Tag Archives: Carlyle

Old, bold, & gold….

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Ffolkes,

“The most significant task facing the individual
is the achievement of harmony
between the conscious and the unconscious mind.”

~~ Carl Jung ~~

red rose

By any other name….

Hajime…. Yesterday, in my lead-in to the post for the day (a re-post, if you will….), I stated the elements of a freshly-made Pearl were mostly done, and would be posted today. So be it. I do not, however, have enough equanimity, or balance, to write anything particularly compelling; neither do I feel any guilt over not doing so. In fact, I am in such a state, sans any obvious justification, but, too much evidence to ignore, it is probably best I hibernate for the remainder of the day, & just deal with the heat wave we are currently experiencing, for the first time this year….

That being said, let’s just get on with it. The alternative is too scary to contemplate…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero!”

[Seize the day, put no trust in the morrow!]

~~ Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) ~~

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I’ve gone to our default musical selection today, to save time, and angst left over from the decision-making process. I even went so far as to use the You Tube playlist, which represents, as much as possible, a cross-section of the genre that is worth hearing…. Enjoy!….

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Classical Music

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Comedy_Tragedy

As noted, I found this poem yesterday, which I wrote just over a year ago, apparently during a pretty hairy day…. I hope you enjoy it; I did & I didn’t, clearly….

What the fuck is this?

Insanity waits patiently for me, sitting
in the corner, quietly knitting a psyche knot,
for my throat.

Depression is sitting on the couch, close
by the window, sulking over a broken pot;
he broke it.

Loneliness dogs my solitude, madly barking
into my left ear, while I trot,
half-heartedly, at best.

All my old friends have come to visit today;
a party, at which I was not
wanted, nor invited, .

What if I just ignore them all, I think;
even if it never worked before.
Oh, well.

The darkness fills the day, then carries into night,
until time has passed, until it feels just right.
No peace, no common dreams of light,
no escape, nor safety in flight.

Even poetry hurts.

~~ gigoid ~~

6/1/2016

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

Deeper and deeper….

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“The truth is always the strongest argument.”

~~ Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Phaedra, Frag. 737 ~~

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“Don’t teach your children what to think;
just teach them to think.”

~~ Tannenbaum ~~

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“As the moon retaineth her nature,
though darkness spread itself before her face as a curtain,
so the Soul remaineth perfect even in the bosom of the fool.”

~~ Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375) ~~

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“Opposition brings concord.
Out of discord comes the fairest harmony.”

~~ Heraclitus ~~

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“All the secrets we may be able to keep
from any and every god and human being
do not in the least absolve us
from the obligation to refrain from whatever actions
are greedy, unjust,
sensual, or otherwise immoderate.”

~~ Cicero, On Duties ~~

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“Don’t be confused by surfaces; in the depths everything becomes law.
What is necessary, after all, is only this:
solitude, vast inner solitude.
Walk inside yourself and meet no one for hours
–that is what you must be able to attain.”

~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~

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“The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.”

~~ Lucretius ~~

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Such as it is, there ’tis. As noted above, so be it. I’ll be back when I’ve found some balance; hopefully, that will be soon enough to post tomorrow. Time, that mouthy bastard, will tell… See ya, ffolkes. Stay loose; it hurts more when you tense 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

dozer3

À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
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Ffolkes,




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


~~ Emerson ~~


3-1-2015 020


Stubborn Beauty




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


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


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


Shall we Pearl?


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


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Zappa by Mark Hanauer




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




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



















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Dont keep calm




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


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





dodo




Choosing Ignorance




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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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


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


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Comedy_Tragedy




Raging at Aging









As old as you feel, we are told, is old as you are,

custom assures such vision will carry us far.

Reality begs to differ, may it be so bold

it is really quite painful, and very, very cold.


The power and strength felt in our halcyon youth

desert us with age, yet another unwelcome truth.

Irony rules our time here on this bountiful earth

as we reflect the changes over time since our birth.


As physical powers fade from this fragile shell, 

we learn our mind can serve us quite as well.

The strength that once filled our bones and hearts

is now applied by our will, to more arcane arts.


Life’s greatest gift is our freedom of choice

no matter how often we forget, we still get a voice.

Energy, or apathy, by our will we may choose,

failing to do so, our only way to lose.


Each of us lives in the grip of time and space,

always seeking our balance, our own chosen place.

One must accept reality, for it is true at the core,

all we can do, is all we can do, and nothing more.


~~ gigoid ~~




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About Hopi Indian Symbols




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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch










dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….





		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Supplicants in front, mendicants to the rear….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free.” 


~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~


chandra-nasa-ngc2207_0

Colliding Galaxies, picture taken by NASA’s Chandra Deep Space Telescope




It’s no use. Nothing is going to help this morning; that much is already clear. Not the opening quote, nor the most excellent photo, illustrating the sheer size of our Universe, nor any of the weird, silly, and/or just plain odd thoughts running around in my head will serve to open up today’s post…. None of it is stimulating anything in my head other than reluctance, both to start, and to make a decision about WHERE to start…. It can make a huge difference in where we end up, obviously, so I do like to at least have some input….


Today, however. it isn’t going to work, not the way it usually works, anyway. Since I have no alternative opening ready to use, we may end up wandering around, listening to me panic, until we’ve managed to fill in enough to satisfy the monitors (whoever they are….). We could also try something new, and dangerous…. what do you think? Want to try it? The danger isn’t as much as we face any other day; it’s just more specific to the section than is normal, due to the strange laws concerning such matters, none of which are on the books, or even published…. They’re the unwritten laws that control all writers, which, if they knew of them, would doubtless drive them even crazier than they are….


Of course, that, too, is merely another figment, drawn from the depths of my insecurity, just so I could fill in a few more lines, thus, getting us further down the page…. Did they work? No? Ah, shit….


“I find myself beside a stream of empty thought.” — Smart Bee


Well, that sinks it…. Now, of course, I’m gonna have to step in, and settle this for once and all, or we could be stuck here for days…. Since the usual methods haven’t worked at all, I’m going to apply the ruthlessness which has saved us so many times already…. It’s amazing what tossing out the bullshit can do for one’s decision making abilities…. It sure is easy to make a decision when one only considers ONE set of expectations, i.e., one’s own…. It’s amazing how much more gets done…. Here, watch, it works like this….


Shall we Pearl?


“He that respects himself if safe from others; He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.” — Henry Wordsworth Longfellow


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For some reason, when I went to find a video, I thought of this show, from my childhood; it was one of my favorites… How could it not be? Space flight, magic, and Barbara Eden, a young man’s fantasy woman…. all hit my interests right on the money…. When I went to look for episodes to watch, I was delighted to find an entire page with several seasons’ worth of shows to watch…. Yay! I know where I’ll be wasting my time for a few days….




I Dream of Jeannie Season 2 Episode 1-2





































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Here is one from the archives, which fits in with some of our recent discussions quite nicely…. (I’m still saving my hands, a very good excuse to be lazy, I find…)….


From 12/12/12:


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


This is true…. you never see an atheist going door to door, trying to convert the pious to their unbeliefs. However, I would go further on this train of thought, and add that, “He who proselytizes, in any cause, in basically a man in need of a life.” I’m sure it occurred to Mr. Hoffer, but he was too busy trying to explain this statement to somebody who didn’t understand the word ‘proselytize’…..


For my own case, I have never, ever understood why people feel compelled to go door to door to try to get other people to believe what they believe; it’s one of the most persistent delusional systems I’ve ever witnessed, to believe that anyone wants to hear what they have to say, much less they will find their beliefs palatable to others, or find anyone who believes them to be superior to their own…..


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


Humans seem to have an immense blind spot when it comes to their own actions and beliefs. Most of them never seem to question the things they are told, even when those things are presented with no evidence other than faith. Of course, the people who are invested in the religious system, to wit: the preachers, begin their indoctrination when their constituents are very young, when they are still prone to accept whatever an adult says as truth.


This ensures a life-long predilection for being simple to control…. or, in short, mental slavery, if you will. Unless there is some sort of rebellion of spirit, where new knowledge is injected, these poor saps will spend their entire lives believing that what they have been told is real, when, in fact, they are fitting themselves with shackles, that will forever imprison their minds, and their imagination…..


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


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


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




“A universe of death, which God by curse 

Created evil, for evil only good; 

Where all life dies, death lives, 

and Nature breeds Perverse, 

all monstrous, all prodigious things, 

Abominable, unutterable and worse 

Than fables yet have feigned, or fear conceived, 

Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire.” 


~~ Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II ~~




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


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


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


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


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Today, you are getting one of my poems, simply because I’m too lazy to go find someone else’s…. So be it…. Here is one I haven’t used for a while, first created on a Friday in 2013…




A Dubiously Soft Morning


Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,

fill up the white, white screen on which I view

my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup

ambrosial remnants of anything new.


Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away

bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,

signs of one happy child, seriously at play,

blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.


Formidable cries of outraged simple justice

echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.

Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice

salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.


Creativity equals unquestioning farce, 

often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.

Instead, a blow is felt that no joy will soften,

accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.


~~ gigoid ~~




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Whew! It’s a good thing I got up early today; today’s final pearl may be in the top five, on the list of pearls that took the longest time to complete…. Smart Bee appears to be in a mood… Ah well, all’s well that ends well, as we all know…. quite well… This one SEEMS abstruse, but, once you’ve finished it, you’ll see it really isn’t…. In fact, it’s quite transparent, in many respects…. Enjoy!….


“Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xii


“Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.” — Voltaire


“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Freewill.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)


“The miser is as much in want of that which he has, as of that which he has not.” — Publius Syrus


“Depend not on fortune, but on conduct.” — Publius Syrus


“Cato requested old men not to add the disgrace of wickedness to old age, which was accompanied with many other evils.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Roman Apophthegms, Cato the Elder




From ignorance our comfort flows.

The only wretched are the wise.


~~ Matthew Prior (1664-1721) ~~


~~ To the Hon. Charles Montague ~~




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I know, already, without having gone back over this yet, it will be okay…. It may not ever be considered as one of the best Pearls ever, but, it will definitely do for our purposes today…. Hell, a lot of it is even fresh…. or, what passes for fresh these days…. Regardless of all my rationalizations and/or excuses, it’s done…. As I’ve been reduced to saying already today…. So be it…. gigoid has spoken…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. most likely….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
No job for a gentleman….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“I count religion but a childish toy … there is no sin but ignorance.”


~~ Machiavel, from The Jew of Malta ~~


~~ Christopher Marlowe ~~


OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA



    Mei stumbled under the load she carried, as she climbed the path to her parent’s cottage, set upon a small hill just outside the town where they lived…. The town sat on the road leading to the great city of Peking, where the Emperor held court with the great nobles and beautiful ladies Mei saw each day, passing by on the Great Road leading into the city from the south. Mei liked to watch them pass by, seated in their swaying palanquins, distant and aloof, as they stared indolently out at the gaping crowds along the roads, wishing she could see the court, where the bright clothes and sparking jewels of the courtesans were said to outshine the sun…. She just knew it would be the most beautiful sight she would ever see….


Bah, humbug…. I’m already bored with little Mei; I’m pretty sure she’ll end up as another fashion maven, or courtesan, doomed to a short life full of the misery so common to the lower classes in ancient China…. or, at least, if the Emperors back then were of the same ilk as today’s ruling classes, it would be so. I don’t think human nature has undergone any particularly startling changes over the last couple thousand years…. No, the depths of human stupidity are boundless, and I don’t think there are enough of us who can see what is happening to be able to change the direction we’ve taken, one sure to lead us to places we do NOT want to end up….


But, sadly, the Asininnies who run the planet are no smarter than the rest of us….. They refuse to see beyond the needs of their own avarice and lust for power, blithely assuming their invulnerability…. So, I rant, and make my peace with karma, so as to remain ready for the imminent extinction I see as the only remaining outcome to our current state of affairs…. I hate to be pessimistic, as humans do have the potential to make the necessary changes; I just haven’t seen any evidence that would show there are enough ffolkes willing to make those changes, compared to those who prefer to ignore any and all warnings from reality that their actions are not merely unproductive, but, frankly suicidal….


There I go again…. Damn, I sure wish that wouldn’t happen, but, I suppose if it didn’t, this blog wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has…. There is something to be said for stubbornness…. I’m not certain just what that may be, but, hey, I don’t know everything….. That has been made perfectly clear in the past three-plus years, hasn’t it? I do however, have a small degree of control over this vessel, so, I can utilize whatever exit strategies we may need to get us where we need to go…. Well, I’m authorized to do so, even if it isn’t always physically possible…. we do try, though, honest.


Not only do we make a concerted effort to maintain control, we don’t charge any extra fees for doing it, so, I guess that makes us a bunch of bloody altruists, now, doesn’t it? Not a bad reputation for one old, fat fart with flat feet, and a tendency for his nose to grow red and round…. In fact, I think I’ll take this opportunity to rest firmly upon my laurels, insofar as it applies to the task at hand, which, of course, may be seen to be of the category “not at all”….. In point of further fact, I’m now fully in the process of cheating, which hopefully will take us out of this mess, one rapidly losing all hope of ever being rescued…..


In fact, I’m so officially and completely lost, we’re leaving…. NOW….


Shall we Pearl?




Come away, O human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.


~~ William Butler Yeats, “The Stolen Child” ~~




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


After such a strangely apt opening, I think a bit of music to soothe our now-troubled minds would be in order….




Music for reading – Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Debussy, Lizst, Schumann








































 


 




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


“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” — From The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, by Robert A. Heinlein


Cognitive Synthesis of Perception. Precognitive Forecasting. Looking At The Big Picture. Multi-tiered thought. There are many phrases/words used to try to describe the process of prognostication of future events in human culture, a pastime obviously fraught with the danger of being wrong more often than not. The future has a past history of surprising us with its unpredictability, almost without fail, as we are not as smart as we would like to believe, IN RELATION TO THE BIG PICTURE.


That last part, you see, is a fatal flaw in all of us; by using our intellect, by removing our minds and thoughts from the plane on which we exist with everything else, spending time in our imagination, we tend to lose the connection we have to what is REAL, thereby failing to account for that source of information/perceptions, and/or its influence on what may come to pass.


In short, we forget to calculate OUR OWN effect on events, which, as is patently obvious, is completely predictable, in its insistence on sticking to a pattern of deliberate stupidity in the face of reality. We humans, as a matter of course, will use all our will to deny reality if it doesn’t fit in with our preconceived notions of what we would LIKE reality to be….


Most of the time, our unwillingness to think puts us, according to those who would have us believe without examination, under the control of supernatural being, who will forever relieve us of any responsibility for our actions, and will never, ever make us try to think for ourselves again, once they have surrendered our will to this delusional entity…. This delusion is particularly powerful in its reliance on “ipse dixit” reasoning, which allows the proponents of the blindness the permission to completely ignore any and all contradictory evidence they may be presented with, whether real, or reasoned…. Nothing will penetrate, because they won’t allow it….


If you think I’m exaggerating, then I offer the following as a relatively strong set of proof, of an ilk even the most ignorant could conceivably find acceptable, in that it’s all direct reporting by other humans, all of whom suffer from the same core set of delusions…. even those who seem to be reporting contradictory evidence…. Very few of them actually express any awareness of THEIR OWN prejudices…. but, one must read SOMETHING in order to find ANY kind of thought stimulus….


Below are a large number of links to articles I read on the Net yesterday…. Most express outrage at the bozoid activities they describe, so, at least those authors have some clue as to what is going on, so, what they report assumes a slightly more acceptable level of what might be held as truth…. My point can be found not by reading and studying each and every article, end to end, (as I MOSTLY did…. sigh, I’m tired, too…), but, rather, by looking at the total picture, the gestalt, as it were, that is suggested by considering them ALL as single pieces of evidence of the problem that exists in humanity’s nature…. Some seem to be good news, some are obviously NOT so encouraging, but, all point to the same conclusion, my friends, using any sort of reasoning method you may choose to apply…


In short, looking at the Big Picture will convince you that THE ENTIRE WORLD HAS GONE INSANE, AND THERE IS NO CURE!


Sorry, ffolkes, but, as far as I can see, all the evidence available points to that conclusion, and I do try to be realistic, if somewhat optimistic at times…. Okay, hell, busted; I’m a cynical old curmudgeon…. Nevertheless, I still don’t see much that convinces me people are going to change, not enough to make enough difference against the inertia created by the mass of STUPIDITY and DELIBERATE IGNORANCE I see surrounding me on this planet…. Meanwhile, well, here I am, stuck on this sorry old ball of mud without my space ship, and no other way to get away before it all goes south….. No hills to head out for, so to speak….


Here, read as many as you like…. There are lots more where these came from, and each one is rant-worthy by itself….. Afterwards, I’ll include a few pearls to  help illustrate the point….


http://observer.com/2014/11/breaking-doj-moves-to-disqualify-all-defense-attorneys-who-know-of-govt-misconduct/


http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/19/3593628/how-did-this-unarmed-schizophrenic-woman-get-killed-by-cleveland-police/


http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/18/3593645/house-epa-science-advisory-board-bill/


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345795/-Gov-Mike-Pence-says-not-giving-food-to-the-unemployed-will-ennoble-them?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29



http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/11/18/3593389/congress-postal-service/


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345753/-About-these-pundits-and-their-fetish-for-bipartisanship-Can-t-they-just-find-a-toe-to-suck-instead?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345751/-McConnell-Boehner-struggle-to-find-a-way-around-another-government-shutdown?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29



http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/19/hillsborough-inquest-police-story-forced-gate-liverpool-supporters


http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/19/nsa-reform-surveillance-usa-freedom-act-section-215



http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/19/man-allegedly-tortured-us-ulk-troops-wins-right-sue-damages


http://time.com/3594482/holiday-shopping-black-friday-thanksgiving-christmas-gifts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29


I would like to point out the sheer avarice our culture encourages as implied by the last article, as well as to have you note that this is an article about buying ‘stuff’ for Christmas, in November, while we are still over a week away from Thanksgiving…. SIGH….


“I never could see why people were so happy about Dickens’ `A Christmas Carol’ because I never had any confidence that Scrooge was going to be any different the next day.” — Dr. Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist (1893-1990), — on the transience of the Christmas spirit.


“There live not three good men unhanged in England; and one of them is fat and grows old.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act ii, Sc. 4


“We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it.” — Dwight D Eisenhower


“The distinction between Freedom and Liberty is not accurately known; naturalists have been unable to find a living specimen of either.” — Ambrose Bierce “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.” — Robert Louis Stevenson


“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations


“I think as long as you suffer for your sins, they don’t count.” — Calvin


“I don’t think we should punish the criminal [a rapist] by killing his child.” — Dr. John Wilke, President, National Right to Life Committee, — Search for Common Ground, taped for television 4/89, as quoted in — The Far Right, Speaking For Themselves, a Planned Parenthood pamphlet


To summarize, once more, with feeling, loud enough for those in the rear of the hall to hear…. say it with me now!…..


“Stupidity is much the same all the world over.” — John Stuart Mill


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


Today’s ending quote in the intro section was a bit of a tease, so, here is another bit of doggerel from our old friend, Willie B…..






When You Are Old


When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.


~~ William Butler Yeats ~~




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


In an attempt to counter-balance the large load of deliberate mendacity described in section two above, here is an old school pearl with advice, comments, and observations about some of humanity’s more sterling qualities, few as they may be….




Know then this truth (enough for man to know),–


“Virtue alone is happiness below.”


~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~


~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 309 ~~




“My own life has been spent chronicling the rise and fall of human systems, and I am convinced that we are terribly vulnerable…. We should be reluctant to turn back upon the frontier of this epoch. Space is indifferent to what we do; it has no feeling, no design, no interest in whether or not we grapple with it. But we cannot be indifferent to space, because the grand, slow march of intelligence has brought us, in our generation, to a point from which we can explore and understand and utilize it. To turn back now would be to deny our history, our capabilities.” — James A Michener


“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.” — Thomas Jefferson




And it’s just a box of rain

I don’t know who put it there

Believe it if you need it

Or leave it if you dare

And it’s just a box of rain

Or a ribbon for your hair

Such a long, long time to be gone

And a short time to be there


~~ Box of Rain by Lesh, Hunter ~~




“Have no respect whatsoever for authority; forget who said it and instead look at what he starts with, where he ends up, and ask yourself, “Is it reasonable?” — Richard Feyman’s father


“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Freewill.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)




The thought manifests as the word;

The word manifests as the deed;

The deed develops into habit;

And habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its ways with care,

And let it spring from love

Born out of concern for all beings.


~~ The Buddha ~~


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


Today’s Pearl came together rather quickly, given the fact the ranting section was completed yesterday as I perused the news…. There were so many egregious examples of just how crazy the world has gone, it put itself together…. So, here I am, at 0545, mostly done, and no idea what to do next…. The rest of the world won’t be up for a couple hours, mostly, so, I may as well just go back to bed…. I could, I suppose, try to find something constructive to do, but, what fun would THAT be, eh? I think I’ll go find a bureaucrat to torment, if I can find one out of bed this early…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Precious moments of subtle grandeur…..

			
						

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Ffolkes,


You probably can’t tell by looking, but, in this space, earlier today, three complete fictional beginnings to a story were composed, then edited to the point of deletion, each one being rather LESS acceptable than the one before…. I can’t recall ever coming up with so much CRAP so early in the day, unless of course, we count that time in Phoenix, of which, the binding documents of non-disclosure I signed then preclude any mention…. That’s okay by me, I wouldn’t want stuff like that to ever be associated with my name, if I can help it….


Unfortunately for TODAY’s Pearl, that leaves me here, too deep in to back out, but with not a damn thing to go here….. at least, nothing I’d allow past my inner censor. Hell, at this point, it’s all I can do to blink both eyes in unison; I’m that discombobulated this morning…. My eyes are giving me fits, trying to focus; my thumb aches like crazy, telling me it’s time to stop ignoring it, & go see the Doc about it…..


I just hate thinking of the probable treatment, a shot of cortisone…. it works great, but, I’m not real sanguine about using steroids, for anything, even the stuff for which it is commonly prescribed…. Just because we’ve used something for a while doesn’t mean they know what the long term effects are…. the medical profession has too many priors in that respect for me to ever trust them completely…. Remember the time they x-rayed some guy in the ER, & found he had a surgical tool, a pair of forceps, to be exact, still inside his abdomen, left there by a forgetful surgeon a few weeks previously?…. I do….


But, that’s all just avoiding the issue, which is the lack of stimulation/inspiration I’m experiencing today, that is keeping this intro in “Inanity Mode”, with long, wandering discussions of not very much, stretched, padded, and stuffed full of useless verbiage, all designed to take us just a little further down the page, until we find ourselves in an area where we can stop a moment, catch our breath, look around, and make the self-serving,  but appropriate decision to bring this section to a close, having reached a point where such a decision becomes practicable….


Why, look! We’ve reached just such a point now! How about that, ffolkes? I even fooled myself today, into thinking this might work…. which it did, I’ll point out…. Here we are, five full paragraphs in, and we’re ready to cut loose with whatever is to take place today…. It’s always a surprise to me, and should be for y’all, as well…. Hope springs eternal…. as does my chutzpah…. though, to be honest, it doesn’t really spring, so much as creep, but, hey, it SOUNDS good, right?


Shall we Pearl?…. I think it would be for the best if we did….


In lazy apathy let stoics boast

Their virtue fix’d: ‘t is fix’d as in a frost;

Contracted all, retiring to the breast;

But strength of mind is exercise, not rest.


— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 101


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


I’m in a lot of pain this morning…. but, I also decided not to complain about it; instead we have the above nonsense, while here, in section one, I’ll go with an older rant, on a subject that never goes out of style…. not here, anyway….


From 9/19/2012, I offer the following pearl, for your viewing enjoyment:


A while back, I wrote a comment regarding another a post on another blog, concerning the proposal made in that blog of writing some new amendments to the Constitution. Most of the suggested amendments made good sense, as they would remove many of the entitlements that Congress has awarded itself over the years. However, there was one suggested change with which I wholeheartedly disagree…. This is the response to that suggestion… The address of the original blog is included, in case you want to read it first…..  To wit:


In Response to a Proposed 35th Amendment


From the blog site at:



http://lennemi.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/a-proposal-for-a-new-bill-of-rights/#comment-234


After reading the above blog, I posted the following comment:


Sir, or madam,


Excellent post, well reasoned and presented…. I have a few comments, if I may….


It has long been a delusion in human society that morality can be enforced, or induced at all, by legislation. This is an idea, as proven time and time again throughout thousands of years of human history, that is doomed to fail, every time it is attempted. That is not speculation, or guesswork. Look it up…..


Therefore, it is my suggestion that you forget #35, in favor of the Second Amendment already in place in the Bill of Rights; this concept is based on a false assumption, and making a flat statement of what (YOU believe) my rights are, or should be, is not acceptable to me as a citizen of this republic, or as a human being responsible for my own actions. Bearing arms is not a privilege, nor will I, and most likely at least 150 million, or more, other people in this country, accept that idea for a moment, a fact that should be obvious to any one with practical understanding of reality.


I do not, nor will I ever believe that Federal, State, or Local jurisdiction have either the right, or the authority to say differently, and I doubt seriously that there are very many in this country who do believe that. I reject utterly the statement that they, or you, or anyone else, has the right to decide for me what I will or will not own, or keep, or use in my defense. After guns, free speech would be the next to go….any bets?


That, my friend, is a fact of life, and of human nature. We only have those rights we can defend…. and this is merely another doomed attempt to legislate morality into human nature. Violence exists. Period. Get used to it, because you are not going to remove it from people’s core nature, or from reality, any more than attempting to remove guns will stop crime, or killing, or the tendency toward violence that is part of the nature of Man. Better to understand the impulse, and work toward educating people in how to cope with that part of themselves constructively, rather than destructively…..


The rest of your amendments are perfectly in alignment with what I believe is needed to improve the conditions of inequality and elitism so prevalent in today’s society, and would receive my full support.


To be honest, up to recently, I never owned, or saw a need to own a gun. As one who has followed the Warrior’s Path since my early teens (and probably before; I was raised on army posts from birth to age 10), and a long-time student of martial arts, and the theories of war, I learned how to deal with violence in many ways, with many techniques, a large number of which I had to apply in my work for years, physically controlling out-of-control psychotic mental patients, without hurting them, or getting hurt. 


I got pretty  good at dealing with violent people, especially in recognizing such outbursts before they manifested fully, and diverting it as needed.  I am very familiar with violence, in a great many of its guises. That said, it seems clear that I have generally been able to deal with whatever physical violence may occur in my immediate vicinity.


Now, however, I’m not as fast as I once was, nor as well-conditioned; I’m better at foresight, it comes with age. And I can foresee a time when I could conceivably need the equalizing factor of a weapon like a gun, in order to live up to my standard of handling events without injury, as far as I can…..so, I’m probably going to buy one or two… 


Because of that, and even more, because of insane (sorry, don’t mean to flame; but, it isn’t fully sane to attempt to change human nature) talk such as this, of watching society willingly slip on their slave collars…This is NOT going to happen in my world…. or, at least, not in the little piece of it I can control….


If anyone, or anyone’s brother, or anyone else, tries to take away the Second Amendment rights I now have, well, I can only say, good luck with that….. and bring lots of well-armed, battle-tested friends…you’ll need them….


Oh, and I’d keep in mind…. those folks, like the police in Sanford, Florida, who were complicit in covering up the murder there,  aren’t going to disarm themselves, now are they?…. How far will you trust them to behave with honor, and respect for YOUR rights? Get real…..and I don’t mean that disrespectfully, but in hope that you will open your eyes to what is plainly there to see….


Note from 2014:


“Those who really deserve praise are the people who, while human enough to enjoy power, nevertheless pay more attention to justice than they are compelled to do by their situation.” — Thucydides


Now, if only there were ANYONE left in our society who fit this description, we might be able to hold on to some hope…..


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


Since I’m using archived material today, I’m going with this older poem of mine, which seems to fit in with the tone, if not the exact same tune we are singing today….






Rhyming is better than lying….


It’s all too, too much, he cried

   I can take no more!

It’s all crazy, my brain is fried,

   battered, bloody, and sore.


Talking heads shout out hatred and fear

   jam for my morning toast.

Pointing fingers far, middle, and near

   enemies everywhere, almost.


Women, gays, and seniors fall prey,

   easy targets, slow and weak.

Convenient fools, wanting only to play,

   used, and abused, even as we speak.


It enough to drive me floridly insane,

   or want to buy a gun.

I may end up in jail, or in massive pain,

   but, oh, it would be fun….


~~ gigoid ~~


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


I don’t know how, but, I seem to have tweaked my lower back in my sleep last night; it’s giving me fits this morning…. But, I think I’ve got enough in me to finish this off, as long as I go old-school here in section three…. which I shall proceed to do…. Enjoy! This is all the fresh stuff you’ll get today….


“How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.” — Thomas Jefferson, “Writings” Vol. XVI


“No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.” — Andrew Carnegie


“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Freewill.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)


“Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.” — Robert Lindner


“Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society.” — John Adams (1735-1826)


“There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.” — Seneca


“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)


I love it when a plan comes together…..


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


Today’s Pearl has been brought to you by the word “stubborn”, and the number 13, which has always been my favorite of all the prime numbers…. and, no, I don’t know what that means about me, nor do I care….. This is done, and for now, that’s all I do care about, as I’m about to go obliviate my consciousness with large quantities of drugs…. See y’all tomorrow, one way or another….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid the dubious


dozer3



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
In the palace of the king….

			
						

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Ffolkes,

The weather is behaving oddly….but that is to be expected, as humanity has so far declined to stop pumping CO2 into the air, and the average temperature of the planet continues to rise. It won’t end until we are all dead…..and that, my friends, is a fact, not an assumption, not a theory, but a proven fact. Deal with it…


So here hath been dawning another blue day:

Think, wilt thou let it slip useless away?

Out of eternity this new day is born;

Into eternity at night ’twill return.

— Carlyle (1795-1881)


When I first read this I was struck by how perfectly it communicates the passage of Time, human productivity and motivation for same, and the Beauty of the entire process. It is a perfect piece to read to help us know why we go out and start a day’s work, and an equally good way to end the day, with a reminder to appreciate what has been. And as such, it enters the realm of R.G.P. (Really Good Poetry), and finds a niche of honor in my collection of Virtual Wisdom. It is perhaps a perfect example of the power of the written word, when it takes the form of poetry. An hour-long lecture exploring the subjects mentioned above could be composed with little effort, a lecture that would explain what the poet what trying to say. And THAT highlights the power, as the information passed in the hour-long statement is merely a paraphrasing of the poem. The hour’s information was packed into four short lines, and grew more beautiful with being shrunk to the given size. Wonderful indeed are the hidden talents of the human mind. It’s really our only hope, and a slender one at that……..


Fanatic: Someone who, having lost sight of his goal, redoubles his efforts.


This is obviously not the definition as given in Webster’s, but is just as accurate a description as the one that appears therein. And in today’s political arena, it serves a useful purpose, which is, of course, using it to help identify these overly zealous individuals among the current crop of candidates for the presidency. From my point of view, at least five of the seven Republicans campaigning for the highest political prize of all can be classified as fanatics, and the other two are so far out of it, their next steps will probably qualify them to join the others in the fanatics category. Every time one of them makes a statement, it sounds like a plot from a really bad daytime soap opera has gotten mixed in with their speech notes. Or even more fascinating, they will shoot from the hip, make some outlandish statement that comes from deep in their personal quirk files, showing the true depth of their racism, or prejudice, or their deliberate ignorance. Watching them spend the next two weeks backing off from those statements provides me with a great deal of entertainment, and hopefully gives the voting populace a clear picture of the danger of having one of them take the controls of so much power.


It’s amazing really, how these folks can parade their ignorance in front of the public eye, and actually, I take hope from the fact that they do so, as it shows their true natures, and how unsuitable those natures are for the position they seek. But, I also know my hope is tenuous at best. All it takes for me to groan again at the foolishness of the American voting populace, and remember that we have already elected one actor to the job, and we are still trying to overcome the financial mess he left us in. As a matter of fact, in looking back over my lifetime, what I see is one President after another coming into office, spending the first part of their term deciding what needs the most reform, making plans to start the changes, then having to fight intense pressure from the supposedly “loyal opposition” to stop any change. The party that lost the last election, whether right or left, spends its time bringing up BS about the President, accusing him of chicanery, and generally throwing up any kind of distraction they can come up with, no mater how silly or vicious, to keep anything constructive from taking place. Then they can point out how little the President has accomplished. I am becoming thoroughly disgusted, and increasingly angry at our belove ruling class. I have suggested previously that it is time for the Second American Revolution, and I am completely serious. The country I live in today bears no resemblance to the one envisioned by our founding fathers (and mothers); I am so incensed that I am seriously considering buying a gun, something I had resolved not to do in my life, as I’ve always felt the best way to get shot at was to carry a gun. But, I can see a day coming when I will need it, in order to defend the few rights I have left…..what do y’all think?


If all is not lost, then where is it?


I can only wish that I knew……not enough people are outraged at what is happening today. I’ve read a book every day since I was ten years old. I’ve watched people and society for that same amount of time, and I am afraid. I am afraid that we have waited too long. We, and by that I mean Humankind, have not made the internal changes necessary to insure our survival. Our greed for power over others, and our sense of entitlement regarding the planet’s resources, is leading us down a sure path to extinction. The pumping of chemicals and poison toxins into the water, air, and land that we live in and on, continues to take place, in spite of massive evidence that we are killing ourselves (and a lot of other forms of life). The recent 99% protests going on are just the beginning of uprisings from the public; the 1% is killing us all, and they don’t think that it applies to them. I don’t care how rich you are, when the percentage level of oxygen in the air (16% ideally), falls below 12%, you will certainly die. And they just don’t seem to care……deliberate ignorance. What they also don’t know is that the results achieved by their intransigence are completely unavoidable; there’s nowhere else to go. Once this environment is kaput, that will be the end of, and there is no appeal. Kinda makes it hard sometimes to keep up a good front……I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes……and hope for good luck, because that’s all that will save us at this point……


Well, was that enough gloom and doom for ya? In some ways I hate to write this kind of article, because I know it’s a waste of effort. Our beloved ruling class, all 1% of them, will have their way, unless we take the ability to do so away from them. 5000 years of human history shows not a single instance of that ever happening, so the odds are against us, at least in that sense. Meanwhile, all we can do is take care of the ones we love, and smile, smile, smile…… Y’all take care out there…..


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!