Tag Archives: Diogenes Laertius

Complex & time-consuming? Try making felafel for the masses!….

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Ffolkes,

“From the depths of Hell I will follow thee; to the heights of Heaven, and back, I will hate thee.” Weird, huh? Often, in these early morning sessions with the computer, phrases will come to me, out of nowhere, apparently, niggling at my mind for attention, until I either put them down, like the one at the head of this paragraph, or dismiss them to the limbo of wherever stuff like that goes when it is deleted….. As with a computer, deleting something doesn’t mean it goes completely away…. with a bit of finesse, we can even find such items, if we know where to look, and how to get there….

Now, if that isn’t obscure enough for you, I can try again…. I’m pretty sure, though, that I can’t possibly BE any more unclear as to just what the hell I’m talking about, or where we might go with it…. The funniest part of this particular opening is that it doesn’t matter at all whether it goes anywhere, or even whether or not it informs us of our destination, or not…. Yep, none of it matters at all, not in THIS reality, anyway…. Maybe if we were in some OTHER reality, where they cared about this stuff, we WOULD care about that, but, as it isn’t, we aren’t, so we don’t, and we won’t….

Aren’t, won’t, don’t, yep, that’s got it covered….There, that probably did the trick…. If you’re not confused yet, I’m doing this wrong…. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, this is Consensual Reality, not some cheap imitation, so you can expect that level of quality confusion with your order every time you grace our presence with yours….

Of course, that sort of luxury doesn’t come cheap, so the price is somewhat higher than the normal level of confusion you find here; we had to adjust all of our menu venues to reflect the new service levels, but, as I said, it was worth it, to keep that same high level of quality in whatever Reality we explore….

Not that we go too far afield; consensual MEANS we have to stay at least within sight of the parameters under which we operate, or we can’t claim any consensus….. But, it doesn’t mean we don’t get out of the box now and again, to go where no mind has gone before, just to see what it looks like out there on the fringes of human imagination…. and when we do, you can bet we’ll be taking y’all along for the ride, because, hey, that’s the kind of ffolkes we are….

Now that I’ve completely gone bonkers, again, I suppose I ought to start winding my way back toward that reality we share here in the cockpit, so I can at least complete the proper paperwork for our journey today…. I mean, it’s like Tommy Toilet always says, ffolkes…. “The job isn’t finished, until the paperwork is done!” With wit, and wisdom, such as that, how can you lose? Of course, it’s also good to remember what else Tommy reminded us about, when he said, “Remember to always wipe thoroughly, kids! Rectal itch is NO picnic!”…. Ya gotta love it, right?….

On THAT note, I think it would be best if we just slip quietly into the water, to begin our dive for pearls for the day, yes? Yes…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I might make you feel, but I can’t make you think.” — Gerald Bostock

“Oh, thou hast a damnable iteration, and art indeed able to corrupt a saint. Thou hast done much harm upon me Hal, God forgive thee for it. Before I knew thee Hal, I knew nothing, and now am I, if a man should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act i, Sc. 2

(I know, I know…. My opinion of Will is well-established, and well-known…. but, he wrote so damn much, SOME of it HAD to come out good!….. I’ll use ANYTHING, if it’s good….)

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(Note: You will find a number of pearls scattered throughout the text of the following rant; they kept popping up AFTER it was done; each one fit so perfectly, I had to add them to the narrative at the appropriate points…. They actually do add quite a bit of punch to what is related, so, deal with it, okay?…. Thanks… We now return you to your regularly scheduled program….)

“That the gods superintend all the affairs of men, and that there are such beings as daemons.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Plato, xlii

Well, ffolkes, the wait is over…. at least, for now…. I found this article in the news yesterday, 4/26/2014….  My immediate reaction was to realize we had finally been graced by the boon of receiving word from our Beloved Leader, the potUS, His Most Puissant Self, Barry the Obama, of the planned next steps they will take, all of which I predicted weeks ago, in the ongoing saga of Eric Snowden’s revelations, the NSA, the White House, Congress, and the American public, which has been such riveting entertainment for so many months now….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/White-House-Discrimination-potential-in-data-use-5431708.php

“If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged.” — Noam Chomsky

“President Barack Obama requested the review in January, when he called for changes to some of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs that amass large amounts of data belonging to Americans and foreigners. …… The technology that enabled those programs also enables others used in the government and the private sector. The White House separately has reviewed the NSA programs and proposed changes to rein in the massive collection of Americans’ phone records and emails.” — excerpted, verbatim, from the above article

It seems the White House, and the shadowy corporate masters who “advise” them over there, have, in their infinite wisdom, decided how to address the public’s fears about how they are spying on them, and how the data they have stolen is to be used…. In this article, in essence, they artfully begin to lay the groundwork for their next set of lies, preparing the public’s perceptions to be distracted by what is essentially the same scam they pulled after 9/11…..

Thanks to the candor of Herr Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring, exhibited in his statements at the Nuremberg Trials after WWII, we know this is is easily accomplished, by fanning the public’s fears of what CAN happen, thus convincing them they are working to protect them from the depredations that MAY, potentially, disrupt their feelings of security, giving lie to their sense of false entitlement, to a life without thought, danger, or, ultimately, liberty…. Lots of security, but no freedom, you know? Just the way the corporate masters like it….

“Ignorance is no excuse — it’s the real thing.’ — Irene Peter

The above excerpt from the article states that the President called for changes to what the NSA was doing…. It says that right out, just as if it were true…. Well, no, ffolkes, I hate to point this out, but, actually, he didn’t…. Back a few months, in January, after the most recent disclosures of the extent of the spying came out, he did make one (Yep, that’s one…. 1….) suggestion for a change, one that, in reality, had no teeth to it whatsoever…. but, by all the evidence to date, that one, I’m pretty certain, never got instituted, either, just suggested…. If it did, THAT information wasn’t published anywhere I was able to find…

Nothing of what the NSA has been doing in the last ten years has changed at all, as far as I can see…. There have been lots of noisy, vague statements made, all talking loudly and insistently about changes, but, to my knowledge, no actual reforms were ever actually instituted…. Go ahead, check that out…. I’ll wait while you do, because I know it won’t take long to discover there isn’t anything to find…. It’s perfectly true, you know….

The government has made lots of noise about it, but, there has been absolutely nothing done or said, anywhere, that actually states that the laws, that enable the NSA and their cohorts to do what they do, have been changed at all…. Not a bit, nowhere…. I’ve been watching….

There have been deliberately timed articles stating This, That, or The Other, but, none of them have claimed to report any actual changes, just the noise that both parties are making over it…. Fake arguments between the Senate and the CIA are not changes, nor are they anything other than distractions, designed to get people thinking along certain lines, which will lead them where the administration wants them to go….

Now, after the matter is beginning to fade from the public’s consciousness, they come out with this article, which seems to be yet another attempt to get me to believe that something is actually happening, or has been…. when all that has been taking place, in reality, are a lot of strategy sessions, where groups of spin doctors put together their pointy heads to figure out how to approach the task of altering the public perception of what has taken place, and what continues to take place, in the shadows, where the public cannot see, thanks to the blanket of secrecy thrown over the whole mess by the White House, and the rest of the 455 assholes who think they have the fucking right to impose their own beliefs on the other 300 million of us who live here….

Whew! Sorry, ffolkes, sometimes I forget to take a breath, and the sentence in which I’m stuck goes on forever…. Any who… onward….

The decision as to how to handle the hullabaloo, as it appears from the evidence in this article, seems to be to fan the flames of fear in the public, telling them how many different ways the data that has been stolen, and continues to be collected, can be used to compromise their well-being….

Back when I was in high school history class, learning about the early days of the Information Age, (they called it the Cold War back then….), this was known as “propaganda”, ffolkes…. and, theoretically, it was something the governments of OTHER countries engaged in, not ours….

In my history classes, we were taught to recognize these essentially “communist” techniques of mind control, so we could resist them…. The examples we saw were just like these info-bits with which we are now being insulted, straight from the White House lackey’s statements…. Large, impressively overblown, inflammatory statements of dubious plausibility, designed to create fear, of the unknown, or of the unknown “other”, in the hearer, without the superfluous need to tell anything resembling the truth…. It only needs to SOUND as if it could be true….

“Creative semantics is the key to contemporary government; it consists of talking in strange tongues lest the public learn the inevitable inconveniently early.” — George Will

I’m sorry, but they aren’t telling me anything I didn’t already know about their data collection; anyone with any technical knowledge at all knows what CAN be done (which is just about anything, if you throw enough money at it….), so, telling me how many ways the information is potentially harmful is NOT making changes; it is deliberate fear-mongering, and not even particularly well-disguised mongering, at that…..

In case you couldn’t tell, this has pissed me off royally…. It’s all just more posturing and noise by the BRC and their lackeys & myrmidons; nothing is actually changing at all…. Only their story, which they will change ad lib, as they blatantly attempt to transform the lies they’ve told already, from those folks might not want to believe, into something people WILL buy into, thus proving, again, how gullible is the public, and how egregiously unscrupulous are those who pretend to care about serving that public….

Just in case you might think this is all new subject matter for me, I give you now a short diatribe, against the same group of unscrupulous assholes as those who stimulated the above rant, but, written over two years ago, posted on the date shown, here on this blog…. It fits right in with the above, and it’s been sitting around, asking to be included in another Pearl for some days now, so, you get it today, as a bonus, and as added evidence of what I contend in the current missive….

From 3/28/12:

“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)

President Kennedy was a pretty smart guy; not exactly the most ethical bulb in the box, but he had his head screwed on his shoulders fairly solidly. He also took the unusual political stance of actually wanting the American people to have a 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. This kind of fact is provided with 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 propaganda”, or “attacking the principles of freedom” or my favorite complete lie, “you’re threatening our national security.”

It’s 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 gun at the head of these idiots, and take their rights back….. 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

Quemadmoeum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est.  [A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killers hands.] — Lucius Annaeus Seneca “the younger” ca. 4 BC – 65 AD

“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

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Since the first section combines a new rant with an old one, I figure a reprint of a full second section wouldn’t be inappropriate today…. Hence, the following….. which you will find to be mercifully short….

From 12/15/12:

“Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave.” — James Thomson (1700-1748) — The Seasons, Winter, Line 393

The only possible comment is the same word that made up the first thought in my head when I read this… WOW…. Such an incredibly powerful line, so gripping and real, it makes me as jealous as I allow myself to feel. To write such a phrase would be enough for me; I could die happy. I’ll do so anyway, (die happy, that is….), just to spite Murphy, but, if I can write one line half as strong as this, I’ll be content, for sure…. Here is something that came to me last night…. at least, it began last night…..

Territorial imperative….

Beauty must define,

as augment to existence,
  as life must be
more than mere subsistence.
Nature demands more.
Truth helps.

~~ gigoid ~~


It ain’t long, but it’s much…. and better for being so, rather than the reverse….. Just as an afterthought to this section, I offer the following as proof that even genius can feel insecurity and jealousy….

“There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the other is to read Pope.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

There you go…. Even as smart a guy as Oscar could fall prey to the weaker emotions, eh? We all do stuff that, upon reflection, we may wish we hadn’t…. It doesn’t mean we’re bad, just momentarily weak…. What matters is how we react to that weakness; do we accept it as part of our nature, or work to change it? That, I believe, is just as, if not more, critical to becoming the person we are most desirous of being…. Well, it works for me, anyway, and that will have to do, won’t it?….. Onward…..

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The rant in section one today was actually written yesterday; when I saw that article, my outrage exploded, and what you see above poured out in about ten minutes or so; it’s all been in there percolating since January, or longer, so, it flowed right out, just the way I like a rant to do…. As a reward, for you, and for me, here is an old-school, random harlequin style pearl, fresh as the day is long…. Abondanza!…..

Joshu asked the teacher Nansen, “What is the True Way?”

Nansen answered, “Every way is the true Way.”

Joshu asked, “Can I study it?”

Nansen answered, “The more you study, the further from the Way.”

Joshu asked, “If I don’t study it, how can I know it?”

Nansen answered, “The Way does not belong to things seen: nor to things  unseen. It does not belong to things known: nor to things unknown. Do not  seek it, study it, or name it. To find yourself on it, open yourself as wide as the sky.”

— Smart Bee Tzu

“If you go to a gunfight, take a gun” — Charles Nichols’ Law

“Lord, how the day passes! It’s like a life – so quickly when we don’t watch it, and so slowly if we do.” — John Steinbeck

Uhura: “This isn’t reality…this is fantasy!” — “Star Trek III:The Search For Spock, Stardate 8210.

“Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“In the world there are only two tragedies.  One is not getting what one wants and the other is getting it.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

And, last, but, most certainly, NOT least…..

“Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.” — J. R. “Bob” Dobbs

Well, there you go…. Such as it is, this pearl is what I like to think of as “special”, but, not for the reason you may think…. In fact, there isn’t any reason at all, just as there is no justification for such inanity before dawn…. But, at least we’ve stuck to inanity, without tipping over into insanity…. This is good, yes? Yes….

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I am almost afraid to look at this one; it felt pretty powerful coming out, so I don’t know how it will come across… I suppose I’ll have to trust myself, at least that far…. So be it…. Okay, I’m confused, and so, too, will you be, in the end…..

My work here is done, ffolkes….. 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 the dubious

dozer3

Assaulted with logic by a Master of Balliol…..

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Ffolkes,

Oddity after oddity keeps piling up in front of me, daring me to question why all these strangenesses are happening so closely together…. Therefore, going with standard policy, I won’t bother to even think about it, as I’m not in the habit of answering dares from reality….. I’m old enough to have learned the usual consequences of that sort of stupidity, & have no desire to spend the rest of the day dealing with whatever my stupidity has cost me, in terms of having to fix something that can generally found to be both real, and critical to my serenity of spirit…. elusive as that may be…..

Having thus dodged a number of bullets at once, I’ll head off into the wilds of Consensual Reality,to see what kind of mischief I can find….. I suppose it doesn’t HAVE to be mischievous, but, that’s the venue I end up choosing most often, and I’m not one to break tradition, as you know, without sufficient reason to do so….. We have NO reasons today, so, mischief it is, provided I can find any…. It isn’t very hard, most days…..

Of course, most days, I’ve got more than five functioning neurons to work with; this morning, my brain feels as if I swapped it out for a bowl of oatmeal, or something; I just can’t seem to get going faster than it takes to keep up with this little snail over here….. Oh, wait, that’s a hallucination…. Never mind….

No, actually, my brain IS pretty foggy today, a result of once again getting more sleep than I know what to do with…. I had an attack yesterday afternoon, where my back seized up for some unknown reason, putting me into severe grunting mode for about an hour and a half, until shortly after six o’clock, pip emma, when I gave up the fight against gravity, & trundled off to bed…. Once I found a comfortable position, I fell out almost immediately, oddly enough, and spent the next nine hours in a restless, but heavy sleep…. go figure.

Now, it’s a bit past 3 AM, and I am once more up, typing, and hoping to find a bit of clarity, or inspiration, both of which have thus far been well-hidden from my desperately seeking gaze…. The cat is happy, but, I’m a bit less than perfectly situated, attitude-wise…. I’m feeling a bit of a grump, actually, & finding it convenient that nobody else is about, as I’d be sorely tempted to take a big bite out of them, just for existing in my space…. As you can tell, I’m finding it a bit tough to gather my wits about me….

I suppose I’ll have to cut this off here…. It would be completely self-centered, and more egotistical than usual, for me to continue in this vein; probably isn’t very interesting for y’all either…. So, I’ll head out now, to go for a dive…. Maybe the peace and serenity that often settles over the oyster beds at this time of night will seep into my soul while I’m there, and help me find some peace of mind…. Or, maybe not…. I suppose we’ll see, won’t we? We always do….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Some obstacles exist in order to challenge us. They are a test of our resolve.  Others however, are there to awaken us to the undesirability of a course of  action. Their purpose is to make us turn to some more fruitful path. The hard  part is telling one kind from the other. ” — Smart Bee

Sometimes, Smart Bee is smarter than others…. This pearl was the very first one that came up in front of me today…. As you can see, it is a PERFECT pearl for the introduction that precedes it, restating the gist of the entire six paragraphs in three short lines…. and, in the process, waking up my mind, with the shock of recognition….. My first thought, upon reading it, was, “Well, no shit!”…. a clear indication of how much I liked it….

Okay, we can go Pearl now….

“The moment of enlightenment is when a person’s dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities.” — Vic Braden
_____________________________

Given the state of my intellect this morning, I’m not going to even attempt a rant until the third section…. I could hurt myself, as well as many of my Gentle Readers, in the state I’m in, if I tried to bring myself to the point needed to carry out one of those rather emotional episodes….. As cathartic as the experience may be, it’s still pretty volatile…. Since I’m well aware of my own (potential) lack of control today, we’ll skip right past a rant, to the next available old-school pearl we can put together on short notice…. Let’s not waste any more time, & get right to the dive, shall we?….

“So very difficult a matter is it to trace and find out the truth of anything by history.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Pericles

“Diogenes said once to a person who was showing him a dial, “It is a very useful thing to save a man from being too late for supper.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Menedemus, iii

“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.” — Latin Proverb

“Morality is learned, not legislated.” — Smart Bee (at gigoid’s insistence…..)

“Bother!”, said Pooh, as he rolled another joint for the President. — Smart Bee

“Although it is tempting to resent disaster, there is not much use in doing so… Whether we remain ash or become the phoenix is up to us.” — Deng Ming-Dao

“The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.” — Carl Sagan

Not bad at all, even WITH the “one of these is NOT like the others”  entry, from Pooh…. but, I will point out, even that one has a point to make….
_____________________________

I’m in the mood for Emily, so Shawna will have to skip over this section today…. (Sorry, S….)…. In fact, I’m SO in the mood for Emily, you get a two-fer….. Enjoy!…. I did….

A Book

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

A Bird Came Down

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,–
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

_____________________________

“I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends…that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.” — Adlai Stevenson

I really, really love this; it’s a PERFECT political insult, and much closer to reality than most would care to admit…. Of course, both parties lie about each other, so, one must keep in mind that to be truly perfect, one must realize it works also in the opposite direction, swapping the position of the party names in the joke…. An all-purpose political insult is always good to find, to paraphrase Mae West….

My memories of Adlai Stevenson are vague, beginning as they do when I was very small; he was involved in national politics during the years following WWII, and after I was born in 1950, during the Korean conflict, which, thanks to my birth, my father was not required to attend (though he did get stationed in Japan AFTER that time, in 1954, when the US ARMY was still there in force, keeping a weather eye on the Japanese, AND on Korea…..) But, I do remember that he was the sworn enemy of Joe McCarthy, that bigoted paranoid who caused such a stir back in the early part of the second half of the century….

During those years, McCarthyites pounded the public awareness with all kinds of verbal garbage, trying to drum up the public’s fear of Commies and Pinkos…. I remember a lot of the rhetoric being bandied about then, and can only be glad that such nonsense didn’t last too long…. thanks to people such as Adlai, who, even back then, as a four to seven-year old, I could tell was hated by the McCarthy camp….. The vitriol with which they spoke of him was VICIOUS, and had the effect of convincing me, and probably several adults, his was a voice of reason, one who spoke gently, clearly, and with intelligence, in contrast to all the loud, bombastic, ignorant bullshit being flung about by the idiot Senator and his cronies….

Today, of course, our political legacy from the past is one of unadulterated fiction; in my admittedly critical point of view, there isn’t a single elected official among the 455 men and women who sit in our federal government (SOTUS, HoROTUS, pOTUS, vpOTUS, & 12 judges on the SCOTUS….) who speaks to the public with only the truth to guide their words…. all of which is a long winded way of saying they ALL lie to the public, regularly, and consistently….

If you have evidence to the contrary, PLEASE, PLEASE, show it to me…. I honestly would LOVE to see some conclusive proof that even ONE of our elected officials habitually tells the truth when making statements to the press…. Just ONE would be good… It would imply the potential presence of others, which would be a big improvement over what we have now, which is a big ZERO….

SIGH…. I’m ranting, aren’t I? I didn’t even notice when it began, but, I guess I am…. Oh well, it’s never out of place, not in this society…. I’m going to pull an Adlai, though, and do something which, if not enlightening or particularly uplifting, may well come as a relief…. I’m stopping the rant here, and will come back to praise Mr. Stevenson (and, further vilify Mr. McCarthy) another time…. For now, let’s find some old-school pearls on the subject of our Beloved Ruling Class, and have some fun with that…. It will be better for all of us, I’m sure…..

“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 3/14/08

“We have met the enemy; in fact, we elected him.” — Cruickshank’s Law #1

“To be overtly queer, in a culture that denigrates and hates queerness, is to be political.” — Michael Bronski

“Successful and fortunate crime is called virtue.” — Seneca (8 BC) — Hercules Furens, i, 1, 255

“Anyone can grab a Tiger by the balls, but it takes a real man to squeeze!” — Smart Bee

“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it.” — Mark Twain

“There is a case for telling the truth; there is a case for avoiding the scandal; but there is no possible defense for the man who tells the scandal, but does not tell the truth.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 7/18/08

Aha!…. An Oreo pearl…. and if I need to explain that, I’ve done something very wrong….. Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did, because I damn near orgasmed there on the Twain quote!….    Bwuuuhahahahahaha!!!…..
_____________________________

I was right, or write, whatever the case may be, when I implied my own level of mischievousness today; it almost got away from me, but, I managed to keep it within the assigned limits, so, we’re good to go…. I’ve proofed the above, but, if my recent attempts at that are any indication, you’ll find at least one, if not many, egregious typos and/or errors of syntax, or grammar…. You can bet on it…. If not, well, good, but, otherwise, so be it…. I’m done with this one, and will now perform the necessary incantations and spells to get it online…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Be well, and happy…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

dozer3

Your majesty’s attire smacks of deliberate irrelevance….

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Ffolkes,

There are times when a good round of really gross, anatomically incorrect, yet innovative, viciously antagonistic cursing does one more good than anything less vulgar can possibly accomplish, partially because of that selfsame vulgarity….. And, of course, when one breaks down completely, morals-training-wise, stooping to the forceful, heartfelt use of that crowd favorite, the time-tested, universally applicable Anglo-Saxon euphemism for the act of physical love, otherwise known as the F-word, is our only viable recourse…. We all know how much better the mere voicing of this honorable incantation can make us feel, don’t we? Well, those among us who refuse to be hypocrites do, anyway….

So, what happened today that prompted such a long-winded way to say I feel like saying “FUCK”, at the top of my lungs? Well, let me tell you…. Here on Earth, some of us have agreed to live with other species, domiciling together in a form of mutual support and honorable relationship, for no other reason than our own compatibility and liking for each other’s company….

There are several species with whom we have made such an agreement over time, a group that includes some rather exotic creatures, such as snakes, rodents, spiders, and fish of all varieties, including dangerous ones, such as sharks and/or piranha, along with the more mundane mammalian choices such as dogs, horses, etc….. Myself, I’m not sure how I’d enjoy cuddling with a piranha, or petting a python, but, to each his own..

Then, of course, we have cats….. I’m not at all certain that the relationship we have with them is completely agreeable to either party at times; there are too many instances where our purposes and/or desires come into conflict for us to ever be fully at ease in each other’s company…. I spend as much time chasing the damn cat with a squirt bottle of water as I do petting her, and that is mostly at HER insistence…. She seems to enjoy pissing me off & having me chase here around the house, spraying her with the water bottle…. Well, until I catch her anyway…. then, she tends to learn VERY quickly,  whatever it was we were tussling about…. funny how that works….

So, this morning, this 4 lb. furry black menace decided that 2 AM was just the right time for me to be up….. the fucking asshole. She probably heard me making plans to go see my grandson today, & figured she could help out the most by making sure I was up in plenty of time….. Sure she did…. I mean, seven fucking hours should be enough for me to get ready, don’t you think? Apparently, she thinks that’s about right….. bloody nuisance is what she is….. Plus, she KNOWS I’m a softy at heart, and won’t actually HURT her, even if getting her wet isn’t one of her favorite things….. Like most of us do when dealing with our fuzzy companions, I bluster at her a lot, but she knows it’s all bark, and no real bite….

I suppose in her own way, she thought she was being nice, so it’s hard to get too upset…. especially given the weird hours I’ve been putting in of late. Three in the AM isn’t particularly unfamiliar to me these days, so two o’clock is hardly a handicap, or much of a change, for that matter….. So, I guess I’ll let her live…. She DID not only get me up, but provided the material for this intro, such as it is, so, I suppose I should thank her…..

I will…. after I finish being pissed off about being up at this hour, and having so much of the day to fill up, on so little rest…. At least I have good stuff to fill it with; a visit with Zack is always a bonus for me…. I only have the one grandson, so far, so I tend to savor our time together…. and, since I only get to see him a couple of times a year, they’re marked as special days on my calendar…. But, that’s not until way later, so…..

Shall we Pearl?

Cat: “A small, furry beast resembling a meatloaf…” — Smart Bee (honest, it wasn’t me!….)
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“The gods too are fond of a joke.” — Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

One only need look at the platypus to understand this sentiment…. or look at our current crop of legislators…. If you’re anything like me, when you think of one of them, you automatically imagine them wearing their natural coats, which either consists of a big, loudly colored ruffed collar, a harlequin suit, and huge red shoes, or will closely resemble the fur of a polecat, aka, a skunk…. Oh, I know, those are both ancient, cheap shots, but, generally, I’m so direct and insulting, I thought I’d try to slip by y’all with a bit of style and elegance…. No such luck, eh?….

Actually, when I planned out the above paragraph in my mind, it seemed a lot more….. everything…. more funny, more relevant, more gripping….. just…… more. Having failed in that…. miserably, I might add…. we should go on to something more lucrative, or at least, potentially more interesting…. But, damn it, I don’t like to give up on a good pearl…. I know…. I’ll find some others, that match the tone and direction of this one from Ari…. Maybe, just maybe, if I can find enough of them, I can turn this into an adequate old-school pearl, thus saving this Pearl from an immediate disaster…..

Not that there is much that can save it, at this point, but, we’ve got to try, Mr. President!…. It’s too young and innocent to go down like this!…. Let’s see if SB has what it takes to save the day…. again….

“Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.’ — Aesop (620-560 B.C.)

“True artists scorn nothing.” — Albert Camus (1913-1960) — Nobel Prize speech (1957)

“For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) — First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.’ — Voltaire

“A bare assertion is not necessarily the naked truth.” — George Prentice

“Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, viii, 22

I suppose this just goes to show that sometimes you just have to dig deeper to find the jewels…. or, in this case, dive deeper to find the pearls…. Here they are, and they’re all from the deepest part of the ocean….. which may explain their relative elusiveness, as well as their esotericism….. Nonetheless, it does have a point, even if that point isn’t exactly scalpel-grade….
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I have a feeling today is one of those days I’d best use something of my own here, so as not to bring harm to the reputation of anyone else by negative association…. So, here you go, with the first poem of mine that caught my eye, and my fancy, when I went to look for it…. It’s also one of the first I wrote in 2012, when I started writing poetry again, after a forty-some year hiatus…. This was written on 9/10/2012…..

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

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“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

“We ought never to do wrong when people are looking.” — Mark Twain

For a long time now, I’ve been immersed in the study of modern society, locking myself in to the close observation of what transpires in the public arena, using, for the most part, the same criteria to pick my subject matter as do the major news organizations…. Small wonder, they’re people, and so am I…. it only figures we’d do things in a similar way…. Unfortunately, as it turns out, this includes a strong preference for morbidity, seemingly, as 99% or more of what gets published in the major newspapers and online outlets is rather negative in terms of its subject matter….. Blood sells, as they say in the game….

When I have used articles from the news as the springboard for a rant, they generally fall into that same negative pattern; this, of course, is a natural hazard in ranting, and not entirely unexpected, or unwanted…. But, it does get old, as does any kind of negativity after a while, and it’s a good idea to occasionally give oneself a break from such anti-frivolity….

All of these contrary sort of thoughts occurred to me today as I went to look for something to rant about in the daily news…. I was pleasantly surprised to find the following article on what would be considered the front page of one of the news sites I frequent, SFGATE.com, run by the same folks who run the SF Chronicle newspaper…. It’s a charming little piece, not for its style or power of writing, but for the subject matter…. I cried, but, then, I’m a softy, with all my emotions right up near the surface, susceptible to babies, animals, & kids, and very partial to romantic interludes…. It’s such a heartwarming post, I defy anyone to read it and NOT feel at least a twinge of “Awwww”….

It also fits in with my own view on animals vs. humans as compassionate creatures….. I believe most animals on the planet to be far superior to any human, when it comes to essential morality…. Sure, they’ll obey their instinctual survival imperatives, to protect their territory, and to survive as either prey or predator, but, they’ll never do so out of of spite, or greed, or, ignorance, or sheer cussedness. (Okay, full disclosure… I HAVE known a couple of horses that were pretty fractious when it came to cooperating with people… but, they were anomalies for their species, I’m sure….I also knew this one blue jay that REALLY didn’t like people, too, but, hey, he probably had a reason…. We humans have a reputation for being assholes to other creatures….)

I have collected more than 2000 pictures from the internet over time, just for my own viewing pleasure…. A great many of them are examples of animals interacting between species, showing how the two, or more, species can get along with each other…. Also, I’ve observed animals all my life, and can state without hesitation that Man is the LEAST compassionate of ALL the mammalian species, and, really, hasn’t shown me any evidence that very many of them can be much much nicer than most reptiles, avians, or insects, in my experience (I THINK that covers the major phyla, doesn’t it?….) I haven’t studied the fish very deeply, in terms of interactive or relational skills, but, I know for sure and for certain that the sea-going mammals are ALL more intelligent, and more compassionate to other species, than is our own …..

So, I thought, for a change, I’d show a bit of compassion myself, and just give you the link to this uplifting post, then, follow it with some simple, easy-going pearls, with the only parameter being “nice”…. See? No rant, one of my poems, two old-schools, both light-hearted, and a “nice” link…. See how I can make nice when I try?…. At least as nice as a legislator, I think, and much more honest…. Plus, I don’t want anything from y’all, except your kind attention…  Enjoy!…..

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Giraffe-licks-dying-zoo-worker-5340478.php

“Men show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they think laughable.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

‘He was once asked what a friend is, and his answer was, “One soul abiding in two bodies.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings.

— The Buddha

“By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love he may rule the world forever.” — Lao Tzu

“At the touch of Love every one becomes a poet.” — Plato

‘How pleasant then to be insane.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

“…just when I had you wriggling in the crushing grip of reason, too…” — Calvin & Hobbes
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I’m not sure how to feel about this one…. It has taken somewhat over three hours to complete all of the necessary operations to get this done, interspersed with frequent breaks, and it still, as far as I can tell, could use some work, or something….. more…. But, since it’s already longer than intended (which is NOT unusual, I assure you….), I’m going to continue to demonstrate my compassionate side, and let it go the way it is….. Lucky you, eh?….

See you tomorrow, and, yes, I know I threaten you like that every day…. Y’all should be used to it by now…. I know I’m getting pretty calloused in that respect, so, maybe I’ll think about doing something about it, some day…. Sure I will….  Well, as they are fond of saying downtown, so be it…. Ta, then….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

dozer3

Balderdash! A jury won’t convict without that mango….

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Ffolkes,

Now that I’ve been sitting here for more than 45 minutes, with nothing that comes close to resembling a coherent thought having passed through my brain, it might be time to start to panic…. First, I was sleepy, so I sat and dozed…. Then I stared at the screen a while, just letting my mind wander, which it did, far enough I had to spend the money for a bus to go find it….. When I got back, I was still sitting there, staring….

At that point, I came to the realization that I might just be having a bit of a problem here this morning…. In order to avoid the sort of issues that can arise on such occasions, I closed off the partition between the cockpit and the cabin, which will at least keep the stewards, stewardesses, and the rest of the flight crew from catching on to what is happening….

Of course, for them to clue in to what’s happening, it’s a point of fact that I need to know first, and, I don’t believe the odds on that are very good, not today….. I’ve always found that keeping them ignorant for as long as I can works better than letting them in on any part of the pre-take-off routine, anyway, so that plays right in to what I planned. I suppose all of this will have to come out at the next board meeting, when the newly-minted policy manual is to be revealed….  I think I’ll just mark it all down on the tally sheets, and get on with whatever else we’ll be allowed to do….

Your guess about that would, patently, be as good as any I could make today…. In fact, I’m pretty sure that, so far, I’ve been almost completely  impenetrable, in terms of meaning…. I ask you… have I said ANYTHING rational, or, even anything coherent, yet today? If you said yes, may your God have mercy upon your soul, because your brain has died ahead of your body…. Nothing, as far as I can tell, of what I’ve produced thus far today even APPROACHES coherency, and, I think we can safely assume that rationality is equally out of the question… unless drastic changes in Reality take place very soon, anyway….

The reason for my cranial fog is easy…. I overdosed…. Well, as far as it is possible to do so on cannabinoids, I overdosed, which is not the same issue as with other drugs…. By this I mean that I just ate one too many of my chocolates, and it’s making it hard to wake up…. my mind would prefer to be asleep, thank you very much, and is rebelling with great stubbornness to the idea of waking up all the way…. Droopy eye lids, foggy mind, lethargic, stiff body, all the typical symptoms of an old, tired crank are present, and no matter how hard I try to cudgel my mind into working, it doesn’t want to cooperate….

Oh, look at that…. In spite of all this, I’ve again managed to spew out five paragraphs of pure twaddle…. In light of how things are progressing up to this point, I’m going to have to settle for that, and get on with the rest of this…. I can’t say I’m particularly hopeful that things will get straightened out in time to salvage today’s Pearl, but, with the world in the state it’s in, I don’t think it will notice much anyway…. Plus, the traffic here at ECR has dropped off again to the point where I feel lucky to see five visits a day, not counting my own checks to see if anyone has left a comment… SIGH…

It doesn’t matter, though, any more than it ever has…. This stuff HAS to come out of my head, before it becomes toxic, or explosive, so bear with me, while I empty out the crap that built up overnight….

Shall we Pearl?…..

Years steal
Fire from the mind as vigour from the limb,
And life’s enchanted cup but sparkles near the brim.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iii, Stanza 8
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Ranting, of course, is out of the question today…. I’d probably end up frothing at the mouth over something I did myself, thus adding weight to the evidence being gathered to have me committed….. So, I’ll stick to old-school pearls, which can only hurt me if I let them…. Let’s see what Smart Bee has for us today…. How about we use the word, “honor” as a parameter? Let’s see what comes up, shall we?….

“Badness, look you, you may choose easily in a heap: level is the path, and right near it dwells. But before Virtue the immortal gods have put the sweat of man’s brow; and long and steep is the way to it, and rugged at the first.” — Hesiod (c. 700 BC) — Works and Days, Line 287

“That which is incapable of proof itself is not proof of anything else.” — Shelley

“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” — Paul Simon

“There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797) — Observations on Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation,
— Vol. i, p. 273

“As some say, Solon was the author of the apothegm, “Nothing in excess.”  — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Solon, xvi

“Forget about likes and dislikes.  They are of no consequence.  Just do what must be done.  This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.” — George Bernard Shaw

“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the falsehood. One word of truth outweighs the world.” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Wow…. sometimes, this process just works really well…. All good stuff, ffolkes, and a damn fine way to spend a few moments of your allotted reading time today….
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Resorting to the use of Emily’s poetry, for me, is an indulgence…. today, I need that indulgence, so, Shawna will just have to deal….    🙂

I reason, Earth is short

I reason, Earth is short—
And Anguish—absolute—
And many hurt,
But, what of that?

I reason, we could die—
The best Vitality
Cannot excel Decay,
But, what of that?

I reason, that in Heaven—
Somehow, it will be even—
Some new Equation, given—
But, what of that?

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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Since I don’t possess the wherewithal to produce a fresh rant, here is one from the time prior to the election in 2012…. This is one of my favorite rants, because it doesn’t pull any punches, or make any excuses…. It’s mini, but it’s mighty…. Enjoy….. Oh, if vulgarity offends you, you might want to skip this…. it’s pretty fucking vulgar in spots…. It uses words like “lawyer”, “priest”, and “politician” frequently, all of which offend me….
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From 6/20/12:

“If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning, and you could only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the paper?” — Smart Bee

Now, THAT’S funny! Some folks think that making fun of lawyers and those of the same ilk, (self-serving, avaricious, completely without compassion….) isn’t nice. They believe that lawyers and IRS agents are sincerely trying to help people with their problems. These are the same ignorant fools who go to church on Sunday, listen to a sermon about the starving children in third world countries, then go home to a table full of food, with no feelings of guilt, much less irony. The same people who rant and complain about illegal immigrants, but won’t deign to work in the fields to harvest the food they eat, or pay their immigrant nanny a minimum wage.

I say FUCK THEM!!! Fuck the lawyers who use the misery of others to line their own pockets. Fuck the IRS agent who sweats some poor slob for thousands of penalty dollars because he made an inappropriate exemption claim on his form, so he could maybe get a dollar or two back on his return, instead of paying twice as much, percentage-wise, as any millionaire.

FUCK the ignorant fools who blindly accept what they’re told, by anyone on TV, or wearing a suit and a flag pin, or in a pulpit…. FUCK all those who refuse to use their own brain for more than carrying their fat ass from table to toilet, and back, or learning to use the remote control…

FUCK the preacher/priest, who doesn’t pay any fucking taxes at all, and counsels obedience to worldly authority.  FUCK the fucking politicians, who have set up, and continue to take advantage of, a system that keeps the honest, hard-working citizen on his knees, and rewards lying, cheating, bullying, and stealing from the public treasury….. FUCK the “corporate persons” who control ALL the fucking money and resources, at the expense of everyone else on the planet….

FUCK them ALL, really hard, in the place it will hurt the worst….

Sorry about the vulgarity; all of a sudden, the anger I feel at the world’s situation these days built up beyond my ability to contain, and it needed to come out somewhere….. this was handy. Anger, I know, is often counter-productive, but in this case its underlying cause, the denial of my desire for mankind, can be laid directly at the feet of those I mentioned above.

What I want is for everyone to have a fair chance to be happy. That is what our Constitution was supposed to provide, but those perverted assholes who actually run things have done all they could to see that purpose is not fulfilled. The average Joe today doesn’t have a chance, unless he is willing to give up all of his humanity in the search for wealth and power. IT FUCKING MAKES ME CRAZY!

Okay, that’s enough on that for one day. I could easily write another five or six paragraphs, complete with endless examples of the egregious lying, cheating, and stealing going on in front of us, but that would no doubt end up boring us both. Instead I’ll ask you to go register to vote, to make sure that, for this election at least, there is a chance to push back the forces of ignorance that once again threaten our way of life…..Register, and make sure to vote……
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There you go…. I suppose, at this point, so long AFTER the election, my only remaining hope is that in the NEXT election, we are given something more than we generally end up with, and can actually cast a vote that doesn’t feel as if we are being forced to choose the lesser of two evils…. Fat chance, eh?…. I, like everyone else, apparently, consistently choose to forget that anyone who WANTS to be president is, by that desire, marked as someone who should never be allowed to have it….

It takes a very sick mind to WANT to possess that much power over others…. Alternately, it is also insanely egotistical of ANYONE to think they are capable of handling such power, while still maintaining their own integrity…. History has proven beyond all shadow of doubt that just isn’t ever going to happen; it never has before, and there is no reason to think that anyone alive today is MORE virtuous, or more capable, than ALL of the examples in history that prove it to be impossible.

Now, if y’all have an example, in history, or in imagination, that proves me wrong in this, I’d be happy to hear it…. But, having looked at most of what has happened in Man’s relatively short time on this planet, I feel pretty confident that won’t be happening, even if anyone WAS stopping in to read this….

Enough for one day…. Fuck ’em, they’re assholes, and they’re going to kill us all if we don’t make some radical changes in society…. Too bad it might already be too late….
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For such an ordeal, this came out pretty well… Well enough I can let it fly without feeling overly anxious about it…. In fact, I’m going to tell myself a lie, and believe it is SO good, it will garner the most traffic of any Pearl, ever….. Right….. Like THAT’s gonna happen….. Oh well, c’est la vie, as they say in Paris…. They DO say that there, don’t they? I hope so…. 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 the dubious

dozer3

Paleolithic cave art on Buchanan Street….

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Ffolkes,

In the course of normal events, we would have no real interest in finishing sentences, unless they are of the type given on conviction of a pundit for chicanery…. Since what takes place here on a regular, daily basis couldn’t ever be described as normal, or even in the same universe as normal, that has never caused us any particular difficulties…. until now…. What’s so different about today? Well, I’ll tell ya….

Not a damn thing I can see…. It’s just another in a long series of non-sequitur beginnings to these Pearls, applied, as always, with a certain degree of reluctance, lest anyone notice it isn’t exactly legal…. How? Well, how the hell would I know? Am I a legislator, or a lawyer, who would give half a shit about the law? No, I’m not, so quit asking so damn many questions…. It’s plainly written on the door outside when the lawyers will be in their offices, so stop bothering me with all this extraneous BS, okay?….

Sorry, I don’t mean to be grumpy…. I’m a bit foggy today, and the coffee doesn’t seem to be cutting through it quite so efficiently as usual….. Hence this odd, stop & start, just plain weird beginning to what otherwise would be an excellent day…. My business in the BBR yesterday went well, (I found a doctor that not only listened to me, but actually was able to understand me without having to bring a dictionary with them), and my pain today isn’t too bad so far…. Life is good….

Such an auspicious start to the day makes me nervous, as you may know, because it CAN mean our old friend, Murphy, has something delightful planned for me later on…. I’ve had far too many days in my life like this to feel completely comfortable when things go so smoothly; Reality has exploded on me enough times to make me wary of trusting it, particularly when it tries to convince me it resembles a baby’s bottom, and that I can trust things will go smoothly…. I’m just a little too old to fall for that one…. Hence, my skittishness, and this broken, misbegotten, sorry excuse for an intro…. Remember, all you can do, is all you can do…. At this point, this is all I can do….

That being the case, it’s probably best if we just get on with it….. I’ll stop trying to rescue this, and y’all can get rid of any trash you accumulated on the, no doubt, longer-than-necessary time spent in getting to this point, while we wait for the pilot to finish moving the plane into the takeoff position…. Oh, didn’t I tell you? Today, we’re flying off to a previously uncharted, incredibly rich, bed of oysters I found, somewhere out in the South Pacific…. I’m going to dive there today, to try to find some new and exciting pearls, while y’all hang out on the nearby resort island, sipping daiquiris until I’m done, okay? Sounds like a plan to me…..

Shall we Pearl?….

The question was once put to him, how we ought to behave to our friends; and the answer he gave was, “As we should wish our friends to behave to us.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi
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Recently, there have been some articles in the news regarding a huge business merger, one so bit it is being examined for monopoly and trust issues by the government agency that has oversight in that arena…. A large corporation, Comcast, was approved to purchase, and merge with, another very large communication corporation, Time-Warner, in a deal that gives them control of about 35% of the entire cable market, including the provision of internet access to users…. This same company now wants to make a deal with another large company in the entertainment field, a deal which would improve the bottom line for both, but, at the same time, indicates that the consumer is going to suffer the indignity of price fixing, and reduction of net neutrality,  as the company explores its new ability to discriminate in the way it provides access, a perk awarded by the courts….

It’s a complex legal issue, and one that is guaranteed to put any of the public who try to pay attention right to sleep in their chairs…. deliberately, because these companies don’t really WANT the public to know what they’re up to, not until it is “fait accompli”, and nothing can be done to change it. Sadly enough, it’s also so boring and complex, I don’t feel up to breaking it down enough for exploration today, nor do I feel up to the task of pointing out the need to stop things like this from happening, or we won’t have our free internet to play with anymore….

Since I DON’T feel up to ranting today, (my level of curmudgeonry is kinda low…… plenty of outrage, but not much angst, and definitely not enough clarity of mind….), this will have to revert to an old-school format, or nothing…. Since that isn’t an option any more, (we already have SOMETHING, thus, ’tis impossible to have nothing….), I’m going to go for a dive, and see what I can find…. wish me luck, y’all…

“There is an enormous oyster here with its shell tightly closed. Interesting. Interesting. There seems to be something written on the underside of the oyster.”….. — Smart Bee

“It is better to copulate than never.” — Lazarus Long

“As long as you live, keep learning how to live.” — Seneca

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.  Curiosity has its own reason for existing.  One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of  reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.  Never lose a holy curiosity.” — Albert Einstein

“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” — T.S. Eliot

Dionysus the Elder, being asked whether he was at leisure, he replied, “God forbid that it should ever befall me!” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Dionysus

“C is for cookie, it’s good enough for me; oh cookie cookie cookie starts with C.” — Cookie Monster

There…. If THAT doesn’t tickle your fancy, I don’t have one…..
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This poem is one of my personal favorites, which is a big part of why it is being used here, again…. Besides, how can one lose, with poetry such as this in their head, and thus, in their spirit?…. That’s correct…. in that case, one cannot lose….

A Draught Of Sunshine

Hence Burgundy, Claret, and Port,
Away with old Hock and madeira,
Too earthly ye are for my sport;
There’s a beverage brighter and clearer.
Instead of a pitiful rummer,
My wine overbrims a whole summer;
My bowl is the sky,
And I drink at my eye,
Till I feel in the brain
A Delphian pain –
Then follow, my Caius! then follow:
On the green of the hill
We will drink our fill
Of golden sunshine,
Till our brains intertwine
With the glory and grace of Apollo!
God of the Meridian,
And of the East and West,
To thee my soul is flown,
And my body is earthward press’d. –
It is an awful mission,
A terrible division;
And leaves a gulph austere
To be fill’d with worldly fear.
Aye, when the soul is fled
To high above our head,
Affrighted do we gaze
After its airy maze,
As doth a mother wild,
When her young infant child
Is in an eagle’s claws –
And is not this the cause
Of madness? – God of Song,
Thou bearest me along
Through sights I scarce can bear:
O let me, let me share
With the hot lyre and thee,
The staid Philosophy.
Temper my lonely hours,
And let me see thy bowers
More unalarm’d!

~~ John Keats ~~

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I’ve been cheating a lot lately…. That, I imagine, is partly a function of having written so much in the last three years or so…. I’ve got too much in my head every day to get ALL of it down on the screen to share, and some mornings, such as today, my brain doesn’t want to cooperate with the program, by exerting itself enough to rant…. I guess I’m getting mellow in my old age, eh?……

Nah, not really much chance of THAT happening…. but, I AM still plenty lazy, (it’s all part and parcel of being smarter than the average bear, you know? We’re always looking for an easier way to do stuff…..)….. which I don’t mind a bit, as long as I can still get done all I wish to do…. which I do, having decided long ago that whatever I did was okay by me…. It’s really a damn good policy, you ought to try it…..

Any who…. here is a pretty good religirant, from a couple of years ago, in December, a month that, apparently, I spent writing some pretty decent rants…. Enjoy!…..

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From 12/7/2012:

“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” — Mark Twain

As is his stock in trade, Mr. Twain once again gives humanity a solid poke in the ribs, in a humorous, even comfortable way that makes us want to laugh about our all-too-human foibles, instead of crying, which would really be more appropriate. In his assessment of both the character of most men, and most dogs, he is absolutely correct, and shows in one simple, sardonic phrase, just how ugly people can be. In fact, I can honestly say that, in my life, I have met many more dogs who deserve to go to Heaven, than I have men or women. Of course, I wouldn’t wish that on any dog, but, you know what I mean. Dogs are better ffolkes than most folks, in the world I see around me….

This, naturally, leads me to a perfect jump-off point for a religirant…. “Heaven goes by favor”  This is all too accurate; in order to get into the club, one has to meet a certain standard, that of faith. Of course that standard is pretty easy to meet, as all it requires is a verbal commitment ( accompanied,  I suppose by a heart-felt commitment….) that one believes in JC, or Mohammed, or Buddha, or whomever, and will try to follow their teachings. No pressure to actually do so, just commit to it, and you’re in. Or, go ahead and live your life walking the path of evil, then convert on the deathbed, and you’re in…. according to their rules…. Or, in other words, it’s all who you know…..

“An ancient buddha said, Mountains are mountains; waters are waters. These words do not mean mountains are mountains; they mean mountains are mountains.” — Dogen

I’ve recently been reading an author whose work I had read in my youth, when I was devouring science fiction on a daily basis. Samuel R. Delany wrote a number of powerful novels, as well as shorter works. The most recent I read, Babel-17, uses the structure and meaning of words in language as the basis for the plot.

In the book, he relates how important perception is to meaning, and how the way we use language can actually work to program the brain, just like the organic computer it is. What struck me is how the process he describes, which is what can be observed in people, if you look closely, shows just how powerful a tool language can be, when used in full consciousness of what it means, and what it CAN do…..

People base their entire existence on a few words, and what those words mean to them. If someone else (say, a preacher?) is able to influence the person’s choice of the words that have that power, then that person becomes the willing slave of whomever supplies him with the words.

This is a subtle process, that operates below the level of consciousness that most folks are aware of; they don’t realize how they are being manipulated by the very words they use, into thinking along certain lines, and in certain ways, all of which benefit the manipulator in some way, much more than they do the one whose thoughts are being channeled.

“This is Daddy’s bedtime secret for today: Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.” — Eugene O’Neill

Mr. O’Neill was a decent playwright, but as a philosopher, he sucked, plain and simple. This is merely a parroting of the basic Christian dogma, and, as such, stands as a perfect example of how religious institutions tend to lie to their constituents….. I can say this because I have my own secret for today: Man is NOT born broken….. He is born as a blank slate; what is written upon that slate is only what he is taught to write, by other men. Since the first premise is false, the rest of the train of thought thus becomes irrelevant….You can easily see where it is just an attempt to get people to accept the untruths, and keep their patterns of thought within the boundaries drawn by dogma….

Sorry if such an idea is offensive, but, I don’t need to be “born again”, I did just fine the first time. I’m not broken. I’m not guilty of original sin, any more than is anyone else. That single concept, original sin, has been the most destructive idea Man has come up with in all of our long history, and, in my less-than-humble opinion, is therefore responsible for virtually ALL of the torture, warfare, and egregiously evil events perpetrated by religious fervor, of the last 3000 years.

I kid you not…. That simple lie, that we are all, somehow, for some insane, neurotic reason, born inherently sinful, and guilty of something, is pure hogwash, and is the most blatant falsehood to have been thought up, and perpetrated upon the rest of mankind, EVER!

What a ridiculous idea! To think that a newborn, of any species, should bear the guilt for an action performed before their birth, is just plain stupid, and self-serving. Of course, this doesn’t mention, that the act we are supposedly guilty of, is the acquisition of knowledge, an act which, to me, NOT something for which we should be punished, but rather deserve to be rewarded. Of course, knowledge is its own reward, so that really doesn’t matter, either….

But, in order to gain control over others, preachers have, since the beginning of history, tried to convince the rest of us that they are the only ones who have the right answer, all based on a bald-faced lie, and a false assumption….. And, since a large percentage of mankind is too lazy to think for themselves, or to risk thinking independently of others, THEY FALL FOR IT!  It almost makes me ashamed to be human, to be truthful….

But, we have dogs as our companions, and they love us, so we must not be ALL bad…. right? Right…. so, just follow your dog’s example, and just BE moral, don’t try to follow what others may tell you is moral. You’ll do a lot better, in life, and when it counts, after life…..

“Go back. Everything you need to know is in the first seven axioms.” ~~ Peruaosophy, Axiom #8, by gigoid
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Today’s Pearl came together in a very odd way, but, it got done, so, I’m good with that…. Comfortable or not, it’s reasonably well written, and has some fairly decent thinking included, if not exactly overloaded with complete coherency…. So be it….. See you tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

dozer3

A Swift Kick In The Pants, Inc….

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Ffolkes,

Terrible things could happen now…. they could, you know. And, we’ll deserve every second we experience of mind-numbing, soul-chilling, petrifying terror, because, hey, we’re the ones who left the door wide open, inviting it to enter our domain, bringing with it our ultimate doom…. Yes, it’s our own damn fault, and we will know the truth of the matter, because we have been warned, having previously been given wisdom such as this….

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” — Albert Einstein

Albert E & true sin(A bit more powerful a message when combined with the graphic art, isn’t it?….)

This is not new wisdom, that we’ve never before seen or suspected; history has provided us with innumerable instances proving the truth of this particular aphorism….. Time after time throughout our relatively short span of existence on this world, we find nearly innumerable examples of men or women who had prior knowledge of an issue of questionable morality,, and, by their silence, for whatever reason, allowed it to take place, to the detriment of all….

It doesn’t make it right, knowing how common a problem it is, but, it is certainly not an uncommon issue for mankind…. Such issues are not, perhaps, of those we are given by Reality, our favorite gifts, …. In fact, many don’t look on this, or any knowledge, as gifts, and THAT is a big part of the entire problem….

Our problem, then, can be seen as a failure of spirit, that has to do with a basic virtue, one that has been claimed as the basis for all other virtues; without this characteristic, none of our finer qualities are ever seen in the light of day…. That pillar upon which all other virtue rests, then, is Courage…. Yes, plain and simple, courage….

I have found, in my fairly long life, that most of mankind are cowards…. Sad to say, but, true nonetheless, since all the evidence is clear…. I say this, as well, knowing I’m not an exception, though it IS something I’ve tried hard to mitigate, in order to feel I have the right to call myself honorable, and meet my own eyes each morning in the mirror…. Fear is a hard thing for most of us to admit, even though it isn’t considered abnormal; it’s strength, and the way it causes us to lose control frightens us…

However, that is also its saving grace, as the guilt one feels, for having given in to it, can, and does, stimulate us to greater effort, whereupon we can find that courage within ourselves, the next time we are in danger of giving in…. This is how almost everything we do, and have done, of an ethical nature, ever gets done…. because someone discovers they DO have the courage to act when there is danger, moral, ethical, or physical, threatening them, or threatening those for whom they care…..

That is what it takes, you see…. No virtuous act can ever take place, unless good people have the courage to act in the face of the Evil that exists, in spite of the fear they feel in the presence of that Evil. If they don’t summon, or find somewhere with themselves, the courage to act ethically, or morally, if that is needed, then Evil has free rein to let itself out to play in human affairs, to the detriment of us all….

Each of us has to find that courage within ourselves, the courage to put aside our fear, to carry on with what we know to be right, even though expediency and comfort are left behind in such cases…. Living with honor and integrity is never the easiest path we can take; it is always fraught with danger, because it doesn’t avoid evil, because it’s too hard, but, rather, confronts it, endeavoring to deal with it in a straightforward, upright fashion…. thus, preserving one’s own honor, when forced to have truck with what always leaves us feeling a bit dirty….

Now that we have wandered so far afield this morning, I’m not sure what will happen to this Pearl…. Minor ranting isn’t uncommon in the intro, but, I do try to limit it to no more than eight or ten paragraphs, so we don’t take forever to get into just the first section…. a resolution which, this morning, is NOT unfolding according to plan…. Allow me to sum up, and get on with it, if you will…

All of what I wrote above is true and complete, to the best of my knowledge, and constitutes a fairly accurate assessment of today’s situation here on planet Earth…. Evil is out there, and when we… that’s you, and me…. fail to stand up to it, look it in the eye, and tell it to “fuck off, you bloody sod!”, then it will continue to manifest its existence, causing untold pain and suffering for us all…. So, be brave, ffolkes, and don’t let Evil have its way without at least some token resistance, ‘kay?…. ‘Kay!…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, “To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi
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Today’s pearl is one that I’ve worked on ahead of time, so, the fact that I’m up later than usual, and got a slow start, won’t have much effect on when it gets posted today…. all in all, a good thing…. It DOES mean that I’m ahead of myself, and need to slow down a little, or I’ll be bumping into myself from behind…. which is not only hard on me, but isn’t so good for the space-time continuum…. I’ve seen some pretty bad cosmic aftershocks from that kind of metaphorical/metaphysical dust-up….

To counteract any possible chance of THAT taking place, (my insurance guy told me I can’t afford ANY more repair bills for space and time…. those metaphysical construction guys charge OUTRAGEOUS prices to fix things!….), this will be an old-school Pearl, attempting to balance out the mini-rant in the intro, and the religirant from the archives  in section three…. So, here is a group of fine pearls, fresh and shiny…. just for y’all….

“Solon used to say that speech was the image of actions;… that laws were like cobwebs,–for that if any trifling or powerless thing fell into them, they held it fast; while if it were something weightier, it broke through them and was off.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Solon, x

(So much for the concept of legislating morality, eh?….   Remember, ffolkes, Solon was the first human to codify and bring order to the concept of the Law, so, he should know…. gigoid….)

“If you were going to shoot a mime, would you use a silencer?” — Steven Wright

(I wouldn’t…. I’d want everyone to know….  gigoid)

“Life is a great surprise. I do not see why death should not be an even greater one.” — Vladimir Nabokov, quoted in “Time”, 1981

(“Me, too”… gigoid again…. I guess I’m commenting on these pearls….    🙄     )

“A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” — Robert Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

(Just as an exercise…. when was the last time you heard a modern politician use a historical basis for anything they are going to do? And, how many of them are aware they are repeating some of history’s most well-recorded cultural patterns with their own actions?…. I can answer both…. the correct number of those of our leaders who either pay attention to the forces and lessons of history, or have any idea of their own part in that, is ZERO…..)

“Do not try to live forever. You will not succeed.” — George Bernard Shaw

(Good point….)

Enjoy the present hour,
Be thankful for the past,
And neither fear nor wish
Th’ approaches of the last.

— Abraham Cowley (1618-1667)

“It’s all in there, don’t y’know?…. All there inside us already…. Happiness, love, serenity, peace, courage, compassion, all are waiting for us to discover them, right there where they have always been, inside us, abiding until we find them again…..”  ~~ gigoid the dubious

(This last pearl is one I wrote as the final line for a mild religirant back a couple of years ago…. It is my own first attempt at an aphorism, of any real success, which makes it worth mention…. to me, and, after all, it IS my blog…. gigoid, delving deeply into egoism….)
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In cruising through the archives of past Pearls, I came across this poem, one of my own, (today only, I’ll say it…. “one of my own, of course”….) first posted in October of 2012…. It’s better than I remember it to be, which means I did something right…. It’s also got a lot of ME in it, if you know what I mean…. Enjoy….

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’s really quite painful, and very, very cold.

The power and strength we 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 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, ’tis true at the core,
all we can do, is all we can do, and nothing more.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

As noted above, I was reading through some Pearls from a couple years ago, and came across some old rants I’ll be recycling, due to their continuing relevance, as well as because they’re good rants… This one is fairly mild, in all, but does hit the point to made squarely on the head…. Enjoy….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From 12/12/12:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“A universe of death, which God by curse
Created evil, for evil only good;
Where all life dies, death lives,
and Nature breeds Perverse,
all monstrous, all prodigious things,
Abominable, unutterable and worse
Than fables yet have feigned, or fear conceived,
Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire.”

— Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II

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

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

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

“If brains were outlawed, nothing would change.” — Smart Bee
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As things turned out, this may be one of my best all-around efforts to date…. Balanced, but with enough lightness of spirit to keep it afloat, I think… Whatever the reason, I’m happy with it, and it’s done, so, hey, we know what that means, don’t we? Yep…. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

dozer3

We’re giving up all our pornographic coupons for Lent….

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Ffolkes,

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” — Albert Einstein

As has been demonstrated in the past, Albert had a pretty well-developed, hell, a finely-honed, very basic and personal sense of humor, with a big streak of Bozo in him, which he was smart enough to recognize, and embrace…. The above is a perfect example of how he could express an incredibly deep, complex philosophical, or even scientific, concept with one pungent, and delightfully amusing statement…. Another he made that I enjoyed was, “After figuring out the configuration of space and time, wearing fuzzy slippers with striped pajamas is a piece of cake.”….. The first time I saw it, I about fell down from laughing so hard….

I also enjoyed one of the statements attributed to his wife… She and Albert were touring one the government’s space flight centers, in Los Angeles, in the early 1950’s…. While touring a part of the day alone with her guide, she asked one of them what a piece of complicated equipment was. He replied, “That’s a machine we use to explore the shape and structure of space and time.” “Oh”, she remarked, “my husband just does that on the back of an envelope….”  Brilliant!

So, you might wonder why we are discussing humorous incidents from the life of Albert, and, if you are, you’d be justified in doing so (I always like to provide some affirmation first thing in the morning for my gentle readers… it’s one of the little services we like to give our visitors, gratis….). Of course, that wondering won’t ever be fulfilled, because it’s none of your damn business…. No, that’s a joke, and not true…. Sorry, let’s begin again….

Why are we discussing Albert and his wife? Well, actually, we’re not…. We’re wandering around not really discussing ANYTHING just now, because I’ve again lost control of this intro. That’s not unusual, so we’ll keep plugging away until I get to the point, which is this….

Reality is an illusion, just like Albert sez…. Here at Exploring Consensual Reality, we are dedicated to providing y’all with a version of Reality you may not always be aware of…. I hope….. In doing so, I’m fulfilling my own need to rant, to get this crap out of my head, and onto the screen, in order to maintain what little sanity I have left after so many years of fighting Reality to stay in some sort of shape I could deal with….. The Reality I am describing is consensual, in that we all have to live here together, so we may as well try to get along…. but, that doesn’t always mean it will stay that way….

With that said, we arrive back to Albert’s contention, which tells us that, no matter how little we trust Reality to be what we expect, it will always surprise us anyway, if only by its stubborn insistence on unpredictability, contrasted by its habitual assumption of traditional shapes and patterns… It only does that to lull us into a false sense of security, whereupon it will make drastic changes, right before our eyes…. As one of the most flexible manifestations of the universe at large, it demonstrates our most important lesson in life by its mere existence, and its behaviors….

Learning how to deal with that can take an entire lifetime, if not two or three, so, we should probably get on with our learning sessions, so we can eventually move on to the next level of karmic existence, at some higher plane of Reality…. or, all of what we see is bound by the rules as laid down by the religious dogmatists…. in which case, we’re all up shit creek, and no paddles in sight….

Shall we Pearl?…..

He sees that this great roundabout
The world, with all its motley rout,
Church, army, physic, law,
Its customs and its businesses,
Is no concern at all of his,
And says–what says he?–Caw.

— William Cowper (1731-1800) — The Jackdaw, (Translation from Vincent Bourne)
_____________________________

It seems the BRC has captured one of the world’s most dangerous drug cartel leaders, El Chapo, the Dude, of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico…. I have included below a link to the article announcing the capture, and included below that some “interesting” phrases and words used by the anonymous spokescops (who are never authorized to talk to journalists….. but, they do anyway….)…. The italicized words are the ones I’d like to point out to y’all, with a comment or two about them as an addendum…. Read the story, then, we’ll talk…..

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Mexico-captures-Sinaloa-cartel-boss-Chapo-Guzman-5258301.php

“He was caught with an unidentified woman, said one U.S. official, who added that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Marshals Service were “heavily involved” in the capture…… A federal law enforcement official said intelligence from a Homeland Security Department investigation also helped lead U.S. and Mexican authorities to his whereabouts…… Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. ….. Mexican authorities, based on a series of arrests in recent months, got wind….. “

“didn’t say how authorities traced him to Mazatlan……” “A U.S. law enforcement official said members of Guzman’s security team helped Mexican and U.S. authorities find him after they were arrested earlier this month. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the case by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.”….. “His arrest followed the takedown of several top Sinaloa operatives in the last few months and at least 10 mid-level cartel members in the last week. The information leading to Guzman was gleaned from those arrested, said Michael S. Vigil, a former senior DEA official who was briefed on the operation.”

Allow me to point out a few little things in this article that give us a little clue as to how things are in the REAL world, where the government has the tools to find and capture ANYONE in the entire world, by the use of their “counter-terrorism” toys, and “executive orders” and the excuse of national security to employ any and all techniques to achieve their purpose, up to, and including torture, lying at will, and the legal clearance to perform their actions in complete darkness, without any public or judicial oversight…..

“an unidentified woman“, said one U.S. official, who added that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Marshals Service were “heavily involved”

To my suspicious mind, this suggests the strong possibility that the US DEA and Marshals used an undercover female operative to lure Guzman into an isolated position, where they could take him without dealing with his security forces…. which they did, perfectly…. In several articles I’ve seen, in addition to this one, the same phrase, “an unidentified woman” was used…. Now, do you you REALLY believe she is ‘unidentified’?… I don’t….

intelligence from a Homeland Security Department investigation also helped

Gee, ya think? Homeland Security is authorized to do whatever they want…. Why shouldn’t they share their technology, and some of that unlimited data they are picking up from around the world with anyone who wants it?…. As long as they’re giving it to another group of their insane compatriots, they’ll share it, with pride, even glee, in their own ingenuity, never caring at all about how unethical it is….

Mexican authorities, based on a series of arrests in recent months, got wind….. ” “didn’t say how authorities traced him to Mazatlan.

“Got wind?” Got wind? What the hell does that mean? And, since when do the police go by information they “got wind” of…..  Ffolkes, somebody is hiding something here, ya think? It’s obvious they don’t want to let the public know where they are getting their information, although in this case, they give us another clue about that….

members of Guzman’s security team helped Mexican and U.S. authorities

Gosh! That was awfully nice of those fellows…. These hard-boiled, vicious drug cartel security individuals had a complete change of heart, and shared all they knew with Mexican and US authorities, out of the goodness of those hearts, I suppose…. I think it is probably more likely that the word, and technique, “waterboarding” was brought into play, as both a threat, and in actual use… I don’t believe for a minute these guys gave up their boss without a little bit of a struggle…. They come from a culture where “machismo” is paramount, and they would not consider it very macho to talk…. Hence, they were “persuaded to help”, and I don’t think the persuasive techniques used were verbal, or anything other than torture….

How do I come to that conclusion from this article? Easy…. they told us, in so many words….

 gleaned from those arrested, said Michael S. Vigil, a former senior DEA official who was briefed on the operation.”

How does one “glean” information from drug cartel security forces? I don’t think it was the promise of some Kool-Aid, ffolkes, do you?…. And, since this mouthpiece was “briefed” on the “operation”, what do YOU think he meant by “gleaned”? I do try NOT to be too naive….

This whole “broken rant” was created for the single purpose of demonstrating how the BRC uses its new toys, provided by us, to wit: you, and me, the not-quite-charmingly naive public, when we allowed them to pass those silly ass Homeland Security bullshit Acts after the 9/11 attacks…. In truth, I don’t really care much that they used it to bring down such a predator…. He was, and is, no doubt, someone we can all do without in our midst, since he insists on preying on the weak and foolish….

But, it seems to me, it was all merely an exercise of domestic discipline, as one set of vicious, insane power-hungry individuals, in the official, authorized, guise of law enforcement myrmidons of the ruling elite, tracked down and captured one of their own type of people, who had the bad taste to try to force his will on others without having the mandate of the public voting apparatus…. When one doesn’t automatically accept the bilge water that is presented to us as the truth, it is easy to see how little difference there is between those who hunted him down, and he who was hunted….

Governments have the backing of the multi-national corporations that control society, whereas the big drug cartels, rich and powerful as they may grow, are merely small businesses compared to them… and, we all know what happens to small business when a mega-corp wants to step into their marketplace…. The pharmaceutical companies don’t like the competition from street drugs, so they keep society amped up in arms against them, so their bottom line profit is not reduced to any significant degree….

The whole War on Drugs, (Y,know? It’s funny how our society’s rulers always deal with a problem by declaring War on it….Then, they throw money at it, and tell people that will make it go away…. Hmm…. how’s that working for ya?….), that has been raging in this country since the mid-1930’s, when the drug companies noticed how popular marijuana was becoming in the mainstream, is merely another example of how the real rulers in society don’t want the people to make their own decision about ANYTHING, not if whatever it is can make money for them….

(It’s why they are making their play for control of the Internet…. It’s a very real, but, still only potential, money cow…. if they can wrest control away, and start charging for access, they’ll essentially control all the information flow…. which also gives them the wherewithal to censor information, before it gets TO the information cloud…. If they keep control in their corporate hands, you can kiss 75% of the Internet’s effectiveness as a social communication tool, free of interference, goodbye….)

Instead, the governments, at the urging of their corporate masters, spread outright lies and mountains of false information through their own media outlets, attempting to convince people of the dangers of (whatever), followed by the passage of legislation making any who decide for themselves into criminals in the eyes of society….. Even though, as in the case with marijuana, what they are fighting against is actually better for people than anything they have in the list of drugs they manufacture, (at a 2000% profit-margin, don’t y’know….), they decided to enlist the government’s influence over the people to make it illegal, since they had no actual way to stop people from finding and using it…. It grows EVERYWHERE on this planet, without much effort…. That’s why they call it a weed, you know?….

Okay, I’ve rambled, and ranted enough for one morning…. Ffolkes, the governments, the BRC, the Asininnies, the shadowy corporate slave masters, or, whatever label you wish to place upon those who actually rule this planet, don’t give a shit about me, or you, and they’re going to continue to do whatever they choose, just as long as we let them…. They make my life, and yours, a hundred times more difficult than it needs to be, all for the sake of maintaining control over the power, and resources, with which they are obsessed. I, for one, am tired of playing their game…. What game?….

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

As far as possible, for the remainder of my life, I will be taking every opportunity I find to expose their asininity, their chicanery, their just plain evil intentions, in as loud a voice as I can muster…. I’d appreciate any help I can get in spreading that exposition around to those who need to see it…. Maybe, just maybe, if I can get this idea into the heads of enough reasonably intelligent people, we all will figure out it is time to stop them…. Then, we can join forces, to create of a large enough repository of the power of human will to overcome the physical entrenchments that have already been put into place, for their protection against that very thing….

With enough people, of good loving heart and infinite compassion, all putting their force of will behind whatever we decide is necessary, I’m sure it would be more than enough to turn the tide, and, in the process, maybe, just maybe, we’ll save our own sorry asses from the depredations we have allowed them to perpetrate in our name…..

“For me, all I can do is spit in the eye of my fears by living each day with as much passion and commitment as possible to what truly counts, such as love and justice. To give the into the fear and hopelessness would be to declare defeat, something I am not ready to do while there is still the will to struggle.” — Lawrence Paradis
_____________________________

Whew! That was an epic rant, to be sure…. it just kept growing on me…. Now I need something soothing, with overt hints of extreme beauty, with some irony to spice it up, to realign the wobbly portions of my dubious spirit…. When in doubt, I always prefer to turn to a genius, even, or, in truth,  especially  a genius whose mind has spent so much time in an alternate version of Reality from the rest of us…. In this woman’s case, she went so far in that direction, she BECAME eight other distinct personalities…. Incredible talent here, ffolkes, all in one whose own mind was more than she could easily handle….

Soliloquy Of The Solipsist

I?
I walk alone;
The midnight street
Spins itself from under my feet;
When my eyes shut
These dreaming houses all snuff out;
Through a whim of mine
Over gables the moon’s celestial onion
Hangs high.

I
Make houses shrink
And trees diminish
By going far; my look’s leash
Dangles the puppet-people
Who, unaware how they dwindle,
Laugh, kiss, get drunk,
Nor guess that if I choose to blink
They die.

I
When in good humor,
Give grass its green
Blazon sky blue, and endow the sun
With gold;
Yet, in my wintriest moods, I hold
Absolute power
To boycott any color and forbid any flower
To be.

I
Know you appear
Vivid at my side,
Denying you sprang out of my head,
Claiming you feel
Love fiery enough to prove flesh real,
Though it’s quite clear
All you beauty, all your wit, is a gift, my dear,
From me.

~~ Sylvia Plath ~~

_____________________________

All things considered, it’s been an interesting morning here at ECR…. I was up a bit late, but, the morning’s routine went smoothly, so I began to write in an unusually comfortable, clear-headed state, an event that, arguably, made the intro as coherent and organized as it is, for a change. The rant above not only went well, it went epic, and quite agreeably, from my standpoint, so, we’re good there, too. I’ve repeated myself with the poem, but, that’s merely a factor of how good it is….

That, of course, brings us to section three, with the obligatory, and, in this case, most welcome, old-school pearl…. We’re shooting today for a seven-star necklace of gems that will make me spew coffee through my nose, from laughing so hard and unexpectedly…. Let’s see what SB can come up with to accommodate us….

“It is most difficult to acquire wisdom without first having survived a whole mine field filled with folly.” — Smart Bee

“I think, therefore, I am.” — Rene Descartes
“I think I think. Therefore, I think I am.” — Smart Bee
“I think I am. That’s close enough.” — gigoid the dubious

“If you are wearing one brown and one black shoe, you have a pair like it somewhere in the closet.” — The Rule of Elderly Survival

“It happens sometimes.  People just explode.  Natural causes.” — Smart Bee

“Eternity’s a terrible thought.  I mean, where’s it all going to end?” — Tom Stoppard, _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead_

“On one occasion Aristotle was asked how much educated men were superior to those uneducated: “As much,” said he, “as the living are to the dead.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning and the sea’s asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, somewhere else the tea’s getting cold. Come on Ace, we’ve got work to do…” — The Doctor, Survival [Last lines of last episode]

It seems Smart Bee had a different agenda than mine…. S’fine…. I like this one better, since I didn’t have to suffer the nasal spew…. I’ll leave you with that image, reluctantly…
_____________________________

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

Not only is this particular assertion difficult to argue against, it doesn’t need any explanation, or enhancement to make it perfect. Hence, it s the natural perfect truth with which to bring this epic Pearl to a merciful close…. I’m beat…. See you tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

dozer3

Save that elbow grease for the widow Jones; she uses it for baking…..

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3

Ffolkes,

If today’s post gets done at all, ’twill be a miracle of some proportion…. The cat slept late, my back and hips are killing me, Time wobbled, while Space stood and watched…and I haven’t the slightest clue, about anything…. It has taken me 26 miserable minutes to dress, (sans shoes, or brushing of hair, as I didn’t want to bend over, or move around quite so much yet, until the topical pain killer I spread on my lower back takes effect) (it’s quick, good stuff…. new from the MJ Pharmacy I go to….)…. I then  booted up, poured a cup of coffee laced with some Elixir of Indica, and proceeded to write a TERRIBLE title for today’s Pearl, which will no doubt go through several incarnations before I settle on one sufficiently weird to pass my filters…..

Finally, when I sit down to try to write this, duty calls me to the throne for the morning worship session….. SIGH…. Nobody bothered to tell me to gird my grid for a big one today, but it looks as if the full set of hip, shoulder, and neck restraints should be fastened before we set out, for sure…. I think, maybe, we’ll even issue helmets today….

Just in case I forget to tell you later, today’s Pearl will be….. what? Shit…. I completely spaced on what I intended to write there, & I have the feeling it was important…. Damn this fog in my head! I can’t seem to pull a coherent thought out of my ass, much less my head…. If this keeps up, we’re going to have to resort to one of our emergency tools to get us out of this morass of mindlessness, that seems to have formed in front of me this morning, necessitating either complete retreat, or a long detour to find ANY rational thought, one that could conceivably be used to create a Pearl….

This new hazard on our trail, in spite of its extreme effect on my mind, will NOT be allowed to affect the Pearl itself, other than the absolute mess it has made of this intro thus far. I swear this upon the name of my father, and y’all KNOW what that means…. Now, there is NOTHING in this world will keep me from completing my duty in this….

NOTHING, caps obviously deliberate, for emphasis. There is no force on this planet that could cause me to swerve from a duty I’ve chosen to assume; the man who taught me about duty wouldn’t have it any other way, thus, my choice is the same, and by evoking his name, I seal the deal so there is no backing out. If I say I’ll do it, then, it will be done; the only possible reason for it not to be done would be my own death.  Nothing else is a valid reason to abrogate duty.

That being said, it’s probably best to go immediately into Emergency Closing #4, which is the quickest way out of this conundrum, and on into today’s offering…. Sometimes, with #4, I don’t even have the time to finish whatever it is I’m in the middle of typ…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again.” — Johann von Goethe
_____________________________

Johann is right in his assertion; in fact, he’s one of our favorites, simply because he consistently sees the world clearly, and describes it, as he did this time, as he sees it, with elegance, charm, and wit….. Plus, this idea COULD be considered as bearing a very strong resemblance to what we do here in ECR, when we create the pearls that stimulate the Gentle Readers to think, to cogitate, to exercise the muscles of the mind, until they’re strong enough to stand up to Reality, and laugh in its face…. Well, maybe not the last part….. Reality doesn’t like to be laughed at, unless it’s funny…. Any whom, before my lack of coherency causes a complete loss of speech from frustration, let’s go for a dive, and see what Smart Bee has for us today….

“Insanity is fun if you do it right.” — Smart Bee (All I can say is, “Whee!”….)

“A brute kills for pleasure.  A fool kills from hate.” — Lazarus Long

“…I probably shouldn’t point at the word ‘reptiles’ when I say ‘businessmen.'” — Rajeev Pandey

“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it… Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher.  But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings — that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” — Buddha

“Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is boring without it.” — Pearl S. Buck

“We have art that we do not die of the truth.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

He not busy being born
Is busy dying.

— Bob Dylan

Now, there are those who would say this is somewhat esoteric, as well as exotically eclectic, if they were ever given the chance….they’d be correct in that, too…. S’okay, we’re used to it around here…. In fact, all it really does is give us an appetite for a poem…. Shall we move on to section two? Good…. After you….
_____________________________

I’ve been using the poems I’ve been getting in the email lately, because some are classics, and others were from authors I’d never before used, or seen, for that matter…. Today, we’ll go with a classic, because, in the state my mind is in today, I NEED a classic, to help me find some sort of balance, or even just a moment or two of grace and elegance, to set me back on the right path to a more sane, satisfying day….. A lot to expect from a poem, eh?…. Ah well, I’ve always been more optimistic than was good for me…. I particularly enjoy this one, for its whimsical use of his sister’s name to furnish the first letter of each line…. now THAT is talent…. with discipline….

Acrostic : Georgiana Augusta Keats

Give me your patience, sister, while I frame
Exact in capitals your golden name;
Or sue the fair Apollo and he will
Rouse from his heavy slumber and instill
Great love in me for thee and Poesy.
Imagine not that greatest mastery
And kingdom over all the Realms of verse,
Nears more to heaven in aught, than when we nurse
And surety give to love and Brotherhood.

Anthropophagi in Othello’s mood;
Ulysses storm’d and his enchanted belt
Glow with the Muse, but they are never felt
Unbosom’d so and so eternal made,
Such tender incense in their laurel shade
To all the regent sisters of the Nine
As this poor offering to you, sister mine.

Kind sister! aye, this third name says you are;
Enchanted has it been the Lord knows where;
And may it taste to you like good old wine,
Take you to real happiness and give
Sons, daughters and a home like honied hive.

~~ John Keats ~~

_____________________________

Below this paragraph, you will find a rant…. I wrote it about a month ago, when the article it discusses first hit the news…. I happened to have a reason to go over it again, and saw that, not only is it a good rant, it is on a subject that shouldn’t be dismissed, or ignored, or put on a back burner, just because the people involved aren’t actively talking about it…. In fact, that is all the more reason to keep it in the public eye, as it is information they don’t WANT us to be thinking about, or paying any attention to whatsoever….

This administration has proven, by its very silence, which it has maintained ever since these statements were released by the head manipulator and his lackeys (The potUS, the senator, and the congressman, Barry, Di, and Mikey-boy…., the last being a Republican,Tea Party idiot, er, goon,  er, stooge, who is on record as believing global warming to be a matter of debate… In this instance, he is playing a natural straight man to the president’s (almost) comically untruthful outburst, adding his own fabrications in support of his colleague’s blindly obedient lies…), because, hey, they’d rather the public just forget all about this issue….

Hence, we are subjected to this series of charades in front of the press, which is them doing their best to make that happen, followed by complete and utter silence on the subject….. It’s an old technique, long in use by spies to weaken foreign governments…. All it takes is to  make outrageous statements, no matter how egregiously false, then shut up entirely, leaving the public only the memory of the lies to chew on, until they begin to believe the planted seeds….

One of the interpretations of the material in the ancient book by Sun Tzu, The Art of War, includes this concept as a viable and much used strategy in war, giving numerous historical examples wherein it was employed successfully…. Think about that for a moment, about what it implies about how the people we elect view us, and about the depths to which they’re willing to sink, in their quest to keep us under their control….

So, to piss them off, and keep my own angst fresh, I’m going to keep throwing this up in their faces, once a month or so, just to keep my hand in…. In the process, hopefully,  I can ensure sure my other Readers are made aware, if they’re not already clued in, of how egregiously they are being manipulated by the BRC and their minions….

From January 21, 2014:

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

If you would please read this article, the arguments that follow will make a lot more sense; if you don’t, it may take you a bit longer to figure out the gist of it….    😉     Plus, you’ll know, for sure, I’m not making this stuff up, just so I have something to write about….

http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-help-from-russians-193641893.html

In the time of Pythagoras that proverbial phrase “Ipse dixit” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pythagoras, xxv

Ipse Dixit. [Latin, “He himself said it.”]  An unsupported statement whose veracity rests solely on the authority of the individual who makes it.

And so it begins….. All of a sudden, many months AFTER the fact, several high-ranking officials from the administration all come out with the same story-line, IMPLYING that Eric Snowden was influenced and/or helped by Russian spies to do what he did…. This statement by Mikey-boy Rogers, U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman, R-Mich., Senator Feinstein’s cohort (she’s his counterpart in the Senate, who put out her office’s lies about this issue yesterday….), is the newest step in the ongoing attempt by the administration to paint Mr. Snowden’s actions with the brush of treason, when, in fact, they KNOW he is not a traitor, but, rather, a patriotic American, caught in the web of intrigue THEY created with their clandestine, illegal activities….

As soon as I saw this headline today, my highly-trained, delicately-honed, automatic political crap detector SCREAMED at me….. “LIES, LIES, MADE UP LIES!!”, it said, without much doubt implied (accuracy factor of the detection meter said it was 99.9% likely to be lies…. which makes it pretty certain, as I’ve programmed it to never say that it is completely sure; it defaults to that number when it is…)….. This is SO obviously a campaign to smear Snowden, it positively REEKS! They are introducing doubt of his character into the dialogue, which, come to think of it, is only a monologue, because, hey, he’s not here to defend himself, is he?

This, of course, is typical political posturing, reminiscent of any other campaign, such as an election run, when they need to direct the public’s attention toward certain areas, away from others, so they can control the conversation…. In his speech, Obama admitted to responding to a public dialogue called for by the leak of information, while never admitting any wrongdoing for having committed the spying initially. Yet, this conversation, this debate, has only shown them to be more secretive than we knew, and they are pulling out all the stops to stop any further investigation into, or outcry about what is REALLY going on…. Naturally, since they are politicians, they will approach this as a campaign to be won; the first step in any campaign is to decrease the viability, the believability of the opposition…. Hence, unproved, unfounded, and untrue accusations, out of nowhere, to try to demonize Eric Snowden….

They say first, it’s beyond his abilities to have done this…. Well, hell, even the most thick-headed fool can see this is a total fabrication…. If this is true, would it mean that the NSA made a habit of hiring programmers that couldn’t understand what they were being tasked to do? Doesn’t make any sense to me…. This man was part of the program, a programmer, and KNOWS how to read data, as well as write the programs that would do so…. Hell, I’m only a high powered user, and I understand what is being done, and what WAS done…. This statement is an obvious lie, an attempt to demean Snowden, so he looks more like a villain, or, at best, the dupe of master spies….

The second thing to note about this claim, is that it is introduced by a politician, who obviously is NOT capable of judging what a programmer is capable of doing with a computer…. Mikey-boy probably has to ask his admin how to use his smart-phone, which is, arguably, smarter than he is, technically speaking… Yet, this idiot, in his power suit and tie, makes this claim unequivocally, thereby implying that one of the most competent programmers alive (look who hired him to begin with!….) isn’t capable of doing something he was trained to do, but, had to be helped by a foreign power…. A pretty far-fetched stretch, to my way of looking at it….

The one professional spy they quoted, from the CIA, it should be noted, said, in his statement, right off, so he couldn’t be accused later of any prevarications…. “I don’t have any particular evidence”, but, then goes on to agree with the outrageous claims made by a politician, one with NO FUCKING CLUE about the glaringly obvious untruth of what he proposes, or, indeed, of how much truth any of what he said might have contain…. Rogers’ job, which he performed perfectly, was, simply, to put in the minds of the public a single idea, one small but important lie, that Snowden was made to do what he did, by coercion, by trickery, or by duplicity; they don’t say which, nor do they have to…. They merely imply, without directly accusing, so that the lies they intend to bring out later, as seeds for further doubt, will find fertile soil in the simple minds of the public….

None of the truth, or any actual connection to reality of the claims he was making concerned him; he was strictly a talking head, on a major TV show; his mission was to plant in the public awareness the idea that Eric Snowden didn’t act alone, and that the very act of his doing what he did, regardless of ANY evidence to the contrary, should be viewed as proof of his having had help from another country…. The fact that this isn’t remotely true was not an issue; the message was delivered, and supported by the other actors in the play…. Throw in the claim about him being technically unable to do what he did, and you’ve got some juice to keep the story going, even though all of it is a complete fabrication….

Ffolkes, if you can’t see that this is true, that you were deliberately lied to, and manipulated in an attempt to make you think what the government wants you to think, well, I guess I should just use THEIR justification and tell you…. You, too, are an idiot, and the fact is, if you believe any of what this man says about this subject, that, in itself, can be considered as PROOF of your idiocy….. incontrovertible, undeniable PROOF. (After all, that’s the same method of proof they’re offering for THEIR assertions…..) If the timing, and the words themselves, don’t make your crap-detector go off like it was on fire, then I’m afraid there isn’t much hope for you in the real world….

These statements were merely the latest tactic to be applied by the White House political strategists, all without having to bring out their big gun, the president, with his down-home, I’m-so-sincere, boyish face, and, the now-famous, good-ol-boy, aw-shucks grin, both of which are political tools of great value to him, but only if not over-used….. Right now, they’ve got a few of the sidekicks out in the limelight, after his speech over the weekend, making up stuff and carrying on with all the talking points and deliberate manipulations, all orchestrated in Mr. Snowden’s absence….. one I hope he continues to maintain, as it is the ONLY hope he has of surviving the future (….Ironically enough, in a case of Life imitating Life, this is a problem ALL OF US are going to have in the very near future…. that of running out of any hope of surviving the future, when the very air we breathe will be toxic to us….)

After seeing this story, and taking into account the other stories in response to the president’s speech about the nonexistent changes he claims he wants to make to the NSA mission (I mean, look closely at what he said…. He isn’t changing ANYTHING of any significance…..), I think it would be safe to predict that in the next few days and weeks, we will hear more fabrications and implications, with or without any actual evidence, about Mr. Snowden, as the administration continues to distract and defuse, hoping that if they stall long enough, something else will come up to take the public’s awareness from their spying, and put it back in the closet, or sweep it under the rug, where they keep all the other stuff they don’t want us to see or know, about what they are REALLY doing behind our backs….

(Note from February…. I personally think they’re hoping for another idiot to steal a gun and shoot up a mall, or a school somewhere, which always takes all the public’s attention and focuses it on their unreasonable fears for a couple of weeks….But, then, I’m pretty convinced of their complete lack of any human compassion, anyway, so, my concerns reflect my belief in their human nature, and their lack of any sort of virtue that would make them tell the truth, or espouse an agenda that benefits anyone but themselves….)

You can bet on that, ffolkes, for sure…. They’re not going to stop lying, just because they’ve been caught at it…. They’ll only get more bold with it…. It’s the way they’re built, they can’t, and won’t, help it…. There’s no profit in it for them to give up, is there? And, profit is what they are all about, when it comes down to the bottom line…. Profit for their self-interests, which are, to them, more important than the whole rest of the human race…..

As Lily Tomlin’s character, Edith Ann, used to say, when she was done making her brilliantly simple observations of people’s foibles…., “And that’s the Truth! THPPPPT!”

“Plausibility is the morality of fiction.” — Edith Mirrilees

Monthly update: The administration’s silence on the NSA spying issues continues to this date…. I’ve seen only one article in the past month on the subject, and it was merely a rehash of this information, with no real new developments reported…. They’re letting it go as long as they can without bringing any of it up themselves, so as to give the public, which has a notoriously SHORT attention span, a chance to forget all about it….. Naturally, the media is allowing this to continue without comment….  Good luck on having that stay the same, dudes…. Not if I have anything to say about it…..

😉

I’ll be here, and I’ll be reprinting this, or a fresher version, either in a month, or, before that, if and/or when new statements are forthcoming from the potUS, or one of his myrmidons….. (Unless, of course, they decide to stop me…. That would be the ONLY reason I wouldn’t be posting a month from now…. in which case, you’d no doubt read about all the dead feds in the news, if they can count that high…. I don’t intend to go, shall we say, quietly? We shall say it..
_____________________________

Well, I cheated, I guess, but, if you were here at the beginning, you’ll understand why, and be in perfect agreement that it was the right thing to do, at least for today….. If you weren’t here for the beginning, you certainly aren’t here at the end, so who the hell am I talking to? Hell, I don’t know, nor do I care at this point….. It’s done, again, and I’ve got no more excuses to keep from finishing the process now…. So, see ya….  I love you all…..

(No, I don’t know why that came out just then, but, it’s true…. and I just realized it is the underlying reason I rant about politics and global warming….That may sound pompous, but, hey, y’know what?  So I am, pompous, that is, and it’s as true as the first statement, so, we’ll let it all stay….)

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

dozer3

We’re all having Lorenzo do our taxes….

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3

Ffolkes,

I find myself again, sitting, alone and slightly awake, staring at a screen whose sheer expanse of unrelieved white stretches infinitely before me, a vision which, though it represents another in a long line of daily challenges to my perseverance and toughness, no longer fills me with trepidation…. In fact, it’s kind of nice, to sit here looking at it, WITHOUT shivering in abject fear & loathing of the task ahead…. Only in the last few weeks have I learned not to stress over the intro, though I really haven’t come up with anything particularly helpful to show me how to get it done efficiently on an everyday basis…. I’m still floundering in that respect; I just don’t fear it as much….

I suppose it could be the fact that I’ve now done this almost a thousand times…. (this, plus two more posts will bring me to the even, first of the 4-digit numbers….) About twenty or thirty of those were reblogs of the posts of others, but, in the final analysis, I’ve done this for almost the full millennium of episodes…. That, in and of itself, is somewhat of a milestone, though I’m not sure now just how significant it may turn out to be…. I just don’t know yet how it will feel to have produced that much over time….

I’ll probably be compelled to do some math on it, using statistical estimates, or even actual counts, to determine just how much material that all is…. I’m sure it will show I’ve written over a couple of million words, so, I’m content with that, knowing that my relatively life-long self-imposed silence, about most of the stuff we see in the news, is now completely done…. Being a firm believer in “better out than in”, it makes me proud, as well as seriously relieved, to have all that stuff out there, instead of in here, where it has always caused me more trouble than it was worth, from being kept inside and allowed to ferment…..

Fermented angst becomes a very potent mental beverage, one that I can assure you belongs in the category of adult beverages, a group of drinks, and/or ideas, best kept out of the hands of the weak and uninitiated…. If that isn’t clear enough, well, too bad, I’d hurt too many feelings if I said it otherwise….

Okay, okay, but, remember, you made me do it…. The stuff in my head isn’t for the Stupids, because it makes their heads hurt trying to keep up…. Most of what I tend to say, especially in the old-school pearls, but, also in the rants, isn’t for anyone without basic intelligence, as it is always based upon rational arguments seemingly beyond their comprehension, and, certainly beyond their ability to accept…. I am forced at this point to say, strongly, that I no longer care what those people may think about that…. There, I’ve said it, now I can get ready for the hate mail….

That’s okay, I’m no longer in a position where I need to care about that, either, nor would I if I could…. Like any such criticism, I can cheerfully ignore all of it, if I wish, or, I can stuff it back in their faces with a few well-crafted insults to add incentive to the idea of them hurrying along. I don’t care which I do now, as either one is acceptable to my curmudgeon training, and my sense of justice…. I’ve kept my mouth shut, to, and about the Stupids, for many years, and I’m done with it…. If they don’t like it, well, to put it just as simply as I can…. too fucking bad….

Now that I’ve amused my regular ffolkes (me, too!…), and annoyed any visiting Stupids (y’all know who you are…. folks….), we can get on with today’s effort…. This intro, obviously, though a bit chatty and intimate, does meet all the legal and structural requirements for the beginning of a blog, so, we’re going with it, crusty as it may be….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Every event that one would master must be mounted on the run, and no one ever caught the reins of a thought except as it galloped past.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
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If you would please read this article, the following will make a lot more sense; if you don’t, it may take you a bit longer to figure out the gist of it….    😉     Plus, that way, you’ll know, for sure, I’m not making this stuff up, just so I have something to write about….

http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-help-from-russians-193641893.html

In the time of Pythagoras that proverbial phrase “Ipse dixit” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pythagoras, xxv

Ipse Dixit. [Latin, “He himself said it.”]  An unsupported statement that rests solely on the authority of the individual who makes it.

And so it begins….. All of a sudden, many months AFTER the fact, several high-ranking officials all come out with the same story-line, IMPLYING that Eric Snowden was influenced and/or helped by Russian spies to do what he did…. This statement by Mikey-boy Rogers, U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman, R-Mich., Senator Feinstein’s cohort (she’s his counterpart in the Senate, who put out her office’s lies about this issue yesterday….), is the newest step in the ongoing attempt by the administration to paint Mr. Snowden’s actions with the brush of treason, when, in fact, they KNOW he is not a traitor, but, rather, a patriotic American, caught in the web of intrigue THEY created with their clandestine, illegal activities….

As soon as I saw this headline today, my highly-trained, delicately-honed, automatic political crap detector SCREAMED at me….. “LIES, LIES, MADE UP LIES!!”, it said, without much doubt implied (accuracy factor of the detection meter said it was 99.9% likely to be lies…. which makes it pretty certain, as I’ve programmed it to never say that it is completely sure; it defaults to that number when it is…)….. This is SO obviously a campaign to smear Snowden, it positively REEKS! They are introducing doubt of his character into the dialogue, which, come to think of it, is only a monologue, because, hey, he’s not here to defend himself, is he?

This, of course, is typical political posturing, reminiscent of any other campaign, such as an election run, when they need to direct the public’s attention toward certain areas, away from others, so they can control the conversation…. In his speech, Obama admitted to responding to a public dialogue called for by the leak of information, while never admitting any wrongdoing for having committed the spying initially. Yet, this conversation, this debate, has only shown them to be more secretive than we knew, and they are pulling out all the stops to stop any further investigation into, or outcry about what is REALLY going on…. Naturally, since they are politicians, they will approach this as a campaign to be won; the first step in any campaign is to decrease the viability, the believability of the opposition…. Hence, unproved, unfounded, and untrue accusations, out of nowhere, to try to demonize Eric Snowden….

They say first, it’s beyond his abilities to have done this…. Well, hell, even the most thick-headed fool can see this is a total fabrication…. If this is true, would it mean that the NSA made a habit of hiring programmers that couldn’t understand what they were being tasked to do? Doesn’t make any sense to me….

This man was part of the program, a programmer, and KNOWS how to read data, as well as write the programs that would do so…. Hell, I’m only a high powered user, and I understand what is being done, and what WAS done…. This statement is an obvious lie, an attempt to demean Snowden, so he looks more like a villain, or, at best, the dupe of master spies….

The second thing to note about this claim, is that it is introduced by a politician, who obviously is NOT capable of judging what a programmer is capable of doing with a computer…. Mikey-boy probably has to ask his admin how to use his smart-phone, which is, arguably, smarter than he is, technically speaking… Yet, this idiot, in his power suit and tie, makes this claim unequivocally, thereby implying that one of the most competent programmers alive (look who hired him to begin with!….) isn’t capable of doing something he was trained to do, but, had to be helped by a foreign power…. A pretty far-fetched stretch, to my way of looking at it….

The one professional spy they quoted, from the CIA, it should be noted, said, in his statement, right off, so he couldn’t be accused later of any prevarications…. “I don’t have any particular evidence”, but, then goes on to agree with the outrageous claims made by a politician, one with NO FUCKING CLUE about the glaringly obvious untruth of what he proposes, or, indeed, of how much truth any of what he said might have contain….

Rogers’ job, which he performed perfectly, was to put in the minds of the public the single idea that Snowden was made to do what he did, by coercion, by trickery, or by duplicity; they don’t say which, nor do they have to…. They merely imply, without directly accusing, so that the lies they intend to bring out later, as seeds for further doubt, will find fertile soil in the simple minds of the public….

None of the truth, or any actual connection to reality of the claims he was making concerned him; he was strictly a talking head, on a major TV show; his mission was to plant in the public awareness the idea that Eric Snowden didn’t act alone, and that the very act of his doing what he did, regardless of ANY evidence to the contrary, should be viewed as proof of his having had help from another country….

The fact that this isn’t remotely true was not an issue; the message was delivered, and supported by the other actors in the play…. Throw in the claim about him being technically unable to do what he did, and you’ve got some juice to keep the story going, even though all of it is a complete fabrication….

Ffolkes, if you can’t see that this is true, that you were deliberately lied to, and manipulated in an attempt to make you think what the government wants you to think, well, I guess I should just use THEIR justification and tell you…. You’re an idiot, and the fact is, if you believe any of what this man says about this subject, that, in itself, can be considered as PROOF of your idiocy….. incontrovertible, undeniable PROOF. (After all, that’s the same method of proof they’re offering for THEIR assertions…..) If the timing, and the words themselves, don’t make your crap-detector go off like it was on fire, then I’m afraid there isn’t much hope for you in the real world….

These statements were merely the latest tactic to be applied by the White House political strategists, all without having to bring out their big gun, the president, with his down-home, I’m-so-sincere, boyish face, and, the now-famous, good-ol-boy, aw-shucks grin, both of which are political tools of great value to him….. Right now, they’ve got a few of the sidekicks out in the limelight, after his speech over the weekend, making up stuff and carrying on with all the talking points and deliberate manipulations, all orchestrated in Mr. Snowden’s absence….. which, I hope he continues to maintain, as it is the ONLY hope he has of surviving the future.

(….Oddly enough, in a case of Life imitating Life, this is a problem ALL OF US are going to have in the very near future…. that of running out of any hope of surviving the future, when the very air we breathe will be toxic to us….)

After seeing this story, and taking into account the other stories in response to the president’s speech about the nonexistent changes he claims he wants to make to the NSA mission (I mean, look closely at what he said…. He isn’t changing ANYTHING of any significance…..), I think it would be safe to predict that in the next few days and weeks, we will hear more fabrications and implications without any evidence about Mr. Snowden, as the administration continues to distract and defuse, hoping that if they stall long enough, something else will come up to take the public’s awareness from their spying, and put it back in the closet, or sweep it under the rug, where they keep all the other stuff they don’t want us to see or know, about what they are REALLY doing behind our backs….

You can bet on that, ffolkes, for sure…. They’re not going to stop lying, just because they’ve been caught at it…. They’ll only get more bold with it…. It’s the way they’re built, they can’t, and won’t, help it…. There’s no profit in it for them to give up, is there? And, profit is what they are all about, when it comes down to the bottom line…. Profit for their self-interests, which are, to them, more important than the whole rest of the human race…..

As Lily Tomlin’s character, Edith Ann, used to say, when she was done making her brilliantly simple observations of people’s foibles…., “And that’s the Truth! THPPPPT!”

“Plausibility is the morality of fiction.” — Edith Mirrilees
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I’m not sure when this was written, but, it expresses an emotion all of us feel at one time or another…. This is probably why it has such an appeal to almost anyone who reads it….. I suppose one could say the author tapped into a Universal truth when he had the inner vision that led to this poem…. or, one can just enjoy it… I particularly like to read this aloud, when I can, to get a good feel for the rhythm and cadence, that mimics the natural motion of the sea….

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

~~ John Masefield ~~

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The rant in section one today is one of the better ones I’ve created, I think, and I may publish it in another spot or two on the net…. Hell, I might even use it to comment right on the news site where I found it, to try to start some dialogue in the mainstream, get folks thinking about how badly they’re being lied to, not to mention how much condescension is shown, by their own government….

Since the rant was seemingly effective (for MY purpose, not necessarily yours, and definitely not for their purpose, or comfort….) I’m going to go old-school here…. I’m also going to TRY to change the mood a bit, to lighten things up with a smile or two… I know I could use one right now, and if I share it with y’all, then you’ll have one, too…..

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” — Robert A. Heinlein

“Organized Religion is like Organized Crime; it preys on peoples’ weakness, generates huge profits for its operators, and is almost impossible to eradicate.” — Mike Hermann (hermann@cs.ubc.ca)

“The first thing in the human personality that dissolves in alcohol is dignity.” — Smart Bee

“Instead of striving to be like Jesus most Christians would rather presume that Jesus was just like them.” — Callan Williams

“If you must mount the gallows, give a jest to the crowd, a coin to the hangman, and make the drop with a smile on your lips.” — Smart Bee

“It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.” — Henry David Thoreau

“There ain’t no devil, there’s just God when he’s drunk.” — Tom Waits, Heartattack and Vine

Hmm…. Well, it’s not quite as light-hearted as I’d hoped, but, it’s all pretty good, considering how well the last line tied it all together…. I like it, which, as we know, is the critical, and deciding, factor for any pearl….
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Most of the rant was written yesterday, right after I saw, and read, the article under discussion, and the poem is another serendipitous find in my inbox…. As a direct result, this morning’s post is done, now…. “Wow”, he said, in amazement…. Maybe I can actually get some planning done for the day, and actually accomplish something constructive out in the real world! What a concept!….. 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

dozer3

Killing time in cheerful green socks….

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4

Ffolkes,

Nope, not going to do it….. I won’t, I won’t do it! You can’t make me do it!….. Okay, drama over….. Originally, I had planned to re-blog one of my older pieces today, as I was not sure how I’d feel this morning…. Oh, not to worry, I don’t do New Year’s Eve any more, so that’s not an issue…. No, I just wasn’t sure how well I’d sleep, or what was happening today, or much of anything…. it was a confusing day yesterday, for some reason….

Maybe it was all the end of the year lists getting me all woozy and discombobulated; we’ve been inundated in them for days now, and I’m not sure how many more I can take….. Best New Phone Muzak, Stupidest Celebrity Arrests, Stinkiest Farts of the Year, The Absolute Best This, The Most Shockingly Entertaining That…. Every damn category the human brain could come up with gets covered by some reporter’s end of the year list….. If I wasn’t such a strong-minded individual, I would have cracked days ago… Probably just as well I haven’t, though, or they’d stick THAT on some list or another, and I have no desire to see my ride in an ambulance to the psych hospital become an internet meme, eerily contagious slick digital music or no….

So what is a struggling young author to do on a New Year’s Morn? Aside from being more honest in the choice of self-descriptive adjectives, you ask? I am neither young, nor struggling, particularly, other than in my own brain and body….. I could start like last year, with another fictional story opening…. but, then I’d be repeating myself, and I already decided not to just re-blog last year’s first post, good as it was, as it wouldn’t be fresh, and a New Year’s Day post ought to be fresh, at least to SOME degree…. I could wander and blather…. Oh, wait, I’m already doing that… Hmm…. I suppose I could go completely off the rails, and start a few paragraphs of piffle talk, complete and utter nonsense, that SOUNDS as if it might be real…. but, that’s too close to how I write already….

Okay, now we’re going to get tough…. I won’t have this kind of waffling, not to begin my third full year of blogging…. I have two documents now, each filled with a years worth of Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, for 2012, and for 2013…. Soon I will open the next one in the series, to begin taking down the Pearls for 2014, of which this, obviously, is the first. I was hoping to make it one of the best, as well, but, it’s already beginning to look as if this one may be out of control right here at the start, thus leaving little hope for much distinction by the time we reach the end….

Of course, that’s how I felt at first about last year’s New Year’s post, and look how well it turned out…. I almost re-blogged it today, just because it is so good…. Ah well, I’d hoped to avoid this, but, before this gets any further off the rails, I’m going to apply emergency technique # 4, otherwise known as the “Oblivious” method….. It involves some seriously deep denial, and a touch of grim-faced concentration, but, it always works, and its the least expensive of all my emergency methods…. A good thing to remember, since tax time will be here soon enough…. (Considering the upcoming End of the World As We Know It, taxes seem a bit like adding insult to injury, don’t you think?…..) Here’s how it (#4) works…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

Say first, of God above or man below,
What can we reason but from what we know?

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744)  — Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 17
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“An hour’s perusal of our national charter makes it hard to understand what the argle-bargle is about. The First Amendment forbids infringements of the freedom of speech “except for commercials on children’s television” or “unless somebody says ‘****’ in a rap song or ‘chick’ on a college campus.” The Second Amendment states that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” period. There is no mention of magazine size, rate of fire, or to what extent those arms may resemble assault rifles.” — P. J. O’Rourke

Now, at this point in most Pearls, you would think you’d find a good, long, vituperative rant, picking apart the arguments forwarded by the group of idiots who form the bulk of my target choices. It’s a perfect lead-in for a dual rant, on the media’s bungling of their avowed purpose, and the continuous attempted assault on the Bill of Rights, especially Amendment #2, which has had attempt after attempt made on its integrity since the first year it was printed, each one, thankfully, diverted from its intent….

In fact, the repeated attempts to curtail the Second Amendment rights we supposedly are granted have made it simpler to protect those rights, in at least one way, as those who would, ostensibly, take them away, keep providing us with a way to identify them, because of their repeated attempts to try to legislate it out of existence…. There are times when one may rejoice in the idiocy of one’s enemies…. But, they are very persistent, and they have no compunctions about screwing other people; they’re not going to cease their war on the Bill of Rights until they feel they’ve got them all under their control, just like they feel they do with much of the rest of society…. Sadly, quite sadly, they’re right about that control….

Any who, normally, a rant at this point would be not out of place…. however, it’s a New Year, and I don’t feel like being serious yet, so, we’re going with an old-school pearl, to take some random shots at those who I find it most enjoyable to set in my sights, the Beloved Ruling Class, the Priestly Hierarchies, The Police Myrmidons, and all the other Mundanes, who spend their lives with their heads firmly up their ass, making their slavery a simple matter for the formerly listed group(s) of asininnies…. (Hey, look!…. I just made up a new, GREAT word for that particular group of folks!! Asininnies…. I like it, a LOT…..) Okay, that’s the extent of the rant, let’s see what SB can do for us today…..

“The most common commodity in this country is unrealized potential.” — Calvin Coolidge

I speak religion’s message clear,
I am denial guilt and fear.
I am the prayers of the naive,
I am the lie that you believe.

— |\|I|/|

If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the new stand side by side… when the glories of the old can be compensated by the rich possibilities of the new era? This time…is a very good one… — Emerson

Q: How many believable, competent, “just right for the job” presidential candidates does it take to change a light bulb?
A: It’s going to be a dark 4 years, isn’t it? — Smart Bee

“If voting actually changed anything it’d be made illegal.” — Smart Bee

I swear, all I did was set the parameters, then hit the buttons, and watch…. Some days, it’s a thing of beauty to behold, I’ll tell ya…. Not too obscure, not too bloody, and, for flavor, a spicy portion or two….. Just to show you there are no hidden agendas, or anything other than full service, non-discriminatory curmdugeonry toward ALL individuals and groups, one last perfect pearl to finish this off in the classic manner…. Stooges Style!…. But, add a bit of irony, and it becomes almost Groucho-like…. Well, it makes my eyebrows twitch, anyway…..

“Support the right of unborn males to bear arms!” — A public service announcement from Phyllis Schlafly, the Catholic Church, and the National Rifle Association

Hey, not so bad for a New Year’s Day…. you should feel lucky, eh? It wasn’t Zippy….. Zippy can make one’s head hurt…. Of course, Phyllis has been known to have the same effect on any rational man….
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“In the vacant places, we will build with new bricks.” — T.S. Eliot

I know I’ve used this little piece from T.S. Eliot in the past; he is frequently called upon as a source in this blog. Today, he’s here just because I like this quote, and just reading it is a good exercise for the brain, to get it ready for whatever follows in this section…. At this point, that is still an unknown…. I only know that it will be a good one, because I won’t settle for less on such a significant day (If that is what this is…. I suppose it is, what with being a real, actual Holiday and all…. I’m not particularly impressed myself, as a follower of the Aztec Calendar, which told us the world already ended, I think, about two or three years ago, I forget…) Any who, enjoy today’s poem, whatever it may be….

Perfect! It has been said that one should begin as one intends to go on…. What better way to begin a new year, than with Keats?….. A bit long, but, well worth the few moments in time to create this vision in the mind, and savor….

Song Of Four Fairies

Fire, Air, Earth, and Water,
Salamander, Zephyr, Dusketha, and Breama.

Salamander.
Happy, happy glowing fire!

Zephyr.
Fragrant air! delicious light!

Dusketha.
Let me to my glooms retire!

Breama.
I to the green-wood rivers bright!

Salamander.
Happy, happy glowing fire!
Dazzling bowers of soft retire,
Ever let my nourish’d wing,
Like a bat’s, still wandering,
Faintly fan your fiery spaces,
Spirit sole in deadly places.
In unhaunted roar and blaze,
Open eyes that never daze,
Let me see the myriad shapes
Of men, and beasts, and fish, and apes,
Portray’d in many a fiery den,
And wrought by spumy bitumen.
On the deep intenser roof,
Arched every way aloof,
Let me breathe upon their skies,
And anger their live tapestries;
Free from cold, and every care,
Of chilly rain, and shivering air.

Zephyr.
Spirit of Fire! away! away!
Or your very roundelay
Will sear my plumage newly budded
From its quilled sheath, all studded
With the self-same news that fell
On the May-grown Asphodel.
Spirit of Fire — away! away!

Breama.
Spirit of Fire — away! away!
Zephyr, blue-ey’d Faery turn,
And see my cool sedge-bury’d urn,
Where it rests its mossy brim
‘Mid water-mint and cresses dim;
And the flowers, in sweet troubles,
Lift their eyes above the bubbles,
Like our Queen, when she would please
To sleep, and Oberon will teaze.
Love me, blue-ey’d Faery, true!
Soothly I am sick for you.

Zephyr.
Gentle Breama! by the first
Violet young nature nurst,
I will bathe myself with thee,
So you sometimes follow me
To my home, far, far, in west,
Beyond the nimble-wheeled quest
Of the golden-browed sun:
Come with me, o’er tops of trees,
To my fragrant palaces,
Where they ever floating are
Beneath the cherish of a star
Call’d Vesper, who with silver veil
Ever hides his brilliance pale,
Ever gently-drows’d doth keep
Twilight for the Fayes to sleep.
Fear not that your watery hair
Will thirst in drouthy ringlets there;
Clouds of stored summer rains
Thou shalt taste, before the stains
Of the mountain soil they take,
And too unlucent for thee make.
I love thee, crystal Faery, true!
Sooth I am as sick for you!

Salamander.
Out, ye aguish Faeries, out!
Chilly lovers, what a rout
Keep ye with your frozen breath,
Colder than the mortal death.
Adder-eye’d Dusketha, speak,
Shall we leave these, and go seek
In the earth’s wide entrails old
Couches warm as their’s are cold?
O for a fiery gloom and thee,
Dusketha, so enchantingly
Freckle-wing’d and lizard-sided!

Dusketha.
By thee, Sprite, will I be guided!
I care not for cold or heat;
Frost and flame, or sparks, or sleet,
To my essence are the same;–
But I honour more the flame.
Spirit of Fire, I follow thee
Wheresoever it may be,
To the torrid spouts and fountains,
Underneath earth-quaked mountains;
Or, at thy supreme desire,
Touch the very pulse of fire
With my bare unlidded eyes.

Salamander.
Sweet Dusketha! paradise!
Off, ye icy Spirits, fly!
Frosty creatures of the sky!

Dusketha.
Breathe upon them, fiery sprite!

Zephyr and Breama.
Away! away to our delight!

Salamander.
Go, feed on icicles, while we
Bedded in tongue-flames will be.

Dusketha.
Lead me to those feverous glooms,
Sprite of Fire!

Breama.
Me to the blooms,
Blue-ey’d Zephyr, of those flowers
Far in the west where the May-cloud lowers;
And the beams of still Vesper, when winds are all wist,
Are shed thro’ the rain and the milder mist,
And twilight your floating bowers.

~~ John Keats ~~

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“If you would make changes in the present, study the past.” — Spinoza

It may simply be this concept that compels people, myself included, to engage in retrospectives. We are told this from our earliest days (well, I was….) in one way or another, and I think most reasonable, rational people will agree its a good idea to know the past, if only to avoid the mistakes we made then in our future acts. So, let’s take a moment for some words on 2013; I won’t use the adjective “few” in re: words and me, as that is non-productive, since it probably won’t be just a few…. We’ll see, though….

2013 was, for me, a long, interesting time; in the past 365 days I have traveled on a great many different paths, all over the Western/Northern Hemispheres of the planet…. I’ve spent over a month, cumulatively, on three different floating hotels, on four separate cruises, after spending the first four months of the year in the grip of near-poverty. I’ve flown on airplanes, ridden trains, buses, and innumerable taxicabs. I didn’t ride any bikes. I’ve been to five different states, if one counts the airports, and touched foot to ground in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Canada, Mexico, and, of course, the United States.

I had the chance to go to Paris for a day, and St. Peter’s Port on the Isle of Guernsey for a day, off the coast of France, but did not go to either, as I would rather have more time than was available to explore them (Paris needs more than four hours to see, I think, especially since the Louvre was closed the day I would have been there….)

I DID see many of the places of which I’ve read and dreamed of seeing all my life, especially in Ireland, and England…. Though I didn’t get in to see the Book of Kells ( Lines way too long…. ), I did walk around Trinity College, Dublin, and got to see a perfect pint pulled in a pub in Cork…. Found a pub in Belfast that first opened in 1635, by Queen’s charter, which served excellent bangers and mash….

I had a long lesson in humility, dignity, compassion, and love this year, from reconnecting with, and going twice to visit in Texas, my high school classmate, Carole Heaton Oliveiro…. She contracted cancer, in a particularly virulent, painful form, and went, undeservedly, but with magnificent strength and will, through treatment for over a year, only to pass away in less than a week from being diagnosed as terminal.

Her ordeal brought her very close to me, and I will always cherish getting to know her better here at the end of our lives…. Bonus: I got in touch with other old friends through her…. Also, traveling to see her, while for emotional reasons, turned out to be my most instructive trips, in terms of how my age and condition now affects all I do when on the road…..

During this entire year, I’ve also been falling more and more in love with Patricia, and find a great deal of contentment from just being together, even though the past two months have been a physical nightmare for both of us…. I’ve been fighting bronchitis, apparently for about two months now, while she, we just found out last week, has had pneumonia for the past month, at least, and possibly longer. It’s possible we both succumbed to travel fatigue, after three cruises in five months, one of eleven days, one of seven, and one of four; but, to believe that would be to give in to feeling old, and we’ve agreed to NOT allow this to affect our travel plans….    😉

Now that the chatty portion of today’s program has been fulfilled, beyond all hope or expectation, I will get to the point of this, which, though it may not seem so, was planned just this way from the start of this section…. GASP! Imagine that…. forethought by gigoid…. What will they think of next?…..

So, the point of Spinoza’s wisdom, of course, extends beyond the merely personal level on which my discussion above rests; more significantly, it can apply without effort to include the entire world, and, all of mankind’s folly, which, as we know, is legion, and imminently dangerous…. I spent a great deal of time in 2013 writing about who I think is to blame for the world’s state of impending crisis, so I won’t insult you by saying I’ll leave them alone this year…. But, what Spinoza says is true, and if we don’t start looking at what has happened in the past, we are going to continue to have a present that will eventually kill us, in a very short time, cosmically speaking….

THIS is what we need to be looking at in the coming days and years, ffolkes… Global warming is a reality that cannot be denied, or ignored any longer, not without the very real risk of suicide, for ALL OF US. If we, as a species, do not make necessary changes, to human nature, and to the way we approach Life in general as a species, in re: planetary resources and the biosphere….. well, then, in the next five decades (NOT centuries, NOT millennia, I said, and can show proof that we are talking about DECADES!…), if nothing is done, we are all going to die, and that is the “unfortunate truth”…..

Okay, for a retrospective, that ain’t bad, and you can be sure, on this subject, there will be more to come…. for now, I think I’ve done all the damage I can do for one day….. I’ll leave y’all with just this thought…..

“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, there is no doubt whatsoever that I have done all the damage I can possibly do in one Pearl…. I’m not sure what that means in terms of the next year, but, I suppose we’ll see, won’t we? I’m done, ffolkes, and deserve a break, after this one…. It’s all fresh, other than the poem by Keats, so, it took a lot out of me…. well worth it, from my view…. Better out than in, right? Right!….. See you tomorrow…..

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

dozer3