

“When you slithered out of your hole that day, and you spewed your venom all over this defenseless 12-year-old girl, you made this court’s top 10 hit list. In a way, the best sentence this court could give would be no sentence at all, because if you left this courtroom I don’t think you would be alive 10 minutes. You are nothing but a weed, a weed among wheat…. And when we have a weed, it’s my job to eradicate the weed, because if you don’t you will choke the wheat. Therefore, I’m going to take you off the streets for just as long as I possibly can. It means you aren’t even eligible for parole until you’re 92. That leaves only one more count, aggravated robbery…. You stole this little girl’s bra as a souvenir, probably to brag about it to your friends later on. Well, I’m going to give you a souvenir of Trumbull County justice. And that is, you will receive a maximum sentence of 10 to 25 on the aggravated robbery for the stealing of that bra. And I hope that if you last 25 years in prison that you remember that souvenir.  Get this scum out of here!” — A sentence passed by Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County, Ohio

One down, several million to go…. I wonder if this judge is still sitting on the bench; we could refer all the cases of human traffickers, rapists, abusers of women or children, and others of that ilk to his courtroom, and trust they will receive the maximum legal punishment of which the law is capable…. then, once they are inside, we just leak to the other prisoners what they are in for; I imagine they’ll take care of the rest….

A fella has to have his dreams…. and in my dreams, I can hear them, sisters, daughters, children, all crying out for help, waiting in anguish for someone to care…. who else, then, will stand up with me?….. During the 1960’s, in times of social changes gone ‘viral’, there was a poster I saw all over Berkeley…. It pictured men and women marching together, united in purpose…. the only caption said, “Free our sisters, free ourselves!”  This is a sentiment we all need to embrace, as valid now as it was over 40 years ago; if not now, when?…

Now, here is proof the problem not only still exists, but has worsened, if possible….

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/Whaddya-gonna-do-These-things-just-happen-5660879.php

“But wait: Here’s what the NFL did. It suspended Rice for two games. Two games! Most first-time drug users get suspended for four games; as we have seen, the penalty for the third time is one year. The NFL sent a clear message: Domestic violence is not that big a deal. It’s just, you know, women. They were probably asking for it….”

This one disgusts me, for it is all-too-typical in this society for women to be placed in this kind of situation, then, having nothing happen to the asshole who punched her out…. For me, the worst part is how the whole issue was played down by every level of reporting….. None of the men involved took any real responsibility, and that lack of integrity was echoed by the police, the hotel, the team he plays for, the press who covered it, and every other male individual who had any connection to the incident…. They all made it seem like the man had done nothing particularly bad, and, if he did, he was probably provoked into it by the woman

What a crock of shit!…. It’s probably a good thing I’m not going to rant on this any further, as my blood pressure is already spiking, from writing the above paragraph…. I swear, I am going to buy a gun, and I’m going to start using it on people in society who prey on the weak, the innocent, and the oppressed…. because society itself refuses to even acknowledge there is any problem. Fuck that, I’m sick of these assholes getting away with it, and never having to pay for their insanity and ignorance….

Fuck it, I’m gonna pearl now….

“Rumor has it that former Senator John Tower cheats at solitaire. Lengthy congressional investigation to discover source of dishonesty to follow.” — Smart Bee

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

“Bury me on my face,” said Diogenes; and when he was asked why, he replied, “Because in a little while everything will be turned upside down.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes, vi

“I have little doubt that when St. George had killed the dragon he was heartily afraid of the princess.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Victorian Age in Literature

(Note: It is little prejudices like this that perpetuate the lies and misconceptions that so litter the battle fields of the war between the sexes…. Plus, did you ever notice that it is only MEN who think of the issue as a war?…. The whole problem lies in the FACT that men are afraid of women; this fear causes them to react by making sure that women fear them, by using their physical attributes to oppress them…. thus, unknowingly, forsaking all honor….)

“I disagree with what you say but will defend to the death your right to tell such LIES, LIES!  ALL LIES!” — Voltaire’s Evil Twin

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

” — How many NBC news producers does it take to change a light bulb? Three, one to drill a hole in the light bulb so it blows up when he turns it on, one to film it, and one to insist on the truth of the report despite the manipulation.” — Smart Bee

There…. I think I managed to find one shot for just about every one of the Asininnies in that pearl; not bad for someone not working very hard at it…. But, I think you can count on it to be effective; Smart Bee is bracketing the other quotes, which legitimizes and enhances each one…. I hope you enjoyed it, at least as much as the mini-rants….

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This needs no introduction; it does, however, demand your attention, as is its due, as a classical piece of our history…. and, an example of one of the few saving graces displayed by our species….

Ode on a Grecian Urn

Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? what maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal–yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty’–that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

~~ John Keats ~~

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Okay, so here’s the deal…. Below is another diatribe/discussion, but, not really a rant; it’s a bit more eclectic than the usual choice of subject matter…. I enjoyed it, both writing it, and re-reading it; I hope you enjoy it as well… It does make today’s Pearl a bit hefty, but, hey, I’m a hefty guy….

From 3/3/2013:

“As a draft-animal is yoked in a wagon, even so the spirit is yoked in this body.” — Upanishads (c. B.C. 800)

Each of us is faced at times with the consciousness of our own approaching encounter with Death, the moment in time when our yoke is removed, and our spirit is freed, to once more join the rest of the conscious minds in the universe in roaming through realms of Reality we cannot see in this form. This Reality we cannot see is much larger, in one sense, than the one we can now perceive; it has to be, to be able to accommodate all the souls that have gone before, and all that are now present on Earth, that will someday join the rest of them, when they die…..

Every human being alive must face their own Death (I am capitalizing the word to give it the proper respect as one of the most important concepts we have as humans….); this is a truism no one can deny, or refute. Many people have banded together, to assume the belief that our universe was created this way by a supernatural being, who, for some unknown, and unknowable (self-explanatory, I think….) reason, decided that we are “special”, and gave us, and only us, the knowledge we have, and our very lives. This, of course, is rather hard to believe, as it doesn’t really account for much of what is observable truth in Reality, being, as it is, complete speculation, devoid of any concrete evidence to support it…..

“There is no conclusive evidence that there is life after death. There is also no real evidence to the contrary. Soon enough, you will know. So, why fret about it?” — Lazarus Long, aka Robert A. Heinlein

I first read this aphorism when I was in my early teens; it codified, and made succinct, what I had already concluded about the major religions of the world, i.e., they’re a collection of unwarranted, and unproven, assumptions. What’s more, they are all highly unlikely, given the observable parameters of the real world. It became obvious to me, as it is to many, that what the religious folks were trying to get me to believe was intended merely to soften my mind, making it more amenable to suggestion, of which they have an endless supply. Preachers, priests, imams, nuns, all are quite willing to give other people advice and suggestions on how they should live, in exhaustive detail, for as long as they are allowed to do so….

Since I had very little desire to have other people decide for me how I should think, or live my life, I rejected the dogma they tried to force into my head, turning instead to other sources of thought about Life, Death, and Reality. I found an endless supply of folks who had thought long and deeply about all of these ideas, and gladly did I read all I could of everything I could find on the subject. In addition, I read science fiction, during the years when its popularity had just begun to climb to the heights it now occupies; sci-fi has always been literature that explored, and continues to explore, the very limits of thought, both in the real world, and the world of the mind.

As is seen by the first pearl above, these thoughts and ideas are not new with me; mankind has been thinking about these concepts since we first sat around the campfires, wondering at the beauty of the heavens we saw above our heads, and all around us. In all that time, no conclusions have been reached that seem to cover ALL of the questions we have about the universe. We still don’t have a clue as to “what is the mind”, or “what is thought”…. and if we cannot understand ourselves, what chance do we have of unraveling the secrets of the universe around us? Not much, would be my guess…

That, fortunately, does not mean it is impossible to know the truth, nor does it mean we are condemned to die in ignorance and fear…. I know this because I have learned in my time that our fear is a direct outgrowth of our ignorance; we fear what we do not understand. Now, if I were a God, why would I make people that way, unless for some ulterior motive, having to do with motivations that are human, not divine? No, it just doesn’t make sense to me to assume that we were put here with a deliberate handicap, just to see how we dealt with it; that seems more like an evil scientist at work than a compassionate deity.

“One must marry one’s feelings to one’s beliefs and ideas.  That is probably the only way to achieve a measure of harmony in one’s life.” — Etty Hilsum

Since I believe firmly in the Law of Conservation of Energy (proven true in this universe, to all our knowledge), and, I believe that our minds/souls are a form of energy we currently don’t fully understand, and cannot perceive directly, then the concept of Death is nothing to fear, as it merely means that my current state of energy will be replaced with another state, one I don’t currently have the ability to perceive. What that state may be like may be unknown, but that doesn’t mean it is something of which I should be afraid…. I prefer to look at it as the next great adventure….

So, when my father died, I asked him to leave me some trail-sign, to let me know how to find him in the next reality; he smiled at me, and said he would do that… and I was much comforted by that, knowing that our connection as family can never be severed, and that, someday, I would once more have the pleasure, and comfort, of his presence…. Now that’s something to look forward to, don’t you think?…. Much better than worrying that what I do now is going to determine what happens to me after I die, a silly proposition, at best……

“Do not think that man is but flesh, skin, bones and veins; far from it! What really makes man is his soul; and the things we call skin, flesh, bones and veins are but a garment, a cloak; they do not constitute man. When man departs this earth, he divests himself of all the veils that conceal him.” — Zohar

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

I’d feel a bit of guilt, but, I gave it up years and years ago, and really wouldn’t know where to start looking for it… Besides, I told you up front there would be a lot from the archives…. I just wasn’t aware as to HOW MUCH there would ultimately be…. Oh well, it’s not like I’m charging extra, right? I’m outta here, ffolkes, and not all that late, either…. See y’all tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Irregular behavior patterns on parade….

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Ffolkes,

You’ll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.”
~~  George Bernard Shaw ~~
dogs-dumbfounded_2863302k
“Did someone say “walk”?”


The dogs belong to a photographer in England. She rescued all three dogs, and now takes pictures of them together, and separately, from a unique viewpoint; I found this, along with a number of other excellent photos, on the web site of the London Daily Telegraph…. I love the pictures, which she uses to demonstrate a number of emotions or issues of a humorous nature…. If you have a chance, check them out some time… I forgot to take down the name, of either the dogs, or the photographer, but, Google will find the picture, if it is plugged in, just like it will find words….

Now that the housekeeping has been completed, we could go on to something more compelling, or intense, but, who wants to wake up to that? I could comment along the lines of the quote from George Bernard, above, or, I could even start a rant in the same vein, i.e., political asininity…. We could take a 90 degree turn, heading off toward some shiny thought off in the distance…. Or, I could ignore everything, and just start babbling, much as I usually do each day….

I can’t seem to make up my mind, which, although not all that unusual, is a trifle more stubborn than I generally find it to be…. There’s no rhyme, nor reason, I can find, other than an impish sense of fun that is sort of hovering about, looking for a way to insert itself into the conversation…. It’s bound for disappointment today, I can tell ya…. My mood is such that “fun” might cause sparks, and a fire…. we don’t want to have to deal with that before I’ve had more coffee, believe me…. I’m already riding the edge of control, couldn’t say why, but, I can say, it would NOT be a good day to test my patience….

Maybe it’s because I was all set to do a politirant, right off the bat today…. The quote, a good one, is also a good springboard for a discussion of the dangers of patriotism without the intelligence to operate such a dangerous state of being…. To be a true patriot of this country, it requires, no, it demands the citizenry be educated, and not by merely one book; anything less will not allow us to keep the freedom to think, and to act in ways that are actually free, and not merely conforming to custom, or tradition…..

But, then, most of the citizens of this country can no longer use their minds for independent thought, having given away the right to use their own minds a long time ago…. In fact, I’m pretty sure the fundies and zealots were already planning their insidious take-over of the government, in collusion with the corporate snakeheads and their bribes…. Now, both of them have the government in a choke hold, and nothing gets done unless they say so…. If you don’t believe me, just look at how many bills this Congress has voted on…. it’s pathetic….

Both of these groups, neither of which gives a shit about the common man, other than as the means by which they can assume control of the world’s resources, have infiltrated the ranks of those who believe they are in charge, to manipulate them into making laws that favor two entities only….. Business, which is protected by the granting of “corporate personhood”, and religion, which is protected by all sorts of special advantages in the laws, just like the corporations… such as no taxes on their operations or properties…. What a scam!

Oh gosh…. look at that. I’ve lost control again, and started ranting in the intro…. when I said I probably shouldn’t rant at all….. and, I find I was right, as usual…. (I know, being right so often is annoying at times, but, hey, it’s still better than being wrong!…..) My mood is such that just that little bit of expressed ire, and my blood pressure banged up a few notches…. Bogus!

Ah well, we’ll pretend it never happened, and try to go on…. In fact, we’ll take this opportunity right here to make our escape, n’est pas? Oui….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The greatest torture in the world for most people is to think.” — Luther Burbank (1849-1926)

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

“Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/07/29/prove-your-love-at-city-hall/

“The “rules” are more like frightened guesses based on pious fairytales, superstitious dogma, the thing that sort of worked for a few people, once, way back when. The church is more full of sh-t than anyone save maybe the government, right along with all developed cultures of the world, all clueless as stoned cats but simultaneously desperate to keep the populace locked into some sense of behavioral norm. ” — Mark Morford, Monday, 2014

I’ll bet you’re thinking, “Oh no! He’s going to rant again, against religion!” Well, you could be right, but, then, again, you might be wrong, too…. To be honest, I myself am, as yet, unsure which path to take…. Mark’s article is a good one, again, and this single paragraph is one of the finest short summaries of reality in our culture that I’ve seen in a long time… The last sentence in the excerpt, “….church is full of sh_t….”, etc. is BEAUTIFUL!, It’s precise, coherent, and shows reality in a strong, bright light….. such as it is….

I COULD rant…. goodness knows there is enough going on in the world to rant about, especially now the various branches of our government, which have been at war for generations, have apparently gone completely bonkers, with one branch trying to sue another branch, by filing suit with the third branch…. which just goes to show, the tree is rotten, to the core….

Rather than making it worse for you by pounding that into your face and mind, with a religirant, or a politirant, or even a politireligirant, I’ll make the same points, with a lighter touch, by putting together a pointed old-school pearl, with all of them, the politicians, the judges, the police, the corporate snakes, the preachers, the pimps, and all those other assholes who spend their lives taking from others, as the common target…. Enjoy….

“The Second Amendment doesn’t grant the right to keep and bear arms. You already have that right.  The Constitution just prohibits the government from taking it away from you.” — Smart Bee

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” — H.P. Lovecraft, “Supernatural Horror in Literature”

“There are two sentences inscribed upon the Delphic oracle, hugely accommodated to the usages of man’s life: “Know thyself”, and “Nothing too much”; and upon these all other precepts depend.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Consolation to Apollonius

“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever.  I think you’ll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.” — Brian E. Moore

“Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, so don’t kid yourself…” — Frank Zappa

“Money talks. Usually it says, “Bend over.”” — Solomon Short

“Don’t ever tell anyone they ain’t free, ‘cos they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ just to prove they are.” — Terry Southern (script for Easy Rider)

And there, but for the grace of, well, somebody, go you or I…

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

I’m using one of my poems, just because it fits the theme, perfectly…. Well, of course it does, silly, I wrote it, didn’t I?….

Geezer to Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks;
Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.

“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.

Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Okay, so, it’s getting a bit late, and I’m tired, even though I haven’t ranted very hard or long…. Just a factor of my age, I suppose…. which is something I refuse to give in to. Rather than ranting, though, which could cause bleeding from the ears at this juncture, we’ll go old school again, with a random, harlequin style pearl, sans parameters, to make the process of searching faster and simpler…. Now, watch Smart Bee screw with me, and keep me busy for a half-hour or more, looking for that last perfect pearl…. Wish me luck….

“Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemies is at ease.” — Sun Tzu

“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.” — Aristotle

“It is vain to look for a defence against lightning.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 835

“Let not thy mind run on what thou lackest as much as on what thou hast already.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vii, 27

“The man who boasts that he habitually tells the truth is simply a man with no respect for it. It is not a thing to be thrown about loosely, like small change; it is something to be cherished and hoarded and disbursed only when absolutely necessary. The smallest atom of truth represents some man’s bitter toil and agony; for every ponderable chunk of it there is a brave truth-seeker’s grave upon some lonely ash-dump and a soul roasting in Hell.” — H. L. Mencken, Prejudices: Third Series

“The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common.  Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts  to fit their views…which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to  be one of the facts that needs altering.” — Doctor Who, “Face of Evil”

This is thy hour, O Soul;
Thy free flight into the wordless
Away from books, from art.
The day erased; the lesson done.

Thee fully forth emerging,
Silent, gazing…
Pondering the themes thou lovest best:
Night, sleep, death, and the stars.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~


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

Naturally, I was, again, too bloody right…. except it took 45 minutes, rather than a mere 30…. But, the results were worth the time & effort, I think, so, I’ll let it go without further comment, which would only serve to anger me, and bore y’all…. Neither of those outcomes is desirable, so, we’ll just call it a day…. Well, we will, as soon as I can figure out the correct combination of words to get us out of here…. Oh, right, here they are…. See ya, ffolkes…. tomorrow, if everything goes the way it should….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Several times several is more than just a few….

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Ffolkes,

“Man can believe the impossible, but can never believe the improbable.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

A spiral galaxy, also known as M106, about 23 million light years from Earth.

    This is a picture from NASA, of Galaxy NGC4258-M106 (translation: National Geographic Catalog #4258, Messier Catalog #106). The picture is a composite of several images, some of which were filtered to show other frequencies of radiation; this is why you seem to see six spiral arms, four of which are in the X-ray segment of the electromagnetic spectrogram…. The extra arms are an anomaly caused by the massive black hole in the galaxy’s center, which is somehow (as yet, the process is unclear…) heating the interstellar gases, then ejecting them to the outer reaches of the hole’s gravitational influence, thus pushing it completely out of the plane of the rest of the galaxy….

For me, as a lifelong amateur astronomer, it’s a rather compelling image, that demonstrates perfectly how our universe is so wondrously full of beauty we cannot see, without the aid of tools our imagination has created, to enhance our perception of all that surrounds us…. The phenomenon. as related,  is a theoretical process wherein the black hole seems to be sucking ALL of the interstellar gases up from between the stars, expelling it outside the confines of the galaxy’s shape; this will, in a mere 300 MILLION years or so, have a drastic effect on the galaxy, and how it will appear, as the material with which it WAS to make new stars is removed….

Thinking about astronomy, or astrophysics, can be rather intimidating; to think of the sheer vast reaches of space, and the size of the galaxies that fill it, tends to make us humans feel very small and insignificant….. which is why so many people avoid the hard sciences, such as astronomy, and astrophysics. This stuff isn’t easy for us to think about, nor is the math particularly simple for us to comprehend without some mental elbow grease…. Man, as a group, is pretty lazy, especially about using the mind, and, as a secondary obstacle, they are fearful of that which they don’t understand. The immensity of space can intimidate those who fear the unknown; combine that with lazy, and you see why so many people close their eyes, and minds, whenever such a subject is broached….

I wanted badly to be an astronomer, as I figured it was the best way to get to outer space; traveling to other planets and stars has been my lifelong dream. I fully intend, if given any chance at all, to die on another world, even if it is only the Moon…. That particular event is getting a bit close at hand now, so, I may not make my goal, but, there will soon be regular tourist trips to the Space Station, and there is talk, finally, of colonizing Mars by the middle of this century….

Or, if not so grand a task is possible at once, there has also been talk of setting up exploratory colonies in and on the Asteroids, the remains of the world that used to be, which now are so plentiful, sailing along in the orbit between Mars and Jupiter…. Such colonies would help determine the feasibility of such a quest, one that would demand the combined efforts of all humanity, as a species, to accomplish…. It also would give us the opportunity to test out the necessary technology, in an environment simply bursting with natural resources….

Ah well, such dreams are probably out of the realm of possibility for me, but, perhaps my grandson will walk the surface of Mars one day…. If we can manage to survive the current issues, of global warming, climate change, and our own tendency to kill each other with alarming regularity, we have a pretty good chance of it….. We’ve successfully landed three or four vehicles on other worlds now, and walked on the Moon. We have a robotic ambassador on Mars, taking pictures and trundling about the landscape, fulfilling the ultimate purpose of our innate simian curiosity, which makes the mobile science laboratory very aptly named…. For now, though, we should go on with today’s business, which brings me to this…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Terrorism: deadly violence against humans and other living things, usually conducted by government against its own people.” — Edward Abbey

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

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Government-said-to-suppress-evidence-in-Blackwater-5651089.php

Unclear, but, interesting saga of dogs trained to bite, then being punished for not wearing a muzzle, compounded by the overall high level of corruption and insanity that is ALWAYS exposed during just about any sort of war crime tribunal…. Somebody is always finding new evidence, others are disputing it, and nobody ever wants to admit the sheer futility of ALL OF IT….. According to what I read in the article, it seems that ALL the entities involved in the incident were suppressing evidence, or hiding evidence, or mouthing off with ridiculously vague statements having no value, and relation to the reality of what actually took place….

The whole issue is so stupid, it makes me crazy to think so much time and money is being spent chasing down the alleged truth in this matter, a “truth” that, when found, will have very little resemblance to anything you or I would recognize as such; nor will it have anything valid to tell us about who is to blame for what went on. Everyone involved is guilty, in my mind, so, it really is a moot issue, as far as I can tell from the available evidence…. I’ve never carried a gun…. not because I’m afraid of them, or disapprove of them, but, because I am smart enough to realize that by carrying one, I leave myself open to being shot at…..

That, to my mind, is NOT a healthy way to live…. I take the easy solution, right next to the high road, but, not so damn restrictively moral, by never carrying guns, only carry weapons that cannot be seen, along with maintaining a policy of avoiding violent situations, of any kind, as far as is humanly possible…. I spent a long time in a job where I had to BE violent every day…. or, at least, be prepared to deal with such violence at any moment. Hence, I’m not real happy when I have to experience those nasty feelings when not at work, or without overwhelmingly sufficient reason (“sufficient” being defined as “virtually impossible to justify”….), so, I do all I can to stay out of situations that can potentially lead to any sort of explosive outbreaks….

All that being said, none of what they are saying in the article, about EITHER side of the issue, is of any particular surprise to me, nor does it convince me to change my opinion of most (defined as virtually ALL….) politicians, or any other incarnation of talking head…. especially when speaking of a situation being acted out primarily by lawyers, who, as we all know, have a hard time with the truth…. Well, at least, with the truth as we all know it, anyway…. They’re pretty good at making up their own; it just doesn’t have much to do with reality in most respects….

That’s all, ffolkes. I’m being nice, and cutting off this rant, practically before I got going…. Y’all know how I feel about politicians, especially those with brainwashing, er, training as lawyers, so, there’s little need to reinforce that. Y’all also know how I feel about the truth, so, you will realize that any situation in the public venue that is concerned with a quest to find the truth is of concern to me, as I am well aware that none of the people involved in those quests have any real interest in finding it. That is especially true in a story like this one, where so many of the parties involved were, and are, engaged in criminal acts, yet, because they are supposed to have been government sanctioned, are trying to abrogate any responsibility for those criminal acts…

Almost got started again, so, we’ll go now, to put together a fine, old-school, five-star pearl, with all the points sharpened to a dangerous degree, ready to poke holes in the lies and distracting noises made by those we call “pundit”…..

“It was a saying of the ancients, “Truth lies in a well;” and to carry on this metaphor, we may justly say that logic does supply us with steps, whereby we may go down to reach the water.” — Dr. I. Watts

“By experts in poverty I do not mean sociologists, but poor men.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 3/25/11

“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” — Demosthenes

“The seal of truth is on thy gallant form, for none but cowards lie.” — Murphy

“Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.” — H.L. Mencken

Smart Bee decided to make this difficult & obscure, only offering me such abstrusely eclectic aphorisms such as the above…. It works, and it’s appropriately nasty, in a strictly metaphorical sense…. I’m just thinking it could be clearer….. I like it when the quote acts like a sledgehammer to the forehead of one of the idiots I’m targeting; these act more like a stiletto, sliding between the ribs into the heart, almost without any notice, but, effectively killing any credibility they may have previously enjoyed…. So be it, gigoid has spoken…. a bit garbled, but, to completion, at least….

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

Yep, you guessed it…. I’m lazy, so you get another of my old poems…. I will, however, compose a new haiku first, just because I can….

Old/New Glory

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

~~ gigoid~~

This poem was written on 9/10/2012, one of the first I wrote that year, when I finally ended the 30+ year sabbatical I took, in regard to writing poetry…. As is apparent, the pain with which I so frequently live was, at least for that day, foremost in my mind, and in my concern….

Gauges of Pain

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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

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

 — John Donne ~~

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

Today’s old-school pearl for this section is another self-directed grouping, put together partially from pearls found yesterday, with the final group collected during this morning’s efforts, while searching for other pearls with a specific parameter…. This self-direction brought us to a very old-style collection, with a theme best described as “Advice for the Living”, using a number of quotes, as usual, from ancient philosophers, who stated their axiomatic wisdom so eloquently, it has lasted for thousands of years, thus generously sharing their new/old wisdom with each succeeding generation of humans…. Oh, and there is something from Mark, and Alan, too…. more modern, but just as deeply insightful….

“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.” — Lao Tzu

“The wake does not drive the boat.” — Alan Watts

“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” — Marcus Aurelius

“As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 1

“Education is the best provision for old age.” — Aristotle

“Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul.” — Mark Twain

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

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

Today’s Pearl has been brought to you by the letter U, and the number six…. Don’t ask me why, because they never tell me. I can tell you, however, we’re done, so, whatever brought us to this point, it has served its purpose admirably…. We shall honor that service, by heeding the call for a quick, and dignified exit…. which will be a big surprise to all concerned, I’m sure…. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the space-time continuum holds its shape that long….

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

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

Which is Why….

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes, I
just sits.
gigoid the dubious

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A plethora of positive paradigms….

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Ffolkes,

How does it feel?
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown?

~~ Bob Dylan ~~

fishy cat

    The first time I heard Bob Dylan’s song, Like A Rolling Stone, I was half-asleep, riding in a car to go to work, very early on a summer morning in, I believe, 1963, or 1964….. Though not overly impressed by the voice that sang it, I was struck at once by the power of metaphor he employed so liberally throughout the piece…. It was the first time any of us had heard him; that was his first hit song, the one that catapulted him into fame, and the public eye…. Somehow, the plaintive tone of his voice, almost a whine, but, not quite, fit the words he spoke very well, and those words were, themselves, a new experience, as the poetry dug down into the subconscious to deliver subliminal messages, underneath the more obvious lyrical verses….

Ah well, those were the days…. Wait. Stop there….. Step back a few feet, ffolkes, let me get a better look at this….. Yep. I thought I heard some overt nostalgia in there….. Sorry, ffolkes…. We don’t often get attacks of mundane sobriety, with a strong overtone of nostalgia like that, but, we try to head them off quickly when we do come across one of them…. They can cause quite a bit of mental damage, if not caught early on; that sticky sweet reminiscence can be, not just fattening, but dangerously filling…. One small dose of it can layer a whole new coat of fat over the heart, increasing the risk of stroke by a factor of 3 or more…. not good….

So, we’ve developed a pretty efficient way of dealing with them when they come after us; we burn them, and get on with our business…. So, since this one has already been hauled off by our friendly stevedores, off to the incinerator, which will make short work of it, we can put it out of our minds, and move on to the next international incident, er, section of the post…. You’ll have to excuse me this morning, ffolkes, I’m still a bit groggy from sleep…. The picture above is what woke me…. Well, that’s not quite accurate…. hold on…. short break….

It would be more accurate to say the sight of the picture shocked me closer to the state of awareness needed to begin this missive; I’m now three or four paragraphs down the line, and still feel like my brain resembles a bowl of oatmeal more than anything fully alive…. And, see, I can’t even come up with anything remotely humorous to describe what is taking place! In a minute, I’m going to start whining again, so, it might be best to employ one of my emergency exit strategies, to take us out of here, on to where we need to go, wherever that might be…. Given this introduction, it could be just about anywhere at all….

Shall we Pearl?…..

And I’ll do you one better if you’ve got the nerve,
I’ll race you all the way to deadman’s curve.

~~ Jan & Dean ~~


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

“Cato instigated the magistrates to punish all offenders, saying that they that did not prevent crimes when they might, encouraged them.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Roman Apophthegms, Cato the Elder

Below you will find an epic pearl, a rant of magnificent proportions, complete with at least two rants, both aimed in the same general direction, but coming at it from different starting points…. I spent a good portion of yesterday at the computer, having been given that boon by my massage the day before, putting my whole body in a better space…. This led me to catch up on some news sites I hadn’t been to in a while, particularly the Guardian, the UK news site that broke the Snowden Papers story to the world….

(Of course, when I say a long time at the comp, it means an hour or three, not six or eight, so, I could only read the news, not visit all the blogs I want to catch up on… If I start that, I never can get caught up, or get away before I start to regret it physically…. SIGH…. Hard decisions… Any who….)

I still find many of the more egregious activities that the US government is up to on the Guardian, rather than any US sites…. The US media seems to censor much of what the Guardian is writing about, sometimes not covering stories at all that the Guardian has unearthed. Whether this tendency is from jealousy, or fear of reprisal from the government, I can’t say, but, the stories just aren’t there as often, or, if covered, don’t get as deep into the issue as the European site does…. It isn’t just the US who gets their custom, either…. They focus their attention on their own government just as tightly, nor are the rest of the world’s leaders spared their often intensive questions about conditions in other countries….

Nonetheless, the US media has its own axes to grind, and they LOVE any story that puts the police in the spotlight, so, the first part of today’s epic rant concerns that issue, to wit: police brutality and the military bent that the police have been assuming for some time now…. Let’s see what got me going, because, otherwise, it won’t ever get done…. Enjoy, and for goodness sake, pay attention, and pass the information on to those who need it, i.e. every citizen of this country, and of the world, who are being affected by what those assholes at the top of the heap are up to these days…..

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/21/government-agents-directly-involved-us-terror-plots-report

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/nsa-surveillance-world-leaders-calls

The latter article is from October of 2013, but, may not be known to some Gentle Readers…. When considered in conjunction with the other article’s information, the earlier report serves as prior proof of what I’ve been saying for quite a long time now, regarding how the government looks at the public as their tool, not as their boss…. If anyone at all has any evidence to the contrary, please, come forward, and we can discuss the matter…. I don’t think there are many who will come forward, because it’s all truth; they ARE spying on YOU, ME, and EACH OTHER…. The tail has begun to wag the dog, and the leaders of the world are completely insane, taking the old saw about “knowledge is power” to new extremes of meaning….

We saw above how the FBI particularly has been abusing their newly-acquired powers to create terrorist plots, involving people in them, then using the completely unconstitutional terrorist court system created after 9/11/01 to convict otherwise innocent people, to justify their own existence and continued clandestine operations…. The FBI is the top level of the police forces of society, forces that are supposed to provide protection and support for the citizens of this country; they help set the tone for the other forces, on the state and local levels, who also are supposed to, as they are fond of saying, “protect and serve”….

Instead we have, on a daily basis, though not all of them receive this much coverage, incidents such as the following, which provide examples of how, in today’s society, the police view the public as enemies, to be unworthy of possessing even the most basic rights, such as free speech, or privacy, an enemy requiring intimidation to assert authority, and threats of violence to maintain control, while the public views the police as violent, aggressive, filled with entitlement, unethical, unfair, not to be trusted, and, worst of all, continuously demonstrating their belief they are not subject to the laws they enforce….

(Note: it took SFGATE three articles to give the same information three times, without ever getting very deep into the issue… they had lots of nice photos, though, of Rev. Al and his religious cronies, taking advantage of the publicity to get photographed with the victim’s widow…..)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Rallies-planned-after-in-custody-death-of-NYC-man-5632335.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/More-studies-needed-in-apparent-chokehold-death-5635142.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/NY-preacher-appeals-for-justice-in-chokehold-death-5634035.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

“…..as four officers bring him down to the sidewalk, Garner, who was asthmatic, gasps, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” The video shows one officer using his hands to push Garner’s face into the sidewalk……” “The second video, which appears to have been shot shortly after Garner was handcuffed, shows him lying on the sidewalk, apparently unresponsive. More than three minutes in, medics arrive and one checks his pulse. Garner is lifted onto a gurney and transported to a waiting ambulance about two minutes later.”….  “A bystander asks why no one is performing CPR and one officer responds, “because he’s breathing.”” — excerpted from the last article listed, describing the events as seen in the videos shot at the scene by bystanders….

In addition to the other issues presented by the incident, I find it a telling point that no mention of any police videos of the incident have been noted by the media, nor by the police…. I don’t know if the NYPD is in step with most of the other police forces in this country, but, I’m pretty sure, by now, the majority of officers and police cars on the streets of New York have video recorders somewhere about their person or vehicle, fully capable of recording all they do, and all they encounter in “pursuing their duties”…..

If not, well, I’m thinking they wish they did have them in place; if they do, why haven’t they been used to either corroborate, or deny, the accusations of wrongdoing? Any speculative reasons as to why such evidence is not available are, naturally, going to be negatively perceived, and will not help their already tarnished image….

The NYPD, along with just about every police force in the entire world, has become what many of our forefathers warned us against, i.e., professional soldiers and/or para-military wannabe soldiers, with a sense of entitlement, and a barely restrained tendency to use violence as their measure of authority…. which, being the neurotic personalities that all-too-many of them are, they must seek out to feel any self-worth…. Only by asserting that authority can these sick, violent bigots feel in control, thus proving their “manhood”.

I’m not being hyperbolic, either…. I’m going by my own observations, and my own experiences in observing the interactions between the police, in this town, and everywhere I’ve ever lived, as well as in my more than simply copious reading of the local, national, and international news, to the tune of two news site a day, minimum…. That’s now; it used to be two news papers….

All of which is in addition to the book a day I have read since I was 10 years old, in addition to all I read in the news…. That reading, and my perceptions of this issue, have enabled me to see the police go from being one of the most admired and respected professions in the world, when I was young, to one of the most feared and mistrusted segments of government, and society….. all in the course of my 55 years or so of perception and reasoning about the world at large….

When I was a lad, in the 50’s, my own parents always made sure we kids knew that, if lost or in trouble, an MP (military policeman) would always help (we were Army brats….)….and that included civilian policemen…. However, by the time I was in college, in 1968, police ranks had swelled to unprecedented numbers, while the hiring standards remained set on old, outdated concepts of societal needs.

The societal disharmony that had been building up, along with the widening of the income gap, for many years, since the Depression, and before, all came to a head, erupting in the early 60’s, when society exploded against the restraints on their freedoms….The Free Speech movement, Civil Rights, Vietnam, the invasion of Cambodia, as well the beginning of the women’s rights, and LGBT rights movements, society-wide struggles that continue today, as society moves forward into a new millennium. These new, (for the time) large demonstrations by students and citizens with issues were a new phenomenon to the police forces that existed, and the conflict started to demonstrate how out of touch they were becoming with the rest of society…..

That same separation of perception has continued to widen ever since, until now, police everywhere, no matter how good or bad they are, will be painted with the brush of corruption, psychopathy, bigotry, and para-military rigidity of thinking…. and for good reason, as there are EASILY as many, or more, bad cops these days, as there are good cops….

Actually, though, it occurs to me, the whole issue is merely one facet of the overriding problem facing society at large, which is the ever-widening gap between the super-rich and the rest of humanity….

And don’t fool yourselves, ffolkes…. it’s way smaller a number than 1% that is behind the entire set of problems that face mankind, as a result of their selfishness and lack of humanity…. My guess, without actually researching, but, going by the “sincerely best-guess” methodology, is that the number of people in the world, who actually have the control over 99% of the money and resources, either directly, or by proxy, is about 5000 people, or fewer…. This small number of super-wealthy, inhumane assholes, believe they have the right to decide for all of us exactly how reality should be run, which just so happens to coincide with their vision of absolute power….

The sad part is, they have been able to do exactly that for many centuries now, ever since the major proportion of the world became dependent on the whole concept of money, compounded by the gullibility that allows them to be fooled so easily by those without any morals or ethics to restrain them…. They buy governments, without anyone ever knowing their names…. They buy churches, who spread the delusional belief in a supernatural afterlife where all life’s pain will be taken away, and they will be rewarded for being sheep all their lives, allowing those in power to tell them how to think, and how to live…. And, in the process, they are killing themselves, and us right along with them…..

Isn’t that sweet?

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

Don’t worry, ffolkes…. I’m not done ranting about these people…. This one, however, has gone on long enough, and is starting to get a bit nebulous…. I prefer a more substantial target for my barbs, so, we’ll come back to this another time, when I’ve put together a bit more ammunition to use on them, and, perhaps, even identifying one or two of them for y’all ….. For now, I’ll leave you with this: Keep your head in the game, and always be ready to doubt what you hear from anyone who thinks they are in charge….. because, whether they are or not, they believe that shit, which makes them annoying, and potentially dangerous to your well-being….

Stay on your toes, ffolkes, (metaphorically speaking, of course), & don’t believe any of their lies…. How do you know when they’re lying? Their mouth is open, and words are coming out; if that’s so, it’s a damn good bet…. The tricky part is knowing exactly who they are…. they don’t come out into the light much….. You know how those evil demons of the dark are…. Besides, they have their talking heads, the pundits & politicians, to stay in the public eye, where they want to be, and are most easily manipulated…. The bottom line for those in power is to prevent, at any cost, any change in the status quo, thus ensuring their continued existence at the controls of society..

“The purpose and function of government is not to preside over change but to prevent change. By political methods when unavoidable, by violence when convenient.” — Edward Abbey

SIGH…. It’s a pretty ugly picture, and it isn’t getting any prettier…. More later, ffolkes….

“It’s getting harder and harder to act weird.” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

I’m not such an egotist that I think I’m a great poet; I’ve written some good ones, but, nothing to compare with someone such as Sylvia Plath, or Poe, or Whitman, or any of a hundred others from the past who have written many works far better than mine…. But, by using my own, nobody else has to take the blame for all the stuff surrounding it, which may or may not be of note to the Gentle Reader…. I AM enough of an egotist to keep writing it, though, and putting it here for y’all to either laugh, cry, or otherwise react in some way to let me know I’m a writer of bozoid degree…. I hope you enjoy whichever one I choose for your perusal….

Stray Cats

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

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

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

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

~~gigoid~~

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

I see from the above, I got a little carried away…. To save myself from any further potential claims of abuse by overuse, I’ll throw together an old-school pearl, with simple parameters to find good advice…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’ll be quick and easy…. Well, compared to the rest, anyway….

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.  We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.  We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle

“To tell a falsehood is like the cut of a saber; for though the wound may heal, the scar of it will remain.” — Saadi (1184-1291)

“To know much is often the cause of doubting more.” — Michael de Montaigne

“How did the great rivers and seas gain dominion over the hundred lesser streams?  By being lower than they.” — Lao Tzu

“Laws do not persuade just because they threaten.” — Seneca, 65 AD

“In Christianity neither morality nor religion come  into contact with reality at any point.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“How pleasant then to be insane.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

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

I should know better than to say anything would be quick and easy….. Not that you care, but, finding that last pearl was an incredible ordeal, as Smart Bee went into “let’s fuck with gigoid” mode, and started throwing up all sorts of really stupid, asinine quotes for me to wade through…. I finally found that last one by F. Scott, and said, “YES!”…. I cut, copied, pasted, and am outta here, having done all the damage possible for one morning….. See y’all tomorrow, if I recover in time…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Doling out a measure of peace….

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Ffolkes,

Always be curmudgeonly. Don’t ever forgive. Go home infrequently. Just keep loose. Mostly, never opine. Pick quirky relatives. Stay tough underneath. Vote. Watch xenophobia, you zealot.

There…. my version of alphabetical alliteration….  Pretty cool, eh? I don’t think I missed any letters, or got any out of sequence…. If I did, I’m sure you’ll….  What? Hell, I don’t have a clue what it MEANS. I just wrote it. Come to think of it, I probably shouldn’t be so quick to claim authorship; who knows? Somebody else might have already done this, and I’m plagiarizing, for all I know….. Somehow, though, it’s a bit hard to believe that anyone else would take credit for something as lame as this…. not if they intended for anyone to have any respect for them as a writer….

Me, I gave up on that a long time ago…. I’ll settle for what I got yesterday, which was a comment stating one reader always enjoys my work as a change of pace from the news…. Yes, he’s a bit strange, too, but, it still feels good to know I’m achieving at least part of what I wish with my efforts…. To know someone is enjoying it, that it gives someone pleasure, is enough for me….

Of course, that may not continue, should I keep making up crap such as the first few lines today…. I DID think it was fairly cool in one respect, at least…. It was fun…. The challenge I set myself, to write something at least marginally humorous, using words that begin with each successive letter in the English alphabet, was accomplished with ease, so much so I was a trifle suspicious it would be good enough…. Sure enough, it’s not what I’d call classical in nature or style, but, there is a point or two in there where it approaches funny…. I particularly enjoyed the WXYZ sentence….

Wow! Now THERE is an eye-opener…. It isn’t apparent from where you are sitting, but, I have been gone for the past four and a half minutes, unable to breathe or talk, or type…. Being a bozoid personality does have its risks, which can, and did, strike anytime…. As I took a sip of coffee just a few moments ago, I got a tickle in my throat just as I started to swallow…. This caused a major disruption in my metabolism, with the most immediate result being that I damn near choked on the coffee, as it made every effort to go into my lungs, rather than down the hatch to the stomach….

Preventing that threw my whole throat and chest into massive turmoil, coughing, choking, and generally looking like the world’s biggest bozo for a while, as I attempted to regain my composure…. SIGH…. One of the things that they forgot, or deliberately omitted, from the manual is this aging stuff… A lot of the small little hassles that our bodies present to us as we age are things we’ve never heard about…. I can’t believe I’m the first old fart to have these difficulties with the aging process, yet we never hear about them when we are younger…. but, I know why…

It’s revenge, for being young…. None of the old-timers say anything about any of this stuff, except to each other…. We all complain about our aches and pains, when we are with our peers…. But, we never got warned, so we aren’t going to give those young whippersnappers any kind of help WE didn’t get…. It wouldn’t be fair to tell them, and let them write it down so it eventually ends up in the manual…. Fair to whom, you ask? Well, to all of us who are already suffering from the indignities of advancing age, and all those oldsters who have gone before, pioneering the way for us…. THEY had no warning, and neither did we…. why should we be any kinder?….

Okay, this meandering is getting a bit out of bounds…. I’m starting to fantasize and make stuff up again, which is fine, but, won’t get this Pearl done…. Today’s intro, in my attempts at trying a new approach, seems to have grown past all boundaries of good taste, or at least, good sense…. That, of course, isn’t anything out of the ordinary for us, but, it IS making this intro a bit longer than is handy… In fact, I’m going to have to…. Oh, wait, look! There’s the ending right there…. Good, now we can get on with this….

Shall we Pearl?…..

Will change the pebbles of our puddly thought
To orient pearls.

— Du Bartas (1544-1590) — Divine Weekes and Workes, Second Week, Third Day, Part i

[dignified silence]……

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

Here, for your early morning viewing pleasure, is a classical, ancient pearl, whose contributing authors all lived prior to the birth of Jesus Christ, who, though not my own particular candidate for basing a calendar on, remains the agreed upon point of reference for the modern version of time…. essentially, all of these wise ffolkes were born more than two thousand years ago, yet their words have survived, intact, to this day…. Enjoy!….

“Human life nearly resembles iron. When you use it, it wears out. When you don’t, rust consumes it.” — Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 BC) — Carmen de moribus

“The most virtuous of all men is he that contents himself with being virtuous without seeking to appear so.” — Plato (B.C. 427?-347?)

“Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit.” There is no great genius without a tincture of madness. — Seneca (8 BC) — De Tranquillitate Animi, 17

“It is a difficult thing for a man to resist the natural necessity of mortal passions.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of those whom God is slow to punish

“Neither make thy friend equal to a brother; but if thou shalt have made him so, be not the first to do him wrong.” — Hesiod (c. 700 BC) — Works and Days, Line 707

“Time cancels young pain.” — Euripides (431 BC)

“In the land of the dark, the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.” — Egyptian Book of the Dead

Okay, so the last one isn’t so much of a pearl as it is a small revelation about the past…. and where a certain band got their name…. Okay, fine, here is one last pearl to finish this off correctly…. I hope you enjoyed this little trip back in time with me, to gather a small harvest of the wisdom of the ages….

“No sooner said than done — so acts your man of worth.” — Quintus Ennius

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

It’s a haiku day, I can feel it…. so, here is one fresh one, and a couple more from the archives….

Food for thought

Savory phrases
seem to surface from the depths
of hidden hungers.

~~ gigoid ~~

7/13/2014

A Moment of Haiku

Bare is the soul
   who will not see the truth,
even when the truth sees them.

~~ gigoid ~~

2/9/2012

Haiku IV

Time and circumstance;
all of us who are alive,
must pay heed, or else.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/19/2013

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

“It’s awfully hard work doing nothing. However, I don’t mind hard work when there is no definite object of any kind.” — Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

This morning, Oscar’s ironic curmudgeonry from his most popular play hits me where I live, to paraphrase my blogging friend, Jerry Doby…. I had a rant subject all picked out for this section, but find myself unwilling to carry out my intent…. No idea why, just don’t feel like ranting just now…. All the emotional content necessary to produce one is present, and accounted for, but, I haven’t been able to find a proper headline to pick at thus far, and I’m not in the correct frame of mind to persevere….. Oh, well, too bad, so sad…. for me, not for you… for you, it means yet another old-school pearl, as fresh as I can make it, sans parameters to help speed the process, and widen our options…. Have a care with this one, ffolkes, it could get a little rowdy….

“If you live long enough, it WILL kill you…” — Smart Bee

“It is important to do what you don’t know how to do. It is important to see your skills as keeping you from learning what is deepest and most mysterious. If you know how to focus, unfocus.  If your tendency is to make sense out of chaos, start chaos.” — Carlos Casteneda

“Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third [“Treason!” cried the Speaker]–may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.” — Patrick Henry (1736-1799) — Speech in the Virginia Convention, 1765

(Okay, so this doesn’t exactly fit in with a parameterless pearl…. but, it was there and it’s always a good time to remind all you bloggers out there of our duty as American writers…. Socrates set the example, with his belief in the concept of the societal gadfly; I see it as every American’s duty to challenge the authority of the establishment, and these inspirational words from Patrick Henry serve perfectly as the proper and appropriate credo for all of us who believe in this country, and the dream of freedom and peace upon which it was founded…. There, I ranted, are you happy?…. I am….)

“…the value of the constitution depends on the good will of government itself.   If the Supreme Court rules that the Bill of Rights should not interfere with the important business of government (which they have done on at least two occasions), then the constitution is meaningless.” — John Kormylo

(It’s always good to follow a credo/disclaimer with a warning…. Keep a sharp eye on this Supreme Court, ffolkes. They’re beginning to show their colors somewhat, since way too many of them were nominated by Shrubs…. Those assholes, the Shrubs, and all those misogynistic zombies (think Dick Cheney, the Lizard King), or any of the other closet anti-Americans who support them, have a very funny idea of constitutional law, one that has very little, if anything, in common with the one we already have in place…. If you don’t believe me, ask them…. they’ve stated, in the papers, how they’d like to see certain parts of the Constitution repealed, specifically, certain entries in the Bill of Rights, and the junior Shrub is on record as mentioning his belief that the framers of the Constitution “went too far” in handing out freedoms to the people…. See, I told you I had all the makings  for a rant in here…..)

“Yes, there is Nirvana; it is in leading your sheep to a green pasture, and in putting your child to sleep, and writing the last line of your poem.” — Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), Sand and Foam

“The majority is never right.” — Lazarus Long  (1912-)

“There’s a tendency today to absolve individuals from moral responsibility and treat them as victims of social circumstance.  You buy that, you pay with your soul.  It’s not men who limit women, it’s not straights who limit gays, it’s not whites who limit blacks.  What limits people is lack of character.  What limits people is that they don’t have the fucking nerve or imagination to star in their own movie, let alone direct it.” — Bernard Mickey Wrangle

Apparent disorder is a product of control.
Apparent fear is a product of courage.
Apparent vulnerability is a product of possession.

Control or disorder is a matter of Analysis.
Courage or fear is a matter of Direction.
Possession or vulnerability is a matter of Positioning.

— Sun Tzu “The Art of War,” translation by R.L. Wing

“May you grow so rich you never have to eat, drink, piss, crap, wash, or walk by yourself, God forbid.” — Smart Bee

This is why I love the process of making pearls…. It started out parameter free, picked out its own theme, then stretched itself into the rarest form of pearl, a nine-star, with comments that add up to a mini-rant…. Bonus!

Man, I love this job!….

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

I especially enjoy it when I finish in a timely manner, having created a completely fresh, original product…. other than the quotes themselves, anyway…. It must be the shoes…. If not, well, that’s okay, too, because I need new ones…. Your guess as to what that may mean is as good as mine; since it has NOTHING to do with anything that has gone before, or with anything being planned, I’m not going to even acknowledge its absolute irrelevance to the present situation…. In other words, what a load of crap! Hah! Gotcha!…..

Having thus disposed of the final piece of childish behavior I had left to get out today, I’ll leave you in peace… Well, once I’m gone, you’ll THINK it’s peace, anyway, because of the relative quiet and calm…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Featured Image -- 2780

Provenance won’t impress the hungry….

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1

Ffolkes,

“Happiness is the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.” — Robert G. Ingersoll (American lawyer and orator)

Well, color me surprised, and more than a little amazed, that an American lawyer not only said this, but sounds as if he believes it…. Howdy, ffolkes, and don’t fret, this isn’t the beginning of a rant, though it could easily be one…. No, there’s plenty of that coming up later…. No, my comment was merely prompted by seeing the word lawyer in conjunction with the words, justice, humanity, reason, and love…. Typically, those qualities are missing from the list of those shown by lawyers, especially American lawyers…. and don’t try to make me guilty over picking at them again…. If they didn’t DO this stuff, it wouldn’t come back to haunt them….

I guess I’ll have to go look him up in Google, so I can see how he came to be….. It isn’t simple, or easy, I would imagine, to be able to hold on to such a powerful set of ethics and morals, when everything in one’s training, and society itself, is telling one to act in an opposite fashion, i.e. immorally, and unethically….

(Once again, don’t start….. I know ALL of them aren’t that way, but, if there weren’t a reason for them, lawyer jokes wouldn’t be necessary, now, would they?….). I’ll stop with the lawyer digs, and jokes, when ONE person can show me proof that 50% of the lawyers in practice have, all of a sudden, become caring, compassionate human beings…. Simple enough, eh? And, bloody impossible, as there aren’t that many honest lawyers out there….. there just aren’t….

Maybe I am ranting… what do you think? Is this a direct attack on lawyers at large? Maybe so…. In that case, let me take a short break, to see if I can find a way back to something more resembling an introduction…. Be right back, ffolkes…. time for a pain break anyway….

Hmm…. Okay, so, there isn’t much, ffolkes….. but, in the interests of full disclosure, I didn’t look real hard. I guess I’m just in a ranting mood, so, maybe you should consider donning the Kevlar vests, and the helmets provided for you as part of your entrance fee….. What? No fees are being collected? Again? Damn it all, where the hell’s Luigi? He’s supposed to be taking the admission gate…. Now I’ll have to take the time to find him, & see why he’s been so flaky of late….

In the meantime, perhaps it would be best to just forgo any further attempts at logic or reason…. I don’t think they’ll be of much use at this point…. Instead, we’ll just go on, and do the best we can with what is there to use….. Wish me luck….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If I had my life to live over again, I’d be a plumber.” — Albert Einstein

Me? I’d have liked to have been a travel writer….. a job that combines my two favorite activities…. Hell, it may yet happen, who knows? Stranger things, as they say, have happened….

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

I’ve avoided full out ranting for a while now, having reached a point where I felt I was repeating myself too often, without achieving any of the results that it would be nice to see for all my efforts (such as a world-wide revolution against the corporate masters who have oppressed society for millennia now…. I can dream, can’t I?….). In the last couple of days, I’ve seen a number of articles in various news sites detailing the latest news on several fronts worth ranting about…. Let’s see what’s up, eh?….


Only one comment is relevant in response to this: these people are out of control…. By “these people”, I’m referring in general to the NSA, and their cohorts, the CIA, FBI, and whatever other clandestine-oriented criminals masquerading as official entities who have jumped on the “let’s go fight terrorism” bandwagon, which offers them a perfect cover, and excuse, both of which augment and support their private agenda, which is, simply, to control and mislead the public, so they can continue their raping and pillaging of the public treasury, and blame the terrorists……

Then, of course, there is what has been discovered lately about what the NSA, the CIA, and the oxymoronic intelligence agencies that are part of the US pantheon of spies…. In the case below, in Germany, yet ANOTHER double agent was found to have been perverted by the CIA, this one working in one of the German defense departments…. As a result of this one, the article below shows the latest reaction by the German government….

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10959549/Germany-asks-CIA-station-chief-in-Berlin-to-leave-country-over-US-spying-row.html

Of course, all the politicians, in both countries, are just salivating, at all the opportunities they will have for political jockeying over these incidents…. The Republicans are happy because it gives them more ammunition against their nightmare, the Black President with Some Integrity, while, on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats are happy because it gives them a chance to get their own names out in the public eye, making statements, and looking concerned…. Neither one actually gives a shit about the issue, but, it’s one they like to see being played out, as it offers so many different ways to distract and obfuscate….

Then, of course, I saw this one…. I’ve been following a bit of this…. It seems that, back in the Thatcher days, the British equivalent to our Congress, their Houses of Parliament, there were a large number of child molesters in office, and they went so far as to use their power, and positions of authority, to further their sick, pedophiliac habits, covering up their crimes with ease, as they had the authority to tell the police to ignore issues, or sweep them under the table…. A member of the House of Commons collected evidence on it, then turned in his report to what should have been the proper authorities, over thirty years ago….

Naturally, that report was “lost” before any action on it’s contents could be formulated, and the whole issue was swept under the bureaucratic table…. Now, this whole episode is coming to light, and the politicians in Westminster are running around like a disturbed nest of ants…. It’s actually quite entertaining, if a bit sick-making, to watch all these psychopathic assholes try to figure out how this will affect them, or, in many cases, trying to decide whether to kill themselves now, or wait until after their trial…. Read it, then join me in a big raspberry to all the sick bastards who are involved, who may now get their just desserts….

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10959997/Westminster-whistleblower-told-to-back-off-over-paedophiles.html

Sick, sick people, that’s all I can say…. To finish off this bit of random ranting, below you’ll find a list of people who live in the SF Bay Area who are billionaires…. You know, those privileged elite who believe that, because they have all this money, they can pretty much do whatever they wish to do, without any consequences for their actions…. and, they’d pretty much be right about that….

When was the last time you heard about, or read about, some billionaire going to jail, or even to trial, when they have broken the law? That would right about NEVER, right? Hell, these people, when arrested, or even stopped for a traffic violation, never even have those incidents make it to the papers; you never even HEAR about any trouble they have, because it is all taken care of, hushed up and forgotten, before anyone in the public even knows it has taken place…. That is what money can buy, ffolkes, never doubt it…. Take a look at the list, and the amount of money these assholes are hoarding for their own use….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Who-are-the-richest-families-in-the-Bay-Area-5610052.php

545.9 BILLION DOLLARS! What an incredible number, describing 18 families in the Bay Area who have a net worth in the billions of dollars; the smallest number I saw was 1.2 billion, I believe, and the most disgusting, er, largest, was WalMart’s owners, the Waltons, at, get this, 152 billion. That number, by the way, is the kind of number the mind can’t really grasp, but, think of it this way…. This insanely small number of people have as much financial resource at their disposal as all but perhaps ten countries in the world…. The US Dept. of Housing budget, for any particular year, is not very much larger than this amount, I’m guessing, if at all….

Astounding, mind-blowing, and to me, reprehensible, that so few people can be not just allowed, by the system, and society, but actively  encouraged and directed into perversity by the forces of history, with results that reward such behavior…. All to often, the Powers That Be will aid and abet those who successfully hoard that much for themselves, as opposed to more of a moral attitude, which prioritizes such resources into using them to supply what society may have need for…. which, essentially, another way of saying that society, and the victims of such selfishness, is made to pay for the rotten effects of the corruption and indifference to morality shown by those who have hoarded the resources in the first place….

Okay, ffolkes, we’re about done…. Here, to finish this off with a bit of more positive energy, is another fine article from Mark Morford, this time pointing out some obvious bits of information that are generally ignored by critics of the Obama administration…. I mean, he IS a politician, so, as Mark points out, there are still some questionable issues Barry has raised with his spotty conservatism, and terrorist paranoia…. not to mention how he has catered and kowtowed to the financial community…. disgusting….

Nevertheless, in terms of getting things done that will actually HELP the average American, he has done quite well…. Read this, and try to pay attention… I know this is getting long, but, we’re almost done….

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/07/08/the-best-worst-president-ever/

As usual, Mark has put his finger on a point most people would miss altogether…It’s brilliant, funny, and all-too-accurate to miss…. Go ahead, I’ll wait…. There, now, don’t you feel a bit lighter? No? Okay, well, I tried…. We’re done here, so I’ll leave you with this final word, to try to bring this to its most efficient, effective ending….

“Rare gift! but oh what gift to fools avails!”

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book x, Line 29

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I’m using my own poetry again today, simply because the above took so long, I don’t have any more time to go look for something appropriate by someone else…. and Smart Bee is being a bit of a bastard today, in re: giving me quotes I can actually USE…. Any who, to prevent further whining, here is one from the archives…. This one was written, and first posted, in October of 2012….

Penance, Made Simple

After all the dross is sent away
a celebration can begin,
time will face up to space, to stay
willing, to shine from within.

Anger and confusion come in to share
brushing reason aside,
eager to welcome all that is fair,
alert to danger, eyes wide.

Re-gift the wicked with their own pain
stand with the just;
fail to partake of the ill-gotten gain,
living in honor, the only must.

Standing fast in the face of wrong
is its own prize and reward.
Holding on to truth makes us strong,
well worth working toward.

Little is left to chance by fate
our lessons are never free of cost.
Seldom does reality make us wait
only when alone, are we lost.

~~ gigoid ~~

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As you probably have guessed by now, this will be another random, harlequin, old-school pearl, because A) it’s fast, B) it’s cheap, and C) it’s what I can do without going off the rails completely…. in other words, I’m using the all-purpose, universal, time-tested American excuse…. Expedience! Enjoy!….

“What you see is from outside yourself, and may come, or not, but is beyond your control.  But your fear is yours, and yours alone, like your voice, or your fingers, or your memory, and therefore yours to control.  If you feel powerless over your fear, you have not yet admitted that it is yours, to do with as you will.” — Marion Zimmer Bradley, “Stormqueen”

“I once asked my history teacher how we were expected to learn anything useful from his subject, when it seemed to me to be nothing but a monotonous and sordid succession of robber baron scumbags devoid of any admirable human qualities. I failed history.” — Sting

“There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it with reluctance.” — Terence (185-159 BC)
— Heautontimoroumenos, Act iv, Sc. 6, 1, (805.)

“We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.” — Aristotle

“Until philosophers are kings … cities will never cease from ill, nor the human race.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

“Our care should not be to have lived long as to have lived enough.” — Seneca

“I’m pretending I’m pulling in a TROUT!  Am I doing it correctly?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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For a Pearl that felt so choppy while in the process of creation, this didn’t come out too badly at all…. In order to keep from feeling like a complete liar, I’m going to go ahead an post it, without even going over it with a critical eye…. some proofing, and, as far as I am concerned, it’s good to go…. Call me Ishmael, or call me a fool…. just don’t call me late for dinner…. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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From this perspective, it’s clear the vicar was nude….

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Ffolkes,
Day the next 013    This picture was taken somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean, during a trip around the British Isles…. It may just be my favorite picture, of all I took on that trip…. The color, the composition, it just speaks to me, in a lot of ways, bringing with it memories of that time, along with appreciation, for the picture’s potentiality for cogitative stimulation…. The first thought that always occurs to me is how it is impossible to tell, just from the picture, whether this was taken at sunrise, or sunset; it could easily be either one….. Not bad, for an old fart with his first camera, eh?….

Today’s Pearl will be odd, as if, A) you hadn’t heard THAT before, and, B) just as if it could be anything else, when one considers the source, to wit: me, in all my strange glory…. What do you mean, that isn’t glory, it’s dirt? I’m not going to even bother to think about THAT statement; no way that could be true…. I mean, if that were true, what was all that….. well, never mind. I think, upon reflection, we should just skip right on by this little episode, and chalk it up to the early hour, even if it’s a late early hour, for me…. It’s getting harder to drag myself up each day, but, that, too, is nothing new, is it?….

Age, pain, bozoid tendencies…. I’ll tell ya, ffolkes, it makes for an “interesting” life, one you would think would offer plenty of material for a writer….. and maybe it does, for a writer whose mind is normal… My own idiosyncracies tend to color my perceptions, as they do for all of us…. mine just have a greater effect on me than most ffolkes suffer; maybe it has to do with all the spikes, thorns, and broken glass covering the material my head produces. It does get a bit iffy trying to handle it without injury, especially given my known habit of beating myself over the head with certain types of information, so it is more easily assimilated…..

I’m wandering again, aren’t I? This is what happens when I sleep late; I wake up foggy, (normal for me…), but, start writing anyway, as I’ve found the process of creating these introductory sections eventually wakes me up enough to get through to the end of a Pearl…. Well, so far, anyway….. Apparently, once I’m relatively awake, I can do this in my sleep…. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether it helps, or hinders to write while somnolent; I DO keep getting them done, so, I suppose that’s something….

Well, now, there’s a pretty mess, eh? It seems I turned the picture, which is somewhat undefined by itself, into yet another reason to ramble and blather my way through the first section, all without ever coming to any conclusions, but, without haring off into uncharted regions of my mind, or anyone else’s, for that matter…. What did I just say? Let me go back a second, & analyze that last sentence…. Okay, yep, it’s as I thought…. I’m reaching the point of incoherency, so we have to stop now, or someone will get hurt…. and it’s most common for me to be that someone…. So, instead….

Shall we Pearl?….

“If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you’re a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Okay, well…. that explains THAT….. Onward, ffolkes….

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

I may have mentioned I’m up pretty late, (or not…. I am now, though, right?…. Mentioning it, that is…. I’m up late… there, now you know….), which precludes a FRESH rant, especially given the news of late, which has way too many subjects that would be suitable…. In today’s state of mind, picking one could be as hazardous as writing one…. So, here is a reasonably priced discussion of some esoteric minutiae for your reading pleasure…. Oh, and keep your neurons fired up and ready with this one, ffolkes, it’s a bit deeper than usual, even if it doesn’t touch on anything particularly volatile…..

From 10/21/2012:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

— Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) — Just So Stories (1902) “The Elephant’s Child”

I first read the phrase “feeding the Elephant’s Child” in a Robert Heinlein novel, many years ago, and enjoyed it as a metaphor for reading/learning, before I knew from whence it originally came. Once I did know (a moment of illumination whose exact placement in time is hazy….), I liked it even more, from an aesthetic standpoint. The above little ditty is brilliant doggerel, astute observation, and deep insight, all presented in a simple, straightforward style, with a powerful, basic lesson for any would-be philosopher, or any one who wishes to encompass reason as their modus operandi, so to speak. Besides which, I find that another piece of Bob’s advice fits well with this one, to wit: “Life tastes better in big bites….”

“Never wear anything that panics the cat.” — P. J. O’Rourke

I like this, a lot. It summarizes perhaps one of the most elemental rules of getting along in the Universe, in essence saying, “You can learn a lot by watching what happens around you…” It is the perfect companion to the concept of learning as presented above, as it contrives to speak to both sides of Reality, i.e., how you approach reality (the clothing you choose to show to the cat….) and how reality will change to react to your approach (the cat’s opinion of your clothing….) It also gives one a subtle warning about how the wrong clothing can produce unwanted consequences, and we all know how an offended cat is likely to respond…. as Mark Twain once remarked…. “A man who carries a cat by the tail is learning valuable things. He will never again be dim or doubtful. Chances are he’ll not carry the cat that way again, but, I say, if he wants to, let him!”  You can’t say fairer than that….

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” — Buddha

One can always trust the Buddha to state the most profound thoughts in the simplest way…. I often wonder how he came to such a complete understanding of Murphy, whose presence is acknowledged in all of what the Buddha stated, but whose ministrations seem to have passed by the Buddha’s existence…. either that, or Murphy shows him a lot more respect than he does anyone else alive. At times, it seems that what the Buddha states, such as in this statement, is, in at least one respect, an answer to a question that is raised when Murphy intervenes in our lives…. in simpler words, he explains why Murphy is able to affect us as he does, by cutting through the bullshite we perceive to the truth of what is real….. SIGH…. one of these days, enlightenment will slap me upside the head, and I’ll be able to see Murphy coming…. I hope…

There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan

Often I feel as if not only is life a joke, but it is our duty and purpose on this plane of existence to codify that joke, to put it down on paper, or on screen/disc, to free ourselves from the prison of sobriety, achieving an understanding that everything in this silly universe is here for our amusement, and we have been taking it, and ourselves, seriously for entirely too long….. So seriously, we have begun to offend those parts of the universe that just want us to relax and enjoy ourselves, and the time is growing nearer when we will have to admit that the joke is on us, for not being able to change our inner selves enough to be able to handle the humor of our situation…. See, the universe thinks death is funny…. not because it is cruel, but because death is just another part of life, and it doesn’t care about one more than the other…. See, now, isn’t it funny how you never noticed that?…..

I once read a science fiction novel, whose title and author escape me completely; in all it was very poorly written, with prose that did not live up to the good ideas contained in the plot line. However, it was a great plot line, in all….Specifically, there was one chapter I liked, which had a super-genius taking on the task of finding the solution to a mathematical treatise, an equation so complex and advanced that no civilization in the galaxy had ever been able to completely solve it.

The genius/hero of the book shut himself up in his room for three weeks, working on the problem. At the end, he was thinking so hard he entered a trance-like state, computing while nearly dead…. after a week of this, he suddenly opened his eyes, gave a look of astonishment, and burst into uncontrollable laughter for approximately 25 minutes. When he could finally control himself, he simply said, “It’s a joke….” and would never discuss it again….

In a pearl such as this one has grown to be, there comes a time when I have to decide whether to continue on, to try to reach the conclusion that was nebulously hovering somewhere in my mind as I began, or to admit that I have once again wandered into uncharted territory, and might find it a bit tricky to find my way back to clarity. This is that time…. and I’m leaving it up to Smart Bee, as always…. If I don’t find a proper pearl to carry on the tenuous chain of thought I’ve created, then we’ll take the first one that will appropriately wrap it up as a lost cause….. all within a specified number of attempts…. so, here we go… You’ll know in a moment what will happen….

“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi

There, see?…. That didn’t take long at all…. and I managed to find the perfect pearl to cover both bases…. In this case, we will use it as an ending quote, since it sort of summarizes a lot of the discussion, after a fashion. It could conceivably also be used as a springboard for further discussion, but this has gone on long enough, and I wouldn’t want to lose anybody due to an injudicious application of excess verbiage, culminating in tedium…. Of course, we may have reached that point some time ago, but, hey, who’s counting?…. Any who, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into not very much….

🙂

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

Being late means not having the time to go search for anything from other authors to fill up the empty spaces between lines; this can be a good thing, or not, depending on a lot of factors, which we won’t go into now…. Suffice it to say, it’s usually easier to find one of my own to go with whatever is taking place, and today is no exception to that observation/rule…. I wrote this in October of 2012, during the period of time after my retirement when I was in my deepest depression, and living under the most trying circumstances I’d experienced in many years…. I guess it goes to prove that poetry comes out of human experience in a more compelling fashion when that experience is a test of their endurance, or stamina, or however one describes the effort of standing up to the crap life sends our way, every day…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this is one of my best….

Seeing is Conducive to Belief

Folly sits so comfortably upon my fevered brow
one would easily believe that I would know how
to look at Life with a jaded, weary eye
seeing enough, and more, to know Why.

Such seems the case, as I will it to be,
an open book of a face, it looks so like me;
what’s known to be so, needs no close attention
familiar sights require no minding, nor mention.

The eye is drawn at once to the stark and new,
and sent back to sleep by successful review.
Once we find evidence we feel we understand,
curiosity languishes, dismissed at command.

Ancient sages knew the insidious value of illusion,
preachers and pundits know the power of confusion.
Each pair of eyes contains its own point of reference,
each mind sets its own standards of preference.

Seeing is believing, for those who live in thrall,
accepting what is perceived is all they ever recall.
Unknown to them, reality follows another set of rules,
Deeper, more dangerous, and no place for fools.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Even though I’ve managed to get caught up to schedule fairly well, by dipping into the archives instead of going fresh, I’m still feeling rushed from being behind all morning…. An old-school pearl should fix that, and takes no time at all…. as long as Smart Bee is cooperating today…. Let’s go see what it’s got for us, shall we?…. No parameters, we’re going with pure impulse for this one…. Good luck! Buena suerte!  We might need it….

“Actually officer, if you factor in the earth’s rotation, we were all speeding.” — Smart Bee

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatalogical mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch22

“The universe is as it is because if it were any different, we wouldn’t be here to observe it.” — Stephen Hawking

“I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.” — Pogo, character in “Pogo,” comic strip by Walt Kelly

“I am not a wimp.” — George Bush

(Sorry, George, but, yes, you are a wimp, and I have to say, I don’t mind telling you….. If you have to say it, it’s proven…. Q.E.D.)

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

“Facts are not truths; they are not conclusions; they are not even premises.  The truth depends on, and is only arrived at by a legitimate deduction from all the facts which are truly material.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Well, there you go…. That went well, and quickly, just as planned…. Damn it! Now I have to keep a watch out for Murphy; things have been going WAY too well thus far….. Watch my back, would you?…. I’ll go try to finish up….

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Well, ffolkes, as I stated in the intro, it turned out quite interesting…. Better behaved, all in all, than I’d expected, so, since I’ve already thus been rewarded by the Universe for my perseverance, I’ll take my leave without further ado, or fuss…. See y’all tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Saved by tea and biscuits….

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Ffolkes,

Reality is an interesting concept. It has some rather compelling qualities that make it attractive, not the least of which is its insistence, as Philip K. Dick observed, on not going away, even when you stop believing in it. Sadly, or perhaps it is inevitably, due to the duality of said reality, it also has many qualities that are less than perfectly attractive, or desirable as a regular experience. In fact, if I had to spend ALL of my time there, I think I’d just shoot myself, and be done with it…..

I suppose, because of it’s dual nature, reality thus could be described as what is called, in legal terms, an attractive nuisance, like having a swimming pool in your back yard…. Our problem is that reality is in everyone’s back yard, and the nuisance factor is not only thus made universal, but, for some unknown reason, multiplied by a factor of at least ten….

Or, it that just me? Am I the only one who has such problems with reality? I shouldn’t think so; I consider myself to be fairly competent at dealing with life. I have, after all, made it this far without any major fuck-ups or jail time. Maybe y’all could tell me if you have the same sort of trouble getting reality to act right?….

Regardless of the answer, it must be dealt with, and therein lies the heart of the matter. None of us, especially those of us with any experience at it, really LIKE to deal with reality; the greatest number of us arrange life so we don’t have to confront it too often…. If you believe that to be untrue, I suggest you take a look at the most recent spate of TV “reality” shows, or consider the fact that, although I’ve been hearing about these Kardashian people for several years now, as so-called “celebrities”, and I still haven’t a clue as to what hole they crawled out of, or why they are said to be such…

Before, oh, say, four years ago, I’d never heard the name Kardashian at all, except as part of a late night commercial, as some rug store by that name kept going out of business and had their rude commercials all over the late night TV screen…. You know the ones, that offer 70% discounts, and overuse the phrase “everything must go!” by a large margin…. Up until their names began showing up in the media, I’d never heard of a Kim, or a Khloe, or any of the others who are now considered part of the glitterati…

Ah well, complaining about reality is a fool’s game, anyway, and the public’s idea of fame is pretty fickle. I suppose, as long as I don’t let reality dictate my emotional state, I’m ahead of the game…. by a long way, it would seem, as the general run of society seems to have trouble getting reality to act in any fashion that suits them…. which is also, in my estimation, pretty normal, as I’ve noted all my life that most folks are oblivious to much of what goes on around them, and haven’t a clue as to the true nature of what they perceive…. It does keep most of them occupied and out of my hair, but, it doesn’t do much toward making things more equitable for everyone, which is, as I see it, our main difficulty as a society….

But, I’m guessing I’m NOT normal, and that’s just fine with me…. In fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it.” — James Stephens

I like that; “there are lumps in it.” Now THAT is a fine way to see reality, IMNSHO….

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

“Who is ever secure? Every one of us searches for security. We seek it from our family, from our friends, from our pets, from strangers and from “God.” Once in a while we experience it, only to discover that it was merely an illusion. And yet we never learn that security is an impossibility. For we are only human beings.” — Chen-It Ong

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/one-slender-man-attacker-deemed-mentally-incompetent-20140702

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/meet-slender-man-the-online-phantom-that-inspired-attempted-murder-20140604

Have you been following this story? About the two girls who stabbed another, in perhaps our society’s most telling incident of the century, thus far…. I can’t think of a crime that more perfectly describes what is wrong with our society than this one…. I’m not going to rant about it, any more than this short diatribe; I will however ask this question, which is derived from a fact of media reporting that also indicates where many of our issues begin, to wit: In all of this, no mention is made of any of the parents of any of the 3 girls involved….

My question is “Where the FUCK were the parents of these children when all of this was going on?”…. That’s all…. just think about the answer, whatever it may be, and you will see whereof I speak, when I say we are all going down the tubes to extinction, without a fucking clue that we are even on that path…. But, as noted, I won’t rant any more than this…. Instead, we’ll look for some pearls to provide the pokes to the underbelly of society…. or, whatever portion of that belly I can reach….

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” — Albert Einstein

“Why this is Hell, nor am I out of it.” — Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

“It seems these two Airmen decided to rob the local 7-11, a stupid move in and of itself.  But wait, its stupid to rob a store when you’re in the military ’cause the haircut will give you away every time.  But wait again, its even stupider to do it in UNIFORM with you NAME emblazoned in 1 inch letters on the front.  But wait yet again, its even stupider to tie up the clerk and try and ring up customers purchases from behind the register while in uniform outside an Air Force base.  Especially when your first customer is a Chief Master Sgt. — Smart Bee

“Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.” — H.L. Mencken

“His ignorance is encyclopedic.” — Abba Eban

(Hmm…. I wonder… to which President do you think Abba was referring?…..)

“I’m continually AMAZED at th’ breathtaking effects of WIND EROSION!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Me, too…. especially if you consider this a metaphorical reference to the effects of TV on the human psyche…..)

“That’s the secret to life… replace one worry with another…. — Charlie Brown (by Charles Schulz)

(Yep…. cartoonists always have their finger on the pulse of society….)

Enough, before I get so worked up, I go LOOK for someone to bite….

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Today, you’re getting one of mine out of sheer laziness; I’m too much so this morning to even go look for one by someone else. That would require at least three of four clicks before I could even start to copy and paste, which is more than I’m willing to go through right now…. Yep, that’s pretty lazy, and I don’t care…. Hmm… the subject matter in section one today seems to have been a choice for discussion some time back. I was apparently thinking about it, anyway, as I found this poem of mine, that speaks pretty directly to that theme…. I hope you enjoy it; as I recall, this one took about three and a half pints of blood replacement after penning it….

Intelligent Crimes

The value of wit is often said to cause harm,
for those who think, such is its greatest charm.
The new and the bold cannot be fulfilled
if innovation and change is left unwilled.

Society behaves at its base as a mob
conformity and submission its primary job.
Any sign of rebellion against the mob’s rule
is met with resentment, naming such rebel the fool.

Intellect and talent are looked at askance,
expressing artistry stands nary a chance.
To stand out from the rest of mankind
is fraught with danger, for body and mind.

Often I stand to watch in solemn dismay
as beauty and joy are left by the way,
ignored and reviled by the unwashed masses
who prefer darkness, and acting like asses.

With shouts of derision the normals make known
their fear of intelligence, greater than their own.
They hope to stop all semblance of progress;
for thoughts and ideas, they couldn’t care less.

The world struggles on in spite of all opposition,
managing to maintain its advanced position.
Pulling the foolish along in spite of reluctance,
helping each to learn the survival dance.

Hard though it may be to keep up with the future
genius manages its plans to develop and nurture.
In the final analysis, those who live by reason
enjoy life the most, season to season.

~~ gigoid ~~


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As noted previously, at points scattered throughout today’s Pearl (both evidential and direct announcements….), I’m lazy today, which has also made me late getting this done…. These pearls, and therefore this pearl, were gathered while multitasking, looking for the above parameter-bound group. These just jumped up & told me, unequivocally, they were to be used in section three, and would be just fine as a random harlequin batch…. They were right, but, I’d planned to put in pictures here today…. So, you get a bonus…. a weird bonus, but, a bonus….

Above each quote, you’ll see a picture… The pictures are either mine, or taken from the London Daily Telegraph…. If you wish complete attribution, you’ll have to go to their site to get it, as I forgot to note which page of their issue it came from…. All of the pictures are examples, in my view, of extreme beauty, of the sort only Nature can produce, beginning on Earth, and proceeding outward, toward the far galaxies…. but, they DON’T have any connection, that I know of or planned, with the quotes below each one…. Maybe next time….

July 2 2014 009“Whenever anybody says he’s struggling to become a human being I have to laugh because the apes beat him to it by about a million years. Struggle to become a parrot or something.” — Jack Handey, “Deep Thoughts”
July 2 2014 006“Of all mankind, each loves himself the best.” — Terence
painted desert“This is a revolution, damn it!  We’re going to have to offend SOMEbody!” — John Adams (1735-1826), 1776
A-Giant_s-Star-Tra_2960526k“Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always.” — Rainer Maria Rilke
Centre-of-the-Hear_2960533k“Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids.” — Aristotle
Creature--_-Ole-Ch_2960535k“What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out,  which is the exact opposite.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967), “Sceptical Essays”, 1928
NGC-6888_2960564k“In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards.” — Bertrand Russell

There you go…. so be it, such as it is….

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It’s done, which, today, is all I really was shooting for….. and, since it is, I’ll even be nice, and leave it at that…. You’ve been a wonderful audience, so, each of you may choose from a variety of prizes by the door, in the ugly green box, as a bonus for your attention today…. Me, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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The White Rabbit’s waistcoat won’t fit….

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Ffolkes,

As I closed my front door early this morning, on the way out to drive to work, a large white rabbit, dressed, oddly enough, in a gentleman’s morning attire, complete with, waistcoat, pince nez, and a huge watch chain hanging from the pocket, ran quickly past me, muttering what sounded like imprecations indicative of great agitation…. Well, being familiar with Lewis Carroll, and his pederasty fantasy child, I DIDN’T give chase, not having the time, or the slightest  inclination to attend any tea parties, experiment with mushrooms, or wage any battles of wit with a Cat, especially one as curmudgeonly as the Cheshire who gave Alice all that lip and grief….

Nor, as I’m sure you are aware, did I really see any rabbits this morning…. The first clue it was all fiction was in the first line, when I said I was driving to work…. which is, as you may know, something I no longer do for anyone but myself…. The second was the waistcoat, which, as you may have noted, was mentioned in today’s title, and as such, was NOT expected to be in the body of work today…. There are times, and this is one of them, when I suspect this process is not entirely under my control…. which begs the question, who’s driving this bus of bozos?….

The answer, of course, is that NOBODY is driving the bus, ffolkes…. I’ve given up, and nobody else can be persuaded to take up the gauntlet; I’ve even tried employment agencies, but, after a few stories from the few they’ve sent over got back to them, it’s been hard to find anyone willing to take it on…. I mean, it’s not like it’s a HARD job; it’s just the strangeness that gets to them, I suppose…. Well, that, and the uniforms; I shouldn’t have gone for the one with the epaulets on the shoulder; everyone thinks they look ridiculous, and hates to wear them….

Of course, I’ve had to let everyone go anyway, what with the recession and all. Even though the economy is on the mend, or so they say, (I think they really have no clue about what will actually happen; they just play the odds and guess…. like we all do since Cassandra died….), if I try to pay a living wage, it eats into my meager profits…. which are also non-existent…. All of which is why it’s a dead giveaway for me to say I’m about to drive off to work…. Hard to do with no car, and no job…

All of the above, of course, is just another distraction, a load of bilge-water, best if left to its own devices lest the smell get into your clothing…. I’m up quite late, for me, and suffering again from the usual complement of painful joints, hips, and the concomitant deleterious effect on my energy, and motivation…. I have to bust through the reluctance to move at all, in order to get past the point where it holds me down, or up, whichever direction I’m going at the time…. Then, well, let’s not get any more into that; it’s just encouraging me to whine….

Instead, I’m going to get on with what we have in store for today, whatever that might be…. Once again, your guess is as good as mine, as to what that may be, or look like…. So, we’ll use trusty method #4, and get on with it….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Acquittal of the guilty damns the judge.” — Horace

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“Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)

Yarrr! Avast, ye land lubbers! Stand your ground, and pay heed!….

The pirate phenomenon came to my town this weekend, in the format of a festival…. A consumer’s delight, where about a hundred or so craft, food, & beverage vendors, singing and musical groups, stage production companies, and otherwise normal folks get together dressed up like pirates, talking like pirates, and generally celebrating the pirate culture, such as it was….. It’s all pretty romanticized, considering the whole scenario of piracy as a way of life; all of the cool, frosty stuff is kept, and all the pain, misery, abuse, and poverty that went along with most of it is ignored….

The historical period when piracy on the high seas was popular, back a few hundred years, was a lot more brutal on the general public than most folks realize, but, hey, that’s America for you…. just look at the parts you want to see, and ignore what you don’t…. They did have their priorities straight, though…. The ATM machines were quite prominent, in three locations for the consumer’s convenience, set up by the food & beer area, and in the first row of craft & clothing vendors….

This all sounds a bit curmudgeonly, of course, which is a result of my thoughts AFTER attending…. I actually had a good time, without spending a fortune, and had some decent noms (food, for those of you not current on slang….)….. I had a sausage roll, Scottish style, just as greasy as the one I had in Scotland, and the shepherd’s pie looked pretty good, too…. Sadly, the only liquor available, other than beer, was rum, which does NOT agree with me at all, due to an unfortunate incident in college, where a quart of rum and I had some issues…. I still can’t smell the stuff without a nose curl….

“And here you thought your money was going to waste. Well, a Federal Appeals Court has ordered the FDA to determine whether drugs proposed for Lethal Injection executions are “safe and effective!” — Smart Bee

The festival is one of those uniquely American deals, a consumer celebration designed to bring tourist dollars into a town that is suffering badly from the economic shenanigans of the corporate elite, who have been busily raping the American economy since the days of Ronald Raygun and his band of banker, ex-USC grad buddies, who managed to spew so much BS around, people began to think it didn’t stink…..

I mean, how else can you explain any reasonable, rational person falling for the “trickle down” theory of economics, otherwise known as Reaganomics, a not-so-hidden attempt at outright theft by the government, if ever one was seen? Only sheer, bald-faced lying could have carried that one off…. But, then, remember some of Ronnie’s OTHER moments of truth?…. Such as….

“Trees make more smog than cars.” — R. Reagan

Any who, that’s all over now, except, of course, for the hundred or so years it will take to recover from it…. In the meantime, we have these kinds of distractions to keep us busy, and having fun doing stuff that makes no reasonable sense at all, spending massive amounts of time and money to pursue a lifestyle so hard and so insane, it no longer exists anywhere but Hollywood…. But, as the pictures show, it’s fun, for all ages, and there are a lot of interesting things to see and do….. Here are some pictures that will give an idea of the day…. Enjoy!….

“Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

June 13-15 2014 005“Somewhere between real and real real.” — Senator Dan Quayle pinpointing their location to reporters — aboard the Quayle campaign plane. — (reported in Wall Street Journal, 10/21/88)

June 13-15 2014 007Just WHAT is that octopus doing with that mast?…..

June 13-15 2014 010Spare change, anyone?…..

June 13-15 2014 013“Oh, God, look at that!”…..

June 13-15 2014 015A little tough to romanticize this….. though one does wonder how the bear fits into the story, eh?….

June 13-15 2014 017Some people have WAY too much time, and money, on their hands….

syphilisAn indicator of how strange and perverted the human race is…. This lovely character was the most popular costumed figure wandering the festival grounds, with just about every other person encountered wanting their picture taken with him….

Well there you have it ffolkes, my day hanging out with a segment of America’s most gullible consumers….. It must be the cynic in me that sees not only the romantic side of the whole phenomenon, but, its uglier, less acknowledged economic factors….. But, hey, I found a great deal on a really good dirk, in case I ever want to wear my kilt and heraldry badges….

“Cynicism is disillusioned idealism.” — Harry Kemelman

Let’s go on, shall we?….

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The perfect poem to go along with the odd little rant in section one, here is the first stanza of T.S. Eliot’s epic poem, The Waste Land…. I have provided a link to a site where you can read the rest of the poem, which is quite long, but well worth the time and effort to peruse…. Enjoy!….

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176735

The Waste Land

FOR EZRA POUND
IL MIGLIOR FABBRO

I. The Burial of the Dead

  April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke’s,
My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.

~~ T. S. Eliot ~~

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Okay, I’ve made it this far, which is a surprise to me…. Soon after beginning, some severe arthritic hip pain began to throb in my lower back, and has resisted all attempts to curtail its advance…. Hence, this will be old-school, and just about as quick a pearl as ever was…. I hope….

“I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remember any of the damn things.” — Dorothy Parker, The Portable, 1944

It is the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It is the dream afraid of waking
that never takes a chance.
It is the one who won’t be taken
who cannot seem to give.
And the soul afraid of dying
that never learns to live.

 — Bette Midler, The Rose


“Be of good cheer,” said Diogenes; “I see land.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes, vi

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” — Mark Twain

Teach him how to live,
And, oh still harder lesson! how to die.

— Beilby Porteus (1731-1808) — Death, Line 316

“If you would know a man, observe how your cat treats him.” — Smart Bee

“If you can see a thing whole… it seems that it’s always beautiful. Planets, lives…But close up, a world’s all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life’s a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful a life is, is to see it from the vantage point of death.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, Dispossessed

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There it is, such as it is…. I’m going to go consume massive quantities of mind-numbing, obliviating drugs, & then take another look at the day in a few hours, once my attitude has been adjusted…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if they don’t catch me….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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