It’s too late for the pilot program; use the spare shuttlecraft….

Posted on December 18, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

So much for consistency…. It’s 0530 in the AM, and I’m up, wondering again how to kill the fear, and begin writing….. I did sleep well, again, but, went to bed at 8 PM, so I’m up early, too, putting myself back on the early morning routine, hopefully…. It’s what I’m used to, and the coffee machine is already set to go off at 5, so, it all works out well, as long as I’ve done my part, and gotten the sleep I need…. Of late, that has been the easy part, now I’ll see how I can do at regulating it…

I’m wondering though, just how much y’all want to hear about my early morning sleeping habits…. I’ve a feeling that may just be the final straw for some, crossing over the line of personal chattiness into intimacy, which is going too far, inarguably….. It’s a conundrum I’ve noted lately, that blogging tends to loosen one’s tongue about personal information, giving away what is probably too much for the internet…. I’m not particularly vulnerable, myself, but, for many, giving up too much can lead to issues with unscrupulous individuals, who have learned how to use the internet to troll for victims, for robbery, theft, sexual crimes, or whatever else the dark side of human nature comes up with to victimize another human….

As I said, I’m not as vulnerable as some might be, since I AM a male, and trained to deal with that sort of people, by experience…. but, there are many who are not so protected by experience, or by being protected by others…. Older women, or men, who cannot think as fast as they used to, can become the victims of fast talking scam artists, who get them to give up their address, then rob them, or use their information to steal their bank accounts, or other types of identity theft…. Young women and/or children can be subject to sexual predators, who find their victims online by pretending to be a safe individual, of their own age…. I often consider answering such trolls, and meeting them, to give THEM a taste of the fear they engender in their victims…..

Sadly, computers have opened up an entire new subset of crimes, ones that are perpetrated online, or are carried out using information obtained online by technically savvy criminals…. and this time, I’m NOT talking about the government, even though I regard their spying to be just as criminal as identity theft, or rape, or any other crime where the victim is harmed by their actions….. No, there are plenty of criminals out there who DON’T wear suits and ties, and who don’t talk on TV…. the one’s on TV are just the legally sanctioned criminals; they’ve been approved by the voters to steal from them as needed….

Is that a rant? Can I count that? If so, I can leave off finding one for a later section…. I’ll check with the umpires…. In the meantime, I think I’ve managed to get enough down to cal this a legal intro, don’t you? Four full paragraphs, full of next to nothing, should qualify…. I got CLOSE to an actual subject, but, never really got fully engaged in discussing it, so it’s good for an intro, and meets all the other ridiculous standards they apply, though even they can’t tell me…. It’s gotten so I don’t much care, as long as they just stamp my stuff as approved, and move on down the line…. which is where we need to get to….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I’ve reached that age when a good day is one when you get up and nothing hurts.” — H. Martin
_____________________________

So far, it’s a good day…. As such, we’ll treat it as if it were a real day, just like any other…. we shall go forth, and gather pearls, to be spread out for the enjoyment of our Gentle Readers, such as they are, with love and generosity our only motivation…. Like the Dalai Lama said, boys and girls, “Our purpose in this life is to help one another, and if we cannot help, at least do no harm.”…. I like that…..

“I find your faith in reality rather amusing.” — gigoid

“In an insane society, the sane man must appear insane.” — Spock

“Advise is seldom welcome, and those who need it the most, like it the least.” — Lord Chesterfield

“One of the sayings of Diogenes was that most men were within a finger’s breadth of being mad; for if a man walked with his middle finger pointing out, folks would think him mad, but not so if it were his forefinger.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes, vi

Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Betty, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned. — Smart Bee sez…

“Guy Fawkes was the sanest man who ever went into the Houses of Parliament – and look what happened to him.” — Smart Bee

“‘But he hasn’t got any clothes on,’ a little boy said.” — from The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen

Some days, this process works better than others, even if the keyboard is getting so old the space bar sticks…. Today, it worked better…. Just so you are aware of it…. this is a very, very good pearl, one that makes a very cogent, and very critical statement of how to approach daily living in a way so as to almost guarantee, if not success, then contentment, or satisfaction, at the very least….. I swear!….. Trust me!….
_____________________________

I am becoming more and more enamored of the poetry of this man…. Everything I’ve seen of what he wrote has that unmistakable feeling of being REAL…. which, to me, is irresistible…..

The Aliens

you may not believe it
but there are people
who go through life with
very little
friction or
distress.
they dress well, eat
well, sleep well.
they are contented with
their family
life.
they have moments of
grief
but all in all
they are undisturbed
and often feel
very good.
and when they die
it is an easy
death, usually in their
sleep.
you may not believe
it
but such people do
exist.
but I am not one of
them.
oh no, I am not one
of them,
I am not even near
to being
one of
them
but they are
there
and I am
here.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

_____________________________

I’m feeling more than just a little lazy, and, at the same time, a bit ambitious…. so, I’ll resort to cheating, and pull a bit of both out of the archives…. Here are TWO rants, one a politirant on the Second Amendment, and a religirant, both written way back in March of 2012, in the same Pearl… Both are pretty good, and both are still valid, in terms of the current world’s status on both these arenas of public concern…. So, enjoy this rather long pair of treats from the past…. I did….

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

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. — Romans 12:1

“Reasonable service” Hmm…. it seems to me that whoever wrote this should probably turn in his divine channeling papers, because all of his sense of proportion and believability just went flying out the window when this got put onto parchment back in the day. I mean, give me a break! “your bodies a living sacrifice” is “reasonable service”. Well, if you have the kind of mind that will accept that at face value, then I am compelled by compassion, fueled only by a deep desire to help my fellow man, to inform you of a special deal, a deal you won’t be able to pass up….

That’s right, folks (note the spelling, please), today only, you too can be the envy of your neighbors, the hero of the housing tract, the cock o’the walk, as it were. Today, and today only (we already have our ticket for the bus to Bakersfield leaving at midnight….) you can join those millions of people have taken advantage of this EXCLUSIVE OFFER! For the next few minutes our operators will be taking orders for this deal of a lifetime, C.O.D only; no checks, no credit, no problem. What, you may ask, could be so wonderful, so glamorous, so blatantly gluttonous that EVERYONE wants one?

Well, I’ll tell you…. how would you feel to know that, thanks to your own good sense, and the wonders of human ingenuity, you were the first in your area to be the proud owner of…. wait for it…. your own, exclusive jar, filled to the brim, with GOD’s OWN ETERNAL LOVE! That’s right, you heard me correctly. For the insanely low price we are asking, you’ll have to agree that we are practically giving away this priceless commodity; you won’t find this deal matched anywhere.

What is this essentially negligible price, you ask? Just how crazy are these guys? We’re pretty cagey, er, crazy, that’s for sure. Today only, we are asking for a mere lifetime, and a mere 75% eternal, commitment of your entire soul, and the mineral and artistic rights to your firstborn child, whether a son or daughter. That’s right! An entire mason jar, filled to the brim with the priceless boon of God’s own eternal love, for the almost unnoticeable price we are seeking, would normally run you not only what we have asked, but also want you to throw in your wife, guarantee the rest of your children’s yearly incomes for life, and toss in a few succeeding generations as well. But today, and today only, you too can join those exclusive few who are privileged to have their very own centerpiece for the family altar, for the bargain price of one soul, and consumer rights on a child.

How can you lose? And how can you afford to pass up this opportunity to advance your standing in the eyes of your peers, as well as the eyes of God? You can’t, so pony up, sucker!…. Hahahahahahahahahaahahahaha!…. Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to splatter….
___________________________________

“By calling attention to ‘a well regulated militia’, the ‘security’ of the nation, and the right of each citizen ‘to keep and bear arms’, our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will always be important.” — April, 1960 (Then) Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963)

Jack Kennedy was a pretty smart guy; after all, he did graduate from Harvard Law. Admittedly, he was not exactly the most ethical bulb in the box, but he had his head screwed on his shoulders fairly solidly, and had the unusual political stance of actually wanting the American people to have a decent chance at what they deserve, and are promised by our form of government, i.e., a shot at “the pursuit of happiness”….. However, in this statement, he makes an unwarranted and dangerous assumption, to wit: “it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation.” Jack was an optimist…. and as is often the case, the pessimists were closer to right on this one….

Our rights are in imminent and clear danger of being abrogated, permanently. This is an indisputable fact. I have pictures, as well as copious documentation, of their own documents of erasure. This kind of fact is also provided with further partial proof of its truth by the reaction of those responsible for this subtle attack on our legacy of freedom, who, when confronted with knowledge of their intent, immediately accuse the confronting entity of “spreading communist (oops, I guess today they would now use the ubiquitous “terrorist”) propaganda”, or “attacking the principles of freedom” or my favorite complete lie, “you’re threatening our national security.”

It would be somewhat amusing, if it weren’t so dangerously disgusting…. I mean, do they really expect the American people to sit around and do NOTHING? I kind of hope they do believe that…. it will be then a bigger surprise to them, when the American people stand up, point their guns at the heads of these idiots, walk back into the voting booths, and take their rights back, from the Democrats AND the Republicans, who are all arguably insane…. call me treasonous if you will; I call it patriotism, of the first water….

“Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third [“Treason!” cried the Speaker] – may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.” — Patrick Henry (1736-1799) — Speech in the Virginia Convention, 1765

(In today’s scenario, substitute, George the Shrub and Shrub II for George III)

“You can lead a yak to water but you can’t teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig in a poke.” — Opus
_____________________________

Well, that’s no doubt enough, for even the most dedicated reader….. If they can’t find something to like in this mess, they won’t be finding it at all, at all…. Let’s see if it flies like a pig, or like a pigeon….

I’ll be damned! (Well, there’s little doubt of that, but, you know what I mean….) It actually flies, but, more like a bumblebee than anything else! By that, I mean, it’s aerodynamically unsound, not fit or designed for flight, but, hey, there it goes, trundling off, wings a-buzzing, wending it’s clumsy but effective path through the sky from place to place, never getting lost, and always coming home drunk, covered with pollen from all the flowers it’s been flirting with…. In short, it’s ugly, it’s a dog, but, it flies…. badly, but, it flies…. and, so, dear Gentle Reader, does this Pearl, because I’m shoving it out of the tree to sink or swim on its own…. Y’all can yell at me tomorrow, okay? See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Lock up the dahlias, I’ll get the peonies…

Posted on November 27, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

There’s a new airline company to choose, next time you plan on traveling a long way from home…. It’s called Porcine Air, because pigs CAN fly, you know?!!! I know for a fact we are all prepared to believe in such a company, as long as the natural laws of our universe have been altered, and the weather reports from Hell are calling for ice and snow…. How else to explain three days of semi-natural sleep, for anyone with the physical conditions that plague me? I have no explanation, or any rational idea as to why or how it might have happened…. and, at this point, I don’t think I ever will, because I don’t care….. Why should I look such a nice horse in the mouth, eh? That would be ungrateful, not to mention tactless; let no one ever say I wore those hats!…..

Joking, or, more accurately in this case, an approximation of joking, aside, I am, once again, flabbergasted, and pleased, I think, to have awakened at what has to be the most normal time to arise that I’ve seen, in, oh, these many moons…. It is now just 0550, military time, meaning this is the AM…. which makes this the latest start for a Pearl in well over six months…. Oh, wait, maybe a bit less than that… I DID get that cold last month, & spent a lot of time in bed; I may have been up later one of those days…. Other than that, which we can blame on exigent circumstances, it’s been a very long time since I got so much sleep in one period, so, I’m not sure just how to react…..

I suppose I could show some remotely professional behavior, ignoring the time of day altogether, but, I don’t think I could carry off the arrogant entitlement such behavior would demand, not this late in the day, and not without my curmudgeon hat….. Becoming one of the BRC, in that respect at least, has always been difficult for me…. I just can’t bring myself to the point where I can allow myself to treat other people like dirt, just as a matter of course, a behavioral trend which seems to be the net result when almost anyone assumes the position of ‘beloved ruler’ in our society…. It’s as if it is assumed, by everyone, that getting elected gives one the right to start acting like an asshole, with the concomitant arrogance that seems to blossom in those who put on that new hat….

Don’t fret, though, ffolkes, this doesn’t signal the beginning of a rant here in the intro section, again…. I’m being quite careful NOT to start one of those this morning; I have one, already on tap & ready to go for section three, and don’t need, or want, to go into that mode here….. This is an event for which, I am quite sure, y’all are immensely grateful, or, at minimum, moderately relieved, at having dodged that particular bullet today…..

In fact, I’ve done so well at blathering so far today, in what is effectively a stealth mode, it is suddenly apparent that I’ve already reached one of the legal minimums for introductory statements, and can abandon all attempts to stretch this any further than it already has been…. That’s arguably a good thing, actually, as I’ve been finding recently, when I do too much stretching of peripheral phrases in these missives, far too many wrinkles show up in the final version, after they’ve dried off, and have been consumed a few times…. So, we’ll surprise y’all again, and stop,… right….. here….

Shall we Pearl?….

“You may not be able to change the whole world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.” — Katha Pollitt

Well…. THERE’s good news!….. I’ll say it again….. Shall we Pearl?….
_____________________________

The little pearl that I put just above has just assumed favored status among pearls…. I love it! It expresses so well the approach we take here at ECR, in our almost daily battle against complacency and foolishness among the populace…. I often, far TOO often, feel as if it is a futile task, this trying to educate the unwashed masses as to how they are allowing themselves to be screwed over on such a regular basis….

Either I am preaching to the choir, as I think I am, far too often, or I’m shouting into the wind, with no one listening at all… It can be a frustrating feeling, until I remember that I do this not to save others, but to save myself, from sheer insanity….. If I dwell on reality for long, it can lead to outright despair, based on all-too-real issues in the all-too-real world….

In order to maintain a more productive attitude, by eloquently embarrassing as many of the BRC as possible in the fewest number of words, I will now go old-school, which I’ve found to be not merely the easiest way to poke fun at them, but the most effective, by delivering an accurate message to those who are reading what I’ve put before them….

Pictures, even if painted with words, show what is needed to be known far better than words alone, so, I try to use these pearls to create inner visions in the mind of the Gentle Reader, visions that will show them exactly whom to fear, and whom to revile, without as much chance of miscommunication…. Enjoy!….

“You cannot run away from a weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand.” — Robert Louis Stevenson, _The Amateur Emigrant_

“I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not understand. Nevertheless, with what I am, I can reflect light into the black places of this world – into the dark places in the hearts of men – and maybe help change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am . . . this is the meaning of my life.” — Alexander Papaderos

“As those persons who despair of ever being rich make little account of small expenses, thinking that little added to a little will never make any great sum.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Man’s Progress in Virtue

“Among what he called his precepts were such as these: Do not stir the fire with a sword. Do not sit down on a bushel. Do not devour thy heart.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pythagoras, xvii

“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward.” — Spanish proverb

BRAIN, n. An apparatus with which we think what we think. That which distinguishes the man who is content to _be_ something from the man who wishes to _do_ something. A man of great wealth, or one who has been pitchforked into high station, has commonly such a headful of brain that his neighbors cannot keep their hats on. In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, brain is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“And THAT’S the TRUTH! THPPPPPT” — Lily Tomlin’s “Lily Anne”
_____________________________

Genius needs no adornment….

Finisterre

This was the land’s end: the last fingers, knuckled and rheumatic,
Cramped on nothing. Black
Admonitory cliffs, and the sea exploding
With no bottom, or anything on the other side of it,
Whitened by the faces of the drowned.
Now it is only gloomy, a dump of rocks —-
Leftover soldiers from old, messy wars.
The sea cannons into their ear, but they don’t budge.
Other rocks hide their grudges under the water.

The cliffs are edged with trefoils, stars and bells
Such as fingers might embroider, close to death,
Almost too small for the mists to bother with.
The mists are part of the ancient paraphernalia —-
Souls, rolled in the doom-noise of the sea.
They bruise the rocks out of existence, then resurrect them.
They go up without hope, like sighs.
I walk among them, and they stuff my mouth with cotton.
When they free me, I am beaded with tears.

Our Lady of the Shipwrecked is striding toward the horizon,
Her marble skirts blown back in two pink wings.
A marble sailor kneels at her foot distractedly, and at his foot
A peasant woman in black
Is praying to the monument of the sailor praying.
Our Lady of the Shipwrecked is three times life size,
Her lips sweet with divinity.
She does not hear what the sailor or the peasant is saying —-
She is in love with the beautiful formlessness of the sea.

Gull-colored laces flap in the sea drafts
Beside the postcard stalls.
The peasants anchor them with conches. One is told:
“These are the pretty trinkets the sea hides,
Little shells made up into necklaces and toy ladies.
They do not come from the Bay of the Dead down there,
But from another place, tropical and blue,
We have never been to.
These are our crêpes. Eat them before they blow cold.”

~~ Sylvia Plath ~~

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As I noted above, in the introduction, I had this ready to go…. It is an old rant, sort of, from early this year, but, as might be assumed, it remains relevant today….. else I wouldn’t have used it here…. It’s one of my better rants, too, which is another reason I’ve put it here…. I just don’t feel like I could equal this kind of output today…. Regardless, it’s worth paying attention to, for certain, especially for those who would believe that everything that happens in Washington D.C. is happening for their benefit…..

From January 21, 2013…..

“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” — Justice Louis D. Brandeis, dissenting, Olmstead v. United States, 277 — U.S. 479 (1928)

Finding pearls is sometimes frustrating, but then I find one like this, which is just a perfect representation of what I want to say, and it all seems worthwhile again…. This statement, though written in 1928, could not be more relevant to the present if it were written yesterday. We are observing this principle in action, as the POTUS and Congress thrash around, trying to convince the public they are responding intelligently to the furor over gun control. Of course, there IS no intelligent response possible, but they’ve never let that stop them before, so…..

Gun control will always be a hot-button issue, even after they’ve been taken away. And, you can bet your booties that day is coming, as the BRC and the unseen manipulators who control society will continue to create conditions that produce the mad ones, the ones who ultimately break free of their insanity, to let it loose on the world. This scenario suits the purposes of the ruling class very well, as it allows them to keep the populace stirred up in fear, making them easily led to the place they wish them to go. It is always easier to take away a right, when the people clamor for the government to take it away, out of unreasonable fear…..

A mighty pain to love it is,
And ‘t is a pain that pain to miss;
But of all pains, the greatest pain
It is to love, but love in vain.

— Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) — From Anacreon, vii, Gold

This is often how I feel about my country. I consider myself to be a patriot, in the classic sense; I support the idea of my country, but do not necessarily support the government. I love the idea of America…. a place where men and women are free to work out their own destiny, without the interference of the system they have created to oversee the necessary societal issues, i.e., without being persecuted for their beliefs, whatever they are…. The concept is an ideal, and one that the world has never actually seen before, not in practice. There have been attempts in history, but none so bold as the one made by our forefathers, who managed to create a system with the potential to create a veritable utopia….

But, within moments of the signing of the Constitution, the bankers, the preachers, and the lawyers were all taking their shots at the system, trying to find ways to amend its protections, and weaken the defenses against the very things they are trying to do. Since the Bill of Rights became law, there have been members of the Beloved Ruling Class trying to dismantle them, and reduce the protective qualities they possess. Much of the time they don’t even bother to hide it, but just couch it in terms that distracts the public from examining their claims too closely…

That struggle, to maintain the purity and intent of the original Bill of Rights, continues to this day, and is now undergoing its most fearful threat since the initial days of this country, more dangerous even than the Communist Purge in the 1950’s, during the McCarthy era of our political history. Once again, events have been manipulated to make it appear as if there is great danger, to the public, and most significantly to our children. Emphasizing this danger to our progeny is the most powerful weapon the BRC possesses, and they are making full use of it in the media, you can be certain…. Manifest a threat to children, and the ire of the public is yours to control….. much like Pavlov’s dogs….

I also think that Justice Brandeis was being nice, when he mentions that the BRC may be acting with good intentions, but lack of understanding. I think that the BRC knows EXACTLY what it is doing when it pursues legislation such as the current limits to gun ownership, and I don’t think they care at all that people don’t really NEED their protection or their help to protect themselves from the evil in the world. What the citizens DO NEED is less intrusion by the BRC into their private, or even public, lives.

I don’t care how ethical a government official SAYS they are, I don’t think they are more ethical than me, or the average Joe….. Nor can they be trusted to act in a manner that is beneficial to me, or to any other private citizen; their actions are only concerned with their own private agenda, and anything they say to the contrary is a BIG, FAT LIE! (Sorry, don’t mean to shout at you….)….. This, I think, is an assertion that doesn’t even need me to point out the proof, as it jumps up in everyone’s face on a daily basis…. The BRC LIES TO US, every day, and it isn’t hard to catch them at it, as it happens virtually every time they open their mouths to speak….. What amazes me is that they get away with it so easily….

“I believe and I say it is true Democratic feeling, that all the measures of the Government are directed to the purpose of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.” — William Henry Harrison

As is obvious, I’m not the only one who is dissatisfied with the BRC, or as some say, the Government. I like to use the BRC, because then I can supply the defined parameters to include ALL of the various types of assholes who are part of that group; lawyers, preachers/priests, bankers, Senators, Congressmen, judges, elected officials, all are charter members of the BRC, and the targets of my ire, as well as the meat for my consumption here on ERC. I guess it would be accurate to say that the BRC consists of all those who seek power over others for their own personal gain, and just let it go at that….

“One of the most difficult of the philosopher’s tasks is to find out where the shoe pinches.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein

There is the pinch-point, ffolkes…. There are essentially two types of humans…. those who seek to have power over other people, and those who seek power over themselves. Anyone who doesn’t fit into those two categories is not living up to their full potential as a human being, and will not in any way have any say in what happens in the world. They are the cannon fodder, the unwashed masses of folks who go through life without ever directing their conscious mind anywhere but right in front of themselves, oblivious to all the evil that occurs around them, as well as unaware of all the beauty that exists.

That is their choice, and I cannot fault them for their lack of courage; it’s a scary world out there…. but, as human beings, I believe we have a duty to our fellow man, and that duty means NOT keeping quiet, NOT letting those who would do evil act with impunity. In my position, all I can do is speak up when I see injustice, or immorality, and issue my objections to what I observe…. It’s all I can do, so I’ll do it all I can… because, as Albert sez…..
_____________________________

The old saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”, and though I’ve never known exactly what that means, other than speculatively, it sounds good, and I’m hungry, so, we’ll go proof this, and see if the converse is true at all…. If you followed that logical train, you may have been here too often, but, it’s okay, it’s all tax -free, and tax-deductible, if you’ve got the chutzpah to claim it….. I’ll be right back, hopefully…..

I seem to have completely forgotten an entire range of expressions I once had in my mind to cover situations such as this…. But, since we’re here at the end of today’s effort, rather than the beginning, it shouldn’t be such a problem as it might have been, earlier…. Now that I’ve reestablished connection with blather mode, it’s time to go, before I get started again, which could delay posting another couple of hours… Besides, I’m done here, and having done worse, I’m outta here….. See ya…. 🙂

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

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

Which is Why….

—

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

gigoid

Proud members of a local pantheon…..

Posted on November 18, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I’m a bit pensive today…. This may be due to the subject matter that occupied my thoughts yesterday evening, a series of old impressions and feelings about my family, whom I dearly love, as long as it is from a distance….. No, actually, I do love them, such as they all are, for they are legion…. I think if possible, my mom would have produced an entire baseball team, rather than merely a basketball squad…. Though it is hard to think about, for a son, or a daughter, my parents MUST have enjoyed the physical aspects of marriage, and more than just a little bit, for they certainly “issued forth” with more than their share of children; there were seven of us, in total, though two of us died soon after birth (my long-lost, unknown, but always loved brother Scott, and sister Emily, both of whom died within hours of their birth, sometime during WWII, while my father was overseas, fighting in the Pacific theater…..)

It’s strange, actually, to sit here in tears, crying for two people I never got to know, but, I guess I’m just a closet softie. If both of the babies had lived, life would have been very different for me… It’s quite possible that, instead of being the middle child of five, I would have been the baby of the brood, with two older brothers, and two older sisters to torment me unmercifully, as did I and my siblings for my youngest brother…. Perhaps I’d have been the fifth of seven, as it did turn out, but, that, too, would have made me a different person than I am…. As middle child, the pressure is to survive the eldest siblings machinations, while still finding ways to make my younger siblings’ lives miserable… It’s what brothers are for, you know…

Actually, I always thought growing up in the middle gave me an advantage, that of learning to develop the use of brains over brawn…. Since I wasn’t big enough to fend off the older siblings, I had to learn fast, and develop my mental flexibility, to be able to outguess them consistently… That wasn’t hard with my older sister, but, my brother was pretty smart himself, and gave me some fits before I figured out how to manipulate him… You see, the middle child is in a difficult position… If I fought with my older sibs, I suffered pain, from their retaliation…. If I fought with the younger ones, the risk came from the possible intervention of my parents, who always tended to side with the underdog, ( always the younger of anyone involved in such altercations…) So, you see, we middle children learn to develop a larger, more flexible set of mental and physical skills than do our siblings, just to keep our sanity in the dog-eat-dog world of large family dynamics….

What occurred to me last night was the following query, to wit: had Scott and Emily survived, would I have been the same person I turned out to be? Since it is, relatively, a moot point, (it didn’t happen, after all….), it enters the realm of unwarranted, and therefore useless, speculation, at best…. In other words, a waste of time, for the most part…. I don’t regard the time I spent on this as wasted, however…. I did find out a few things about myself I hadn’t known…. such as, I really do miss them, even though I never knew them… I think I would have enjoyed having an older sister named Emily, especially given my predilection for the poetry of Miss Dickinson….. and who wouldn’t have enjoyed a brother named Scott, who would, perhaps, have been my champion, my protector against my other older brother, Tim, who picked on me without mercy, as was his right and duty, and fought with me incessantly..

I guess it goes to show that growing up in a large family has its ups, and downs, and advantages versus disadvantages; it seems to me, though, to have been well worth it, if only for the socialization and interpersonal skills it develops in those children, from living in a small copy of society, with all its different pressures and dynamics. Kids from smaller families, and only children, don’t get that same inundation in relationships, or the immersion in a melting pot of different personalities, thereby learning to deal with that issue, before having to do so out in the real world, outside the home, where one is, to a certain extent, protected from the vagaries of reality….

Okay, pensiveness fulfilled, and thus, easily dismissed… Though it isn’t my usual intro, it seems to have worked fairly well to break the ice for the day, with a good five paragraphs of material, all of which, though a bit personal, and irrelevant to much out in the BBR, or Reality at Large, nonetheless fulfills all legal requirements, and fills up the necessary space at the top of the page…. 😉

Shall we Pearl?….

When stars are in the quiet skies,
Then most I pine for thee;
Bend on me then thy tender eyes,
As stars look on the sea.

— Edward Bulwer Lytton (1805-1873) — When Stars are in the quiet Skies

Hmm… see, pensive…. Onward, ever on, he cried!….
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There isn’t a lot that needs to be added to this, as is immediately apparent to anyone, such as myself, who was raised according to these principles…. I would add only this…. The world would, indeed, be a very different place, if all men were invested in this philosophy of living… Of that, there can be no doubt at all….. In contrast to how things normally go around this blog, that is all you get today, for this section, because it is complete, just as it is….
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In cruising around yesterday, I came across some older poems of mine, first written back in 2011, I think, & rediscovered in August of this year… This one is perhaps my favorite of those I found, as well as one of my all-around best efforts…. Well, I like it, anyway, and I hope you do as well….

Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
giving no anxious fever, nor anger to eschew.

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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There are times in the making of these Pearls that I falter in my forward motion, and begin to wonder exactly what the HELL I think I’m doing…. Then, I grin at myself in the nearest mirror, and remind myself, hey, who gives a shit? At that point, I am free to go on, to bigger, and better, things…. Well, that’s the plan, anyway…

The following seven-star pearl is an odd one… It started out in one direction, then took a good 110 degree turn into another….. Far be it from me to interfere where I’m not wanted, so, I let it do its thing, promising to accept whatever happened…. In looking over the end result, all I can say is, keep your minds flexible, ffolkes, in reading these, and don’t let them push you into the wrong alley… There just might be something down that alley that could cause you some serious harm…. or not…. Let’s see just what happened, shall we?…..

“A mask has but one expression, frozen and eternal, yet it is always and ever the essential expression, and to hide one’s telltale flesh behind the external skeleton of the mask is to display the universal identity of the inner being in place of the outer identity that is transitory and corrupt. A mask, any mask, whether horned like a beast or feathered like an angel, is the face of immortality. Meet me in Cognito, baby. In Cognito, we’ll have nothing to hide.” — Tom Robbins

“I believe there is a limit beyond which free speech cannot go, but it’s a limit that’s very seldom mentioned. It’s the point where free speech begins to collide with the right to privacy. I don’t think there are any other conditions to free speech. I’ve got a right to say and believe anything I please, but I haven’t got a right to press it on anybody else. …. Nobody’s got a right to be a nuisance to his neighbors.” — H.L. Mencken

“Victory goes to the candidate with the most accumulated or contributed wealth who has the financial sources to convince the middle class and poor that he will be on their side.” — Mark B. Cohen

“Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners.” — Edward Abbey

“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.” — Albert Camus

“Lots of them go to the spring, but none of ’em ever drink.” — Footprints

“But Chrysippus, Posidonius, Zeno, and Boethus say, that all things are produced by fate. And fate is a connected cause of existing things, or the reason according to which the world is regulated.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Zeno, lxxiv

Zounds!…. If such astute men as Chrsippus, Posidonius, Zeno, and Boethus ALL say this, well, then, it must be true, right? I mean, those are all names that echo down the halls of history, shouting out their wisdom, right?… No?…. Oh, yeah, I guess I haven’t heard of any of them, either…. Oh, well, never mind… Just go with the flow, and it will all make sense… And if not, don’t worry about it; none of this will be on the Quiz….
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“Portions of the preceding were recorded. As for the rest, I quite fear that it was all in your mind.” — Smart Bee

It is arguably a good thing that we have reached the end of this Pearl…. I’m not sure whether or not it would remain in a non-explosive state if continued any further…. Now, if it can stand up to the loose standards of scrutiny applied here, we’re good to go for another day…. Be right back, after I see what actually took place up there….

Once more, the resulting mess defies description, or analysis…. That, in and of itself, is probably for the best….. Before I do something, or write something that will cause more serious harm, I’m going to post this, and be done with it… I managed to get to some of my favorite blogs yesterday, to catch up a bit on my reading, and awareness of what is up out there in WordPress… It felt good, and I plan to do so again today, given the space from my pain I experienced yesterday…. we can hope, can’t we? Of course we can…. it doesn’t mean our hope will be justified, or fulfilled, but, hey, it’s better than a milkshake made of tree bark and turpentine, right? Definitely right…. See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Because it mostly resembles a codfish….

Posted on August 24, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Oh, no!”, he cried. “Now what?” Sound familiar? It does to me…. Sadly, this sounds just like what I say almost every time I get up to another of Mr. Murphy’s less than welcome surprises. I’m certain I’m not the only one, either, because I refuse to believe that this kind of stuff only happens to me…. If that were true, I’d be seriously looking for God, to register a complaint, and, since I’m pretty certain that God doesn’t have an office, or keep office hours (hard to accomplish when one is a delusion….), it’s just more productive to take care of it myself…. I know, this makes me one of those heathens, and makes certain that Satan will hold me a place in Hell, right? Well, okay, as long as the A/C works, I’m good with that….

Sorry, didn’t mean to get all crusty right off…. I talked myself into that corner, and there wasn’t any other way out but through sarcasm, so, please, bear with me, as I try to stabilize my neuronic pathways, using my usual bee balm, aka coffee, blessedly strong and sweet. I’ve gulped down a good six ounces so far, and it’s starting to have some effect, so, we should be good to go in just a few moments…. I made this pot really strong, even for me, so it has a dose of caffeine in it big enough to win the Derby, and shouldn’t take long to bring surcease to those parts of my brain that are crying out for it, in such pitiful voices….

The piteous sounds of addictive neurons have faded into mere echoes, and the morning ablutions, including a second cuppacoffee, are well in hand, so, our way is clear to head off into the hinterlands of perception, to find what there is to find out there to play with this morning. I’m thinking it’s a Smart Bee day, as I ranted yesterday pretty hard, to the detriment of my hips and back… Since old-school pearls, and archive-diving, are less time consuming, we’ll most likely go that route today…. Not that it matters to the three or four readers who stop by…. 😆

It’s rather ironic, actually…. In the last few days, and weeks, I’ve written some pretty powerful stuff, concerning main-stream news subjects that concern everyone in this country… According to the WP stat-bots, I’ve got 302 followers now, but, only about twenty of them are visiting the site on any kind of regular basis, at least, if the Likes and Comments are any indication. The site traffic stats also show small numbers, so I don’t know what to believe…. Ah, well, since I don’t really care if anyone reads it at all, it isn’t an issue that bothers me much…. I just hate not having accurate information…. Well, there is that, plus, I’d really like to be able to know that more than just a couple of folks read what I’ve got to say, because much of it is stuff that this country NEEDS to think about….

So be it…. shouting into the wind is one of my favorite things to do, so, I’ll just keep at it, and hope that the traffic picks up…. Maybe if I pick better poetry?…. Hard to do, since I already post the world’s best poets regularly…. If I keep my own stuff out of the mix, it’s a pretty classy line-up, so not much to complain about there…. No es importante, I’m going to do what I do, no matter how many, or few, folks, or even ffolkes, stop by to read it…. Someday, maybe after I’m gone from this plane of existence, all the millions of words I’ve penned will be published for real, and the world can see what they’ve missed…..

Until then, shall we Pearl?….

A monk said to Joshu, “Your stone bridge is widely renowned, but coming here I find only a heap of rocks.”

Joshu said, “You see only the stones and not the bridge.”

The monk said, “What is the bridge?”

Joshu said, “What do you think we are walking on?”
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As ~~threatened~~ promised, below is an old-school pearl. This one was created using the “whatever” technique, which lets SB do the picking, whereupon, I deal with the results in a flexible manner, necessitated by the seeming lack of purpose, but enabled by the level of skill that I’ve developed over time of making something out of nothing…. another metaphor for my writing, I suppose….. Any who, this time, SB was instructed to pick some quotes that show the evolution of the BRC and the theory of government, contrasted by its relevance to the evolution of humanity at large…. I think it came out well…. It’s certainly obscure enough…. just enough, though…. all the needed information is there, if one can let go, and allow the mind to follow the path suggested by the pearls…. Enjoy!…..

“I hate to mention things like this in this feature, but it is one of the more pressing problems in America today, and that is the lack of tap-dancers in the Miss America contest.” — Smart Bee

Their feet through faithless leather met the dirt,
And oftener chang’d their principles than shirt.

— Edward Young (1684-1765) — To Mr. Pope, Epistle i, Line 277

“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.” — Albert Camus

“And waste their music on the savage race.” — Edward Young (1684-1765) — Love of Fame, Satire v, Line 228

“If you made a better rat than a human, that’s not much to boast about.” — Sirius Black, J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter”

“The message of history is clear: the past lies before us.” — Smart Bee

“Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.” — Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
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Today’s choice of poems comes from one of my favorites, Shel Silverstein, who passed away in 1999. The range of feeling in his poetry is astounding, as is his talent of expressing those feelings in the simplest of language…. Abondanza!….

God’s Wheel

God says to me with a kind of smile,
“Hey how would you like to be God awhile
And steer the world?”
“Okay,” says I, “I’ll give it a try.
Where do I set?
How much do I get?
What time is lunch?
When can I quit?”
“Gimme back that wheel,” says God.
“I don’t think you’re quite ready yet.”

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

Cloony The Clown

I’ll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn’t, just wasn’t funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn’t, just wasn’t funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, “Go back to bed!”
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, “I’ll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown.”
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With “Hah-Hah-Hahs” and “Hee-Hee-Hees.”
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, ‘cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,”THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT –
I’M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT.”
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

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I was going to be lazy, and pick something from the archives to put here, but, what the hell…. It’s still early, and I’ve got the time… Here is another old-school pearl (still no rant in there, thankfully….), a harlequin, random variety, picked entirely by SB, with no parameters whatsoever…. Should be “interesting”….

“Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don’t practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us — and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along.” — Carl Sagan, “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection,” Parade, February 1, 1987

(Note the date, please; it is obvious that Carl had yet to process the evidence that proved this had already happened, to wit; Reagan was still in office, and his economic policies were just starting to kill the American economy from the top down….)

“You can best serve civilization by being against what usually passes for it.” — Wendell Berry

“Many candles can be kindled from one candle without diminishing it.” — The Midrash

“Stereotypes are like a supermarket. They are convenient, economical, and useful. They do our thinking for us. We don’t have to waste time trying to make sense of our ignorance. Stereotypes slice through the niceties of language, tide us over the loose ends we don’t understand and wrap up into a comfortable package our narrow-mindedness about everything and everybody except ourselves” — Chuck Stone (Washington Post 6/3/96)

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” — Sun Tzu

“Listen carefully, I’m lying!” — Little known part of the Oath of Office, as administered to the POTUS every four years…..
(Sorry, couldn’t resist overruling SB on this one…. it’s just too perfect….)

“Anaxagoras said to a man who was grieving because he was dying in a foreign land, “The descent to Hades is the same from every place.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Anaxagoras, vi

Well, I think it’s interesting, and that’s what counts, right?…. Since it’s my blog, we’re going with that theory for now….
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“The chief aim of wisdom is to enable one to bear with the stupidity of the ignorant.” — Xystus I

There are those who would say the above is a somewhat arrogant statement, in which they’d be correct, to a degree. However, I can only respond, “and your point would be?”…. I’m not going to apologize for being smarter than the average bear; it’s not as if all my vaunted intelligence has enabled me to rule the world, now, has it? Nor has it made me rich, or famous, or widely known and respected, other than, I hope, amongst the few people I call friends… As for the rest of those folks out there, who get upset at having to use their brains for something other furniture, well, too bad, so sad, my bad, fuck it…. And I mean that in the nicest possible way….

Not sure where that came from, ‘cept that I like the quote, and felt it needed some comment or other to ease its passage into infamy…. Now that I’ve disrupted my own routine unmercifully, I should probably look for some way to bring this all to a close, before it gets completely away from me…. Oh, look! Here’s a spot now!….. Since I’ve completed all the required steps, and we have a good opportunity, I’m outta here….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Only the most severely impertinent will survive….

Posted on August 20, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“What we have heah, is a failyuh, to cogitate…” As I sit to write this morning, all I can see in my mind’s eye is the little bald asshole prison warden from the movie, Cool Hand Luke, standing on the levee, chewing on his toothpick, offering his asinine observation in a deep Southern drawl, and spitting. The line, of course, is supposed to be “a failyuh to communicate”, but, in this case, the other word is more accurate…. I’ve been sitting here staring at the screen now for 15 minutes, and this is the best I’ve been able to come up with…. not a good omen….

I must say, though, that I seem to be getting used to this cognitive state; there’s no sense of panic involved in the reaction now, and that is a small blessing. Of course, it doesn’t cut down the frustration to any appreciable degree, but, that’s something I’ve also become accustomed to experiencing regularly, and no longer feel such a degree of impending doom when my mind is blank…. Sadly, this is the result of the building of callouses, which, though it keeps one from the worst of the feelings we can feel in such instances, also limits perception, to some degree, and that can cause problems itself, through lack of understanding, or misunderstanding of details….

None of this is getting me any closer to finding anything to write about; that’s why I’m still circling around, babbling about the process itself, instead of immersing myself into a trance, or some other form of creative stimulus, to find at least something that will titillate, or, at minimum, enchant the few readers who come by each day…. As I’ve said previously, such blather seems to be the best way to fulfill the legal requirements, while still avoiding any real writing…. I’m uncertain, as always, as to how it is received, but, since there haven’t been any major complaints about allergic reactions, or flaming re: idiotic opening comments, I’ve stuck with it, as it works, sort of…

I’m really going to have to try to find a better way to get this section completed; this daily battle with my own head is getting to be redundant, which can often lead to boredom; if there is anything in this universe that I work to keep OUT of my life, it is boredom. To my mind, to be bored means that one is tired of what is going on in one’s own head, and that is something I will NEVER allow. I refuse to be bored, and I have to admit, it does save me a lot of angst and ill feeling…. not to mention never having to watch TV, unless I choose to do so…. Actually, it’s been so long now, I’ve probably forgotten how to program a VCR…. which I didn’t even learn until one of my kids showed me how….

Okay, I’ve managed to complete the legally required number of paragraphs, and can’t think of anything more mundane, or more interesting, to keep this going any longer; it’s already gone on too long, from an ethical standpoint… It’s skating on the edge of being cruel, I know, but, we’re done now, so, it won’t become an issue today…. Maybe tomorrow we’ll let it go completely over the line, and spend the morning explaining the explosions to the local authorities…. I love playing with the heads of public officials…. One never gets bored when fucking with the man….

Shall we Pearl?

Thales said there was no difference between life and death. “Why, then,” said some one to him, “do not you die?” “Because,” said he, “it does make no difference.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Thales, ix
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Not only did my mind stay blank this morning, causing the above intro to go into mundane mode, but, I got up late, having had a hard time getting to sleep last night, and making up the lost time on this end…. As a result, I’m going to cheat a bit, and fill in this section with a pearl from 2012… I don’t feel too bad, because it’s a pretty good one….

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.” — H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

Sometimes, I think we have already arrived at this point in time….. but, if not, then we are not far away…… With this firmly in mind, please find the following, all of which lead one gently to an idea that may, or may not, make you feel better. Which, of course, is NOT the purpose…. nonetheless, the conclusion framed by these quotes is one you NEED to know……

“It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.” — Bertrand Russell

“Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.” — Dalai Lama

As a man can drink water from any side of a full tank, so the skilled theologian (politician’s too!) can wrest from any scripture that which will serve his purpose. — Bhagavad Gita

“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you’ve got an audience.” — Diogenes

“Anyone who isn’t confused doesn’t really know what’s going on.” — Edward R. Murrow

“The only real failure in life is the failure to try.” — Smart Bee
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Here is the second of the three poems I found day before yesterday; if it isn’t clear, it is a reaction to the election process that took place in 2012….I hope you enjoy it…..

Destiny’s Vote

It was a special day, written on tablets of stone
with fanfare, and crepe paper, a symphony of lies,
played with verve, but discordant, and alone,
never more the grand parade, no more apple pies.

Heated dialog full of prejudice, hate, and fears,
fills up the airwaves, a cacophony of callow untruth,
playing up to ignorance, bringing anguish, and fearful tears,
while Nero’s fiddler sits down, in the only open booth.

Watchful and afraid, I see the coming conflict
clouds of ignorance and intellect, preparing to fight,
one to fight with darkness, and abject fear to depict
opposed at the base, banishing fear with truth, and light.

Seeds of anger and bigotry are planted very deep,
growing best in darkness, hiding in shame and fear,
waiting for moments of trouble, its destiny to keep,
looking for weakness, seeking to draw its victim near.

Sing not yet a funeral dirge for tolerance,
that particular die is not yet cast,
there still remains a good and honest chance,
our common dream of freedom may yet hold fast….

~~ gigoid ~~

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Having saved a shit-load of time by going to the archives for sections one and two, we’ll use a fresh pearl here in three, plucked this very morning from the virtual oyster beds I keep to cultivate these gems of virtual wisdom…. May they leave you with no unwarranted assumptions, nor supply you with any unwanted epiphany, and, most importantly, may it leave you with no open wounds…. It is, after all, about human nature….

“Either CONFESS now or we go to “PEOPLE’S COURT”!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Live with wolves, and you learn to howl.” — Spanish Proverb

“Fortunate indeed, is the man who takes exactly the right measure of himself, and holds a just balance between what he can acquire and what he can use.”– Peter Mere Latham

“”In God We Trust.” I don’t believe it would sound any better if it were true.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

“The man of superior virtue is not conscious of his virtue, and in this way he really possesses virtue. The man of inferior virtue never loses sight of his virtue, and in this way he loses his virtue.” — Lao-Tzu (fl. B.C. 600)

Now, that’s just about a perfect pearl…. but, not quite there, I think…. two more ought to do it…. remember to consider all seven of them together, and completely ignore this little blurb in the middle….

HUMAN NATURE

Once I shot a bird,
When I was very young.
I watched it fall, and die.
And I thought that it was fun.

— W.C. Mackie

“As great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope.” — Ursula K. LeGuin
_____________________________

EMERGENCY INFORMATION: How to breathe. 1. Inhale. 2. Exhale…..
(Provided at no charge for your convenience….)

Well, that was fun…. sort of. It was real, anyway, and got the day started with surprising aplomb… Damn, what IS that noise?… Hold on… For three days now, in the mornings, a small beep, three at a time, has been sounding off, very quietly, somewhere in my apartment (a studio), and I can’t locate it to see what little electronic device it is… Before I find it, it stops, after about four or five sets of three beeps….. Maddening…

And, totally off track, sorry…. Let’s see what happened here…. Okay, so instinct must have kicked in to salvage the process, because it ain’t bad, given its total lack of any redeeming features outside its obviously good intentions…. Yes, yes, I know where that can lead us, but, I’m counting on the consensual philosophical stability that I trust my gentle readers to possess to turn us from that path….. Besides, it’s all an illusion, right? One must always hold out hope for the best….. Or, so I’m told….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Diligently dancing, despite the incandescent horror…

Posted on July 30, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Shadows danced over the walls, cast by flames from the logs flickering in the ancient hearth. Savory smells of onions and meat filled the air, as the stew simmered in the pot hanging over the fire, stirred slowly by the old woman in a tattered, grey dress. Though she had lived alone for many years, she showed no surprise at the loud knock on the wooden door, only shrugging her bony shoulders as she walked across to open it. Wind and snow blew in the door, pushing into the room a huge, heavily bearded man, in grimy buckskins, carrying a long, evil rifle, and a large pack on his back.

Following the giant into the single room of the old cabin, a dire-wolf, all black, large as a small pony, eyes gleaming with intelligent ferocity, stopped in the doorway to peer behind him, into the darkness, then trotted through the door, sinking to the floor in front of the fire with a weary sigh. The wolf, glancing at the old woman, spoke, in a wheezing, gravely voice, asking, “Will they attack tonight?”……

Whoa, wait a minute, there, big fella…. attack? Where did that come from?…. Oh, hi there… and good morning. I thought I’d try my hand at another fictional opening to a story, and, all in all, I think it came out fairly well, though I have no idea from what odd corner of my brain the last line emerged. It kind of fits, though, don’t you think? I mean, it did throw in a swift change of direction, which I always find to be an interesting plot device; it always snags my attention when I read something that surprises me like that…. But, once again, it’s a story I’m not going to pursue, at least not now…. too many pearls to find and share, don’t y’know?….

Of course, this assumes there is anyone out there to read these epics, and that is not, it seems, necessarily true. It doesn’t matter, though, as I have to get this stuff out of my head, or it makes me even crazier than I already am, and that is NOT a good thing. In fact, it can get downright ugly…. and none of us wants that so early in the day, no matter what the weather is like….. The weather has been even crazier than I am lately; the naysayers who claim that global warming is a myth are being proven wrong, definitively, and completely, by the strangeness of the weather patterns, or rather, broken weather patterns, that we have been experiencing in the last month or two…..

Alaska, when we cruised there, was warm, more so than usual, according to the locals, while down here in northern California, it was sweltering, in late May, and early June… Now, for this entire month of July, the weather has been cloudy, windy, and often chilly, causing people to dress in layers as if it were the middle of winter. For the entire month, we’ve had temperatures in the 70’s, with only a couple of days of more heat than that…. People, this is JULY, in CALIFORNIA. It is ALWAYS HOT IN JULY in California…. at least, that has been my experience over the last 60 some years…. Summers are supposed to be hot, with the weather pattens in July, August, and often September, frequently climbing to temperatures in triple digits for days on end. It is almost as if we had moved north about a thousand miles, into a different climate category, due to our location in relation to the equator….

Ah well, I could go on for quite a while, cataloging all the strange new weather the world is seeing, now that the temperature of the oceans, and the planet as a whole, is rising. We, as people, aren’t doing anything that will cause that to stop anytime soon, so, we may as well get used to not knowing what the weather is going to do next…. Its’ kind of ironic, that just at that point in our history when we are finally able to predict the weather with some small degree of accuracy, we mess up our own base of knowledge by changing the rules, causing the weather to become unpredictable by any means…. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!….

If I did go on though, y’all would accuse me of ranting in the intro again, and you’d be right in that. Rather than go through all that again, we’ll just dive in, and start the search for some pearls for today’s effort….. Besides, everybody always talks about the weather, but nobody ever DOES anything about it, at least not in a positive sense… For now, I think we should let this die an unnatural death, and get on with it…..

Shall we Pearl?…..
_____________________________

Here is an example of why I pearl…. The following seven quotes were searched out with absolutely no pre-planning. I had nothing in mind when I started, and was willing to take whatever Smart Bee came up with. What I got, obviously, was an example of Smart Bee showing off, because these quotes just fell through the cracks in my mind, to formulate a precís, a summary, as it were, of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous Essay on Self-Reliance, only without all the torturous twists and turns his words built into the path to wisdom… Just let your mind float, read these, and voilá, illumination!….. Enjoy!….

“It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

“That’s the effect of living backwards: it always makes one a little giddy at first, but there’s one great advantage in it, that one’s memory works both
ways.” — Lewis Carroll, “Through the Looking-Glass”

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

“Did YOU find a DIGITAL WATCH in YOUR box of VELVEETA?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

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

“Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements.” — Sun Tzu

I rest my case….
_____________________________

“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” — G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

This observation, fortunately, includes myself…. as will be seen by the following two poems of mine. The haiku was written during the poetry challenge earlier this year, in April; the other is from sometime in 2012…..

Haiku II

An inner light glows
shining out of open eyes;
madness or wisdom?

~~ gigoid ~~

Raging at Aging

As old as you feel, we are told, is old as you are,
custom assures such vision will carry us far.
Reality begs to differ, may it be so bold
it is really quite painful, and very, very cold.

The power and strength felt in our halcyon youth
desert us with age, yet another unwelcome truth.
Irony rules our time here on this bountiful earth
as we reflect the changes over time since our birth.

As physical powers fade from this fragile shell,
we learn our mind can serve us quite as well.
The strength that once filled our bones and hearts
is now applied by our will, to more arcane arts.

Life’s greatest gift is our freedom of choice
no matter how often we forget, we still get a voice.
Energy, or apathy, by our will we may choose,
failing to do so, our only way to lose.

Each of us lives in the grip of time and space,
always seeking our balance, our own chosen place.
One must accept reality, for it is true at the core,
all we can do, is all we can do, and nothing more.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

“One should seek virtue for its own sake and not from hope or fear, or any external motive. It is in virtue that happiness consists, for virtue is the state of mind which tends to make the whole of life harmonious.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Zeno, (B.C. 335?-264), liii

Sounds simple, eh? Scholar Laertius has put his thumb print squarely on what I see as the basic flaw in human nature, the one characteristic that will eventually lead us to perdition, if not extinction. Every day, every minute, mankind, as a whole, and as individuals, are presented with a choice of actions, some of which are virtuous in nature, and others that are not…. These actions are chosen by each individual according to their own degree of virtue, or, more simply, they choose what to do according to what they believe…. What they choose to embrace as their life’s viewpoint will generally determine the nature of their choices, whether it is virtuous, or not….

I could rant about this; I do so frequently. Today, though, rather than rant, which just doesn’t seem to fit my mood this morning, I’ve put together a group of pearls that speak to this subject, at least peripherally…. Taken together, they poke a stick at the eye of humanity, trying to turn the mob back from the edge of extinction….

“The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life — the children; those who are in the twilight of life — the aged; and those who are in the shadows of life — the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” — Hubert Humphrey

“Virtue is that perfect good which is the complement of a happy life; the only immortal thing that belongs to mortality.” — Seneca (B.C. 3-65 A.D.)

“I have a feeling that at any time about three million Americans can be had for any militant reaction against law, decency, the Constitution, the Supreme Court, compassion and the rule of reason.” — John Kenneth Galbraith

“I’m just hoping that one day the sheep will realize that the shepherd is really a wolf in disguise.” — Sanjay Singh

“Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.” — Elbert Hubbard

To produce things and to rear them,
To produce, but not to take possession of them,
To act, but not to rely on one’s own ability.
To lead them, but not to master them –
This is called profound and secret virtue.

— Lao-Tzu (fl. B.C. 600)

“Make no mistake: the weeds will win. Nature bats last.” — Robert Pyle
_____________________________

At the end of each day’s Pearl, I try to measure, if I can, how it might be received by the Gentle Readers…. I have to point out, however, that I am handicapped in these assessments, by having to do so using my own viewpoint, which rather scotches the whole concept of judging it objectively. This may explain the lack of Likes, quite plainly, so I’m going to just forget the whole issue, and just get on with it…. Let’s see now…..

Days such as today tend to keep this process alive, reminding me that I do this to stay sane, not to win prizes… It’s all strange, and a little bit obscure, but, all in all, I think it’s pretty good, for all that it is an exercise in singing to the choir (regarding the danger of extinction; I think most of my readers will agree with my assessment… If not, they’re not saying so…). Nonetheless, I like it, so, it stays, or rather, goes…. And, so do I…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Never curl your lip at Art Deco…..

Posted on May 2, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Bashing myself repeatedly in the forehead probably isn’t the most productive way to begin the day, even if I am using the old paddle instead of the new one…. The available alternatives, however, seem to leave something to be desired, consisting of a choice between self-flagellation with a cat-o-nine tails, or suicide by immolation….

Neither of those choices gives me a warm fuzzy, and forehead bashing gets old quickly, so I should most likely try to avoid that, too, I guess. It’s hard to know what to do when I’m still half-asleep, but I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t like any of the choices I seem to have this morning…. more’s the pity……

I can see your furrowed brow, there, wondering about why on earth these nasty events are even part of today’s agenda…. Before your face gets stuck like that, I’ll tell you that all three of the described activities are fictional…. That’s right, I made it up, in a blatant attempt for sympathy, first thing…. Why, you ask?

Well, I don’t know, it just seemed like the right thing to do. I don’t have any real introductory remarks, and the template I’ve been using seems to be losing me readers by the bucket full…. Well, maybe it’s that, or it could be something else, but my readership seems to be dwindling, while the number of followers keeps rising…. Statistics drive me crazy, which is why I don’t often pay attention to them….

I have noted, though, some puzzling aspects to the numbers that are shown, and can’t figure out, for the life of me, how to view the numbers I see for this blog. It’s all good, though, as I figured out some time ago, it doesn’t matter to me at all if nobody ever reads what I write. It’s nice to have ffolkes read it, and if it stimulates thought, or a comment, I’m happy….

But, the main reason I write is to clean out my head each day, of all the stuff that otherwise would sit in there and go bad, and end up giving me indigestion, or, worse, mental constipation, a fate worse than death, to me…. Come to think of it, it’s not pretty, so you’d most likely not enjoy it either….

I see that I’ve whined and complained my way through to another legal-sized introductory section, even though the content has little or nothing to do with proper literature….. It’s all just filler…. A sack of sand, as it were, put here to bolster the false image being projected, of a caring, erudite old fart who loves to paint pictures with words…. Well, I guess it’s not a false image, so much as a wishful one…. and, regardless of which kind it is, we’ve gotten far enough to give it a shove into the deep end….. In other words….. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

I had originally intended to rant a while this morning, but Smart Bee had other ideas. This seven star pearl is presented at the behest of SB, who shoved each of them under my nose, without bothering to tell me why it should be included. As I look the group over, though, it came out pretty well, as some good advice on how to live, and how not to live…. or, as we are fond of saying down at the club, “Just the fax, ma’am”….. enjoy! Memorization of the quotes is encouraged, but, please, no flash pictures; it frightens the Ooompa Loompas……

Those who know others are intelligent
Those who know themselves have insight
Those who master others have force
Those who master themselves have strength.

Those who know what is enough are wealthy
Those who persevere have direction
Those who maintain their position endure
And those who die and yet do not perish, live on.

— Lao Tze

“Often when he was looking on at auctions he would say, “How many things there are which I do not need!”
— Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, x

Thou, silent form, doth tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!

— John Keats (1795-1821) — Ode on a Grecian Urn

“I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true.” — Carl Sagan, The Burden Of Skepticism, — The Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 12, Fall 87

“The faster you go, the shorter you are” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

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

— Tao Te Ching

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

It’s been a whole month of not reading very much of other people’s poetry, and I’m glad to be able to get back to whatever I want in this section… I think I strained my brain writing poems on a deadline, and I missed the daily dose of genius…. So, here is today’s pick, from another of my favorite poets…..

The Little Boy and the Old Man

Said the little boy, “Sometimes I drop my spoon.”
Said the old man, “I do that too.”
The little boy whispered, “I wet my pants.”
“I do that too,” laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, “I often cry.”
The old man nodded, “So do I.”
“But worst of all,” said the boy, “it seems
Grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.”
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
“I know what you mean,” said the little old man.

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

__________________________________

“Don’t hit me!! I’m in the Twilight Zone!!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I don’t know why Zippy so often is able to pinpoint the way I’m feeling, or what I’ve been thinking about, and give it expression in a way that anyone can understand. I’m very much feeling like I’m in the Zone these days, as I try to fill up the hours with productive things, hopefully, with a dual effect…. One, it will help me check another item off the list for my upcoming trip, and two, it will take my mind off the number of days until I leave….

“Yow! I’m having a quadraphonic sensation of two winos alone in a steel mill!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I am both excited, and a bit anxious, about the trip. It will be a fulfillment of a life-long dream, and is coming at a time that is at once convenient, and at the same time, inconvenient. The inconvenient part has to do with the lady I asked to go with me, who has another commitment next month, and still needs to get her passport, as well. She’s already started that process, so she’ll be able to go next trip, which I am planning for later this year…..

“I’m using my X-RAY VISION to obtain a rare glimpse of the INNER WORKINGS of this POTATO!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

So, this time, I’m scouting out the territory, and getting an overview, to mark down the sights I’d like to see when I will have more time for sightseeing in Ireland… This trip will give me several days in London, then the rest on a cruise ship, with day excursions in the port cities we’ll stop to visit…. Since I am also interested in the countryside in Eire, I’ll have to go back to see more of it than I will on this cruise…. But, on this cruise, I should be able to get a lot of good pictures of the sights in the cities we’ll be touring, which include Le Havre/Paris, Dublin, Cobh, Liverpool,Glasgow, Belfast, and a couple others…

“Why is it that when you DIE, you can’t take your HOME ENTERTAINMENT CENTER with you??” — Zippy the Pinhead

I just LOVE the way Zippy brings us right back to reality, by asking the tough questions, those thorny philosophical queries that wake us up in the middle of the night, like this one…. Why CAN’T we take our video boxes with us? What’s up with that?….

It’s stuff like this that keeps me from buying into the whole Heaven/Hell controversy….. none of what either side has to say really makes any sense, so what’s the point? It’s like Bob Heinlein had one of his characters say…. “There is no real, compelling evidence that there is life after death. There is also no compelling evidence there is not. Soon enough, you will know, so why fret about it?”

It is this kind of practical, sensible reasoning that will help me get through this agonizing period until I get to hit the road…. Well, that and my lady’s sweet kiss….. 🙂

“.. ich bin in einem dusenjet ins jahr 53 vor chr… ich lande im antiken Rom… einige gladiatoren spielen scrabble… ich rieche PIZZA…” — Zippy the Pinhead

Translation: “I’m in a (jet plane?) in 53 BC… I’ve landed in ancient Rome… Some gladiators are playing scrabble… I’m ordering Pizza….” Zippy the Pinhead

I guess, what I’m trying to say here is…. Ooooh, shiny! I’ll be going now, out into the Big Blue Room, to pass some more time, however I can….
__________________________________

“.. I’m IMAGINING a sensuous GIRAFFE, CAVORTING in the BACK ROOM of a KOSHER DELI –” — Zippy the Pinhead

If you are still with me, I commend you for your patience, and your willingness to undergo extreme hardship to reach the end of today’s effort, which it was…. effortful, that is…. Any who, I’m done, so let’s see if it floats…. Hmm…. I guess I’ve seen worse…. It’s all spelled right, anyway….. It will have to do, because I’m NOT doing it over…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

That is one querulous chipmunk…..

Posted on March 12, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Fear, correctly handled, can be a powerful motivator; just ask any married man…. Ba da bing….. Rim shot….. No? You didn’t recognize the classic format? Shoot, I could have sworn y’all were old enough to remember that kind of stuff….. Maybe you do, it just doesn’t register that you do….. You know, a comedian makes a joke, usually very punny (sorry, never can resist a good pun….. or, a bad one, for that matter….), and the drummer in the band does what is called a “rim shot”, three quick drum beats, ba da bing, indicating the feeling of dropping off the edge of a cliff….. No, still no stirring of the old memory box?….. Hmm, this is more serious than I had imagined….

If this evidence is typical, we, as a society have a big problem….. we’re losing our sense of humor….. Everyone alive should be able to recognize the rim shot joke format; it is perhaps the only classic, truly American style joke that exists. Though it was present, and in use for a time in Europe, it wasn’t until Americans such as Jack Paar, Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, and the sociological genius, George Carlin, in the late twentieth century, that the genre became recognizable as an American art form, brought to its peak in the latter half of the century on TV, with proponents like Jay Leno, and most particularly, David Letterman, the savior of late night TV, upon the retirement of Carson, and the clear winner in that time of TV history known as the Late Night Wars of the Eighties…..

Whew, love those run-on paragraphs…. Any who…. Now, it appears that modern culture has lost touch with this classical American style of humor, which grew out of the ancient styles of Groucho, Zeppo, & Harpo Marx, (Leonard & Gummo only appeared occasionally), and Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe, the inimitable Stooges. Never again will the stage or screen see the kind of uninhibited nonsense as produced by those two genius comedy groups, the Marx Brother’s, and the Three Stooges, during their periods of popularity…… No one will ever poke their finger in an eye with quite the panache that Moe could give, and it is a foregone conclusion that the art of clowning lost its greatest genius when Harpo Marx passed on…. I still get a runny, big, red nose on the anniversary of this death….

How will future generations ever cope with all of the stress and angst they will have to face, in the fight to survive the environmental damage being done by today’s Beloved Ruling Class and the Asshole Division of Megacorpse? Humanity will be assuming a heavy handicap in trying to face down such experienced evil-doers without the benefit of having George C on their side…. Nobody could issue indictments of the asinine behavior of the 1% better than Grandmaster Carlin, and the video discs he left behind, targeting the corporate assholes, are as valid now as when he filmed them 10-20 years ago, all precise, detailed attacks on the people whose sole purpose is to fuck the rest of us at every turn….

I would suggest that society take a very close look at the state of humor in today’s culture, and begin the attempt to bring back the jokes needed to motivate society to action. Our artists have always shown the way, in revolutions and historical times of tension, by singing, and quoting poetry, and carving statues, and making jokes about the government, or otherwise expressing the outrage and feelings of anger that people have when confronted with the chicanery of their peers; we look to Art to show us how to live….. It will be a sad thing indeed if we cannot learn to at least laugh at the foolishness of our own demise, because, damn if it isn’t hilarious…. from the point of view of the rest of creation, anyway…..

Hmm…. without even noticing, I’ve already ranted once, and managed to get an intro section out of it as well…. Cool, eh? If nothing else, it’s different than your average intro, without question…. whether that is a good sign, or not, remains to be seen….. I’m going to bow to the inevitable now…. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

It’s time, as is obvious from the intro, to mix things up a bit…. Oh, don’t panic, just a little shake-up, no major disruptions…. In this section, rather than the recently typical entry of a politirant, or a religirant, I’m switching to a harlequin pearl, the quickest, most efficient form of pearl creation in my somewhat limited repertoire of same….

I’m confused, which is both normal, and expected, so I’m going with my usual response to that condition, and making random changes to routine, so as to “go with the flow”, as it were…. You should know by now not to encourage me like this….. There IS a point to this pearl, and you SHOULD be able to figure it out fairly easily…. If not, well, you can always look at the ads while the adults are busy playing…..

“The dictate of the light says: ‘Know yourself and what you are.’ The dark replies, ‘By all means, but then become afraid.'” — Tanith Lee

“The only way to combat criminals is by not voting for them.” — Dayton Allen

“And never, ever cut a deal with a dragon.” — Smart Bee

“Plato affirmed that the soul was immortal and clothed in many bodies successively.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Plato, xl
(I don’t know about y’all, but it’s nice to have this confirmed by ancient decree…..)

“What I need is a MATURE RELATIONSHIP with a FLOPPY DISK…” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Individuality seems to be Nature’s whole aim — and she cares nothing for individuals.” — Goethe

For those who didn’t make it to page 249 of “The Anthropic Cosmological Principle” by John Barrow and Frank Tipler, I quote : “In a randomly infinite Universe, any event occurring here and now with finite probability must be occurring simultaneously at an infinite number of other sites in the Universe. It is hard to evaluate this idea any further, but one thing is certain: if it is true then it is certainly not original!”

I have no excuses, and no rational explanation for my behavior…. too bad, so sad…. They said he showed such promise…..
__________________________________

Something about Sylvia Plath’s poetry draws me…. like my own poetry, I don’t wish to lose whatever it is about it that feels so right, so I don’t question it closely, I just enjoy…. and hope you do as well….

Child

Your clear eye is the one absolutely beautiful thing.
I want to fill it with color and ducks,
The zoo of the new
Whose name you meditate —
April snowdrop, Indian pipe,
Little

Stalk without wrinkle,
Pool in which images
Should be grand and classical

Not this troublous
Wringing of hands, this dark
Ceiling without a star.

~~ Sylvia Plath
__________________________________

You are about to witness an unprecedented event of major proportion…. Well, for this corner of reality, it’s major….. The remainder of today’s Pearl of Virtual Wisdom is hereby canceled. The reason is not one of a malicious nature, but, rather a sudden burst of good news that will require some thought and assimilation in order to settle comfortably…. which is a long winded way to say, YIPPEE!

Following up on a phone message from yesterday, I spoke this morning with a Mrs. H, who informs me that a) my status as a disabled retiree has been approved by Social Services, and b) my benefits can start immediately…. oh, and c) she would be my caseworker from now on…. I am still trying to catch my breath, as the adrenalin is making it hard to settle down long enough to cheer….

After almost 3 years, it is an exquisite feeling to know that my wait is, essentially, over. The money owed in back pay will be in my account within 30 days (or, possibly, by her report, less than that….), and my monthly benefits should begin by the first of April, or May, at the latest.

Needless to say, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I’m taking the rest of today off, in re: these Pearls, and am going to go do something fun, if not foolish…. Hopefully, I can avoid anything legally actionable, but, I’m making no promises….

I leave you in this last section, not with a rant, but with a pearl of nearly infinite luster…. Well, actually it’s a pearl and a rant, all in one…. It doesn’t have anything to do with my news, it just seemed like a good substitute for the 1200 or so words I would usually accompany this with…. Just feel grateful I didn’t have the impulse to discuss this one…. we would still be here late tonight….. Enjoy, & I’ll see ya in the closing….

“Conservative intellectuals have taken on the left’s sense of persecution and repression — though in this case, at the hands of cultural commissars. The same conservative intellectuals who denounced the psychology of victimization have been nursing a fine sense of victimization of their own. How many times have we read or heard the same half-dozen stories about the horrors of political correctness? This sense of being victims at the hands of multicultural barbarians, militant feminists, and spineless university administrators (the usual characters in this drama) gives conservative intellectuals, as it has long given their counterparts on the left, a kind of collective identity. It is a powerful, organizing myth, which is not to say the individual stories are untrue– it is the total picture that is false. The myth of liberal repression allows the conservatives to cross-dress as intellectual insurgents. Charles Murray has perfected this appropriation of radical rhetoric– the courageous, lonely truth-teller, sadly bearing the hateful facts but facts they are, willing to voice the unspeakable, to break through the repressive apparatus of liberal conformity.” — Paul Starr, at http://www.princeton.edu/~starr/libcon.html
__________________________________

Okay, I can relax a bit now…. I was afraid I wouldn’t get this done before exploding… and if I don’t hurry, that statement will be a lie, or at minimum, wrong. In any case, it’s done, and I can go start my random wandering around in a daze, trying to figure out what to do first…. It may sound like a threat, but it’s really just a promise…. I’ll be back….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Life, Death, and Six Inch Stiletto Heels…..

Posted on December 24, 2011 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Just so it’s clear…..I’m not an atheist, per se, at least, not in the classical sense of the word. I do hold beliefs regarding the subject of divinity and spirituality, but they bear no great resemblance to those espoused by any organized faith, and I don’t normally discuss them with anyone. It just causes arguments. I am not a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Jew, or a Unitarian, or a Buddhist, or any other of the virtually countless ‘isms’ people have come up with to try to understand those parts of the universe that we do not comprehend. I’ve read the holy books of most of the major faiths; Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, the Bibles of several different Christian sects , the Tao Teh Ching, the I Ching, and any other related material I could find. Not that I made a complete heavy study of each, but I learned enough to be able to draw comparisons, and judge the validity of each (which I admit, is purely subjective. But then, isn’t any religious belief purely subjective? Why yes, I do believe it is…..).

It just now occurred to me that maybe, for all these centuries that we have sought to explain what we do not understand, we have been looking at things from the wrong perspective, at least in terms of intelligence, and its value being so great, that man considers himself greater than “lower” forms of life. The attitude that we are the pinnacle of creation is obvious in almost every approach taken by philosophers and scientists to explaining why things are as they are. Since we do not have the ability to create worlds (yet), or stars (yet), or universes (yet?), we attribute the state of things as we know them to creatures of vast wisdom and power, as “far above us as we are above bacteria or amoeba.” How often have you heard the last part? Isn’t that part of any definition of a god, or even God, by whatever name one calls him/her/them/it?

But what if the amoeba was God? Amoeba are the most ancient form of life of which we are aware, utilizing the simplest means of reproduction available (as far as WE know anyway…), and essential to the formation of other life. Perhaps the entire bacterial level is God’s nervous system, and the amoeba are the thoughts of God. And as other forms of life evolved, maybe each entered another part of the symbiotic whole that is life, non-life, energy, matter, and non-matter, all of which must be present in order for our universe to manifest itself. Which makes our viewpoint completely backwards; we are the bottom of creation, not the top. Every other part of the universe, and almost every animal and creature on our planet we know of, except ourselves and our vaunted intelligence, are functioning according to their place in Nature because they have no need to do anything else. Our intelligence is generally accepted to be that which makes us ‘better’ than the rest of creation, a convenient word to describe something that may not have been created, but might just happen to be the way it is, because it wants to be….so far we haven’t done too well at learning how to be at one with the rest of creation; quite the opposite as a general rule…..

Hmmm…..well, I guess that’s one way to look at it…… at least with this credo, there’s no guilt, no shame, no incentives, and no rewards, other than self-respect……
___________________________________
— Things We Can Learn from a Dog

1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
4. When it’s in your best interest, always practice obedience.
5. Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
6. Take naps and always stretch before rising.
7. Run, romp, and play daily.
8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal.
10. Never pretend to be something you’re not.
11. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
12. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
13. Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
14. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
15. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
16. On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
17. When you are happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
18. No matter how often you are criticized, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.

There is nothing I need to add to this; it’s just fine the way it is. If there is any creature on this planet that might really be the physical manifestation of Jesus Christ, it would be a dog, for sure. Probably a border collie, they’re pretty smart…..
___________________________________

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Now, here is indeed deep insight into human nature! One must respect MLKII, not merely because of his integrity and commitment to a higher purpose, but because he did so when there was no expectation of success or reward. Even those who disagreed with him (a group I am not part of, thankfully) learned to respect him, even as they reviled his positions. And this particular statement is one that applies to all human behavior and interaction. Much of the current world-wide troubles stem from this principle’s veracity; in too many corners of the world, people are oppressed, held down at the behest of tyrannical leadership in the name of either religion, geography, or sheer human avarice, unable to speak for fear of reprisal. But, eventually, one of them does speak out, and is heard by those in thrall with him. One man, or woman, showing the bravery to fight for their freedom, can inspire a million others; when that happens, change happens. It is well to remember that it takes only one person to act with courage and honor to change the world. But that one person must speak out when they witness, or are are victimized by the cruelty and rapaciousness of those who prey on their fellow men…… It is then a good thing, for all of us, to find opportunities to………practice acts of random kindness and senseless beauty, and be brave in the face of evil…..
___________________________________

“He said that there was one only good, namely, knowledge; and one only evil, namely, ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD)
— Socrates, xiv

Discouraging, isn’t it? This concept has been part of mankind’s legacy of wisdom for AT LEAST 1900 years, and we are still struggling with the war between good and evil, knowledge and ignorance. If one is the type who is easily discouraged in the face of difficult problems, this would definitely be a major obstacle to finding a solution. I think the part of this issue that is particularly hard to accept is that a lot of people enjoy their ignorance, and resist any attempts at education, or for that matter, any type of change, either in what they think, or what they do. Today’s culture is, sadly, infused with a sense of entitlement by far too many people regarding their actions and thoughts. They believe that what they want, no matter how destructive or indifferent to the rights of others, is owed to them by the universe. It is this sense of entitlement, promulgated and reinforced by religious organizations, that is the root cause of most of the problems we face as a species, to wit: pollution, ozone depletion, global warming, extreme climate change, and most significantly, the economic disparity so glaringly obvious it’s pasted all over the news on a daily basis. I’m still a tiny bit optimistic, but it’s getting hard to maintain any positive energy about this issue, and I wish that I were smart enough to be able to come up with something in the way of a solution. How to accomplish change in others has always been a mystery. The changes we need now are all internal, proprietary to each individual human, and the changes must be initiated by them, or they won’t be real, and we’ll continue down this road to perdition, instead of to redemption……___________________________________

I confess that I love Pooh and have never seen Beavis and Butthead.

Well, maybe I’ve seen a couple minutes of the two bozos; it took no longer than that to notice that watching it was killing brain cells. I haven’t bothered to watch again. Nothing I saw was at all attractive to my taste, so continuing to watch would have merely annoyed me, and caused arguments with my kids, who were fortunately old enough not to take the show seriously. The very existence of the show could arguably be considered as proof of the arguments presented in the section prior to this one. It could be considered one more manipulative attempt at mind-control by the PTB, deadening otherwise normal people’s sensitivity and intelligence by overexposure to deep ignorance. It’s not an unusual tactic; television is the perfect medium for distributing propaganda, disguised as comedy, or as dramatic, pseudo-intellectual thrillers. Why do you think cop shows are so popular? In reply, I will refer you to the quote above by Diogenes Lertius, via Socrates…..the battle goes on, with ignorance leading on points, which, of course, were awarded by default, due to lack of protest on the part of the normals……
___________________________________

I can’t say I’ve lacked for anything to say today, can I? I’ve done you a small favor, by only having four sections today, rather than the customary five. I did so because I wrote so much in the introduction that I am now getting fatigued, though I’ve only been up about an hour and a quarter. It would probably be best if I just stop now, before I cannot…….y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

gigoid

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

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Diogenes Laertius

It’s too late for the pilot program; use the spare shuttlecraft….

Lock up the dahlias, I’ll get the peonies…

Proud members of a local pantheon…..

Because it mostly resembles a codfish….

Only the most severely impertinent will survive….

Diligently dancing, despite the incandescent horror…

Never curl your lip at Art Deco…..

That is one querulous chipmunk…..

Life, Death, and Six Inch Stiletto Heels…..

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