Kindly confine the excess salivation to the spittoon…..

Posted on August 23, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio.”

(It is when I struggle to be brief that I become obscure.)

~~ Horace ~~

from Ars Poetica

The above picture is from NASA, the US Space agency; it’s a self-portrait of the Mars Rover, Curiosity, taken in 2014, after a year of exploring Mars. I have included it today, simply because it makes me proud to be human. We have a robot on Mars, dammit! Not only were we able to send it there, let it touch down without crashing itself into small pieces, with computers, and all its delicate equipment intact, using an incredibly complex method of landing from orbit, once it had traversed the hundreds of millions of miles just to get to where it could orbit the planet….

Not only did we get it there, safely down to the surface, it is advanced enough it can communicate with us, here on Earth, well enough for us to be capable of receiving high resolution, LIVE pictures, such as this self-portrait, composed of a panoramic collage of photos taken by the robot’s camera arm…. I cannot express, loudly, or long enough, the importance of the simple fact that WE HAVE REACHED ANOTHER PLANET!

Perhaps we are not yet there in person, but, to have a representative there, a functioning explorer/ambassador of our culture, in constant touch with the home planet, is enough of a wonder to give me the shivers when I consider it…. It’s not a big step, in terms of the total distances involved in space, but it is one more significant step on the only path I can see saving us form our own foolishness, to wit; the path to the stars….

When I was a child, I read a lot of Science Fiction, along with all I was learning in school; over the years, up to high school, and into college, I became convinced that exploring the stars is the only purpose I can think of worthy of Mankind’s ultimate attention, as a goal for the entire species to reach… There is so much out there to learn, and we’ve had so little time, compared to all there is, or will be; we can never, individually, learn all there is to learn, see all there is to see, for what we know now tells us, without doubt, there is no end in sight to the sheer variety and diversity of the Universe, in all its ancient glory, all the way to the ends of the visible space, over a BILLION light years away, in space, and, in time for it takes that long, a billion years, just for the light of those distant galaxies to reach our eyes….

At my tender age, I didn’t know how foolish most men are, or how stupidity, and the cupidity of men with no honor, would place all of us, every single human alive, in the direst of jeopardy, before the end of my life here on Earth…. but, that is what has happened…. The cumulative effects of the actions of just a few dishonorable, selfish, violently insane men, who, unfortunately, are in control of most of society’s resources, have reached a critical point, where the choice of the wrong path, in the next few years, may well determine whether we live long enough, as a species, to have the chance to even reach the limits of our own solar system, much less travel to the nearest stars, a bit over 4 light years distant…

What I didn’t realize when I was young, is that the path to Alpha Centauri, or it’s twin, the closest star system to ours, and beyond, would be the ONLY path upon which we humans will have any real chance to survive. If we do NOT leave our planet soon, the internal pressures in society are going to explode, and the damage we have caused to our own planet is going to reach a point from which there is no retreat…. We need to start a solid, self-supporting colony on another planet, or three, or four, or we are not going survive past the end of the current century…. It’s harsh, but, I don’t see any way around this…. it’s simple math, and simple logic….

If we, as a species, cannot get our act together, stop killing each other, and quit fucking with the environment through our ignorance and avarice, then, for sure and for certain, we are ALL going to die, along with most of the other mammalian life on this planet…. The insects, and some of the lower orders of plants and microbes (lichen, fungus, viruses, etc…) may last a while, but, not in the form they are in now…. Life, as we know it on this planet, will cease, and never be missed by an indifferent Universe…. This, ffolkes, I’m sorry to say, is NOT speculation, and NOT a guess. If we don’t quit our bullshit, NOW, it will be too late….

I’m sure you’ve heard of, or seen, the reports from various points around the globe about sinkholes that are showing up where none were ever seen before, both in remote areas, and in settled ones… These holes are not completely understood, but one thing is clear; they are most likely a result of the melting of the permafrost, which exists under the first layers of ice in the poles, and, under the ground, all over the world… In this permafrost is a chemical substance, a gas, which, though natural to nature, is toxic in large amounts, and acts as one of the most powerful catalysts to climate and environmental changes ever discovered….

Introducing large amounts of the gas trapped in the permafrost is scientifically certain to cause changes in the chemical balance of the atmosphere, and can be shown to happen at a hyperbolic rate once begun, increasingly faster with each molecule added to the air…. This gas, once reaching a certain percentage amount in the air, will alter the percentages of gases in the air we breathe, making it toxic, poisonous for us to breathe…. AND, there are two things to note about the process we are seeing in the formation of the sinkholes….

First, once begun, there is no known way to stop the catalytic changes from continuing…. we haven’t a clue how to stop what it will do. The second item of note is this…. all these sinkholes show an intense concentration of the pertinent substance to which I referred, inside, as well as coming out, of the air in the holes, mixing with the general atmosphere, meaning the permafrost below the hole is melting, at a rate we cannot halt….

We may already be dead, and not even know it…. How ’bout them apples, eh?

I am unsure of how to view this news…. It’s all true; everything I wrote in the above paragraphs can be found in the daily news, with a bit of minor digging…. Hell, I’m not entirely cognizant of either how I got started on this, or why I didn’t stop myself…. I started off with a positive outlook, but, reality set in, I suppose, and the rest just flowed from there…. I guess this is one way to get my ranting out of the way….

I’ll leave this here, since I’ve said all that can be said on the matter; at this point, it all boils down to one question, to wit: Will we have time to find our way out of the damn near insoluble situation in which we’ve placed ourselves, live up to our promise, and beat a path to the stars? or, will we continue to allow our own worst qualities determine our fate, thus putting the first, and most likely, the last nail in our own coffin?

Sadly, your guess is as good as mine, and, I don’t have a clue; all I have left is a little bit of hope, and it has a hard time manifesting at all….. SIGH… I guess we should get on with the rest of this; I’ve made it hard on myself today, by insisting on dealing with such a depressing subject, first thing…. Perhaps it will have a good effect on the rest of this one… One can never tell, can one?…. I can’t, and, here, that’s all that matters, in the final analysis…. On that singularly obvious note, let’s be off….

Shall we Pearl?…..

While I pondered on this dangerous pastime…
I took a heavenly ride through our silence…
I knew at that the moment had arrived…
For killing the past and coming back to life.

~~ Pink Floyd ~~

Coming Back To Life

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I really don’t know what came over me up there…. I’m getting pretty unpredictable when it comes to this ranting stuff; I might have to just give it a rest for a time, though I don’t know what I’d do with all the build-up of internal pressure liable to happen if I do that; it’s been known to cause problems for NASA when it gets to be too much….. not that I really know how that works, but, when you get Federal Marshals at your door enough times, it gets old fast….

Now I’m falling into silly mode, and it’s still a bit early for that….. Well, perhaps not. Why don’t I see if Smart Bee can help out a bit? I’ll put together an old-school pearl, with random parameters set to silly, & see what happens, okay? Okay…. Let’s dive into the world wide web, & find us some oysters…. the metaphorical kind….

“Cthulhu! You’ve been SPOKEN to about biting the readers!” — Smart Bee

“First prepare the soup of your choice and pour it into a bowl. Then, take the bowl and quickly turn it upside down on the cookie tray. Lift the bowl ever so gently so that the soup retains the shape of the bowl. Gently is the key word here. Then, with the knife cut the soup down the middle into halves, then quarters, and gently reassemble the soup into a cube. Some of the soup will run off onto the cookie tray. Lift this soup up by the corners and fold slowly into a cylindrical soup staff. Square off the cube by stuffing the cracks with this cylindrical soup staff. Place the packet in your purse or inside coat pocket, and pack off to work.” — Steve Martin

“A detective story generally describes six living men discussing how it is that a man is dead. A modern philosophic story generally describes six dead men discussing how any man can possible be alive.” — G. K. Chesterton, A Miscellany of Men

“Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.” — Smart Bee

“Courtroom: A place where Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot would be equals, with the betting odds in favor of Judas.” — H.L. Mencken

“I find more and more, as I grow older, that I prefer women to men, children to adults, animals to humans… And rocks to living things? No, I’m not that old yet.” — Edward Abbey

“Now that I have my “APPLE,” I comprehend COST ACCOUNTING!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

As is usual when we go random, it ended up a bit eclectic…. Silly, but, eclectic…. Hmm, not a bad combination, for a throw-together concept… Well, onward…..

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I’m in the mood for Keats, so, that’s what you get today…. So be it, gigoid has spoken….

Ode To A Nightingale

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
‘Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thy happiness,—
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

O for a draught of vintage, that hath been
Cooled a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provencal song, and sun-burnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth;
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:

Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs;
Where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new love pine at them beyond tomorrow.

Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee! tender is the night,
And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Clustered around by all her starry fays;
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
Fast-fading violets covered up in leaves;
And mid-May’s eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.

Darkling I listen; and for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Called him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain—
To thy high requiem become a sod

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is famed to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:—do I wake or sleep?

~~ John Keats ~~

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For this section, since I ranted already, and created a pearl above (a strange one, admittedly, but, fresh as can be….), I’m going to dip into the archives for this section…. This is not a rant, per se, but, more of a discussion, with rant-like qualities…. I enjoyed it, so, I suggest you do to….

Just kidding, it’s worth a look, if only to check out how little things have changed in the last eight months of history on this sad old ball of mud…. At least, little about humanity has changed; the universe is rolling merrily along, as always….

From 1/13/2014:

Perception is, perhaps, the most elementally intricate quality we possess as living creatures. Through the five-plus senses we bring to the process, we receive information from the universe that gives us what we require, in order to be able to interact with Reality, (another term for the Universe… for the purposes of this discussion, anyway….) in some sort of way that is meaningful to us.

This information comes to us in a variety of forms, and our minds must utilize the complex, yet subtle qualities of imagination, reason, logic, and all those mental functions that our minds have discovered to organize the information, functions whose etiology are basically unknown to us, as part of our basic nature. We don’t think about, or feel in any way, the process of seeing, or smelling, or touching, except in the context of the sense itself…. We just DO it….

Yet each sense is such that it works WITH all the others, in ways we don’t really understand, to give us the pictures in our heads that show us how our minds perceive the world outside us…. We, being the imaginative creatures we are, have evolved all sorts of ways to organize and utilize our perceptions, all of which are again connected (remember that complexity part…) to another facet of Reality, which is our motivation for what we do, an outgrowth of our judgments of what we perceive…. We perceive, we judge, we act on that judgment, all according to our basic outlook on life, and how we choose to accept, and use, what we perceive….

This subject, I know, is a bit esoteric for such a venue, but, I’m leading up to a point, which is this…. We all perceive the world differently, but, that doesn’t mean the world takes that into any account…. It’s one of our hardest lessons to accept when we are forced to admit that the Universe, in all its majestic glory, couldn’t give a tiny little crap for us, or for what we think of the way things are…. If we choose to interact with it in such a way that we are breaking the basic rules that everything works by, then we will have to pay the price, in the only way that the Universe uses to exact payment, to wit: extinction….

Now, given that, it seems to me that my ranting about all of this*** is a bit like that ant crawling up the elephant’s leg, with belligerent intentions…. In short, it’s not really a productive way to achieve whatever it is I’m trying to do, as I can see only one possible outcome, which, the odds, and logic, would tend to dictate doesn’t include any need for any worry on the part of the elephant…. All that is a long winded, pedantic way of saying that my rants, while satisfying on a personal level for the release they provide, are mostly a waste of breath, in a practical sense…. Nothing will change because I rant, in spite of the need for change being the whole purpose behind the rant…

The major part of that reason, I think, lies in the fact that I’m preaching to the choir…. None of the ffolkes, or folks, who read my blog, (with the possible exception of any bored NSA drones who may be assigned to do so merely because of my anti-government stance, shown by the use of key phrases indicating my opposition….), are in any position to make any of the changes themselves, even though many of them would be willing to do so, I think…. But, the people who inhabit the halls of our government in Washington, and in other capitols around the world, DON’T read my blog, nor do they agree with most of the things about which I rant….

Why is that, do you think? Why don’t the people who govern us agree with any of what I say in my rants? It’s all stuff that can be proven, and is certainly important enough to all of us to warrant discussion… But, they don’t agree… They have their own agendas, which don’t look like anything that anyone in the great unwashed masses could come up with, even though they supposedly represent US…. These are our representatives, ffolkes…. I found this short comment in an old Pearl, which I think sums up most of my point pretty well…..

(From May 12, 2012):

“Such bickerings to recount, met often in these our writers, what more worth is it than to chronicle the wars of kites or crows flocking and fighting in the air?” — John Milton (1608-1674) — The History of England, Book iv

Did you ever wonder why a group of crows is called a congress? I didn’t. It makes perfect sense to me…. Dark, sinister looking creatures who act in odd ways, even for birds. Their behaviors tend to lean toward stealing shiny objects from wherever, or stealing the food of people or other animals and birds. When they speak, it is in a voice that grates on the ear like fingernails on a slate. In groups, they mill around, cackling and grumbling and jostling each other, until they all fly off to different areas to carry out whatever nefarious schemes they have hatched among themselves.

No, I have no problem envisioning a congress of crows; in fact, I believe they are in session, now, in Washington, D.C. …. Why, look! Here’s a list of them now!…..

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/01/10/congress-is-mostly-full-of-millionaires-but-who-are-the-richest/#19551101=0

Them’s some affluent crows, ain’t they?…. That’s what happens when any politician is given the keys to the treasury….. One last query…. Who gets to say how much money members of Congress get paid? Answer: They are authorized to set that themselves…. Okay, one more… Who authorized them? Why, they authorized that themselves, of course….

I’m tired now…. I’ve managed to spout off now about the Asininnies, or, at least, about the 545 of them who inhabit the top levels of OUR democratic bureaucracy, for a good, oh, thousand words or so, and once again, it will end up being read by those who mostly agree… (I’m making the assumption, reluctantly, but, with confidence, that if they DIDN’T agree, they’d leave a comment to say so…. I know MY Gentle Readers would do so….), so, I’m perfectly aware that no changes will happen because of what I’ve written….

I don’t feel any better, either, damn it!….. 😦

*** It must be noted that “all of this” should be understood to include: global warming, and the impending ecological disaster, overpopulation, criminality of the Asininnies, most especially the egregiously selfish actions of the Beloved Ruling Class, the Shadowy Corporate Masters, Snakeheads in general, (human predators…. pimps, slavers, pedophiles, and the ilk…), and the Priestly Hierarchies….. Oh, yes, and, on the rare occasion, exposing Pooh’s evil twin….

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It definitely feels good to be able to get back to my routine, I must say…. Dealing with changes has me feeling rather cattish; cats get pretty upset when their routines get altered. Guess I must need to get out & about more, so I don’t get so crusty…. And, since I’ve probably rambled & blathered enough for 3 blogs already today, I should no doubt hit the road for the day…. I’ll be nice, and do that…. I will, however, give you fair warning…. I’ll be back tomorrow, ffolkes, so, set your watches, so you can be elsewhere at that time….. Hah!….. 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.

We have uncoded messages for the Betelgeuse delegation….

Posted on May 28, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I don’t care what anyone else says, I like this intro, so, here ’tis again…..

from 12/11/2011:

Ffolkes,
So, I was walking down the street the other day, quietly minding my own, when I came to a point where the street, and all the trees and houses that stood on each side, began to rapidly and silently fade away. All around me, a grey, swirling fog began to collect, shimmering in the air, cloaking the whole visible world with an insubstantial veil, until nothing at all could be seen, in any direction. The wind had died, and all was silent as the grave.

Behind me, veiled in the mist, I heard a slow, eerie, almost liquid scraping noise, as if a large slug were crawling down the sidewalk. I turned slowly, straining my eyes into the fog, trying to make out what was coming out of the mist. As I gazed, a shape began to take form, materializing before me as if created from the very air. The form slowly took shape, seeming to almost dissolve, then firmed, and became clear….. It had happened….. Our world would never be the same, for the prophecy had been true.

At last, in the very Nick of Time, our Blessed Day had come…… Forever more, the world will know the grace that flows endlessly from the healing hands of the Quirky Demon of Happiness, and All Good Shit, that underworld superstar known to all and sundry as Phil, the Frigging Awesome, half-brother (same father, different mother) of Alice, the Wiseacre, patroness and protector of short-order cooks, waitresses and tarbenders, er, bartenders…..

What you need to understand about the previous three paragraphs ….. ( Oh, yeah, wait…. sorry. This is now… I mean, it’s me… Well, shit, can I screw this up any worse? (Or, should that be “better”?….) It’s me, gigoid, and it’s now May 27th or 28th (I’m a little foggy just now, if you couldn’t tell….) in mid-2014…. just so you are on the same page…. of the calendar…. the hell with it… back to the intro….) is that I was suffering, at the time, from as close to boredom as I ever have been, in spite of the time of year….. Allow me to explain…

Well, maybe I’ll wait to explain…. Of course, waiting for an explanation is kind of like waiting for a campaign promise to be fulfilled…. Watch close, and it will never happen at all…. Why, no, I didn’t promise not to rant here in the intro, why do you…. oh, the campaign promise line….

No worries, ffolkes, it isn’t a rant, just an insult to all politicians, which is perfectly legal, and even encouraged on this site. I’ve been thinking of late that particular characteristic may have driven off a lot of old timers around here…. I DO have a tendency to run on and on about the BRC, Pimps, Priestly Hierarchies, and the ever-popular Corporate Snakeheads….

But, since THAT isn’t going to stop, until those particular groups have been either disbanded, eliminated from our culture, or otherwise brought into their own personal extinction, y’all may as well get used to it…. I’m retired from working, and as long as the assholes don’t carry out the constant threat to take away my Social Security money, I’ll have the wherewithal to keep after them for all the shit they pull on the rest of us, and I’ll keep posting these diatribes against them…..

They deserve every bit of my ire, and as much attention I can spare to rag on them, for all the shit they’ve already put us through, in the name of ‘security’….. just as if the word has ANY meaning at all, in a world where THEY live, only existing, as they do, to carry out their habitual predation upon the weaker members of reality….

Okay, that’s enough for now…. I’m ranting again, already, and it’s only the intro….. Once again, this calls for emergency extraction method #4, so, watch your step, and if seated, please make sure your seat belt is fastened….

Shall we Pearl?….

“I readily relapse into my reflections on the uselessness of our education. Its aim has been to make us not good and wise, but learned; and in this it has succeeded. It has not taught us to follow and embrace virtue and wisdom, but has imprinted their derivations and etymologies on our minds. We are able to decline ‘virtue’ even if we are unable to love it; if we do not know what wisdom is in fact and by experience, we are familiar with it as a jargon learned by heart.” — Michel de Montaigne, Essays

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I’m in relatively high-level pain mode today, so we’re again going with a lot of archived material, because it’s better than anything I could currently come up with for your perusal…. It’s been a while since I took any shots at the churches, bless their pointy little heads, so, here is one of my better salvos, from a year or so ago, good enough it was also used in January of this year…. Enjoy, or, at minimum, pay attention please, there is stuff in here that can actually improve your life, should you choose to accept it….

From 1/16/2014:

This religirant is a bit more pointed than the one above (in another Pearl…. gigoid in 2014) that spoke about the battle in society for the minds of the people; the battle here is the same, but the methods used by the Priestly Hierarchies, and people of the same ilk as Billy Graham, are different than those used by the BRC, though no less demeaning, and no more honest…. This rant is one of my more potent, and very clear as to the targeted group’s identity….. which, as always in anything to do with humans, includes just about everyone….

From 1/29/13:

Delusional material, very dangerous…. Read carefully….

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I may learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health, that I may do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I may be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for but everything I hoped for.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

– unattributed, even by Smart Bee (I can assign no blame to anyone, for not wanting to take credit for this….)

From the time we are small, our minds are programmed with the ideas and beliefs our parents and families held as truth, regardless of whether or not there is any actual truth to be found in them. We have little, or no, defense against these ideas, as we are naturally inclined to believe what our care givers tell us. While I can understand the way it works, it seems to me to be a shame, that we don’t come with a built in truth detector, to protect us before we are able to reason for ourselves. Until our minds have been trained, we tend to accept whatever someone in a position of authority tells us, which may keep us safe, in a physical sense, when we are small and vulnerable, but, is a dangerous habit to keep when grown.

The above is an example of how churches and the priestly hierarchies attempt to befuddle people into obedience and acceptance of their credos, aimed at those adults who have carried over their trust in authority into their adult views. On the surface, the statements seem to imply a certain morality, one of patience, compassion, and beneficence; but, underneath, they are merely designed to reinforce the ideas they wish to espouse, of obedience, humility, and subservience to authority.

If one is to believe the priestly hierarchies, we humans don’t really stand a chance against the universe…. In their minds, God has it all worked out, and it isn’t our place to question any of His prerogatives; we are here only to do His (translates as: their….) will, and to sing His praises (keeps us busy NOT thinking….). We are weak, bumbling, foolish creatures whose only claim to fame is that God loves us…. according to dogma. It occurs to me to ask, whenever I hear such nonsense, “So, which one of y’all is the one to whom God spoke, when he laid down all this specious crap? Also, when y’all talked with God, how long had it been since you last took a dose of your medication?”

I know, I know, not very friendly approach, but, sheesh, give me a break…. I mean, these people are responsible for a great deal of the suffering and trouble mankind has endured over the last 5000 years or so, and don’t even have the courtesy to take credit, or apologize. In their minds, all that stuff they do to maintain their status quo is justified by their holiness, or whatever it is they claim makes them special. And, all the time, in reality, everything they do is designed, ultimately, to bring coins to their purses, and food to their tables, at the expense of the ignorant mass of believers….

I feel a nasty rant coming on…. Sometimes, when I write one of these rips at religion, I just get SO ANGRY…. I’m mad at the preachers and priests, and those who support them, for their willingness to prey on the public, using the pretension of religious fervor and worship to justify their narcissism, and for the thousands of years of suffering that mankind has endured at their hands.

I am also angry at those people who buy into their bullshit, for not having the courage to use their minds, for blithely accept anything told to them by an authority figure, never even considering that there might be more to life than they are seeing…. It is all such a waste, and my anger knows no bounds….

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

Well, it would keep me busy if I could find any…. I had to include this little side-trip from Zippy in order to bring my anger level down. I was feeling the urge to let out ALL of the vulgar curses I could think of, to express how I feel about all the assholes who perpetrate this entire fallacy on the rest of humanity, knowing how gullible they are, and how little effort it takes to fool them into believing the most incredible bullshit.

I mean, how hard can it be to fool someone who would believe, even for a minute, that the recent spate of cold weather means that global warming is a myth? How hard is it to fool someone who will gladly trade their freedom in this life for the promised reward in the next life? It’s so damn easy that the fools actually come asking for it, to be made into puppets, just so they can believe they are beloved of God, and guaranteed a spot in Heaven…. I often wonder just how fit to survive our species really is, when we can’t even come to terms with our own sense of self, or learn to accept the responsibility for our own actions….

Most folks are so scared to think for themselves that they gladly surrender that chore to the priests and politicians, apparently not even caring how often they lie to them. Even when the lies are exposed, proved false beyond any doubt, people will hang on to their prejudices, and to the belief in supernatural beings that control our every move; they are quite unwilling to let go of what they’ve bought into all their lives, even when it’s clear that none of it is true. Most of the time, they are unwilling to even look at any arguments against what they hold to be true, preferring the solid comfort of their ignorance. Makes me want to puke, it does…. on THEIR shoes….

Ah well, I’ve spilled enough bile and venom for one morning. It would probably be best to move on, and let this one die a natural death. If nothing else, I got some angst and pressure relieved, for the time being. It is almost a comfort to know that the politicians and preachers will be providing more ammunition in the coming days, as they continue their campaign of oppression against the people of the Earth; that means I’ll always have plenty about which to rant…. Happy Days!….

“Those who won’t think will have it done for them.” – Smart Bee

Back to the future: We’ll bring this fine set of indictments to a close with this final note, along the same lines…..

“It’s all good, and, if they can’t take a joke, fuck ’em!” — gigoid, the dubious, in a curmudgeonly mood….

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

About ten months after writing the religirant in section one, I wrote this poem, which is a comment on that group, as well as the BRC and their corporate masters, all of whom are in the habit of lying to the public for their own ends…. I think this is one of my better efforts, relying only softly on metaphor, so, please enjoy….. To my mind, the final stanza is about as powerful an idea as I can put into poetic format….

From 10/11/2012:

Seeing is Conducive to Belief

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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

On the given date, this entry comprised two sections of the Daily Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, which, at that time, included five sections each day, each with one pearl under discussion…. These two followed the introduction, to which y’all were exposed above, in today’s intro section, as part of this mammoth archive Pearl, put together because I got stuck going through old stuff… I hope you enjoy it…though I know there’s a lot, it’s worth the time…. Well, I think so, or I wouldn’t have written it, now, would I? Nope…. Okay, so I would have, anyway…. It’s still not too shabby….

12/11/2011:

“The pursuit of power is the quest for the unattainable by the unphilosophical though the tactics of the unspeakable.” — Smart Bee

“If Jesus came back today, and saw what was going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.” — Max Von Sydow’s character in Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters

There are two taglines here, placed next to each other to form a picture in the mind. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but the political scene in this country in the last couple of months has been a delightfully chaotic circus, a veritable fountain of idiotic proclamations, deliberate (and inadvertent!) expressions of absolute ignorance, and scary predictions of what would change, should any of the currently frenzied candidates make it to the Presidency.

It makes it very easy to come up with stuff to write about, but as it progresses, my sense of sadness, and dismay, grow ever stronger. These people keep saying and doing things that make it perfectly clear that if they were elected, this country would be hastened down the destructive path we’ve been on at an even faster rate of deterioration than is already taking place.

Just recently we’ve been informed that one of the women candidates feels it is just fine & dandy to separate children from their parents, who happen to be illegal immigrants, who have been in this country for 25 years, doing the jobs no American will take, by forcibly sending the parents back to Mexico, or from wherever they came. Another one wants to get rid of my Social Security retirement benefits, so they can put more money into the pockets of the big drug companies and health management organizations. Another one thinks it is okay to raise the taxes on the poverty level and middle classes, while ensuring a large tax break for the rich.

As part of the package, all of them are spouting bald-faced lies on a daily basis, all documented in the media, and all ignored by the ignorant fools who support these power-hungry sycophants, who will say anything to achieve their ends, because they know that no one will call them on it. It seems to escape the public in general, but we have created a society where our leaders lie to us continuously.

Why? Because there are no consequences for lying. The lies are ignored, or at most commented upon regarding their strategic effects. It pisses me off, big time…..so I’d better go on to the next Pearl, before I start another rant…..easy to do in this atmosphere…..
___________________________________

“Ignorance is never out of style. It was in fashion yesterday, it is the rage today, and it will set the pace tomorrow.”– Franklin K. Dane

When I first decided to include this little truism, I didn’t realize that the previous Pearl would end up discussing the same subject. It would not be terribly difficult to comment again, as I see this as the single greatest factor in determining whether or not our species is going to survive. Probably only a few scientists know how grim the situation really is, and they keep putting that message out for public consumption to the best of their abilities.

The problem is, it is the ignorant who are already in charge. The leaders of not just our country, but most of the countries in the world, are under the control of people who have no interest whatsoever in confronting the issues of climate change, global warming, air pollution, or destruction of the food chain. They refuse to place any credence in what they’ve been told, because none of it will help them in meeting their goals of continued domination of the lower classes, and increased wealth for the privileged few.

It’s not a pretty picture, but it isn’t going to change until those in society who are NOT ignorant find the courage to confront the powers that be, and force them to change their ways…..I don’t see it happening, unfortunately, but I can always hope, can’t I?……

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

It’s early yet, & I’m done…. but, that’s what happens when I use all archived material, I guess…. It will give me more time to fret and worry over stuff I can’t change, which, in turn, will drive me up the wall, so, I suppose I’d best get on with it, so I can clean up afterward…. none of which makes any sense to you, I’m sure, but, that’s okay, it doesn’t make any sense to me, either, so, we’re even, and good to go…. Lucky think, too, because, look, here we are at the end….. See ya, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Distracted by a classic diversion…. cinnamon-glazed potato cakes….

Posted on May 10, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Soft, puffy, pristine white clouds scudded lazily across the morning sky, looking like nothing so much as huge balls of cotton, tumbling through the blue vastness, dazzling in the bright sun. The chirping calls of thousands of awakening birds echo through the trees, as the mundane creatures of the night silently retreat to their dens, giving way to those who hunt by day….

One of these predators, walking on two legs, is up, moving through the dappled light between the trees…. With rapid steps, he heads east, toward the sun, moving silently between the trees as the bright orb rises slowly, higher and higher, laying a blanket of oppressive heat over the landscape, stirred by the gentlest of breezes, enough only to make one wish for more….

Whoever that is, walking through the tropical forest (it’s too hot, too early to be anywhere but tropical…) is on their own today; I don’t care what he’s hunting, or how hot it gets…. It is now 0215 AM, and I’m up, wide awake, having slept for eight straight…. an unusual occurrence, to say the least…. I won’t be going back to sleep awhile yet, as I slept right through two pain pills (thank you mary jane!)…. Now, here I am, at this ungodly hour, wide awake, nerves dancing with massive dyskinesia, the result of missing two doses of Norco…. That alone will take an hour, before the pill I took hits, & I can stop jitterbugging in my chair, like a junkie who needs a fix….

So, I began with a landscape/story opening, just for practice, and to see how my mind is loosening up so far today…. Not too bad, all in all, so, there may be some hope for this process yet; I’ll be gracious, and try to assume the WORST is not necessarily going to happen…. I’m not yet ready to completely give up my curmudgeon status, so, I won’t be anticipating any Pollyanna issues, such as positive proof of the death of Murphy; however, I WILL try to keep a bit of a positive outlook about the future, especially as it pertains to this….

That isn’t to say I’ll be any more lucid or coherent than I usually am; no, I won’t make promises I can’t keep…. But, it does mean I probably won’t bite anyone, at least, not until someone actually SAYS something really stupid to me…. The mere act of being stupid in my vicinity won’t be held against them, beyond a bark or two, and I’ll break tradition so far as to go unarmed for the first couple of hours, until these homicidal urges pass….

By “unarmed”, I mean, of course, I won’t carry any guns, crossbows, spears, atl-atl’s, or other types of projectile weaponry…. Items such as knives, cords, shuriken, that sort of hidden tool set, doesn’t count toward the state of being unarmed, as I carry at least one of each of those at ALL times…. Just an old habit learned at me father’s knee, so to speak, and not subject to alteration…. You know how a Christian feels naked without clothes? Well, that’s me, without my standard tool set…

As is patently obvious at this point, though, it becomes clear that this intro section IS subject to alteration, and thank goodness for small favors, eh?…. In fact, I’ve already blathered sufficiently, following the fictional opening, to be able to legally call this an intro, and be done with it…. That, given the time of day, and my state of mind, may just save my ass, and, by logical concatenation, yours as well…. I find it to be a very good policy to keep the asses of my Gentle Readers intact, insofar as it is at all possible to do so; it makes everybody happier, especially my insurance guy….

With that in mind, I believe we’ll bring this to a halt; I’ll be firm, as it appears to be making an attempt to drag itself on, preventing me from either finishing this, or getting on with the rest of today’s effort…. But, as I say, firm…. so, with no further ado, we apply #4….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“We are all bozos on the bus of life, lunatics every one, but there is a difference; the one who can analyze his own delusion is often called a learned person, a philosopher.” — unknown smart guy, found in Smart Bee

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

“The public weal requires that men should betray and lie and massacre.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. i, Of Profit and Honesty

http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Obama-at-Wal-Mart-touts-efficiency-angers-labor-5465332.php

When I first saw this article, I wasn’t going to react; it was on one of those recent days when my pain level was through the roof, and it seemed too much effort to get into…. but, today, I’m okay, for the nonce, at least, so, we’ll take a shot at it, and see how it goes….

In truth, this article is one that provides us with a number of issues to discuss, so we should probably pick one to focus on, so we don’t get too lengthy, or involved to the point of distraction, & spend the entire day at it, creating an opus that nobody will ever read…. too long, too windy, too pedantic… So, lets see…. We could go for the obviously metaphorical conjunction of a “transparent” president using one of the country’s most reviled corporations as an example of green technology commitment; this, of course allows for a discussion of the minimum wage, and healthcare reform, either of which is a subject Wal-Mart fails at, totally…..

Or, we could talk about how Obama is now, finally, after six years in office, getting around to doing something about the climate change issue, as he promised in his first campaign, regarding an issue which, now, is even further away from being fixable than it was in 2008….

Or, we could talk about how Obama, and the BRC in general, are becoming less and less clandestine in their efforts to conceal the lies that are their stock in trade….. (Now, don’t start on me…. He’s a politician, therefore, he lies…. That is not a theorem, that is a proven fact, and arguing about it is counterproductive…. Please see the original pearl, at the beginning, by Montaigne; if they knew this in the 1500’s, it is certainly not disproved by any of today’s political figures…. They ALL lie, ffolkes, get used to it….)

I voted for Barry…. At the time, he was the only logical choice, since the only decision to make was which was the lesser of the evils, in the field from which we were forced to choose…. But, I was never convinced of his actual honesty, as the previous four years of his administration had already demonstrated he was no different than any other man who occupied that office in the last hundred years or more…. They all lied ffolkes, regularly, and with no shame; if you don’t believe that, then, I’m sorry, there is nothing at all that can be done to save your sorry ass from the consequences of that belief….

I’ve previously ranted numerous times on this subject, so I shouldn’t have to demonstrate any further just how often the lies are spread; my only source of data comes from the daily news, which is available to everyone, just as it is to me. All of the evidence needed to convict any politician is right there, in the public record for anyone to read, at any time of the day or night…..

The hardest part for me is to realize that, much of the time, the lies aren’t even being covered up any more; more and more often, they are being left right out there in the public eye, obviously untrue, yet, the Beloved Ruling Class says nothing to augment, defend, or alter them….. whereupon, the public just accepts it with resignation, or with deliberately ignorant enthusiasm…. Myself, I find it hard to be enthusiastic over having my ass reamed on a consistent basis by those who ostensibly work for me….

Ah well…. I could rant all day on this subject; there is a lot of evidence that supports it, and it’s easy to pick out examples that prove my contention. I mean, examples of political prevarication are all over the news, every day; one need only look, to find…. But, I feel too good this morning, physically, to spend any more time at this; I still have to read TODAY’s news, so, I figure it would be best to let go of what came from a couple days ago…. There will be plenty more data for me to use, should I choose to take up this gauntlet another time, I’m sure….

After all, all I have to do is watch TV, and wait for one of them to open their lips…. At that point, I know I’ll have another choice lie to add to my evidential pile….

“It is an unhappy lot which finds no enemies.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 499

“It is better to deserve honours and not have them than to have them and not to deserve them.” — Mark Twain

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

I wish I had known Oscar Wilde…. I think we would have had a lot to talk about…. Plus, the society of his time hadn’t a clue as to what to do about him, so, I think we would have been, in that sense, brothers in arms…. I like some of his poems, too, and though this isn’t one of them, it IS a good one…. I don’t always go with my own tastes; I try to be flexible, acknowledging those works that deserve it, even though it may not be completely to my liking…. This is okay; it’s a very good poem…. I just like others better…. Nonetheless, enjoy, please….

A Vision

Two crowned Kings, and One that stood alone
With no green weight of laurels round his head,
But with sad eyes as one uncomforted,
And wearied with man’s never-ceasing moan
For sins no bleating victim can atone,
And sweet long lips with tears and kisses fed.
Girt was he in a garment black and red,
And at his feet I marked a broken stone
Which sent up lilies, dove-like, to his knees.
Now at their sight, my heart being lit with flame,
I cried to Beatrice, ‘Who are these? ‘
And she made answer, knowing well each name,
‘AEschylos first, the second Sophokles,
And last (wide stream of tears!) Euripides.’

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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

I’m a bit disappointed in my rant today…. It’s long enough, but seems a bit disorganized to my mind; not enough vitriol, or anger on hand to drive it, I suppose. That’s what happens when I sleep so long; my attitude improves, and my ranting goes wonky…. SIGH…. Oh well, such is life…. I can make up for it all here, though, by putting together an excellent old-school pearl, thus balancing out the scales of reality…. Hey, we’re all entitled to our fantasies, right?…. Right….

“Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others.” — Winston Churchill

“Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero!” [Seize the day, put no trust in the morrow!] — Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) (65-8 B.C.)

“Not only is life a bitch, it has puppies.’ — Adrienne E. Gusoff

So the struck eagle, stretch’d upon the plain,
No more through rolling clouds to soar again,
View’d his own feather on the fatal dart,
And wing’d the shaft that quiver’d in his heart.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, Line 826

They say there is strangeness, too dangerous, in our theaters and bookstore shelves.
Those who know what’s best for us, must rise and save us from ourselves.
Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand;
ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand.

— Rush

“The known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of in illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land.” — Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)

“My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it.” — Ursula K. Le Guin

Sometimes, I look back over a pearl, such as this one, and I think to myself, “Wow.” Then, it occurs to me, I didn’t have a damn thing to do with what just took place here, not with any consciousness of doing so, anyway. Yet, taken as a progression of thoughts/ideas, in this instance, the seven pearls that constitute the greater pearl, in the context of today’s Pearl at large, still manage to follow a logical train of ideas to a conclusion that is at once infinite, yet, specific and precise, though not annoyingly so…. Much better than I can do myself, more’s the pity….

😉

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

If the process of putting out a Daily Pearl of Virtual Wisdom were this easy every day, I’d probably end up posting more often than once a day…. That isn’t to say this was a snap; it’s taken over two hours to get this far, into the closing section. But, all of it, completely fresh, came out smoothly, in a relative sense, and all of it, to my probably only semi-coherent mind, appears to be uniformly logical and well-reasoned, if a bit opinionated. Of course, logical doesn’t mean much, but, the reasoning is good…. I also avoided swearing a lot…. Mom would be proud….

Since it went so well, I’m thinking I’ll bring it to a halt here, so it doesn’t get out of control, as it can so quickly in this corner of the space-time continuum; reality tends to twist itself into some rather fanciful contortions, rather rapidly at times, so, we’ll take our leave before that happens today…. I will, however, be back tomorrow… Take that as a warning, or a heralding, your choice…. 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

Worldwide Celebration Held to Honor History’s Greatest Scam….

Posted on April 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A huge CRACK! boomed outside the cheap apartment door, just as a neat, round hole appeared in that door, as well as in the forehead of the small, weaselly-looking excuse for a human who sat, forlornly, and now, deadly, in the middle of the couch…. Turning quickly, I moved away from the door, ducking into the next room, where I grabbed the small bag containing the gems…. Drawing my own gun from under my coat, I moved to the opposite door, carefully looking around the corner to the mirror on the hallway wall, placed there for just that purpose, to see if anyone tried to come through the now sacred door …. Sacred…. holy…. holey, get it? Well, nobody ever accused me of being a comedian, just a thief…. It’s a tough job, but, hey, somebody’s, etc…. Well, you know the rest….

Even if you do know the finish to that line, I think we’ll let it slide by without picking it up…. When I wrote that short paragraph, last night, it seemed better than when I look at it now, in the light of day (or, actually, in the dark of an early morn, which is more accurate….). It does, however, sit nicely there across the top of the post, looking just as if it were really the opening to a novel, or, at minimum, a short story, and, since our society believes firmly in the value of illusion, we’ll let it stay where it is…. It’ll get in less trouble that way….

So, how are y’all this fine Oester morn?…. (Oester would be the Wiccan, or possibly Druidic term for the date associated with the rites of Spring…) It looks to be a pretty nice day around here, weather-wise, though I can’t say how it will be INSIDE the churches, where all of the various categories of Christian cults will be holding their mass delusional celebration of history’s greatest scam…. (Yes, I know, that’s what the TITLE said, and we NEVER do that…. get over it, we did….)…. Yep, today’s the day when the whole story gets told again, and all the preachers, priests, and “reverend sirs” will be repeating the talking points of the story we all have had crammed down our throats since we were little, and had no defense against it….

I know my opinion about the Christian faith is unpopular, and, in many cases, reviled by those who have strong faith…. That’s okay, I expect nothing less from anyone who can fall for that story year after year, in spite of a) the sheer unbelievability of what they are asked to believe, and b) the glaring lack of ANY sort of conclusive evidence of ANY of the basic premises upon which the story is based…. At four years of age I spotted most of the flaws in the logic of the whole mess, and over time have come to believe the same as Thomas Paine, who famously said, “Any system of religion that has anything in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be true.”

Mr. Paine, one of our earliest true patriots, also said this about religion, to wit: “All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” This, too, I firmly believe, as, every day, I see the hypocrisy and lies told by the BRC, which are then repeated in the pulpits around the nation in different words, complete with remonstrations to defer to secular authority, to support the ruling class, without whose cooperation their whole elaborately complex scam would fall apart…. It’s a good deal for both of them, as they perform the old “one-two” on the unsuspecting public, who believe these assholes actually have their best interests at heart….

Ah well, the intro probably isn’t the best place to rant, but, that’s what happens on days like today, when the sheer idiocy, not to mention all the wasted time, and loss of dignity that go hand in hand with the whole religion concept…. well, it gets to me, and I have a hard time not yelling at people to “GET A FUCKING CLUE!”….

Sorry, I don’t mean to yell, but, it’s just so frustrating to see how easily people will give up the use of their own minds, allowing these assholes, and their myrmidons, to tell them what they should think, so they don’t have to make the effort of doing so themselves, or to save themselves from the fear, and the necessity for self-reliance, honesty, and courage, that goes along with facing up to the big, bad world, and all of its scary inhabitants….

As far as I’m concerned, the Christian religion, or, more accurately, the dishonest suckwads who foist those outright lies on unsuspecting fools, for the purposes of their own aggrandizement, are responsible for much of what is wrong in today’s world, and, in my opinion, deserve nothing more than our disgust and anger, for being lied to, and for the endlessly manipulative attempts to control the lives of the less intelligent, and more gullible, members of society…. To my way of thinking, they deserve to inhabit the lowest depths of their own version of Hell, for the lies they have LIVED, and tried to pass on to others….

There, I got that off my chest, and may now go forth to finish this Pearl, which, no doubt, nobody will ever read, having been offended somehow by the above…. SIGH…. S’okay, I don’t mind…. much. As long as nobody tries to get ME to join in the festivities, or tries to convince me I am wrong, it should be a fairly nice day….

If someone DOES make that mistake, they will find me all-too-ready to discuss the issue, with passion and verve…. perhaps, a greater degree than that to which they may be accustomed, or desirous, but, that can’t be helped…. It’s been building up a long time, and I’ve never let it out on anyone, except here, on this blog, so it would probably be best for all if it never happened at all…. Trust me, I don’t think there would be much left, of whomever got the wild hair far enough up their ass to test me on this….

Shall we Pearl?…. I think we’d better do it now, before this gets me feeling any more aggressive than I am already….

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery,
None but ourselves can free our minds.

— Bob Marley

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

Since the intro section turned into the rant for today, we’ll go old-school to start off the rest of the Pearl…. I’m not sure right now just what parameters I’ll use, but, you can be sure that whatever comes up today will have sharp points, so use some caution when handling them, okay? I am a bit low on sterile bandages, after the last few attempts to skim the treetops of religious dogma…. Those sycophantic dogma dogs can be vicious when they are made to feel exposed in their lies and scamming…. Let’s see what SB can find today, shall we?….

“Bullshit detector: when alarm sounds, please reengage brain.” — Smart Bee

Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,
And without sneering teach the rest to sneer;
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, Prologue to the Satires, Line 201

(At first, this may seem out of place…. But, look at what Mssr. Pope says in these four lines, and think about any of the preachers or priests you’ve known…. Each of them (well, all of them that I ever met….) is a master at these techniques, all of which are taught to them in seminary, to use when arguing with us ideologues who don’t buy their line of BS…. They’re not actually argument techniques, that rely on logic or reasoning, but, rather, are conversational tricks, designed to make the one at whom they are directed feel as if they are lesser, that their words are foolish…. in short, dismissing any arguments without actually considering their merit…. A very valuable, and well-used tool from the bag, chock full of such trickery, that every preacher or priest is given upon graduation from their brainwashing seminaries….)

“Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.” — H.L. Mencken

(This one may not fit exactly, but, I couldn’t resist a pearl that takes a shot at both of my favorite targets….)

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” — Anais Nin

(And, is exactly what happens when one is more afraid of living than they are of death….)

SCRIPTURES, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.” — Josh Billings

“The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.” — Seng Ts’an, Third Zen Patriarch, — from Hsin Hsin Ming, Verses on the Faith Mind

There you go…. a bit esoteric, but, hey, it’s always a good thing to have to think harder than you expected…. trust me….

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

Given the subject matter that has dominated today’s effort, we’ll go with a poem of mine that speaks to that issue, directly… I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it…

Rejection

“Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so…”
I’d be crying a river, I thought
if ever such crap I bought.

Sorry if it hurts your sense of style,
but, hypocrisy always gives me bile.
Being lied to accidentally is okay,
but, deliberate lies make me angry, and fey.

Oh, God, hear what I pray!
Keep me from your followers today.
Having to listen to so much that is wrong
makes me puke, before it makes me strong.

I don’t know why it isn’t clear to other folks,
which is alright, you know; different strokes.
But, why should that mean that they must
force me to believe, or fail in trust?

Spare me the lies, and the make-believe,
fairy tales are easier to hear, and to weave.
They give us a lesson which we can feel
but don’t pretend at all to be real.

Reality can scare us, that’s a given fact;
still, met with care it will leave us mostly intact.
Met without fear, standing tall and alone
Life will allow us to make it our own.

Folly beckons, and so many follow;
mass delusions seem to me most hollow.
I’ll have to stick to my own chosen way
while so many go so sadly astray.

It’s lonely at times, it may seem sad,
but really isn’t, and I’m quite glad,
that knowledge is always stronger than fear,
year after year, tear after tear…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I’ve already ranted, and made an old-school pearl, so that leaves me little choice, but to pull something from the archives for this section, as I’m not quite sure I’ve got more in me to write, at least, not anything worth writing…. This one, at least, is a good follow-up to yesterday’s discussion of this particularly volatile issue…..

From 4/20/13:

Quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? [Who guards the Guardians?] — Smart Bee

This is the perfect opening for a discussion of gun control, for me, as I believe strongly that this is the bottom line issue for that particular subject…… Sure, taking guns out of the hands of people who are insane is a good thing; nobody, I think, can argue that. The problem lies in figuring out WHO gets to decide what sanity is, the same issue that comes up in discussing getting rid of firearms altogether.

You see, I’m sorry, but, I just can’t bring myself to trust the Beloved Ruling Class to decide who is sane, and who isn’t. Part of this stems from the fact that I don’t consider anyone in public office to have a very tight grip on sanity to begin with…. How effective can it be to have insane people making the rules for deciding who is insane? Not very, I suspect….

Yet, I read many articles that profess the belief that the police, and the army, who naturally would have to have guns, (Why? If nobody is supposed to have them, why would they need them?), are more trustworthy than the common citizen. I’m sorry, but, just what planet did you say you came from?

It certainly isn’t Earth, because, last time I looked, all the police, all the folks in the army, and all the folks who tell them what to do, are all PEOPLE, just like anyone else, suffering the same fears, the same delusions or preconceptions, and the same lack of morality, as does the average Joe on the streets. In fact, due to my experience at observing and identifying psychiatric symptoms common to the insane, I can honestly state, I consistently see a higher percentage of police and military personnel who have a demonstrable lack of moral compass than I’ve seen in the general public.

Part of the problem is that the police and military, by their nature, end up as being attractive to the type of person who enjoys having power over others, whose self-image requires them to be in positions of authority, to be able to view themselves in a positive light, as successful. They equate money and power over others with success, and so gravitate to those sectors of society that deal in those commodities.

Normal, stable personality types seldom need to exercise power over others, and so avoid such pastimes, but to the selfish, and the sociopathic, the police and the army are seen as a path to what they term as success. If you see a flaw in this logic, please, enlighten me…. Until I see some evidence to the contrary, though, I find this to be a valuable, and accurate summation of the situation, thereby affording myself the opportunity to avoid the majority of their machinations, at least in a directly personal sense….

We all have to deal with them eventually though, so it’s good, I think, to be aware of the above arguments, as it will forewarn anyone who absorbs it, and takes it to heart, allowing them to defend themselves from the worst of the BRC’s attempts at repression, or oppression, if not all.

I’ve always found it to be the best policy to maintain a high level of doubt when considering announcements and decrees, to constantly stay alert to the news, as well as to the meaning behind what I do see there, and, finally, to be ready to jump when the balloon goes up.

Things out in the Big Blue Room are getting a bit serious in spots, with potentially disastrous possibilities threatening us from several directions, so it would be a good thing to be ready for whatever may take place, no matter how insane it may appear to be from our current vantage point…. And remember, guard yourself, against the Guardians themselves, if need be…..

“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

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

Today’s Pearl may lose me a few readers, but, that’s always true on those days when I start picking on religion…. It’s one of our species most strongly held beliefs, delusional or not, and it is of no matter who judges the truth of those beliefs…. any opposition at all is going to create some resentment, or at minimum, mistrust….and, for that, I’m sorry…. I have no wish to alienate people.

But, I also am compelled to tell the Truth, no matter how hard to swallow it may be…. It’s just the way I am, and the way I insist on living…. and, I’m enough of a curmudgeon to not care at all who is offended by that…. In my world, Truth comes FIRST….. and THAT is a policy subject to no debate, whatsoever….

So be it…. gigoid the dubious has spoken…. 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

Salting hummus makes it nearly edible….

Posted on February 19, 2014 by gigoid

SPOILER: The following introductory section contains an unusually powerful potential to affect the reader soporifically, without warning; should you find yourself yawning, or your eyelids becoming heavy and hard to blink, go immediately on to the second section, where oxygen will be provided….

Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause in the consumption of today’s Pearl; it was unavoidable, as the intro was done before its strong, almost narcotic, sleep-inducing qualities were noted and recorded…. Fortunately, it was discovered during the proofing, (when I found myself nodding over the keyboard…) which prompted this warning….

I find, if you don’t hold your breath while reading the intro, and just treat it like the preface of a book you are about to read (which nobody ever does read…. the prefaces, that is….), and go on to the meat of today’s offering…. you can make it through without any difficulty, other than a vague, mild nausea…. Best of luck!….

Ffolkes,

And, when I woke up…. I looked around, only to find nothing had changed while I slept. More’s the pity…. Of course, I’m speaking only of the situation outside of my own little corner of reality…. In my corner, I have things nicely arranged, just the way I like them, with Patricia nearby, and nobody else (well, other than my children, and the odd old friend or two….) who has any claim on my time, or my attention…. This means that I can spend my time pursuing my own American Dream, which involves books, excellent coffee, the possibility of love, puppies, kittens, cannabinoids, and no bad food…. With the time I have left on this old ball o’mud, life’s too short to put up with anything else….

Anything beyond those are what I consider a bonus, but,those listed are essential to my personal well-being, items I am unwilling to go without for very long before becoming quite irritable, whereupon I generally find someone to sink my teeth into, for sublimation purposes…. It works for me, though I do have to keep a lawyer on retainer to deal with the occasional bout of antagonistic litigation. It also gets a bit expensive having to keep so much material handy for bandaging, and stopping blood flow; and, don’t ASK about the trash bill!….. Do you know what they charge now for hazardous bio-waste?…. It’s outrageous!….

If I haven’t said so before, let me now say, I really like being retired…. I didn’t think I would, but, as things have worked out, it’s a lot more comfortable than I’d thought, if you don’t count the physical issues that arise from getting older. That’s something we all have to deal with anyway, but, not all of us manage to arrange matters so that we aren’t struggling with poverty when we stop working….

Not having a retirement account is actually a scary, sad idea to consider, as I know several people my age who DON’T have a solid retirement set up, and must continue working in order to live; I was almost caught without a retirement in place, so I know the panicky feeling that comes from not knowing if you will be able to retire, with enough to live on comfortably, or have to keep plugging away at a job in order to eat, and sleep indoors…. As I approached my 55th birthday, I was in that boat; no job, and not enough time in to keep my retirement active with the State, so I was looking at NOT having anything in place when I reached the age to retire….

I guess I’m winding around this issue like this to get to the point where I can say this: I’m a lucky guy…. I managed to get my job with the State back, and reinstated my accumulated time, which reinstated my retirement eligibility, and left me in the position in which I find myself now…. which is a far better position than the majority of the world’s population can look forward to…. I have enough income to live in a warm, dry house, eat well, stay clothed, and have enough left for entertainment and/or travel, if I’m frugal enough to save up…. So, I really have little about which to complain, other than my physical issues, which all of us must bear….

As a man who was raised to be compassionate, and who has learned over the years that service to others is a requirement of maintaining one’s self-respect and honor, I feel like I should give back to society what I can, sharing my knowledge and expertise…. In my lifetime, I’ve learned a lot, and the only way now I have to share what I know is to write…. My physical condition is such that giving of my practical experience, in cooking, organizing, or other skills that are useful, has been curtailed; I can’t work in the kitchen anymore, nor do much that requires standing or sitting for long periods…. So, volunteering at the local senior center, as I’d planned to do, is not an option any longer….

So, I write…. I try to write about subjects that will help us all to survive the upcoming shit-storm…..You know, that impending massive planetary environmental crisis so ignorantly created by our Beloved Ruling Class, in their patently insane search for power and control over others? Yeah, that one…. It ain’t much, but, it’s what I’ve got, so, I’ll keep doing it as long as I can, if only to amuse myself…. If I can amuse someone else in the process, so much the better….

Shall we Pearl?…. With such a mundane, elementally, if elegantly boring intro, I think we need a two-fer to start…..

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

“If the Bible proves that God exists then comic books prove the existence of Superman.” — Smart Bee, demonstrating perfectly sound logic
_____________________________

Originally, I had intended to put a rant in this section…. I even had one started, dealing with a plague our society has endured since the beginning of time, but, writing that stiff, boring introduction has put me into a semi-deep depression, for some idiotic reason that my subconscious thinks will be more fun if it hides it from me….

In short, I’ve just been struck by a chemical imbalance in my brain that has created a miasma of karmic blueness, which surrounds my heart and soul, bypassing the brain altogether to make me feel as if the world is covered all in cotton, and nothing feels right…. and I don’t know WHY! It’s just as if a bunch of dementors had been sent to harass me by some perverse, antagonistic Ministry of Magic official…. Really a pisser, actually….

Ah well, it’s fortunate for us I have the perfect solution to this sort of marginally delusional, certainly self-induced emotional abuse…. It’s called an old-school pearl, sans any parameters beyond what pleases the inner eye, dreaming without focus, of peace, and illogical hope for our future…. In other words, potluck…. Enjoy! I intend to… In fact, I may even leave a comment or two, just to show y’all how MUCH I enjoyed it….

“He who receives a good turn should never forget it; he who does one should never remember it.” — Charon

(An obvious corollary to the Golden Rule, and an attitude one could only wish was more common in modern society….)

“It belongs to human nature to hate those you have injured.” — Tacitus (54-119 AD) — Agricola, 42

(Ahem!…. Well!…. I do declare, is it a bit warm in here?…. This certainly goes a long way toward explaining the reason why our Beloved Ruling Class expresses so much hatred and disdain for those who elect them…. as well as how the shadowy corporate slave masters can justify to themselves their insane obsession with money, and power over others….)

“The discipline of desire is the background of character.” — John Locke

“Just remember, when you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed.” — Charles Schulz

“One’s friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human.” — George Santayana

(No comments from me could possibly add anything to the last three pearls….. Let’s see if SB can finish this off with the same sort of style and grace….)

POLITICS, n. “A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

“Thou shalt not get caught.” — The Eleventh Commandment

Hmm…. well, perhaps the ending didn’t quite live up to the rest of it…. But, when looked at in a certain light, one can see how that may well just be the best description of how human life stumbles along the way it does…. Then again, maybe not…. At this point, all of that is moot, and we are now free to go enjoy a poem…. Plus, the quicker we get out of this section, the faster it will fade into memory, yes?….
_____________________________

I don’t know this poet, having never seen his work before…. though for some reason, this poem sounds familiar…. In any case, it’s good, if a bit obscure as to what it wants from the reader; I found it hard to connect to the emotions that so obviously were part of the shock of the ending. Perhaps that’s a sign of a good poem; it made me think about my own reaction to what it had to say….

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
‘Good-morning,’ and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

~~ Edwin Arlington Robinson ~~

_____________________________

As a reward for hanging in there long enough to get this far, I’m not going to rant at all today…. Instead, here’s another fresh old-school pearl…. Let’s see if Smart Bee can come up with anything to lighten my depression, and give y’all a chuckle or two with your morning coffee, tea, or beverage of choice…. Myself, I advise NOT having any morning conversations with either of my old friends, John Daniels, or James Beam…. Nice fellows, but, as breakfast companions, they tend to eliminate any prospect of accomplishing anything worthwhile afterward, for most of the rest of the day, after which, there remains the altogether unpleasant consequences to suffer through, as one recovers from the usual vicious hangover that comes with such foolishness…

As is apparent, I’ve been there, done that, and have no wish to go back, much as I love my old friends…. I’ll confine myself to shorter, more manageable conversations with them late at night, or before dinner, and leave it at that…. In the meantime, I got completely side-tracked…. Let’s see how amusing Smart Bee can be, shall we?….

“If at first you don’t succeed, you’re doing about average.” — Leonard Levinson

— Bother! said Pooh, as his ship failed to jump to light speed.

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.

— Odgen Nash (1902-1971)

“Believing ourselves to be possessors of absolute truth degrades us: we regard every person whose way of thinking is different from ours as a monster and a threat and by so doing turn our own selves into monsters and threats to our fellows.” — Octavio Paz

(How did that slip in there?…. Hmm, sorry, it’s not remotely funny….. It’s also too good to toss away; such insight is rare…. Oh well, just imagine it’s funny, and go on…. I’ll make it right with the gods of consistency….)

“Sits he on ever so high a throne, a man still sits on his bottom.” — Smart Bee

(That’s better…. since we aren’t counting the fourth pearl, we’ll go with a three-fer to finish this off nice and balanced-like, just like the professionals do….)

“I spent 3 weeks childproofing my home. They still get in.” — Smart Bee

“It has been determined that most teenage girls lose their virginity during the summer months. This stands to reason, since congress is recessed at that time.” — Smart Ass Bee

“HELLO, everybody, I’m a HUMAN!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(It appears that balance was not going to be an element of note in today’s process…. but, I’m okay with that, especially if you consider the last line as the underlying battle cry for today’s effort…. )
_____________________________

I swear, pulling out a coherent thought today has been like trying to pull a Tea Partier’s head out of his ass…. It’s hard work, and ultimately useless, in terms of improving his chances of reaching average intelligence; in other words, there’s no hope of making them smarter, so, they’re usually better off leaving it there… I figure if somebody is a registered Tea Partier, it’s a pretty sure sign they already lost the evolutionary lottery…. It’s why I’m usually nice to them; they’re to be pitied more than reviled, as being too naive to ever really have stood a chance to learn enough to make themselves anything than the malleable mind-slaves of the BRC they are…..

There, now I’ve ranted…. Are you happy? Good. Me too, and I know why both of us have reason to be so giddy…. We’re done here, and we can afford to let go of our death grip on sanity long enough to relax for a while…. Until tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Crafty solutions work well for hybrids….

Posted on December 26, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

There…. now I’ve got time galore to get this going, and/or done…. It isn’t often I re-blog another writer’s work, but one of the blogs I follow had a great post, that fit so well into what I see and believe, I just had to put it up on my site for ffolkes to see…. It’s a good take on modern society, and a grand indictment of the BRC, whom the author of the piece, quite accurately in my mind, defines as the 545 members of the US government, (POTUS + Congress + Senate + Supremes = 545). I really did enjoy the way he placed the logical responsibility for current events in their lap, right where it belongs…. Please read, and enjoy, and then spread it around to others…. thanks….

I’m up, and have finally realized how badly I’ve timed my rants on global warming, and the imminent nature of the problems it will cause us in the coming years….. The time of year has defeated me in that respect, as there are only a few die-hards hanging around WP, from what I can see. Everyone else is probably out celebrating with family, or doing whatever else it is people do at this time of year, instead of reading radical, potentially offensive diatribes against the government, and those responsible for our position. If I still had a nuclear family, I’d probably be hosting them myself, or at least getting together at some point, to make the contact with family…..

My own kids make me proud; it was nice of them yesterday to take the time to drive all the way to where I live to see me, so my son could give me his presents, and visit for a time…. They may have thought I didn’t appreciate it, as we didn’t visit for long, but, I really do enjoy the very compassionate natures that both of them show to the world, in everything they do…. They may not always hear it often from me, but, I am very proud of them, and how they live their lives…. and, I hope they see this little piece today, so they know it firsthand….

I’m not sure what to do today… I still have a lot of angst and outrage built up from my last few days of thought regarding the newest global warming reports, which would easily translate into a rant, or even two….. but, it would be to little avail, as there aren’t very many ffolkes out there to read it…. Of course, I can always use my new friend Chuq’s method, of rating my blog to determine success, which would encourage me to disregard how many people read it, as long as they receive it…. which is fine, but doesn’t allow me to complain, so I won’t go there for now….

Besides, I’ve already managed to blather enough at this point to legally get on with today’s effort, from a creative standpoint, anyway. I’ve gotten pretty good at just diving in, and wandering around until an intro is done, don’t you think? Haven’t had a panic attack over that in months… It’s amazing to me how far just a little bit of smarm can be spread around into so many different places, all without getting any of it on one’s clothing…. After a while, one might tend to think it’s the normal course of things, but, I think we’re far too sophisticated for that to ever happen…. don’t you?

No? Oh…. well, so much for that idea…. I suppose there’s nothing left for me to do in this venue, so….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Everyone has to be somewhere, so you might as well be here.” — Smart Bee
_____________________________

http://fkuverymuchandhavaniceday.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/227/

I know that I reblogged the post attached to the above link, in order for it to get its own referrals, but, I’m including a link to the post here in section one, prior to the upcoming, old-school pearl, so that ffolkes won’t miss their opportunity to see what I consider to be an important read….. or, if nothing else, a read of great brilliance, with no punches pulled…. To honor the post, below are seven pearls of great luster, all in the same line of indictment, of immorality on the part of those who would be king….. Or, in short, here is a seven-star pearl, aimed right at the heart of the Beloved Ruling Class…..

“We have our spasms of revolt, our flarings up of peekaboo waists, free love and “art,” but a mighty backwash of piety fetches each and every one of them soon or late.” — H. L. Mencken, The Butte Bashkirtseff

“The people always have some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness…. This and no other is the root from which tyranny springs.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”

“No matter how often a lie is shown to be false, there will remain a percentage of people who believe it is true.” — Law of the Lie

“Democracy means government by the uneducated, while aristocracy means government by the badly educated.” — G. K. Chesterton

“Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let’s not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emissions standards from man-made sources.” — Ronald W. Reagan, quoted in “Sierra”, 10 September 1980

“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.” — Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961)

“…. I don’t know why but, suddenly, I want to discuss declining I.Q. LEVELS with a blue ribbon SENATE SUB-COMMITTEE!” — Zippy the Pinhead
_____________________________

The placement of poetry in this section today is not an indication that I consider myself to be on a par with T.S. Eliot as a poet….. But, these two snippets from him were perfectly formed to act as brackets to this poem, it seems to me, so, who am I to quarrel with an episode of artistic insistence by Art itself?…. I think it works, and so do you….

You cannot face it steadily, but this thing’s for sure,
That time is no healer: the patient is no longer here.

— T.S. Eliot

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

Future Shocked:

Weeping, I wake;
waking, I weep, I weep.
I weep for the ages to be lost,
for the children never to be born.

Time comes calling, strident and spare,
nudging us toward the future with bony hands.
No pausing, no waiting, always away,
Frantic hearts unseen, unheard.

Spirits are dark, afraid.
And the Beast hunts, hungry and cruel,
seeking out the weak, and the foolish.

We all weep now…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

And I said to myself be still, wait without hope.
For hope would be hope of the wrong thing.
Wait without love.
For love would be love of the wrong thing.
Wait without faith.
For the faith and the hope and the love are all in the waiting.

— T.S. Eliot

_____________________________

“If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be: a Christian.” — Mark Twain

Since I’m not going to rant today, no matter how much provocation I receive, here is a mini-religirant from the archives, written and posted just over a year ago, to be precise…. S’okay, for the next, oh, hundred years or so, there will still be a number of tomorrows in which to get to writing another diatribe against the guilty ones…. After that hundred years, though, all bets are off…. It’s looking much like our tomorrows will be coming to an abrupt ending, in the not-so-distant future…. Oh well, rather than be too sad about it now, let’s see if we can pull a smile or two out for our pleasure, even if it’s only on a temporary basis….

From 12/5/12:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day, a gate breaks down between heaven and hell. So St. Peter arrives on the scene and calls out for the devil.

And the devil saunters over and says, “What do you want?”

And St. Peter says, “Satan, it’s your turn to fix it this time.”

And the devil says, “I’m sorry. But my men are too busy to worry about fixing a mere gate.”

And St. Peter says, “Well, then, I’ll have to sue you for breaking our agreement.”

And the devil says, “Oh yeah? Where are you going to get a lawyer?”

– Soupy Sales

It occurs to me, Soupy’s next line from St. Peter would have to be…. “I don’t need one, I’ve got a fix in with the judge….” That would give not only balance to the argument, but would accurately reflect the actual level of corruption implied in the picture of the universe painted by the Judeo-Christian model of religion. It would also probably more closely reflect Soupy’s sense of humor, which was much more pointed than he got credit for…. People just thought he was a little strange sometimes, not recognizing lines that were making active fun of the establishment (as we old hippies were wont to call the mainstream of American society….).

In reality, this joke is another example of the bad press that the Devil always gets; it isn’t often you’ll see a joke that ends up with Satan coming out on top. No, he is always given the role of the asshole, the manipulator, the one who wants to drag us down into Hell for eternal torment. Everyone seems to forget that they have ascribed omnipotence, and omniscience to God, and that He is the one who a) made the Devil the way he is, and b) could change it if he wished…. which seems to indicate that he DOESN’T wish to rid us of Satan, but prefers he be around to tempt and distract us…. That sounds to me like just a bit of manipulation in itself; how ’bout y’all?….

The preachers would have us believe that God allows Satan to exist out of his sheer benevolence, forgetting this is the same God who, in the Old Testament, sent forty bears to a town to kill all the children, just because a few small boys made fun of one of His prophets. He is also the one who threw Satan out of Heaven for objecting to some of what He had done on Earth, then turned around and allowed him free access to us humans, just so He would have a ready-made way to test us at His convenience. Just a little self-serving, don’t you think? This God, as generally presented in most versions of the Bible, to my way of thinking, acts more like a spoiled little kid than a deity capable of creating universes….

Okay, I’ll quit now. It’s really too easy to shoot at dogma; it never tries to hide; it just stands there, looking dumb, as you sight in on its forehead. But, hey, it’s a necessary job, and somebody’s got to do it…. Boy, it sure would be nice, though, to see humanity grow up, and learn to face reality without crutches, and without having to invent a supernatural being to explain away the stuff that isn’t clearly understood…. But, I guess it’s job security, in that sense, because it means I’ll always have something about which to write….

“I’m RELIGIOUS!! I love a man with a HAIRPIECE!! Equip me with MISSILES!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
_____________________________

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

Which is why, when all is said and done, you see me at the end of the day, weak from being out of breath, laughing as hard as I can, because I’m so tired of weeping…. Today’s Pearl is an unusual one, for a lot of reasons, none of which would be profitable to discuss right now…. However, let it be said that, due to the re-blog of the great post by my WP compatriot, and the odd structure that this Pearl seemed to dictate for itself, this turned out a bit strange, which is saying a LOT around here…. Let’s take a quick look at the damages….

Well, I think, unless one has completely unlimited hit points, this one should be able to shave off a few of them to have at least some effect, even if only for today…. It’s a start, and I’ll take it…. I’m not sure what that means, but, it sounds good, so, hey, anything that works that well should be included…. I’m losing all credibility now, I know it, so, I’m outta here, ffolkes…. See you soon, I’m sure…..

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

He needs more time, or it won’t fly….

Posted on November 1, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

One might surmise, given the relatively advanced age I’ve reached today, I might just be able to show a degree or two of restraint, and keep from ranting first thing. On the other hand, I find it encouraging that, at this age, (I’m 63 today, an age I NEVER contemplated reaching when I thought about it in my earlier days….) I still have the wherewithal to expend energy on ranting at all. I find it to be quite positive to be able to bring my experience, and my extensive knowledge of the English language, to bear on the issues I see around me, and hope I never give up my sense of activism, at least as far as ranting goes… I might not join in too many more demonstrations out on the streets, but, I’ll keep writing as long as I have a venue from which, and in which, I can spout off….

Sixty-three…. hmph. I suppose you COULD say it’s a perfect age, just right for curmudgeonly attitudes and ill-tempered, bombastic outbursts, all aimed at these whippersnappers in Washington who are fouling everything up with their stupidity, their selfishness, and their rampant lack of integrity. When I was a lad, we didn’t have politicians like these, no sirree… our politicians had HAIR. They were honest! They fought commies, and won! They were bigger than life… and THAT is as much of a crock of pure bullshit now, as it was then…. For sure…

No, I can’t say much about politics being different now, because it isn’t…. Many of today’s issues actually have their roots in the fifties, when I was first starting to observe the political world, and then-President Eisenhower, that old soldier, knowing well the value of silence, in 1954, quietly began sending our troops over to Southeast Asia, as “observers”, without bothering to tell the American people about it…. The general knowledge of his build-up of troops in Viet Nam didn’t happen until the mid-sixties, right before I went off to college, and boy, the shit hit the fan then, didn’t it?

The universities and colleges in this country, and across the entire world, became hotbeds of revolution (For any NSA hot-heads who might be listening in….. whoa, calm down, there, big fellas, it’s just a word….. revolution merely means “change”, not “doom”….. at least, not from THIS side of the word….), fomenting discontent among the common citizens, and turning millions of young people, like me, into life-long political reformists, by pointing out how the government, and all it’s supporters and lackeys, were reacting in the classical fashion of the guilty…. The issues that came to light back then were so powerful, and of such a revolutionary nature, that even long-time supporters of the government, (such as my father, a WWII survivor, and a 20 year Army veteran….) began to question what the government officials of the time were up to, to the point of writing letters to ask them that very question, pointedly….

I remember once, I came home from college for a weekend visit, in 1969, ( I was at UC Berkeley, a REAL center of protest at that time….)… I brought with me a copy of the SF Chronicle from the day before I arrived, which had a picture on the back page, a large one, of an Oakland Tactical Squad member leveling a shotgun at the back of a fleeing hippie…. The young protester was speeding away from the officer, some thirty or forty yards down the block, in full flight, hair streaming, arms akimbo, running full speed for his life… The officer was obviously about to fire, with his shotgun up level, aiming straight at the protestor’s BACK. The picture had appeared the morning after one of the People’s Park demonstrations, taking up half of the back page, as it was taken from a rooftop across from the action, the day before it was published…. But, when I got home & showed it to my father, he was astounded!…. No, that is too weak a word…. he was flabbergasted, as well as extremely dismayed…

You see, he had received his copy of that same Chronicle, delivered to our home, 300 or so miles away from the Bay Area, in a conservative farming town near San Luis Obispo…. but, the picture was not anywhere in the paper…. He was astounded, not only because of the subject matter of the picture, (a policeman obviously firing at the back of an unarmed, fleeing citizen…. ), but because of the censorship implied in its absence from the paper, removed to spare the sensibilities of the conservatives who were far away from the scene itself…. It was his first evidence that he, and the rest of the American public, were not getting ALL the facts from their own government, whom they trusted….

It actually was quite a sad time, for both of us, as he had been the one to pass on to me his own patriotic beliefs, and his pride in this country; it hurt to know that our faith was completely undeserved by those who had taken power here…. He wrote to several government officials he knew from his time in service, at the Pentagon, but was never able to find anyone who wasn’t part of the cover-up going on, and was thus turned against the very government he had defended so valiantly in WWII, even giving up some of his blood in the process (he earned a purple heart, though he wouldn’t talk about it much….)

You know, I just realized that my father’s reaction to the exposure that occurred during the Viet Nam protests in the sixties is most likely the major qualifying reason for my political activism today…. It pisses me off, royally, that this government could so egregiously abuse the patriotism and belief in the system held by my father…. Not merely for him, but for myself, and for all those men and women who gave their lives and personal loyalty to defend what they believed this country to be about, I began to observe, to form ideas and opinions, and to comment upon what they do…

It’s only now, after I’ve retired, and have the time to pursue this, that I’ve really started to work at it; I try now to give them as much shit as I can possibly shovel out to throw at them…. This country, as my father saw it, and as he taught me to see it, is a GOOD place, with people who care about each other, and make an honest effort to live their lives with honor and integrity…. It is a place where a person can look for their own destiny, without interference from others, and without having to fear for their lives because their destiny is not the same as what is common, or traditional. It’s a place where the word, “freedom”, actually means something important to every man and woman, without having to resort to creating fear in order to have it….

But, the people who have become professional politicians, who have fallen under the manipulative powers of the shadowy special interests of the bankers and corporations, have usurped that integrity, and turned us into a nation of self-serving, fearful, ignorant assholes, not willing to share anything with the rest of the world, jealously hoarding as many resources for our own use as we can get away with, bombing the crap out of anyone who has something we desire, and won’t give it to us…. We’ve become the world’s bully, throwing our weight around everywhere, just as if we had the right to do so, and no matter how the people we are abusing feel about it….

Oops, did it again, didn’t I?…. It must be an age-related issue…. I started off reminiscing about the old days, just like any old-timer, then lost my way, and began to spout off against the machine, again…. SIGH…. Oh well, maybe this means the rest of today can get going without any further ranting on my part…. or, not, as the case may be…. I guess we’ll have to wait and see…. for now….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“In every affair consider what precedes and what follows, and then undertake it.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book iii, Chap. xv
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I ranted so long above, I decided not to rant in this section, a decision for which I’m sure you are eternally grateful… I am including here the article I noticed yesterday, and the comments I made on it… Then, however, instead of ranting, I’ll put in a harlequin pearl, to try to make the same points as always, but, in a new and exciting way…. If you believe that, let’s talk real estate, ‘kay?…. Enjoy!….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Report-Snowden-gets-tech-support-job-in-Russia-4942178.php

The interesting part of this article is the comments…. From what I could tell, the vast majority, apparently nearly all, of the commenters supported what Snowden had done, either regarding him as a hero, or thanking him in some way for his bravery, in being the one to pull the covers on the NSA and the government’s deep involvement in spying on their own people. Like myself, they are aware of the fact that, in the process of exposing the government’s lack of integrity, he was giving up his own life as an American citizen, resigning himself to a lifetime of persecution by a vengeful collection of dishonest and highly embarrassed politicians, on both sides of the political aisle….

Enough of that; y’all know how I feel about this already. Let’s go pearl, shall we?….

“Although everyone is entitled to be stupid, some abuse this privilege.” — Smart Bee

ARENA, n. In politics, an imaginary rat-pit in which the statesman wrestles with his record. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“How could the drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“We should be able to see that our interest would be best served not by asking the state to promulgate our values but by forbidding the state to promulgate any values at all. If the state can espouse some value that we love, it can, with equal justice, espouse others we do not love.” — Richard Mitchell

“Why is the universe the way we see it? If it had been any different, we would not be here!” — Stephen Hawking

“Don’t tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.” — Mark Twain

“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.” — Alan Watts

Sometimes, perfection just sneaks up on you, patiently sitting in front of your face until you notice it’s there….
_____________________________

Inside the museum infinity goes up on trial.
Voices echo, ‘This is what salvation must be like after a while.’
But Mona Lisa must have had the highway blues;
you can tell by the way she smiles.

— Bob Dylan

Time, and again….

Life, and/or love, will seldom fit
into any box we keep for them to sit.
Loose and limber, without any reason,
always somewhat out of season.

Surprise, surprise, they seem to say,
can’t help it, it’s just our way.
If only you would learn, instead of know,
maybe you’d find yourself with one to show.

Deal, just the way it is, now and here,
follow the path, on the other side of fear.
Finding the future isn’t all blood, sweat, and pain,
far, far more than mere joy we stand to gain.

The sages all say not to try, just do,
sounds as simple as putting on a shoe.
I’d say we could really go places,
if we could learn, to tie up the laces….

~~ gigoid ~~

I believe I mentioned there was a poem percolating in the unguarded, dark corners of my mind somewhere…. I guess it was waiting for the right moment to push its way out into the light of day…. Here ’tis, such as it is…. I like it, myself, as is obvious from the fact that it’s here…. I’ll stop blathering now….
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Okay, so, I’m happy…. It’s my birthday, I’m up and feeling pretty good, all in all, and have gotten a poem out of my head, always a good sign of mental health, for me…. That stuff does better out than in, if you know what I mean…. or, even if you don’t, it still does better out than in…. Any who, I’ll be done soon, so, have patience…. Here is a random pearl, picked from the archives, but, from another of my birthday posts, to keep it all in the family…. let’s see what I did back then….

11/1/11
Ffolkes,
Today is my birthday. I’m sixty-one years old now, and one might think I’m all grown up. I suppose I am. If being such is defined as the state of finally accepting one’s own mortality, whether with fear and loathing, or with calm and grace, then, yes, I am all grown up, for I have exhibited both states of late.

I am still at the point where the thought of death is not easily applied to myself; I’ve been immortal since my early teens, and only of late have I come to realize that such a belief might be an erroneous assumption. I’ve always thought that the progress mankind has made in the field of medicine would reach a point where living much longer than we do would become common, and yes, I’ve been accused of unreasonable optimism previously. But, though there is improvement, the average age of death for males in our society continues to hover right around 72 years, and that for me is all too close for comfort.

When the Grim Reaper comes for me, he’ll find me to be unwilling to cooperate; when they take me, it will be kicking, fighting, biting, screaming, and whatever else it takes to keep from having to leave this life before I am ready to do so. I’ve got a lot left to get done before I can consider myself to have done all of what I set out to do in life; I will need more time before I can feel ready for it to end. Unfortunately, we don’t always get the last word in that particular decision-making process; all too often it is taken out of our hands altogether. I can only hope to be given enough time to finish what I’ve begun.

I have a number of creditors to appease today, it being that time of the month when they all come out of the woodwork with their grasping hands, greedily trying to take some of my money before I give it to someone else. None of them seem to care that if I give them all what they wish, then I won’t eat again this month. Ah well, c’est la vie, such as it is…..not exactly what I had in mind for birthday activity, but we gotta do what we gotta do. Since I do have all that to deal with, we’ve gone back to the old format again today. The Pearls were all chosen for their luster; they shine even in the dark…..enjoy!!!

“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) — First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

Heavy, adj.: Seduced by the chocolate side of the force.

And if we do but watch the hour,
There never yet was human power
Which could evade, if unforgiven,
The patient search and vigil long
Of him who treasures up a wrong.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Mazeppa, Stanza 10

“To lose a friend is the greatest of all losses.” — Syrus

There….I feel better, sort of….. y’all take care out there…..

Back in 2013 now, and, I’m sensing a theme here…. Good thing we’re all done, isn’t it?….
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Okay, so I went a little overboard…. if you hadn’t noticed, it happens around here on a regular basis, and I’m not going to apologize for it, not when it makes me feel so damn good…. Y’all will just have to deal with my unwarranted, and possibly frightening, display of good will and high spirits today…. or not, it’s up to you, as always… I do hope you enjoyed it all…. Now, let’s see if any of it makes any sense…..

Not only does it make sense, I feel even better, knowing I still have to appease creditors, but, having done so today, I can still go out for breakfast…. I’m a simple guy, really, though it may seem otherwise if you go by what happens here on ECR…. Breakfast makes me happy, and I say that’s simple, and right, and I’m going to go have some now…. 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 full gamut, from ho to hum….

Posted on October 16, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Yesterday, I dropped out…. I’ve been considering this for some time, especially so since the revelations by Mr. Snowden that proved the government hasn’t merely been spying on terrorists, but on its own citizens. After these insights were brought to light, several of the social media and large tech companies like Google,Twitter, Facebook, and others, revealed that the government had also forced them to release data about their users, including those of American citizens…. which includes me….

This information, naturally, concerns me, and, as an American citizen, disturbs me greatly; to think that my own government, founded upon the principles of freedom, and the right to be secure in my home, EVEN FROM THAT GOVERNMENT, is spying on me for no good reason, other than their own paranoia and ambitious avarice, is completely, unequivocally unacceptable….

As a firm critic of those policies of internal spying, and of the people who engage in that form of domestic terrorism on their own countrymen, I found myself even more concerned by what was revealed in the process of public discussion…. Facebook, in particular, has been gathering data about me ever since I first signed up for it, and has now given all that data, on me and every other user, to the NSA, which means it is now in the possession of every branch of the clandestine world, as, for a spy agency, those idiots in the NSA don’t seem to be very good at keeping their mouths shut…..

These criminals ( Yes, criminals…. they’re denying my Constitutional rights…. ) got stuff from Facebook about my likes, dislikes, as well as information about all of my friends (fortunately, I never did use it heavily, so I only had about 115 of them…. hmm…. I’m reminded of Aristotle, I believe, who said something about “a friend to all is a friend to none”, or something like that…)

Any who, to make an already too-long story shorter, I deactivated my FB account yesterday…. I hadn’t been using it a lot for quite a while anyway, since I didn’t want to give Facebook any more data on me than was absolutely necessary, and I never was real comfortable with having my ENTIRE life online…. I give up enough to write this blog each day, and there was no need to post my every act on Facebook for the entire world to see…. Oh, you ask, what about the Privacy Settings they use? Well, honey, if you believe everything you read online, especially about privacy policies, then have I got some deals for you…. cash only, please, no checks….

I may lose even more readers (???) over this, though, right now, I don’t see how that is possible, as I’m down as far as I’ve ever seen it in two-plus-years, as far as I can tell. But, I don’t care… I don’t intend to make it any easier for the assholes in the NSA, or the FBI, or any other police or government agency to gather data about me…. I use the most secure protocols I can, and I try to limit my traffic online to what is needed, and not give away too much of it without some kind of payoff for me…. However, I’m well aware of how easy it is for anyone with minimal skills to hack around on the internet for data, mining it for whatever they can that will turn a profit…. It only makes good sense these days to keep one’s online presence to a minimum, as far as possible, so as not to make it too easy for them….

In truth, I feel a greater feeling of relief than of any regret at leaving Facebook; I’m not sanguine about the fact that they already have more information on me than is comfortable, and I don’t really believe, or expect, them to destroy it…. Information is, of course, their business…. But, I’m not giving them any more of it for free; if they want it, they’ll have to get it here, or do without…. I hope. And, hopefully, it will throw a small wrench into the works for the assholes who try to steal it for the Beloved Ruling Class, and their corporate masters….

Shall we Pearl?…..

Scott: “Shut the deuterium from the main cryo pump to the auxiliary tank.”
LaForge: “The tank can’t withstand that kind of pressure.”
Scott: “Where’d you get that idea?!”
LaForge: “What do you where’d I get that idea? It’s in the impulse engine specifications.”
Scott: “Regulation 42/15? Pressure variances on the IRC Tank storage?”
LaForge: “Yeah!”
Scott: “Forget it. I wrote it. A good engineer is always a *wee* bit conservative, at least on paper.”

— “Relics”, Stardate Unknown

Or, as my dad taught me, and I taught my son, “Two ideas can be considered essential knowledge….. First, remember that just because I taught you all you know, I didn’t necessarily teach you all I know; never show all your cards until the bet is called….. Second, always cut the cards….”
_____________________________

I’m pretty certain that I could build a relatively decent rant today, but, I didn’t sleep well, and don’t think my mind is quite stable enough for that…. I was up and down all night long, unable to doze off…. only got about 1 or 2 solid hours of sleep, and that not deeply…. I am certainly in the right kind of mood for one, and intend to take out some of my angst and frustration on some innocent shopkeepers later on, but, for now, I think I’d best stick to an old-school version, to avoid the pitfalls of trying to sound reasonable when feeling rather vicious…. I might say something I’d regret later….. (Though I don’t know how I could think that, given what I’ve already said in this blog in the past….. I mean, how many blogs have you read recently that accused all three branches of the government of high treason?…. )

For now, though, unless something occurs to me that breaks through my initial reluctance, we’ll go with this…. a directed pearl, looking for ways to poke fun, even derisive fun, at the BRC, their corporate masters, and their myrmidons, the courts, churches, police, and armed forces…. may they all suffer from painful warts on their private parts!….

Words are like leaves; and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Criticism, Part ii, Line 109

“History is never written by the losers.” — Smart Bee

“If peace… only had the music and pageantry of war, there’d be no more wars.” — Sophie Kerr

“A bureaucrat is a Democrat who holds some office that a Republican wants.” — Alben W. Barkley

“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” — George Washington

“Grow your own dope. Plant a politician”– Smart Bee

“The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.” — M. Gandhi

I think this is a fine group of pearls, if a bit esoteric for some; it’s the best I can do when I’m so angry at them (the politicians, et al, not the pearls….)
_____________________________

When I am in a mood such as this, with not a single good thought to be found anywhere in my mind, I turn to the classic poets, allowing the beauty of it bring me back into a more affable state of mind…. because it ALWAYS works….

A Faery Song

{Sung by the people of Faery over Diarmuid and Grania, in their bridal sleep under a Cromlech.}

WE who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Silence and love;
And the long dew-dropping hours of the night,
And the stars above:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Rest far from men.
Is anything better, anything better?
Tell us it then:
Us who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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I’m breathing hard, but nowhere near the finish line…. Ranting is still out of the question, even though I took a break to go read the headlines…. I’m more pissed of than ever, but, still don’t have the mental energy, after two hours of sleep, to do justice to a rant of that import…. Y’all know what THAT means, don’t you? Don’t tell me that you haven’t figured out by now that in these cases, I ALWAYS retreat to my default position? Please, please, don’t tell me that….. But, in case you do, here is the answer to the implied question….

“What happens to your fist when you open your hand?” — Zen Buddhism

“If it were possible to heal sorrow by weeping and to raise the dead with tears, gold were less prized than grief.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Scyrii, Frag. 510

“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” — Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

“A desire not to butt into other people’s business is at least eighty percent of all human wisdom… and the other twenty percent isn’t very important.”
“You butt into other people’s business. All the time.”
“Who said I was wise? I’m a professional bad example. You can learn a lot by watching me.”

— Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein

“Je me presse de rire de tout, de peur d’etre oblige de’en pleurer.” – (I make myself laugh at everything, in case I should have to weep.) — Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais (1732-1799)

“We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“A man should not allow himself to hate even his enemies, because if you indulge this passion on some occasions, it will rise of itself in others; if you hate your enemies, you will contract such a vicious habit of mind, as by degrees will break out upon those who are your friends, or those who are indifferent to you.” — Plutarch
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I have a lot to do today out in the BBR, so, I’m glad this is nearly done…. I’ve been at it for close to three hours now, and need to be done so I don’t run out of fuel before getting to the important stuff…. Let’s take a look at it…. Well, it will have to do…. I’ve got too much on my plate to go back & start over…. I’ll just leave you today with one final pearl of a hopeful, and hopefully inspirational nature..

“One final paragraph of advice: Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast… a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lurid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in you head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safety deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: You will outlive the bastards.” — Edward Abbey

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

Building euphemisms on a budget….

Posted on June 17, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Powerful images often parade through my mind in the early morning, images I try to set down into words. I’m not always as successful at it as I’d like to be, but, occasionally, I get it right. When I do, there is no better feeling in the world, aside from an orgasm, which, as we all know, is commonly used as a benchmark for such events. Currently, that particular unique category of event is absent from my existence, but, as I recall, from the halcyon days of my youth, it feels pretty damn good, so, you’ll get the idea….

Some day, perhaps, I’ll finish one of the stories I’ve begun here; over the past two-plus years I’ve probably written 50 or so opening paragraphs for stories that crossed through the waiting room in my head, some of which were, in my humble opinion, not too shabby at all. I’ve yet to complete any of those tales, however, for a compelling reason, having to do with economic factors. Now that I’m retired on disability, any income I make from working, a category into which the writing and selling of stories falls, is to be reported as income, and would be taken out of whatever I make on disability.

So, unless I can make a sale of a book worth more than a million dollars, it isn’t worthwhile for me to enter the market at all, because all I make would be subtracted from my disability checks, and I’d be right back where I started, depending on the market for my work to keep me alive, for the rest of my life…. Since I just spent two and a half years in near poverty in the process of securing my disability income, and am tired to death of working to survive, it doesn’t make economic, or physical, sense for me to try to write for my money…. Not without a guaranteed contract of some kind that would make moot any money I would make from disability benefits….

Besides, I don’t write for fame, or money, or any of the common reasons people write…. As I’ve stated in the past, this process is designed to keep me in a state of ‘relative’ sanity (qualifier required by law….)…. I say relative because, as you know, staying close to sane isn’t part of my lifestyle; what most would call sanity, I call boring, and boredom has been banished from my existence. I refuse to be bored, especially by Life At Large; to admit boredom is to admit one is tired of what is going on in one’s own head, and that I will never do…. Bully for me, right?….

So, rather than try to make any money at this, I write for fun, and for release…. I write to express all the outrage I feel at the ongoing, dangerous antics of the Beloved Ruling Class, otherwise known as Pundits R’Us, comprised of sycophants of the Corporate Masters, and the Priestly Hierarchies, along with those ever-amusing public servants, the Police and Paramilitary Wannabe’s, all of whom, by their total lack of ethical compass, provide me with endless fodder for my angst, fueling my sense of injustice and need to rant on a daily basis. It’s actually quite an easy task, what with the amount of crap that spews out of their mouths every day….

Now that I’ve thoroughly explored such a thrilling subject, I will show mercy, and get on with the day’s missive. I’ve meandered and blathered enough for TWO intro sections, but, don’t worry, I won’t subject you to two posts at once…. Just consider it a bonus, and for goodness’ sake, don’t report it on the customs list of items to declare before entering or exiting the country….. I pay enough taxes without adding in customs duties…. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

Okay, I’m amused…. It’s been a while since I saw this particular little piece of nonsense, and I’d forgotten how amusing it is…. So, just to start the day out right, I’ll put it in here, as a kind of peace offering for the above ramble…. No thinking required, and if you need to feel morally justified about reading this, just pretend that you’re only doing so because you intend to use each line as an ANTI-cultural shock infusion, and can’t be held responsible for any of its shortcomings as literature…. Hell, half the folks you say that to will believe it, and the other half will ignore you, so, all is good…. Just enjoy, ffolkes, it’s pretty good advice, taken as suggested, with a shitload of salt….

Deteriorata

Go placidly amid the noise and waste and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. Avoid quiet and passive persons unless you are in need of sleep. Rotate your tires. Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself and heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys; know what to kiss and when. Consider that two wrongs never make a right but that three do. Wherever possible, put people on hold. Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment and despite the changing fortunes of time, there is always a big future in computer maintenance … Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet. Fall not in love therefore; it will stick to your face … Reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be worse in Milwaukee. You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here, and whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back. Therefore make peace with your God whatever you conceive him to be–Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin. With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate. Give up.”

~~ Tony Hendra ~~

Hell, I gave up years ago….. Entropy is alive and well, and coming soon to a theater near you…
__________________________________

Over the last six months, I have been falling into love, slowly and beautifully, with my neighbor, Patricia…. I’ve been reluctant to share a lot of it, as it is, of course, private, and I don’t want to put that sort of thing out on the street, so to speak…. Though I write a lot of personal revelations, I don’t intend to put ALL of my feelings out there for review by the public, even if it is limited to the few ffolkes who stop by to read my always-longer-than-expected pieces…. Also, she is a very private person, and I’m not going to share HER stuff online at all….

But, I have to confess, I am enjoying the process, even as I take it super-slowly, to make sure neither of us is making a mistake about our feelings… So far, so good…. In keeping with the spirit of good feeling I have in this respect, here is a poem from one of the acknowledged masters of romantic poetry…. and look, it’s a love poem! What do you know about that?….. 🙂

Air And Angels

Twice or thrice had I loved thee,
Before I knew thy face or name;
So in a voice, so in a shapeless flame,
Angels affect us oft, and worshiped be;
Still when, to where thou wert, I came,
Some lovely glorious nothing I did see.
But since my soul, whose child love is,
Takes limbs of flesh, and else could nothing do,
More subtle than the parent is,
Love must not be, but take a body too;
And therefore what thou wert, and who,
I bid love ask, and now
That it assume thy body I allow,
And fix itself to thy lip, eye, and brow.

Whilst thus to ballast love I thought,
And so more steadily to have gone,
With wares which would sink admiration,
I saw I had love’s pinnace overfraught
Every thy hair for love to work upon
Is much too much, some fitter must be sought;
For, nor in nothing, nor in things
Extreme and scatt’ring bright, can love inhere.
Then as an angel, face and wings
Of air, not pure as it, yet pure doth wear,
So thy love may be my love’s sphere.
Just such disparity
As is ‘twixt air and angel’s purity,
‘Twixt women’s love and men’s will ever be.

~~ John Donne ~~

“What is a poet? A poet is an unhappy being whose heart is torn by secret sufferings, but whose lips are so strangely formed that when the sighs and cries escape them,they sound like beautiful music.” — Soren Kierkegaard, in Either/Or
__________________________________

“Nevertheless, in the system of Copernicus there are found many and great inconveniences; for both the loading of the earth with a triple motion is very incommodious, and the separation of the sun from the company of the planets, with which it has so many passions in common, is likewise a difficulty, and the introduction of so much immobility in nature, by representing the sun and stars as immovable, especially being of all bodies the highest and most radiant, and making the moon revolve about the earth in an epicycle, and some other assumptions of his, are the speculations of one who cares not what fictions he introduces into nature, provided his calculations answer.” — Francis Bacon, Descriptio Globi Intellectualis, 1653

In his time, Frank Bacon (Oh…… no wonder he went by Francis!….), was considered a learned man; even now, he is regarded as one of the brightest minds of his era…. which does not go far toward explaining this statement. As is patently obvious, according to what we now know, Frank is talking with his head firmly planted up his ass; every one of his objections to Copernicus’ work is WRONG. We know now that the Copernican system of physical construction of the solar system, and all the stars and galaxies, is the closest to reality, when compared amongst all of the ancient ideas on the subject.

No, Frank was being a coward here…. He was afraid of the churches of the time, as well he might have been, for the churches of the middle ages were notorious for their intransigence when it came to what they defined as heresy…. So, Frank, being the mealy-mouthed opportunist that he was, dutifully issued this condemnation of Copernicus’ theories, to satisfy the priests, and get on their good side…. I have a feeling that he KNEW he was being a bald-faced liar in this instance…. it’s too wordy, and too UN-scientific in nature to disguise his lack of truth, and gives me the impression that he would have found it difficult to state this aloud, with a straight face….

“Appearances deceive and this one maxim is a standing rule: Men are not what they seem.” — Harvard

The point I’m making here, or trying to make, is this: People lie…. They do it for a lot of reasons, but, regardless of whether it is justified, or not, by whatever standards one chooses to apply, they still lie…. Mostly they do it for reasons that are not particularly public minded; humanity, as a rule, finds it hard to act other than in their own self-interest, even when acting honorably. It is the rare man, or woman, who makes their decisions based on the public good on a consistent basis….

This, of course, is merely my observation, but, I think it’s fairly accurate, given my age, and how much I’ve watched people for my entire life. Most folks act in their own self-interests FIRST; they may act otherwise AFTER they are satisfied they’ve achieved their own ends, but, it will be an afterthought, and may also be designed to benefit themselves more than anyone else…. There are very few who act with honor in this respect, and I don’t exclude myself from this; I’m no saint, to be sure…. But, I think that Truth is more important to me than to most of the people I see out in the BBR, and that, I think, causes me to have a clearer view of reality than those who color it with their own preconceived notions of right and wrong, with right being what is good for them, not for anyone else, necessarily….

“He who would distinguish the true from the false must have an adequate idea of what is true and false.” — Smart Bee

How often do we meet someone who even attempts to find out the truth? Most people, from what I observe, tend to just accept whatever they are told, preferring the abrogation of responsibility for their own opinions to having to spend the mental effort to find out what is true…. It is an all-too-human characteristic to want to have someone else take the responsibility for all of that; thinking takes effort, and most folks aren’t willing to put forth that effort, no matter how often they are told they are being lied to, even if the telling comes with proof…. They prefer to let anyone who appears on TV show them, preferably with lots of bright, colorful pictures, just what they should think and feel….

SIGH…. I’m depressed now. This is an issue that burns my ass on a daily basis, because it is not amenable to resolution, at least, not any easy, peaceful resolution. It is the very nature of humankind that allows this kind of chicanery; this has been true for all of our history, and will remain so until our untimely demise, somewhere in the not so distant future….

I wish I could entertain hope for enough changes in society that we, as a species, would conceivably stand a chance of survival, but, given the stubbornness of even the most average person in resisting any kind of cogitation, I don’t hold out a lot of hope for it, not in the long run. Humans aren’t going to stop acting in their own self-interest, and it’s a damn shame there isn’t much that can be done…

“What is man’s chief enemy? Each man is his own.” — Anacharsis (f1. c. 600 B.C.), Scythian philosopher — Quoted in Stobaeus, Flor., II, 43
__________________________________

Such is the life of an itinerant dilettante…. Sorry ’bout the depressing rant in section 3; sometimes the human race just annoys me. However, since I am a fully cognizant member of that species, my annoyance has no real meaning beyond its effect on me, and, concomitantly, on what I write…. Hopefully, the depressive nature of the above discussion isn’t catching, and won’t spoil anyone’s day…

It won’t spoil mine; like most of us humans, I’m really quite adept at denial, and I don’t mean the river in Egypt….. (Sorry, couldn’t resist…..) On that silly note, I bid thee adieu for another day, and hope you have a day filled with love and light, regardless of the weather….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

Sweet, savory, sour, AND bitter….. nice choice…

Posted on June 5, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Honestly, I didn’t mean to wake up like this….. all crotchety, grumpy, and annoyed. But, then, I didn’t plan to wake up at 0430, with a ripping headache right in the middle of my forehead, either. Thankfully, a bit of coffee, a bit of worship, and all is well, at least for the time being, and I can think about getting this started.

Not that I’m brimming over with ideas right now; in fact, that well seems particularly dry at the moment, so we’ll have to see what happens when I start actually firing up the old brain cells for real…. Yesterday, I managed to come up with a decent religirant, and a hell of a good pearl in section three (you should go back to read it, if you haven’t…. it’s a good one….).

I’ve had to change some plans that I made yesterday, thanks to the unpredictability of other people that I failed to factor into the plans, so today promises to be another day of cleaning up after Murphy, in a sense. He managed to thwart what was on the agenda for yesterday, forcing me to reschedule it for today, costing me about $50 extra, so I’d wager he’s feeling pretty good about himself right now, having used well an opportunity for which he’s probably waited for several days. Asshole….

Can’t seem to pull the crankypants off all the way; they keep getting fouled on my socks, or maybe the lingering headache has something to do with it…. In the short time I had yesterday to read blogs, I did read one rant from one of my favorite liberal bloggers, John over at The American Liberal Times; he gave some pretty good shots to the conservative right in the political world, all with his usual mild tone, which he uses to great effect in his indictment of the idiocy generally on display in conservative writing.

I enjoy his fair-minded, even-handed manner of delivering these indictments, with which he usually supplies ample evidence of his target’s ill-conceived misconceptions about life, political reality, and justice. He also is quite steadfast, and stands tall and strong in favor of his ideals…. Fun to read….

Any who, I suppose this isn’t getting done what needs to be done around here, so I’ll quit blathering, and get on with today’s post. I’m totally unsure of what might happen, but, that’s nothing new, so…. Shall we Pearl?….
__________________________________

“Go on, EMOTE! I was RAISED on thought balloons!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, so that didn’t work out so well…. Though the truth of the above statement, as it applies to me, and my life, is indisputable, it doesn’t solve any of the problems inherent in this process, and is here only to indicate the extent of the difficulty I face today….. To begin a pearl with such a pearl is very un-pearlish…. trust me, I would know.

It’s a perfect ending line, naturally, but to shove itself into my face with the intent of starting off a pearl, well, that’s just, plain and simple, over the line…. Now that it is there, though, what can I do with it, except go with the flow, and finish it off? Nothing, that’s what…. So, here we go, with a supporting cast that will, hopefully, save this pathetic attempt at humor from blowing up completely, necessitating plastic surgery….. I like my face just the way it is, strangely enough….

“When you go in for a job interview, I think a good thing to ask is if they ever press charges.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

“In Oregon, the State Legislature has come up with a State Nut. This is unlikely to happen in Missouri, since there are too many candidates.” — Smart Bee

I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
Was thy dream then a shadowy lie?
Toil on, poor heart, unceasingly;
And thou shalt find thy dream to be
A truth and noonday light to thee.

— Ellen Sturgis Hooper (1816-1841) — Life a Duty

“Memory serves wise commanders.” Tz’u-hsi, 638 AD

“Luck affects everything; let your hook always be cast. In the stream where you least expect it, there will be fish.” — Ovid (3/20/43 B.C.- A.D. 17) Roman poet

“A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents.” — G.C. Lichtenberg

If thou would’st have me sing and play
As once I play’d and sung,
First take this time-worn lute away,
And bring one freshly strung.

— Thomas Moore (1779-1852) — If Thou would ‘st have Me sing and play
__________________________________

I am feeling more than just a little lazy today; can’t seem to shake off the sleepiness I woke up with… so lazy, in fact, I’m not even up to Googling for a poem, and will go with one of my own, from the archives, just to save the effort of finding one somewhere else…. I know, really lazy, huh? Oh, well….

Here is one to celebrate, sort of, the coming, and going, of spring, which, this year, thanks to the myth of global warming, has been completely unrecognizable as a Northern California spring, resembling more something you might find in Missouri, or Uzbekistan, or somewhere odd like that….

An Old Man, Snoring….

Winter arrives with gusts of wind and rain,
clover spreads green amongst the hedges.
Urban gardens quiver, and dream of spring again,
gargoyles stoically crouch on corniced ledges.

Umbrellas sprout over heads shrouded and hatted,
dotting the sidewalks in colorful profusion.
Urban denizens pose sketches, framed and matted,
adding casual beauty to fill the illusion.

Hissing tires, swishing along with the wipers
join nature’s orchestra smoothly, as percussion.
Dripping gutters sound gong tones, true pipers,
a sudden roar of wind hushes all discussion.

Dreams of summer heat form the crux of desire
as winter chills our souls from without.
Sitting in warmth, gazing into an imaginary fire;
content to know spring will come, no doubt.

~~ gigoid

__________________________________

The following is another display of how lazy I’m feeling today….. It is a rant I wrote back in January of this year, when I was still living with the constraints that come with living with no money to speak of, to wit: not enough food, and barely enough of anything else….. Things have changed, for the better, but, sometimes, it’s good to think back to how little I had then, and appreciate the difference…. Not that any of that has anything to do with this rant, but, it had to be said, to cover up my lack of work ethic today….. so be it… If nothing else, it’s a good rant, so, enjoy….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is this an out-take from the “BRADY BUNCH”?” — Zippy the Pinhead

I’m rather hoping it is, in sooth…. if not, we all are in serious trouble, up the proverbial creek without a hint of a paddle. Not that it should be anything new or unfamiliar, as most of our history has been spent thus occupied. Of course, previous centuries didn’t have the distinct advantage of having either the Brady’s, or Zippy, in all his insane wisdom, as cultural icons, as well as ethical touchstones….. They had to make do with Socrates, and Plato, and stuffy old guys like that….. Aristotle was practically a rock star in his day, and remains a pretty smart dude, by all evidence, but I still prefer Carlin, I think, for the most cogent philosophy for modern times….

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 6, 1791

For a moment, I wondered what my unconscious mind was thinking when it made me copy and paste this amendment into the pearl, as a pearl…. especially as it seems to be in conjunction with the Zippy quote…. Here I am, five minutes later, still wondering what the hell I was thinking…. It happens that way sometimes…. just give me a few moments here, and I’ll come up with it…. Aha! Got it! Naturally, I only needed to go back to basics…. The answer to the question of how the two quotes are related is…. Reality….

Aye, that’s right, reality. It’s what we do here, explore reality, and all its implications, ramifications, and delineations. Also, it’s temperature. Well, perhaps that isn’t the right word, but…. Reality, as is clear and obvious to the most casual observer, exists in varying degrees (hence: temperature…. see?). The degree of reality that is included in an out-take from the Brady Bunch is clearly not the same degree of reality that is implied in the Sixth Amendment.

I’d say, the Amendment would hit around 8 or 9 on the real scale, with 10 being the Reality of Amber, where all roads lead. (See Roger Zelazny’s book, The Courts of Amber…..), whereas the highest the Brady’s could hope for would be a 2 or a 3 on that same scale. They’re too oppositional in nature to be rated otherwise, as well as being on opposite ends of the scale of Relative Importance to ME and YOU…..

Now we get to the meat of this matter…. Of late, there has been a lot of public discourse regarding gun control, as a result of the media’s steadfast love of gore and manipulation. Another school shooting took place a few weeks ago, wherein some crazy idiot got hold of some firearms and used them in an insane manner.

This, of course, all morality aside, is still a reprehensible act, and, IMHO, most easily solved by just taking one of his own guns and using it on him, at the time of his crime. Bang, problem solved, and since he’s standing there over the bodies he has made, no question of guilt. In such cases, the why of his guilt should not matter; whatever it is, it is reason enough to put him down, in defense of humanity. The other questions can be answered after the children have been defended….

Sadly, there are two segments of humanity who don’t agree with this logical outcome. One segment is what I term the humanitarians, a misleading term, since it usually involves the denial of much of human nature. The other, of course, is our old nemesis, the BRC…. our Beloved Ruling Class….

Neither of these groups will agree that allowing people to have guns should be allowed, or that killing the killers is a proper solution for the issue. In both of these positions, they are dead wrong, and, more, they know they are. This serves to make their arguments more shrill, more emotionally based, and, in their eyes, more valid, in some strange form of weird logic….

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

One of the most edifying parts of this discussion, for me, is how it makes it so easy to identify those who are wearing the uniforms, and from what camp they are from, according to their colors and insignia. You can tell the humanitarians, they’re the ones wearing the faux-camouflage pants, in support of the troops, they’ll assure you; they want the police to be the only ones who carry guns, believing, for some unknown reason, that police are somehow more moral or ethical than other people. (Of course, they also would have trouble if you asked them to define the words, “moral”, or “ethical”, in any other terms than those used in a philosophy paper they memorized in college, or in seminary….)

The BRC are always easy to spot, as their sense of entitlement provides them with all the armor against opinion, or law, they ever need. They want guns to be only held by the militia, (which they control), or the police (whom they also control), because it makes them nervous as hell to know there are guns out in the land, in the hands of people who would use them, for certain, if they attempt to perform their illegal lying, cheating, and stealing anywhere in their presence. It also makes them nervous knowing that they would be in danger for real, if the truth about what they do is ever made public with enough evidence to convince the masses to act…. They don’t want to have to worry they will be over-matched in firepower when that day comes along….

SIGH…. I’ve opened a can of worms, again, I know it….. I’m not going to claim to have all the right answers to the situation we find ourselves in today. Though it is a different world, technologically and culturally, from the time when the Second Amendment was written, deciding to abandon its precepts on that basis is not, and should never be, enough to justify any change in a law that is so important to the common man, the very people for whom the laws were created, to protect them from the self-same usurpation that is now being attempted. Once the law is amended, and weakened, the term “slippery slope” becomes very real, and a valid fear for those people.

To put a cap on it for now, I’ll say this…. Quite simply, I do not trust those who would take the right to bear arms from the people (added later: I reserve the same lack of trust for those who wish to amend, or limit in any way, the right to bear arms; ANY kind of change will ultimately be used as the basis for arguments designed to completely take the right away…). I have seen NO evidence, in history, or in recent current events, that ANY governing body, or ANY group, or ANY single person, of ANY persuasion can be trusted to have guns, and use them solely for the benefit of the people, without turning them to their own purposes, first. NONE. You can’t show me any, either…. Go ahead, I’m listening….

I have studied people every day of my life, and I know too much of human nature to ever believe what I’m told of another person’s intentions; even the best intentions can change in mid-stream, turning its back completely on any commitments made previously. People lie, they cheat, they break in their minds, and they can’t, as a whole, ever be trusted to act rationally on a consistent basis….. at least, not any more rationally than can I myself….

“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.” — Oscar Wilde

Such being the case, I’d rather keep my guns, thanks. I’ll accept the risks that go with that freedom, which includes the risk of bad people getting their hands on guns, and doing bad things to others. Don’t worry, if they do it in front of me, I’ll help…. and not by running away and hiding…. Life is dangerous, ffolkes, and one either learns to get along with that idea, or one spends a lot of time worrying about shit that can’t be changed…. A very unhappy state of affairs, to my way of thinking, and not very realistic in the long run….

“When the panorama of human existence becomes chaotic and confused, it is quite soothing to watch the sun rise in the East.” ~~ gigoid
__________________________________

All things considered, this went very well, thanks to my laziness and willingness to cheat on my own standards…. Of course, if they are MY standards, then breaking them isn’t really cheating, is it? It’s merely utilization of the right to edit, otherwise known as “changing my mind”, a right and privilege none of us should ever forget we possess, as it can make the difference between success, and a handful of shit….

Sorry, forgot to hold the graphics….. “One cliche, please, with a side of graphics!” “Do you want whale sperm with that?”….. Now that I’ve completely lost it, let’s see how it reads….. Not too shabby, all in all, and certainly worth posting…. Onward, into the day!….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

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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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Beloved ruling class

Kindly confine the excess salivation to the spittoon…..

We have uncoded messages for the Betelgeuse delegation….

Distracted by a classic diversion…. cinnamon-glazed potato cakes….

Worldwide Celebration Held to Honor History’s Greatest Scam….

Salting hummus makes it nearly edible….

Crafty solutions work well for hybrids….

He needs more time, or it won’t fly….

The full gamut, from ho to hum….

Building euphemisms on a budget….

Sweet, savory, sour, AND bitter….. nice choice…

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