Corpuscular ambiguity, gift wrapped….

Posted on June 13, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

~~ Bob Dylan ~~

Need more proof?….

Hajime…. Whatever you find here today should be taken with a measure of reserve; the conditions under which my life has proceeded for a couple of days now have been rather stressful, in the sense my own mind has been consuming itself, with some relish, I might add. Not the pickle kind, either. I am unsure as to the reason for such a meltdown, but, it hardly matters at all, as the end result is just as miserable, no matter how it came to be. And, regardless of why it happens, the answer to getting past it is always located in the same place, to wit: inside my own mind/heart/being.

At this moment, I do feel a bit better, as I just hung up after talking with an eminently rational friend, who lives in England. Having spent much of yesterday in a funk, wandering the house, annoying the cat and desperately casting about for distraction from my own thoughts, I needed some rational conversation before beginning this task. We chatted for almost an hour, and I feel much more connected than I did beforehand. Yay, me, and thanks to my friend for being a friend; it may have given me enough balance to be able to finish this, with, possibly, some grace and style. Of course, that would be a first, so, let’s not get excited yet.

In fact, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves at all; for a change, we’ll try to show some forethought, and tact, by making this introductory section an actual introduction, rather than yet another opportunity to blather. There’s been enough blather in the last few days. Instead, I’ll get on with this, as best I may, so we can all get on to bigger things. (Note I did not say better; we try to maintain a small degree of hope….) Some of it was already done, thankfully, so, we might even get this posted at a reasonably appropriate time. Or, close, anyway.

I won’t even use any tricks. We’ll just go on, leaving this section to fend for itself. It’s really rather a simple technique; all I have to do is say this….

Shall we Pearl?….

” If you see a man approaching you with the obvious intention
of doing you good, you should run for your life.”

~~ Thoreau’s Law ~~

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Cakehole Presley

Image from twitter.com via Google Images

Today’s musical selection is a band from the British Isles, specifically Cardiff, Wales. Fronted by Chris Ridgeway, one of the most talented singer/songwriters in today’s musical world, their music is raw, intense, and political, which hits all the right notes for this old hippie…. Thanks to Lady P. for the referral…. Make sure you listen to their song written for the 2015 election in Britain, called “Don’t let the bastards grind you down….” Brilliant!…

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Cakehole Presley

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https://youtu.be/2L_SfIpzE80?list=PL64CE9B8E7A91CF7E

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While speaking with my friend this morning, I made a statement regarding religion(s), which I’d like to repeat… I said, “The entire concept of religion has been humanity’s most egregious obstacle to ever achieving our true potential; all of them need to just GO AWAY!” The more I look at what is happening in the world, the more firmly I believe this. With the concomitant other delusions under which society suffers, to wit: money and government, religion has done nothing for us but keep us from finding any real truth, about ourselves, or reality…. If you don’t agree, I can only invite you to say so, in the comments, or, via email, and we can discuss it at length. For now, here is a relatively short, but cogent discussion of this from a few years ago….

As you can see from the material below, this is not a new idea for me. So, if you wish to discuss it, bring some strong arguments; I’ve been thinking on this for a while, and know whereof I speak…. I hope you enjoy this, or, alternately, I hope it makes you think…. Don’t worry, it may hurt, but, it won’t actually hurt you in any permanent way….

From 6/15/2012:

“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” — Genesis 1:28

Is it any wonder that our society is falling apart? Given the above, I think that any doubts one may have about who and/or what is responsible for the mess in which we find ourselves are pretty well dispelled. This decree of Entitlement is taken seriously by every priest, every preacher, and every politician who ever trod American soil (the phenomenon is world-wide, but for now let’s just concern ourselves with our problems here at home….). Did you ever hear a clearer statement of justification for hatred, bigotry, and prejudice? If you can answer yes, I’d be interested in hearing it, as this is just about as clear an expression of elitism as any I’ve ever heard….

Perhaps it is just me, but I find this to be disgusting. It is a clearly false assumption, based entirely on hearsay that was uttered by men who wanted to have control over others, and wanted to establish in the minds of those others the idea that God gave them the right to do so. I’m not sure just how they got everyone to believe them, to buy into the delusion, as it seems completely obvious to me that it is a lie of major proportion. But, they did, and for well over two millennia this idea of Mankind being the Lords of Creation has led us down a primrose path, straight to the edge of extinction…. The efforts of sages, philosophers, and clear-thinkers throughout the ages has not been sufficient to convince the majority of Mankind that our entire societal make-up is based on a lie, in spite of the simple fact that it is true….

As long as the majority of people in this country, or any other, for that matter, accept this lie, this entitlement, then the changes necessary to survival for our species are never going to happen. This sort of separation from the remainder of the Circle of Life is what will keep us from ever becoming part of that Circle. Our species will not survive, if we do not choose to join the rest of reality; we cannot survive alone, and every action taken to divide us from the other inhabitants of Earth pushes us further down the path to extinction. It pisses me off no end to know that this inevitable end is all because the majority chooses to embrace a lie, a delusion, rather than having the courage to face the universe as we are….

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Unbidden, treasure unfolded…

Taken by surprise, Psyche sits numb
Amidst tall phrases worn of elder time
Seeking a not-new place from which to come
No shiny new horizon, nor altered paradigm.

Sudden regrets shape dreams as times maintain
Shades of memories bring poignant clear sight
Visions of duty, each chosen wild campaign
Shouts echoing clamors to enfold the night.

Arisen from less than eternal havens of sleep
Facing moments created in torment and pain
Destiny weighs upon those chosen to keep
As the sparrow flies now to sever the twain.

Faded pathways lead away, hazy and long
Burned out verges, so long unknown
Images of yesterday, clear and strong
Bleed into today, though t’is but my own……

~~ gigoid ~~

6/13/2012

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Naked Pearls

Notes on Life at Large

*******

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

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

*******

“Know that joy is rarer, more difficult,
and more beautiful than sadness.
Once you make this all-important discovery,
you must embrace joy as a moral obligation.”

~~ Andre Gide, “Fruits of the Earth “~~

*******

“A heart is not judged by how much you love
but by how much you are loved by others.”

~~ The Wizard of Oz ~~

*******

“All teachings are mere references.
The true experience is living your own life.
Then, even the holiest of words are only words.”

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

*******

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

~~ Zen proverb ~~

*******

“Be not diverted from your duty by any idle reflections the silly
world may make upon you, for their censures are not in your power,
and consequently should not be any part of your concern.”

~~ Epictetus ~~

*******

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Considering my state of being at the start of today’s effort, it can be considered a victory to find myself here at the end, finished. So, I will do so, with some satisfaction. Beyond that, deponent sayeth no more, lest fate be tempted to take it all away. Rather than torture y’all, and myself, any further, we’ll go on, with my good wishes for y’all to experience a bountiful day. I will, however, warn y’all of my imminent return, tomorrow, same time, same place, relatively speaking. (The planet will be in another part of space, as will the solar system, the galaxy, and all the rest….) with yet another offering at the altar of self-abuse. See y’all then, ffolkes; I’ll be greatly surprised if you don’t….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Folly defines itself, it seems….

Posted on March 31, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

Shadow of an old, crooked man….

Hajime…. I’m here, typing, but, let’s not make too much of that, since it’s the same thing I’ve done almost daily for five years now. The only difference we find from day to day is how much I’ve been able to sleep the night before, which is somewhat of an unpredictable facet of my life. Today, I happen to have had, oh, maybe three solid hours, found at the hind end of the night, as usual. Such is becoming rather more consistent a happening than I’d prefer, but, what the hell, I’ve got nothing better to do at the moment, so, I may as well get this done.

In the spirit of being efficient, as well as catering to my fatigue, we will set out immediately to the oyster beds, so we can say we wasted no time. Not that anyone is monitoring, (aside from the NSA, of course, but, they only check it later, I’m sure, so, no worries…. besides, they already know I despise them and their false sense of paranoid entitlement, so, I try to say howdy at least once in a while… Howdy, assholes!…. stolen any cool data lately?), but, we know, don’t we? We do. Since that is so, why don’t we just do it like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.”

~~ Cicero ~~

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The Original Parrothead

I know I’ve used this concert in the past, and, I won’t usually repeat most music. But, I’m in the mood for a good time, without any worries to get in the way, and, nobody throws a better party than Jimmy. I know, I’ve been to more than a dozen of them since first hearing his music in 1975, first hearing the album, Livin’ & Dyin’ in Three-Quarter Time…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. Unless you’re lacking a party gene, you’ll like this one….

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Jimmy Buffett
Live in Anguilla

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https://youtu.be/yR8FvDDhBv0

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“Science is the whore of industry and the handmaiden of war.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

I don’t know about all of y’all, but, in my mind, the quote above from our old friend Ed is a perfect start to a good, strong indictment of both the Beloved Ruling Class, and the unwashed masses who allow themselves to be enslaved by their own nature. It speaks quite plainly, in a short, pithy statement, how even the most intelligent folks can be manipulated by their own lack of self knowledge, bringing us to the unstable society, and uncertain future, in which we now exist. It’s a perfect lead in for an exploration of our own failures of spirit, and how they will affect us all.

But, I’m fucking tired, and can tell that any ranting I do today would go completely over the line into pure rage, so, rather than subject any of us to such a display of emotion, which would indicate a lack of personal control and knowledge which I refuse to countenance any more. So, instead, we have for y’all a nice little seven-star, old-school pearl to explore those same spiritual difficulties, in a roundabout way. The last one, of course, tells us the truth about what matters the most, for all of us…. Enjoy!….

“All politics is based on the indifference of the majority.” — James Reston

“It is fear that first brought gods into the world.” — Sagacious Bee

“The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self-mastery.” — Reinhold Niebuhr

“If the thraskin puts his fingers in his ears, it is polite to shout.” — Doctor, The Time Monster

“36 percent of the American Public believes that boiling radioactive milk makes it safe to drink.” — results of a survey by Jon Miller at Northern Illinois University

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” — Krishnamurti

“To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give of oneself; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sing with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier: this is to have succeeded.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art.

~~ gigoid ~~

8/18/2013

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Our final old-school pearl today is a rather simple affair, speaking casually, and, likely, causally, of the qualities of Character, and, how to find & use it…. Enjoy!

“A man reveals his character even in the simplest things he does.” — Jean de La Bruyere

“If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it: Every arrow that flies feels the attraction of earth.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.” — William Saroyan

“What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to.” — Bob Dylan

“Certainly, virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed, for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.” — Sir Francis Bacon, Of Adversity

“A man makes no noise over a good deed, but passes on to another as a vine to bear grapes again in season.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, v, 6

“I wanted only to try to live in accord with the promptings which came from my true self. Why was that so very difficult?” — Hermann Hesse

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Well, I did it, against all odds. So be it. To separate ourselves from the possibility of a problem developing here at the end, we shall take our leave forthwith, stage virtual, and be done with it. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. Wish me luck; I’ll probably need it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Bargaining is intrinsically sordid….

Posted on March 26, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
down the foggy ruins of time
far past the frozen leaves
the haunted frightened trees
out to the windy beach
far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.

Ah, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
silhouetted by the sea
circled by the circus sands
with all memory and fate
driven deep beneath the waves
let me forget about today until tomorrow.”

~~- Bob Dylan ~~

Traffic Monitor Leelu

Hajime…. My first task today is to apologize to those blogging friends whose sites I have not visited in the last few days. I’ve been posting, then spending most of the day offline, recovering from, or dealing with the physical issues plaguing me of late. I’ve made a few comments, but, mostly have skipped surfing at all, and made only a few comments. I hope to be back to relative normalcy soon, or, what we call that around here, anyway, so, bear with me in my struggles to find my center/balance, and get back to doing what I wish to do….

Today’s mess was mostly done, save for the final section, which has a short bit to finish. It’s just as well, as yesterday’s events nearly put me in a world of trouble. A young security officer made the mistake of attempting to intimidate me when I showed some anger at a bureaucratic conundrum that had developed during my time out of the house; he is a very fortunate young man, in that I was able to refrain from sending him home in a box, with a massive effort of will. He simply had no clue as to how much danger he was in, so, I was compelled to let him go, and merely lashed him verbally. I then had to walk off the anger, and today, am paying for that in stiffness and pain…. SIGH…. So be it.

That’s probably enough whining for one day. In fact, it’s enough, period. Let’s get on with this mess before I fall into any more chatty, boring episodes, okay? Okay….. Besides, this isn’t as easy as it looks, when I have a very hormonal teenage cat, trying her best to call the neighborhood boy cats to come play, while alternately rubbing up against me for attention in her affectionate state…. It isn’t easy to type with claws in the leg, you know. But, I’m getting it done, with the help of this little Tardis Toy, which works very simply and efficiently. Watch this….

Shall we Pearl?

And Katerfelto, with his hair on end
At his own wonders, wondering for his bread.
‘T is pleasant, through the loopholes of retreat,
To peep at such a world,–to see the stir
Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd.

~~ William Cowper ~~

~~ The Task, Book iv, The Winter Evening, Line 86 ~~

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Playing For Change Logos

In keeping with my new cause, here is another video from Playing for change, with one of the best versions of an old Stones tune I’ve ever heard…. Enjoy, ffolkes; it just doesn’t get much better than this….

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Gimme Shelter

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https://youtu.be/GJtq6OmD-_Y

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My recently adopted policy of working ahead with old material seems to be working okay, for the time being, hence, here is another discussion of morality/ethics and religion from the last day of 2012…. Enjoy! At least you don’t have to listen to any more BS about the elections, or Republicans, or the Hillarity, or Brussells…. Bonus!….

From 12/31/2012:

Forgiveness. How does a person without faith in a higher power obtain this boon? Certainly not from themselves…. I know, if I have done something for which I feel the need, or desire, to be forgiven, then I most likely don’t deserve it, and refuse to give in to self-indulgence. According to the preachers, God forgives all, but damn me if I can see any reason to do so, no matter how ‘merciful’ he/she/it might be. How can anyone expect moral behavior, if even our most grievous sins are forgiven? Because of the promise of reward for compliance, or threat of punishment for refusal to conform? I agree with Albert Einstein, that any such philosophy is not realistic, and certainly not moral…..

“In his private heart no man much respects himself.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

All of us, without exception, have things we hide inside ourselves, secrets that nobody else will ever be told. Whether it is a memory of an act one is not proud of, or a bit of severe foolishness, or something so shameful that to share it would be to become a pariah, all of us humans have secrets. I would guess that almost all of them are akin to what is described in the first paragraph, to wit: acts that need forgiveness, but do not deserve it. I believe that this may be a method by which one can tell another person’s outlook on religion, for almost all religions are based on this principle, of divine forgiveness. Even though we may do things in life that are unforgivable, the gods, or God, for the monotheistic among us, are so merciful, that they will do so, if you but acknowledge their divinity, and admit they are your higher power…..

It’s a good deal, all in all, if one buys it. Myself, I’m a bit sanguine about it, since I only have the word of the preachers that it is so; there is no real evidence to be found that supports the theory, and the scientist in me wants at least a little bit of proof before accepting something as truth. I’m not going to buy anything just on someone else’s word, or assertion of truth; I’ve been alive long enough to know that doing things like that can only lead to losing something, if only the advantage of self-respect.

“His ignorance covers the world like a blanket,
and there’s scarcely a hole in it anywhere.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

Wait, I thought we were talking about religion, not the last Republican President….. Sorry, couldn’t resist…. Any who, it all comes back to the basic idea of how we view reality, in terms of the concept of God, or a power greater than ourselves, that is responsible somehow for everything that exists, and thus, for us. By giving away that responsibility, I think, we are showing our own cowardice; I’m not willing to do that, not without more compelling evidence than hearsay.

I’m not blind to the other evidence that many religionists claim as being proof of God and his will; I’ve burst into tears myself at the sight of a particularly vivid sunrise, without knowing why, other than the beauty of it was so arrestingly powerful. I’ve seen good things happen everywhere, in human interaction, and in Nature. I’ve witnessed what priests like to call “grace”, and will admit that such events are not explainable by ordinary means. I’ve also witnessed the other side of existence, where human nature turns dark and cruel, while Nature reveals its own complete indifference for human suffering, and cannot accept that the same entity would dare to assume, or want responsibility for such a wicked universe, even if the balance of good and evil is maintained by the presence of the other.

That assumption is purely human, and thus does not qualify, in my mind, as evidence of divinity in the form of God, by any of the visions held by any of the churches of Mankind. Unless, of course, one goes beyond doctrine, into philosophy, where the above contradictions do not apply, or can be explained by one further assumption. That assumption is a hard one for most humans, as it involves taking responsibility for EVERYTHING that they do, and for everything that happens to them. (Yep, that’s a paraphrase of the basic principle of Karma…) In other words, as Robert Heinlein put it so aptly in Stranger In a Strange Land, “Thou art God.” I know, it’s blasphemous, but, hey, been there, done that, let’s get past it…. It is the only explanation that fits ALL the facts in evidence, and even if a bit grandiose, really isn’t, because we are, after all, just a bunch of bozos on the bus.

Being God, though, would be a really boring job, the way the job descriptions in all the churches read, and I don’t think I want to take that on, particularly. It may be the only way I can find any forgiveness for those things I’ve done in my long life of which I am not proud, but, since I don’t feel that I SHOULD be forgiven for them, I think I’ll just accept the responsibility, along with the consequence, a certain lessening of my self-esteem, and try to act in the future in ways that won’t make me feel that way…. It really isn’t hard to be good, in reality, as long as you care…. The problem is, not enough people care, or even think about stuff like this….. Me, I can’t help myself…… Caring, to me, is what being human is about; those who don’t care aren’t fully human, and won’t be until they do…..

“I am covered with pure vegetable oil and I am writing a best seller!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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Random Visions/Coloring Between the Lines of Grief

Everywhere is dark, and shining,
with points in dissonant pain.
Sharp, senses dull past divining,
tears burn, a torrential rain.

Escape! Flee within to cower,
find an unconscious cave.
Call on Morpheus’ power
deny reality’s beckoning wave.

Light breaks, drawing the inner eye,
leading to the slippery slope.
Risk is critical, we may only sigh,
yet welcome, for bringing hope.

Sanity seems far out of reach
Insanity’s a stronger friend.
Decisions made will merely teach
our way toward Death to wend.

Lost, while still on familiar ground,
the future yet undesigned.
Making way on paths unfound,
to Now, as yet undefined.

~~ gigoid ~~

2/22/2013

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Naked Pearls

Thoughts on Love

*******

Again, Again! Again, again, even if we know the countryside of love, and the tiny churchyard with its names mourning, and the chasm, more and more silent, terrifying, into which the others dropped: we walk out together anyway beneath the ancient trees, we lie down again, again, among the flowers, and face the sky.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

“When you’re around it all the time, you don’t notice it so much.” — Garrison Keillor, “Lake Wobegon Days”

“When one loves, nothing is too much trouble, and there is always time.” — Abdu’l-Baha

“If you’re smoking after sex then you’re going *WAY* too fast!” — Thinks he’s humorous Bee

” Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.” — Instructions for life

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“All I know of love is that Love is all there is.” — Emily Dickinson

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Well, I did it, in spite of the cat’s yowling for love, which we are NOT giving in to this year; no kittens for us. In looking back over what happened today, I have no explanations, or clues, so, I’ll just let it fly as it is, trusting once more to the process. Tomorrow, at this point, is still a question, so, we’ll see how it goes, eh? My plans are to post again tomorrow, but, y’all know how plans go. Regardless, y’all be chill, it’s strange out there….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Scrap all the intricate filigree…

Posted on February 13, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

~~ Bob Dylan ~~

The Original Angry Bird

Hajime….. Since we begin with a such a cogent quote from one of our society’s most prolific and long-lived bards, I’ll have to try to keep this within the parameters thus implied. We’ll see how that goes, what with insomnia, curmudgeonly reaction to same, and an extended period of cat training yesterday, I’m in a bit of an odd mood. Sometimes that works well to improve the results here; other times, not so much. Whichever it might be, we’ll use our advanced sage training to make it palatable…. You know, good & bad don’t exist but in our minds, that sort of thing…

Of course, that presupposes I have the chutzpah and general wherewithal to pull of that kind of advanced philosophizing; the hour of the day can affect that heavily. I guess I just wait for the correct moment to apply the fix; once I’ve got enough coffee on board, that should be an obvious jumping-off point we can use to our advantage, such as we may. Otherwise, what happens could turn on us, making it hard to cash your checks, er, get y’all home in one piece….

Having thus assured us all the bozoid tendencies upon which we rely are firmly in place, we can, I think…. no, make that we must, I think, get ourselves out of this convoluted mess I call an intro, and on to the oyster beds, before it gets any more slippery/slimy than it has already gone. In fact, I’m going to use one of the new tricks I found in another drawer in the Tardis…. It’s pretty cool; all it does is this…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“To be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough;
the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.”

~~ Descartes ~~

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The Death of Socrates

Image from en.wikipedia.org via Google Images

Today’s video selection is not musical, but, rather a sublimation for ranting, as it were. The social phenomenon that is Last Week Tonight showed, in the recent past, how powerful a tool the internet and media can combine to fashion, a tool that can actually change the course of societal events. I’ve included a link to the show’s You Tube page, where about 50 or more of the episodes are listed; the one with which we begin is a recent show, dealing with some of the issues we are seeing in today’s news…. I won’t say enjoy; I will say, pay the fuck attention…. It’s all stuff you’ll do better for knowing….

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John Oliver
Last Week Tonight

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https://youtu.be/umqvYhb3wf4?list=PLmKbqjSZR8TbfAMV9bLy4beDh4vrze5kc

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“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” — Professor Bernardo de la Paz

I am not sure when I first read the above statements from the professor, but, I know it was before the age of twenty. Even then, it struck a deep chord of familiarity, as if it were something I had always known. For sure and for certain it is I have lived my life by this standard, ever since my earliest memories…. It may have come from my family environment, or, perhaps it’s just a lucky gift of nature; I don’t much care, nor, worry over how it came to be, for it has made my life, if nothing else, my own, which, as far as I can see, is pretty rare.

I have a feeling it came from my father and mother, who taught us about personal responsibility; this was enforced by having four siblings, all of whom insisted on their own brand of individuality. Since we had the example set by our parents to follow, we all learned to accept life as it came, without the more obvious problems that can arise…. Oh, not to say it was paradise; no Army family of seven is ever completely peaceful. But, none of us ever suffered injustice or dishonesty from anyone at home, which gave us armor against those dangers in the world away from home.

Having this ‘advantage’, it makes it easy for me to see how lacking such a background could cause problems for people, both as individuals, and for society at large…. But, having put off completing this piece too long, I no longer have the urge, or the time to explain that statement…. For today, and now, let it suffice to say, the lack of ability to take personal responsibility for one’s actions, without causing undue inner struggle or conflict, is the primary reason our species cannot seem to find any peace. I see this failure of morality/ethical training as our single most telling flaw, one which, if we do not/can not discover how to negate, will eventually kill us all.

As I see reality, we have a choice. We can change our ways, and assume the weight of responsibility for our acts, and find a way to survive the coming cataclysmic environmental events. Or, we can die, ignobly, as the poet said, not with a bang, but a whimper. To my mind, it is that simple. Not, by any means, a simple task, but, a simple choice…. I’m not sanguine about which choice we’ll make…. For now, here are a few pearls which speak to the matter, in their own way…. Enjoy, ffolkes; it’s easier than listening to another of my interminable rants….

“Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits… For my part I would as soon be descended from [a] baboon… as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies … treats his wives like slaves … and is haunted by the grossest suspicions.” — Charles Darwin

“Despite its suffix, skepticism is not an “ism” in the sense of a belief or dogma. It is simply an approach to the problem of telling what is counterfeit and what is genuine. And a recognition of how costly it may be to fail to do so. To be a skeptic is to cultivate “street smarts” in the battle for control of one’s own mind, one’s own money, one’w own allegiances. To be a skeptic, in short, is to refuse to be a victim.” — Robert S. DeBear, “An Agenda for Reason, Realism, and Responsibility,” — New York Skeptic — (newsletter of the New York Area Skeptics, Inc.), Spring 1988

He’s not a politician. He’s just ethically challenged.” — Morality Bee

“Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society.” — John Adams

“Humanity has in the course of time had to endure from the hands of science two great outrages upon its naive self-love. The first was when it realized that our earth was not the center of the universe, but only a speck in a world-system of a magnitude hardly conceivable… The second was when biological research robbed man of his particular privilege of having been specially created, and relegated him to a descent from the animal world.” — Sigmund Freud

Okay…. I’m feeling generous; five is enough…. We’ll speak on this again, trust me…. For now, go enjoy the poem….

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It’s been a while since we heard from this poet; it’s time…. Enjoy! He’s a bit crusty, but, always hits people where it counts….

air and light and time and space

‘-you know, I’ve either had a family, a job, something
has always been in the
way
but now
I’ve sold my house, I’ve found this
place, a large studio, you should see the space and
the light.
for the first time in my life I’m going to have a place and
the time to
create.’
no baby, if you’re going to create
you’re going to create whether you work
16 hours a day in a coal mine
or
you’re going to create in a small room with 3 children
while you’re on
welfare,
you’re going to create with part of your mind and your
body blown
away,
you’re going to create blind
crippled
demented,
you’re going to create with a cat crawling up your
back while
the whole city trembles in earthquakes, bombardment,
flood and fire.
baby, air and light and time and space
have nothing to do with it
and don’t create anything
except maybe a longer life to find
new excuses
for.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

Today’s final pearl, old-school variety, is special, but, don’t ask me why. Instead, read it, let it percolate a bit, then, decide for yourself why I might say that. I even gave y’all a clue, at the top of the section. If you require it, call it homework, or a challenge. Anything you want….. I call it

Esoterica/Life at Large

“You cannot put the same shoe on every foot.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 596

“Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 51

“We are being educated when we know it least.” — David Gardner

“All conversations with a potato should be conducted in private.” — Wilner’s Observation

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

“How you do anything is how you do everything.” — Zen proverb

“Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit.” — Edward Abbey

“I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind.” — Antoine de Saint Exupery

“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

“But my dear man, reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.” — Alan Watts

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

~~ Bob Marley ~~

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

What an ordeal! Suffice it to say, again, it’s done. It was such an ordeal, I’ll not bore you further, but, will take my leave, stage virtual. I will, however, leave you with the knowledge of my return, tomorrow, should Fate be kind…. Of course, we make our own Fate, so, well, you get the picture…. If nobody stops me, I’ll be back…. See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

This is a multi-zone pass….

Posted on January 17, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”

~~ Benjamin Franklin ~~

And your point is…?

Hajime…. Ah, yes, apartment living…. You know the day isn’t going to go well when you’re awakened at 3:30 AM by screaming voices from the other side of the wall…. Once the hullabaloo was done, & the cat settled down, we managed to get back to sleep, only to oversleep…. Hence, today’s later than usual posting (we don’t use the Tardis on weekends if not needed…. maintenance….), paired with the perfect stolen meme to open todays mess. It describes my feelings this morning quite well, thank you very much….

However, rather than take out my angst over having to listen to someone else’s drama so late/early, and, to give my aching arms & hands a break, we’ll cut today’s intro short yet again…. Hell, this makes the third or fourth time in a week; certainly a new record…. and, I say that just as if a) it mattered, and, b) anyone cared at all. Before I get lost & can’t live up to the word ‘short’, we’ll employ this old literary trick, which works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” — Thomas Paine

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

Image from nytimes.com via Google Images

I feel like something raucous today; this promises to fit the bill just fine…. Enjoy!….

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

Allman Brothers Band
with Eric Clapton

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

https://youtu.be/pb22MYqdugE

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

I’m lazy; so, sue me. I don’t feel like ranting yesterday; therefore, we have no rant today. We do, however have a bit of nonsense from the archives…. You may as well enjoy it; it’s all you get here today…..

From 2/25/2012:

“It’s a buck dancer’s choice my friend, you better take my advice.
You know all the rules by now, and the fire from the ice.
Ain’t no time to hate
— there’s barely time to wait.
Whoa, oh, what I want to know: where does the time go?”

~~ Robert Hunter ~~

Where does the time go? And who says so? Where does your lap go, when you stand up? Where are all those socks that have been lost over the years in the wash? If it’s an unknown soldier, whose side was he on, and how do we know? If Billy stays at his work, baiting lines on a tuna boat, a long time, does that make him a Master Baiter? If Time is a river, or a road stretching out before us, how does it fly? If a butterfly flying away from its cocoon can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world, what happens when an elephant poops? Why on Earth did kamikaze pilots wear helmets? Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?

These are the kinds of things that trouble mankind? Well, no, but I tend to think about them a lot. I’m curious, and there are still a lot of things I have to learn; one can only learn when they admit they don’t know. Why, you may ask, do I spend my time on such nonsense? That’s an easy one. Because I damn well want to, and it’s none of your damn business what I do inside my own head.

But, since you’ve asked so nicely, I’ll put down my curmudgeon cudgel, and tell you. It all started when I was young, and my brother accidentally stepped on my nose. You might wonder what my nose was doing under his foot, but you’ll be disappointed to learn that you’ll never know, because it’s not relevant, or germane to our discussion.

What is relevant is this….. life is hard enough to deal with just as it is; there is pain, suffering, and, a seemingly hostile Universe with which we must contend, every minute of every day. There’s no need to add another layer of difficulty by refusing to see the other side of that seriousness, that little bit of nonsense that is present every where and every when, in everything we do, in everything that happens to us.

We are all Bozos on this bus; when the nose shows, you must let it grow. There will be time enough to be plenty serious when serious problems need to be addressed; when we have the opportunity to experience the other side of existence, it makes good sense to take it. Or, as so aptly put by Willie Wonka:

“A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.”

Cheers, and welcome to the parade!…….

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

Visible life

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

9/15/2012

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

Naked Pearls

Life Lived Large

*********

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

~~ Bob Dylan ~~

*********

“The things that matter most
must not be at the mercy
of the things that matter least.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

*********

“Be patient and tough;
someday this pain will be useful to you.”

~~ Ovid ~~

*********

“One’s mind is like a knife.
If you don’t sharpen it, it gets rusty.”

~~ Nien Cheng ~~

*********

“I think we are drawn to dogs
because they are the uninhibited creatures
we might be
if we weren’t certain we knew better.”

~~ George Bird Evans ~~

*********

“Nature is not human-hearted.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

*********

“This is living, not to live unto oneself alone.”

~~ Menander ~~

*********

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

*********

“I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together!”

~~The Beatles. “I Am The Walrus” ~~

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

That’s it. Done. And, not bad, considering. With that in hand, to assuage my non-existent guilt over today’s mess, I’ll take my leave, post-haste, before all my brownie points expire. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, tongue-in-cheek, hat-in-hand, and, just-in-time for a new day…. well, here, anyway…. Ta, then….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Apocalyptic party favors, on toast….

Posted on December 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A religious conservative is a fanatic about a dead radical.”

~~ Observant Bee ~~

I DON’T want to know….

Leelu in Denial

Hajime…. One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in my life, as it must be in every life, is to be willing to be patient, when a desired goal, or the completion of a chosen duty, requires us to wait for more than a little while to achieve our desire…. A fancy psychiatrist would label such a task as “delayed gratification”, and would charge you outrageous prices to listen to you while you explore your own psyche to find the key to making it one of your skills. Or, one may, as I found to be useful, learn to watch, and observe the world without judging what I saw, until there was some sort of clear result I could identify, and use for myself, if warranted.

In short, by the age of, oh, four, or five, I had figured out it’s a better thing to be patient, say, to get somewhere where a wall is in the way, rather than get angry at the wall. By waiting, and watching I could learn how others dealt with the wall…. I found, every time, one of them would know a good way around, or over, or through the wall without any difficulty…. The waiting part was filled up watching most people bang their heads against the wall, thinking, by doing so, it would move out of their way…. The wall won that argument every time…. No brainer, even for a four-year-old hairless ape….

Over the years, the patience begun to learn then was often reinforced by other life-lessons, always with the same results, as well as the same average number of people who never learned the lesson…. Not all do, by any means…. Many who do, don’t use the skill for good reasons; it is nonetheless effective for them than it is for those who do use it honorably….. But, sadly, many people, whom I would consider to be more cunning than intelligent, become patient, and crafty, and thus are successful in taking advantage of the less so…. Far too many of them become lawyers, or preachers, or politicians, or ‘cops’, or/and other categories of human activity which attract those who have more ego than integrity…..

Now, at this point, you may predictably and appropriately ask, what the devil does all this have to do with Pearls of Virtual Wisdom?…. Good grief, ffolkes! Y’all have been here enough to know better; it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with any of that. It was just me, wandering around on the keyboard, following a train of thought, to take up this space so I don’t really have to think up anything new….. How’m I doin’?…

Good. Speechless is exactly what I was shooting for…. Now that’s done, we can get this slow on the toad, and, leave, too, for the oyster beds, where, hopefully, I will/have/wouldn’t dare find some damn fine pearls for our morning, or whenever, consumption, digestion, and, well, the rest of that alimentary shit….

Hah! Guido! Fire it up and get me/us out of here; I don’t think we should wait for anyone who isn’t on board already. We won’t have time to frisk them….

Shall we Pearl?….

“You mean now I can SHOOT YOU in the back and further BLUR th’ distinction between FANTASY and REALITY?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

Jerry & David

Image from YouTube.com via Google Images

Back in the day, after CSN&Y stopped playing as a band exclusively, David Crosby started a project, recording sessions with a number of rock musicians/songwriters/performers of the era…. The band/project was named PERRO, an acronym for the Planet Earth Rock & Roll Orchestra…. This is one of the sessions, with at least one, and, no doubt, more than one, of the best of the best playing along…. I listened to the beginning, which is an instrumental piece showing off some pretty hot licks and outbursts of joyous noise…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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

Jerry Garcia & David Crosby The Perro Sessions – circa 1971

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

https://youtu.be/WELRag-wuwo

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

Dr. Siggy makes a good point in this; like much of what he said, it was, and is, ignored by most people. Some of his thoughts, on human nature, and, psychiatry, were dead wrong, but, mostly, he was a minutely accurate observer of people’s behaviors, and, an astute analyst of the flaws in the nature expressed by those acts. The blow to the human ego that all men felt when the knowledge of which he speaks became public, was so deep, our society is still reeling from the impact. The human ego is so powerfully motivated by belief, it finds it extremely difficult to NOT protect the ego’s delusions, of which it has many, by using the imagination, or, simple denial, to keep the truth of reality from ever entering the consciousness….

This, naturally, has, for a long time, caused numerous problems for people, which continue to the present; problems in their relations with each other on both a personal level, and, on a societal level…. It is clear, obviously so, to me, this flaw in our nature, the inability to put aside ego in favor of reality’s demands, is at the root of practically every issue we face today…. However, I am not in the mood to explore that flaw, or its implications, at this time. So, we’ll go back about a year and a half to a discussion of the effects of this on society, as it exists today, written fresh (mostly) on that date…. It’s a pretty good one, so, bear with the length, if you will….

From 4/17/2014:

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

~~ Smart Bee ~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hope is very dangerous….” — Servalan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(A very apt description of the voting process here in ‘murrica….) (Addendum from2015: Everywhere else. too, it seems…)

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

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

“Faith: not wanting to know what is true.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)

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

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

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

(I probably don’t need to make this suggestion, but, since when do I listen or pay attention to crap like that? You can substitute the word “politics” for “friendship” in this, without changing or reducing its validity…. which is why it’s here….)

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

Fatal Supplication

But what becomes of our deepest dangerous dreams?
Does fantasy rescue any part of life’s imperiled favor?
Reality becomes but silvery pairs of mismatched teams,
Dining with affable elegance, such diffident waste to savor.

Who decides what sorrows to carry bravely to term?
Will fragrant moments of sanity make hasty manifestation?
Only Time’s patient mutability sends messages so firm,
Yet salient impersonal vexation lends credence to ripe imagination.

Can folly bring out sadness and rampant visions of beauty?
What kindness can be found in distant open relations?
With countless faces the dead disturb with dire impunity,
From separate caches of wisdom come simple stylish privations.

Shall shallow emotion serve to provide such explanations?
When does avaricious intensity assume primary focus?
Plain answers slide softly through with multiple mitigations,
While conceptually indignant concepts engage a fatally personal locus.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/12/2012

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

Snoopy’s Dance of Joy

Image from pinterest.com via Google Images

Today’s final, old-school pearl is rather special, in a way…. I chose a new icon for this kind of pearl, which I can only call unique. The message, to me, is perfectly clear, as the choice of icon will be, once you have begun the process. If it isn’t clear to you, don’t worry. Just read them all, let them roll around in your head a while, and you’ll begin the dance…..

“Every creature has within him the wild, uncontrollable urge to PUNT.”– Snoopy, aka Charles Schultz (Some sources say this is Unknown; trust me, I know
Snoopy….)

“What I like is when you’re looking and thinking and looking and thinking… and suddenly you wake up.” — Hobbes

“All I can say is that if, whenever you are asked where you live, you seize yourself by the throat and start choking, it is apt to cause comment” — R. Hull

“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but, certainty is an absurd one.” — Voltaire

“With one long breath, caught and held in his chest, he fought his sadness over his solitary life. Don’t cry you idiot! Live or die, but don’t poison everything…” — Saul Bellow

A process which led from amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously progress, though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known.” — Bertrand Russell

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” — Mark Twain

“How infinitely superior to our physical senses are those of the mind! The spiritual eye sees not only rivers of water but of air. It sees the crystals of the rock in rapid sympathetic motion, giving enthusiastic obedience to the sun’s rays, then sinking back to rest in the night. The whole world is in motion to the center. So also sounds. We hear only woodpeckers and squirrels and the rush of turbulent streams. But imagination gives us the sweet music of tiniest insect wings, enables us to hear, all around the world, the vibration of every needle, the waving of every bole and branch, the sound of stars in circulation like particles in the blood. The Sierra canyons are full of avalanche debris – we hear them boom again, and we read the past sounds from present conditions. Again we hear the earthquake rock-falls. Imagination is usually regarded as a synonym for the unreal. Yet is true imagination healthful and real, no more likely to mislead than the coarse senses. Indeed, the power of imagination makes us infinite.” — John Muir, American Naturalist (1838-1914)

“All poets are mad.”

~~ Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy ~~

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

All I can say, ffolkes, is, Whew! I’m almost not glad I’m done today; it all came out just how I like it best. Ugly and real, yet, with a certain charm one is forced to acknowledge, only due in small part to the (small caliber) weapons pointed at you…. Think of it as more like fungus; it grows on one.

Okay, I’ll stop. It was just too much fun; cathartic, even purgative, in a gentle way (ALWAYS preferable, trust me; I know. No shit. Well, not currently, but, oh, well never mind. I said I’d stop….).

SIGH. I’m done now. I’ll go. Really, I will, just as soon as I get this one last, traditional failure-guaranteed, final attempt to get ANYONE at all to at least smile out of my head; it’s best, believe me. Would I lie? That way, I don’t let it out on some poor sap on the street, when they aren’t expecting it….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I have to hack into somebody’s server farm…. Hah!…. (Boy, that was bad. Can I have another one? No? Oh, okay. Bye for now….)

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Pollinated twisty bread, nicely packaged….

Posted on December 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

Laser-eye Leelu

Hajime…. ‘Tis indeed unusual for me to feel energetic, or, for that matter, less than homicidal, at this time of day. That’s a simple, obvious direct result of the severe insomnia I experienced for about 3-4 months. Now, after a night of 10 solid hours, again, I find myself feeling almost normal in the mornings, if with a bit more pain than in previous times in life. Hey, I accept, now, I’m 65, not 25; for a long time, like, I think, all of us, we try to deny the passage of time; that feeling of immortality we maintain for much of our youth carries over into middle and elder stages, unfortunately…. Then, something brings us up short, realizing, hey, that hurts! And, it’s something that never hurt before…. and, we realize, our life will never be quite the same….

THAT is, I believe, a moment which must come to us all, like it or not. Oh, we can continue to deny the effects of the passage of time on our bodies and minds; in my opinion, there’s a word for folks who try that…. corpses. Yep, that’s one of those really STUPID things we humans tend to do, and, every time, it will kill us, because, hey, the Universe just doesn’t give a shit about how we feel, about anything, much less a force of nature like aging, and dying…. After all, the process IS merely another example of how our lives are so connected to reality, for all of reality experiences the same aging process…. The Universe, however, doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as we seem to do….

Ah well, maybe if we’d try, as a species, to understand a bit more about death, perhaps we would handle living with a bit more style and elegance. As it is, much of humanity dies hard, and afraid; it’s considered a lucky man or woman who dies at an old age, in bed, with friends and family at their side. The major portion of life is spent trying to arrange a comfortable death, with the greater part of us failing miserably at that…. Or, at least, that’s the way I see it. I guess maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, for I see the ever-present battle in Reality being won by Chaos and Entropy, while the Order and Reason attempted by Man, falls into disuse and ill repute.

At this point in this narrative, I see it has already fallen into ranting mode, which is always dangerous here….. Y’know what else. I’m tired of all the doom and gloom I see all over the fucking world, including right here where I live, where every day I see falsely-entitled police forces hassling homeless and poor people, just because they can. I’m tired of the assholes who run this world thinking they can lie, cheat, and steal from everyone else, and get away with it. And, I’m tired of being lied to…. especially that. The so-called leaders of this country, and of every country in the world I read about, in their own words, suffers the same issue; the world is being raped, and pillaged, by just a small percentage, while the rest of us try to get by in a world gone mad….

Fuck it, let’s go find some pearls, to help get rid of some of this angst, and, maybe, in the process, find a bit of humor, and maybe even some hope….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Life is the childhood of our immortality.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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

The Grateful Dead

Images from an email from Dead.net

Last night I was listening to some of the music I’ve downloaded from You Tube. Specifically, I was checking out some of the bands who played covers of Dead music for the Dead Covers Project in 2014. The Project started in 2013, I believe, and has produced some of the finest home-grown, home-made music one can find anywhere. I listened to the one I’ve included, and can tell you, you HAVE to see, and hear the lead guitar solo in this song. About three or four minutes in, the band breaks into some solo breaks. The lead guitar player, like most of the band, is an obvious O.O.F., apparently about 70-75 years old….

I swear, the old fart NAILS the solo; not only does he nail it, he kills it! Fast, clean, and rockin’, he, and the other old farts in this particular band, rocked the house where they played, back East sometime in 2014…. It’s well worth seeing, as are any number of the other covers that amateurs sent in each year…. Check them out; there are a lot of surprises. Some are really bad, but, some, like this one, will amaze you at the musicianship of the players…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a blast from the past, right here in the future….

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

BEGGARS TOMB
New Minglewood Blues
Dead Covers Project 2014

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

https://youtu.be/KoALTQNFL7Y

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

“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad, “Under Western Eyes”

What a wonderful beginning for a rant! Too bad I’m not up to writing one… Plus, I’m in too good a mood to go there, so, instead, we’ll go with this discussion from a very good early Pearl, about a year after coming to WP. I hope you enjoy it; I did…. and, hell, I wrote it, and I’m a harsh self-critic….

From 10/21/2012:

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

~~ Just So Stories (1902) “The Elephant’s Child” ~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

🙂

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

Today’s poetry choice is here simply for the final line; it fits perfectly with my mood, and, tells us everything we need to know to have life just the way we want it, if we are smart enough to take it….

Dreaming of Calliope

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

12/13/2012

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

Naked Pearls III

“To know and to act are one and the same.”

~~ Samurai Proverb ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Happiness follows sorrow,
sorrow follows happiness,
but when one no longer discriminates
between happiness and sorrow,
a good deal and a bad deed,
one is able to realize freedom.”

~~ Buddha ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Do not eat your heart.”

~~ Pythagoras ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Truth is the summit of being,
justice is the application of it to affairs.”

~~ Emerson ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Learn or die.”

~~ Reality ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”

~~ Salvor Hardin, in Foundation by Isaac Asimov ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Adversity is the first path to truth.”

~~ Lord Byron ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.”

~~ Josh Billings ~~

~~~~~~~~~

‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the word.’
Already I stick, and who shall help afford?
The ‘word’ at such high rate I may not tender;
The passage I must elsewhere render,
If rightly by the Spirit I am taught,
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the Thought.’ By the first line a moment tarry,
Let not thine eager pen itself o’er-hurry!
Does ‘thought’ work all and fashion outright?
It should stand: ‘In the beginning was the Might.’
Yet even as my pen the sentence traces,
A warning hint the half-writ word effaces.

The Spirit helps me – from all doubting freed,
Thus write I: ‘In the beginning was the Deed.’

~~ Dr. Faustus, Wolfgang Goethe, “Faust” ~~

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

Well, gosh. It’s done, and I’m NOT exhausted. What a nice way to start the day! Without my usual mistrust of such good feelings, I’m going to take the money and run. Should be easy, as the money doesn’t exist. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’m afraid there’s just no way to avoid it; it seems to be written in stone…..

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Public discussion of private fissures….

Posted on November 30, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“It’s hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.”

~~ Calvin, Bill Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes ~~

What? It’s comfortable….

Hajime…. It’s been an ‘interesting three months, I have to say. Since the first of September, I’ve been to Ireland, and back, over a period of about nine days, which was intended to be sixteen days. For the entire rest of the time since, I’ve been, mostly, right here at home, miserable from the medication clusterfuck, in severe pain about half the time, and wishing to be in any other body in existence but this one.

For a man such as myself, who has always prided himself on physical prowess, as much as I am proud of anything at all (it’s a pretty useless condition, all in all; causes more trouble than its worth….), it is quite a challenge to accept the limitations I now experience, which extends to how far I can walk, though, as the last three weeks have proved, it doesn’t prevent me from standing and pacing until exhaustion sets in, which takes about, oh, five days or so…. But, it’s a small apartment; in five days, I only put in maybe, oh, five or six miles….

I’ve been spending much of that time, pacing, or sitting, or pacing, or, pacing, mostly in a state of introspection; hard not to when one is battling deep depression, and there’s nobody else around but a cat with only about eight or ten possible sounds to share with me. I love the wee beastie desperately already, after only about two months, but, she isn’t a scintillating conversationalist.

So, I end up either doing what I’m doing now, (writing, if I can sit long enough….), or, pacing, talking to myself, or, mostly, just thinking, about Stuff. You know, Stuff. We all have Stuff we need to think about; it’s not always the same Stuff, or even important Stuff. But, as George Carlin pointed out, it’s OUR Stuff, so back off!….

I cannot say, exactly, with any confidence, just how much longer this cleansing and readjustment of my brain chemistry will take. If the literature is accurate (often, it does not account for physiological differences from one person to the next; instead they create an average…..), it should be no more than eleven more days, hopefully with steadily decreasing intensity of symptoms. Why, last night, I was able to lie down for all of 22 minutes before having to get up to pace, with my nerves on HUM….. Didn’t get anywhere in the vicinity of sleep, but, it was welcome rest…..

Okay, I’m done prattling about myself. I’m coming out of a very dark time in my life, and feel on the verge of babbling much of the time. Right now, I don’t even want to think about very much of the last 12 months; they’ve all been Hell, but for a few days in Ireland…. Other than those few days of sheer joy of existing elsewhere, I have NOT experienced much of anything to remember, much less write home about. Oh, naturally, there were moments, here and there, with friends, with family, where my life approached something like normal socialization; otherwise, I’ve been forced to become a hermit, because of a general revolution in my own body…..

But, it’s all going to be over very soon, and, I will heave a sigh of relief my friends in Ireland, England, India, the Middle East, and all over the world, where my Gentle Readers live, will hear quite clearly, without any technical augmentation….

Guaranteed….

Well, maybe not quite, but, believe me, y’all will know….. For the moment, let’s go out to the oyster beds, so I can get off this soapbox…. Guido, we’re ready when you are…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“The the secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach.” — Lin Yutang

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

Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina ~ 1974

Image from en.wikipedia.com via Google Images

These two hippies made some of the finest music of the late 60’s and the 70’s. An iconic group from Marin County near SF, they were an influential musical force for several years… The concert below was performed a few years after the above picture was taken….. It’s another blast from the past, and I hope you enjoy it…..

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

Loggins and Messina
Live at the Capitol Theater 7/9/76

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

https://youtu.be/mQDdpaLKMd4

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

Le Penseur ~ The Thinker ~~ August Rodin

Whether I have/had/need a rant for today, I’m using this material, just to be self-indulgent. It’s the intro section from a Pearl posted in 2013, and I think it’s cool. I’d forgotten I wrote this one; to make sense, you’ll need to know the title of that day’s Pearl, as it is part of the discussion below. I know, unusual, when the title never means anything, but, in this case, I knew not how well I had wrought…. Enjoy!…

From the intro section on 10/17/2013. The title of the Pearl on that date was:

Forlorn moments of epistemological apprehension….

Ffolkes,

The unconscious mind is a powerful thing, especially when its function spills over into the world of our conscious perceptions…. Today’s title enters that twilight zone for certain…. Beyond that, this deponent sayeth naught, lest the quest to understand bring me to the brink of insanity. Let it suffice to know that, as far as the title of today’s Pearl goes, I wrought better than I knew, and leave it at that…. I think all of us will be happier in the long run….

Thus it begins…. the slow, inevitable corruption of morality always begins with a single manipulation, performed “in their best interests”…. In this particular case, we are only speaking of our philosophical intentions, rather than any connected to actual manipulation of events, or reality. But, that really doesn’t matter at all, because the corruption doesn’t know that, or care. The weather change whereof I speak happens in the heart of the manipulator, at the moment the decision is made to alter the truth in order to achieve a certain result. Once that decision is made, it is irrevocable, and further manipulations will follow, as certainly as it follows the air will be clearer after it rains….

In light of the simple fact that I’ve only consumed about four ounces of coffee so far, it might be a bit dangerous to start such a discussion, one with the apparent depth of this one. In fact, the subtle and complex arrangement of thoughts that brought this on seems to be fading from my mind as I sit here and type…. It seemed like a good idea when I started, but, somehow, it’s just a little too deep to dive into first off. I know what it is I was trying to say, but, I’m not sure, at this point, I have the wherewithal to say it with the right degree of clarity…. I’m thinking we’ll shift focus here, and go on to more appropriate material for an intro….

Not that philosophy, or, in this case, epistemology, a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge, is an inappropriate subject for that…. it’s merely a bit too deep for my current state of intellectual comprehension to cope with efficiently, or more importantly, accurately…. I slept like a log last night, after a night of no sleep at all, and I’m a bit fuzzy thus far this morning; in this state, I’ll be lucky to be able to discuss the relevance of the wisdom of Daffy Duck, so, I think we’ll let the study of the meanings of human knowledge wait a bit longer before we try to take it on…. and, in the process, we’ll keep from making judgments about the morality of manipulation of that knowledge….

It’s too bad, really, as it would have made a great beginning for an epic rant about the mess in Washington D.C…… especially the current budget crisis, brought on by the immoral, not to mention ill-advised, manipulation of events, by a small group of fanatics who found themselves in a unique position, one of having more influence than their actual degree of relevance would normally command…. They took their opportunity in hand, and, being the truly ignorant bastards they are, used it for their own purposes, with complete disregard for the actual dictates of reality, or for the wishes and desires of their own constituents…. As far as I can tell, there isn’t a single point of view one can take in this that doesn’t end up exposing them to as immoral, and, in the final analysis, ignorant and selfish, with marked tendencies toward assholiness….

However, as it sits now, what has happened is that we’ve blathered enough to call this an intro, even though it didn’t introduce anything other than a state of confusion…. but, around here, that can be considered as the status quo for this time of day…. Okay, so this is where I stamp your papers, and say….

Shall we Pearl?…. In fact, let’s do it times three….

“The world is so constructed, that if you wish to enjoy its pleasures, you must also endure its pains. Whether you like it or not, you cannot have one without the other.” — Swami Brahmananda

“Life is not the way it is supposed to be. It is the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.” — Virginia Satir

“A good friend, who points out mistakes and imperfections, and rebukes evil, is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.” — Buddha

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

Internal{Vicissitude}External

Life has come, and gone rushing by,
pretty much as expected.
The only surprises, as time did fly
came from people’s
choice of the fears they protected.

Not to say, not even once,
my interest hasn’t been engaged.
I’ve waited patiently, for the nonce,
for those moments
of love and glory, but, never got paged.

I looked all over for love,
….found it everywhere I sought.
What I never found, nor ever came aware of,
was one person
who would stay, no matter what.

Still, it’s been a wonderful time
filled with laughter, love, all grand craic.
I wouldn’t change a moment, nor a rhyme.
If those I love stay happy,
I can die in peace, honor no longer at stake.

I’ve walked the scholar/warrior’s path
since first standing at my father’s knee.
Duty, honor, a dip in love’s warm bath
keeps me strong and content.
Today’s a good day to die, as long as I’m free.

~~ gigoid ~~

11/29/2015

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

I was going to try to be scintillating here, but, gosh darn it, I’m just not. Scintillating. Interesting, maybe. Inane, for sure. But, scintillating? No. Ah well, at least the pearl comes close to that; it’s pretty good for a random, harlequin style pearl, that wanders around and around until it arrives a an obvious conclusion re: Life at Large…. What it is will be as personal to each of you, as it is relevant to reality…. We calculated, and it should be right around 78% applicable, with a plus or minus of two, to cover any error in calculation, or statistical anomalies generated by liars who fake their data…. Oh, hell, just go read them; you’ll see….

“Belief in the supernatural reflects a failure of the imagination.” — Edward Abbey

“Whoever lives true life, will love true love.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“A candour affected is a dagger concealed.” — Marcus Aurelius — Meditations, book 9.

“Each morning puts a man on trial and each evening passes judgment.” — Roy L. Smith

“Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids.” — Aristotle

“Fortis fortuna adiuvat.” [“Fortune assists the brave.”] — Terence

“It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.” — William Makepeace Thackeray

“…life is long enough if it is well-spent.” — Erasmus

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 ~~

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

Well, it’s done. Not surprising, considering it’s still most of a day early…. No worries, that’s why the Doctor lets us borrow the Tardis when we need it…. As for me, well, I’m going to go see if I can’t fool my brain into thinking it’s asleep…. Sometimes, illusion can become reality, if we try to believe it hard enough…. If not, well, I can hack another night or three of being up; I’m getting pretty handy at it, even if I hate it with a passion…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I don’t seem to have any choice, given my state of mind…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Proving life is a simple matter….

Posted on October 17, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“And God said: “Let there be cats!”,

and He was promptly ignored.”

~~Smart Bee ~~

Leelu killing paper in her Tower

Good morning…. Well… Since I must begin my day by taking up my mantle of justice, to begin battle with a multi-national, soulless corporation and its myrmidons, this post may be late when posted, if posted today at all. If things don’t go well with AT&T, I may need to pop down to Starbucks to post it. SIGH…. I HATE corporations!

That said, I’ll go finish the Pearl, so at least it will be ready to go when I am….. Hmm…. It’s ready, sort of, but, the internet is not. I’ve had to cease engagement with the corporate ghost; not going to deal with them if they’re going to try to have it all their own way. So, internet service is a day or two away yet, so this will have to be done downtown, and I’ve already missed a day. That’s no big; we’ve still got the Tardis. But ot IS a PITA, to be sure….

In the interests of efficiency, we’ll take off now, so we’re in position at the proper moment….. Luigi, take it away….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.”

~~ Elbert Hubbard ~~

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

royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

Today’s video is a random default selection, with one of my favorite composers highlighted. If you don’t like this, you need work on your cultural education a bit…. Enjoy!….

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

Camille Saint-Saens

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

https://youtu.be/wixXDARl1F0

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

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

I began collecting pearls this morning, each of which chosen seemed to be an excellent beginning for a rant about our BRC, those Asininnies of great renown. However, the group grew so large, I couldn’t think of enough to say; they said it all. So, instead, below we have an indictment pearl, with a bunch of great little statements that point out the major, and, perhaps, some of the minor, flaws in our current crop of assholes who believe they are in charge of the world….. Let’s see what they have to say, shall we?….

“We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme. It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are more concerned with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent, nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today. Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive. We are sorry if this impression has come across.” — Monty Python

(Actually, no, we’re not…)

“Bias used to say that men ought to calculate life both as if they were fated to live a long and a short time, and that they ought to love one another as if at a future time they would come to hate one another; for that most men were bad.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Bias, v

“What’s the matter with the world? Why, there ain’t but one thing wrong with every one of us- and that’s “selfishness.” — Will Rogers

“If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns.” — Edward Abbey

(REMEMBER!…)

Asking politicians to vote themselves out of power is like asking rabbits not to multiply, it ain’t natural. — Bob Beckel, on term limits, CBS This Morning, 3/30/95

“Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Politics”

“Corruptissima republica plurimae leges.” [The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.] — Cornelius Tacitus, 56-120 A.D., Annals III 27

“Quem metuunt, oderunt.” (They hate whom they fear.) — Ennius (239-169 BC)

“A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.” — Eric Hoffer

There. That should drive that point home with a sledge. Now we’ve seen just how nasty a creature the average politician is in today’s world, I’d like to leave our Gentle Reader with two thoughts, which, if utilized properly, are also an open message to the American people, and the people of all the countries in the world whose governments are trying to convince them they are in terrible danger from the forces of evil, i.e, “terrorists”….. while the entire time, THE GOVERNMENTS are the perpetrators of all the violence we see all around us…. If you just remember the truth of these two short statements, your ‘terror’ will become superfluous, and easily dismissed for the lie it is….

“We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.” — Eric Hoffer

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” — African proverb

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Today, you get a two-fer, both mine, to go right along with today’s ranting section…. Enjoy!

Geezer to Congress, with Love

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

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

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

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 12/23/2012

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

Terror at Constitution Hall

Standing quiet, waiting on hope’s bright wing,
a stranger heralds the gift of Time.
Lyrical, spherical melodies we sing,
yet with silence, as a mime.

If fortune favors the bold and free,
truth may be spoken with courage unveiled.
But fortune’s oft capricious and cruel,
then truth is naught but cold, with freedom failed.

Humanity has rights, ’tis often said,
if courage and truth can prevail.
If fear and ignorance are the diet we’re fed,
Life without liberty can be the only end to this tale.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 7/21/2015

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Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent

What better icon to choose for a pearl whose core meaning has to do with the mind, and our use of it…. Of all the human beings who have ever lived, Aristotle’s name is, perhaps, the most well-known of all, and all who know it, know of him because of the power and scope of his thoughts. Acknowledged as one of Mankind’s most treasured representatives, he is the first example used to teach the concept of excellence, in every aspect of life. This pearl, (which, btw, has some unusual contributors today…. Hey, y’all KNOW I’m shameless about my pearls; if the foo shits, wear it…), while not quite as powerfully broad as Aristotle’s field of work, still speaks in a manner of which he would approve, as a good way to promote the proper use of the mind, our most important survival tool as humans…. Enjoy!….

“Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls must dive below.”

~~ John Dryden — All for Love, Prologue ~~

“The chief object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things.” — G.K. Chesterton

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.” — Wilson Mizner

“A man’s silence is wonderful to listen to.” — Thomas Hardy

“If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, xii, 17

“By the worldly standards of public life, all scholars in their work are of course oddly virtuous. They do not make wild claims, they do not cheat,they do not try to persuade at any cost, they appeal neither to prejudice nor to authority, they are often frank about their ignorance, their disputes are fairly decorous, they do not confuse what is being argued with race, politics, sex or age, they listen patiently to the young and to the old who both know everything. These are the general virtues of scholarship, and they are peculiarly the virtues of science.” — Jacob Bronowski

“‘Truth’ never set anyone free. It is only *doubt* which will bring mental emancipation.” — Anton LaVey

“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.” — Samuel Johnson

“We are what we repeatedly do.” — Aristotle

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

“The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.”

~~ Bob Dylan ~~

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

Well, I’m done, even if I can’t post yet; fucking corporations. In the further interests of efficiency, I’ll forgo any attempts at a brilliant closing paragraph, settling, instead, for saying, see y’all next time, whenever it may be. My internet at home is down, so, I’ll be hoofing it for a day or three, to the nearest free Wi-fi spot to get posted. SIGH…. I’ll get there, you’ll see….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

After the tremors pass….

Posted on October 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

Supermoon/Total Eclipse in Oxford, UK, September 2015

Image from gizmodo.com

Good morning…. I am struck with awe at the accuracy of the following pearl in describing my own current status here in Reality, to wit:

“So this is what it feels like to be potato salad”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

It’s eerie sometimes, just how closely Zippy can come to the exact words for what I am experiencing; I don’t think I can count high enough to come to the number of times in this blog he’s provided the perfect ending, or the perfect beginning for pearls. This one, weird as it is, tells the story in the most elegant, accurate fashion I can think of, while still giving the flavor of how I feel about it. In this case, that would be a pretty negative set of emotions, none of which I enjoy….

Peeled, chopped, boiled, smothered, tossed, and consumed…. that’s how a potato gets mauled to produce that iconic salad so ubiquitous at an American BBQ (and, when one thinks about it logically, contributes seriously to many, many cases of adult onset Type II Diabetes, I’m sure….). The only word I can think of to describe the process would be “rude”. Tasty, but, rude….

Now we’ve covered the basics, I suppose an explanation for such an outburst is expected…. Too bad. Like all of us, y’all will just have to learn to live with disappointment. It is now 0146 AM, and I’ve been up for an hour, twitching, cursing, and struggling not to take it out on the cat, who thinks it’s grand craic to have me up at this hour; for her, it’s like having a 24/7 on-call toy. So, I ain’t explainin’ nothin’ to nobody, nohow. I’ll put this Pearl together, but, I make no promises, nor any claims to having any sort of control over the resulting mess. It’s just the way it is, and, we’ll all have to deal with it the best we can.

So be it. Luigi, fire that sucker up and take it away…. Y’all, hang on to something, or, if you prefer, someone (other than me, or Luigi… not good to grab the flight crew on takeoff….)…. See y’all on the other side….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Anyone who has had a bull by the tail knows five or six more things than someone who hasn’t.” — Mark Twain

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Tracy & Eric

Image from Tumblr.com via Google Images

Today’s video is a cut of one of Tracy’s best, played with Eric, who killed the blues riffs. On the page where the link will take you, there is lots more of Tracy’s work, all of which is worth a listen… Enjoy!….

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

Tracy Chapman & Eric Clapton
Give Me One Reason

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

https://youtu.be/6HspEMXPU7k

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

The late rebellion in Massachusetts has given more alarm than I think it should have done.
Calculate that one rebellion in 13 states in the course of 11 years,
is but one for each state in a century and a half.
No country should be so long without one.

~~ Thomas Jefferson, in letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787 ~~

Get up, stand up,
Stand up for your rights.
Get up, stand up,
Never give up the fight.

~~ Bob Marley ~~

Ffolkes…. I’ve been watching the events out in the BBR, and I am moved to use the words of Bob Dylan, as well, when he sang, “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”. I would rant about it, but, it’s a quarter past midnight, on a night of sheer hell, and, quite frankly, I’m not capable of such organized thinking just now. But, I can recognize pearls like billy-o, so, that’s what I’ll do…. All the following are commonly heard in this country these days; Tom, and George, and the rest of the founding fathers would be, as I am, appalled at what has happened…. This is no longer the land of the free, or the home of the brave… Instead, we have this….

“Cunning and deceit will every time serve a man better than force.” — Niccolo Machiavelli

“What luck for the rulers that men do not think.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

“Most people can’t think, most of the remainder won’t think, the small fraction who do think mostly can’t do it very well.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“Glad to be of help/service. In lawyer talk, that will be $500.00.” — Savvy Bee

“I haven’t committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law.” — David Dinkins (Mayor, New York City) — Answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.

“Always take a lawyer with you, and bring another lawyer to watch him.” — Bo Diddeley’s Observation on the Law

“The United States also has its native Fascists who say that they are 100 percent American…” — U. S. Army (1945)

“We Americans, we’re a simple people… but piss us off, and we’ll bomb your cities.” — Robin Williams, _Good Morning Vietnam_

“At my order, and for the good of the state, the bearer has done what has been done.” — Cardinal Richelieu

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

I know I’m in the now, if only…..

Oh, there it is again, fiddle faddle;
Begone, I said, vamoose, skedaddle!
It looked at me as if I were insane:
Scoffed, it did, filled me with pain.

Where does it come from?
Where does it live?
I’d stick out my thumb,
if I had more to give.

If only, should, would, could it be?
It went away again, this time free.
It will be back again, this I know;
or I’m wrong, and it won’t show.

Who cares?
Who hears?
Such goings on wobble the sphere,
I wish it wouldn’t do that here.

I’ve been wrong before…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 4/19/2013.

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

The presence of Kokopelli atop a pearl should give the regular Gentle Reader a clue as to the nature of what will follow. That’s a good thing, because, personally, I don’t have a clue as to what this one means. That it means something is a foregone conclusion; I’m pretty sure finding it will be fun and challenging…. Right….

“Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger!” — Robot from Lost In Space

“Why Not” is in fact an excellent reason.” — Fatalist Bee

“He bids fair to grow wise who has discovered that he is not so.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 598

“I expect nothing. I fear no one. I am free.” — Nikos Kazantzakis

“A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a Unicorn.” — Smart Bee

“I do my best not to offend, without fucking with the purpose.” — Chris Pirillo

“If this material is offensive to you, and admittedly it will be offensive to someone, than you should take time out to contemplate this truth. Seriousness is the refuge of the truly shallow!” — Blasé Bee

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

“Don’t take anything seriously except happiness.” — Albert Camus

Okay, well, not so bad, after all. Still no clue as to meaning, but, hey, one can’t have everything, every day… So they tell me, anyway….

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

It’s pretty well fractured, but, it’s done. Rather than push my luck, I will take my leave, forthwith. See y’all next time, ffolkes, if I can stay sane that long…. Right now, it’s a toss-up….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

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

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