“If you have a skeleton in your closet, take it out and dance with it.”
~~ Carolyn MacKenzie ~~
Beauty escapes….
Hajime…. Having spent much of yesterday dancing with skeletons, it’s probably not surprising I’m a bit foggy this morning. Those guys just won’t give up, or slow down, no matter the cost to their terpsichorean partner. But, the alternative is too upsetting to consider, so, we’ll just put it into the kill file, for now, at least long enough to get this Pearl posted. The rest of the day can fend for itself…..
All the correct elements for today’s effort are in place; after all, I did have an extra day to get it done. I have to say, the old-school pearl today is rather good…. So good, in fact, I titled it in Greek, to honor the connection it displays to Peruaosophy, which it supports and clarifies, all at once. For those who aren’t familiar with Peruaosophy, it is my personal codec, my own creation, the axioms on which I have based my existence, so, you might see how this pearl shines so brightly, in my eyes. If not, oh, well; just take them at face value, and their relevance will make itself quite clear. Of course, you’ll also need to employ the power of metaphor, but, that’s de rigeur for us, anyway.
All that said, I’ll be nice, for a change, & bring this to a rapid close, so as to facilitate the rest of today’s demand for attention. Reality has a way of insisting upon precedence, & the consequences of ignoring, or trying to deny those demands, are much more negative than any of us care to deal with. Rather than even go near there, we’ll turn a hard left, (or, right, depending on where you’re sitting, I guess….), into the future, which will, if naught else, get us down the page to the closing section, where we need to be. Elegance, while tricky, is possible when courted with the proper attitude. Of course, we gave up on it long ago, but, hey, it sounds good, & looks good on a resumé.
What? You don’t think so? Hmph. Okay, I guess we’ll need to demonstrate. Watch this, and learn….
Shall we Pearl?
“Do not settle for less than the best your own excellence can command.”
~~ Anne McCaffrey ~~
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Probably, no explanation is necessary when one feels like hearing the blues. Here is a live concert from one of today’s finest blues guitarists, who is also pretty easy on the eyes…. Enjoy!..
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Ana Popovic Live
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Illusory Time
Viewed from askance, the river is long;
deep, uncompromisingly intent, swift and strong.
In duality, perception creates our only reality;
such faux metaphoric paradox enforces mutability.
By two we perceive, both zero, and one;
digital, binary, on or off, such fun.
Separate, melded, we exist, knowing not what we know
ego, striving to be solitary, looking above, seeing below.
Furiously asleep, cultural anomaly claims a victim of choice;
validly unconscious, nobody speaks, nary a voice.
Potential escapees stir in dreams, fighting to wake,
until taking the wheel, for their own bloody sake.
Pots boil in due time, when the fire’s hot,
time exists to our advantage; or, not.
The solitary warrior, head bent in pain,
fights on, with, or without gain.
Night fell, day after day it persisted;
of those who knew, none showed any care, or resisted
Angels, ministers, none had any defense, nor grace;
all that remains is a face.
~~ gigoid ~~
10/22/2016
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Naked Pearls
Τέλεια μαργαριτάρια
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“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
~~ Roger Miller ~~
*******
“There is no God.
But it does not matter.
Man is enough.”
~~ Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Conversation at Midnight” ~~
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“There is no conclusive evidence of life after death.
But there is no evidence of any sort against it.
Soon enough you will know.
So why fret about it?”
~~ Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love” ~~
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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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“It is almost impossible systematically to constitute a natural moral law.
Nature has no principles.
She furnishes us with no reason to believe
that human life is to be respected.
Nature, in her indifference,
makes no distinction between good and evil.”
~~ Anatole France ~~
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“Wherever your journey takes you, there are new gods waiting there,
with divine patience – and laughter.
~~ Susan Watkins ~~
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That must be wonderful: I don’t understand it at all.
~~ Moliere~~
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I guess it’s done. I don’t see how I can add, or take away anything that would make it any better, so, I’ll do the rational thing, & call it done. To augment & enhance that decision, I’ll end this quickly, so as to reinforce the idea we know what we’re about. I hope you enjoyed today’s mess; the cost to produce it was a bit high, as I would prefer to be. On that rather sardonic note, I shall bid thee adieu until next time, most likely tomorrow, when we’ll try once again to achieve perfection…. Hey, I know; it’s not possible, but, the effort to do so is the lesson, anyway, so….. See ya, ffolkes. Be strange; I am, & I can use the company…..
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.
“A friend is one who knows the song in your heart
and can sing it back to you
when you have forgotten the words.”
~~ Donna Twitchell Roberts ~~
George Orwell’s House, London
Hajime…. Weighed down, crushed under the dark, the light beckons, promising endless pain. The foul odor of death permeates reality, a miasma bringing tears, burning, each one a brand. In a vast landscape devoid of hope, fear lives, devouring rational thought in frighteningly vague dreams made real. The beast within is arisen….
Introspection is, for many of us, a valuable tool. It seems, however, there are a few idiosyncratic characteristics involved in its use, of which nobody bothers to inform us. In my own case, it seems there are times I shouldn’t bother, as it merely releases the Beast…. Today is such a time, I’m afraid. My morning thus far has been rather, hmm… hard to describe. Let us just say it’s been somewhat ill-conceived, and ill-managed. Still, I am sitting at the computer, typing, which is where I wanted to be by now. The angst and disturbing elements to which I have already been subjected are slowly fading, while the process of pearling I’ve developed manages to soothe the demon I inadvertently awoke.
I suppose I could spend a little time exploring the cause of today’s major melt, but, that, I think, would be unproductive, since there is an equal chance of reawakening the beast, which is apparently falling back to sleep the longer I type. I imagine I have embedded this process so deeply into my persona, the mere act of trying is enough to provide some relief from the sharp knives of self-denigration. Perhaps, when my mind actually wakes up & starts to think, I will be able to calmly address the cause; for now, let’s let it lie, as a sleeping dog. Instead, we’ll do this….
Shall we pearl?….
“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure.
We get very little wisdom from success, you know.”
~~ William Saroyan ~~
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George Harrison
Without going into superfluous detail, let is suffice to say, today, I want inspiration, and nothing will work any better than this…. Enjoy, please….
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Concert for George
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“Invincibility depends on one’s self;
The enemy’s vulnerability on him.”
~~ Sun Tzu ~~
I was planning to write a discussion of the refugee issue, using the above quote from The Art of War as a starting point. However, I can tell anything I wrote today would be, most likely, too inflammatory. Oh, not too much so for the purpose; too much for my current vulnerability… I’d be too tempted to follow up on the anger which would, no doubt, be generated by such a discussion. Instead, here is a somewhat extensive, but, thoroughly accurate, and, relevant, indictment of the Asininnies. If it isn’t clear to whom that term would apply, the following will make it clear as a crystal….
From 3/4/2014:
“Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sure sign he expects to be paid for it.” — H. L. Mencken
Does anyone else remember what Tom Jefferson had to say about “professional politicians”, and “bankers”, as being the most dangerous threats to a democracy? I remember the tone of it, and the meaning of what he expressed, in a number of letters to others of his contemporaries, even if even if I don’t remember the exact wording in the letters….. Believe me, every single one of the people who inhabit the halls of the White House, the Congressional House and Senate, and the Federal Court system would have been very lucky if Tom had only called them by their true name, that of TRAITOR….. As I recall from my reading about Tom, he was a bit of a hothead, by reputation, and he might have decided to start shooting before speaking, if I read him right…. and, I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment that might have prompted him to start firing away….
It’s funny, (ha ha AND weird, both types…) how the mind plays tricks on itself, even going so far as to use one’s own memories in manipulating to have its way…. however obscure that way may be…. Yesterday, in the rant in section three, (I think…. that’s how unsure I am of my own memory right now; memories as close as yesterday are currently suspect, due to the very issue under discussion IN THIS SENTENCE, thus, demonstrating once again how slippery our hold on Reality is, just all the damn time….), I mentioned the rant from the day before, in which, I was supposed to have spoken about the NSA, and its shenanigans…. That, of course, was either mistaken belief on my part, or just laziness in thinking about what actually was written, as I was writing at the time…. I know, it’s all very confusing, and maybe even moot, but, I have to explain this, or I’ll go crazy…
Crazy, as you know, is always a risk around here…. Anyway…. The rant to which I referred as being about the NSA, (as yesterday’s rant from the archives actually happened to be), was NOT about that, specifically, though that agency WAS mentioned…. No, that rant was about the Shrubs, and the events of 9/11/01 considered as a conspiracy to misdirect the public attention away from election results of the previous two elections, in which certain disputed voting irregularities “fixed” the election in favor of the Republican ticket…. A conspiracy, I will add, whose very existence, due to the very professional, comprehensive planning, and execution, by the elder Shrub’s minions, in eliminating and/or explaining away any evidence of such a conspiracy, is completely unknown to the majority of the American public…. That’s how good they are at this…
My intent in saying the above, long and complicated as it turned out to be, was to be honest, with y’all, and with myself…. and to keep things straight…. There are two different issues at hand in my rants from the last week or so, (Two, at the very least…. most likely more, if truth be told…), with the only connection being the fact that both issues are a result of previously clandestine, illegal, selfish, paranoid actions by the same set of shadowy corporate slave masters, and their political minions…. Thanks to the actions of a single patriotic citizen with a conscience, (E. Snowden), SOME of their actions are now a matter of public record, a fact which they are desperately working to remove from the public’s awareness….
Right now, they’re using the stone wall technique…. They aren’t making comments on any part of the issues, and they won’t address any questions they’re given by journalists on the subject. They’ve planted the seeds they wished to plant, with their lies about intended reforms to the NDAA regulations, and about Eric Snowden’s incompetence, and possible (fabricated) ties to Russian spies….
“All men can be led to believe the lie they want to believe.” — Italo Bombolini
Since that last outrageous, ‘ipse dixit’ proclamation from the House Intelligence Committee’s lead Republican, (….. Wow, talk about an oxymoron!…), about the infamous, totally made-up Soviet spies who “tricked” Eric Snowden into hacking those files, the White House, and every other public mouthpiece in DC, has been giving their best impression of an uncooked clam about the entire issue….. They don’t want to confuse the issue by introducing too many other ideas, especially if they might be found to be true….
They’re letting the lies they told sit and percolate, so it is the last discussion in the public mind; that way, when they come back to re-address the same issue again, those minds, of the mundanes among us, will have already been primed with the previous lies….. Hence, their next round of fabrications can not only be even more outrageous, but, in their minds, will have the additional advantage of being more easily believed by those parts of the public that bought into their previous (false) statements…. ‘Tis an unfortunate truth that it will probably work….
“These activities have their own rules and methods of concealment which seek to mislead and obscure.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower (1960)
Even if only a few people buy into their lies and machinations, they’re content…. They know that, because of human nature, the people who DO fall for that line of crap are generally the loudest, most stridently vocal of their supporters, those who have a strong investment in believing what they’re told by the talking heads on TV, primarily so they don’t appear to be so FUCKING STUPID to the rest of us….
Sorry…. didn’t mean to shout. I just get so frustrated, thinking about the lack of intelligence it takes to NOT be able to see how often these people are lying to us. This rant sort of evolved, all by itself. on Monday morning, as I sat reading the original line from Mr. Mencken, who happens to be one of the most prolific social philosophers of the twentieth century….
Mencken had a sharp eye, a nimble mind, and he wasn’t afraid to call a spade a spade, which, in the end, gets more done than calling it what it isn’t…. His honesty, and his willingness to “call ’em as he saw ’em” is why he was relatively unpopular with, and feared by, the governing elite of his era…. Too many sharp barbs and exposed truths for their taste….
I just wish I could figure out how to convince all the Numbnoids to use their minds, for something more than just carrying their bladders around from toilet, to table, to toilet…. Oh well, I’ll keep at it, and maybe, someday, one of the tabloids, or one of the mainstream papers, or even, GASP!, maybe a major player, like PEOPLE magazine, will pick up one of my rants, it will go viral, and the world will be saved from the all-too-frequently ignored effects of practicing ignorance, and the crushing soulless presence of Evil in our society’s most powerful denizens, who take advantage of that ignorance among the masses to maintain their own supremacy….
Or, maybe not…. Either way, I’ll keep on pointing out what I see, even if it doesn’t get very far…. Better out than in, I always say….
“Lord, defend me from my friends; I can account for my enemies.” — D’Hericault
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I feel a poem circling around in my head, but, it’s not anywhere near ready to bleed out. Here is one I wrote in March of this year, which is probably closest to my mood today…. I hope you enjoy the process of watching me find my balance as much as I hope it works….
Augmentation: Inner Aye
Distant, peals of thunder, vividly.
Closer, a patter of rain, falling gravidly.
Between the light and the darkness of fear
find merely the remnants of one lonely tear.
Do not hate us, though we have not sinned;
eager for courage, upon whom all hope is pinned.
Tales of insolence, hatred, or fallen virtue
fill us up, not down, in such pristine foreign venue.
Capable hands severed, able hands tied;
the future is angry, all but now denied.
Multiple times, warnings sounded across the pale
nobody heard, nobody came to tell the tale.
Gifted by time, salience fails in epic rhyme;
watchmakers watching, each a separate crime.
Logical solutions refuse to emulsify
forever pretending to cruelly crucify.
Blood will fly alongside pertinent composure,
never seeking, never finding tea, or closure.
Falsely laid trails on mountains of gold
imply no happy endings, no fortunes told.
Ages past have no time for repetition;
further chances only lead to perdition.
Destiny feels a shameful portion of guilt,
for a thousand sand castles, never built.
~~ gigoid ~~
3/2/2016
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Naked Pearls
Observations
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“In all the many-colored worlds of the universe
no single ethical code shows a universal force.
I am convinced that virtue is but a reflection of good intent.”
~~ Magnus Ridolf ~~
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“There is nothing in a caterpillar
that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”
~~ Buckminster Fuller ~~
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“If you have a skeleton in your closet, take it out and dance with it.”
~~ Carolyn MacKenzie ~~
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“Intellect annuls fate.
So far as a man thinks, he is free.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
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“To go forth and experience the myriad things is delusion.
That the myriad things spring forth and experience themselves is enlightenment.”
~~ Dogen ~~
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“If you can’t change your mind, do you still have one?”
~~ Caroline Malmgren-Davis ~~
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Nature, whose sweet rains fall of just and unjust alike,
will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide,
and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undetected.
She will hang the night with stars so that I may walk abroad
in the darkness without stumbling,
and send the wind over my footprints
so that none may track me to my hurt:
she will cleanse me in great waters,
and with bitter herbs make me whole.”
~~ Oscar Wilde — “De Profundis” ~~
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Not too shabby for an hour and a half later than planned; I’ll take it. Moreover, I’ll do so without further nonsense, or, sense, for that matter. I’ll merely say, I hope it works, and let it go at that. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I’m pretty sure it will be relatively unavoidable….
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.
“There is no conclusive evidence about what happens to old skeptics,
but their future is doubtful.”
~~ Ironic Bee ~~
Life/Death
Hajime…. Change is in the air today, ffolkes. It is, of course, the Nature of Reality, so, we should expect no less. But, the rate at which it happens is also subject to change, and I see a very good trend toward moving even faster toward some kind of major alterations to human society. One of the more uplifting signs, for the world at large, occurred yesterday, as Great Britain voted to exit the European Union, a result much undesired by those who would assume ever more brutal control over political events, as well as a serious blow to their plans of dominion. Now, if we here in the US can block any implementation of the TPP fiasco, real changes may yet take place, to the benefit of all, rather than just a few.
My own experience yesterday also exhibited a positive sign, much less compelling than what took place on the world stage, but, good for my mental state. While out and about performing necessary chores, I was presented with a feather. Not just any feather, but, a true, black, crow feather, obviously from the wing. It’s gorgeous, and the perfect accessory for my hat. It’s a good sign, when a spirit animal offers a token, and, I’ll take it. The feather now holds a position of grandeur, right alongside the amber guitar on my most-used chapeau. Bonus!
Since a new poem also leaked out yesterday when I got back from finding the feather, I’m a pretty happy guy. So happy, I’m going to again eliminate the ranting section for the day, as I just don’t feel like ranting today. So be it. The traffic here at ECR has eased off; for almost two weeks I was garnering double-digit Likes; that has dropped back to single digits this week, not surprising given my spotty record of posting lately. But, since the only real reason I do this is to stay within shouting distance of sanity, none of that matters much. It was just nice to see so many people sharing what I wrote… Again, all that can be said is, so be it….
On that note, we’ll get on with the rest of today’s mess. I hope you enjoy it….
Shall we Pearl?….
“He who possesses art and science has religion;
he who does not possess them, needs religion.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
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Since we are going with simple today, we’ll go with our default musical venue choice, by choosing another compilation of good classical music. Enjoy!….
Sir, I admit your general rule,
That every poet is a fool,
But you yourself may serve to show it,
That every fool is not a poet.
~~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge ~~
Further Proof
No evidence exists, no rumored promise
of a guide on the path we seek.
Salient information lies hidden, seeking solace;
each possibility lost, no longer unique.
The past cascades through today, resolute;
finished and gone, by all reputable report.
Common failings decry any fever in the root,
as pillars of salt offer up little retort.
Longitude has latitude, one dimension to the next;
truth and lies, mirrored, transform on first exposure.
Born in chaos, living in change, by guile and pretext;
artful insanity, with no rational cure.
‘Tis no wonder, some do say now and then,
such creatures are doomed, by their own hand.
Cursed by the force of their very own ken,
until only the leaving seems very grand.
Perhaps, but, then, say those who doubt,
it’s all part of how it works, in fact.
We can’t know, really, what it’s all about
without completing the final act.
Is there any hurry?
~~ gigoid ~~
6/23/2016
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Naked Pearls
Random Thoughts on Life at Large
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“Without fools there would be no wisdom.”
~~ Sagacious Bee ~~
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“Nature is not cruel, it is, pitilessly, indifferent.
This is one of the hardest lessons for humans to learn.
We cannot admit that things might be neither good nor evil, neither
cruel nor kind, but simply callous
— indifferent to all suffering, lacking all purpose.”
~~ Richard Dawkins ~~
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“It’s possible to use karate against a swarm of plankton–but it won’t help”
~~ Pragmatic Bee ~~
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“If you have a skeleton in your closet, take it out and dance with it.”
~~ Carolyn MacKenzie ~~
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“Grief can take care of itself,
but to get the full value of joy
you must have somebody to divide it with.”
~~ Mark Twain ~~
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“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song,
read a good poem, see a fine picture,
and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
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“Do nothing that insults your soul.”
~~ Walt Whitman ~~
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Thanks to altered sleeping patterns, I’m up late again, so, what you see above is what you get. To further our escape, I’ll go post this now, and be out of your hair. I will, however, try again tomorrow, to both keep my self relatively intact, and, to soothe my own angst; if y’all can find something worthwhile, so much the better. For now, I shall take my leave, with the usual caveat, to wit: see y’all tomorrow. Odds are still good….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
gigoid 