Tag Archives: Death

Dithering on the Wine…..

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Ffolkes,
Circumstances have conspired against me today, and will have an effect on this Pearl, so I’m notifying y’all ahead of time to tread carefully. I’m putting this together in  hurry, and won’t have time to watch for the sharp edges that can be formulated. Normally, I will edit my material for such obstacles to comfortable reading, but I won’t have time today for that, so you are on your own…. just handle it gently & all should be okay… they usually don’t bite without provocation..

Later this morning I’m taking off to go stay at my friend’s house overnight….. I’ll be spending the most time away from my house in over a year, so it’s got me all in a dither (hence today’s title…. it’s actually connected, sort of…. in a way…. kind of….maybe….) I hardly know what to do with myself…. it’s a damn good thing I have coffee, or I’d be completely discombobulated….. which is such a great word, I don’t think I mind being it, as long as I get to use it in a sentence…. That means that when I pull myself together, I will be fully combobulated, right? Gads! I love English….

All that being said, let’s dive right in & see what I can come up with in the midst of all this rush…. Shall we Pearl?….
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“But Aristarchus of Samos brought out a book consisting of certain hypotheses, in which the premises lead to the conclusion that the universe is many times greater than that now so called.  His hypotheses are that the fixed stars and the sun remain motionless, that the earth revolves about the sun in the circumference of a circle, the sun lying in the middle of the orbit, and that the sphere of the fixed stars, situated about the same center as the sun, is so great that the circle in which he supposes the earth to revolve bears such a proportion to the distance of the fixed stars as the center of the sphere bears to its surface.” — Archimedes, The Sand-Reckoner, Third Century B.C.

I love reading about the early days of scientific inquiry. One of the most telling points, though, lies in examination of this kind of discovery. It is clear that Aristarchus was proposing a new thought for the time, one that Archimedes relates as being opposite to the currently held beliefs….. This idea, though radical, had the advantage of being true, but even with that, it did not become commonly known until the same theory was proposed, and proved, by Copernicus, many centuries later. (Even with its proof provided, it was challenged by those famously tolerant, self-appointed guardians of public morality, Catholic Church officials, the Pope’s myrmidons, who were gleefully busy killing knowledge, and lots of people, with the The Grand Inquisition just about then….)

My point here is one that I could belabor, but let’s cut to the chase…. the people who run the churches in the world, along with their co-conspirators, the beloved ruling class, make it a habit to try to stifle any new scientific knowledge that is published anywhere in the world, if it appears to be contradictory to what they would have you believe. Back at the time of Archimedes, just after the beginning of the first millennium of modern history, this kind of knowledge was slow to spread, with the spread being further slowed by the priests as much as they could.

Today, we are witnessing much the same, but now the controversy is over the theory of evolution, and global warming. Both of these concepts are under attack by the powers that run the churches, and by the government. Neither of these two entities can afford for these ideas to become common accepted knowledge, for they bear serious implications about the presence or absence of a diving being in the universe, a subject upon which they will brook no argument.

Accepting either one of these theories will mean accepting both, for they are intricately connected, and the churches cannot allow that. They cannot have people actually believing that they are responsible for their own actions, that we are NOT the crown of creation, and that human nature absolutely MUST change in order to keep these fools from killing all of us, an event that is made certain, if we don’t heed the call……

gigoid has spoken….
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I died for beauty but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
“For beauty,” I replied.
“And I for truth,–the two are one;
We brethren are,” he said.

And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.

Emily Dickinson

Not bad for a quick-find…. it even kind of fits in with today’s ambiance, I think…. Onward!…..
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“I used to sit on the banks with a raft and watch the water roll lazily by. One day I pushed my raft into the shallows of the water and found the water moved swifter than I thought, but my raft was actually a little rowboat. Then, after some time, I rowed my little boat into deeper water. There were great storms, mighty winds, tremendous waves, and sometimes I felt so alone. But I have noticed my little rowboat is now a mighty ship manned by my friends and loved ones, and beautiful calm seas, warm sunny days, and nights filled with comfortable dreams always double after a storm. Now, I could never go back and sit on the bank, in fact, I search for deeper water. Such is life when lived.” — B D Gulledge

I’m not going to go into any long discussion here, as I believe this has adequately described how I feel about life. It goes along with another thought, to wit: ” You can live life like a turtle, pulling back and hiding whenever threatened, and always going slowly to avoid risks. Or, you can live like a tiger, and head out into the day to see what it will bring for us to discover, meeting the challenges with courage and skill” (from “Rite of Passage” by Alexi & Corey Panshin).

To me, this point is so clear, that I can leave this right here, and know that you have understood what I am saying….. So, how will you live Life?…. Sitting on the banks, or wandering the wide oceans? Will you live as a turtle, or as a tiger?….. The answer only matters to yourself, but it MUST be answered, so consider well your choices….. Shallow and safe, or deep and glorious?   It’s your choice, but you MUST choose….
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All things considered, this isn’t bad. Thrown together in half the usual time, too!  Hmm….. makes me wonder a bit if I need to trim down the daily process, so it runs faster like this all the time…. Nah! I like to procrastinate, it comes naturally to me, and since there is no actual deadline, we’ll stay with the random, time-tested methods from now on…. In the meantime, y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Measuring the Waves of Active Ingredients….

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Ffolkes,
The future has arrived, early. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m not quite ready for this. Especially when it’s tied up like this with a pretty bow; it only makes it look sleazy, not classy. And, of course, there’s no user’s manual…. how are we supposed to even get this thing running without a manual? When you open the box, a process not aided by the presence of the aforementioned big bow, 277 oddly shaped parts fall out, with no diagram, no labels, no screws or other fasteners, and, of course, no manual. Says here it was shipped by the Acme Future Shock company, St. Louis, Mo….. whoever they are….

Ah well, what’s one more incomplete project laying around? I’ll just kick all these weirdly shaped pieces of plastic into the corner over here, and….. there….. Voilá, organization strikes again….. Now, where were we? Ah yes, nowhere…. a place with which I’ve become very familiar in recent months, having been beguiled into getting off the bus there a couple of times. It’s the kind of place you don’t forget, as it isn’t the most pleasant of environs, and tends to wear thin after almost no time at all…. I’m just not a happy camper without something to read, and there ain’t nothing like that nowhere, no how….

Since there is nothing here to tempt us to stay, I suggest we get on with the normal business of the day, and go find some oysters to torment…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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From an Essay on Man

Heav’n from all creatures hides the book of fate,
All but the page prescrib’d, their present state:
From brutes what men, from men what spirits know:
Or who could suffer being here below?
The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed today,
Had he thy reason, would he skip and play?
Pleas’d to the last, he crops the flow’ry food,
And licks the hand just rais’d to shed his blood.
Oh blindness to the future! kindly giv’n,
That each may fill the circle mark’d by Heav’n:
Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish, or a sparrow fall,
Atoms or systems into ruin hurl’d,
And now a bubble burst, and now a world.

Hope humbly then; with trembling pinions soar;
Wait the great teacher Death; and God adore.
What future bliss, he gives not thee to know,
But gives that hope to be thy blessing now.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

Lo! the poor Indian, whose untutor’d mind
Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind;
His soul, proud science never taught to stray
Far as the solar walk, or milky way;
Yet simple nature to his hope has giv’n,
Behind the cloud topp’d hill, an humbler heav’n;
Some safer world in depth of woods embrac’d,
Some happier island in the wat’ry waste,
Where slaves once more their native land behold,
No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold.
To be, contents his natural desire,
He asks no angel’s wing, no seraph’s fire;
But thinks, admitted to that equal sky.

Alexander Pope

Pearls of Virtual Wisdom are as random as I can make them, and today, that impulse called for me to start by bringing in something classic from Mr. Pope, one of the most quoted men in history…. Far be it from me to buck a trend…. or trend a buck, for that matter….  Enjoy!
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What we have here is a failure to…. wait, that’s been done…. Okay, here, I found it in the script…. What we have below is an old-school Sesame Street style pearl…. Taken together, in the order given, and with a relatively open mind, these quotes will lead one to the Thought For Today. If they don’t, well, that’s okay, too…. Once again, as we are going old-school, this will not be on the test….

“But a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their oppressors in Church and State.” — Thomas Jefferson, [letter?] To S. Kercheval, 1810

“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” — Thomas Paine

“One sure way to determine the social conscience of a Government is to examine the way taxes are collected and how they are spent.  And one sure way to determine the social conscience of an individual is to get his tax-reaction.  Taxes, after all, are the dues that we pay  for the privileges of membership in an organized society.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, campaign address, — Worcester, Mass., Oct. 21, 1936.

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.” — Thomas Babington Macaulay

“When I was made presidential press secretary my father sent me a telegram: “Always tell the truth. If you can’t always tell the truth, don’t lie.” — Bill Moyers

“What is left when honour is lost?” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 265

What, indeed….. on that note, onward…..
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When it comes to learning how to get along with the differences we all have with each other, animals have it all over humans…. I know I have used this before, probably to make the same point, so….here is a picture I found on Facebook, that furnishes graphic proof of that assertion……
    Four species, all dreaming the same dream…. one of peace and beauty, with love as the basic coin of the realm…..
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So, there is less than usual of my particular brand of drivel today…. There are reasons for that; while intensely relevant to me, listing them here would no doubt bore y’all to tears…. Better to let this go out as is…. I’ll be posting again later today, anyway….

Mr. Crusher, make it so…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Objectionable nuns on parade….

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Ffolkes,
Once more, I find myself staring at the screen with an empty head, hoping for inspiration to strike. Apparently, hope isn’t enough….. I know, I’ll start off with some fiction….

Once upon a time, there was a young man who didn’t want to grow old. He did everything he could think of to keep from growing into an adult, but reality would not cooperate, so he ended up pretty much like everyone else…. an adult, with a job, and the whole nine yards. He thought being an adult would be okay; they certainly have more options than kids. But, he was quite certain that he didn’t want to grow old, and made up his mind to do something about it….

He read books about aging, and did all he could do to stop the march of time. He used specially made soaps, and ate only certain foods. He went to bed early, got up early, and ate a balanced diet. He never took chances, going so far as to never ride in cars, trains, airplanes, or buses, so he wouldn’t die in a crash. He avoided stressful activities. He prayed. He tried every new product that claimed to prolong life. He did everything he could think of to keep from growing old….. and guess what?  He got old………

I know, I know, pretty cheap, going for the easy laugh, but it kind of got away from me, and I had to do something to end it, or it would have gone on for pages and pages. We’d never get done with this Pearl if I let that happen….. And speaking of Pearls, it’s probably best now if we just get on with it. Goodness knows we’ve wasted enough time on this! Shall we Pearl?…..
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This will be an unusual Pearl…. structured like no other. Old school, yet brand new…. let’s see if it works….

“I can see stopping a car for a dog.  But a cat? You squish a cat and go on.  I think we’re over-complicating life.” — Iowa Democratic State Senator James Gallagher

I am having trouble with this statement…. there are just SO many wrong things in it.  I’m having a hard time with the fact that a U.S. Senator would utter such an incredibly STUPID statement. Especially considering he uses it as if it were some sort of actual argument in favor of whatever it is he is talking about. “Over-complicating life?”  How is that possible? The man has not a single clue about so much, it is difficult to decide where to start…. SIGH  He probably alternates his Sunday TV viewing between Wrestling Smackdown and NASCAR…..

Though man a thinking being is defined,
Few use the grand prerogative of mind.
How few think justly of the thinking few!
How many never think, who think they do!

— Jane Taylor (1783-1824) — Essays in Rhyme, (On Morals and Manners, Prejudice, ) Essay i, Stanza 45

I suppose I should just get over my surprise, and acknowledge the Senator’s statement as further proof of my assertion regarding people who seek public office. I’ve stated before that I think anyone who wants a job like that is already too crazy to give it to, and, not realizing that further indicates the public’s willingness to buy into the lies they tell to get into office. It’s not the way it SHOULD be, it’s just the way it is…. THIS is how it SHOULD be…..

“A man does not serve his country by canting, snuffling and marching in parades, he serves her by striving to make her clean, brave, just, intelligent and worthy of respect.” — H. L. Mencken, Baltimore _Evening Sun_, June 13, 1916

Clean, brave, just, intelligent, and worthy of respect….. The only one of these characteristics that I can believe about Mitt the Twitt is the first one, given that they are talking about showering, and not morals. If it refers to morals, the most accurate thing to say about Romney is that he has none at all.

He lies by every method available…. He makes it up. He gets it backwards. He takes it, and/or puts it, out of context. He pretends. He flip-flops from one belief, to the opposite, and back again, all in one day. There are documented examples of each of these types of lies, spewed by Mr. R at one time or another over the last few months, and I don’t think we’ve seen the end of his creativity in this arena yet….. he’ll find new ways to lie, just you wait…. He doesn’t even try to hide it most of the time, and never follows Twain’s advice….

“Get your facts first and then you can distort them as much as you wish.” — Mark Twain

Mitt is so good (or so he thinks…) he doesn’t even need the facts, as he proved when he couldn’t remember the name of the leader of the opposition he met in England, just a moment before….. instead he tried to cover his indifference to fact by calling the man “Mr. Leader”…..What a dolt! Remember the dog on top of the car trick he admitted to pulling?….

“The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s the essence of inhumanity.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Okay, that is enough. I can only take thinking about Romney in small doses; much longer and I’d be risking an attack of nausea….. But, never fear…. there are now 99 days until the election, and I’m not finished taking shots at Mitt the Twitt. He’s just too attractive a target to let it pass by without letting off a few rounds….    🙂
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I have previously brought you poems from este poeta, but this one is special. She amazes me time after time with the passion, the power, and the beauty of what she writes….. which is only matched by her own luminous eyes…. there is only one thing to do with pieces such as this, and that is…. Enjoy!

Obligating Hums

surely we’ve met in midair
sometime ago
your stubborn neck disregarded my smile
apologetically you stirred these mediums
the melancholic instruments attached to my head
on a solid oaken table we wrote
the aloofness of a spell
critiquing the crafty shapes
with your index finger you pointed at me
and shivered
i waited
and thickened your space very slowly
my voice reached your core
i knew then how bitter your loneliness was
tempting these souls to write
and with your little murmur
a flame in my chest i saw
i slowly began to weep
you stroke my head listening to me pray
softening my thoughts
the names that inhabit my soles
the steady pure familiar calm
the wind the golden faces inside this life of mine
designed for staying here
urging trumpets to melodically banner my heart tonight . . .

Mari Sanchez Cayuso

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“Humans hardly ever learn from the experience of others. They learn – when they do, which isn’t often – on their own, the hard way.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

Bob has certainly nailed that puppy right on the head this time…. (No, no, not a real puppy, just a metaphorical one…. good grief, get a grip! I wouldn’t do that to a real puppy, and neither would Bob….)  This is a deeply insightful observation on human nature, one I’m sure he learned, on his own, the hard way….  🙂     I would just like to add that there are humans who don’t learn at all, even the hard way…. we call them politicians….

Sure, I know, one would ask, “Why do you say that? Politicians SEEM to be smart, how would they do that if they don’t learn?” Well, maybe you wouldn’t ask, but that wouldn’t make a very good pearl, now would it? No…. so, I’ll explain to you, that what politicians display is called “low animal cunning”, and is a direct result of getting to the age they are by adaptation rather than actual learning.

By trial and error, they did learn, from a young age, to mimic those around them, copying the moves and lines that got them acceptance from their peers. Often, this cunning is enough, and they learn to mimic so well, it looks just like the real deal, i.e. they appear to learn, they seem like they can reason, etc., when in reality, it is all just a survival trait, based on their ability to adapt quickly……

This is why Mitt the Twitt has been having such a tough time overseas…. He really has no clue about why he even has to go over there, but his handlers, people who actually do engage in the reasoning process, told him he should, so he did.  It became apparent he was out of his depth before he even left for London. I’m sure his handlers were slapping their foreheads over that interview on NBC right before he left, in which he insulted most of the English people, and gave a little taste of the fun to follow, when he actually got to England….. What an idiot he is!….

Bob Heinlein’s statement above doesn’t just apply to politicians, and that is unfortunate. It seems that a lot of folks in this country are the same, and they have all adopted Mitt the Twitt as their savior, setting him up as the “Great White Hope”, the one who will save them from the trauma of having a black President. These folks don’t really even understand why they don’t like Obama, they just know he is black, and that is enough for them.

In this modern age, in a supposedly enlightened society, one would think racism has been eradicated….Unfortunately, it isn’t true…. racism never went away, it’s just not out in the open anymore….. The Ku Klux Klan has not disbanded, just because the law says they must…. they just went underground.

It may not be politically correct any more to display one’s bigotry, but that doesn’t mean it went away. The fact that it hasn’t serves as proof of what I’ve said before…. The only changes that will save this planet, and us, from dying out are changes in philosophy and belief. Humans need to change the way they look at the universe, in big ways and in small. We haven’t done a particularly good job at being the landlord of this planet; we need to learn how to be a good tenant, instead….

Instead of approaching life as one of God’s intended Lords of Creation, we need to see our real place in the environment, to realize that the rest of the universe is just as beautiful as we can be, and is merely waiting for us to realize our own place, not above the other creatures, but beside them, acting in concert….. We need to become part of the team of life on this planet, instead of trying to act as if we are the manager of the team…. or we are going to lose the game, joining T-Rex, the dodo, and Neanderthals on the list of failed experiments.

“The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking…the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind…  If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Me too…..
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Such as it is, so let it be…. Mr. Sulu, take us home…. Not a bad effort for being up so late, and rushing so hard to get done…. It will have to do…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Using crow feathers as currency…..

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Ffolkes,
Inside my head is probably not the best place to take a vacation, but at the moment, it’s all I can afford. I’m limited, of course, to those places I’ve actually been, in order to enjoy again the great stuff I did at those locales. I could also use my imagination, and visit places I haven’t been, but I can never be sure if the real thing would be better or worse, since I have no real data on it, beyond what I can find in books or online…..

The world wide web has certainly added a new dimension to vacationing, whether in your head, or actually going to a different spot on the planet. We now are able to access video footage and pictures, along with descriptions, and even prices, of the vacation spots all over the world, and all the amenities and attractions that are available to the traveler when they arrive.

Cruise lines now give virtual tours of their ships, showing the staterooms, dining, entertainment, and shopping venues that are on board to cater to the passengers. Resorts and hotels also may offer virtual tours of their facilities, so that the traveler can look at the sites themselves. This advance information is very useful for anyone planning a vacation, or planning travel of any kind….

So, maybe this year, since I can’t yet go to Ireland physically, I think I’ll take myself on  virtual tour of the Emerald Isle, and make plans to see the places I want to see when I eventually can go….. or I might skip the virtual stuff, and take a few virtual weeks at one of the spots that are in my head already…. It may not be the best time I’ve ever had, but at least it’s a place I know I can enjoy myself, and at a price I can live with…. Of course, I won’t get a very good tan, but at my age, I’m not overly concerned with that anymore…..

Since I’ve now probably bored you to distraction, it might be a good time to get on with the business for which we are gathered…. Shall we Pearl?……
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“But oh, the perils of leadership in a species so anxious to be told what to do. How little they know of what they create by their demands.Leaders make mistakes. And these mistakes, amplified by the numbers who follow without questioning, move inevitably towards great disaster.” — Smart Bee

I don’t know who said this, but he sure nailed today’s political scene with it; it’s a perfect example of what is taking place in the Republican party this year. Or it will be, if they decide at last that Mitt the Twitt is their guy. The people who are ignorant enough to follow him are those in our society who earnestly place their complete trust in whoever tells them what they want to hear, and expect that person to fulfill that trust. Of course, they never do, but they are all in denial regarding most of reality, anyway….

According to the latest new reports, 44% of Republicans say that Mitt Romney should stop hiding, and publish his tax returns, as is the habit of all Presidential candidates, to show that they are transparent, and committed to honoring the tax laws. The longer he delays in doing so, the greater the outcry, which is now at high volume.

Of course, it is obvious that what those returns will show he has been consistently lying to the public regarding his income, among other things, and really has no connection with anyone who isn’t as wealthy as he is. The issue has grown to such proportions that his support base is beginning to crumble, and all this is taking place BEFORE he has been officially chosen to represent the GOP in the election.

What will happen if he continues to blow himself up, if his support deserts him until he no longer has enough votes to secure the nomination? Your guess is as good as mine, but I would bet serious money that there are a bunch of GOP party hacks, the cronies who actually run the party, sitting in some dark room, making contingency plans for just that possibility…..because the possibility gains more strength each day that the Twitt continues his delusional behavior.

Why do I say delusional? Well, because, by definition, it is just that…. He believes that he can continue to hide his money and tax record, and still maintain the level of support he needs for the nomination. Real, factual evidence is plentiful that this just isn’t true; his support is growing smaller and more restless each day. Holding on to a belief, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, is delusional, by definition.

The question now is, if Romney continues to kill his own campaign, who is out there to replace him? Obviously, none of the other candidates who participated in the round of GOP primaries gathered enough support to defeat the Twitt, so one question is whether any of them CAN regain the support of his former followers. If not, then who is out there who can?

I have no idea, but I’m definitely enjoying the spectacle, of a man with a delusional system as big as his ego blow himself up into little tiny pieces. I’m also rather enjoying observing the general decline of the GOP, as it falls into complete disarray …. As a welcome side effect, I’m feeling a whole lot more hopeful about the November election…… and so should everyone else, for having thus far dodged a bullet…
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A Crazed Girl

That crazed girl improvising her music.
Her poetry, dancing upon the shore,

Her soul in division from itself
Climbing, falling She knew not where,
Hiding amid the cargo of a steamship,
Her knee-cap broken, that girl I declare
A beautiful lofty thing, or a thing
Heroically lost, heroically found.

No matter what disaster occurred
She stood in desperate music wound,
Wound, wound, and she made in her triumph
Where the bales and the baskets lay
No common intelligible sound
But sang, ‘O sea-starved, hungry sea.’

William Butler Yeats

I started to try to write a poem this morning, but after about 35 minutes, I decided to give up, as my hair was being pulled out at an alarming rate, and I don’t have all that much to spare… So, I am falling back on that old favorite, of mine and most of the English speaking world, Willie Yeats, who has, to my knowledge, never written a bad poem…. Of course, all the bad ones no doubt ended up in some Irish fireplace, but still….. not bad, not bad at all….
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Gun Control – the belief that government, with its great wisdom and moral superiority, can be trusted with a monopoly on deadly force. — Smart Bee

This short statement, which I sadly found unattributed, states perfectly why I resist all the efforts that people make to change my feelings about guns, and how society should deal with them. In 61+ years, I have never seen even one convincing argument that can even tempt me to believe that the government of this country is either morally superior or possesses great wisdom. In fact, all of the evidence I can find tells me the exact opposite.

If any of these people, advocating that all guns should be made illegal to possess by a common citizen, can provide me with ANYTHING, just one thing, that indicates that I am wrong in this matter, then let them show it. I’ve seen NOTHING that tells me that the government has ANY morals or ANY wisdom…. and I’m supposed to trust them with guns? I would as soon turn my back on a hungry leopard…..

I’m serious about this, as most of us are when speaking of deadly force and weaponry. But what I meant is, I am serious in my invitation to the people who advocate gun control,which I happen to believe in; my definition is just a bit different than the common conception. But, if they can provide me with even one piece of information to support their belief, then I’m willing to listen to it, and consider its validity, or lack of same. I’m fairly certain they cannot, or will not, do so, but I try to keep my mind open to new information. They have not provided any….

I don’t think that common citizens NEED to own automatic assault rifles, or bazookas, or tanks. But, access to these types of weapons CAN be regulated, in such a way, and firmly enough, that the number of people who obtain them for nefarious purposes, such as what happened in Aurora, Colorado recently, is reduced. (And in Orange county…. you just didn’t notice that near massacre because it was the police doing the shooting…. at scared women and children….) I would support requiring that a person wishing to obtain such weapons undergo psychiatric testing, and can also go along with registering the guns so the police know where they are, and how many. Regulation is possible, and in the case of weapons capable of mass mayhem, desirable, to my mind.

But, I DO NOT believe, for even one second, that any government in the world, including this one, can be trusted with a monopoly on deadly force… from that point to tyranny and slavery is one short step, as has been amply demonstrated throughout our species’ bloody, violent history.

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We have all heard this, from the time we were small. It is a truism that nobody even bothers to try to disprove, as it has been proven to be true so many, many times, and it is so widely accepted as truth, no one even knows anymore who said it first.

So, when I hear the outcry that always comes after an incident like the one in Colorado, shouting that “guns are bad”, and “get rid of the guns”, I sigh, and shake my head, and wonder at the naivete of the people who believe that the government could be trusted with that kind of power. But, I guess it’s no more naive than the folks who believe that Mitt the Twitt wants to help make their life better…. and no less dangerous a belief to hold…..

“Remember kids, if there’s a loaded gun in the room, be sure that you’re the one holding it.” — Captain Combat
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Not a bad morning’s work, if I do say…. I’m content with it. Before I can come to my senses, I’m going to post it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

He has a real flair for semantics…..

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5

Ffolkes,
Little spinning lights are dancing, dancing, far into the night. They have no partners, they dance alone, footsteps lightly tapping, tapping, echoes chase each other around. There is no music, no lilting melody, no booming bass, no triumphant horns, no weeping violins. There are only the spinning lights, dancing, dancing, far into the night….

Your guess is as good as mine…. I have no clue where that came from, or what it means. It may sound like a sham, but it’s true. I don’t know what any of it is supposed to mean. I just started typing, and that is what came out. It’s nowhere near as good as yesterday’s rude pixie, but it has a certain charm, stemming most likely from its very inscrutability.

When we read something like that, we tend to try to apply some kind of meaning to it, try to make it fit inside the rules of existence we acknowledge as our own reality. Well, good luck with that on this one…. it will be hard to ascribe meaning to something that deliberately has none….. but you’re welcome to try….

When you’ve finished playing around with the nonsense paragraph, maybe we could think about diving for some pearls. It is, after all, what we are here for, is it not? Why yes, yes it is….. okay, let’s go Pearl >>>>>>  Hmm, I kind of like those little arrowheads…. I think I’ll start using them more….. shall we Pearl?…..
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“The essence of Christianity is told us in the Garden of Eden history. The fruit that was forbidden was on the tree of knowledge. The subtext is, All the suffering you have is because you wanted to find out what was going on. You could be in the Garden of Eden if you had just keep your fucking mouth shut and hadn’t asked any questions.” — Frank Zappa Playboy Interview, April 1993

Good ol’ Frankie Z….. one of the twentieth century’s most acerbic, and accurate, social critics. He was, like most good prophets and philosophers, not well known during his own lifetime, at least not by the mainstream culture. He makes a point here that I have mentioned in numerous essays here on this blog, to wit: Christianity is a religion based on deception and lies, and has as it’s primary purpose the goal of keeping mankind as ignorant as possible, so that they may be more easily manipulated. Now, that may not sound like the goals that the heads of the church will admit to pursuing, but, taken in the context of the story of Genesis and the Garden of Eden, it becomes patently obvious that it is the truth.

Why else would it be a sin to seek knowledge? What possible reason could there be for the events that reportedly took place, if not to establish the original lie as truth? That is the sole purpose of that story, to convince people that trying to think will only make things worse. In this way, the church establishes itself as the sole authority for mankind, and plants the idea that the only people who are speaking the truth are the priests…. at least, that’s what they want you to believe….

The truth, of course, is that seeking knowledge is no sin at all. As a matter of fact, it is the one thing that will provide us with the answers we will need to find in order to overcome the foolishness, and the mess, that over 2000 years of wrong thinking has created. The elitism that is fomented as a result of the Christian model is possibly the worst thing that could have happened, as it gave a sense of entitlement to people who have no concern for others, telling them “you are the Lords of Creation… go forth and multiply, until there are so many of you, civilization will collapse under its own weight.”

Well, maybe not the last part, but the first part, the assumption of the mantle of Lord of the Beasts, has been a part of Christian beliefs since the beginning, and that single concept is what is killing the planet, and our own species. People believe that whatever they want to do is okay, no matter how destructive to other life forms it may be.

To those who feel themselves to be part of the elite, it is okay to level tropical rain forest to make room for new strip malls, with another McDonald’s, a movie theater, and some nice boutiques…. Never mind that cutting down any more rain forest area will cause the level of oxygen in the atmosphere to drop. It doesn’t matter to a Lord of Creation, because God said it was okay….

Well, guess what, kids…. it’s not okay. Continuing to exhibit the same patterns of behavior we have shown for the last 5000 or so years is leading us straight into the depths of hell, by altering the environment in ways that will ultimately make it unlivable for us. The time is closer than people realize, when there won’t be enough oxygen in the atmosphere to give us what we need to breathe. By the year 2050, the wearing of oxygen masks will be necessary if one wishes to go out of doors, because the air won’t support our life form’s needed levels of gases. We will be living in air that is mostly carbon monoxide, and struggling just to stay alive….

But, hey, that’s okay, because God said so….. and it’s a sin to go against what God says, right?…..

Although a man may wear fine clothing, if he lives peacefully; and is good, self-possessed, has faith and is pure; and if he does not hurt any living being, he is a holy man… — The Dhammapada (c. B.C. 300)
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When I was a Senior Psychiatric Technician, I spent about three years working with a group of individuals who were elderly, non-ambulatory, physically fragile, and developmentally disabled. They required complete nursing care 24/7, including feeding, bathing, dressing, getting out of bed, and were provided with all types of psychosocial activities…

It’s hard work, but very rewarding in a lot of ways. When working with so many disabled people, it is easy to become callous, and to start to look at them as less than people…. until being reminded of their humanity, by something like this…. I found this posted on Facebook….

An old man in Australia died while living in a nursing care home. When the nurses were going through his things, they found the following poem, and started it on a journey that has taken it around the entire world…. it is a statement, and a plea, written by an old man who knew he was going to die…… I started weeping in empathy at line seven, and I think you will, too…….

Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you’re looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . … . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .’I do wish you’d try!’
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . … lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you’re thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you’re not looking at me.
I’ll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he’ll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don’t mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. …Babies play ’round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future … . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I’ve known.
I’m now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It’s jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. …. . ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!  PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM (originally written by Dave Griffith)
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He’s got his own train of thought, and no one’s aboard. — Smart Bee

See, I was cruising through my quote database, looking for something to write about this morning, and this little piece kept popping up. The third time is showed itself, I thought to myself, “Self, that’s a sign!” , and copied it down for use. Now that it is here, on the screen, the only thing I can think of to write about is the one person in the public eye these days who most resembles this remark….. Can you guess who that might be?….

Yup, you’re right…. Mitt the Twitt. He is the perfect candidate for the Republicans…. he doesn’t flinch at lying his head off, he’s rich enough to afford the right clothes, and he doesn’t have an original thought in his entire head. He is the perfect mouthpiece for the rich, white, misogynistic bigots who are backing him, because he has already shown that he is a master of denial, and won’t hesitate to change his mind right in the middle of a thought. He has proven himself to be just their kind of guy….

I’m not going to turn this into a rant of any great length. I’ve already made clear my opinion of the Twitt and his cronies, and to do so further would no doubt bore us both to tears…. So, just consider this a fully developed rant, with the advantage of not having to take ten minutes to digest all the stuff I usually throw out there for consumption. I have denigrated him and his ilk sufficiently for one day, and would like to save anything else I have to use another day down the line…. just remember what Tommy Toilet says, ffolkes, “Always remember to wipe thoroughly; rectal itch is no picnic!” And, always remember to wash up after partaking of any political discussion; the parts that splash around can be toxic…..
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Strangely enough, I think this came out okay. I wasn’t sure there for awhile, but it kind of fell together there at the end….. All is well…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Consequently, she didn’t moult that year….

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8

Ffolkes,
Pixies were pulling at my hair, but my head was pounding like a hammer on an anvil, and I didn’t want to sit up. I opened my eyes, to be greeted by the sight of the ugliest little person I’d ever seen. He (that’s right, he….apparently, there are male pixies, too) wasn’t real happy, if his expression was any indication. Hovering about two feet away, ragged old-grey wings flapping, with a mop of fly-away hair and an ill fitting tunic, chewing on the stub of a nasty smelling cigar, he looked like a miniature punk leprechaun with a bad attitude, and sounded like a manic frog…..

“You great lout! Get your bloody arse off my front door, you bleeding idjit!” I looked around, and saw that I had ended my previous night’s drunken stroll through the Irish countryside at the foot of a great old oak, inadvertently blocking the entrance to the angry imp’s house in the base of the tree. My befuddled brain finally kicked in, and I realized I was in a very unstable position, and had best be careful…. Pixies are not known for the sweetness of their disposition, and can be vengeful when crossed. I tried out a tentative smile, and clearing my throat, rumbled out, “Top o’the morning to you, kind sir!”  The pixie folded his arms, tapped his foot, and just glared at me….. I got the feeling he wasn’t in a particularly friendly mood…. a feeling that was justified, as he proceeded to turn me into a donkey…..

Enough of that…. he deserves whatever happens to him, the bozo, for getting so drunk he didn’t watch what he was up to.  Never a good policy in pixie country…… but it got me through the initial stages of today’s Pearl, so that is a good thing. Theoretically, anyway….. Now that the nonsense has had its moment, we can get on with our scheduled dive….. shall we Pearl?…..
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There is always a second right answer.  Look beyond the obvious. — Smart Bee

I am glad that I found this quote this morning. I was looking for something to go with a discussion around the events that took place in Colorado yesterday, wherein a young man shot and killed 12 people, and injured many others, before being subdued and arrested. I have not engaged in reading any of the stories about it, as they all follow the same pattern, and repeat the same cliches trying to describe the horror of the scenario, and to describe the terror felt by the victims. The news coverage of events of this nature vary little from one to the next; the only difference lies in the number of victims, and the place it occurred.

I don’t watch the stories, but the headlines always give enough information to satisfy my level of curiosity. The part of these events that interests me is always the amount of outrage and dismay that is expressed by those who are not even involved. People from all over the world will write articles condemning guns, or lamenting the victims, or expressing sorrow, or otherwise giving their reaction to the story. One of the reactions that is common after an event such as this is from the people who would like to see ALL guns taken off the streets, and make it illegal for citizens to even own a gun.

This to me is the reaction of a scared child. Yes, terrible things happen, and sometimes those terrible things are perpetrated by some idiot who has managed to get his hands on guns. But, it is folly to blame the guns themselves for the deaths of those people. The person is responsible, not the guns. But, to these frightened children, the very idea of guns is too scary to deal with, and they would like to see reality changed to suit their fears. It’s kind of like saying that “oh my, cars cause over a million deaths a year. Let’s get them off the streets!” It is an over-reaction, common to those who typically refuse to stand up for their own rights, preferring to allow the government to tell them what to think.

I agree that it is tragic that events like this should happen, and I feel bad for the victims. I also feel bad for the idiot, because only a soul that is in extreme distress could ever consider such actions. If it were to happen in front of me, I would not hesitate take him down, and put him down, like a sick dog, but I would do so in sorrow, knowing that he is a broken man. This event will mark a moment in time that none of the victims will ever forget, and it will change their lives in some way, for certain. But, to let these events cause us to make poor decisions about guns is an error in thinking, and can lead to the loss of more rights than we have already lost to the fear-mongers.

Living involves risk. This is a truism, and is not subject to debate. One may prepare for that risk by making themselves strong and educated regarding the extent of the risks, and dealing with those risks in an adult fashion. Or, one can retreat to their childhood, and give over the handling of risk to the authority figures in our lives, and feel snug and safe in their little delusional bubble. 

What these people fail to understand is this: prohibiting guns, or making them illegal, is NOT going to make guns go away. It will just drive them underground, and make it harder to keep track of them. The risk will be even greater, because NOW there is nothing to stop criminals from victimizing others, other than the police, and we can see already how little effectiveness the police have in stopping events like this.

This shit is going to happen, whether guns are legal or not. I am personally unwilling to trust the government of this country, or of any other, to protect me and my interests. If they have guns, I want mine, because otherwise there will be no reason at all for them to keep from taking from me whatever they want. Police in this country are NOT to be trusted; most of the time they have a poor opinion of the public, and a sense of entitlement that puts them above the law. The same goes for politicians; I’m not going to trust them any further than I am the police. Probably even less, as they have shown time after time that they are not to be trusted. If they can’t be trusted with my money, I’m certainly not going to trust them with my guns….

Attitudes adjusted, while you wait. — L.A. Police Car Bumper Sticker

I’m not overly concerned whether or not anyone agrees with me on this; everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Some will say that I am calloused and indifferent to the pain those people felt. Well, they are free to say whatever they like…. The simple truth is that I feel very sorry for all the victims, and their families, knowing full well that they are now looking at years of therapy and healing before they will ever be comfortable again. But it is also the simple truth that I am not going to get all worked up over something that happens all the time, and will continue to happen as long as the world remains so overpopulated that we are like rats in a cage, fighting and biting each other over the limited resources.

“Paradoxically though it may seem, it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” — Oscar Wilde

If one wants to get outraged over needless deaths, then let’s begin a dialog about the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who continue to die for no good reason. We were told that the wars in those two countries were started to “get Osama bin Laden” and put an end to  terrorism. Ten years and trillions of dollars later, bin Laden is dead, and terrorism is NOT ended. Probably, more than 12 soldiers are killed every day in both countries, but there is no outrage that I see….

So, let us not engage in the orgy of feelings, and outpouring of outrage, over an event that, while not normal or desirable, should nonetheless not be a surprise. And, let us not thrash about in fear, and center our anger on the wrong target. Guns are not the problem; people who are broken are the problem, whether they are shooting people in a theater in the mountains, or passing laws in a building in Washington D.C.  The answer is not to get rid of guns; that is never going to happen. The answer is to fix the broken people…. and you can take that to the bank….

“Americans like to talk about (or be told about) Democracy but, when put to the test, usually find it to be an ‘inconvenience.’   We have opted instead for an authoritarian system *disguised* as a Democracy.  We pay through the nose for an enormous joke-of-a-government, let it push us around, and then wonder how all those assholes got in there.” —   Frank Zappa
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A Drunken Man’s Praise Of Sobriety

Come swish around, my pretty punk,
And keep me dancing still
That I may stay a sober man
Although I drink my fill.

Sobriety is a jewel
That I do much adore;
And therefore keep me dancing
Though drunkards lie and snore.
O mind your feet, O mind your feet,
Keep dancing like a wave,
And under every dancer
A dead man in his grave.
No ups and downs, my pretty,
A mermaid, not a punk;
A drunkard is a dead man,
And all dead men are drunk.

William Butler Yeats

The sober nature of what I’ve written so far today demands a bit of relief…. who better for that than Yeats?….. Enjoy!
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“All through human history, tyrannies have tried to enforce obedience by prohibiting disrespect for the symbols of their power. The swastika is only one example of many in recent history.” — American Bar Association task force on flag burning

Where did we get lost? When did my country lose the not just the feeling, but the meaning of freedom? The above statement is an indication of how far we have come from the basic ideas that the founding fathers originally fought for in the late 1700’s. The very fact that we must even consider the issue shows how many people have come to believe differently. In today’s society, it is becoming politically incorrect to speak of these subjects, to question the motivations of those who seek to gain office, or to question those in office. If one speaks out to question anyone in a position of authority, one is labeled as “un-American” or “Communist”, or “Socialist”. Or, even worse, “un-Christian”….

The separation of church and state was one of the bottom line reasons for the American Revolutionary War. I’m not an idiot, so I realize that money motivates as much, or more, than does idealism, and the OTHER bottom line reason was just that, the bottom line. Taxes, of course…. Our founding fathers, as tired of losing money as they were of being told to worship only one way, decided that it was enough reason to set up a system of government that kept them separate. They realized that the churches and the banks were the greatest threats to a free society, so they made an effort to keep them from influencing government…..

“In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to Liberty.” — Thomas Jefferson

But, 200 years of chipping away at laws and social mores, and we now see that many of those freedoms are threatened, by the forces of Evil, otherwise known as ‘corporate bidness’ and ‘da priesthood’….. Now, set up in opposition to the current President, who has shown his commitment to change, we have a candidate who combines the worst (or best, depending on your view….) of those two groups, Mitt the Twitt, the richest, sneakiest Mormon mouthpiece you will ever see. This man has already, before even becoming the official candidate of his party, shown himself to be in favor of big business, racism and bigotry, and completely against any sort of reforms that would benefit the average joe…. yet there are millions of “average joes” who blindly follow what he says with open mouth, closed mind, and bated breath, just because he isn’t black….

The election of 2012 may go down in history as a pivotal moment in the history of this nation. This election will clearly indicate the state of mind of this country, as the two ostensible candidates represent extreme poles of opposite beliefs, only one of which remains true to the principles upon which this country was founded. We now will see what direction we will take in the next years…. either onward to a brighter future, or downward toward extinction…. Each of us will need to make a decision about which one we are willing to fight for…. because a fight will surely be coming…. and the sides will be hard to tell apart, as both will call themselves Americans…. Only one side will be right….

“After a time, you may find that ‘having’ is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as ‘wanting.’  It is not logical, but it is often true.” — Spock, “Amok Time,” stardate 3372.7.
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As a chef, I know that sometimes the best stuff comes when you just throw stuff in as you go, never knowing what you’ll end up with, but knowing it will be delicious. Today’s Pearl may, or may not, reach that level, to be worthy of the definition of “good stuff”. Time will tell, as somebody said recently….    🙂     Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Trading virtue for vice…..

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Reply

Ffolkes,
Frankly, I hadn’t wanted to be there at all, but there I was. A mature, employed, stable, responsible person, standing next to huge plastic clown, in the small hours of the night, waiting in the freezing wind to meet someone. Not just someone, but an alien. Not from Mexico, from Procyon 5, part of a Galactic Union consisting of thousands of worlds, all of whom were no doubt home in bed, like I should have been….

Well, that’s not bad…. I could punch it up a little, but it got the creative juices flowing, so we’ll just leave it there, with more questions than answers, and go do something else more productive. I know, many of you are now thinking, “What does he mean, more productive? I want to see the alien!”

Shhhhh!… you’ll wake up Murphy! He’s been asleep in my armchair since I got up this morning, and I’d just as soon he stayed that way for the time being. Things are difficult enough without his two cents thrown in….  What I mean is, I’m never going to complete the story that goes with that beginning, so it is more productive to start a Pearl, which I know I will finish…. and the alien can go fly a kite…. I didn’t like him anyway….

Now that the ice is broken, though, I seem to be a bit at sixes and sevens for material. Fortunately, having already spewed out a sufficient quantity to qualify, I can go on to the eights…. which may sound confusing, but is actually quite logical. So, with no further fussing about, we shall now go Pearl…. Shall we be off and about it?….
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“But whether there’s some grand design really matters little to me. My only hope was this: to see what might be, to believe that it should be, and then to do all I could to bring it to pass, whatever the cost. When a life spins out as joyfully as mine has done, then the price, once paid so painfully, is now recalled in gladness. I have received full value. Here among the shepherds, my cup is filled with the water of life; it overflows.” — Orson Scott Card, “Treason”

In thinking back over the Pearls that I’ve put out in the last year, my general impression is that I spend too much time dwelling on the negative parts of Life and Society. There are reasons, no doubt, which will thankfully not be brought out today; I want to speak to a different point. In concentrating on those negative aspects of Life, my usual purpose is to create in the reader a desire to see that negative turned into a positive, to show that one’s own actions have an effect on reality, even if we can only make real changes within ourselves. Those internal changes lead to changes in action, which, as we all know, can spread influence like ripples on a pond. In short, I’m recruiting activists to fight against the forces of Evil that are at play in the world today….

The march of history, and human affairs, possesses an immense inertia; it takes hard effort over a long time to make changes in the direction in which we are heading. The forces of Evil are directing us to extinction, without even knowing that they do so. If they realized what their actions would lead to, they would change, for they are cowards, and don’t want to die any more than the rest of us.

It is just that they are so convinced of their own rightness, and their own right to do exactly as they please, they will not listen to the evidence that is so plentiful. Thus, it becomes the responsibility of the forces of Reason to find a way to change direction, with that kind of opposition as one of the first and biggest obstacles to get past, or resolve in some way.

I wish I had an answer, all laid out in logical lines, with ideas for getting the ignorant to learn. But, I don’t. I’ve been trying all my life to get people to look at things that are not merely beyond the end of their noses, but in fact, may be entirely outside their experience…. and they don’t HAVE to be afraid of it, just because it is unknown to them.

My efforts have been rather ineffective in the larger picture, with minor successes on an individual level…. not extremely encouraging. But, I soldier on, throwing facts and truth out there into their faces, hoping one or more of them will make them open their eyes a bit wider….. and if that includes a boot in the ass to get them going, then by golly, they can have a boot!….  And always remember…..

Truth is God’s daughter. — Smart Bee
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Flower of Love

Sweet, I blame you not, for mine the fault was, had I not been made of common clay
I had climbed the higher heights unclimbed yet, seen the fuller air, the larger day.

From the wildness of my wasted passion I had struck a better, clearer song,
Lit some lighter light of freer freedom, battled with some Hydra-headed wrong.

Had my lips been smitten into music by the kisses that but made them bleed,
You had walked with Bice and the angels on that verdant and enameled meed.

I had trod the road which Dante treading saw the suns of seven circles shine,
Ay! perchance had seen the heavens opening, as they opened to the Florentine.

And the mighty nations would have crowned me, who am crownless now and without name,
And some orient dawn had found me kneeling on the threshold of the House of Fame.

I had sat within that marble circle where the oldest bard is as the young,
And the pipe is ever dropping honey, and the lyre’s strings are ever strung.

Keats had lifted up his hymeneal curls from out the poppy-seeded wine,
With ambrosial mouth had kissed my forehead, clasped the hand of noble love in mine.

And at springtide, when the apple-blossoms brush the burnished bosom of the dove,
Two young lovers lying in an orchard would have read the story of our love;

Would have read the legend of my passion, known the bitter secret of my heart,
Kissed as we have kissed, but never parted as we two are fated now to part.

For the crimson flower of our life is eaten by the cankerworm of truth,
And no hand can gather up the fallen withered petals of the rose of youth.

Yet I am not sorry that I loved you -ah! what else had I a boy to do? –
For the hungry teeth of time devour, and the silent-footed years pursue.

Rudderless, we drift athwart a tempest, and when once the storm of youth is past,
Without lyre, without lute or chorus, Death the silent pilot comes at last.

And within the grave there is no pleasure, for the blindworm battens on the root,
And Desire shudders into ashes, and the tree of Passion bears no fruit.

Ah! what else had I to do but love you? God’s own mother was less dear to me,
And less dear the Cytheraean rising like an argent lily from the sea.

I have made my choice, have lived my poems, and, though youth is gone in wasted days,
I have found the lover’s crown of myrtle better than the poet’s crown of bays.

Oscar Wilde

I don’t much care if anyone doesn’t care for this one, though I hope they do…. but, no matter. I love it, and as far as I’m concerned, Oscar is Da Man!….. The problems he had in his lifetime in dealing with a society that did not understand him do not, in my mind, detract from the brilliance of his writing. I would give a lot to have had the chance to converse with him over dinner, but, since I can’t, his poetry makes a decent substitute…..
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I’m going old-school here again…. Failing to find within me the correct amount of outrage to fuel a rant, I will resort to my old method of stimulating cogitation among the masses…. Together, these quotes will direct your thoughts to a conclusion, one that, hopefully, you will heed, and share…. and that’s enough clues for anybody….

“To be happy one must be a) well fed, unhounded by sordid cares, at ease in Zion, b) full of a comfortable feeling of superiority to the masses of one’s fellow men, and c) delicately and unceasingly amused according to one’s taste. It is my contention that, if this definition be accepted, there is no country in the world wherein a man constituted as I am – a man of my peculiar weaknesses, vanities, appetites, and aversions – can be so happy as he can be in the United States.  Going further, I lay down the doctrine that it is a sheer physical impossibility for such a man to live in the United States and not be happy.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), “On Being An American”

If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. — Fudd’s First Law of Opposition

“The land of the free!  This is the land of the free!  Why, if I say anything that displeases them, the free mob will lynch me, and that’s my freedom.  Free?  Why I have never been in any country where the individual has such an abject fear of his fellow countrymen.  Because, as I say, they are free to lynch him the moment he shows he is not one of them.” — D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)

“I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of “Admin.”  The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid “dens of crime” that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labor camps.  In those we see its final result.  But is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.”– Preface to ‘The Screwtape Letters’ by C.S. Lewis

PAYCHECK: The weekly $5.27 that remains after deductions for federal withholding, state withholding, city withholding, FICA, medical/dental, long-term disability, unemployment insurance, Christmas Club, and payroll savings plan contributions. — Smart Bee

If this is a joke–I don’t get it. — Written on grave

They say the number of criminals is still rising.  Where are we going to put them all? Prisons and government are already overflowing. — Smart Bee

That’s probably enough…. any more, and it would be too obvious, and I may as well have ranted….   Enjoy Life, brothers and sisters, while we still can….
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Not too shabby for what felt like a throw-away…. Perhaps not a top ten contender, but readable. I’ll take it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…. and watch out for stobor…..    😉

 

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

 

 

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Figuratively speaking, it’s already toast….

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Ffolkes,
One day a long time ago, back in the Pleistocene Era, I was laying out back of the cave in my saber-tooth skin hammock, trying to sleep through the heat of the late afternoon, when my cave-mate, Lucy, yelled out the upper story window hole, “Did you pick up those extra mastodon steaks I asked for from the hunting trip this morning? Your brother and his cave-mate are coming over for dinner tomorrow, and I want to make sure we have enough meat; your brother eats like a T-Rex!” “Yes, I got them,” I called back, basking in the glow of a husbandly task successfully completed…..

Ah, bliss! Nothing like barbecued mastodon to make up for the pain of having to sit through a night with my brother’s mate….As the mate of an important member of the tribe (my brother is chief hunter….) she thinks it is her responsibility to hear and repeat every bit of gossip she can find, a responsibility she takes very seriously, to the everlasting regret of the rest of the family, my brother included…. Living with her as he does, his defenses against hearing all of her drivel about everyone else’s business are quite refined, and effective, seemingly. He, at least, hasn’t killed her yet, though I cannot say whether the thought has or has not crossed his mind……

I think I’m going to stop here, leaving my cave-mate and my brother to deal with his partner’s loquacity on their own. I have bigger fish to fry…. Or, at least, shinier pearls to seek, so to speak…. Shall we have at it? Time’s a wastin’!……

“I’m having BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS about the INSIPID WIVES  of smug and wealthy CORPORATE LAWYERS..” — Zippy the Pinhead
___________________________________

“Don’t ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun — and neither can stop the march of events.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

I suppose one could say I am pessoptimist, a word I have just coined to help me explore another part of the duality of existence. I watch society, with both anticipation and trepidation, both of which are justifiable when dealing with something as capricious as human behavior. Reality itself is enough of a problem to deal with, given its wildly unpredictable nature, but the universe doesn’t care at all that it is a frightening experience, just to breathe and open one’s eyes to the chaos that surrounds us.  Reality marches on, regardless of our opinion of it; since we have the choice, why not look at the brighter side?

It is the pessimist in me that sees all of humanity’s flaws, and the optimist that sees all the beauty that we CAN create when we so desire. What is difficult is that one never knows where or when the beauty will surface, whereas the flaws make themselves as obvious as dog poop on the shoes in a closed room…. The pessimist in me knows this, which is why I view each moment rushing at us from the future with a degree of fear.

But, the optimist in me knows that fear is always balanced by the fact that whatever takes place has an equal chance of being the kind of experience that brings joy to my world. So much bad happens in the world, it can be hard to slough it off; it can come at us unrelentingly, like physical pain from a broken nose, or problems with the DMV….. But, one joyful perception can easily balance the scale…. and even make us glad for the negative, since it provides the contrast that makes the positive so much sweeter….

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” — Emerson

SIGH… I guess all one can say is, I’m glad that I have the choice, even if making that choice can be a problem in and of itself…. One must remember that the Universe is, no doubt, proceeding as it should, so I’ll just keep my eyes, and options, open….
___________________________________

A Brook In The City

The farmhouse lingers, though averse to square
With the new city street it has to wear
A number in. But what about the brook
That held the house as in an elbow-crook?
I ask as one who knew the brook, its strength
And impulse, having dipped a finger length
And made it leap my knuckle, having tossed
A flower to try its currents where they crossed.
The meadow grass could be cemented down
From growing under pavements of a town;
The apple trees be sent to hearth-stone flame.
Is water wood to serve a brook the same?
How else dispose of an immortal force
No longer needed? Staunch it at its source
With cinder loads dumped down? The brook was thrown
Deep in a sewer dungeon under stone
In fetid darkness still to live and run —
And all for nothing it had ever done
Except forget to go in fear perhaps.
No one would know except for ancient maps
That such a brook ran water. But I wonder
If from its being kept forever under,
The thoughts may not have risen that so keep
This new-built city from both work and sleep.

Robert Frost

For me, one mark of a good poem, and poet, is that when one finishes reading the last line, the mind does not immediately let go, but follows the train of thought created by the poem to its conclusion, whatever that may be for each individual reader. Frost is a master at that type of poem, to my mind…. There is so much power in the phrase, “But I wonder….”!…..    Enjoy!
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“I observe that there are two entirely different theories according to which individual men seek to get on in the world. One theory leads a man to pull down everyone around him in order to climb on them to a higher place. The other leads a man to help everybody around him in order that he may go up with them.” — Elihu Root

I’ve also heard it observed that there are only two kinds of people in the world…. Those who make lists about the types of people in the world, and those who are bored to tears by that…..  🙂    Sorry, couldn’t resist, even for such an obviously true aphorism, one that is completely  worthy of pearl status…..

I like to think that I act from the latter motivational base, that of working with my peers rather than against them, with my only thought of reward the good feeling that serving others gives me. One piece of evidence that I’ve been successful at that can be seen in my own place near the bottom of what most would consider the social scale. If I had been leaving bloody corpses behind me, I think I’d be enjoying a few more physical comforts than I do, and would have bodies buried somewhere that could be used against me, if they were publicized. When one has nothing, there is nothing to steal, is there?

“If you wish a life of trouble, fill your house with treasures.” — ancient Chinese proverb

I think the morality implied by the original pearl above is obvious, and is one that neither side of the issue would argue. But then, those who climb on the bodies of their peers to advance would never admit to such behavior; rationalization is one of mankind’s greatest skills. But, rationalized or not, they DO know that what they do is immoral; they have merely learned the art of lying to themselves as readily as they do to others.

To my way of thinking, it’s sad, as well as stupid, for far too many reasons to list here; relating one will do. It’s sad because these people will never even see any need to change, until it is too late for them to do anything that might help. And it is stupid, well, just because it is…. no, sorry, just kidding… It is stupid because a life that is built on lies is no life at all…..

Joshu asked the teacher Nansen, “What is the True Way?”
Nansen answered, “Every way is the true Way.”
Joshu asked, “Can I study it?”
Nansen answered, “The more you study, the further from the Way.”
Joshu asked, “If I don’t study it, how can I know it?”
Nansen answered, “The Way does not belong to things seen: nor to things unseen. It does not belong to things known: nor to things unknown. Do not seek it, study it, or name it. To find yourself on it, open yourself as wide as the sky.”

I can see the Way, but cannot point to it, and this makes me pessimistic, for it (the Way) is possibly our last hope for redemption as a species, and the people who most need to find it are not even looking. I am optimistic because I see great promise in Man, even if I am not certain that promise will be kept….
___________________________________

Since I’ve already run the gamut from silly to serious, from giddy to maudlin, and back again, it would be best to just stop here….. so I will.  There is enough confusion in the world, and I’ve done my best to contribute….  🙂   Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

Kowabunga!

Fussing as an Olympic event….

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Ffolkes,
It’s always amazing how the WP community rallies around other members with a problem. Since describing my troubles with accessing WP sites yesterday, a lot of ffolkes have commented, giving suggestions for fixes, or just to commiserate. This is truly a gathering of special people, who understand how to have friends, as in “if you want to have friends, you have to be a friend.” Thanks to everyone!…..

The issue was once again with my ISP (internet service provider). They use a function called Turbo to help their users get more speed out of the network. Unfortunately, this function messes with the WordPress code; it’s not compatible somehow. The fix is simple; I just disable the Turbo function. What I found yesterday when speaking with tech support at the ISP is that their system will disable the Turbo, but will automatically turn it back on after a period of time. So, I have to go back and toggle it off whenever I start having problems signing in. A big PITA, but at least now I know what to do when it occurs again…..

It’s a big relief, let me tell you, and it was nice to be able to go catch up on at least a few sites I’ve been missing out on. In the next few days I will try to get to everybody I follow at least once, so I’ll be busy. That’s a good thing, as retirement gets a bit slow when one is handicapped financially. I’m really looking forward to it….

And now that my ‘owee’ is all better, has been kissed and had a bandaid applied, I can concentrate on the Pearls. Shall we dive on in? Yes…..

“Here, pigs will fly, lightning will strike twice, hell will freeze over, and eventually, things will get really interesting…” — Smart Bee, regarding this blog….
___________________________________

Congresswoman:  “Well, Mr. Dallas… we’ve heard your smut masquerading as songs… and we’ve heard how teen prostitution pregnancy, drug use, cults, runaways, suicide and poor hygiene are sweeping this nation.  We thought you might like to share with the committee any particular causes you might see for those latter problems…”

Steve Dallas:  “I dunno.  Maybe the proliferation of narrow, suffocating zealotry masquerading as parenting in this country.” — Bloom County

When I first saw this in the paper, several years ago when it was first published, I literally almost fell out of my chair, laughing. It is just such a perfect description of how those Congressional hearings go, I couldn’t help it. This is a very accurate portrayal of how our society is in the habit of placing blame for problems, rather than finding solutions. At the same time, it delivers a strong punch to the gut of America, by placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of those who deserve it, to wit: ourselves.

“Narrow, suffocating zealotry”. What a wonderful use of adjectives and logic! It perfectly describes almost all of the people who complain about such things; they would rather cry, and moan, and cast about for a scapegoat, when the solution to their issue resides in their own hands. They are constitutionally unable to accept responsibility for how their own actions are creating the very issues they complain of, and generally will spend a lot of time trying to find someone, anyone, else to blame. It’s rather pathetic, when one stops to consider it….

Other than the environmental cataclysm that is imminent on our planet, I can’t think of any solutions to this problem. The difficulty in fixing it lies in human nature, and the changes that our species needs to make in that arena. Yes, having the environment crash around our ears, putting us on the brink of extinction will solve the issue. But, will it wait to happen until we can make the needed changes, or will it catch us with our pants down? I have a feeling the latter is more likely than the former, and I’m formulating my plans with that in mind…. Not that I think I can get out of it, but, hey, it’s worth a shot….

During the time when Congress was holding those hearings on the effects of music on teen issues, Frank Zappa was asked almost the same question. His reply was to the effect that, he had written and performed a number of songs that praised tooth brushing. He asked the committee if they had noted any significant numbers of teens had improved their dental hygiene…. which I thought was very relevant. The committee, however, was not amused…..

At the end of the movie “The American President”, Michael Douglas, as the President, makes a speech to the press corps wherein he states “We’ve got serious problems, and we need serious people to solve them. And I promise you, Dick Rumsen (the fictional candidate; in real life we have Mitt the Twitt in that role) has no interest in solving those problems. He’s interested in two things, and two things  only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who’s to blame for it. That is how you win elections….”  It’s a perfect example of Art imitating Life…. and that is exactly what we have going on today…..

We have a bunch of narrow-minded zealots trying to force the public into believing that the current administration hasn’t done anything. Of course, they don’t mention how hard they have worked to throw up obstacles to getting anything done. The House of Representatives has already voted to repeal the health care reform bill that was just upheld by the Supreme Court; it now must go to the Senate. They (the Republicans) don’t care that millions of Americans have already been helped by the bill’s provisions. They don’t care that it was originally THEIR idea. It was passed by the opposition, and that is all they care about, so they will fight it, no matter how many of their constituents don’t want them to do so…..

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

This is the state of American politics today, and it SUCKS big time. Unfortunately, if I don’t vote, then I’m giving in to their pressure, and handing them carte blanche to screw with me. So, I’ll go vote for the lesser of two evils (yes, two…. this President has done the best he could do, and has been pretty good about transparency. But, he IS a politician, and we don’t know ALL of what he has done, or hasn’t done. ), and hope that we don’t end up with someone in office that will cause me to consider taking a more active part in providing a solution…. I’ve got better things to do than having to impeach a sitting President, or even to take other, more drastic measures…. Let us hope it doesn’t come to that…..

“It’s OBVIOUS..  The FURS never reached ISTANBUL..  You were  an EXTRA in the REMAKE of “TOPKAPI”..  Go home to your  WIFE. She’s making FRENCH TOAST!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Well, it makes as much sense as anything Mitt has said lately…. and is just as pertinent as his remarks…..)
___________________________________

We’re taking a comedy break….

ACHTUNG!!!

Das machine is nicht fur gefingerpoken und mittengrabben.  Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und corkenpoppen mit
spitzensparken.  Ist nicht fur gewerken by das dummkopfen.  Das rubbernecken sightseeren keepen hands in das pockets.  Relaxen und
vatch das blinkenlights!!! — Smart Bee, pidgin Germanic version
—–

Balance the budget.  Declare politicians a game species! — Smart Bee
———-

Weather

Once I dipt into the future far as human eye could see,
And I saw the Chief Forecaster, dead as any one can be–
Dead and damned and shut in Hades as a liar from his birth,
With a record of unreason seldom paralleled on earth.
While I looked he reared him solemnly, that incandescent youth,
From the coals that he’d preferred to the advantages of truth.
He cast his eyes about him and above him; then he wrote
On a slab of thin asbestos what I venture here to quote–
For I read it in the rose-light of the everlasting glow:
‘Cloudy; variable winds, with local showers; cooler; snow.’

Ambrose Bierce
——

“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” — Willie Wonka

Okay, all done….. back to our regularly scheduled program….
___________________________________

“Boys become men by watching men, by standing close to men. Manhood is a ritual passed from generation to generation with precious few spoken instructions. Passing the torch of manhood is a fragile, tedious task. If the rite of passage is successfully completed, the boy- become-man is like an oak of hardwood character. His shade and influence will bless all those who are fortunate enough to lean on him and rest under his canopy.” — Preston Gilham

This is a wonderful piece of insightful observation. In many ways, the problems our society faces today can be traced back to this process being degraded. No matter what kind of nuclear family one is speaking of, this process of teaching boys to become men has been almost completely eliminated from our family process. There are a lot of reasons for this; social interaction is a very complex matter. But, the fact of its demise is not as complex, and is plain to anyone with any sort of discriminating intelligence. There are far too few men today who are following this example, and our society is suffering for that lack.

Again, I don’t know the answer. Or rather, I know the answer, for it is the same as I mentioned above; human nature must change. The policies and structures our society has adopted over time have become unsuitable, and counter-productive to our survival. The question is, how do we change human nature? I can only wish I knew….

Our future, as a species, and as a culture, is in serious jeopardy, and time is not slowing down to allow us to figure out how to deal with it. It is a frightening but unavoidable fact of life, at this point, with very little to be done. One can only hope that enough people wake up in time to at least make an effort…. but my hope of that is growing smaller every day…. I hate being a doom-Sayer, but the problem isn’t going to go away just because we ignore it…. so pay attention, please, and pass the humility…..

And as she looked around, she saw how Death the consoler,
Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it forever.
— Henry W. Longfellow (1807-1882) — Evangeline, Part ii
___________________________________

As we all know, time goes by quickly when we are having fun, and this just zipped on by…. It’s long, it’s wordy, it’s relevant, and it’s done…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Conundrums be damned! Fire away!….

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Ffolkes,
Heart pounding, he typed faster and faster, as words poured out onto the screen. No simple story this time, no bleeding hearts. No fantasy lovers, no warriors brave. Simple dialogue, with real people speaking real words, straight from Life, naked and proud. To hide now would be disaster, only the truth will help save what there is to save. Only sacrifice will bring back…. the dry cleaning….

Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything else that would fit, and I’m still having trouble sitting for long. I don’t suppose this one will get into the hall of fame, will it? I thought not…. I didn’t want to settle for that, but the deadline was approaching quickly, and nothing else came bubbling up. It could be worse, right? I could have said…. the Devil, or some other force of evil, which would have created some anticipatory twinges amongst the readers, but didn’t go with the mood I was shooting for…. I wanted something different today, not the usual sense of controlled panic that generally comes during the intro…. and I think I hit it just right with dry cleaning….

But then, I’m the one who wrote it, so it is de rigeur for me to praise it, even if only to damn it with faint praise. It’s all part of the morning routine now, which seems to have added a bit of diligent searching for adequate introductory paragraphs as part of the program. Of course, the intro has always been a part of the routine, but I have always had some idea of what to do with it, or where it came from. Now, those ideas are seemingly drying up, so I’m resorting more often to chat mode, like today, in order to produce enough material to pass as an introduction. It’s stopgap, but it works….

If it doesn’t work, I’m going to, first, panic….. I’ll run around like a headless chicken for a bit, then slowly bleed out until an idea forms. Then, if there still isn’t any usable material, I’ll go outside, find some unsuspecting pedestrian, and knock them out so I can check their pockets for ideas….. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful not to hit them too hard; just enough to go through their clothing, and I’ll make sure they are out of the road so they don’t get run over…. This process, however, can be slow; there aren’t a lot of folks out and about so early in this neighborhood….

Or, maybe I’ll just continue in the vein I’ve opened today, and fake it for five paragraphs….. I am encouraged, somewhat…. I must be improving my writing skills, if I can now put out such grandiose, self-indulgent, yet oddly compelling, compound sentences, produced on demand, in enough quantity to make a moderately long introduction. Since I cannot speak to its quality, the quantity will have to do….

“What we imagine is order is merely the prevailing form of chaos.” — Kerry Thornley, Principia Discordia, 5th edition

It’s always nice to have the right quote on hand…. Shall we Pearl?…..
___________________________________

“All societies are based on rules to protect pregnant women and young children. All else is surplusage, excrescence, adornment, luxury, or folly which can – and must – be dumped in emergency to preserve this prime function.  As racial survival is the only universal morality, no other basic is possible.  Attempts to formulate a “perfect society” on any other foundation other than “Women and children first!” is not only witless, it is automatically genocidal.  Nevertheless, starry-eyed idealists (all of them male) have tried endlessly- and no doubt will keep on trying.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

Lazarus, speaking for Robert again, relates this truism in a straightforward way, with no ups and no extras. Normally, I would use this to begin a rant, once again railing against the beloved ruling class and the priestly hierarchies. Today, I’m letting it stand alone, and will instead just ask you to think about it, in depth. To my way of thinking, the only way that our species can survive is if enough men and women become convinced that our current path does not conform to “Women and children first!”, and as such is counterproductive to our survival. Only then will people take the necessary steps to stop the madness….

We are all being dragged along this mad path to self-destruction by folks who have no interest in anything but their own aggrandizement, and will most certainly die off as a species if they are not prevented from carrying on as they have been….. I know I keep harping on this, but the problem is not going to go away by ignoring it; in fact it will kill us all the faster if we do. It has to change, ffolkes, we all know this…. let’s try to get the fuckheads in charge to get on board, so we can have the future we otherwise won’t see….
___________________________________

“If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; but if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.” — Don Marquis

This is a lesson that I didn’t learn until I was almost out of high school, even though I had ample opportunity to do so. I guess I was less skeptical of human nature then, having had less direct experience at dealing with all its idiosyncrasies….. but, learn it I did, to both my everlasting regret, and my endless gratitude, for a gift that has lasted a lifetime. Being able to tell the difference between the two states, to wit: thinking, and thinking they are thinking, has been invaluable in preventing trouble, as well as remedying it when it occurs. Which is alladamtime, in the vernacular of the streets of Rome….

“No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what he means.” — George Bernard Shaw

I was a very good student in high school, and though I didn’t carry that tradition into college, during those teen years of the early 1960’s, I was considered a reference source by most of my classmates, and ended up tutoring them fairly often in the course of joint studying, assuming a teaching role. (Being such a reference source can also be a potential problem, but that’s another story….) This was my first real exposure in how human nature affects learning, and in how what works with some people to get them to comprehend what they are trying to learn won’t work for others, who are not as invested in the process of using their mind for anything other than counting change for a dollar…..

“Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on. “I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least – at least I mean what I say – that’s the same thing, you know.” “Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter.  “Why, you might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!” “You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, “that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!” “You might just as well say,” added the Dormouse, which seemed to be talking in its sleep, “that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’!” “It IS the same thing with you, ” said the Hatter. — Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

This conversation from the other side of the looking glass creates in me a very strong sense of deja vu…. Many of the conversations I’ve had while acting as a tutor to my peers sounded just like this, only we were discussing mathematics, which makes it that much scarier…. But, it also highlights the problem for those of us who act as tutors to our peers, relating back to the original quote…. When teaching others, you must find the right mode of speech, the right way to approach the student in a way that they can comprehend the lesson…. A good friend sent me a poem yesterday which states the difficulty perfectly (Thanks to Shawna Alexander, who also forgot to send the author’s name…)…..

Which is better?

A genius knows when to dumb it down
A smart man knows when to know nothing
And an idiot can be all three
Well what does that mean?

You’re only as smart as others allow
So if you’re too smart to be understood,
To others your intelligence level goes down
So to truly be a genius you must know when dumbing it down is good

To know nothing isn’t unintelligence
It’s best for different situations
Though very different from a genius,
A smart man recognizes when on his knowledge to put limitations

An idiot is in the best position,
Because it’s second nature for them to put it in layman’s terms
An idiot has the best potential for genius if it’s his intention
And being an idiot is how others feel their intelligence is confirmed

Thus we can see that in order to successfully teach, one must be flexible enough in their own persona to be able to assume the characteristics that will ensure a successful lesson, by speaking to the student at their level of understanding, and by fooling them into using their mind to think with, rather than just using it to find their way home every night….
___________________________________

After a hundred years
Nobody knows the place,–
Agony, that enacted there,
Motionless as peace.

Weeds triumphant ranged,
Strangers strolled and spelled
At the lone orthography
Of the elder dead.

Winds of summer fields
Recollect the way,–
Instinct picking up the key
Dropped by memory.

Emily Dickinson

After a hard morning of diving for pearls, I need a break, and Emily is always just right for that….. Enjoy!… Except for you, Shawna… you can ignore it, if you like….  🙂
___________________________________

It’s been a Mounds morning, all in all, and my teeth hurt…. guess I’ll go brush them…. What that has to do with all this is unknown… but, it must be important, because, hey, I typed it, right?  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!