Alternate versions are in production….

Posted on April 13, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The field cannot well be seen from within the field”

~~ Emerson ~~

Stubborn Beauty

I’ve lost it, ffolkes…. Nor do I have any clue as to why, or where…. Well, ‘why’ probably isn’t hard to figure out; I’m burnt. I’ve blogged almost every day now for close to four years, or more, and I think my motivation is becoming a bit murky. Without it, it’s hard to get going on any of this…. Where it went isn’t as important as the fact it is gone; it’s not as if I’m going to go hunt it down to kill. But, it might help to know where to find it when I DO want it, if I ever do so again…

For today, I’ll have to use any leftovers I have sitting around, or cheat, which is becoming all-too-familiar for my taste. But, I’ve assumed the duty, so, I don’t have any choice in the matter, not now. I suppose I’ll even refrain from complaining about it, as it would remove any available dignity from our neighborhood, a lack we already suffer far too often…. Of course, dignity isn’t our primary goal; in fact, since motivation has absented itself, I’m not sure what goals we have…. I guess I should do something about that…. For today, we’ll just assign the completion of today’s Pearl as the Daily Duty, and be done with it until tomorrow….

That said, it looks like we’ll need to resort to one of the old emergency exits to get us going; this seems to be growing beyond all usefulness. I suppose #4 is the most efficacious, so, we’ll go with that…. Y’all know you need to hang on, right? Right…. Let’s go Luigi, time’s a wastin’…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Faith in immortality, like belief in Satan, leaves unanswered the ancient question: is God unable to prevent suffering and thus not omnipotent? or is he able but not willing to prevent it and thus not merciful? And is he just?” — Smart Bee

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Here is music from Frank Zappa; many of his fans never knew what a fine instrumentalist he was; he showed them just what he could do, on this, and a couple of subsequent releases of albums in the same vein as this one…. Enjoy, ffolkes. the world will never see his like again….

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Frank Zappa – Shut Up’n Play Yer Guitar (full album)

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https://youtu.be/AIUKUghqK08

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“Authority has always attracted the lowest elements in the human race. All through history, mankind has been bullied by scum. Those who lord it over their fellows and toss commands in every direction and would boss the grass in the meadow about which way to bend in the wind are the most depraved kind of prostitutes. They will submit to any indignity, perform any vile act, do anything to achieve power. The worst off-sloughings of the planet are the ingredients of sovereignty. Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is, in a democracy the whores are us.” — P.J. O’Rourke, _Parliament of Whores_

I find myself again in the position of NOT having the wherewithal to rant, in spite of the most excellent opening quote, which, obviously, would lend itself to a grand display of angst and passionate curmudgeonry. Instead, I’ll use an older piece again, one published elsewhere on the net, in the dark ages before WordPress came into my literary world…. Here is one published on Socyberty, I believe, sometime in 2012….

Choosing Ignorance

It has finally happened. My sense of outrage has been stimulated over the last few weeks by one news item after another, until I feel I can no longer hold my silence. Most of the time I can put it all aside, having long held the belief best summarized by the immortal Fred, the long-suffering bird in the comic strip Odds Bodkins, who said, “Politics is poopadoodle!” Armed with this profound truth, I’ve been able to mostly ignore even the most controversial topics common to those who DO talk about the events of the day. But even Fred would be outraged at the absolutely incomprehensible nonsense in the news of the last few weeks, and phlegmatic though I may be, I am not a stone, I am a man.

The tenor of the articles I read in my corner of the world generally runs to the more positive stories that are often hard to find. But there have been too many examples of late that demonstrate very clearly that it’s probably too late for the human race; the changes that are needed from our species as a whole are legion, and none of them, none, are even under discussion. The policy of those who are in power in society is to deflect any mention of the problems facing us, to cast doubt on the veracity on those who would deliver bad news, to kill the messenger, as it were. They have succeeded beyond all belief; the general public is now thoroughly indoctrinated to believe whatever tripe is reported to them, regardless of the source. It just has to sound good, and people will believe it.

I recently read an article about Ron Perry, the Texas governor who has entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination. In the article on SFGATE (link below), Mr. erry is quoted regarding man made global warming. He is quoted as saying, “I think we’re seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists that are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man made global warming is what is causing the climate to change,” He also stated his belief that scientists have “manipulated the data,” to support their theory. The scientists to whom he refers, both those who subscribe to the validity of man made global warming, and those who question the theory, are addressed in another article, this one by Al Gore as reported in Rolling Stone magazine.

In this article, Mr. Gore responds to those who doubt the effects of man made pollution on global climate changes, by pointing out simply, that EVERY national science council of EVERY country in the world have all publicly, and officially, expressed their confidence in the integrity of every study completed and published, all of which give convincing evidence to support the fact that man made pollution is for sure and for certain having a deleterious effect on climate all over the world. It is clear that it is happening NOW, not someday.

Mr. Gore also points out that the “scientists” who purport to disbelieve the theory are very few in comparison to the thousands and thousands in the world’s national science foundations, and many of those who have discounted the science involved in the studies have previously publicly expressed that their beliefs are faith-based rather than based on the facts presented. Reportedly some of them have even been recruited by faith-based organizations to lend their weight to the argument, criticizing the study techniques and pointing out “mistakes” in the studies that purportedly augment their position.

Those in power in society don’t want this information to be widely disseminated, much less widely believed, as it will, in the best-case scenario, cause them a loss of profit; in the worst-case they could conceivably be tried and convicted as traitors to the species. If the general public ever realizes just how much of what they hear and see is made up of lies and innuendo, designed to inflame their fears of the unknown, and take their attention away from what is truly taking place, then there would an upheaval such as the world has never seen. But instead, the general public just goes along with whatever they are told, trained well to accept whatever they see on TV, or hear on the radio as truth. Or worse, as gospel truth, just as if gospel is the sole repository of the truth.

The truth is NOT limited to gospel; evidence exists that clearly shows that even in the days when those particular religious treatises were written, those who were in power dictated what was true, and what was not true, and only the concepts and ideas they espoused were included in the “divinely inspired” treatises commissioned by them in support of their power. Even the pure messages of Jesus of Nazareth have been adjusted over the centuries to reflect whatever those in charge of the Church wished. Politicians have always been with us…

Another article I read recently speaks about yet another example of how our beloved leaders have lied to us over the years. The article relates the problems encountered by the indigent population of the Marshall Islands ever since the US government decided to use their home as a testing ground for nuclear technology, sometime back in the 1940’s. The article (link below) gives a clear and compassionate plea for help and understanding for the people indigenous to the Islands, whose ranks have been decimated by the effects of nuclear toxins in their environment. The government, in its’ infinite wisdom, denies any problem exists, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Read the article, it is very illuminating, and is one more example of what the public has forced down its’ collective throat by those who believe, and rightly so, that they can get away with anything they want.

Those in power, and those who conspire to be in power, will say and do anything to make the public believe that it is acting in the best interests of everyone. In one respect they may be correct; as long as humanity at large continues to accept whatever is told to them by people on TV as truth, or as long as what they read in a newspaper is believed, as long as people choose to be ignorant, they will be sealing their own fate, and will deserve exactly what they get.

What they, and we all, will get won’t be a stairway to heaven; it most will be certainly a planet-sized grave for us all. When the planet decides it has had enough of our little species, it will certainly direct us onto the path of the dodo, and the dinosaur. All that is needed is for us to choose ignorance; the ozone layer will continue to disappear, the world-wide temperature will rise a couple of degrees (that’s all it takes) and the polar ice caps will melt. This will cause both world-wide flooding of the land masses, and a disturbance in the shape of the planet’s orbit, which will result in world-wide earthquakes. Armageddon, indeed, and brought on by our own resistance to change, by deliberate ignorance. So, how will you choose?

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/climate-of-denial-20110622

http://brookmeakins.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/what-if/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/17/politics/p073158D98.DTL

The image of the Dodo is from MS Office Clip Art.

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Raging at Aging

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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Today’s final old-school pearl picked itself. You can’t blame me for this one, cogent as it may be….. Don’t hurt yourselves trying to figure out the conclusion; I have a feeling it might not be exactly what you expect…..

“Humor is an affirmation of dignity, a declaration of man’s superiority to all that befalls him.” — Romain Gary

“The ultimate test of whether you posses a sense of humor is your reaction when someone tells you you don’t.” — Frank Tyger

“Good humor is the health of the soul, sadness its poison.”– Stanislaus

“Give us, O give us, the man who is cheerful in his work! Be his occupation what it may, he is equal to any of those who follow the same pursuit in silent sullenness. He will do more in the same time — he will do it better — he will persevere longer.”– Carlyle

“Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Really, Crito, why should we care so much about what ‘most people’ believe?” — The character Socrates, in Plato’s _Crito_, 44d

“Although a wise man might urge that one should suffer fools gladly, this should not be construed as license for any fool to demand that one do so.” — Frederic William Kantor

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Well, it’s done. I haven’t the foggiest as to how that happened, but, since I’m not one to examine horse’s teeth, for any reason, that will have to do. In fact, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I survive the day….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

No response to palliative measures….

Posted on April 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Ask of friends only what is honorable.”

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

Mineral Veins on Mars

Photo by NASA’s Curiosity Rover

I know it won’t work, but, still, I must make the effort…. Ah, well, much of humanity’s existence has been spent pursuing lives of futility, banging heads with Reality, all the while, casting desperately about to find someone, or something to blame for their hardships…. Finally, they discovered gods, and the die was cast…. Here, in religious delusion, men of weak will and small imagination found the perfect fall guy for all their fearful misconceptions of what happened around them, which they could not understand….

Now, several thousands of years later, we are suffering the consequences of basing one’s life on pushing blame onto others; the world, which we have abused and mistreated with severe ignorant ferocity, will soon be evicting us, in favor of ANYTHING else…. Not that I blame the Earth; we haven’t been the best of tenants, to be sure. It’s just a little frustrating for those of us who’d rather find a way to survive, and have no interest in blaming anything on anyone….

But, I suppose that’s a bit heavy for an intro section, eh? Bad habit of mine; one of these days, I’ll need to do something about that. Meanwhile, since I discovered my error, happily ceasing and desisting, we can use this opportunity to get the hell out of here, and on with the day’s nonsense and drivel production… I’m feeling a bit odd today, so, y’all might want to stay alert; no telling when something wet and wobbly will come flying around the corner…

In fact, I suggest you DUCK!!….. Okay, it missed, so, no worries…. And, look, it’s our exit, right over there, by the old cigar-store Indian with the Burma Shave haircut…. Let’s get out of here while we can….

Shall we Pearl?

The Eternal is empty (like a bowl),
It may be used but its capacity is never exhausted.
It is bottomless, perhaps the ancestor of all things.
It unties its tangles,
It softens its light.
It becomes one with the dusty world.
Deep and still, it appears to exist forever.
I do not know whose son it is.
It seems to have existed before the Lord.

~~ Lao-Tzu (fl. B.C. 600) ~~

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Daffy Duck by Captain Jack Harkness

For the mood I’m in, nothing else will do but a bit of Daffy….

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Daffy Duck

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https://youtu.be/DrOPSzW2flg

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Le Penseur ~~ August Rodin

It seems I’m unable to rant again; can’t seem to find enough angst in there to get started…. Here, then, is a piece I wrote on 10/6/2012, a rather long discussion of a number of topics, all related…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s a walk through my mind, such as it is….

From 10/6/2012:

It’s not every day I’m compelled to write about religion, politics, philosophy, and the Unified Field Theory, unless in separate pearls…. Taking them all on together might seem a bit egocentric of me, but I’ve never been one to dismiss a challenge, unless it was one that didn’t interest me… this one definitely hits all the high points of my particular bent, or bents, so what the hell, let’s see what happens…..

“Each religion, by the help of more or less myth which it takes more or less seriously, proposes some method of fortifying the human soul and enabling it to make its peace with its destiny.” — George Santayana

This idea is one that makes it possible for me to get through a lot of days without becoming homicidal toward a lot of people who bandy their religious beliefs about as if I were at all interested in them. I am aware that there have been a lot of good people throughout history, including current times, who are devout believers in one religion or another, and are sincere in their beliefs, and in their efforts to live their lives according to the precepts of their religions.

Some of them are even preachers, or priests of one sort or another, but the percentage in those categories of sincere belief is most certainly smaller than in the general public…. Let’s face it, most of those who go into the business do it because they aren’t any good at anything else, and the work is pretty easy…. Being a preacher is only hard if it gets taken seriously enough to try to help other folks, but most of the ones I’ve met are more concerned with convincing everyone of their piety to worry about actually helping…. and to most of them, the process of proving their own piety is accomplished by challenging everyone else’s beliefs, and sticking their noses into other people’s business….

One of the most insidious attractions of religion to many people, sad to say, is that it provides such a convenient vehicle for going through life without ever having to come up with an original thought or feeling. Every system of religious dogma, from no matter what cult, or division, or schism, or whatever it maybe called, is designed to give people answers to their questions about life and all the things that happen that they don’t understand, thus creating a sense of dependency. This is very convenient for political pundits, who manage to take advantage every time the preachers pull another scam on the public….

Unfortunately, those answers, comforting as they may be, seldom reflect reality very well, but are based rather on how that particular sect views the issue at hand…. and you can rest assured that those answers are designed to benefit the sect, and the preacher, in rather more ways than they will benefit the person with the questions…. But, I’m sure it is very comforting to know that if you just go along with what they say, you are somehow guaranteed something….. I never could understand that part very well, as there was nobody who could tell me just what was being promised…. other than I’d have to wait until I was dead in order to see it…. (The politicians like this one as well, because it gets people used to being told something, i.e. campaign promises, then having those promises unfulfilled…. )

“There are so many ways that we sabotage our own divinity, our own possibilities. and the mythologies of race and gender may well head the list.” — Callan Williams

Ah yes, the mythologies of race and gender…. Consider this…. each of us who are of the genus homo sapiens is a unique individual, no matter what color our skin, or whether we are male or female. Unique in our own right, beginning with the pattern of DNA that dictates and defines the characteristics of the organism that is each one of us. Unique. This is indisputable scientific fact. And yet, there are still people who choose to believe that there are characteristics shared by certain groups of homo sapiens that make them somehow superior or inferior to another group. Which of those characteristics they claim as exclusive is always based on articles of faith, and never on any physical evidence. The basis for these articles of faith are outlined in the myths, myths that ignorance breeds, born out of fear of the unknown….

These fears are pretty formless, as the people who have them don’t like to think about them. First, because then they feel uncomfortable, and being comfortable is preferable to thinking, no matter how much it may alleviate the fear. Second, it is also hard to clearly define something that one rejects all evidence of knowing about; the fear is a known factor, and knowledge is not. These behaviors are a very childish reaction to serious adult issues, but then, a large number of people never learn to deal with life after a certain age; the techniques of denial and avoidance that children rely on are hard for some to give up, especially in matters of emotional or psychological import.

“The ability to accept responsibility is the measure of the man.” — Roy L. Smith

This is very true, and actually would be claimed as their own by many folks who make a habit of refusing to even consider being responsible for anything outside their own little world. The flaw in their world-view is that they firmly hold that what they perceive is the only true way that the world CAN be perceived; they seem to be constitutionally unable to entertain any idea to the contrary. It makes compromise with them somewhat of a difficult proposition, as their belief in their own rightness gives them a feeling of entitlement, of believing that they can lie and cheat others without consequence, because the “others” are, as unbelievers, not worthy of honorable treatment. (Hmm, I can’t decide if this sounds more like a fundamentalist Christian, a ruthless business man, or a politician….. since it fits all three, I guess it fits Romney like a second skin…..)

“It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true.” — George Santayana

This second quote from Mssr. Santayana points out another flaw in the philosophy held by those who follow many religions, under their own interpretations of the scriptures that are used by them. This flaw is obviously based on the relatively inarguable fact that all of them are faith-based philosophies…. grand, well considered, beautifully constructed philosophies, whose basic premise is an entity whose existence cannot be evidenced in the physical world.

There are innumerable thoughtful and elegant “proofs” of the existence of these entities, all of which, again, are constructed entirely of words and ideas. Some use logic, some history, some use hope, some use delusion, and some use an amorphous idea that cannot be pinned down…. none of them have actual pieces of physical evidence that incontrovertibly points to the existence of such an entity. If anyone knows of one, or two, or more, please let me know of it/them; I would be very interested in the information, and its provenance, to be sure….

I have wandered far afield indeed in the realms of human thought today, and I’ll bet you thought I’d forget about the Unified Field Theory…. For those unfamiliar with the phrase, let me explain as succinctly as I can; this has gone on a long time, and I’m sure we all have better stuff to do, but, hey, I’m here, you’re here, so…. Any who, the Unified Field theory is a mathematical model of the universe that, in essence, explains and describes all the different types of energy that we know to exist in the Universe; Gravitational energy, Magnetic energy, Electric energy, Electromagnetic energy, Kinetic energy, Biochemical energy, life energy…. all are known to us, but we do not understand, even minimally, how they all interact, and how they are all inter-related as part of the Universe at large…. hence the unified theory. It hasn’t been written yet; it is still just a concept for the future of scientific endeavor, though Stephen Hawking is said to be working on coming up with one before he dies…. if anyone can, it is him.

In short, one theory to explain how it all works…. There are many, including Mr. Hawking, who believe that knowing this can possibly lead us to a closer idea of the answer to the Why it all works the way it does…. by design, or by chance? Did God lose a bet, or win one? Or is there some as yet unknown reason beyond our current ability to understand? Being able to SEE and KNOW how it all works can only give us clues about the origins of it all. Even if it doesn’t give us all the answers we seek, we will have a better understanding of the Universe, and ourselves, and thus, perhaps, a better idea of our true place in all of what we see…..

Whew! If you made it to here, you are indeed worthy…. and probably tired, confused, and a bit troubled with doubts as to my sanity. S’okay, I understand…. and I don’t blame you. I should have handed out warning notices at the beginning…. Ah well, t’was fun for me, and that will do….. Stop me, please, I can’t seem to shut up….. wait, don’t pull that pl……

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I’m not late, but, I am lazy, so, here is a poem I wrote in January of this year…..

gigoid’s lament

Not a bit of all the pain I feel
is worse than all I see;
all worldly truth, solid and real,
has faded away, never to be free.

Honor stripped of all regard,
while compassion simply fails;
Ignorance , powerful, hard,
crows as reason wails.

Crushing resistance, mandating the vote,
selling illusion, smiling all the while.
Pundits, speaking purely by rote,
arrange all the lies in a tidy pile.

Stupidity ’tis said, is a risky choice;
the price is always the same.
Reality has no pity, no warning ever voiced,
only a gravestone, carved with, our name.
,
~~ gigoid ~~

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From 2/12/2015:

The Rise and Fall of Homo Erectus

We shall never cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

~~ T. S. Eliot ~~

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” — Isaac Asimov

“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.” — Goethe

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

“Expedients are for the hour; principles for the ages.” — Henry Ward Beecher

“If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had been there, and if he found that flower in his hand when he awoke – Aye, and what then?” — Coleridge, “Anima Poetae”

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,–
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground;
Another race the following spring supplies:
They fall successive, and successive rise.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ The Iliad of Homer, Book vi, Line 181 ~~

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Having reined myself in, finally, I’ll bring this to a rapid close…. It’s a bit choppy, but, it’s done; that’s all that counts around here at this time of day. To avoid any uncomfortable questions, however, I’ll take my leave rapidly, stage left…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Softly, softly banging drums….

Posted on April 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

No flies on gigoid.

This is why.

‘Twill be sufficient unto the day to say this: Axiom # 2 is more right than even I had believed…. For those unfamiliar with Peruaosophy (my own response to Sartre, Plato, and the Stoics… If they can have their own philosophy, so can I…..), Axiom #2 says: “The nature of the Universe is Change. Unpredictable, innovative transformation of Reality is the Norm. If you have a problem with this, you’re in for a rough ride in Life.” Boy, did I hit that one on the head, or what? (I should tell you: anyone who actually says, “what?” will be shot where they sit…. or stand….)

All of that being said, I’ll leave it at that, to create a bit of confusion, and/or, frustration in the Gentle Reader. I heard somewhere it’s a good technique for getting someone interested enough to read further…. How’s it working? Oh, I guess maybe talking about it kinda ruins the effect, doesn’t it? Oh, well…

I guess it’s all going to be a wash today. Not surprising, considering I’m up two hours late, and not feeling up to much (as this intro section indicates clearly, so far….) I think I’m going to have to go all executive again, to get us out of here in any reasonable amount of time, or with any degree of competence at all…. Not only that, I’ll have to do it quickly, or, I have the feeling it won’t happen at all…. Ah, I’ve got it….

Ffolkes, we’re done here, so, we’ll go on to the rest of this massive collection of farcical…. hmm. Can’t think of a single word in English that would describe what’s happening here, so, I’ll just pretend I never said any of that…. We are done here, so, we’re going to dive now, just as if we knew what we were doing…. Stay alert, ffolkes, I think you’ll need it today….

Shall we Pearl?

I saw Eternity the other night,
Like a great ring of pure and endless light,
All calm, as it was bright;

And round beneath it,
Time in hours, days, years,
Driv’n by the spheres

Like a vast shadow mov’d;
in which the world
And all her train were hurl’d.

~~ Henry Vaughan ~~

~~The World ~~

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Guess who….

I’ve read just about every Sherlock story ever written, by Sir Arthur, or anyone else. I’ve watched as many of the movies as I could, too, with my favorite Sherlock played by Jeremy Brett (well, Basil Rathbone, of course, set the standard by which all the others are judged; even with that, I believe Brett was marginally superior in the role, as I feel his own personality was of a similar bent…. This video is one I haven’t watched yet; it has Peter Cushing in the title role, in one of the most entertaining stories Doyle wrote…. Enjoy!….

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Sherlock Holmes ~ The Blue Carbuncle

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https://youtu.be/eAPWPDL9aMU

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Since I am so late, I cannot complete the rant I’m working on today. As is my habit, then, here is one from the archives to take its place…. It’s a bit long…. Deal with it, it’s just words….

“No one is fit to be trusted with power. … No one. … Any man who has lived at all knows the follies and wickedness he’s capable of. … And if he does know it, he knows also that neither he nor any man ought to be allowed to decide a single human fate.” — C. P. Snow, The Light and the Dark

From 3/15/2013:

“Republican views of the world differ from Democratic views of the world. The reason for this is that these views are based on different compilations of misinformation.” — Smart Bee

There are moments, such as this one, when I believe the people, or person, who put together the database known to me as Smart Bee, is perhaps the most intelligent creature on this planet….. I’ve been ranting about politicians for years, trying to show people how dangerous it is to believe ANY of the stuff that either party is slinging at us to try to convince us they are worthy of our votes. Now, in one short aphorism, of two lines, we are given a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of the crap we hear from them…. Essentially, this says that every one of them is full of shit, and everything they say and do is destined to fail, because it is ALL based on incorrect information, or, to be more accurate, on unwarranted assumptions about reality…..

The most important part of this description is its impartiality of indictment. Both parties are brought into scrutiny, and found wanting, of any real knowledge of the truth, because they are both basing all of their premises on false beliefs, just for starters. Add to that, since they are politicians by choice, their genetic predisposition is to self-aggrandizement, and they show an inherent inability to tell the truth. It becomes rather easily seen why our society has become, well, insane…. It’s a short trip to crazy from where they begin the journey…. and they don’t take any detours on the road….

You see, both parties are convinced of a complete falsehood, one that humanity has been struggling with for centuries…. This lie is so basic, it colors and affects everything they do to try to manipulate the world into going the way they wish it to go. As long as they continue to try to do this, our society is doomed to failure in the long run, for the lie goes against the very nature of reality…. Simply put, these people believe they can legislate morality…. They believe that they can make laws, and people will go against their very nature to follow them, in spite of the fact that the law they propose is contrary to what comes naturally to humans, to wit: self-centered, grasping behaviors that only benefit the perpetrator, and no one else…..

We have laws against stealing…. and the most accomplished thieves we see in our culture wear suits and live in Washington D.C. We have laws against killing each other, but, people still get killed, and, if the killers do so while wearing a flag, or a badge, they are considered heroes, no matter how many they kill. We have laws that supposedly protect women, children, and the aged, from suffering abuse, but, just look around you, and you will see no end to the depredations that society allows to be perpetrated upon these three most vulnerable members of our society, all very much within the legal limits of the public morality, as given in the law books….

“[…] For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner […] on an
unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies. […] That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to
understand that.” — Carl Sagan

The people who get involved in politics, and religion, for much the same reason, believe they are special, and entitled to take all they can from the universe, because they are the be-all, and end-all of the evolutionary ladder. It says so right there in the Bible….. They don’t care that reality says differently, because their sense of denial has been fine-tuned since shortly after they were born, and they are capable of ignoring facts right up until they slap them in the face…. (Witness the Republican melt-down in the last Presidential election, when the Republican party got slapped in the face by their own lack of contact with reality…..)

In spite of all the massive amounts of evidence to the contrary, these folks believe in their own divine entitlement as the lords of creation, chosen by God to do with this planet as we would, without regard for any of the other creatures that live here with us, or for the beauty and balance of the land that sustains us. As far as they are concerned, other people and animals, and natural resources, are theirs to do with as they wish, with God’s blessing…. The fucking assholes…..

I apologize for the vulgarity, to my readers, but not to those at whom it is directed…. To them, I say, fuck you, and fuck you again…. I regard all politicians, priests, preachers, police, lawyers, judges, and corporate misogynists of all shapes and sizes to be INSANE…. floridly, and viciously insane, without any of the moral standards that the rest of mankind embraces. These assholes are responsible for our imminent demise through environmental destruction of the ecosphere, as well as for the endless preying on the weak and vulnerable to suit their own depravity, and lack of moral fiber.

“All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.” — Joseph Conrad

Sexual slavery, corporate collusion to fix wages and prices, legislative corruption and oppression, judicial malfeasance and more corruption, governmental incompetence, religious repression and collusion with politicians, all serve the purposes of the ruling class to a T, no matter how much suffering it causes to others…. As long as they have what they want, nothing anyone else says or does matters at all….

I hate to be a harbinger of bad news, but, I call ’em as I see ’em, and I see what is real…. None of what is wrong in the world will change, until the major portion of mankind makes a change of spirit, and the people, as a whole, decide that the few among us who are bold enough to act must, in fact, act. The evil among us will not go away, or stop, of its own accord, and waiting for them to come around to a more amenable state of mind isn’t going to work, as that just isn’t going to happen.

If we wish to survive, they have to go, and mankind must find a new way to get along with each other than the out-dated ways we have been trying for millennia… Those old ways leave too much power in the hands of people who will give in to the temptation that goes along with such power over others, and must not be allowed to happen any more, not if we wish to survive to see any future at all….. The universe doesn’t care one way or another, so we’ll have to be responsible for our own actions…. as we have always been, and have always been afraid to admit….

“If we do not permit the earth to produce beauty and joy, it will not produce food either.” — Joseph Wood Krutch

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

Well, that was fun, eh? We’ll let Zippy have the final word….

“I feel better about world problems now!” ~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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

I use my own work today simply because it’s there, & I don’t have to go look for it…. This is one my personal faves, as it hits very close to home for me… go figure….

Elemental, dear Watson….

Don’t worry,
it’s not
me
you hear
screaming.

It is
only
my bones,
giving in,
to
cowardly,
pathologically,
repetitive,
fucking,’
complaints
of
past abuse,
and
all the fun
we had.
playing,
hard.

I don’t mind
too much;
I can spend my
TIME
in another space
in my head,
pretending
my bones
don’t
exist….

It
is,
indeed,
a shame
they
always
come
back….

Fuck.

It
hurts.

More proof,
I guess,
either
God isn’t,
or,
He is.

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

He is?
Then,
I don’t fucking care
who
doesn’t like it,

I say,

He
is
a bully,
a coward,
a hypocrite,
and,
truly,
an enormous asshole.

I suppose,
God
is
what comes,
to,
and
from,
People,

because

they
feel
a need,
for
someone
to
blame,
for
a
Universe
they
cannot
understand
or
accept.

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

In keeping with today’s theme, the following is a pearl from a few years ago, created on another day where ranting was proscribed by circumstances completely within my control. I hope you enjoy it….

From 5/4/2013:

Ranting may or may not be on the agenda today; hard to tell what will happen out in the BBR to stimulate outrage, but, it’s a good bet I’ll see something to jerk me around…. In the meantime, I’ve got a bit of time, so we’ll go see what kind of trouble Smart Bee has up its sleeve today…..

— Bother! said Pooh, as he fell into the toilet.

“I take a simple view of life: keep your eyes open and get on with it.” — Laurence Olivier

“Always forgive your enemies– nothing annoys them so much.” — Oscar Wilde

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” — John Kenneth Galbraith

“If you don’t like yourself, you can’t like other people.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” — Chinese Proverb

“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

Not too shabby, I’d say…. all good words on how to live; taken together, you have a recipe for peace on Earth…..

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

I’m not sure what to think of this one; I cheated unmercifully. But, it’s done; therefore, it’s done. I’m going to count my blessings, and escape before anyone can take me to task for it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

If that isn’t pond scum, we’re screwed….

Posted on April 7, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Not to be cheered by praise,
Not to be grieved by blame,
But to know thoroughly ones own virtues or powers
Are the characteristics of an excellent man.~~ Saskya Pandita (1182-1251) ~~

Photo of Mars Terrain by NASA’s Curiosity Rover

Once again late, I have no choice but to ruthlessly trim all the dross and drivel from whatever happens here today. It would be nice to be able to find a routine again, but, since I don’t seem able to do so, I’ll continue to find some way to cope on a daily basis. Of late, this has required some rather extensive trimming of the amount of nonsense I’m using; not easy when it falls so naturally from my mind to the screen. But, it’s working, so, I’ll keep at it….

All that being said, as usual, to little purpose, I’ll use my new-found ruthlessness to make the executive, and therefore, least compassionate decision to yank the plug on this intro, regardless of how it may seem to those who don’t do this sort of thing on a regular basis. Or, for that matter, to anyone at all. It’s not personal; it’s bidness…. Don’t take it amiss, but, you all should DUCK! NOW!….. Whew, sorry, got a little close that time…. Never mind, we’re done, and now, we’re gone….

Shall we Pearl?

“I once wanted to save the world. Now I just want to leave the room with dignity.” — Lotus Weinstock

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

Usually I try to put something relaxing, or entertaining here. Today, you’re out of luck in that respect, because I saw this yesterday (thanks, Lou!…) over at my friend’s blog site (https://talesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/john-oliver-government-surveillance/).

Ffolkes, this is a video EVERYONE needs to view…. So, go view it…. Sheesh, do I have to tell you EVERYTHING?….. Go on, now….

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

Last Week with John Oliver

Government Surveillance

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

https://youtu.be/XEVlyP4_11M

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

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

I’m late, and the video section covered the rant, so, here is an old politirant from 2013, to use the Churchill method of bringing a point home…. This is the tremendous whack, by those lights…. Probably falls a bit short, in that respect, but, it ain’t bad, and I like the words I coined for the political parties, too…. Enjoy!….

From 9/19/2013:

“A lie would have no sense unless the truth were felt as dangerous.” — Alfred Alder

So, I was going to forgo a rant today, giving my back, and your brains, a bit of a break, but, when I went to peruse the news, I saw the latest discussion of what is happening in the House of Idiots in Washington, D.C., regarding the budget resolutions being discussed, wherein the possibility of a shutdown is threatened, if the Retardicans and Demobutts can’t come to some kind of compromise. It seems the Retardicans are still upset about Obamacare, and the notion of helping the middle class, as well as the lower classes (gasp!), to obtain medical insurance coverage at a reasonable cost. This idea, of being fair and ethical, seems to have struck them in the wrong place, and they have been whining and complaining ever since it became law, frantically searching for ways to undermine the whole program, with the ultimate goal being to stop it altogether….

The entire issue, of course, is just smoke, to cover up the simple racism that these assholes won’t cop to…. It is STILL stuck in their craw that they somehow allowed a BLACK MAN to get elected to the highest public office. They have looked for, and desperately latched onto, every possible way they could find to block every piece of legislation the White House has espoused, no matter how much such legislation would help the public, ever since Obama was first elected. The publicly stated goal of the Retardican Party in 2008, right after the election, was to make Obama a one-term President; having failed at that, their new goal became the eradication of ANY laws, or any beneficial reforms, that were accomplished during his administration…. Hence, the campaign against healthcare reform, which, ultimately, is not in their best interests, but, hey, who needs common sense?….

I’m almost too disgusted with the entire bunch of them, Retardicans and Demobutts both, to even continue this rant….The right wing continues to shoot itself, and the public, in the foot with their intransigent inflexibility, and their unreasoning paranoia about the POTUS, while the left side continues to wander around letting whatever the administration says or does go without question or review, as if somehow a man who was politician enough to get elected to the Senate, then the Presidency, all of a sudden became the world’s most truthful man…. Sorry, folks, it just doesn’t follow….. such trust in ANYONE who is an elected official in this country is plain silly, and doesn’t show much real common sense….

I see NO ONE in the public venue whom I would trust to make decisions for me, on ANY subject, much less those that can affect my life, and the quality of same…. Sorry, I just don’t see ANYONE who seems to be honestly interested in anything beyond their own agenda, and those agendas have nothing to do with mine, or what I see as beneficial for everyone…. They just don’t…..

I also, unfortunately, don’t have any viable solutions, which is why my rants often are short…. I mean, I do know what would help, and that is for everyone in the world who does have common sense to get together, join forces, and tell the assholes to stop…. But, they have guns, which they are practiced in using to get their way, whereas, most of US aren’t willing to contest matters on that level, so, that probably isn’t ever going to happen….

Not until more of our side are willing to use force to get our way, just as they have always done…. Since I don’t see it happening, we may as well just kiss our asses goodbye, because the eventual outcome of such idiocy is death, and I don’t mean individually, but rather, as a species…. Stupid is as stupid does, as somebody once said, and when I look around the world these days, stupid is pretty much all I see…..

Hell is the place of those who have denied;
They find there what they planted and what dug,
A Lake of Spaces, and a Wood of Nothing,
And wander there and drift, and never cease
Wailing for substance.~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

~~ Responsibilities and Other Poems (1916).The Hour-Glass ~~

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

Time for a bit of T.S…..

Sweeney Among The Nightingales

Apeneck Sweeney spreads his knees
Letting his arms hang down to laugh,
The zebra stripes along his jaw
Swelling to maculate giraffe.

The circles of the stormy moon
Slide westward toward the River Plate,
Death and the Raven drift above
And Sweeney guards the horned gate.

Gloomy Orion and the Dog
Are veiled; and hushed the shrunken seas;
The person in the Spanish cape
Tries to sit on Sweeney’s knees

Slips and pulls the table cloth
Overturns a coffee-cup,
Reorganized upon the floor
She yawns and draws a stocking up;

The silent man in mocha brown
Sprawls at the window-sill and gapes;
The waiter brings in oranges
Bananas figs and hothouse grapes;

The silent vertebrate in brown
Contracts and concentrates, withdraws;
Rachel née Rabinovitch
Tears at the grapes with murderous paws;

She and the lady in the cape
Are suspect, thought to be in league;
Therefore the man with heavy eyes
Declines the gambit, shows fatigue,

Leaves the room and reappears
Outside the window, leaning in,
Branches of wisteria
Circumscribe a golden grin;

The host with someone indistinct
Converses at the door apart,
The nightingales are singing near
The Convent of the Sacred Heart,

And sang within the bloody wood
When Agamemnon cried aloud,
And let their liquid droppings fall
To stain the stiff dishonoured shroud.

~~ T.S. Eliot ~~

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

Since Smart Bee is still on strike, I’ve dipped into the archives again, for a pretty good old-school pearl…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

From 9/20/2013:

Oh boy! I’ve ranted, approximately, and found a really great poem, so, at this point, I get to go old-school, which just makes my day…. I love this process, as it makes me use my head just the way I like, with both discipline and randomness, all in a good cause…. Well, it’s a cause, anyway…. good and bad are distinctions I prefer to avoid, as they tend to rope one into certain positions, and I don’t like to let myself get trapped like that…. Any who, whatever the rationalization used, this one should come out well, as I’m going to use very loose reins, and allow Smart Bee to do most of the work…. What better way to start the day, as long as one has sufficient coffee as a prophylaxis against any undue conceptual manipulation.?… Let’s see what that little devil has going today, shall we?…..

In pride, in reasoning pride, our error lies;
All quit their sphere, and rush into the skies.
Pride still is aiming at the blest abodes:
Men would be angels, angels would be gods.
Aspiring to be gods, if angels fell,
Aspiring to be angels, men rebel.~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 123 ~~

“Everybody gets free BORSCHT!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Don’t lose your head to gain a minute.
You need your head, your brains are in it.

— Burma Shave

“Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool.” — Smart Bee

“When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.” — A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

In looking back at this group, I see it would be possible, perhaps, even, advisable, to stop here, and use this as a five-star pearl, with a pretty good point to it, if one is slick enough to trip over it…. But, it just doesn’t feel done to me, so we’ll see what more SB can come up with to bring this to its full potential….

“No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592)

“He is able who thinks he is able.” — Buddha

There you go….

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

Well, it FEELS okay; it also seems a bit catch-penny, if I have that phrase correctly used, to mean choppy and ill-favored…. Ah well, it fulfills the primary characteristic we’re looking for; it’s done. So, I’m gonna fly, while I can…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Hearken to the Call of the Mild….

Posted on April 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In the vacant places, we will build with new bricks.”

~~ T.S. Eliot ~~

Pastoral Urbanity

All euphemisms aside, I feel like crap. Nothing particularly vile going on; pain is a constant, of course, but, it’s not bad today. No, I believe it’s another of my physical ailments giving me its usual fits, which, though infrequent, are rather debilitating. Such being the case, this will have to go quickly, as I just don’t have a lot of energy…. SIGH…. I HATE starting the day tired & grumpy…. well, I don’t mind the grump so much, but, trying to get going when fatigued is a pain in yet another anatomical area of great renown….

Ah, well, such is life, as we say on the streets… Well, I say it a lot; other folks, not so much. Regardless, I’m losing my train of thought here, trying to decide whether to continue this farce, or throw it out & start over…. Instead, I think I’ll give up altogether. It worked so well yesterday, what the hell, eh? Let’ give it another shot….

I’m done. Go read the rest, such as it is….

Shall we Pearl?

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” — D.H. Lawrence

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

Image from You Tube via Google Images

This man wrote two of the best songs ever written in the English language, yet not many know his name, aside from every musician in the recording business…. For years he was what is termed a “studio” performer, only playing with others as a musician, and allowing others to record his songs…. Then, someone heard him sing; he eventually cut a couple of albums, before he became too uncomfortable in the limelight, which he never sought at all… Among musicians, he is a legend; to the general public he is a minor footnote…. Whatever he is, I consider him one of the best…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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

Fred Neil

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

https://youtu.be/FO6CNj5YVF8?list=PLBAAF803C0E45B369

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

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

Those who have been here a while will understand why Kokopelli graces the ranting section today. I’m incredibly late, besides struggling with debilitating physical issues; naturally, this means we go to the archives…. Here is an excellent rant, if a bit long….

From 12/21/2013:

Below, you will find the rant to which I referred above…. it’s another long one, thanks to the support I again found in the archives, but, it’s worth the read, for it will all point toward the rant I’m planning for tomorrow, one that will be a culmination, and a summarization, of all the rants I’ve done up to this point…. For today, please read, and pay attention to this, as it will end up being important for all of us…. a point which I hope to make clear tomorrow….

In order to achieve the proper understanding of this issue, and the following discussion, aka a ‘politirant’ of first magnitude, the article attached to the following link should be read first…. It contains some interesting information that is critical to the dialogue that may ensue, or, in any case, for a full data set to use for analyzing the issue at large…. Go ahead, we’ll wait here….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Judge-NSA-program-is-likely-unconstitutional-5068946.php

It isn’t often this happens twice in a row, but, since I’m always attuned to the possibility of serendipity, it did…. happen twice, that is…. Below, you will find a rant I posted back in early March of this year, which, given the information contained in the article attached to the above link, is astoundingly accurate as a response to the actions demonstrated by the administration in this entire scenario….

First, let me say that I’m very, very happy that a federal judge had the courage and integrity to stand up against the tide of administrative pressure, which, as we all should realize by now, originates from the dens of the shadowy corporate masters, and special interest groups who dictate society’s course to suit themselves…. If you haven’t noted this from what you see happening everywhere in the public sector, well, I can’t convince you, but, it remains, nonetheless, the truth, well-documented in the news….

The government, of this country, and just about every other in the world, is in the control of the corporate special interests who control virtually ALL the money, and, along with that, ALL the resources needed to keep society working. It has been this way for millennia, and they are only getting better at the controls they possess over the happenings in the world around us, honed by centuries of practice and deception…. They are so good at it, virtually nobody even realizes the true nature of their control, or the extent of it…. and, that is just how they like it….

But, there are moments when a bit of progress is made in keeping at least a minimum of mankind free of much of their influence, and this ruling in a federal court is one of those moments in history…. It still remains to be seen whether the rest of the federal courts, up to and including the Supremes, will continue to see the actual truth, or whether they’ll begin to color it, too, with the paint provided by the special interest groups, in whose best interests lie the abrogation of the amendments…. For the moment, though, we can be encouraged, at least a little bit…

I was especially heartened by two parts of this report…. First, the judge acknowledged James Madison, as one of the framers of the Bill of Rights, speaking of his obvious and well-placed mistrust of just this scenario, of corporate interests dictating the abrogation of civil rights, such as in this case, the Fourth Amendment, by those in power, and how Mr. Madison would be “aghast” at how far it has come true today….

Second, I was encouraged to see the steadfast dismissal of the reasoning by the administration’s lawyers on the basis of constitutionality, as it goes to prove the contention by Eric Snowden, that the laws and policies being perpetrated by the NSA would be found to be such, to wit: illegal according to the Constitution of the United States…. which would, in turn, prove his innocence under the laws of our country, which, theoretically, rewards those who speak the truth in defense of their fellows….

Good to know SOMEONE is paying attention in the judiciary system…. even if one of the Shrubs appointed him… That, apparently, didn’t turn him away from the Constitution, unlike the POTUS who gave him the job, who was on record as thinking some of the Bill of Rights went too far in giving people certain rights….

Further than that, the arguments presented below are the correct response to the above, which also goes to prove one small point, to wit: even nine months ago, I knew something was wrong in the pictures I was seeing out in the real world…. Enjoy!….

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

From 3/2/13:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What can be done about this? Not a damn thing…. Not only do I find that most people are unconsciously stupid, but they are stubborn about it, even when it is clear how being stupid is hurting them. Rather than use their minds to find a new way of dealing with these issues, they retreat into platitudes and dogma, and run right back out to vote for another idiot who promises them manna from heaven, or, more accurately, from Washington D.C. If confronted with their idiocy, they become even more stubborn, as they are unwilling to accept they might be wrong, and refuse to either examine any evidence of being wrong, or, will deny its existence altogether. (See quote # 4 in section one, above… Plato knew this about people, hundreds of years before Jesus was born….)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Ignorance kills daily. “– Smart Bee

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

Roses for Noses

I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
Or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst”….

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
The world is full of humor, but not always easy to find
so laughing at myself I learned never to mind….

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows….

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face….

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop….

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I’m not sure about this old-school pearl; the parameters weren’t set solidly before beginning to search. It seems my subconscious had something to say, but, it sure escapes me what that might be. The only thing I can figure is, all of them would produce the reaction you see in the above picture of the laughing monk, even if each one were told to Buddha himself…..

“All time in all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all bugs in amber.” — Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Slaughter-House 5

“Cato said the best way to keep good acts in memory was to refresh them with new.” — Francis Bacon (1561-1626) — Apothegms, No, 247

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” — Sigmund Freud

“I have a grip on reality, just not this particular one.” — Liberated directly from the subconscious mind of gigoid, the dubious, articulated by Smart Bee, in Telepathic Mode

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

“How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise!” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xiii, Line 375

“When the fox gnaws — smile.’ — Lazarus Long in Robert A. Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love

31. Read between the lines. — Instructions for life

“All mimsy were the borogoves.” — Lewis Carroll

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

Don’t ask me where I’m going,
Just listen when I’m gone
And far away you’ll hear me singing softly to the dawn

~~ Pippin ~~

Well, it’s done, thankfully…. Rather than dwell on whether it was worthwhile, I’m going to go…. elsewhere, to do something else. I will, most surely, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

But, it’s so STUDIOUS! Quick, let’s polish it!….

Posted on March 31, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If ever you had to kill someone, could you do it?”

~~ Turlough, TERMINUS ~~

The Pillars of Creation

NASA Hubble Deep Space Telescope Image

I’m so late today, I had intended to NOT post. But, I got done what needed to be done, and still have some time before my inner timekeeping function begins to panic, so, I’ll be ruthless, in what I cut from the usual amount of dross and drivel, to get us down the line….

That being said, look! It’s a way out of the intro!. I’m taking it, and I don’t care how anyone feels about it…. Hang, ffolkes, it will definitely get bumpy today…. You might want to take a few test tugs on your security belts, to make sure they’re not old & corroded…. Here we go….

Shall we Pearl?

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” — Norman Cousins

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

Very simply put, this one will get you going…. It’s my favorite character from the classic children’s show, Sesame Street…. I believe this character was once voted the most popular character on Children’s television, but, if not, he should have been…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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

Oscar The Grouch

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

https://youtu.be/q8IHMctrKCg

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

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

Image stolen from Talesfromtheconspiratum.com

Obviously, there’s no time for a rant, but, I had some classic shots saved up to throw at the Asininnies; I’ll use them now….. It’s pretty clear what the message here is, ffolkes. I shouldn’t have to tell you…..

“Truth is always the enemy of power. And power the enemy of truth.” — Edward Abbey

“To understand political power aright … we must consider what state all men are naturally in, and that is a state of perfect freedom to order their actions … within the bonds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man.” — John Locke

“Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others.” — Edward Abbey

“Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.” — John Maynard Keynes

“The price of liberty is, always has been, and always will be blood: the person who is not willing to die for his liberty has already lost it to the first scoundrel who is willing to risk dying to violate that person’s liberty. Are you free?” — Andrew Ford

“It cannot be called ingenuity to kill one’s fellow citizens, to betray friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; by these means one can acquire power but not glory.” — Machiavelli

“The best way to lose freedom is not to do anything.” — Smart Bee

“Sometimes when I look at my children I say to myself, ‘Lillian, you should have stayed a virgin.'” — Lillian Carter

“Vice President Quayle is a leading candidate for an award, as best actor in a still photograph.” — Smart Bee

Sorry about that last one, ffolkes, really. I couldn’t help myself…. Onward, he said, with an evil smirk….

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

Only because there isn’t time to search…. Hey, it’s not THAT bad!….

Is It Alive?

Fighting into the light, words push hard to exist
each step closer to real brings another unique twist.
Shedding meaning for meaning, until bright, alone, and right
sculpting useless shapes, yet undefined, in pale morning’s light.

Never knowing the face is part of the lasting charm
bringing elegant focus, before sounding the alarm.
Advantageous time sends out messages, fears finding voice,
mulling options for flexibility, virtually without choice.

Fortunate man, who embraces the power of change;
’tis magical knowledge, bonding common to strange.
Weaving words of wonder, made strong by love and duty,
into a tapestry of life, and everlasting beauty.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

“Much may be known of a man’s character by what excites his laughter.”

~~ Goethe ~~

I hate to say this, but, there is a point to this 11-star pearl; I just forgot what it was. I’m pretty sure it’s one of those points that wouldn’t make you bleed, so, it’s probably just as well. Besides, if you just let your mind coast, and it doesn’t come to you, well, I’ll bet you still smiled at least once. I wouldn’t be surprised if you even groaned a time or two…. No matter what you may think, the last pearl is the correct answer to any comments that might be engendered, for sure and for certain….

“Silliness is the last refuge of the doomed.” — Opus

“Bite off, dirtball.” — Richard Sexton, richard@gryphon.COM

“Always store beer in a dark place.” — Lazarus Long

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful. Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either. But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain

“I’m the one who’s got to die when its time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.” — Jimi Hendrix

“Given a conflict, Murphy’s law supersedes Newton’s.” — Smart Bee

“Do you ever think about the end of the world as we know it?” — Calvin

“It can’t work.” — Wolfgang’s Third Law

“In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain.” — Pliny the Elder

“Insanity — a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.” — R. D. Lang

“Aw, gee, Wally ….” — Beaver Cleaver

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

I apologize in advance for this Pearl, should it need it. It is probably the most scattered I’ve ever created…. Ah, well, such is life, as we say on the streets…. Plus, it’s done, so, to save myself any further build-up of angst, or embarrassment, I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, with a bit of luck….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Funk-o-matic accessories are on aisle seven….

Posted on February 10, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Belief is not the beginning but the end of all knowledge.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

Picture Stolen from Linda Vernon

https://lindavernon.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/confessions-of-a-new-age-failure/#comment-24530

Yesterday, I was treated to a perfectly graphic demonstration of how today’s world works, in this modern world of digital communications, through the influence of our old friends, the National Security Agency. Oh, no worries; they aren’t quite convinced yet of the degree of danger I represent, so, they didn’t personally tip their hand. But, the casual disregard for privacy, in communication across then internet especially which the political pundits in this country display all too often was brought to my door in quite graphic fashion…. Allow me to elucidate….

As I was dealing with some stress and a great deal of arthritic pain, with a side dish of Tardive Dyskinesia, (all hail the mighty Kaiser, thank you very much!), by pacing the house and ranting to myself, I heard a knock at the back door…. Not in the best of moods, I went to see who knew where I live, whereupon I found two Vallejo police officers, who wished to know if I was Ned Moore…. Well! Since I hadn’t robbed any banks lately, or otherwise done anything illegal, not even a misdemeanor, I wasn’t real thrilled, to say the least….

I made two mistakes in the initial exchange, but, fortunately, didn’t do something that got me shot at…. I made the mistake of merely responding to their query with, “I’ll be right back”, then turning away to go get my phone, which I’d left in the other room. I also got a pen and paper, in case I needed to make notes. When I got back to the door, they were out of sight. I said, as I approached the door, “What can I do for you gentlemen?” When one of them said, “Mr. Moore, can you please let us see your hands? You made us a little nervous when you walked away. We can’t see you through the screen door, so….” Realizing my mistake, I quickly assured them I had no weapons, and we then proceeded to discuss why they came….

My other mistake was not asking to see their ID; I suppose I had already convinced myself of their official status, by my subconscious perceptions; I’d noted their uniforms, the cop shoes, and the cop eyes…. which, I had to admit, did contain more intelligence than is my usual perception. It turned out, once we’d gotten over the introductions, they were a captain, and a lieutenant in the Vallejo force, who came to ascertain my intentions regarding the City Council…. Here is where the demonstration of the extreme paranoia, and adversarial attitude adopted by those in public office comes into play….

The two officers (officers, indeed, not enlisted ranks…), told me they had read my emails to the city council, and were concerned about my statement of intention to come to the meeting, as I didn’t say exactly what my intentions were by coming…. I suppose what I wrote to the Mayor, and copied to the Council members, was too forceful in the opinions expressed, so one of the recipients forwarded the email to the police, for them to investigate whether I was so upset I was going to come to the meeting & go postal on the council!….

Talk about paranoia! From what I’ve seen in the video tape of the last council meeting, which I downloaded to watch, so I could find out the details of the issue I wrote to them about, it had to be the Mayor, who seems to be the only professional politician on the council, though there IS another lawyer sitting on the council, as well….

Thankfully, the two officers who came to see me, (both were actual gentlemen, to go along with their officer’s bars), only knew their boss had showed it to them. Being more intelligent and honorable than the usual run of police I’ve encountered, they approached it as a fact finding visit, not establishing an immediate adversarial attitude toward me, allowing real communication to occur, without turning it into an incident all of us would have regretted….

Ah well… All’s well that ends well, and now I have another question for the Council, to ask them who sent my email to the police, and why they did so, when I made no threats, nor used any vulgarity…. Having strong opinions is still allowed according to the Constitution; the Homeland Security Act made no mention of it, though it does eliminate just about all the ten basic rights as listed in the Amendments to that document. Fortunately, for me, and for the officers, the two gentlemen who came to see me still believed in the original version, so, we were able to have a meeting of the minds, rather than a conflict….

Happy days! But, of course, today is another day, and I haven’t heard of any great societal changes overnight, so, I don’t think I’ll hold my breath until things get better…. Instead, I’ll end this incredibly long intro section, and get on with today’s post….

Shall we Pearl?

“He declared that he knew nothing, except the fact of his ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xvi

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

“Everything has two handles,–one by which it may be borne; another by which it cannot.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Enchiridion, xliii

Okay, ffolkes. In the words of the Firesign Theater, “Gird your grids for a big one.” The following video is, quite simply, brilliant. It is also chock full of real information, well verified, that will do one of three things… 1) It will piss you off no end. 2) It will scare you worse than the thought of Rush Limbaugh throwing kisses at you, wearing a tiger stripe peignoir, or 3) It will piss you off no end. Did I say that already? Oh…. Watch it anyway, it’s not long…. Then, take out the trash, which should be overflowing with all of your previously held misconceptions of reality….

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

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Marketing to Doctors (HBO)

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

http://youtu.be/YQZ2UeOTO3I

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

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

“Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me…” — Bart Simpson

“Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” — Arthur Somers Roche

Together, these two taglines, one considered a joke, the other a sober observation of reality, give a strong impression of how living in today’s world feels for a great many people. The first demonstrates, in graphic clarity, exactly HOW the second line works, creating unreasonable fear in the human mind. This tendency, for worry to eat away at people’s inner serenity and feeling of security, is well-known to those who have usurped the course of human progress to serve their own ends, to meet the demands of their own ego’s wants and desires, to the exclusion of anyone else’s well-being. This unfortunate facet of human nature provides such sociopathic personalities with the perfect tool to assert mind control over anyone who believes them….

One of the clearest statements of how this principle works in reality was offered at the Nuremberg Trials at the close of WWII, when the German Reich Marshal, Hermann Goering, replied, with unusual candor, as well as apparent disdain, to a question put to him during his trial for war crimes against humanity…. He said, quite calmly, what you see in the picture of him below this line, to wit:

This particular human trait is well known not only to the ruling classes; many modern social critics and philosophers have noted how people can be manipulated by those in power, often pointing out these insane acts of aggression against their own species with humorous observations regarding those who engage in such evil…. Perhaps the most fearless, as well as most brilliantly perceptive of these social critics, the modern day equivalent to Jesters, a once-highly-respected class of Artists, George Carlin, once noted, for example:

In fact, George had quite a few things to say regarding these folks, not always with the restraint shown above… Here are more of his thoughts on modern society, culture, and the people who have so perverted this world….

To my mind, George Carlin was the quintessential patriot, a firm believer in personal responsibility, in himself, and in others, and, most especially in those who are supposed to be the MOST honest and responsible, by virtue of the public trust placed in them. He resisted all of society’s demands to fit into the narrow little jacket these would-be slavers wish us all to wear, always saying what he thought with no fear…. Such as this one:

George noted, and lamented with all of us who bother to think, the pitifully insane, shameful existence of the same evil people I do, those I’ve named Asininnies, a word I coined, to promote the proper mindset with which to view those who would make the world their plaything, at the expense of the entire rest of humanity, without a single dram of concern for the welfare of anyone but themselves. Sometimes, I consider changing the nickname I use, to reflect a bit more closely the true nature of these vermin wearing human skin; “Assholes” would be a very good choice, I think, for they are always passing shit around, which mostly stinks to high heaven…. It’s good to keep things simple….

Fuck ’em. They can’t have MY mind, or my freedom. They MIGHT be able to kill me, but, they’ll never make me submit to their demands to turn myself into a slave, or to believe a single word they have to say…. They have already proven themselves unworthy of respect, or consideration for anything beyond the fact of their pitiful existence, which I shall hope is a short one…. even if I must ensure that to be the case personally….

Enough said….

gigoid has spoken.

So be it….

“Well, here I am in AMERICA.. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE.. EMOTIONS are SWEEPING over me!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Oh, going back to Hermann’s little share….

“In the USA, more people die from lightning than terrorism.” — Brenda, the Civil Disobedience Penguin

I hate to harp on this kind of thing, contrary to how it must seem, but, this is, if not absolutely true, much more nearly so than the situation in any other country in the world, especially in those in which the USA has business, or political (one and the same entity, in reality) interests. One good definition of terrorism is the explosion of large bombs unexpectedly on innocent non-combatants. I don’t think it would matter at all to anyone, even if it is for the alleged purpose of “saving American lives overseas, fighting terrorism at its roots, by sharing the benefits of freedom” with the people of that country.

Do you seriously think the people of ANY country, not involved in any of the nonsense being perpetrated by the insane leaders of EITHER country, are NOT terrorized when they see, out of nowhere, dropped from planes so far above they are nearly invisible, thousands of explosions as the natural results of dropping $750 million worth of explosive devices in ONE day? I don’t know about y’all, but, I think I’d be pretty terrorized, myself, freedom or no freedom.

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

Oops! Almost forgot a poem. I’m not sure why, but, this one seems appropriate for today… It seems long, but, it really isn’t….

Elemental, dear Watson….

Don’t worry,
it’s not
me
you hear
screaming.

It is
only
my bones,
giving in,
to
cowardly,
pathologically,
repetitive,
fucking,’
complaints
of
past abuse,
and
all the fun
we had.
playing,
hard.

I don’t mind
too much;
I can spend my
TIME
in another space
in my head,
pretending
my bones
don’t
exist….

It
is,
indeed,
a shame
they
always
come
back….

Fuck.

It
hurts.

More proof,
I guess,
either
God isn’t,
or,
He is.

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

He is?
Then,
I don’t fucking care
who
doesn’t like it,

I say,

He
is
a bully,
a coward,
a hypocrite,
and,
truly,
an enormous asshole.

I suppose,
God
is
what comes,
to,
and
from,
People,

because

they
feel
a need,
for
someone
to
blame,
for
a
Universe
they
cannot
understand
or
accept.

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Okay, this is one of the world’s quickest pearls…. I’m up late, thanks to a completely useless routine, which has been shredded to remove any consistency over the last ten weeks of fighting with my body, a direct result of the drastic, radical med reduction forced on me by a large, soulless HMO which shall, for this moment, remain unnamed, lest the sound of its sobriquet stimulate more rage…. These pearls were all chosen because they were the first, best ones I saw…. that’s it…. I hope this works….

“You can’t fight City Hall, but you can punch out the mayor …” — Smart Bee

“Remember, Big Brother is watching you – and Big Brother is paranoid.” — Smart Bee

“A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.” — Bertrand de Jouvenel

“Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.” — Vice President Dan Quayle, 5/20/92 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)

“Anyone can be great with money. With money, greatness is not a talent but an obligation. The trick is to be great without money.” — Italo Bombolini

“I keep hearing that Jesus Christ is coming, but nobody knows his tour dates.” — Michael Lucas

You may see me tonight with an illegal smile.
It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while.
Won’t you please tell the man
I didn’t hurt anyone.
No, I’m just trying to have me some fun.

~~ John Prine ~~

Hmm… not bad at all for the literary equivalent to instant coffee…. I’ll take it….

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

All things considered, this came out fairly well, I think. Well enough, I’m going to use some restraint, by not dumping any more tricks on y’all. I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided the Mayor doesn’t have me arrested for public shaming of elected officials, which is probably in the city ordinances by now…. he’s been in office a while…. (That’s a joke, for you dudes at the NSA….) Have fun out there, and remember to, always, Question Authority….. It’s a good idea, as mostly, Authority has no clue…. I was lucky enough to have met two who do…. have a clue, that is. Ta, then….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Dodge those taxes with dignity and aplomb….

Posted on February 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Nature abhors a vacuum, but not as much as cats do.”

~~ Lee Entrekin ~~

Turn it off. Now.

Photo stolen from Wolfie, at:

https://europasicewolf.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/mewling-the-blues-to-the-ancient-mythological-cat-goddesses/

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

Anyone who has lived with a cat knows the opening quote to be an exact statement of truth. I have never met, or observed any cat, in my entire life, who did not absolutely resent the mere presence of a vacuum, even if not operating, with every fiber of their being. If even one of them ever acquired a set of tools to suit their paws, I suspect, one morning, we would all find our loud, offensive-to-the-nature-of-CAT cleaning appliances in a small neat pile of metal pieces, covered over lightly with dirt, somewhere outside the house…. That one cat would destroy all he found in his neighborhood, then pass the tools and skills on to the first cat he met, until every vacuum in the world was useless…. If they could use computers, it would happen all that much faster…. probably in a matter of hours after booting up….

Yet, still, in the quiet moments between heartbeats, the soft, lyrical sound of simple peace may steal through the rear window of each person’s mind, to fill the air with the almost-painfully somber melody of broken dreams. Nighttime brings panic and fear, not slumber; terror rules the hours until light. Light brings its own baggage, weighting down each one it touches, bearing them down, down, to the pitted earth, never again to rise with any degree of hope….

Boy, that turned a little dark corner there, didn’t it. I have no idea how what I started as a lyrical fantasy, grounded in peace and beauty, to the nightmare of the fight with inner demons…. I suppose I need to watch the road signs more closely; the turn I took was NOT into the street I thought I was headed for, by a long shot….. Of course, by logical concatenation, since the street signs are put up by the government, they could conceivably be a lie….

Okay, sorry…. I know it’s too early for such a drastically rude shot to the head of a pundit, but, I’ve never been one to pass up a good opportunity like that one. I promise, no more ranting in this section, for today, at least. Naturally, this leaves us once more in the clutches of the dreaded “What the fuck do we do now?” beast, with its slavering jaws of death, smellier than the filthiest asshole in creation. Whew! Powerful stuff! I think I’m going to make an executive decision; this intro has gone completely off the wire, and out of the dimension. There’s no hope now of ever getting back on any reasonable track down the page without some sort of drastic intervention…. Hang on, ffolkes, I’m pulling the switch on #4…..

Shall we Pearl?

“It’s a bit hard to bullshit the ocean.

It’s not listening, you know what I mean?”

~~ David Crosby ~~

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

One can never watch too many cartoons, I say. We all need regular doses of fantasy to balance out the extreme levels of bullshit that permeates almost every level of our lives in this sad old world…. Besides, it’s always good to spend time with old friends….

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

Heckle and Jeckle

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

http://youtu.be/0Yvdxk9jxOQ

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

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

Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land?

All fear, none aid you, and few understand.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 261~~

Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, as a blog, continues to evolve, along with me, as I become more competent at formatting the text and pictures, learning to take advantage of how they can work together to strengthen whatever points I’m trying to get through to people. Today, rather than a rant, I’m going to use the principle of “a picture is worth a thousand words”, to deliver my usual indictment of the Asininnies, those who have perverted human culture for their own aggrandizement. You’ve seen all of these before on this site; I seem to have collected enough of them to form a pictorial old-school pearl, filled with my entire pantheon of issues about which to rant….. I don’t think I’ll need to say anything more; from this point on, it’s pretty self-explanatory…

Enjoy, ffolkes; it will be a nice break from the 2-3000 words I could have used to speak to all these pictures, each of which highlights part of the problems we face today, threatened with extinction as a species by the ignorant, cruel, selfishly self-centered actions of a precious few extreme assholes, disguised as human beings….. I might add, all of these pictures are taken from REALITY; there’s no speculation involved in any of these issues…. Remember that, next time you hear one of the Asininnies speak about “conspiracy theories”, or, try to deny culpability for all of their chicanery…. It isn’t a fantasy if it comes straight from reality, to slap you in your very real face….. or, shoot you in your very real heart…..

Flulaval-vaccine-insert-no-controlled-trials-640

There you go, ffolkes. The first ever fully-pictorial pearl. Not too shabby, and, it certainly saved y’all a shit load of reading, didn’t it? I kind of like it, but, it’s going to take a while now to collect enough pointed bamboo sticks to create another punji pit, placing some nice atropine on the points of the sticks, to provide that extra touch of agony to their deaths… Then, we’ll need to find a good spot to put it, where it can catch any stray Asininnies passing by, concealed well enough to ensure they take their final fall, about 12 feet down, to meet their chosen fate.

I find it to be only justice to consider such a cruel method of eliminating these human vermin, justice provided by most efficient bamboo stakes, tipped with a poison to paralyze the diaphragm, adding a touch of terror to their agony, hopefully for a good long while, until the numerous holes in their body bleed sufficiently to allow them to die the death they so richly deserve…. This has the added advantage of reducing the number of targets left to destroy in future revolutionary outbreaks, which I consider a pretty sure thing, given today’s state of world affairs…. It’s always a good policy to get a running start on unpleasant tasks, such as vermin control….

Gee! Do ya think I’m a little pissed off? Well…. you may be right…

gigoid, not speaking much, but, enough….

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

After such a compelling graphic rant, only one poem of mine will do….

Geezer to Congress, with Love

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

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

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

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I suppose the only proper way to describe what follows would be to call it a tongue-in-cheek pearl. Each one, which SB gave up in its inimitable style, isn’t actually as shallow as it may seem at first, once one gets past the flippancy, or in some cases, the simplicity…. No matter, they’re fun, and there are plenty of them, so, enjoy…. or not. I like to give everyone a choice, as you know….

“Sinners can repent, but stupid is forever.” — Smart Bee

“Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)

“What is becoming is honest, and whatever is honest must always be becoming.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

“Anything may be divided into as many parts as you please.” Commentary: In this case, ‘everything’ may be viewed as a subset of ‘anything.'” — Law of Arbitrary Distinction

“A closed mouth gathers no feet.” — Finster’s Law

“Ah say, son, you’re about as sharp as a bowlin’ ball.” — Foghorn Leghorn

“Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing can ever be made.” — Immanuel Kant

“Immanuel doesn’t pun, he Kant.” — Smart Bee

Doh! Sorry, ffolkes, I couldn’t help myself. SB threw them out there, & I fell right into the trap…. Okay, here is the correct final pearl for this particular group…

“Never refuse to do a kindness unless the act would work great injury to yourself, and never refuse to take a drink- under any circumstances.” — Mark Twain

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

Thankfully, most of this got done yesterday; getting it all done this morning would have been impossible, given the state of affairs in my body. Though my refusal to submit to any further med reduction has finally reached a point where I am able to get some sleep, I still awake in more pain than I’ve had to deal with for over seven years. Any thanks I may feel for this gift can be delivered directly to the door of a large soulless corporation, care of two doctors/slaves who are carrying out their draconian policy of punishing anyone who may not wish to submit to wearing a collar.

However, rather than continue to rant here in the closing section, I’ll make a 90 degree turn, and merely say, “See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, when we’ll fire off another round of shots, at those insane fools who would kill us all in their cowardly, insane quest for power….”

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Come, now, Malcolm….. budgies?…..

Posted on January 27, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Fear: False Expectations About Reality.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Image by Cheryl Johnson

http://twistedsifter.com/2015/01/cheryl-johnson-captures-soap-bubbles-in-freezing-cold-weather/

“Don’t lie to me, Billy.”
“Honest, Boss, I’d never do that! It’s what I saw!”
“You’re positive?”
“Yessir. I saw them, just like I told you!”
“Hmm. This could be serious. Send in my secretary on your way out.” As Billy turned to leave, a light lit up on one of the three telephones. The Boss snatched it up, barking into the mouthpiece, “What!”. As he listened, all the color drained from his face, with sweat appearing on his bald head. His secretary, entering with a steno pad, stopped to stare; the Boss was scared! She’d never seen such stark terror on a human face. As she paused, confused, he spoke again into the phone, in a voice dripping with fear, “Call my lawyer, and send a car around!” He turned to the secretary, with a face frozen in terror, to say, “Miss Freestone, bring me my monkey….”

Well, I think that will be quite enough of that…. I thought at first it might get somewhere, but, it sort of petered out there in the middle, not to mention the odd left turn at the end…. Oh well, it’s as good a way as any to test my typing, and, hell, it’s not totally useless; it got us started, right? Well, if one has no particular standards, it works, so, it’ll do just fine for this blog. We are justifiably proud of our amorphous nature, and wouldn’t have it any other way…..

Unless, of course, it would give me a method of introducing each day’s post, without straining what little creativity is lodged in my grey matter. It’s (my creativity) hard enough to find, much less persuade it to actually function normally, or even abnormally, a which is, at least, minimally possible. Asking it to do so on a daily basis would, no doubt, send it right into therapy, or a coma, whichever came first…. I’ve seen it happen, and, though it’s not actually painless, it’s not something I like to experience often….

Now I’ve slipped into the mire, in a manner of speaking, we’ll take our leave of the initial section, gladly, as always. I don’t know why, but, this section seems to give me more trouble than any other…. Even the video section doesn’t hassle me like this…. Ah well, such is life, and we’re trying to live up to our resolution to whine less often…. Let’s just take the opening now coming into view ahead, and be done with it. If y’all would kindly put down your beverages, buckle up, and smile into the camera, we’ll ease through the rather narrow opening, and be ready for our dive….. One, two, jump!….

Shall we Pearl?

“Reality is a sandwich I did not order.” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

The condition of the world today calls for a bit of light entertainment today, as contrast to the huge load of CRAP we are being subjected to in the daily news…. Here is another blast from our cultural past, with a cartoon that shaped the minds of millions of American children…. I give you, season 1 of our old companions, who taught us so well how to be Americans…. in a manner of speaking….

Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends

http://youtu.be/TEPfrlDx3Ws?list=PLLiiUM_otCJutsrJ_96ovG0nXWw6bIVhD

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

“A multitude of laws in a country is like a great number of physicians, a sign of weakness and malady.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

“Whether you have an abortion, what you put in your own body, with whom you have sex – these are not the affairs of the state. A government does not exist to control the citizens. When it does, it is a tyranny, and must be fought. The tree of liberty, Jefferson warned us, must be refreshed with the blood of tyrants and patriots.” — Gore Vidal

Personally, I think it’s time to clean house: I think Tom would agree, don’t you? Else, the Tree, which we have been entrusted to nourish, by rote of legacy, is under continual attack by tyrants, who would have us believe they are patriots. Those who inhabit the top echelons of our country’s government, the 555 people who get elected to be the responsible parties for our liberties, are completely out of touch with the average citizen, who has not the slightest clue they are being lied to at every turn.

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then–we elected them.” — Lily Tomlin

Consider this well: more than 525 of the above mentioned government officials have a yearly income exceeding a million dollars. The average American’s yearly income is well under one hundred thousand dollars, with the greatest majority making less than 25 thousand a year. Anyone who believes that a group of old, rich, white men (98% of the 555 mentioned…) can possibly have the same agenda as that of the average American is living in a fantasy world, probably without the proper medication…. Or, they have been brainwashed to believe they are SUPPOSED to believe any lies told to them…. I don’t see a lot of middle ground here, ffolkes, it’s a pretty clear situation…. How else to explain 55 MILLION votes for Mitt Romney in 2012, when it was common knowledge, even in his own camp, more than 50% of what he claimed during the campaign was completely false, proven to be a lie….

“For “ignorance is the mother of devotion,” as all the world knows.” — Robert Burton (1577-1640) — The Anatomy of Melancholy, Part iii, Sect. 4, Memb. 1, Subsect. 2

Yet, he came pretty close to being elected; only a few million popular votes separated the winner from the loser…. But, then, it has also been proven that Barry isn’t a slacker when it comes to “shading the truth”, aka, lying…. I would point out his staunch defense of the NSA, wherein numerous statements he’s made re: their activities have been shown to be false. He promised to have the most transparent administration in history; in matter of fact, the only historical record he’s broken in that respect is to have prosecuted more journalists for publishing leaked information than any other administration in history, reportedly by a factor of ten…. His administration has created a fear of publishing the truth among journalists that is frightening to consider….

“Amazing how mad some people get when someone makes them think.” — Smart Bee

Yet when any of the above is pointed out to the average voter, they become righteously offended, not wishing to admit, to themselves, or anyone else, the depths of their own foolish gullibility; so, they remain silent, thus giving their tacit approval, while perpetuating the covert mind control applied so skillfully by those who manipulate the media even more than they do the public….. It is hard to make coherent, competent decisions when one cannot trust ANY of the sources of information one is supposed to trust…. The natural result? People simply don’t question any of it very often; it’s much too hard to think about the humiliation of being a slave, when one is busy BEING a slave…. just the way the rich old assholes want them to be….

“The history of most countries has been that of majorities – mounted majorities, clad in iron, armed with death, treading down the tenfold more numerous minorities.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes poet, novelist, physician 1809-1894

In today’s world, the “majorities” of whom Dr. Holmes speaks wear badges, or camouflage clothing, can be identified easily, marked as they are by a martial attitude of aggression in place of compassion, or even diplomacy, adopting the role of prison guard in lieu of that of a public servant. The military is used as an arm of the business interests of the elite, sent around the world wherever money needs protection, under the guise of “spreading democracy to the unenlightened”, or, “fighting injustice and terror at its roots, protecting those at home”. There is no mention of the terror and injustice our troops are consistently guilty of bringing with them, or any acknowledgment of our government’s habit of bombing the crap out of innocent bystanders to enforce its political ends, is one of the worst examples of terrorism the world has ever seen…

At home, the police, armed with the excess military armor and weaponry so conveniently “over-stocked” by their comrades in the military, seemingly prepares for revolution among the masses, with draconian legislatures passing laws making protest a crime, (specifically prohibited in the Constitution, but, apparently, there are ways around that silly old document…. the Homeland Security Act being one of them….), enjoying immunity for violations of the rights of citizens, protected by the laws passed by their masters, the legislators and monied classes, whose property they are sworn to protect from the depredations of vandals, er, unpropertied citizens. Is it any wonder the monied elite are showing their teeth more? I have a feeling they’re getting a bit worried they might have gone too far….

I hope so, because a revolution, which, after all, merely means “change”, is WAY overdue in this country…. Tom Jefferson stated on more than one occasion his belief no nation should be long without one, lest it become complacent, which he knew to be a sure path to the loss of those freedoms he and his compatriots fought so hard to secure…. We, as American citizens, owe it to Tom, and George, (both of them, Washington and Mason), Tom Paine, Patrick Henry, and all the others who gave their all for you, and me, to educate ourselves, to know our rights, to fight for them….

It is the duty of every American citizen, to speak out against those who would in any way try to harm the Tree of Liberty, whether by direct attack, or, the way it has been done, slyly, patiently, cowardly, from within, using lies and money to corrupt…. until today, when virtually every one of those freedoms listed in the original Bill of Rights has been “amended”, or “suspended”, “for the good of the nation”…. It is time to stand up for this country, & take it back from the bankers, the pundits, the preachers, the gangsters, and the myrmidons, none of whom have any interest at all in anything but securing their own power over others, no matter who gets in their way….

gigoid has spoken…..

“What experience and history teach is this – that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it.” — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, “Philosophy and History”

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

Some might think I am an egotist, for using my own poetry so often…. Nope, though I will admit to having an ego; I’ll also admit it’s not tiny. But, most of the time, I put one of mine here just because I’m A) lazy, B) late, or C) trying to be polite, by not bringing any one else’s name and reputation into play where there is a chance of a poor reception… In short, to save them from being blamed for any of what goes on here, by association….. This one is also one I’m proud of, if only for the last line…. Besides, how many writers do you know who can cram the word “stentorian” into a poem, eh?….

Dreaming of Calliope

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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

My sleep pattern is once again on the fritz, so, we’re going to the archives for today’s old school pearl…. I don’t often do so, but, today, we’re settling, inasmuch as it is the most expedient method of achieving our ends…. truly, an American thing to do, wouldn’t you agree?….

From 10/28/2013:

Without even having to look, I know this is already nearing the point of the largest Pearl ever created on this blog; I must have buried more material in my brain while I was off cruising than I had imagined, because it’s all spilling out now,,, Ah well, it’s all been quite cathartic, so I’ll just make a last, quick, old-school group of pearls to make up the last pearl for today…. Enjoy, as we see what comes up on the Wheel of Philosophy, as interpreted by gigoid’s complex set of non-rules….

“No man is happy who does not think himself so.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 584

“Humans hardly ever learn from the experience of others. They learn – when they do, which isn’t often – on their own, the hard way.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“Heisenberg may have slept here.” — Smart Bee

“War loves to seek its victims in the young.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Scyrii, Frag. 507

“Beginnings and endings are, for the most part, artificial constructs. You say you begin when you are born, but what of those months spent growing in the womb? Endings are hazier still, for further things may occur that extend and enlarge the earlier story. And that is my final sentence on the subject. Or perhaps this one is the final sentence. No, most assuredly what I write now is the final word on the matter. But now that I think upon it, perhaps this….” — The Teachings of Ebenezum, Vol. LVII (Abridged)

20. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. — Instructions for life

“I know things about TROY DONAHUE that can’t even be PRINTED!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

Well, that’s that. I don’t even have the time, or the inclination, to do much proofing, so, if there are errors, so be it. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided my mood improves…. feeling a bit curmudgeonly today….. Ta, then….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Looks like a can o’corn….

Posted on January 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I think the Wheel of Morality needs a tune-up.”

~~ Wakko Warner ~~

‘Tis a sad old world we live in, isn’t it? The sculpture you see above, located in a courtyard on the grounds of Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland, is certainly a perfect metaphor for a lot of my ranting, wouldn’t you agree? When I took the picture, I didn’t realize it, but, looking at it now, especially with the oh-so-perfect pearl above it, really drives that point home, for me….

Since the quote and picture worked so well, I’m going to try a new method of starting these Pearls, in which the intro section does exactly what it is intended to do, to wit: introduce today’s Pearl…. Let’s see how it goes….

Today, I have much to do out in the BBR, so, the Pearl you see will be a bit truncated, if only in terms of fresh material…. A quick video pick, a modified ranting section, and some archived material should cover it all nicely, I think…. With no further need for the usual drama and build-up of angst, we shall proceed to the day’s effort, just as if we did this every day…. I think you’re going to enjoy this, if only for the change of pace….

But, please, don’t forget to fasten your seat belts, and keep your thinking caps handy, okay? Right….

Shall we Pearl?

“Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head.” — G. K. Chesterton

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

This particular collection of classical music is one of my favorite compilations…. Listening to Mozart has an advantage over most classical music, in that it stimulates brain activity, while simultaneously calming the nerves, and soothing the psyche…. You will need this in order to be able to successfully navigate the ranting section today…. Trust me on this….

Best of Mozart : Ouvertures , Sonatas , Eine Kleine Nachtmusik , Concertos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCB7c7RDmyU

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

“A friend once asked if it was true that no politician ever failed by underestimating the intelligence of the peasants and livestock. I told him we would never know, because their intelligence was something that was impossible to underestimate.” — President Weishaupt, “Church & State” by Dave Sim

I don’t have the time, nor the energy, to rant today, though my angst really needs to be released…. It is especially powerful since seeing the following three posts on talesfromtheconspiratum.com. Read these, and you’ll get the same effect as a rant based on the above quote…. It will have to do for today….

http://talesfromtheconspiratum.com/2015/01/06/the-american-people-are-utterly-clueless-about-what-is-going-to-happen-as-we-enter-2015/

http://talesfromtheconspiratum.com/2015/01/06/activists-plastered-the-london-tube-with-posters-telling-people-their-jobs-suck/

http://talesfromtheconspiratum.com/2015/01/06/north-korea-rebuttal-at-un-u-s-the-biggest-violator-of-human-rights-in-the-world/

Ffolkes, if you aren’t worried now, you’re simply not paying attention…. But, then, that’s part of the whole problem, isn’t it? Ah well, the following piece of truth tells us why…..

“It is human nature that rules the world, not governments and regimes.” — Svetlana Alliluyeva

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

Staying with today’s theme….

Geezer to Congress, with Love

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

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

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

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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

As mentioned, time is at a premium, so, we’ve gone to the archives to find an appropriate piece…. This one will do nicely….

From 4/10/2013:

In re: freshness, since the poem section is only half and half, I’ll put together an old-school pearl for this last section today…. It’s a bit shorter, and takes less time than another rant…. Here is one with a very obscure, but valid, point…. which, of course, is left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader….. (that’s you…..) ….. Enjoy!

But Faith, fanatic Faith, once wedded fast
To some dear falsehood, hugs it to the last.

~~ Thomas Moore (1779-1852) — Lalla Rookh, The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan ~~

‘Tis not the fairest form that holds The mildest, purest soul within;
‘Tis not the richest plant that holds The sweetest fragrance in.

~~ Dawes ~~

“Human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece.” — Vladimir Nabokov

“In God We Trust.” I don’t believe it would sound any better if it were true.” — Mark Twain

“Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.” — Jules de Gaultier

“It is human nature to think wisely & act foolishly.” — Anatole France

He ne’er is crown’d
With immortality, who fears to follow
Where airy voices lead.

~~ John Keats (1795-1821) — Endymion, Book ii ~~

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

I don’t much like giving in to expediency, but, this time, it didn’t work out too badly; moreover, it’s done, which, as we know, is all I really care about…. I’ll try to give it a bit more effort tomorrow, ffolkes, if I make it that far….. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

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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Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Asininnies

But, it’s so STUDIOUS! Quick, let’s polish it!….

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