Move Ragnarok back to Tuesday….

Posted on July 11, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Death tugs at my ear and says: “Live, I am coming.”

~~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. ~~

Where’d it go?….

Hajime…. Over the last five years of blogging here on WP, I’ve come to realize a lot of things about writing I hadn’t known before. Much of that involves style and formatting, technical issues, so to speak…. More personal, yet mundane matters such as motivation and inspiration have also become more of a study, since both tend to suffer when asked to perform on a daily basis. Finding either one can turn into a nearly full-time task in the morning, as they seem to hide, whether playfully, or sulkily, I don’t know, or care; finding them is too much of a hassle to allow much forgiveness.

All of which is a long winded way of pointing out the sheer blankness of my mind again this morning. Well, okay; blank isn’t exactly right; we did get this far already. But, anything more complex isn’t in the cards, I’m afraid. I’ll do my best to make this interesting, but, no promises. I don’t like making them when I can’t be sure I can keep them. I can promise good intentions, but, we’ve all heard where they usually end up leading us, so, we’ll be careful not to get too smarmy or avaricious. If naught else, that should save some shoe leather.

Since there isn’t much point in trying to squeeze this stone for water, I guess we’ll get on with the rest of this mess, before I lose what little sense of direction I’ve managed to garner with this relatively short intro, which, in spite of all my dithering, seems to have fulfilled its basic purpose. Boy, sometimes, this process amazes me with its perspicacity. Go figure, eh? Okay, no more bullshit. Let’s get on with the slow, so we can get it solidly on the toad…..

Shall we pearl?….

“Any road followed to its end leads precisely nowhere.
Climb the mountain just a little to test it’s a mountain.
From the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain.”

~~ Bene Gesserit proverb ~~

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Emmylou & Mark

Image from http://www.youtube.com via Google Images

This morning I find myself in the mood for a laser voice, as well as some hot licks & fine guitar. I can’t think of any better example of both elements than the pairing of these two artists…. Enjoy, ffolkes; this one is special….

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Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler

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“I have been a stranger in a strange land.”

~~ Old Testament ~ Exodus ii, 22 ~~

I know I’m strange, but, I’ve never cared. I’d intended to write about that, but, instead, I’m sublimating, by including a rather extensive rant on an issue upon which many probably feel I tend to harp, to wit: the Asininnies, and their antics. This one is one which remains valid, and will remain so, until we all decide to make the necessary changes, or, Mother Nature steps in to make them for us…. For now, listen up….

From 2/23/2014:

This link is to an article that details some pretty obvious, but, let’s be fair, and call it alleged, political corruption, on the part of a Democratic state legislator…. You can read it, but, it really doesn’t have much to do with the discussion that comes afterward, other than peripherally, as just an extra set of data to add to the whole concept under discussion….

So, not reading it, or waiting until later to get to it, would be acceptable, and, possibly, less confusing…. It can be confusing enough around here without providing any assistance, so, just skip on down to the rant, then, if you wish, you can read later about the naughty California fat-cat politician, and his weak-willed brother….. They’re only willing dupes and/or ignorant pawns in the scenario about which you’ll read below….

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/State-Sen-Ron-Calderon-brother-indicted-5256860.php

With the above link, I began collection of a number of links to articles that would demonstrate a point I intended to make regarding the way the administration in current power in Washington DC manipulates the news so efficiently, and so effectively, in terms of fulfilling the agenda THEY have in place for how events should proceed….

Then, I stopped collecting links, and articles, when I realized just how thoroughly the media manipulates itself, as well as the public it purportedly serves, in directions it is not aware of, out of ignorance, lack of cohesive communication, and an unfortunate tendency to avoid what makes them uncomfortable…. along with not being smart enough to see what stares them right in their own faces…. I realized this entire process is so entrenched in society, we aren’t even aware of it most of the time, which is how the SCSM’s like it….

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/02/21/judge-on-muslim-surveillance-any-harm-is-the-medias-fault/

See? It’s the media’s fault…. so says a judge, firmly in the pocket of the corporate masters…. Now, even those who decide what gets into the news are being manipulated, by those who own EVERYTHING, (aka, the SCSM’s, the Shadowy Corporate Slave Masters….), said manipulation having just one primary purpose, to keep their existence, and the machinations with which they control society, OUT of the public eye…. If a majority of the common people, to wit: the public, ever realized exactly how FEW are those who control 99% of all the resources on this planet, and the degree of power those few possess over the rest of us, in their insane quest to control it all, those few people wouldn’t stand a rat’s chance in a colony of cats….

The true rulers of mankind, the shadowy mega-corporate slave masters, who control virtually ALL the money and resources in the world, if unmasked, and made to acknowledge their crimes against humanity, committed over thousands of years, in their selfish quest for power, would be be hunted down and ripped limb from limb, slowly, by angry mobs, wherever they were revealed, all over the world…. a risk of which they are well aware ….

These are SMART, ruthless, self-centered people, who have absolutely NO compassion, or concern for the rights of anyone outside their immediate circle, and they’ve had long years of practice at hiding their existence, and their actions, from the general public’s eye…. The actual number of people in this clandestine group of mega-rich individuals is actually far smaller than 1% of the total world’s population, so few, their very lack of numbers makes all of what they’ve accomplished that much more of a risk for them….

They are fully aware of the danger of having their nefarious activities exposed to the public eye; they take extreme care to never let their faces become known, or, if so, only in ways that would fool the public into believing they are saintly philanthropists, making them beloved by the people for their generosity…. Long, drawn-out, agonizing, vicious, inhumanly torturous deaths would be their lot, should the downtrodden poor, and the ignorant, delusional middle classes, ever find out the truth of their slavery…. which would only be right, given their willingness to use the same violent methods as part of their own bag of tricks, which they are all-too-willing to employ, in service of their need to dominate….

Hence, as it stands today, we have their centuries-long charade, to keep themselves, and what they do to keep their control of events, from ever becoming common knowledge…. If such knowledge became known to the world at large, it would mean their death, for certain, and they know it….. But, I don’t think they’re too worried, at this point….

They have too much control over what people see, and hear, in terms of what is actually taking place in the world…. These people control governments, newspapers, corporations, television networks, and every channel of communication present in the world…. Even the Internet is under their control, as they have the power to shut it down, whenever they wish…. As we were taught by Mu’ad Dib, true power is the ability to destroy what is necessary to survive….

But, the use of such extreme force isn’t necessary for them to employ, yet, as they also have the resources to employ as many idiots writing for their side, as there are people such as myself, writing to try to expose their evil to the light of day….. Hence, the message I, and others like me, try to send is diluted before anyone ever sees it…. Simple enough, from their point of view, but, then, they wouldn’t have allowed the advent of the ‘Net, if they thought it would be their undoing….

Having the Internet may help us, though, by increasing our own abilities, and opportunities, to spread information, even if the odds of their winning, as they have for so many millennia, are not appreciably altered…. Mankind has always been under the clandestine control of these assholes…. That’s why we are in the mess we’re in…. So, let THEM figure out how to survive what even they don’t understand….. I don’t think they have any clue as to the Hell they have unleashed on themselves by not accepting the reality of global warming, and I’m almost looking forward to seeing it hit them, and watching them cry like babies when they understand what they’ve done to themselves….

They’ve done to us all, I know, but, they won’t care about that, so, I’ll take my pleasure from knowing they’ll suffer worse than the rest of us, because it is they, themselves, who MUST face up to reality, and not having a choice in that is something at which they have no experience at all…. I won’t feel any better, but, it will help make it more palatable, to know they’re going down, too…. This is a situation their sense of entitlement, (which, like any such emotion, isn’t going to alter reality…), isn’t going to get them out of having to face up to in the end….

“A duty dodged is like a debt unpaid; it is only deferred, and we must come back and settle the account at last.” — Joseph F. Newton

Whether anyone, 99%er, or 1%er, likes it, or not, this is what I would call a universal truth, in that, for us humans, it comes true, universally, whenever it is tested in reality….. Translated into more simple, more specific terms… whether we like it or not, our account with reality on this planet is about to come due, and it WILL be settled…. Like it or not, we WILL be judged, according to whether or not our duty to the planet has been met, or deferred until now…..

Since, to my way of thinking, the people who made the decisions about how the resources were used are the ones who assumed the duty, they should be the ones to answer…. Unfortunately, ALL of us have to answer for what they’ve done, because they, being the cowards they are, won’t ever take responsibility for it…. They’ll still reap their share of the reward, because reality knows who is responsible; NOBODY skips out on their bill in this restaurant…. I don’t think they’re going to enjoy their reward, though….

“I had a friend who was a clown. When he died, all his friends went to the funeral in one car.” — Steven Wright

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Off the proverbial cuff….

I never meant to kill that period of time,
it didn’t give me any choice.
It tried to hem me in without reason, or rhyme,
refused me any vote, or any voice.

You have to admit, I buried it deep and fast,
just as if I cared.
I knew, though, it would never last,
or ever be fully repaired.

No news, no pictures can bring it back,
once is all we get.
No pleas of public good, or even public lack;
in stone the past is set.

Futuristic visions now occupy my dreams,
I’m ready to go on.
Look! It fills up the screen, and it gleams!
Where’s the moment I’m sitting on?

Now, I remembered, at long, long last,
is all we really can hold.
Every moment goes by so bloody fast,
we’d best fill them all with beauty, warm and bold.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/30/2013

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Naked Pearls

“From a certain point of view…”

*******

“In the game of life you get to choose where you keep your brain –
heads you win, tails you lose.”

~~ Sardonic Bee ~~

*******

“The world is full
of burled and gnarly knobs
on which you can hang a metaphysical system.
If you must.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

*******

“I’m looking for myself. Anybody seen me lately?”

~~ New Age Bee ~~

*******

“Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving till the right actions arises by itself?”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

*******

A bunch of the boys were whooping it in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music box was hitting a jag-time tune;
Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,
And watching his luck was his light-o’-love,
the lady that’s known as Lou.”

~~ Robert W. Service ~~

*******

“Don’t talk to me about a man’s being able to talk sense;
everyone can talk sense- can he talk nonsense?”

~~ William Pitt the Elder ~~

*******

“Yow! Are we laid back yet?”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

*******

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

Having reached this point, sans injury or major fillip, I think it would be good to acknowledge just how well this went, all things considered. It’s not every day I can say it’s done with such a feeling of closure. It may not be the best ever, but, it will do. I’ll even be polite, & leave y’all without the usual portion of blather; instead I’ll merely say, see ya. I will, as always, be back tomorrow, with yet another exploration of our mutual interests…. Be good to each other, & stay strange; it’s cool out there….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

The circus refuses to leave town….

Posted on July 10, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.”

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

“You’re not a real person until you’re ignored by a cat.”

Hajime…. The official title of this blog, as it says right at the top left, is Exploring Consensual Reality. Today’s version of Reality is simply too much for me to deal with; the sun came up, and I just don’t know what to do about it. Not that I’ll ever need to do anything about it, but, we humans do have our irrational fears…. It’s been said, with good reason, by a number of really smart ffolkes, worry kills more people than bullets. I can attest.

Since my mind is in revolt, (or, maybe that should be, my mind is revolting….), the mess you’ll see today will be a cheap imitation of a real Pearl, since most of it is destined to come from the archives. That is the only way it will get done at all, I’m afraid, even though it’s Sunday, and nobody really cares except me. Oh, well, he said, with some relief. That’s show biz….

That’s all, ffolkes. I’m off now, to go put this together, best I may; y’all can stick around to see what happens, or bail now. As ever, it’s up to you. In the meantime, I’ll go do what needs doing, and be done with it. Let’s get started, ‘kay?…..

Shall we pearl?….

“Around existence twine,
(Oh, bridge that hangs across the gorge!)
ropes of twisted vine.”

~~ Basho ~~

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Naturally, in order to save time, we’re going with our default musical selection. Enjoy!….

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Classical Music

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While searching for a rant in the archives from 2014, I found this one, from 2012, which will do nicely….

From 6/26/2012:

IDIOT, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. The Idiot’s activity is not confined to any special field of thought or action, but “pervades and regulates the whole.” He has the last word in everything; his decision is unappealable. He sets the fashions and opinion of taste, dictates the limitations of speech and circumscribes conduct with a dead-line.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

When I picked out this pearl, I had intended to write a piece exploring human intelligence. However, my brain had a different plan, and all of the thoughts that I had marshaled to use went into the wind, poof, gone….. Since I’m feeling a bit lazy today, I’m keeping the pearl, and writing something about it anyway, so there….

Ranting about human stupidity is an endless challenge; there is so much of it to pick from that the choosing becomes harder than the actual writing. Every day’s news brings more examples of how dumb folks can be, and finding just one that is acceptable is merely a matter of deciding which is the better choice from a humorous view, or a serious view, or whatever viewpoint from which we will write. I’ve yet to see a single day when there weren’t at least four or five instances of stories that illustrate how talented people are at finding new ways to show how stupid they really are…..

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” — Lazarus Long

We’ve all seen this one, I think; if not this one by Robert Heinlein, then one from another author or philosopher. It’s a pretty common theme, after all. Often, examples can be found on the front pages, especially during election years. But the back pages also carry numerous examples, taken from real life…. such as this one….

Back when I was attending the University of Utah, The Daily Utah Chronicle ran a joke ad for a debate between Phil Donahue and Whiskers the Lamb. Over 30 people showed up. (what they were expecting, God only knows.) — Smart Bee

In order to further prove my point, here is an example taken from today’s news….

http://www.fark.com/comments/7182500

This link leads to a very short article from Yahoo news, a perfect example of how the world is going mad, step by step….. I’m not even going to comment on the article, as it’s already too hard to think about it without laughing at the absurdity of the whole issue…..

Okay, I think my point is proved. The human race is pretty stupid, and getting stupider all the time. Sure, we’ve got men in space, we’ve raised the average age to 72 with medical advances, we’ve been to the moon. But we also are still making war on each other. We still abuse animals, and women, and children, and any thing else that is weaker, and will stand still. We are still killing ourselves, and denying that it is even happening. My only hope at this point is for something to happen to change human nature, to turn us away from this path we’ve chosen to walk. I hope it will happen, but I’m afraid the power of stupidity may just be greater than the power of hope….

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The following was first posted on 5/13/2014:

I’m going with whatever serendipitously throws itself under the wheels of this bus we’re on…. Here is a thought, and a poem, from two classical Chinese poets, to whose translators I offer my complete admiration, and thanks, for such excellent work….

“If you work on your mind with your mind, how can you avoid an immense confusion?”

~~ Seng-T’San ~~

Alone, Looking for Blossoms Along the River

The sorrow of riverside blossoms inexplicable,
And nowhere to complain — I’ve gone half crazy.
I look up our southern neighbor. But my friend in wine
Gone ten days drinking. I find only an empty bed.

A thick frenzy of blossoms shrouding the riverside,
I stroll, listing dangerously, in full fear of spring.
Poems, wine — even this profusely driven, I endure.
Arrangements for this old, white-haired man can wait.

A deep river, two or three houses in bamboo quiet,
And such goings on: red blossoms glaring with white!
Among spring’s vociferous glories, I too have my place:
With a lovely wine, bidding life’s affairs bon voyage.

Looking east to Shao, its smoke filled with blossoms,
I admire that stately Po-hua wineshop even more.
To empty golden wine cups, calling such beautiful
Dancing girls to embroidered mats — who could bear it?

East of the river, before Abbot Huang’s grave,
Spring is a frail splendor among gentle breezes.
In this crush of peach blossoms opening ownerless,
Shall I treasure light reds, or treasure them dark?

At Madame Huang’s house, blossoms fill the paths:
Thousands, tens of thousands haul the branches down.
And butterflies linger playfully — an unbroken
Dance floating to songs orioles sing at their ease.

I don’t so love blossoms I want to die. I’m afraid,
Once they are gone, of old age still more impetuous.
And they scatter gladly, by the branchful. Let’s talk
Things over, little buds —open delicately, sparingly.

~~ Tu Fu ~~

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I’m so late, and so discombobulated (fine word!….), I’m going to the archives for the final, old-school pearl today; why not? Here is one from 2014 that will do nicely….

From6/21/2014:

Once again, I had hoped to have more pictures today, but, the Wise Old Pine Cone has been busy with his new student, so we’ll have to settle for a fresh, old-school pearl….. We’ll make it a random, harlequin style pearl, as they’re the quickest to put together, as the parameters involved are so flexible…. Enjoy!….

“This is a wise maxim, “to take warning from others of what may be to your own advantage.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Heautontimoroumenos, Act i, Sc. 2, 36, (210.)

“The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” — Max Lerner

“Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do ingloriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple: who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?” — John Milton (1608-1674) — Areopagitica

“He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.” — Kahlil Gibran

“After all is said and done, a hell of a lot more is said than done.” — Olmstead’s Law

“…for the most part happiness consists in being willing to be what you are.” — Erasmus

“Honor is the reward of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

Sometimes this process doesn’t work; this is NOT one of those times…. This is a good pearl, ffolkes…. Serendipity strikes again….

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

Thanks to my extensive archives, it’s done, even if incredibly late. Oh, well. I’ll try again tomorrow; who knows? I may even get a real Pearl finished by then. Either way, I’ll be back; on that you may rely…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Rapscallions, most kings is, said Yoda….

Posted on July 7, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Always make allowances for the “duh” factor.”

~~ Murphy Bee ~~

Murphy’s Bar, Spanish Arch, Galway

Hajime…. Today’s opening section has a lesson. The lesson possibly, or even probably, appears more often than not without my mindful appreciation; this too is part of the lesson, one designed to teach us/me how to apply that mindfulness more consistently. To read the lesson, which also requires some thought to identify, one need only look at the two quotes at the bookend position for this section, one after the other, in any order. One is a perfect tautological piece of insight regarding our own mind; the other is a warning, as to how we use that mind. Taken together, the contrasting concepts seem, to me, to provide a pathway toward light, if not full illumination….

This lesson is particularly valuable today for me; it gives me some hope the hole into which I continue to tumble all too regularly may be filling itself in, to some degree. That’s a good sign, as I’ve been getting tired of cleaning up the scrapes and bruises I keep acquiring when it opens up in front of me, and I end up bloody & battered at the bottom, gazing at a small strip of blue or black at a great distance above me. Not much fun when one has plans to fly, and the cost of bandages is becoming prohibitive, to say the least. Total bummer, dudes & dudettes, allow me to assure you. But, with this therapeutic sign grasped firmly in hand, I’ll get on with the slow, & try to get it on the toad…..

Not only will I sally forth with some extra impetus, I’ll do it now, so I don’t lose any of the emotional impact. It comes in handy when energy flags, you know. At any rate, we’ll see if we can come up with something worth spending your time reading, whereupon I will head off to find some clean air, and dirt to play in. Sometimes, when your a human male, getting dirty is a basic need, so, I’ll go back to my simian roots for a time & see if it helps. It should; I’m due….. On that cryptic note, let’s go see what kind of trouble we can find below…..

Shall we pearl?….

“Who sees all beings in his own Self,
and his own Self in all beings,
loses all fear.”

~~ Isa Upanishad ~~

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Sheryl Crow

Image from www.sherylcrow.com via Google Images

Okay, so, maybe trouble was the wrong word to use. This lady’s music certainly won’t give us any of that, will it? I also don’t believe she needs very much introduction, as one of today’s most popular artists. All I’ll say now is, enjoy!…..

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Sheryl Crow Live

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“Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground.” — Peacemaker, founder of the Iroquois Confederacy, (ca. 1000 AD)

I had originally intended to use this quote as the opening thought for a rant; instead, I’ll take it more to heart, by forgoing a new rant in favor of an old one. Here’s a pretty damn good religirant from the archives; it’s more than three and a half years old, but, still on the mark… Enjoy!…..

From 12/12/12:

“He who proselytizes in the cause of unbelief is basically a man in need of belief.” — Eric Hoffer

This is true…. you never see an atheist going door to door, trying to convert the pious to their unbeliefs. However, I would go further on this train of thought, and add that, “He who proselytizes, in any cause, in basically a man in need of a life.” I’m sure it occurred to Mr. Hoffer, but he was too busy trying to explain this statement to somebody who didn’t understand the word ‘proselytize’….. For my own case, I have never, ever understood why people feel compelled to go door to door to try to get other people to believe what they believe; it’s one of the most persistent delusional systems I’ve ever witnessed, to believe that anyone wants to hear what they have to say, much less they will find their beliefs palatable to others, or find anyone who believes them to be superior to their own…..

“More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying they made them.” — Smart Bee

Humans seem to have an immense blind spot when it comes to their own actions and beliefs. Most of them never seem to question the things they are told, even when those things are presented with no evidence other than faith. Of course, the people who are invested in the religious system, to wit: the preachers, begin their indoctrination when their constituents are very young, when they are still prone to accept whatever an adult says as truth. This ensures a life-long predilection for being simple to control…. or, in short, mental slavery, if you will. Unless there is some sort of rebellion of spirit, where new knowledge is injected, these poor saps will spend their entire lives believing that what they have been told is real, when, in fact, they are fitting themselves with shackles, that will forever imprison their minds, and their imagination…..

“To defend one’s self against fear is simply to insure that one will, one day, be conquered by it; fears must be faced.” — James Baldwin

In my life-long quest for the truth, I’ve come to believe that religions, while originally intended to benefit people, (by their iconic progenitors, anyway…. I’m sure Jesus was a quite nice man, and wanted the best for those to whom he preached his own philosophy of compassion….), have historically been taken over by the predators who live to control others.

To be fair, some of those who become priests, or any of the other varieties of religious fanatic that prevail in our society, may indeed believe that their beliefs are true, and act accordingly, but the majority are, as far as I can tell, only concerned with maintaining status quo, thereby benefiting themselves, while never actually allowing any REAL progress in the development of the human condition. They would have society behave as if we were still living in caves, in essence, still cowering in our meager shelter while the storms and lightning are raging outside, terrified of the power of what we do not understand, and, therefore, allow ourselves to fear….

“A universe of death, which God by curse
Created evil, for evil only good;
Where all life dies, death lives,
and Nature breeds Perverse,
all monstrous, all prodigious things,
Abominable, unutterable and worse
Than fables yet have feigned, or fear conceived,
Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire.”

~~ Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II ~~

(Side note: I’ll bet Milton had a hard time sleeping….)

The Universe is a big place, and there is a lot to learn. Fearing that knowledge, or fearing what changes that knowing will always bring, is the act of a coward, to my mind, and should not be encouraged. Supernatural beings of unlimited power are not a required component to the understanding of Nature and the Universe; we need not fear that our lack of knowledge of how things work is unattainable. Just because we do not understand a part of reality does not mean that whatever it is, is beyond our understanding.

It is not necessary to ask for exemptions, or intervention by our own personal gods, for us to achieve happiness, or even contentment; that is completely within our own power, if we but acknowledge that part of us that is free, and connected to everything else we can perceive. The connections may not be fully understood, but they are there, and if we can only learn to recognize it, the power to change reality lies within us, all the time…. As Epictetus said, “Happiness lies in learning to accept a simple truth. There are some things you can change. And there are some things you cannot.” It’s really quite that easy, you know, once one learns to accept this fact of life…. No dogma required…..

“If brains were outlawed, nothing would change.” — Smart Bee

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Serendipity Morning

My mind wants to fly,
my soul wants to hold close, the source,
strong, the moments of time;
each as precious as golden thread,
binding together such elements of longing desire.

Love hovers, always patient,
seeking the open heart,
reaching for the promise of tomorrow…..
only for one, only for now, only what is real….
Dreaming, the morning calls,
heavy with mordant belief,
replete, and eternally alive…..

~~ gigoid ~~

4/1/2013

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Today’s final, old/new-school pearl is one for the books, for sure, and for certain. (My standard disclaimer for those ideas/events which, in my estimation, are something on which it is safe to place belief, even bordering on faith, up to and including the wagering of serious money, whichever may be appropriate….) Some days, even, or, especially, when I am not really focused on it, I’ll cruise through my source(s) without first setting any parameters. Generally, I think of it as a random harlequin style pearl, and that works just fine, both for the process, and to describe today’s effort.

The difference is, today’s results are particularly well directed. They form a continuous train of thought, sort of, loosely (as ever), but, if followed, leads to some rather valuable concepts, all of which can be applied to our examination of consensual reality with better than average results, in re: personal serenity/happiness/all good things…. If it doesn’t quite do that for you, well, that’s okay; there are only three, maybe four people in the world I know of who would/will get that far in their thinking. If there are more, they’ve never contacted me, or come into my ken, which includes a veritable shit-load of people, what with reading, experience, and all.

In my mind, this one is a self-directed rant, a journey to enlightened thought, an odd sort of poem/song/dance (try reading it out loud to your pet/companion…), and good clean fun. Hell y’all might even like it…. Enjoy!…

Naked Pearls

‘The Head….’

*********

“Neither the water nor the moon make any effort to achieve a reflection.”

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

*********

“The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

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H = R – E

“Happiness equals Reality minus Expectations”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

*********

“No one regards what is before his feet; we all gaze at the stars.”

~~ Quintus Ennius ~~

*********

“He does not seem to me to be a free man who does not sometimes do nothing.”

~~ Cicero ~~

*********

“Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral?
It is because we are not the person involved”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

*********

“In the beginning, God created the Earth and he said, “Let there be mud.”
And there was mud.
And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud,
so the mud can see what we have done.”
And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man.
Mud-as-man alone could speak.
“What is the purpose of all this?” man asked politely.
“Everything must have a purpose?” asked God.
“Certainly,” said man.
“Then I leave it to you to think of one for all of this,” said God.
And He went away.”

~~ Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Between Time and Timbuktu” ~~

*********

“Were it possible for us to see further than our knowledge reaches,
and yet a little way beyond the outworks of our divination,
perhaps we would then endure our sorrows with greater confidence than our joys.
For they are the moments when something new has entered us,
something unknown; our feelings grow mute in shy perplexity,
everything in us withdraws, a stillness comes,
and the new, which no one knows,
stands in the midst of it and is silent.”

~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~

*********

“C’mon then. My log does not judge.”

~~ Margaret, the Log Lady, from Twin Peaks ~~

*********

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

Well, it’s late, and it’s epic, but, most importantly, it’s done. Just in time, too; my deadline angst alarm went off some time ago. I’ll be nice again, & forgo any further tricks, traps, or bullshit, & just say, see y’all tomorrow, when I’ll try again to reach an island of sanity in an insane world….. Ta, then, luvs….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Issues of deniability….

Posted on July 6, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Believe nothing,
no matter where you read it, or who said it–
even if I have said it–
unless it agrees with your own reason
and your own common sense.”

~~ The Buddha ~~

Great Famine Victim’s Memorial, Galway, Ireland

Hajime…. It’s been said, with some elegance by Mr. Pope, hope springs eternally in the human breast. At this moment, I can tell you, that is NOT a consistent event, by any means. In fact, in my breast this morning, hope is non-existent; moreover, it seems completely out of the realm of possibility. Yesterday, about half-way through the day, I dropped into a hole I didn’t see, and have been ‘in the dumps’ ever since, mostly, with short periods of distraction, never lasting long enough to establish any sort of direction pointing out of the hole…..

In order to get this done at all today will require a bit of cheating; in and of itself, that’s nothing out of the ordinary. The only real bad part of that is the guilt I feel for failing to create something fresh, since there is certainly no lack of material in the real world upon which to focus my attention. Hell, what with the post-Brexit mess over in Europe, the email scrum going on over here, and the general state of chaos all over the world, there is a plethora of issues to examine with a critical eye. None of it interests me in the least today, as my sole task for today has narrowed down to keeping myself from committing homicide….

It helped to speak with my friend in Europe; she always brightens my day, if only to know there is at least one person out there who is on the same page; that’s a powerful motivator for those of us who limit our intake of other humans. So, I’ll quit whining about stuff I can’t currently change, and get on with trying to put this Pearl together into a consumable format, with something worthwhile to consume. I guess we’ll just have to trust the process, and see how it turns out. Since I can’t think of any more blather, or nonsense, or sense to put here, I guess we’ll just go do the best we can…. After all, all you can do is all you can do…. You may have heard that before….

Shall we pearl?….

“It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself.
Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving,
it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe.”

~~ Thomas Paine ~~

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

Norah Jones

Image from http://www.last.fm.com via Google Images

Todays musical selection needs little introduction; her fame in today’s world is secure. Here is a live concert, from not too long ago…. Enjoy!….

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Norah Jones
Live in New Orleans

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There is no point in waiting.
The train stopped running years ago.
All the schedules, the brochures,
The bright-colored posters full of lies,
Promise rides to a distant country
That no longer exists.

~~ Linux Songs Poems no. 570 ~~

Since I’m not in a ranting mood, here is an archived pearl from a day on which it seems I was in the mood…. Enjoy!….

From 4/18/2014:

As noted above, I am in the mood to rant…. However, the depth of my anger today is beyond all reason; I’m feeling extremely homicidal…. It will take ALL of my will power to NOT become proactive…. Think about that, and you’ll see I’m not in a very good mood at all; in fact, it’s been hard to keep myself from casually booting the cat through the window, or some other powerful release of what is bubbling and churning in my head and gut…. To go there, in a real sense, I would have to have already purchased the weaponry that is part of my ultimate plan, which, sadly, I haven’t completed yet…. It’s harder than it seems to find just the “right” weapon(s) for the purposes to which I plan to put it/them….

“Frankly,” he said, “I’m just trying to get to the end of my life without becoming an asshole again.” The Buddha couldn’t have said it better. — Slomo, aka John Kitchin, San Diego, last lines of the Mark Morford column, 4/16/14…. ( http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/04/15/the-saddest-job-in-the-world/)

“Me, too”, he said…. The above article is a good one; it kept me from killing anyone for three whole days, before I had to replace the old restraining thought patterns that keep me from breaking down, & carrying out one of the many fantasies that parade through my head whenever I start thinking about the BRC, the Asininnies in general, or the state of the world at large…. It makes me positively homicidal….

Every time I look at the big picture, extrapolating what I perceive out into the future, I see our species ending its short stay on Earth in the all-too-near future, ignominiously choking out our last painful breaths of a now toxic atmosphere, dying in sheer agony, in a world gone mad, broken and sad, from trying to contain our common insanity….. I see the real world, full of uncaring, selfish, avaricious thieves who prey upon the rest of mankind, to the detriment of all, knowing, but not caring how much pain and misery they cause others….

When I look at these images in my mind this morning, I am enraged…. so much so, I must go take a short break…. When I return, I’ll put together an old-school pearl…. Maybe that will allow me to calm down enough to make them fit just the way I like…. I’ll be right back, ffolkes, after I calm down a bit…. God! I HATE adrenalin….. I spent way too much of my life under its influence, and it just pisses me off when it rears its ugly head again…. Ah well, I’ll be back….

“… And yet the true creator is necessity, which is the mother of invention.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”, Book II. 369C

There! I feel better already…. finding a good pearl, that describes reality so closely in our current state, is always a good thing, in my book…. For the remainder of this group, let’s see what rant-like material regarding my favorite targets we can find today…. Enjoy…. and you can thank me later for not ranting….

“Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.” — P. J. O’Rourke, Parliament of Whores (1991)

“Democracy can learn some things from Communism: for example, when a Communist politician is through, he is through.” — Jacoby Smirnoff

“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.” — George Bernard Shaw

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

“The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

“Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage.” — John Updike, Couples

“I am Porky of Borg. You will be assim…bdeh…assim…I’m takin’ over!”– Smart Bee

This is, perhaps, the strangest pearl I’ve ever composed….. I like it….

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Visible life

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

6/6/2015

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Naked Pearls

Fun

*******

“Dreams have wings,
And other things
That smile like butterflies.”

~~ Bobby Matherne ~~

*******

“The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green earth
in the present moment,
to appreciate the peace and beauty
that are available now.”

~~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~~

*******

“There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.”

~~ Han Suyin, “A Many Splendored Thing” ~~

*******

“A merry heart lives long.”

~~ William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Act II, Sc. 5 ~~

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“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals.
The struggles within yourself —
the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us —
that’s where it’s at.”

~~ Jesse Owens ~~

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“I haven’t a clue as to how my story will end.
But that’s all right.
When you set out on a journey and night covers the road,
you don’t conclude that the road has vanished.
And how else could we discover the stars?”

~~ Nancy Willard ~~

*******

“YOW!!! I am having fun!!!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

*******

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

It came as something of a surprise to find myself here at the end, yet, when I went back to look, there it was, a complete Pearl. Not too shabby, either, if I’m any judge. I’ll go post it, and we’ll see what Consensual Reality has to say about that….. For now, it means we’re outta here, as I’ve certainly caused enough damage for one day. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; who knows? Maybe there will be something new and fresh…. never can tell….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Candid portions of soluble soap….

Posted on July 5, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.”

~~ James Dean ~~

Contemplating the inscrutable….

Hajime…. After a full hour of arguing with Leelu, who thought 0430 was late enough to stay in bed, I’m up, once again staring at a blank screen, wondering what the hell to write. As you see, I opted for the easy way, with pointed remarks about the morning, just so I could get started. Naturally, as soon as I get the first sentence typed, my mind goes blank. SIGH…. It’s going to be a long morning, I can tell….

Fortunately, most of the material needed for today is on hand. We have a guest discussion for the ranting section, with a brilliant analysis of modern times by Dean Baker, and a fine set of Naked Pearls with which to finish. The rest shouldn’t take too long, if I can decide on some music without too much waffling. It’s also fortunate I’m not much at waffling; I’ve always found making decisions pretty easy, if I have the information needed to make one. The only trick will be to find something fresh, which is rather a random operation, anyway….

In the interests of efficiency, (not that it’s a particularly popular category around here), we’ll cut the intro short again, in hopes of finding some sort of rhythm further down the page. Fat chance, right? Oh, well. Such is life in the blogosphere. So they say. Me, I’m going to take them at their word, for now, so we can get on with the rest of today’s mess…. Since I said the word ‘efficiency’, I am obligated to make a serious attempt to achieve it, which means this is all you get…. Go figure, eh?….

Shall we pearl?….

“There is no sin except stupidity.”

~~ Oscar Wilde, “The Critic as Artist”, 1891 ~~

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Fare Thee Well, July 5, 2015

Last year on this date, the Grateful Dead celebrated their 50th anniversary as a band, by performing several concerts in the Bay Area, and, on the 4th and 5th of July, in Chicago’s Soldier Field. Here is a recording of one of those shows for your listening enjoyment…. Keep on truckin’, ffolkes….

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Fare Thee Well
The Grateful Dead

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Yesterday, a friend posted the following discussion of the participants in the upcoming presidential election here in the US. Quite frankly, it’s bloody brilliant, and I wish I’d written it… From possibly the best living English language poet, Dean J. Baker…. Links to his work follow the article…. Enjoy, ffolkes; this is telling it like it is….

Pap

How long has it been since you’ve heard this lie: ‘you are never given more than you can take,’ usually preceded by ‘God.’ Even recognizing it is to acknowledge that you’re a victim of positive attitude propaganda. Pap. Or, bullshit if you feel like saying so.

Most people won’t ever come to the point where they will acknowledge the harm being surrounded by cheerful asswipes can do to someone who rightfully so is building a case of rage and pessimism. It could very well be that feeling the burn, so to speak, will provide a manner or method as of that time unformed which will get you through the leveling of degrees of stress and trauma.

As well most people buy into that pap, and thus are crippled into detouring away from a healthy non-murderous rage.

Any trauma endured – and ongoing – is perversely translated into an opportunity to build a stronger self through life’s variable adversities. Post-traumatic stress, or any great stress, is thus deformed into the chance to grow. Lucky fucking you, huh.

You get to imitate Job, or Jonah, from the Bible. If there was a certainty of an afterlife where you could meet up with those responsible for such bullshit stories permeating into false attitudes in daily life, I’d bet there’d be a long line waiting to kick their asses.

It’s part and parcel of the fictive idea that you alone ought to be enough to raise yourself up, and if you aren’t one of those fortunates, then you’re a socialist. An example of the common depth of thought propagated in many countries now, with the exception of those who simply say We are right, kill everyone else.

I can see where that fog of optimism infects the minds and attitudes of many to the degree that actuates in saving possible enemy combatants under the guise of humanitarianism.

‘But they’re not carrying a gun, or explosives, now.’
‘I know. Let’s wait til later when we’re blown up, or strafed with bullets.’ Besides, if it doesn’t happen to us, we can always wail about tragedy to insulate ourselves from the reality of it.

This takes me back to the first statement about not being given more than you can take. It seems innocent. Hopeful. Designed to help.. not a passive aggression against an overwhelming reality in this and other lands of cheery manipulative crap contrived to drive the despair or stress so far underground it manifests itself as illness – at which time you’ll be told that a positive attitude helps.

‘Ok. I am positive that if I could kick you in the head I’d feel better, so come closer, you focking schmoe.’

This is only one example where a pervasive systematic form of denial can work against the overall health of a society and individuals simultaneously.
It can result in Hitlers, or Hillarys.

Now of course there are those of you who will think I planned on getting to that point in order to establish a rant against… Hillbillary. Or her devil’s adversary, T-Rump.

That they are the result of a grand denial is why they’re used as examples. Almost every single possibility for office of the Presidency has been flawed. It’s to be expected… isn’t it? Or have we been culturally conditioned to lower our sights for heaven and for politics?

You do know what’s at the center of it: money. It puts them out there as possibilities.

The crowd is so effectively disarmed into believing the fiction that they have a choice that nowhere is there the question of why exactly are these trouts touting themselves as leaders.

They will say what they’re going to do – which will change once in office, since it always does.

Not one of them shows a subtle understanding of the effective currents that will affect each and everything that even attempts to get done. So in other words, they pander to what they believe the greater number of people want to hear.

Thus, they lie. They give you the Big Happy coming your way.

Want some pie? Here it is. Oh, but you didn’t say you didn’t want it in your face.

That’s the opposite of the spectrum that says they must have flaws. Hey, she’s one big flaw so let’s elect her: we’ll make history. Not the reality of it being that if she’’ a choice you are history.

Is the country so depraved, so un-edicated, that they’ll take to Bubba Gump articulating outrage and fall for the idiocy that if he can articulate what they think he’ll do a good job? Probably on the Presidential throne.

What I’d want – and I think everyone ought to benefit by – is someone who shows a greater depth and understanding of the nuances of power. I believe any thinking person is repelled by the fact that as it stands T-Rump is blatting out euphemistic courage, and few are equating it with the robber barons knowing what’s best for you: da public.

He’s already got the lease, now he’s trying to own the Company Store.

They are all a trauma waiting to occur; inflicting their perversions of ideas of truth and reality upon a people less and less able to think (reading opinions on the internet and being able to vocalize your version is not thinking, it’s wearing Mr. Ed’s hat, or pontificating like Arnold Ziffle).

I’d have hoped that by now once the years of Tricky Dick and/or Liar Bill (ex-rapist, so things are improving) had gone by to the point where a famous novelist I met once might hesitate in stating whenever he’s going to take a dump that he’s “got to take a Nixon.”

As representative metaphors, Hillbillary stands for advancement and individual persistence – if you overlook integrity and other minor things. And T-Rump stands for the voice of the common person, that great articulate, well-learned and compassionate soul.. as long as they got theirs and you don’t jump the fucking line, ok.

They ought to be taken as these are who you don’t vote for, what you run from, what to avoid if you want a healthy country short-term and longer.

Consider that they each know why they aren’t fit for office, but humility prevents them from enumerating their faults since they know that would allow a balanced perspective to be weighed and decided upon.

Nah, they have plenty of humility they want you to share. Good old pusitive attitude propaganda.

The ‘Party’ as it stands is over.

These people are not icons of what or whom to vote for, but plinths of a society where the fall has only to be witnessed out loud: the emperor’s burlesque is what it’s all about on the surface.

#Politicians Vote NO. A crook, or one who’’ got the lease & now wants to own the Company Store. One dimensional caricatures at the expense of the country.

Voting ought to mean you choose someone better than a crook, with greater depth than the slim pickings of public outrage, and the process not resemble a game of Whack-A-Mole.

©Dean J. Baker

Dean’s site: https://tormentingthemonkey.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/pap/

Dean’s books: https://deanjbaker.wordpress.com/awards/all-print-books-links/
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Adjectives of Quality ~~ Bloody Friday

A baleful lump of ironic introspection
sits upon my shoulder today
leaving traces of fey reflection
with a smattering of true dismay.

Resistance may be futile, many have said,
belief didn’t necessarily follow.
Abnegation of fear marks all bills paid,
leaving such empty threats hollow.

Symbolic courage never sleeps so deeply
as when delusion holds sway.
Bartered virtue, sold far too cheaply,
stands in shame, until honor fades away.

Too many culprits exist to count just one;
all of us bear obvious blame.
Evil is as evil does, only, when it’s done,
it begins again, all same-same.

Nobody seems to care enough to deny the lies.
Ignorant fear rules humanity’s masses.
When evil passes unremarked, innocence dies;
silence equals guilt, leaving only hope’s ashes.

Reality screams; tales of terror unfold,
flames fanned with purposeful malice,
insidious dangers hide beneath atrocity untold
as Gaia weeps into an empty chalice.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/3/2015

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Naked Pearls

Subtle Points on Life at Large

*********

“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.”

~~ Seneca ~~

*********

“Do nothing that insults your soul.”

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

*********

“People seem not to see that their opinion of the world
is also a confession of character.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

*********

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioned ability of a man
to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”

~~ Henry David Thoreau ~~

*********

“Without accepting the fact that everything changes,
we cannot find perfect composure.
But unfortunately, although it is true,
it is difficult for us to accept it.
Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.”

~~ Shunryu Suzuki ~~

*********

“In the bigger scheme of things,
the universe is not asking us to do something,
the universe is asking us to be something.
And that’s a whole different thing.”

~~ Lucille Clifton ~~

*********

“The best thing for being sad, replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow,
is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails.
You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies,
you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins,
you may miss your only love,
you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics,
or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds.
There is only one thing for it then — to learn.
Learn why the world wags and what wags it.
That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust,
never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust,
and never dream of regretting.
Learning is the only thing for you.
Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”

~~ T.H. White, The Once and Future King ~~

*********

“I give up, what is the meaning of life?”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

*********

“Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question…
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

~~ T. S. Eliot, “Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock” ~~

*********

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

Amazingly enough, it’s done; strangely enough, it’s relatively on time, and reasonably complete, in a Pearlish sort of way. I’ll take it, and run, with a glad heart and easy mind. Well, as much as I ever do. I’ll also note, tomorrow’s another day, & I plan to be here, though the plan calls for less angst, and more calm, centered behavior. I’ll echo here the fat chance used above. On that note, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; odds on that are, as ever, pretty good….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

It’s okay; we’re cousins….

Posted on July 4, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A note of music gains significance from the silence on either side.”

~~ Anne Morrow Lindberg ~~

Always Alert….

Hajime…. Today is the 240th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in this country. I have personally witnessed this 65 times in my life, though never with the degree of reluctance I feel today. I am reluctant to celebrate, or show pride in a country which is currently engaged in numerous unjust conflicts around the world, all of which have nothing to do with any sort of justice, or anything other than corporate greed. Anyone who thinks our nation is justified for the misery and death we have caused by our interventions is welcome to tell me why; I doubt seriously I’ll have any trouble pointing out the discrepancies in any possible evidence presented….

To be honest, I am sick to death of politics, and corporate avarice, and ignorance, and all the other human failings I see in play in our society, all of which are denied, or ignored by both the public at large, and those who claim to be the leaders of our culture. So sick of it, I intend to ignore today altogether, just to get a bit of space from all the negativity that I associate with the loss of honor I see as responsible for our current status as a nation. I refuse to show pride in what I see us doing; there is no ethical or moral justification for any of it. So, this is the last y’all will hear about it today; I’ll even pick an archived rant that speaks to another issue, to be sure….

Since that’s the case, perhaps it would be best to get on with it. I guess this intro section isn’t quite up to our usual standards, which cannot be termed as standards of excellence without the risk of being called a liar; nonetheless, it will have to do, as I’m not going to do it over. Hell, it’s been a struggle to get it this far; starting over isn’t in the realm of possibilities I’m considering. In fact, the only consideration I’m thinking of now is how to get us the hell out of here before this gets any stranger…. I guess I’ll just be ruthless, which looks like this….

Shall we pearl?….

“The more I traveled the more I realized
that fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.”

~~ Shirley McLaine ~~

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

Violeta Parra

Image from billboard.com via Google Images

A few days ago, I included a South American activist/artist, Victor Jara, for our musical selection. Today’s inclusion is a contemporary of his, also from South America, a woman who is also actively working for justice for the people, through her music, and her actions off-stage. Abondanza!…

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Violeta Parra

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“Is it not a noble farce, wherein kings, republics, and emperors have for so many ages played their parts, and to which the whole vast universe serves for a theater?” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book ii, Chap. xxxvi, Of the most Excellent Men

From 4/17/2014:

“A government that fears its people is a government that should be feared.” — Smart Bee

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10769041/The-US-is-an-oligarchy-study-concludes.html

“The US government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country’s citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern Universities has concluded.”

My initial reaction to this opening line from the article to which the link leads was, “Oh. Really? How droll….” In case it’s unclear, that is sarcasm….

My second thought was, “Duh…”, because, well, hey, no-brainer, right? It’s only obvious, and has been since the 1850’s, when the “military-industrial complex” became a real person, at least in the courts….. The third thought that went through my mind was, “Why did I have to read this on the front page of a BRITISH news paper, while never having seen a single article on the report from an American news outlet?”

But, then, hey, oligarchy, right? That means the elite, the rich, the BRC, or, as I’m fond of calling them, the Asininnies, don’t want to hear about it, so, none of the news outlets THEY control will ever show that report, or, if they do, it certainly won’t be on the front page…. Any more than they wish to have ANY of their shenanigans paraded in front of the public eye; they’re well aware of how badly the rest of the country would react to that, if the notion that they were oppressing the rest of us, and worse, shamelessly lying about it all, ever became a common perception….

I could spend a few paragraphs here, detailing to you just how they lie, or relating just how often, and how completely these assholes are fucking over the rest of society…. but, it isn’t necessary, when such a plain and obvious indictment is right there in front of me, a report that does nothing if not confirm what I’ve been trying to get across to the people out there who need to know, for a long time now….

“[E]lections amount to little more than choosing between the scum that floats to the top of the barrel and the dregs that settle to the bottom.” — L. Neil Smith

The perverted masters of society, consisting of that 1% who control the money and resources of our planet, usurped our system of government within DAYS of the signing of the Constitution, and have continued to solidify their control for the last 240 years since that event…. Their biggest victories have come from their purchases, which gave them exclusive possession of the souls and loyalty of the judges in the federal court system, first in the early 1800’s, then, later, to the huge win in the middle of that century, when corporations were first declared to have the same rights as real people, a decision which ensures the establishment in society of the legal precedents that ensure their complete control….

What normal, real person, with merely their own skills and efforts as resources, can compete, monetarily, or time-wise, with a corporation, to buy the loyalty of congress and the courts? Only its owners, or the owners of other governments, er, corporations, who have the resources to contest what they wish, can hope to supply any restraint upon what they desire…. No average person has the time or resources to spend on any issue that a corporation can bring to bear, thus guaranteeing the common man’s views will NEVER take precedence in the courts….

It ain’t a particularly pretty picture, ffolkes, but, it IS an accurate description of modern reality…. more than we could hope, and certainly more than we could ever need, or want…. but, accurate, nonetheless….

Enough so to thoroughly disgust me, to the point I’m not going to rant any more…. I’m getting too worked up…. I can feel my blood pressure going up as I type, never a good thing….. So, we’ll switch modes, and go find some pearls with which to round out this discussion, hopefully with some humor, or at the very least, some bloodthirsty accusations of perversion against those assholes who thing we are not on to them….. Enjoy!….

“Hope is very dangerous….” — Servalan

(In our society, it is not merely dangerous, it is toxic….)

“After 2% of the vote is in, the networks tell us who won. It makes the other 99% of us feel a bit unnecessary… How come the networks are so good at picking the presidential winner, and so bad at picking hit shows?” — Smart Bee

(You don’t think they have information they’re not sharing with us, do you? Nah…. of course not…. Why would they do that?….)

(If you believe that, I have a wonderful opportunity for you, a chance to own the biggest bridge in New York, for a very nominal price…. Cash only, no checks….)

“When neither their poverty nor their honor is touched, the majority of men live content.” — Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)

(This is required learning in the schools that produce the fleets of lawyers who inhabit the halls of government…. Check it out sometime, how ALL the actions our leaders take are designed to keep from arousing the public’s ire, by avoiding the stimulation implied in this rule codified by The Prince….)

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

“All military type firearms are to be handed in immediately… The SS, SA and Stahlhelm give every respectable German man the opportunity of campaigning with them. Therefore anyone who does not belong to one of the above named organisations and who unjustifiably nevertheless keeps his weapon… must be regarded as an enemy of the national government.” — SA Oberfuhrer of Bad Tolz, March, 1933

(I keep expecting to see a bill with this wording hit the floor of the House any time now, with a few minor changes to reflect the passage of time…. Every time there is another random shooting in this country, the pundits break out something like this to put through Congress, in the deluded hope that it might change something, which they refuse to believe cannot be changed, without changing human nature….)

“All you have to do is… Spot The Looney!” — Monty Python

(A very apt description of the voting process here in ‘murrica….)

“Being against torture ought to be sort of a bipartisan thing.” — Karl Lehenbauer

(One would think this is true, until you actually look at what they are DOING, instead of what they are SAYING….)

“Faith: not wanting to know what is true.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

(Another fine delineation of how the voting process works in the oligarchy we call home…. Plus, do you see how smoothly this dovetails in with what the preachers preach from their pulpits?…. Funny how that works, eh?….)

Okay, so that’s eight pearls, an even number, which will never do…. We’ll go with one last pearl, in what I know to be a futile attempt to bring one of them down for good…. I’ll try to make it a good one, a fitting finish to an epic melding of irritated ranting and old school pearling….

“For in religion as in friendship, they who profess most are ever the least sincere.” — Sheridan

(I probably don’t need to make this suggestion, but, you can substitute the word “politics” for “friendship” in this, without changing or reducing its validity…. which is why it’s here….)

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Territorial imperative….

Beauty must define,
as augment to existence,
as life must be more
than mere subsistence.

Nature demands more.
Truth helps.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/15/2012

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Naked Pearls

Like ice, on the verge of melting….

*******

“. . is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood.
It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness.
It cannot be.”

~~ Frank Herbert, Dune ~~

*******

“He bids fair to grow wise who has discovered that he is not so.”

~~ Publius Syrus — Maxim 598 ~~

*******

“Doubt is the key to knowledge.”

~~ Persian Proverb ~~

*******

“You cannot learn to fly by flying.
First you must learn to walk, to run, to climb, to dance.”

~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~

*******

“That’s the way things come clear.
All of a sudden.
And then you realize how obvious they’ve been all along.”

~~ Madeleine L’Engle ~~

*******

“Be happy. It’s one way of being wise.”

~~ Colette ~~

*******

“I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

*******

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In the elegant words of Hasan, the Moor, “I have fulfilled my vow.” Though I won’t commit to labeling it ‘good’, or ‘bad’, or even ‘indifferent’, I will say it’s done. Which gives me the perfect excuse to bring this to a final conclusion, probably best stated as, “Huh?”. No matter how we choose to view it, we’re outta here, with our common caveat, to wit: I’ll be back. I’ll even go out on a limb, and predict that will happen tomorrow. Go figure…. See ya, ffolkes…

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Thoughtful food….

Posted on July 3, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“And though the course may change sometimes,
Rivers always reach the sea.”

~~ Led Zeppelin, Ten Years Gone ~~

A portrait of focused intent….

Hajime…. I gave up on my deadline, which is probably obvious for those who come here at a regular time. It’s now an hour after my self-imposed time to be done, yet, here I am, just beginning. I’ll be trying to ignore my inner voices, who are already clamoring for panic mode, to see if it will help me keep this reasonably coherent (not that’s ever kept us from posting before…). Should I meet with any success, it’ll be a first, so, you may offer congratulations any time. Hah!

That’s right, ffolkes, I’m teetering on the edge again. If there was a god, he might know why, but, since we don’t cater to such nonsense, I’ll just have to assume I have a good reason, so I can get on with enduring its depredations, in whatever form they may take this time out. Thanks to the nearly limitless abundance of material with which my imagination can formulate new nightmares, day or night, well, that form is pretty, well, formless, so I never know quite what to expect in the way of new, depressing thought patterns. Lots of crap in there with the good stuff to work with, so, it can get a little weird….

How ’bout that picture, eh? It’s the latest I have of Leelu, showing off her developing calico coloration, as well as her magnetic personality. Notice how sharp and clear the picture is, behind and around her; she, in contrast, is a bit fuzzy. I think that’s due to her magnetic nature, which complicates taking digital pictures; she always appears as if she is moving, even when sitting still. Probably has something to do with the cat characteristic of being capable of inter-dimensional travel; alternately, it could be my old, shaky hands…. It’s still a nice picture of her, at nearly a year old….

I’ve blathered sufficiently to meet our everyday standards, so, I guess I’ll go try to throw the rest of this together. Hell, if I’m lucky, it might even get done before noon. I’ll see what I can do about that…..

Shall we pearl?….

“Is is not true that we have only one life to live;
if we can read, we can live as many lives
and as many kinds of lives as we wish.”

~~ S.I. Hayakawa ~~

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Y’all knew this was coming, right? If you didn’t, you should have; there have been more than enough clues, for anyone who’s been coming here for any length of time. No worries; it’s all good. I hope you enjoy today’s selection, chosen, as always, for the picture that grabbed my attention….

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Classical Music

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Since I’m in White Rabbit mode (I’m late, I’m late, etc…), here’s one from the archives…. Enjoy!…

From 3/26/2014:

“If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, he should see how bad it is WITH representation.” — Smart Bee

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Obama-to-propose-ending-NSA-s-phone-call-sweep-5345715.php

So…. I’m feeling GOOD! Shall we rant?…..

If I’m to believe this article’s headline, Barry says he wants the NSA to stop being bad boys, and play nice with the rest of us….. I believe I’ll wait to see if any of this really happens before I break out the champagne…. This president, I’m sorry to say, has developed a particularly nasty habit, over the course of his time in office, of playing fast and loose with the truth, a tendency which, when observed in the past, in EVERY other psychopathic resident of his position, only becomes worse the longer the perpetrators believe they’re getting away with it…. When action is overdue, talk is cheap….

Due to my intense disappointment in his actions thus far during his administration, I’ll save my trust for later, when… no, IF I see ANY of his statements come to pass, in truth…. If, as I suspect, all goes according to historical example, we’ll see some superficial posturing by the White House pundits, that might eventually get around to SUGGESTING some changes that should be made….. But, none will actually occur in reality, and any real discussion will get bogged down in committee…. Meantime, the media will find some other outrageous issue to distract them from ever following up to see if anything happens along the lines of actual reform….

Now I’ll finish reading the article, & see how my prediction fared…. Ah, I see now…. Upon reading it through to the end, I came across the key phrase, the one indicating the real strategy behind the White House announcement…. to wit: “The president’s plan, however, relies on Congress to pass legislation — something that has so far seemed unlikely.”

Immediately upon reading this, my crap detector went off, with a loud “AHA!”, (inadvertently sending the cat flying across the room to hide in the plants, thinking I was about to come after her for something she did, no doubt…. she has a guilty conscience, I’m sure…. Right….. I’d believe that…. if I believed she had one at all….), when I realized I knew, now, just WHY Barry is adopting this stance, at least, if you believe what he says here…. which, understandably, I’m now having a hard time doing….

If he just leaves it up to Congress, it’s a foregone conclusion nothing will be done ….. Not by THIS one…. The current Congress has been, for the last three years, at least, the absolute worst one, EVER, for getting anything actually DONE…. This includes ALL of the past elections of congress we’ve seen in our history… I shit you not, this Congress has passed fewer laws, and had fewer bills presented at all, than ANY previous sitting of that august body, by a factor of about 8….. They’re determined to be known as the newest holder of the title of “Do-Nothing Congress”, formerly held by one in the early, or late, 20th century, I believe….

(Side note: This, of course, can be attributed to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives…. The party’s pundits, all older, white, Christian conservatives, determined, and stated in public, soon after Obama was elected, that their entire focus for the time he is in office would be to ensure that NONE of his legislative reforms ever took place, or made it into law…. It didn’t matter to them whether or not any of his programs would actually HELP the citizenry they represent; they were determined to undermine every reform he attempted….

For the most part, they’ve been successful in allowing NOTHING, or, nothing much, anyway, to get done…. all because of their unstated, but obvious, bigoted fear of the black man in the White House, an affront to their sense of Caucasian entitlement, not to mention the severe blow to their sense of reality…. They hadn’t even noticed when they ceased to be the majority in the real world….)

After reading the entire article, I find my opinion confirmed…. This announcement is just another stall tactic, one designed to give the impression to the public that something is happening, when nothing actually IS happening, or GOING to happen, other than business as usual for the spy agencies, who have continued ALL of the activities of espionage they are accused of carrying out…. The government has absolutely no intention of giving up their new toys, and they will continue to lie their little faces off to keep that from becoming public knowledge….

The NSA is STILL spying on the citizens of every nation of the whole world, including their own citizens, without ever having actually slowed down, or ceased ANY of the programs they’ve begun…. If you actually believe it when they tell you they have, well, then, you deserve to have them in your face…. Sorry, ffolkes, but, it’s just plain STUPID to believe these people are going to tell us ANYTHING they don’t WANT us to know….

Oh, every once in a while, we’ll see in the news they’ve sent one of their lackeys chiefs to Congress to discuss issues, or make statements, none of which actually address anything relevant…. they’re just making more smoke….. In the process, nothing is actually being done to stop them at all, not by Congress, not by the Courts, and certainly not by the White House…. No, it’s all just smoke, ffolkes, sent up to get in your eyes, trying to make you think they’re listening to your concerns…..

Right…. sure they are….. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but, to these myrmidons of the shadowy corporate masters, your concerns are something to be used against you, to fan your fears of the “unknown other”, while simultaneously listening to your every spoken word over the airwaves…. Whatever they tell you they aren’t doing, or can’t do…. well, ffolkes, the smart money says they are not only capable of everything we suspect of them, but are already beyond that level, and are capable of far worse…. Count on it…. Not only are they lying about what they are doing, they are lying about what they CAN do…. which we will ONLY find out when we find the police at our door…..

Think about it, ffolkes!….. When you break down the walls between yourself and the truth, and really THINK about their purpose, the bottom line concept of their given task as spies, LYING, especially about what they are doing in the dark, away from the public eye, is an important part of their JOB!…. And, guess what? They’re good at it….

I hate to be such a curmudgeon about all of this, but, the evidence just keeps pushing me back into that mode, pissed off and ready to start picking off real targets, instead of merely suggesting them…. If you couldn’t tell, I think I pissed myself off…. I’d better go now, before I get REALLY worked up, and can’t find my way out of this rant…..

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” — Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address January 20, 1953

“I don’t mind being in touch with reality, as long as I don’t have to live there.” — Smart Bee, channeling gigoid again

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Honorable Request

Days, filled to a brim with fluff and time, pass
dimly into memory, bit by combative bit;
ever mournful, yet loud with life and sass,
only in dream do we meet, and dance, and flit.

Souls, spinning ’round in gleeful wonder, comply
as they must, never given a reason;
somberly proper, yet limber and quite spry,
dancing on to greet each bright new season.

Storms, angered by apathetic care, rage
proceeding into ministerial glare, unknown;
clothed in colors, purified solely with sage,
past an infinite future, already flown.

Life, plumbed to its depths and secrets, keeps
flowing with currents, strong and fairly found;
love stands, asking release, as it slowly weeps,
seeking refuge unasked, to stay honor bound.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/13/2012

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It’s too late to try to persuade SB to be nice, so, here’s an old, old-school pearl from the archives, billed as a damn good one…

From 6/7/2014:

I am compelled, at this point, to confess…. I still am not completely at my ease, physically. To be brief, there remains a small knife embedded in my right hip…. Well, that’s how it feels, anyway. With the meds, and rest, it’s doable; within an hour or two, it begins to get sharper, though, and by noon, it’s enough to make me want to hurt somebody, preferably someone else…. But, it is NOT going to keep me from finishing this Pearl…. This does mean I’ll be going old school though, as I was not able to get out yesterday to take any new pictures for this….. I’ll try to get back to that, as soon as I can get out of the house to a place where there are some reasonable subjects to shoot…. with my camera…. For now, let’s dive, shall we, & finish out this mess?….

“Ignorance plays the chief part among men, and the multitude of words;” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Cleobulus, iv

“Common sense is the least common of all senses.” — Hobson’s Homily

“We’re not talking about the same thing,” he said. “For you the world is weird because if you’re not bored with it you’re at odds with it. For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious,unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must accept responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I wanted to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.” — Don Juan

“All passions that suffer themselves to be relished and digested are but moderate.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book i, Chap. ii, Of Sorrow

“Rules make the learner’s path long, examples make it short and successful.” — Seneca

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

“The world, dear Agnes, is a strange affair.” — Jean Baptiste Moliere (1622-1673) — L’Ecole des Femmes, Act ii, Sc. 6

Now THAT is a pearl, ffolkes…. and a damn good one, too….

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

Having cobbled this one together in a rush, it probably ended up as a good metaphorical representation of my state of mind today; like ice, on the verge of melting…. However it came out, it is, as we are fond of noting, done. So be it. I’ll try again tomorrow, if I can find my routine around here somewhere; it seems to be hiding a lot of late. See ya, ffolkes; I’m determined, if not sanguine….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Shadows fading in the dying light….

Posted on June 27, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Philosophy, means, first, doubt;
and afterwards the consciousness of what knowledge means,
the consciousness of uncertainty and of ignorance,
the consciousness of limit, shade, degree, possibility.
The ordinary man doubts nothing and suspects nothing.”

~~ Henri Frederick Amiel ~~

Galway’s Spanish Arch ~~ Irish Football Cup Finals Week

Hajime…. At this point, I’m throwing in the towel. I’ve searched the outer limits of my entire head, & found nothing worth putting down here to begin today’s Pearl, other than the mild complaint you now see. The rest of the material today is almost ready, mostly, but, with the lack of anything remotely coherent material I’m finding, it may not be simple to complete. I guess we’ll see, won’t we? I hate to leave it so much up to chance, as that gives Murphy too much opportunity; since there’s no other choice, I’ll have to risk it…..

In order to deal with this in a manner approaching, if not sanity, at least some relevance, I’ll once again cut off this intro section, pretty much at the root, to get us moving onward. Hell, any movement at all will be a victory today. I’m going to forgo using Tardis Toys, or literary tricks today. Instead, I’ll just dump you right here, and get on with what else must be done to finish. Ruthlessness, though not my best thing, is getting easier; so much so, I can do this, without any guilt whatsoever…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Auribus teneo lupum.”

[I hold a wolf by the ears.]

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

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Today’s music is a bit eclectic; there are probably only a few old Deadheads out there who will appreciate it fully. However, regardless of anyone’s prejudices about certain genres, this is good stuff, full of jazz/rock improvisations by two of the best….. I hope you enjoy it, as I know I will….

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Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia
Live at the Keystone, 1974

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https://youtu.be/9gxYLBoGK5k

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Yesterday, I came across the quote you see below, from a Roman philosopher, Marcus Tullius Cicero. For some reason, it struck me forcibly, whereupon the text you see between the quotes that follow streamed out of me in about two minutes. I then realized the other quotes you will find, which I had been collecting for the next rant I had in mind, had all just been verified as useful, and needed to be included. To augment, and make it clearer, I’ve added some text to the original, which can be seen, sans quotes, on my Facebook Timeline, as I posted the whole thing right after writing it.

In one sense, at least, this is a definitive rant for me; it covers about all I have come to realize about Life in today’s insane world, in one way or another. I can’t say it is the most compelling, or even the best I’ve ever done, but, it’s all me, and it’s all, as far as I know, the absolute truth as I see it. The quotes you see should provide some verification of my thoughts, as they indicate others have walked the same path in their own minds. I hope you enjoy it, and can find something in it to assist you in your own journey through this mad, wonderful world of beauty and pain…..

“Honor is the reward of virtue.” — Cicero

Sadly, in today’s world, honor is not valued as much as money, or almost anything money will buy. This, in and of itself, is at the core of the issues we face as a society, for without honor, there is no justice.

The saddest part is that money doesn’t actually exist, except in our own estimation. We have become insane, in our pursuit of an illusion.

“And that inverted Bowl they call the Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop’d we live and die,
Lift not your hands to It for help – for It
As impotently rolls as you or I.”

Omar Khayyam/Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubaiyat ~~

But, then, we are encouraged in that particular delusion by the support of another illusory set of principles, to wit, religions, which all base their beliefs on unreasoning faith in an imaginary supernatural figure, thus dividing, and conquering, the true strength of the human spirit.

“Obsessed by a fairy tale,
we spend our lives searching
for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.”

~~ Eugene O’Neill ~~

Add in the third illusion, that humans require a government to exist, and the nature of humanity has voluntarily assumed the mantle of mental slavery.

“Until philosophers are kings … cities will never cease from ill, nor the human race.”

~~ Plato ~~

Pursuing the agenda of money, religion, and government has led this nation, and this world, down a path of self-destruction, and none of us have anyone to blame but our own lack of willingness to face reality, as it exists.

We don’t need any of those three delusions, folks. We can deal with each other without them, if we use our true nature. We need clean air, clean water, and good, fresh food. And, we need each other, and every other living creature who is a part of this ecosystem….

That’s all we need. We don’t need a business, or a preacher, or an elected official to tell us what we need, either. All we need is each other.

“It is in the shelter of each other that people live.”

~~Irish proverb ~~

*****

“All you need is love.”

~~ John Lennon/ Paul McCartney & the lads~~

That’s all. Had to get that off my chest, as an antidote to all the foolishness, despair, and insanity I see each day in the news….

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

Premises, premises….

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

12/19/2014

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

Five Naked Pearls

*****

“Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think,
but thousands can think for one who can see.
To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion – all in one.”

~~ John Ruskin ~~

*****

“How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise!”

~~ Alexander Pope — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xiii, Line 375 ~~

*****

A monk said to Joshu,
“Your stone bridge is widely renowned,
but coming here I find only a heap of rocks.”

Joshu said, “You see only the stones and not the bridge.”

The monk said, “What is the bridge?”

Joshu said, “What do you think we are walking on?”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

*****

“During my eighty-seven years I have witnessed
a whole succession of technological revolutions.
But none of them has done away with
the need for character in the individual
or for the ability to think.”

~~ Bernard M. Baruch ~~

*****

Learning builds daily accumulation,
but the practice of Tao builds daily simplification.
Simplify and simplify, until all contamination
from relative, contradictory thinking is eliminated.
Then one does nothing,
yet nothing is left undone.
One who wins the world does so by not meddling with it.
One who meddles with the world loses it.”

~~ Lao-Tzu ~~

~~ Tao Teh Ching ~~

*****

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

I am going to be human now, and issue a certificate of denial. It’s not my fault. Actually, it is, but, it’s done, so I figured I’d make the attempt. Oh, well. This one is going into the books, though I doubt seriously it will ever reach any milestones of legitimacy. What that means, stripped of all the BS, is, we’re done. Or, rather, it’s done. Oh, fuck it, I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t talk myself out of it…. Odds are good on that, guaranteed…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Use all the available pitchblende….

Posted on June 26, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

Summer Flowers

Hajime…. It has become increasingly clear to me how important this process is to my entire being. For the past week, the only part of my day which seems to have any constructive purpose is the time I spend putting this together, along with a small period following the posting of it, during which I try to surf to my favorite blogs, & catch up on comments. Once I’ve done some of that, I have tumbled, without warning, into the abyss of depression, whereupon I start pursuing activities which distract me from that, by sending me to other places in my mind; reading, going for a walk to do chores in town, or sleeping seem to work the best. For the rest, I weep, or recover from such depths of emotional storms.

That is why I have not been getting to the comments, or reading all the blogs & articles I’d like to be able to see. It’s a pisser, to be sure, for the contact with others provided by such surfing has become valuable, and valued highly. At present, I haven’t a clue as to when this might pass; in the past it has been known to last more than a little while. I always seem to find my way back to at least close to my center, but, it can be a trying time until I find the proper path, or stance to assume. One would think, given the strength and breadth of mind I claim to possess, it wouldn’t be such an issue; such qualities don’t seem to be any more defense against it than the chemicals doctors tend to rely on for it. But, it does keep my overall chemical balance in better shape, that’s for sure, and that is a good thing.

All that is really required is patience, and time, and finding that part inside where all we know of life resides. It’s there; we just lose sight of it at times, and need to find our way back to that point. I’m almost there, I think, but, only time can tell, and it’s not ready to do so. Or, I’m not; that’s more likely, and as soon as I can figure out why, I’ll be fine. In fact, I AM fine; I’m just not enough aware of it. I will be, so I’ll just hang on until then….

Now I’ve bored y’all with three full paragraphs of expository revelations of a personal nature, I suppose we should get on with the rest of this mess. So be it. We’ll use a Tardis Toy to get us gone without any further delay; I know just the right one, too. This one is fast, and slick; so fast, you’ll have to watch close, or you’ll miss it altogether…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“The true value of a human being is determined
by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from self.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

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

I just felt like some oldies, so, here are perhaps the best example of oldies that can be found…. live. Let’s listen to the lads, like we did for so long, so long ago…..

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

The Beatles Live

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

https://youtu.be/ZcR5zODpEso

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

I’m still rantless, mostly. Here’s one from a couple or three years ago; I checked it out, & it’s all still completely valid…. Go figure….

From 2/7/2013:

“Trust your hunches. They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.” — Dr. Joyce Brothers

I find this to be a fascinating statement, from a person many of today’s youth won’t recognize as a celebrity. Dr. Joyce, as we called her when I was young, was a celebrity from back in the 1950’s and 60’s, who became famous at first as a prodigy child contestant on a quiz show, The $64,000 Question; she later found celebrity as a radio and TV talk show hostess, answering questions by callers about relationships, love, and life in general. She had a calm, friendly, confident manner that was easy for people to accept, and her brilliant mind gave her answers a certain depth and cachet that otherwise would have been lost, had she been less intelligent, or less charismatic…..

What I find to be interesting here is her reliance on the subconscious mind for accurate data resolution and interpretation, and her confidence in proposing that people explore that connection. I was around at the time, and the world was NOT in a place, philosophically speaking, where the reliance on subconscious activities was considered to be a mainstream belief. In fact, it almost put her in the category of mystics and clairvoyants, as far as established society was concerned….. To many, she might have well just said that we should all become witches….

I suppose what helped in the long run toward acceptance of this kind of thinking was her documented genius, that gave what she said a certain validity. In addition, she was at her most popular right at the time when society itself was going through some severe upheaval, during the late 50’s and early to late 60’s, so her ideas found more acceptance among the young, then spread to the rest of the culture as the Cultural Revolution went on, and society became more open to such free-wheeling philosophies.

Another effect of that time, that many people lose sight of, is the polarization that occurred in society, as the two intrinsically opposite philosophies, of liberalism and conservatism (as they are understood today….), became the two camps of ideology that would engage in a struggle for control of the government, and society, for the next 60 years, right up to today….. It’s a struggle between two ways of looking at life, and neither one is aware of being under the control of a third party, one that remains in the shadows, unseen and unheard, expect at their own command…..

Okay, here is where those of you who don’t buy into the conspiracy theory of life can skip on to the next section… to your own peril, but, hey, to each his own, right?….. I’m not particularly paranoid about such things as conspiracy; most of the time I think the things the ffolkes who believe in them see, that support their ideas, are seeing examples of human stupidity, rather than conspiracy. But, I am also a scientist, FIRST, and there is just too much evidence that supports the idea that there is a small percentage of humanity that controls the majority of resources (ie, food, land, money, armaments…), and as a consequence, have far more influence and control over the rest of us than is either just, or ethical.

This small group of mega-rich fanatical egotists believe that, because they can, they have the right to hoard all of those resources for themselves, and have the right to determine who should have any access to them. They believe this because they are allowed to do so, having grabbed all the controls (to wit: the guns and money….) long ago, and have arranged matters so that the great bulk of society is not only under their control, but is unaware of being in that position….

To tie this all together for y’all, let me say this…. I have a hunch that this is true. I don’t always have evidence that I can point to that is obviously definitive in the direction of proof of that assertion, but, if what Dr. Joyce tells us is true, my subconscious mind is aware of the facts, and can show me where to find them, if needed. That hunch tells me that, YES, there are a small group of assholes who are in control of society, for their own benefit, and they don’t give a fuck about the rest of humanity…. and there is evidence to support this hunch, even if it isn’t right out in the open where everyone can see it easily.

As yet, I don’t have any viable suggestions about how to go about kicking these punks to the curb; all I know is that we need to do so, and soon, before they kill all of us with their own brand of stupidity…. This isn’t to say they are altogether stupid, or that it is their primary defining characteristic…. but, they are human, and as such are subject to Murphy and his natural law…. So, I suppose it is a matter of watching for the right moment to catch them just at that instant when their own humanity will bring them down….. and hoping that moment comes soon…..

“Do you like “TENDER VITTLES”??” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

Piraeus calls me, silently.

Sizzle, sizzle, crash, bang, boom.
Intellect burning with subsequent doom.
Lingering long over decisive style,
Whistling up chaos all the while.

Such frozen thoughts may shatter,
Should we infer, but, no matter.
Firing blanks is children at play
Blooded sages all gasp in dismay.

Nonsense is good sense at times
Mundane objectives trip lightly in rhymes.
Fallen angels dance on a pin
Until each sinner enters within.

Fast moments with natural rain
Bring ashes, yet still must remain.
Final thoughts clamor for more
Find them only on a far distant shore.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/3/2012

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

Smart Bee is on strike, apparently; I spent much of yesterday searching without success for enough pearls to fill this section. Nothing doing. Since it’s getting late, here is one from the past to fill in for today….. Enjoy!….

From 2/14/2013:

As is the case in many instances, when faced with a literary conundrum in the morning, I’m resorting to default, and firing up an old school pearl for your perusal and edification (if that can ever be said to be true of pearls….)…. The following seven pearls were, of course, chosen at random, and without conscious volition, but with an eventual destination in mind…. Today, we are fortunate to note that the destination is also random, as is the conclusion to which you will be led, willy-nilly…. That conclusion is, naturally, left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader…..

“I am not young enough to know everything.” — Oscar Wilde

“Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How’s that again? I missed something.” — Robert A. Heinlein

“A heretic is a man who sees with his own eyes.” — Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

If a cat spoke, it would say things like “Hey, I don’t see a problem here.” — Smart Bee

“Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it. But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion and empathy.” — Dean Koontz

“Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?” — Abraham Lincoln

“Do your Duty. Honor the Truth. Respect Life. Share your Love.” ~~ Axiom #7, Peruaosophy

I know, I’m a strange puppy…. If it helps, I mean well…. 🙂

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

I did it. I’m not certain exactly how, or even why; nonetheless, it’s done. So be it. I’ll be back again, ffolkes, to see if I can’t actually pull it together enough to do this right. Until then, y’all be strange, or cool, whichever works for you. See y’all tomorrow, given half a chance….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Substitute candidates from Poughkeepsie….

Posted on June 21, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Since we cannot know all that is to be known of everything,
we ought to know a little about everything.”

~~ Blaise Pascal ~~

Tracy Arm Glacier Melt Runoff, Alaska

Hajime…. In the past five years, my sanity has been somewhat of a hit and miss proposition. Now, for some, this might be an issue, which could conceivably cause difficulties in life. However, I don’t suffer from insanity; I revel in it, so, the process is not the same as it is for anyone else, with a typical view of sanity vs. the opposite side of the coin. In my world, being sane is merely a judgment, usually made by others, for others, using only their own silly rules to make the decision, just as if they actually knew what was real, and what was not. Silly humans….

In my world, we believe in humanity, and reality; we, or, I, since I’m really not a royal, know our body and mind are NOT separate things; neither is our sense of “I” anything more than an illusion, created by the power of our imagination to help us find the sense of order our mind requires, to separate us from our perceptions, so the power of our intelligence can imagine itself as real, rather than merely the resultant outcome of a biological process. poorly understood. In truth, we are not separate from what we perceive; to believe so sets us on a path of delusion, for reality does not actually conform to our imagination, much as we like to believe it does.

This belief has led us into a real mess, but, since we are still in the intro, perhaps we should wait to explore such deep matters. In fact, it’s probably a deep and wide enough of a subject to fill up an entire section, with severely rant-like qualities. We’ll see how it goes. We like to rant, but, we don’t know if we are up to it. Uh oh…. Now we’ve done it; we’re stuck in the royal we again. Shit. We hate when that happens. Oh, ’tisn’t a necessarily bad thing, just weird. We know, we’ll use the old royal coping mechanism, so diligently applied by the real royals we see, to wit: sheer denial. We shall act as if we do not see, or hear….

We shall also end this intro here, before it becomes any more onerous, or moves any further from the confines of true reality. We shall hope to fall out of the ‘we’ mode soon, but, if not, well, so be it. Let us try to shock it out, by using one of the more radical Tardis toys to move us along. We shall push THIS button….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Think of doubt as an invitation to think.”

~~ Dubious Bee ~~

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

Image from amazon.com via Google Images

I often retreat into the past when I’m feeling this way, to find those things forgotten over time. I decided, once breaking out of the royal ‘we’, I was in the mood for some class and style. I can’t think of a better example than one of my first crushes…. Miss Peggy Lee….

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

Miss Peggy Lee

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

https://youtu.be/LCRZZC-DH7M?list=PLAeI1ntmJCZM8Rq6pArnBsNCsN_j-FLRr

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

The rant I’m working on isn’t ready; for all the hype and delay, it better turn out pretty damn good, I’d say, but, we’ll see. For now, here is a self-directed rant, with some pointers to take you on a journey through your mind’s interpretation of reality, to look at some of those things in our public life which are part of what I see as humanity’s issues of contention with reality…. In short, if you follow the dots, the picture will show why we’re all wobbly….

*****

“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves.
Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you’ve got an audience.”

~~ Diogenes ~~

*****

“You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.”

~~ James Thurber, “The Thurber Carnival”, 1945 ~~

*****

“Every sensible man, every honest man,
must hold the Christian sect in horror.
But what shall we substitute in its place? you say.
What?
A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives.
I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast
and you ask me what you shall put in its place?”

~~ Voltaire ~~

*****

“Like…If guns are outlawed,
the lawyer population will explode out of control.”

~~ Valley Bee ~~

*****

“JAPAN is a WONDERFUL planet
— I wonder if we’ll ever reach
their level of COMPARATIVE SHOPPING…”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

*****

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

Recently, there was yet another insane shooting spree by an idiot. This poem is one I wrote about three years ago, after a similar event…. I hope you enjoy it, though ‘enjoy’ may not the most precise word I’m seeking…. But, I hope you enjoy the process….

Modest sounds of impatient concern….

Crowds converge at the raw and grisly scene,
comatose to compassion, curiosity tugging at the hem
with sharp, oh, sharp tools made obscene,
filing the essence of future hopes in spite of them.

Yet who has won the keys to the treasure,
who whipped up the fear of another brother?
Who spent the dreams of the old in selfish measure,
with such arrogant blindness grave issues to smother?

Fateful decisions may prompt still another pause,
to catch and release collective images of insanity.
Surely legitimate anger arises with ample cause
wallowing in self-made entrepreneurs, fluent in profanity.

A quartet of eternities must pass to guarantee change,
regardless of need, or desire, or autonomous manipulation.
Ancient rules and modern aggression is only passing strange
when golden delusion grasps futilely at its related illusory station.

~~ gigoid ~~

8/18/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Random Thoughts on Life at Large

*******

“Who combats bravely is not therefore brave,
He dreads a death-bed like the meanest slave:
Who reasons wisely is not therefore wise,–
His pride in reasoning, not in acting lies.”

~~ Alexander Pope — Moral Essays, Epistle i, Line 115 ~~

*******

“A man cannot speak but he judges himself…
no man thoroughly understands a truth
until he has contended against it.”

~~ Emerson ~~

*******

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”

~~ Henri Bergson ~~

*******

“Man is not disturbed about things, but by his opinion about things.”

~~ Epictetus ~~

*******

“Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye.”

~~ Austin O’Malley ~~

*******

“Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain;
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink
And rise and sink and rise and sink again;

Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath,
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;
Yet many a man is making friends with death
Even as I speak, for lack of love alone.

It well may be that in a difficult hour,
Pinned down by pain and moaning for release,
Or nagged by want past resolution’s power,
I might be driven to sell your love for peace,
Or trade the memory of this night for food.

It well may be.

I do not think I would.”

— Edna St. Vincent Millay

*******

“And now there is merely silence, silence, silence, saying all we did not know.”

~~ William Rose Benet ~~

*******

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

It’s done. I’m way late, and not at all sure I didn’t forget something, but, as we’re fond of saying downtown, oh, well…. Fuck it. That’s another favorite in the places I hang out, so, we’ll go with that, too. At least, we’ll do that until tomorrow, when I’ll try again to reach some sort of coherent plateau, where I might find my center. If not, well, I’ll try again the next day. So be it. See y’all then, if nobody catches me at it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

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

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