Ffolkes,
~~ Adrian Ogden ~~
Spring in England
Image from UK Guardian Animal Pictures of the Week (See the cows on the farm?)
Good morning…. Let’s have a small Quiz, shall we? No worries, there won’t be a grade, or a prize, just self-satisfaction, or, stimulation, to take the opportunity to learn…. even if it is only something about yourself, and how you react to quizzes…
If you understand the opening quote today, above the picture, and wish to participate, say so in the comment section… Caution! Don’t give your translation, if you know, so others have the same opportunity, without being tempted to, well, cheat. If you do cheat, just say so; for example, if you used your handy-dandy translation software (What? You don’t have any? Well, go get some; it’s invaluable if you wish to see what folks in other countries have to say, without sounding dumb by asking…), say so. It’s not a shameful act; at least you were curious enough to look….
If you don’t know, well, that’s okay, too. Unless taken in school, there aren’t a lot of places these days where one can pick it up….
I was lucky to be able to figure it out; the Latin phrase you see is close enough to Spanish, (which I’ve spoken since my youth…), and Italian, (which is quite similar to Spanish), to figure it out by context and deduction… It’s a great little aphorism, chock full of traditional homespun wisdom….
But, then, maybe it’s just me who gets excited over stuff like that…. Oh ,well, it filled up the intro section, didn’t it? Yep….
Shall we Pearl?
“Frivolity is important. Frivolity is the species refusal to suffer.” — John Lahr
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Today, we’ll just take it easy, a bit of a break with some classical music…. Enjoy!
Classical Break
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I’m in a place today where ranting would be impossible…. So, here’s an old one…
First posted in the first half of 2102:
“I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” — Sir Winston Churchill
“….for DEATH awaits you all, with nasty sharp pointy teeth!” — Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Death. The great equalizer. Nobody gets away from it. As a matter of fact, it has been proven, beyond a shadow of doubt, that everyone who breathes air, dies. So, air must not be good for us, right? That’s logic…. Of course it’s logical. It is also, however, not true, and serves as an example of the fact that logic doesn’t always lead to the correct answer to any particular question…. sometimes you gotta just go by what is real….
I like the first quote, by Winnie C., the PM…. When my turn to find out what happens after we die comes around, should the Christian viewpoint turn out to have been true, I would prefer to meet my maker with this same attitude. To my way of thinking, if it (Christianity) IS true, then God has a lot to answer for…… Seriously…. I’m sorry, but I just can’t believe in any deity who would allow his creation to show such perversions as this species has shown. Whenever I bring this point up to a priest, or theologian of any sort, all I get is “God works in mysterious ways….”
Yeah? Is that right? You say there is some hidden purpose to those actions we don’t understand? Well, fuck God then, because he’s acting like an asshole. I don’t care a whit if there is some hidden purpose; there is NO ACCEPTABLE REASON to suppose that a merciful God would condone child molesters, or rapists, or torture, (even during war). I don’t believe it; it is neither logical, nor rational…. Most importantly, it isn’t reasonable….
Claiming that God is beyond our understanding, and therefore we cannot understand his reasons for allowing such actions, is pure bullshit. If he is that far above us, why are his morals so perverted? I don’t care what you say, I won’t accept the rape of a child as being justifiable from ANY standpoint. None. And if God does have some justification, well, I ain’t buying it. No matter what it is, it isn’t right…. And going along with it, believing the lie, is just another cowardly way of avoiding responsibility….
Men are responsible for these actions, not God. Men kill, and rape, and pillage, and manipulate and coerce their fellows into performing acts of heinous nature. Numerous times in our bloody past, this killing has taken place in the name of God, as the fanatical zealots so common to Christianity, throughout its vicious history, carried their own particular brand of oppression to new lands, forcing the natives to swallow their version of reality, regardless of how they felt about it.
This blind, unreasoning zealotry continues today, with the current Republican candidate all set to bring the US right back into the Stone Age, should he. through some cruel quirk of fate, be elected as POTUS. If that happens, I’m pretty sure Armageddon will be close behind, as I don’t think the rest of the world is going to sit still long enough for him to cram his own faith down their throats. Hell, right here at home, should he be elected, I’d be surprised if there isn’t a revolutionary upheaval within a few months of the election. I know I would certainly be considering assassination as a viable political tool…. It is now legal for us to use torture as a resource, why should we balk at assassination?
Ah me…. I guess I got too much sleep. It seems to have awakened my old hippie instincts; I haven’t talked revolution in oh, six or eight months now…. I suppose I’ll just have to wait until November, to see which way to jump…. Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That’s always the best policy…. for survival, anyway…. and that may become our primary goal, if things keep on keepin’ on….
“It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.” — Voltaire
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If I only knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.
Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.
Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.
Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.
Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 4/22/2013
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We begin today’s final old-school pearl with Socrates; hence, the picture. The point of the pearl is also one Socrates might have explored in his school, back in the day, in ancient Macedonia…. We finish with a very cogent, powerful statement from one of our greatest artists, who has obviously not limited herself to understanding just music in her life, but, has used her connection to increase her knowledge of Life at Large…. This is all stuff that will definitely be on the Final Quiz…..
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” — Socrates
“It takes a wise man to recognize a wise man.” — Xenophanes
“Before honour is humility.” — Smart Bee
“It is better to be defeated on principle than to win on lies.” — Arthur Calwell
“As great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope.” — Ursula K. LeGuin
“To a reasonable creature, that alone is insupportable which is unreasonable; but everything reasonable may be supported.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. ii
“Age ain’t nothin’ but a number. But age is other things too. It is wisdom, if one has lived one’s life properly. It is experience and knowledge. And it is getting to know all the ways the world turns, so that if you cannot turn the world the way you want, you can at least get out of the way so you won’t get run over.” — Miriam Makeba
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Hmm…. Today’s was the first Pearl put together on the road, a day late & probably more than a dollar short…. But, here ’tis, so, we’ll all deal, eventually…. For now, this is what you get, and I will be back tomorrow, at a reasonable (for me) hour…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
gigoid, the dubious
The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.
PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.
“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch
À bientôt, mon cherí….
gigoid 