Twice-baked brains, aux bleu….

Posted on October 20, 2018 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Service to others
becomes a necessity
in seeking virtue.

~~ gigoid, 10/9/2018 ~~

New Vineyards near Eugene, Oregon….

In the past eight days, since last posting a Pearl, the various parts of today’s post fell together in a random order that eventually achieved some coherency just yesterday. My life outside this room where the computer lives has been, more than I care to think it could be, ‘interesting’, and I use that word in the oriental sense, not occidental. Friends in crisis, personal demon wars, trying to stop smoking tobacco, risky business, all have occurred of late in rapid=fire succession, unwilling to allow one the time to either prepare, or recover. SIGH…. (that’s a West Counties sigh, long, sad face, slowly indrawn breath exhaled with force and a shake of the head….). ‘Tis easy to see why I’m so hard-pressed to get anything done, with so much distraction from any purpose I choose to follow….

But, all of us live in the same reality (that’s why I explore it….), with one difference, that being our own perception of it. That said, it remains both no MORE difficult, or, any LESS difficult than anyone else’s reality, no matter how perceived; in the end, we all must face it alone. That’s why I have come to believe so strongly in the old proverb about ‘living in the shelter of each other’; without each other, we all get lost, and lonely. Sometimes, that can happen even when we are with each other, so, it’s a good thing to also remember the other old proverb, i.e., ‘if you want a friend, be one’….

I’m doing some writing on the side for a friend, and have also procrastinated on getting it done as quickly as I like, so, I’m gonna leave this be so it can get posted, & do my best to quit complaining at myself long enough to get something else done. Wish me luck, ‘cuz I have a feeling I’ll need it….. For the nonce, I’ll see you down the page a ways….

Shall we Pearl?

“Go softly, for you tread on my dreams.”

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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John Lee Hooker

Image from chickenmamba.com via Google Images…

Here’s another artist who should need little introduction. If one knows anything of the blues, he is an icon; if not, well, he’s still an icon, just one of whom you don’t know, to your loss…. until now, of course. I’ve included two live videos, as anything he does live is impeccable, IMHO…. I hope you enjoy it….

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For old times’ sake, just because….

From 10/16/2014:

“The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.” — Steven Weinberg

In the past year and some time, I’ve written many words… more than I care to think about just now, and a number that some would say deserves the term “interminable”….. None of them comes closer to summarizing how I feel about life in general than this…. I’ve never seen it before, to my knowledge, which detracts in no way from its deep resonance with my core beliefs.

I spend a lot of time discussing those parts of life that lean toward the direction of farce, with no little outrage at the depth of human cupidity and well, bozoid tendencies. In my own way, I suppose, this could be construed as my own effort to try to understand the universe, and our place in it…. I hope so, anyway…. because understanding life has been my only quest for the greatest part of it that I remember, reaching back to when I was five or six, and desperately trying to blend in with all the orange monkeys, while secretly wearing my own coat of blue…. For the two years after beginning school, and being exposed all day to the world outside my family, the gap between myself and my peer group seemed to be unpredictable, in terms of what they perceived, and what I could see and understand.

This isn’t to imply I was an outcast; merely an “egghead”, or other such complimentary terminology, as I found the actual school part of it all quite simple. This did, on the positive side, give me enough time to learn to adapt, and make myself likable for other reasons… sports being one, and applying the principle of “to have friends, be a friend”; I was always generous with helping others in school, with whatever I could do. Plus, I do LIKE people, as a rule…. they often disappoint, but, if one pays attention, they also never fail to amaze, in so many ways.

This study of my peer group from my first memories has persisted throughout my life, and remains today my primary focus of self-directed education, so to speak. I love to sit in public places and watch crowds; I don’t much like being IN crowds, so much as watching them interact with each other, all according to the dancing rules we all learn, from kindergarten onward…. From the first time I ever attended a county fair, my favorite activity at each, was to race through all there was to see, spend all my disposable income, and then spend the remainder of my time sitting near the front gate plaza, watching the people as they came to the fair….. endless entertainment, and still is…. only now, I walk the streets when I’m able, or sit in the public parks, libraries, and coffee shops, wherever I live….

“Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

One of the things I’ve learned about people is that human nature is just that… a force of nature. It has not changed much, if at all, since we humans were living in grass huts at the junction of a river; there are still good people, and bad people, and they are most often the same person…. because we all have our own unique view of the world, and our own feelings about what we see and believe we understand. We don’t always have all the information we need at critical times in our lives, and so make decisions that affect our behavior or outlook, decisions which become habits, leading us to believe these habits are justifiable because they work to keep us comfortable…. until they don’t. Life always changes, there is nothing that can stop it from doing so; if we do not learn to change ourselves, to adapt to the changes in the universe around us, it will end up destroying us.

The universe has no mercy, no pity; these are human concepts, and not a part of reality at all. But, being human, we crave justice, for things to be fair…. we bend our efforts to changing the universe to meet our wishes, never realizing that it is folly, that reality does not work that way, and there is nothing at all we can do to alter that reality according to our wishes without suffering the consequences. How quickly those consequences will result in our demise as a species is, of course, a matter of some debate. I tend to believe that we are nearing a breaking point, and the universe is going to be submitting a bill for payment to us, for the damages to our living domicile for which we are responsible, in the very near future…..

It must be noted that most of what I write about, whether I write well, or merely a lot, lends itself equally well to tragedy as it does to farce. In fact, it should also be noted that this is a good metaphor, for human nature. We are contradictory creatures, you, and your Uncle Bob, your Aunt Shirley, and I, and everyone else who makes up human society, filled with warring impulses, and wildly differing viewpoints. The expression of our nature in the real world reflects all of that, in all its tragic, farcical, gloriously foolish splendor…. We inspire and disgust each other on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, especially if one watches a lot of TV, with its completely distorted approximation of reality…. I have pretty much given up on TV completely, as it merely serves to fuel my outrage, and that, as you may have noted already, needs no further encouragement….

Well, a thousand or so words should be enough for a retrospective musing on human nature….. especially when they flow out as smoothly as these. I’ll leave this here, and most likely come back to it another day…. I will leave you with this fine observation from Mssr. Darwin, of The Origin of Species fame…. a book which gave birth to perhaps the finest scientific advance of the millennium, the since-proven Theory of Evolution….. surely a magnificent creation of the human spirit that encompasses both of the elements, farce and tragedy, we explored above….

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

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“But groundless hope, like unconditional love, is the only kind worth having.”

~~ EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow, “Cynthia Horner’s Eulogy”, Apr. 1994 ~~

Unsolicited Gratitude

Fear becomes familiar when reality bodes us ill
pain assumes first position, no matter our will.
Powerless, we founder, no strength to prevail
anguished and afraid, against unwanted Fate we rail.

Still, a grain of hope deep inside, hidden well against need
gives us reason to survive, our starving souls to feed.
Failure of courage burdens time, of being bested,
until our souls, in submission, become foully infested.

Bitter tears wash through us each day, with little care,
no thought, no feeling, no wish, or need to be fair.
Rendered clueless, confusion falls upon us, as prey,
we surrender a piece of our soul, little as we may.

Yet, always, a bright beam of hope is seen from afar,
no matter how dreary, or dark, it may seem where we are.
None knows, nor would consent to tell, it seems
from whence it hails, or why it so brightly gleams.

Saving our sanity, absolving our unwanted fears,
dispelling the myths and lies that come with the years.
Each man has known the precious gift that hope may give
And gives glad thanks, as long as he may live.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/10/2012

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Naked Pearls

Stones on the Path….

*******

“Fate is a river. Free will is a paddle.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

*******

“We can not live for ourselves alone,
our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads.”

~~ Herman Melville ~~

*******

“Time carves all.
Let yourself be carved to attain your true nature.”

~~ Master Po ~~

*******

“What I gave, I have; what I spent, I had; what I kept, I lost.”

— old epitaph

*******

“Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old;
seek what they sought.”

~~ Matsuo Basho ~~

*******

“Creation is a mighty joke, but the laugh is at my own expense.”

~~ Meher Baba ~~

*******

“All is flux, nothing stays still.”

~~ Heraclitus (540?-480? B.C.) ~~

*******

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Well, there you go…. Such as it is, I offer it up for your perusal, and, hopefully, your approbation. If not, well, the effort is always worthwhile, for all one may learn. I’ll quit pontificating, or, even merely being naturally pedantic, long enough to bid thee farewell, until the next time, which will probably be in a day or three. Who knows? This little foray may have broken the dam upon my fountain of expression; I guess we’ll see, won’t we? Until we do, y’all be well, & happy as you may be. As has probably become obvious by now, if nothing else, you can leave the ‘being strange’ part to me….

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….

Cogent metaphors for sale or trade….

Posted on December 1, 2017 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method
for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”

~~ Carl Jung ~~

Butterfly & herb garden, urban style….

Hajime…. During the early days on this blog, and, for that matter, for the entire time I’ve pursued this demon, finding the right words to open the festivities has been the most challenging piece of the puzzle. I found it is NOT easy to come up with something witty or interesting right out of the gate each day; it’s more like the intense anxiety and effort it takes to face the consequences of a bad decision. In short, not fun at all. But, I persevered, and managed to come up with some relatively effective techniques, if only because they got done.

Now, with more than a thousand posts under my belt over the six-plus years of writing & angsting over it, I find it no simpler a task than it’s ever been. Even if I merely relate the cause of my absence, it’s no less daunting in it’s sheer terror. But, as I have ever done, I persist, for some unknown, but, compelling reason. Perhaps, one fine day, I’ll come to understand why I keep trying; for now, I’ll merely be content to have completed my task, thus fulfilling my self-imposed duty, and taking what comfort from that I can. SIGH…. I am SUCH a Bozo….

But, since I claim to be a fairly rational Bozo, I’ll forgo any further attempt at coherency, because I can tell already, there isn’t a lot of that I can find today. Why? Don’t know, don’t care. Today, the way my mind is wandering about in fields of blank spaces, I know only this: if I don’t do it now, it won’t get done, & then I’ll feel incomplete all damn day. So, we’ll employ one of our most effective techniques for moving this along…. Yep, it’s old # 4, and it works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair
than the sage amongst his books.
For to you Kingdoms and their armies
are things mighty and enduring,
but to him they are but toys of the moment,
to be overturned by the flicking of a finger.”

~~ Chinese proverb ~~

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Sammie Jay

Image from SammieJaymusic.com via Google Images

While cruising You Tube one day a month or so ago, I came across a video of this young singer, busking on the streets of London, where she resides. I was, quite simply, amazed at her vocal range and skills, and impressed with her musicianship, as she plays guitar and sings in a unique style. I could gush over her easily for a long time, but, will merely say, listen, and watch. You’ll see a modern incarnation of Terpsichore the Muse, alive, singing, playing, dancing and spreading happiness with each note…. Enjoy!….

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Sammie Jay

https://www.sammiejaymusic.com/home

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Blithely Untitled

A poem came to me today, willy, nilly,
along with a sharp blow to the head.
Since it left me feeling just a bit silly,
anything that rhymes should lessen the dread.

Manifesting destiny into a small, insidious group
we push on toward sanity, concentrating hard.
Full engaging moments spent navigating the loop
shall ever make a difference to victims found in the yard.

Still corpses of creatures, straight out of nightmare
fill up the corners of our tortured minds.
While ever saddened, the iconic male, most debonair,
gazes softly, ironically, at all the mutual interest he finds.

Moronic public statutes compel outbreaks of sanity,
responding to momentary impulses toward inducing peace.
Still, the motions get completed, in fertile stages of inanity
while the bulk of our inmates can find no surcease.

Reluctant motivation to continue is unbound,
striving to ascertain how far there yet remains to go.
No precognitive guesswork will make any less of a sound
to soften the final strains, or teach us to truly know.

~~ gigoid ~~

2/7/2014

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Naked Pearls

Way stations on the map of the Path…

*******

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

~~ Zen proverb ~~

*******

“If every day is an awakening, you will never grow old.
You will just keep growing.”

~~ Gail Sheehy ~~

*******

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive,
nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change.”

~~ Charles Darwin ~~

*******

“Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.”

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~

*******

“And the time will come when you see we’re all one
and life goes on within you and without you.”

~~ George Harrison ~~

*******

“Dying is a wild night and a new road.”

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

*******

“The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the road has gone
And I must follow if I can.
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way.
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say”.

~~ J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Lord of the Rings” series ~~

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There, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Wait…. Don’t answer that; I’m not sure I’m ready to hear it. Let’s just call it a draw, and use the time saved to get on with the rest of today’s agenda, whatever it may entail. For me, it’s a day for dealing with capitalism, combined with a bit of housework. So be it. I hope your day works out well; I’m off to walk before the work begins. Be well, be happy as you may, and, for goodness’ sake, be strange…. You can believe I will….. See ya in a couple days, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Bartering incunabula with panache….

Posted on November 7, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily.
All other “sins” are invented nonsense.
(Hurting yourself is NOT a sin–just stupid.)”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

Mendenhall Glacier Ice, escaping to sea….

Hajime…. Today’s Pearl comes to you through the auspices of cultural delusion in action. The faux time change our government insists upon foisting upon the public twice each year has caused a reaction in me, similar to that one experiences through long-distance travel. In short, I’m jet-lagged, without having had the pleasure of traveling anywhere. Since Sunday, when the change took place, I’ve been arising at about 3 AM., unable to sleep any longer. SIGH…. Oh, well, at least it got a Pearl done for today….

Can you feel it? Do you feel the tension in the air? The world is on a cusp, ffolkes, and the election tomorrow will have a definitive effect on how that tension plays out in reality. A lot of sensitive people are aware of what is happening, and they are all, including myself, nervous about what may happen tomorrow. My own unease is related to the simple fact that, whichever of the two candidates most likely to carry the day wins, it isn’t going to bode well for anybody, as they both have personal agendas in place that have nothing at all to do with their avowed duty, to help the American people. No, I’m afraid they both are much more selfish, and deluded, that that. I can’t see ANY good coming from the results, so, I’m holding my breath, to some degree, awaiting some indication of what direction to jump.

All that said, I’ve put together a Pearl without any real direction, or purpose, other than to maintain my own sanity, and to provide y’all with, perhaps, the only non-manipulative information you’ll be bombarded with today. Anything you see regarding the election, you may be sure, is only designed to get you to do what someone else wants. If nothing else, this won’t do THAT…. for we don’t want anything but your polite attention, and, if you wish to give it, a bit of appreciation. Or, argument. Doesn’t matter, if it keeps us both from having to think about an event which has already proven its irrelevance.

On that cheerful note, let’s get on with it. Ruthlessness coming; hang on….

Shall we Pearl?….

“What’s madness but nobility of soul
At odds with circumstance?”

~~ Theodore Roethke, “In a Dark Time” ~~

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Yep. You guessed it. Today’s musical selection automatically went to default, since I hadn’t made any decision at post-time… Go figure, eh?…. Try to enjoy it, anyway; people have been doing so for centuries, so, it CAN be done…. *grin*….

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Classical Music

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Somehow, the day before our election this year, this one seems appropriate….

Adjectives of Quality ~~ Bloody Friday

A baleful lump of ironic introspection
sits upon my shoulder today
leaving traces of fey reflection
with a smattering of true dismay.

Resistance may be futile, many have said,
belief didn’t necessarily follow.
Abnegation of fear marks all bills paid,
leaving such empty threats hollow.

Symbolic courage never sleeps so deeply
as when delusion holds sway.
Bartered virtue, sold far too cheaply,
stands in shame, until honor fades away.

Too many culprits exist to count just one;
all of us bear obvious blame.
Evil is as evil does, only, when it’s done,
it begins again, all same-same.

Nobody seems to care enough to deny the lies.
Ignorant fear rules humanity’s masses.
When evil passes unremarked, innocence dies;
silence equals guilt, leaving only hope’s ashes.

Reality screams; tales of terror unfold,
flames fanned with purposeful malice,
insidious dangers hide beneath atrocity untold
as Gaia weeps into an empty chalice.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/3/2015

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Naked Pearls

How’s that again?….

*******

“By letting go, it all gets done.”

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~

*******

Dilige et “uos vis fac.”
[Love and do what you will]

~~ St. Augustine ~~

*******

“Dreams are real while they last. Can we say more of life?”

~~ Havelock Ellis ~~

*******

“Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.”

~~ Ausionius ~~

*******

“Always tell the truth–if you want to make trouble.”

~~ Honest Bee ~~

*******

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive,
nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change.”

~~ Charles Darwin ~~

*******

“How many Zen masters does it take to change a light bulb?”
“None. The Universe spins the bulb, and the Zen master stays out of the way.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

*******

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Well, it’s done. I am going now to make sure my ammo is dry, and all is ready for whatever may happen. It’s tough preparing for the worst, for, as humans, our ‘worst’ is pretty fucking unpredictable, not to mention terrifyingly, well, terrible. In any case, I’d suggest y’all stay alert. Things are going to get really ‘interesting’ out there in the Big Blue Room, and they’re going to get there soon…. I hope to see y’all tomorrow; if the internet is still up, then so will I be…. See ya, ffolkes, sans the advent of Armageddon….

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….

Wait! Isn’t it supposed to wiggle?….

Posted on June 12, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.”

~~ Chinese Proverb ~~

Duh. They’re flowers.

Good morrow…. Rather than giving in to impulse, I’m going to perform a 180° turn, at four gravities, just to demonstrate how much I care about my Gentle Readers…. This means you will NOT be subjected to a series of formerly patented paraphrased versions of discarded Buddy Hackett jokes…. Instead, you will be forced treated to a collection of archived material, presented in the guise of aged clerical treatises of historical note… In other words, I’m feeling lazy, and I intend to cheat, unmercifully, until this damn thing is done…

Damn it! If I have to be up at 2 AM, everybody’s going to suffer be rewarded….

Shall we Pearl?

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

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

Albert King 1978

Finding & posting videos has become a relatively simple, consistent routine, so, this will be the freshest portion of today’s Pearl…. A while back, this section featured a live performance by Stevie Ray Vaughn, recorded in studio, with Albert King…. Albert was, to me, the best of all 3 Kings of the Blues (BB, one whose given name escapes me, and Albert….)…. Here he is playing on his full album, “I’ll Play The Blues For You”….

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

Albert King

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

https://youtu.be/xsQz2aH-L9s

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

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

Nice clock, eh?

As may or may not have been noted, sometimes, I’m lazy. Today is one of those days; asking why would just piss both of us off, so, we’ll just get on with it…. Here, from the archives, (where else?) is a little foray into nothing much…. It’s a format I once called a “new-school pearl”, so, why not call it the same now?…. No reason at all, but, then, that could be said of ALL of today’s Pearl, couldn’t it?….

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, enjoying 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, as related by his character Lazarus Long, 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, too. 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’s 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, in my opinion….

“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…. It’s that, or Murphy shows him a lot more respect than he does anyone else alive. At times, it seems, what the Buddha states, such as in this statement, is, in at least one respect, an answer to a question raised whenever Murphy intervenes in our lives…. More simply, the Master 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, I suppose, enlightenment will slap me upside the head, and I’ll be able to see Murphy coming…. I can hope, can’t I?….

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

Often, I feel, 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, as a means of freeing ourselves from the prison of sobriety, achieving an understanding of Reality which tells us everything in this silly universe is here for our amusement, and, we have been taking it, and ourselves, too seriously, for entirely too long….. So seriously, we have begun to offend those parts of the universe whose purpose is to allow us to relax and enjoy ourselves. Moreover, the time is growing nearer when we will have to admit the joke is on us, for not being able to change our inner selves enough to be able to perceive 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, which 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 truth, the book was very poorly written, filled with prose unable to live up to the great plot line…..Specifically, there was one chapter I liked, which had the book’s protagonist, an orphaned super-genius from Earth, taking on the task of finding the solution to a mathematical treatise, an equation so complex, so advanced, no civilization in the galaxy had ever been able to solve it.

The genius/hero/complete git 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 into, there comes a time when I must decide whether to continue on, to try to reach the conclusion nebulously hovering somewhere in my mind as I began, or, to sheepishly admit I have 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, we’ll take the first one able to serve appropriately, to officially 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 said point some time ago, but, hey, who’s counting?…. Any who, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into not very much….

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

This was written, and first posted in December of 2012; you can probably tell why it hasn’t been seen since…. I’m not proud; I am, as has been clearly indicated, lazy….

“Poetry is what gets lost in translation.” — Robert Frost

—————————

Placidly falling in amber waves: old friends

Whiskey, oh, whiskey, I’d forgotten thy balm,
thy loving spread of lassitude, and nature’s own calm.
Misery and pain flee in squalid disorganization,
leaving mirth, happily embraced, in just consolation.

James, old friend, thou hast not abandoned me at all,
steadfast and loyal, ever ready to answer my softest call.
Ephemeral illusions of normality come at your instigation
blessed moments of peaceful joy, sans vilification.

Gasps of coherence pound at the door to conscious thought,
muffled explosive memories of battles already fought.
Malleable as the changeable airs of time and circumstance
plaintive calls to reason stand not a single, honest chance.

Sober again, reality’s cold reign brings a new day
ringing in old changes in a new-fashioned way.
To know true freedom’s release from our everyday pain
Is worth a bit of headache, even in the cold, pouring rain.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~ two sheets to the wind, and back ~~

—————————

“You will find poetry nowhere, unless you bring some with you.”

~~ Joseph Joubert ~~

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

An old pearl, but, a good one, from September of 2012, just because I’m lazy today (Did I say that already? Oops…)…. It’s only a five-star, but, some of those were the best….

First posted 9/20/2012:

Where else can you find intellectual games, with no pressure to win, all of which allow you to pick your own conclusions, other than right here, Exploring Consensual Reality with gigoid? Nowhere, that’s where…. To further cement that reputation, here is another old-fashioned pearl for your perusal, with the conclusion right there in plain sight, for anyone to see…. It’s Hobson’s choice, all over again….

“Politics is what happens to democracy when not enough people care.” — Anonymous, Thursday, 1992

After his Ignoble Disgrace, Satan was being expelled from Heaven. As he passed through the Gates, he paused a moment in thought, and turned to God and said, “A new creature called Man, I hear, is soon to be created.”
“This is true,” He replied.
“He will need laws,” said the Demon slyly.
“What! You, his appointed Enemy for all Time! You ask for the right to make his laws?”
“Oh, no!” Satan replied, “I ask only that he be allowed to make his own.”
It was so granted.

— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” — Voltaire

“A man that expects to train lobsters to fly in a year is called a lunatic and is locked up. But a man that thinks people can be turned into angels by legislation is called a reformer and allowed to walk free.” — Mr. Dooly

Sometimes, it’s just too easy….. but, somebody’s got to do it….. Right?

Right? Well…. Okay, perhaps not. But, then, why not?….

It’s definitely less dumb than any Reality TV show, guaranteed, or your money back….

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

Yes, I did, but, it’s legal. Anyone anal enough to go back & check will see I added a touch here & there to polish up some of the material from past Pearls…. It’s okay, ffolkes. I wrote it the first time; I’m allowed to edit. Besides, I’ve learned a lot in three years, I think, so, any changes made are certainly an improvement; in some spots, that’s a big “for sure!”…. Any who, I’m just too frigging honest to not say so; otherwise sleep would be even harder than the period which prompted much of today’s mess….

On that cryptic, yet transparently pandering note, I’ll take my leave for yet another day, where I’ll do my damnedest to do this again…. Count on it, unless Reality bites me too hard…. See ya then, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Reeling, writhing, and fainting in coils….

Posted on May 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.”

~~ East African Proverb ~~

Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and the First Cup of Espresso in Space

NASA Image from Space.com

Good morning…..

I had something to I’d intended to say, but, never mind; we’ll do the right thing, & get going on this….

Shall we Pearl?

“After a while he realizes that she is beautiful – he just hadn’t noticed it at first.” — Lazarus Long

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

If there is a superstar in classical music, Yo-Yo Ma fits that bill; Isthak Perlman has been my favorite classical violinist since I first saw him on the Ed Sullivan show in the early 60’s. I never knew of Daniel Barenboim until I heard him play with these two, but, obviously, he’s pretty good at what he does, or he wouldn’t be playing with them…. Enjoy, ffolkes, as three of the very best play Beethoven….

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

Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Barenboim

Beethoven’s Triple Concerto

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

https://youtu.be/9kYJZoDrFeQ

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

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

To begin today’s discussion, please follow the link below to read the following blog post. It’s a bit hard to read, if one has any sensitivity at all, but, everyone in this world, especially the men, would do well to understand this issue. As a starting point for discussion, this is a very clear statement about of one man’s reaction to being confronted with incontrovertible evidence of the problem of abuse in our society, a reaction which, in my firm opinion, needs to become a universal response among ALL men…. Read it, please….

https://p33d33.wordpress.com/2015/05/05/unlocked/#comment-208

I had intended to write about this, but, instead, I’m going old-school to have my say; trying to write put me in a nasty place. All I could think about was what sort of gun I should buy…. In the link above, you see comment #208… which is from me, wherein I told the author of the post I would have held his coat for him while he took care of his business…. I envy the author, and find myself wanting to go hunting…. For now, let’s pearl on it….

“For BOTH sexes, abuse derives from powerlessness, not power.” — Smart Bee

“Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior.” — Socrates

“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

“Tell me why are we so blind to see that the ones we hurt are you and me?” — (Coolio) Gangsta’s Paradise

“But crushing truths perish from being acknowledged.” — Albert Camus — The Myth of Sisyphus

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

“It is dangerous to make man see too clearly his equality with the brutes without showing him his greatness. It is also dangerous to make him see his greatness too clearly, apart for his vileness. Is still more dangerous to leave him in ignorance of both. But it is very advantageous to show him both. Man must not think that he is on a level either with the brutes or with the angels, nor must he be ignorant of both sides of his nature; but he must know both.”
— Pascal, Pensees, n. 418

“A ferret in the trousers is worth two in the bush.”– Smart Bee

Okay, so, sorry ’bout that last one; couldn’t help myself…. I had to do SOMETHING to lighten the mood a little…. You can always trust a ferret for that…. Here’s one a bit more appropriate to use as a closer…

“What most people need to learn in life is how to love people, and use things, instead of using people, and loving things.” — Smart Bee

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

This poet should need no introduction….

When I Have Fears

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen’d grain;
When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;–then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

~~ John Keats ~~

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

“When a man lies he murders part of the world.

These are the pale deaths men miscall their lives.”

~~ Paul Gerhart ~~

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in so far as it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vii, 61

“When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die.” — Jim Elliot

“That’s the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they’ve been all along.” — Madeleine L’Engle

“You should hammer your iron when it is glowing hot.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 262

“If the sight of a beautiful rainbow no longer excites you, than you had better prepare to pack it in – you are already dead.” — Smart Bee

“Failure to understand reality is not reality’s fault.” — Bill Henneman

“People who matter are most aware that everyone else does, too.” — Malcolm Forbes

“Are all your stars shining?”

~~ JD Salinger ~~

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

I can’t say much about this pearl; it was neither the worst, nor the best, and very little like one in between, in re: putting it together in a smooth, timely fashion… Regardless, it’s done, so, I’ll take it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, whether I like it or not….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Astrogation isn’t for amateurs….

Posted on May 7, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Aw, gee, Wally . . .”

~~ Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver ~~

Sunrise on the Road

Warning/Disclaimer: Any mental functions attempted in this area must be re-evaluated during a subsequent period. It has been discovered that standard logic works sideways in this area, if it works at all, due to the influence of the occupant.

Good morning, ffolkes….

Today’s opening picture is one of my own, and, it’s got a cute little story to it…. If you look closely at the left side of the picture, you’ll note the ray of light that comes directly at the area where the picture was taken. In the normal way, one might guess it was a trick of refraction, due to the shape of the camera lens, and the passage of the light through the atmosphere; in the normal way, you’d be right, too. But, this was NOT a ray of light from the sun, which traveled 92 million miles through space to reach me; it was actually a laser guide sight, from a ship hiding behind the clouds on the horizon….

You might think I’ve slipped over the edge, but, if you go to that spot (I can tell you where), you’ll see the big hole in the ground where the laser hit the telephone pole, just out of sight on the left, causing it to explode, nearly sending me into orbit…. Fortunately for me, just as I took this shot, a tractor beam, from another ship out of camera to the right, grabbed me, yanked me away, & deposited me in a safe spot some ways away before I could even blink. (The aliens who saved me told me this right afterward, after they’d destroyed the evil alien ship, then covered the whole area with a field of mental energy which cleared the events from everyone’s memory…. Kind of the techno equivalent of the Memory Spell in the Harry Potter world, eh?….) Lucky, wasn’t I?….

You may ask, first, if I’m getting any treatment for this…. No, silly, why would I? Most people suffer from being insane; I revel in it.

Secondly, you’ll no doubt ask how I can expect anyone to believe it’s true; the truth is, I don’t much care, because I expect that. The aliens told me I could talk about it if I wanted; nobody would believe me…. They were right, weren’t they?

Hah!

Okay, let’s get on with the REAL nonsense we have planned for today…. Who knows? Maybe some of it will be less illusory…. I wouldn’t put too much money on it, though, without some decent odds…. Who’s gonna give those around here?….

Shall we Pearl?

An older student came to Otis and said, “I have been to see a great number of teachers and I have given up a great number of pleasures. I have fasted, been celibate and stayed awake nights seeking enlightenment. I have given up everything I was asked to give up and I have suffered, but I have not been enlightened. What should I do?” Otis replied, “Give up suffering.” — Camden Benares, “Zen Without Zen Masters”

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I’m in the mood for some mild fantasy, and a little fun…. How about an old favorite movie? This one may pull my covers a bit, threatening my status as a curmudgeon, but, what the hell…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this is a better story and movie than it seems… It also has one of the first movie attempts at combining animation and live actors in the same film sequence; the only flaw in I see is its Disney-esque blandness to the dialogue; a lot of the jokes could have used a bit of innuendo, or some spicy language…..

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

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

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

https://youtu.be/hDTga2nThwE

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

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

Once you read the pearl(s), you’ll understand the picture…. Well, I’d hope you will….

“…to emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on Heaven is to create hell. In their desperate longing to transcend the disorderliness, friction, and unpredictability that pesters life; in their desire for a fresh start in a tidy habitat, germ-free and secured by angels, religious multitudes are gambling the only life they may ever have on a dark horse in a race that has no finish line.” — Tom Robbins, — Skinny Legs and All, p. 305.

“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.” — Buddha

“Belief gets in the way of learning.” — Lazarus Long, “Time Enough for Love” by Robert Heinlein

“In the beginning was nonsense, and the nonsense was with God, and the nonsense was God.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.” — Charles Darwin

“History is little else than a picture of human crimes and misfortunes.” — Voltaire — L’Ingenu, Chap. x

“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.” — Lazarus Long, Time Enough for Love (1972) by Robert Heinlein

I was going to leave it at that, figuring it would do the trick…. But, I see it needs to move further along the train of thought, so, we’ll keep at it, until we find the right pearls to complete the necklace, er, composite of ideas as metaphor….

“If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.” — Pentagon official, on why US military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

“A “peace-loving nation” is one which bans fireworks and manufactures hydrogen bombs.” — Smart Bee

“Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness “positively”, by uniting our affections, the latter “negatively”, by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last is a punisher. Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one…. — Thomas Paine, opening lines of “Common Sense” — 1776

Men of ill judgment oft ignore the good

That lies within their hands, till they have lost it.

~~ Sophocles ~~

Well, there you go…. It’s a bit murky, but, hey, it’s better than a rant, and, you still get to see who is responsible, and how it happened…. It’s a start….

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

Here’s another one from the archives, since the one percolating seems to have filed itself in an unknown folder…. SIGH…. If only it was a conscious process for me….

November Dreams of Spring

Crass and cold, the beggar finds me swollen, so frail and fat
with painful stepping motions, running, like a Republicrat.
Building with straw and spittle, should artists come aground,
we all pay heavily, a billion for a bloody pound.

Too desperate, too ashamed to play such a part
We ask for belief, and sweet liberty, dressing up so smart.
It falls between the simple cracks, always in a hurry
To find a shrunken ego, ashen, swift, and full of worry.

Never there was a more penitent group, such a sterling way
To fast in luxury, making sure the guilty enter, but do not stay.
Forgotten gods can find their diffident suitors tonight
With dream-fitted convention, and a natural sense of delight.

For all the silken babies cried, to see the broken dreams of power
forgiven moments of certitude serve, filling up the maiden’s bower.
All the patient, loving veterans of ancient foreign time,
give up their first impressions, dying, dying for a rhyme.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/19/2012.

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

Today’s final old-school pearl will finish off our discussion of the power of dubiousity…. Enjoy, ffolkes; you may not realize it, but, this is a fairly good look into my soul….

“I love to doubt as well as know.”

~~ Dante ~~

“The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” — Bertrand Russell

“The majority of mankind is lazy-minded, incurious, absorbed in vanities and tepid in emotion, and is therefore incapable of either much doubt or much
faith.” — TS Eliot

“If a person offend you and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures. Simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick.” — Mark Twain, Advice to Youth Speech, 1882

“Faith which does not doubt is dead faith.” — Miguel de Unamuno

“Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.” — Laurens Van der Post, The Lost World of the Kalahari (1958)

” There lives more faith in honest doubt,

Believe me, than in half the creeds.”

~~ Alfred Tennyson — In Memoriam, xcvi, Stanza 3 ~~

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

Most of today’s effort was done ahead of time, so, I’m not sure how seamless it may all be; as is our habit, we can only say, “Oh, well!”. We’ll have to work on that. But, that’s a task for another day; this one is already shot to hell…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided Reality cooperates…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Once trussed, bake in a medium oven until done….

Posted on April 10, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Remember this,–that very little is needed to make a happy life.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) ~~

~~ Meditations, vii, 67 ~~

~~ Young Redwoods ~~

Yet another day of arising late; my routine is gone. I am not entirely sure I want to find it again, though; it wasn’t working all that well to begin with. I suppose I should find some other way to open up the day’s activities, but, I’ve been doing this so long now, I feel weird if I don’t write first thing in the morning…. So, y’all will just have to continue to put up with my near-insanity for a while longer, until I figure out how to get past whatever it is that is making it hard….

Since I’ve set the stage for it so well, I can hardly NOT take advantage of the opportunity to get out of the intro quickly. I see one of the less popular, but quite safe entries into the oyster-beds, so, we’ll use it, and be done with it…. If you’d kindly rack your weapons, and put down your beverages, the pilot will take us right in…. Ready? Let’s go…

Shall we Pearl?

“The effects which follow too constant and intense a concentration upon evil are always disastrous. Those who crusade, not _for_ God in themselves, but _against_ the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better, but leave it either as it was, or sometimes even perceptibly worse than it was, before the crusade began. By thinking primarily of evil we tend, however excellent our intentions, to create occasions for evil to manifest itself.” — Aldous Huxley — The Devils of Loudun

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

15112676-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-1756-1791-on-engraving-from-1908-one-of-the-most-significant-and-influential

I have mentioned previously how the music of Mozart is good for the brain; strict scientific studies have proven that people who listen to Mozart while using their minds consistently perform better while the music is playing, than when it is not…. In tests, in physical actions, in decision making, everything we do with our minds is improved by his music…. Here is a good long collection of it, with the link showing many more….

Go, improve thyself!….

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

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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

https://youtu.be/pzQqvi1-hHE

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

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

Image stolen from Talesfromtheconspiratum.com

Hi,

I’m one of your constituents, and I’m calling to urge you to end the NSA’s unconstitutional mass surveillance under the Patriot Act. NSA surveillance illegally invades my privacy, along with millions of other innocent people, without making me safer.

202-224-3121

Congressional Switchboard

The above lines are the suggested words to use when calling your Congressional representatives, both Senator and Congressman, to tell them to NOT sign the newest version of the Patriot Act, and to let the people be free once again….

This, of course, is both a cheat, and a treat. I won’t even bother to tell y’all why it’s so important; trust me, it is…. The cheat is, this is all the ranting you’ll see today. The treat is exactly the same….

Just call, say those words, then hang up. Enough of them, and we might even get them to pay attention; it’s worth a shot, and, if they don’t, then, they will have proved exactly whose side they are on, yours, or. their own…

And remember, ffolkes, the following pearl is gospel truth….

“History is a tool used by politicians to justify their intentions.”

~~ Ted Koppel ~~

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

Pure Truth: Elsewhen

Everything I say and do, I’m sure,
only comes from what I know.
If what I’ve said or done is good, and pure,
I can say it’s not just for show.

Sometimes people don’t quite get me.
It can be a pain, for sure.
I try not allow it to keep me from being free,
especially when my thoughts may be impure.

In fact, I try quite hard most of the time,
to keep from hurting folks.
If any culture more often approached sublime,
I wouldn’t have to take so many pokes.

Now I’ll make another sacrifice, for y’all,
not for karmic advantage, not merely so….
But, to save me from yet another downfall,
I’ll stop here; ensign, make it so….

~~ gigoid ~~

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

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.

~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~

~~ Essay on Criticism, Part ii, Line 15 ~~

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

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

“The sin that most needs to be loved and forgiven is the state of mind that sees human beings as sinners.” — Thaddeus Golas in The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment

“He will always be a slave who does not know how to live upon a little.” — Horace

“It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C. – A.D. 65)

I reflected how soon in the cup of desire
The pearl of the soul may be melted away;
How quickly, alas, the pure sparkle of fire
We inherit from heaven, may be quenched in the clay.

~~ Thomas Moore (1779-1852) ~~

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

Well, ffolkes, another one bites the dust…. I’m not going to comment at all about this one; it was constructed mostly without my conscious input. The mere fact it is done is somewhat of a surprise, but, a good one, which I will now take advantage of in the most egregiously opportunistic manner…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, unless I talk myself out of 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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

No worries, mate. It’s been plugged….

Posted on March 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Life without the courage for death is slavery.”

~~ Seneca ~~

Since this will be, possibly, the latest Pearl ever, I see little point in worrying overmuch about this intro. The cat in the picture will be sufficient, I believe, to get us down the page; who doesn’t like cats? (Well, we know there are SOME who don’t, but, we consider them to be sub-humans, who wouldn’t be reading this anyway….) Pair it up with a quote with the power of Seneca’s statement, and, you’ve got something…. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the Gentle Reader to ascertain what that something may be….

Me, I’m going to meander on down to the next section, & pick out a video for us all to watch, or listen to, as we finish the rest of this mess today…. Me, while I type, and, y’all, as you read and ponder, or laugh, or cry out in disgust at what you may find here today; I’m sure whatever I find will be just fine for that purpose…. Okay, you’re right, the odds are no better for that than for any other pearl, but, hey, who would bother if I didn’t show a bit of enthusiasm, eh? A blog’s gotta have readers, right? Right….

Now we’ve settled that, I’m going to again apply our fast-becoming-famous method #4 to get us out of the intro; it should be an interesting ride today, as we got our monthly maintenance report, and we know the vehicle needs some work. The stress and strain of using a #4 today COULD put us over the edge there, but, hey, the insurance is paid up, so, even if we lost ALL of y’all, your families would be taken care of…. Small chance of that, though, I’m counting on the safety foam…. Either way, we’re going in, and we’re going in NOW….. Somebody hold on to the chickens, would you?….. We don’t want them to fly up in the pilot’s eyes just now….

Shall we Pearl?

“We will now discuss in a little more detail the Struggle for Existence.” — Charles Darwin (1809-1882) — The Origin of Species, Chap. iii

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

The-Twilight-Zone-the-twilight-zone-1054422_1280_1024

Today’s video selection is more than meets the eye…. Yes, I know such is often the case here on ECR, where we play fast and loose with metaphor, not to mention how we treat the slippery slopes of Reality; today, it’s even more true…. Little introduction is needed for this one, as everyone in our culture knows The Zone. Anyone who doesn’t is either younger than five, or has been living in a cave for a long while…. Besides, it fits in perfectly with my mood today…. which is, to say the least, a bit strange…. Enjoy your little trip into fantasy, ffolkes….

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

The Twilight Zone

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

http://youtu.be/HVtic8OQaHQ?list=PLYkG4AyFVMHK4d9VDUH1EwaMrYaAHl3jy

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

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

As related in yesterday’s intro, I went to meet my newest grandchild. I got some pix, but, they’ll need some editing, as the lighting wasn’t the best. Here are the three best, which you may treat as a sublimation of today’s usual rant…. Lucky you…. Ffolkes, here is Zoey, with her dad, and her grandpa, doing what she currently does best…. (Mom & the sisters weren’t up yet….)

Much better than a rant, eh?…. Short, and sweet….

All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.

~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 289 ~~

So be it.

gigoid has spoken

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

Since I’m so late, I’m filling in from the archives, just because I can….

Ah Ain’t Sho, but Mebbe So….

Fried eggs got nuthin’ on me
Ah’m not even sure of mah name,
or how Ah come to be;
no idea from where Ah came.

Ah does like a mystery tho’,
puzzlin’ things out so’s Ah knows,
good from bad fo sho,
Ah sho don’t want no rock pillows.

If’n Ah cain’t figure out what’s best,
Ah just falls back on mah Daddy’s words,
seems he knowed just whut’d stand the test,
‘n how to gentle the scaredest birds.

‘Course, he’d lived a good long time,
‘n had lots of stuff go on by;
Went to a war, n’ lost a piece or two,
never once used it fer an alibi.

He tol’ me once Ah’d best learn to learn,
school’s only cool if ya ain’t already a fool.
Yer own good measure you can earn,
by startin’ yer learnin’ with the Golden Rule.

Always seemed to me as Ah growed up,
he mostly only spoke if it wuz true,
‘n by doin’ that clued me to what’s up,
kept me from stuff that’d a made me blue.

Without ever sayin’ the word itself,
Ah learned ’bout honor, ‘n helpin’ others
not some fake stuff from some shelf,
but, knowin’ whut’s right, ‘n that we’re all brothers.

Ah’ve been around long enough now, Ah think
to get around the block at least two times.
I s’pose long as my head don’t shrink
Ah’ll keep on doin’ right, ‘n makin’ these rhymes…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

In case y’all couldn’t tell, I pretty much gave up on this Pearl a while back…. For some of you, there was a clue; for others, a higher degree of confusion was the most probable result, if not outright nausea. However, I will now proceed to hand over the reins to SB for the final section, so, you can’t blame this one on me….. Let’s see what happens….

“If what the philosophers say be true,–that all men’s actions proceed from one source; that as they assent from a persuasion that a thing is so, and dissent from a persuasion that it is not, and suspend their judgment from a persuasion that it is uncertain,–so likewise they seek a thing from a persuasion that it is for their advantage.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xviii

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.” — Roger Miller

“Man is not disturbed about things, but by his opinion about things.” — Epictetus

“Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil.” — Lazarus Long

“Thou seest how few be the things, the which if a man has at his command his life flows gently on and is divine.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ii, 5

“The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), What Is Man? (1906)

“On the other hand, life can be an endless parade of TRANSSEXUAL QUILTING BEES aboard a cruise ship to DISNEY WORLD if only we let it!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, well…. not too bad, I think. The last line MAY have pushed it over the top. but, otherwise, I’d say it works just fine as an appropriate ending note for today’s misshapen mess…. I believe, as well, one more pearl is necessary, to make this a truly unique, eight-star pearl, while simultaneously bringing it to a complete, crashing halt….

“Nobody leaves here till they sing the blues.” — Albert King, to Elizabeth Shue, in “Adventures in Babysitting”

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

I would be derelict in my duty to comment upon this Pearl, as is patently obvious. In fact, I’m going to bail right here, and right now. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, hopefully in a more timely fashion….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

We boil the spread sheets, but, all clip art gets baked….

Posted on December 5, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Nothing can be done at once hastily and prudently.”

~~ Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 557 ~~

I’ve been using a lot of space photos lately; this one is an artist’s rendering of the newest NASA manned spaceflight capsule, the Orion, as it docks at the ISS. Having always been a space flight enthusiast, an amateur astronomer, and a reader of science fiction, it all fascinates me. I had originally intended to study astronomy or astrophysics in college, and always wanted to be an astronaut, every since the very first manned flights, back in the early 60’s….. I even made a personal vow, at age 11, that I would not die on Earth, but, would be buried on another planet, even if only the Moon…. A bit fanciful, but, I still mean to try to survive long enough to get off Earth at least once….

Chances are getting slim that will ever happen, but, hey, a man has to have a dream, right? My dreams these days involve survival of the species, mostly, as that seems to me to be our most pressing circumstance, as humans…. We don’t have much time left, if any, to make an effort to establish ourselves on another planet, or planetoid, by which, I refer to moons, asteroids, comets, etc…. There are lots of places in our solar system containing abundant natural resources, easy enough for us to find and utilize, though not all of them are other planets…. In fact, there are fewer obstacles to overcome in order to colonize the asteroids than we may encounter trying to live on Mars…. It is amazing how much EASIER it is to live without gravity getting in the way, technologically speaking…..

Whether we try to establish colonies on Mars, the asteroids, our own Moon, Luna, or the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus, (of which there are more than a hundred….), it is becoming more imperative each day that we make some sort of decision, and get started on doing so, without any further delay….. We don’t have a lot of time before living on this planet will become an even greater technological challenge than living in space, with no gravity, and abundant solar and nuclear power, an existence made much easier to maintain than here on Earth. where we will see the necessity to find or manufacture our own air, food, and water…. None of these are impossible tasks, but, they won’t happen unless we first admit the danger, and the necessity to establish more bases for humanity to survive, in various points around the solar system…. If we continue to confine ourselves to one planet, we won’t survive at all….

Okay, I’ve now ranted, though it may not seem as if I have…. It sort of crept up on all of us I think…. After looking over what I’ve written above, I can’t say there is anything missing, or flawed, so, it will do, both as an intro, and as a mini-rant…. I didn’t mean to start out so strongly, but, the picture got me going; a view of the infinity of space will always stimulate my mind’s eye, pointing it toward the possible futures we may experience…. The planetary environmental crisis here on Earth is worsening each day, with new weather patterns being noted all over the world…. The coming year is predicted to be the warmest our planet has EVER experienced, according to all the historical and environmental evidence there is to be found, and we still don’t know how that will affect us, or the rest of our planet’s ecological balance…

Before I hare off in another direction, with a new rant on a new, related issue, I think I’ll take this opportunity to get us out of the intro, and down the line to the video section…. Today’s Pearl is going to be a fairly fresh one, even if the rant section may have to go with an archived piece; I don’t like to rant twice, and this is already enough to make ffolkes uneasy, I’m sure…. We’ll see how it goes when I get there…. for now, I see our turn coming up, so, put your liquid refreshments in their holders, tighten your belts, and hang on, because we’re going in…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.” — Oscar Wilde

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

Okay, so, what did you expect? More cats? No way; I don’t like to repeat myself…. Today, you get PUPPIES!….

The Cutest Puppies Compilation

http://youtu.be/amtuB-2wGeQ

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

I went through the news yesterday, where I found the BRC, and the Asininnies, to be in full control. The news is mostly concentrating on the race issues brought to the surface of the nation’s attention, stimulated by the recent court failures to prosecute police officers who kill citizens. While this is, of course, an issue that must be addressed, it does focus attention elsewhere than on the actions of our leaders, thus giving them the time and space to hide their true agendas from public view, by acting clandestinely to secure their aims…. The lack of any other news of significance is a sure sign that things are worse than they seem….

So much so, I am unable to find a reason to rant…. Oh, it’s not as if there isn’t any subject to rant about; the problem is that there are too MANY subjects to choose from, each of which represents yet another way the predators who prey on society are displaying their lack of compassion for any of the other members of their species, using them simply as a means of consolidating their own powers. To anyone with more than two neurons working together, it is quite obvious; to those who base their lives on accepting what they are told, nothing is amiss, at all…. After all, it’s Christmas, right?

Rather than spend eight or ten paragraphs trying, once again, to bring their chicanery to the attention of anyone happening by to read, I’m putting together an old-school indictment, to indicate to those who come by, exactly where they can see for themselves just how badly we are all being screwed, by those who would have us believe in their altruism…. which, in fact, does not exist at all…. So, here are some observations about those assholes who would be king…. Pay close attention, ffolkes, and any of you folks who might see this; it’s all true as the day….. Let’s see how vicious we can be this early in the day, shall we?….

One murder made a villain,
Millions a hero. Princes were privileged
To kill, and numbers sanctified the crime.

~~ Beilby Porteus (1731-1808) — Death, Line 154 ~~

“The truth is often a terrible weapon of aggression. It is possible to lie, and even to murder, with the truth.” — Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

“The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president? What is it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of industrial waste?” — Dave Barry, On Presidential Politics

“The American Republic and American business are Siamese twins; they came out of the same womb at the same time; they are born in the same principles, and when American business dies, the American republic will die, and when the American Republic dies, American business will die.” — Josiah W. Bailey

“In many if not most elections, the consequences come to about the same result as two bald men fighting over a comb. Whichever one gets elected is going to commission the design of a new comb, and it is going to be expensive. Of course, most government expenditures are not as significant as the purchase of a new comb, but the point is made.” — Smart Bee

JUSTICE, n. A commodity which is a more or less adulterated condition the State sells to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance, taxes and personal service. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perennially rejuvenated illusions.” — Albert Einstein

And remember, let’s do it to them before they do it to us. — Final line, US Senate Oath of Office

“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 (1809-1882)

“Giving power and money to the government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” — P.J. O’Rourke, former Gulf War correspondent, summing up what he learned during two years of research on how our government functions

“It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Cleveland Press, 3/1/21

Well, it took eleven pearls, but, I think we finally achieved the proper degree of disdain and vituperation…. If not, we can always try again tomorrow….

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

Just to keep this all in my court, here is another old one of my own….

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 ~~

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

Okay, not bad…. All that is left now is to put together an old school pearl…. I’m getting a bit dazed and confused; it happens sometimes when the news is making me nervous with its lack of stuff to write about; I’m always concerned the Asininnies are busy behind the scenes, preparing more nasty surprises for us, usually springing their crap on Monday mornings, when everyone is busy worrying about getting back to work…. I think I’ll let Smart Bee pick out the rest…. I’ve chosen the the first two pearls, and SB will choose the other five; for fun, you can try to pick out the two I put in, to see if it is as obvious to you as it is to me…. or, you may just enjoy them, taking the meaning as you may….

“If I do not do it now, when shall I do it?” — Dogen Zenji

“Anacharsis said a man’s felicity consists not in the outward and visible favours and blessings of Fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men, 11

“Here is the beginning of philosophy: a recognition of the conflicts between men, a search for their cause, a condemnation of mere opinion, and the discovery of a standard of judgment.” — Epictetus

“If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.” — Confucius

“Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing.” — Walt Kelly, Putluck Pogo

Well…. There you go. A nearly perfect five-star pearl, to balance the eleven-star version above…. of which I will say this; I could have made that one even longer. There seems to be no end of quotes vilifying the Asininnies; they’ve been a pain in society’s collective ass for a long time… But. these five sparkling gems almost balance out the dirt they tend to toss around….

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

Okay, so much for another morning…. Given the amount of pain in my hands and shoulder, I’m astounded I got this done at all…. I have yet to proof it, but, it felt as if it actually had something worthwhile to say, even if it didn’t say it as well as I might like… Nonetheless, it got said, so, that will have to do for another day…. Living up to that initial quote, from our old friend, Publius Syrus, was harder than it seemed; still, perseverance, as is its habit, managed to win the day…. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Well, that’s my intention, anyway….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

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

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