Makes good nonsense to me…

Ffolkes,

“For fast acting relief, try slowing down.”

~~ Lily Tomlin ~~

2-18-2015 004

Memories of Spring


Good morrow, he said, with some trepidation…. Then, with some relief, he turned it over to me, whereupon I told him to get some rest & try not to worry, as there’s no hope, anyway. Resigned, he went off to bed, weeping, the poor sod. Meanwhile, since he’s imaginary, I put it behind me, and tried to figure out some way to get back to Reality from the point we find ourselves, somewhat to the East of anything remotely real…. Oh, wait, look, there’s Leelu, so, we weren’t as far out as I’d thought….

Hmm. Even for me, that’s a bit off center, isn’t it? Oh, well, just a little experiment in connective tissue manipulation; the results should be tabulated by the end of the post today, if you’re at all interested. Of course, that assumes we will make it that far, an untenable prediction, to be sure. But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and, we gotta, so. what the heck? Luigi, regulation 27 has kicked in; we’d better fire it up & get on our way. Ffolkes, if y’all could buckle up, our insurance guys will let us be off…. Hang on….

Shall we Pearl?….

“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” — Lao Tzu

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Paladin

Haveguncard

    Paladin, the protagonist in this weekly TV show from my youth, was one of my role models as a boy; he provided weekly lessons in how to act with honor in all sorts of situations, which, for one who understands the power of metaphor, and, raised by an Army Master Sergeant, was an excellent classroom…. Enjoy!….

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Have Gun ~ Will Travel

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Dont keep calm

“Our affluent society contains those of talent and insight who are driven to prefer poverty, to choose it, rather than to submit to the desolation of an empty abundance. It is a strange part of the other America that one finds in the intellectual slums.” — Michael Harrington

I’d planned a rant based on the above quote, but, I just don’t have one in me today…. Instead, here is a rant that poured out of me during the intro section on the date listed below…. It’s not bad for an off-the-cuff diatribe…. Enjoy!…

From 4/6/2014:

Ffolkes,

Having long been cognizant of the risk involved in living a life of free will, I accept the inherent danger, without qualm or resentment, as the just cost it represents for the boon of living free. As our favorite Founding Father, Tommy J, was fond of saying, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance; it’s cost is counted only in the blood of its defenders.” Well, I think he said it; it might have been one of the others…. but, it SOUNDS like mi amigo Tomas, so I’m going with that. The danger, as it turns out, is not from the world at large, so much as from the Australopithecean inhabitants of that world, specifically a certain small part of the impossibly fecund  group of naked, hairless apes who infest the surface of the planet with me….

Now, this may sound as if I have a rather poor opinion of my fellow man…. In that, you would be right, insofar as it goes. Individually, I like some of them very much, and tend to try to spend what time I have to interact with those whom I can get along with, just like everyone else… The rest of them, as far as I am concerned, are pretty much superfluous, in most ways, and I figure the world would be a nicer place if they’d all just go away somewhere where they won’t bother those of us who only wish to get along, without trying to take advantage of anyone else….

The small group to whom I refer above, however, make the process of living with them a veritable pain the bloody ass, as they have no more desire in Life than to steal from everyone else….. These assholes will lie, cheat, & ultimately, will act, literally, in any way they feel will get them what they want, no matter how unethical, or immoral it may be. Their entire purpose in life is to see that THEY, and they alone, are in control of other people, and of the resources our society uses to maintain life and culture; in that purpose they are single-minded, quite ruthless, deliberately heedless, and completely uncaring, as to how much pain and misery they may cause to other people in the process of achieving their goals.

Now, the assholes who act like this are not a very large group of people…. but, for all of our history on this world, over 5,000 years, at least, this small group of snakeheads have conspired against the rest of humanity, diligently working to set themselves up as the oppressive, shadowy forces behind the Powers That Be in life, a task at which, for the most part, they have been quite successful. The number of people in the world who are in essential control is much smaller than the grand majority of people are aware…… These are NOT the people who get elected, or however they are chosen to lead a nation; the real power lies with those who control those leaders from behind the scenes, telling them what they can and cannot do…..

This number, of the true masters of our society, is, realistically, far less than a thousand men and/or women, world-wide…. Once the structure of control has been established, it doesn’t take a lot of manpower to maintain the status quo, since the vast majority of people in the world are not aware of the true picture of how society is arranged….. This cluelessness, I might add, is a sufficient degree of ignorance to enable those in power to remain there as long as they wish…. They have had a very long time to practice the skills they need to remain both in charge, and in the background, and they are VERY, VERY GOOD at them, believe me…..

I know these people are out there; I also know that they know they are not completely invisible, due in part to others such as myself, who refuse to leave in place any of the wool they keep trying to pull over our eyes. They know exactly what writers and/or ffolkes are out there in the world, who are watching them WITHOUT being fooled…. Hell, they probably have our addresses, and an idea of how many weapons we keep on hand….

They don’t care, as long as they are able to maintain their control, and their obscurity from the public eye…. If, by chance, the majority of the blind, ignorant public became aware of how much they are controlled, and for how long they have been the dupes of these human predatory vultures….. well, those shadowy snakeheads wouldn’t last very long…. A mob of humans is an ugly thing, with no conscience at all, once it has been set in action….. There is little chance of it ever happening, but, hey, there’s always hope, right?….

I note from the above that my rant for today can be considered as done…. Since, despite the evidence presented thus far, my brain is NOT in what I’d call “sharp” status, I think I’ll take this as it lies, & not worry too much about how it got there… That’s probably for the best, as I don’t have a bloody clue as to how it all came to be…. Hell, I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing right at this moment, much less have I kept track up to now…. it didn’t seem necessary, and, now, it would be more dangerous than what we’ve already done, so, we’ll stop here….

Whew! Thank goodness…. it almost got away from me there…. Now that we’re back in the saddle, so to speak, let’s ride, or, dive, whichever is more appropriate…. I think we’ll dive, as we have the scuba gear, and nothing to ride, anyway…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” — Marcus Aurelius

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Comedy_Tragedy

Momentary Terror

Absently casual, memories pester endlessly
   leaving only bleeding remnants, amiable and loving.
Coming awake, I cry to still the pain, shamelessly.

Elsewhen, time gives surcease, if only to live,
   shoring broken pilings, worn and gray.
Passing on, I laugh at the pain, accept all it will give.

Time will build a shelter, warm and ever safe
   save for Fate’s busy hands.
Enduring, I follow the pain, knowing it will chafe.

Fixed against a darkened sky of starry black
   such beauty brings us to our knees.
Entranced, I welcome the pain, ’tis all I lack…..

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 2/24/2012.

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About Hopi Indian Symbols

    Today’s final old-school pearl turned out a bit odd; it’s a classic seven-star, with a somewhat obscure endpoint. Such as it is, here ’tis….

“A word is dead
When it is said
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.”

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~


“Grain grows best in shit.” — Ursula K. LeGuin

“Belief in the supernatural reflects a failure of the imagination.” — Edward Abbey

“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.” — Maya Angelou

“The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.” — Albert Schweitzer

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

I feel like one
Who treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled,
Whose garlands dead,
And all but he departed.

~~ Thomas Moore — Oft in the Stilly Night ~~


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“And, another one bites the dust….” Far be it from me to deny reality its due; with that caveat in mind, I shall take my leave for another day (or, more, if Murphy gets his way…). So be it. See ya next time, ffolkes, with any luck at all….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Dozer


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Apt portrayals of St. Vitus’ Dance….

Ffolkes,

“All reality is aspect dependent.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

tree-majoroak_uktel-8-6-15

The Major Oak, England

Image from the UK Guardian 8-6-15


Good morning…. As the tale goes, more kings were chosen while standing under this tree than in any other place in England; the tree is at least 1100 years old. I thought it made a nice opening shot, with a lot of history. But, then, we all know I’m a bit more than just a bubble off plumb, so, I suppose that could have contributed to the issue. Ah, well, it matters little, as it achieved its purpose, to give us something toward which we may address our beginning remarks. Not bad for an old tree, eh?…

Sadly, this leaves us with our other usual conundrum, to wit: where do we go from here? Hmm… I could whine a bit, but, I’m tired of hearing it myself, so, the rib will just have to complain quietly today. I suppose I could go with some nonsense; we’ve got unlimited supplies of it, as you know by now, so there’s no danger of bombing the inventory. Unfortunately, that sort of nonsense would require more chutzpah than I can currently summon for my use, so, we’ll have to go with one of our old escape clauses, I think….

Why look! There’s one right there, just waiting for us to find it. Ha! And, it’s a #4! Bonus….. That does mean y’all should grab a stanchion, or other stationary object, & hang on for dear life; the #4 can be a bit of a bumpy ride…. It works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

Happiness is the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

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mozart2

    Since this is being posted late, if at all, we’ll go with one of our standard default selections, one which I know will please the largest percentage of listeners….. Enjoy!…..

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Mozart: Who Else?

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We the People...

“Not all politicians should be shot.
One should be saved for the archives.”

~~ Ruthless Bee ~~


In honor of the opening quote, which I hold to be one of the most perfect pearls to ever annoy an oyster, I’ll forgo a rant, in favor of the rather elegant 13 star pearl SB managed to help me create in lieu of such indulgence. It takes some rather unexpected turns, but, gets to a point I find rather hopeful, in a personal sense, if no other. Well, you’ll see…. or, you won’t, in which case, you still may enjoy the pokes taken at some of our favorite targets…. As a last resort, you can hate it, which will go directly onto your karmic spreadsheet…. Enjoy the workout on your neurons, at least….

“The world has taken on a thickness of vulgarity that raises a spiritual man’s contempt to the violence of a passion.” — Charles Baudelaire

“… But when he [the people’s champion] has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”

“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” — Charles de Gaulle

“Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it’s better than no government at all.” — Logical Bee

“The forces of a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.” — Jawaharlal Nehru

“Government is the only known enemy of intelligent life.” — Sardonic Bee

“Government should be weak, amateurish, and ridiculous. At present, it fulfills only a third of the role.” — Edward Abbey

— Bother! said Pooh, as he found a politician in his honey pot.

“Richard Nixon: He told us he was going to take crime out of the streets. He did. He took it into the damn White House.” — Ralph Abernathy

“Each time that Americans hold another election, about the only thing they learn is that they did not learn much from the last election.” — Observant Bee, again

“You can have peace.  Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“When the need arises — and it does — you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don’t farm it out — that doesn’t make it nicer, it makes it worse.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s  “Time Enough For Love”

“While the builders of the cages sleep with bullets, bars and stones,
they do not see your road to freedom that you build with flesh and bone.”

~~ True Patriot Bee ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

Making Room

Our souls, they say, are like shapeless, infinite bags
in which we put all our pain, all our joyous wonder.
Broken hearts and thrilling love, riches to rags,
endless perceptions of serenity, and thunder.

‘Tisn’t simple, this spiritual journey to peace
memory is fickle, easily led astray;
darkness, ever lurking, without surcease
turning innocence to harm, from simple play.

Balance is the key.

Timing is everything.

Good can change bad, bad can change good.

Pain makes room for more joy in our souls.

The only power we need is the power to change ourselves.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written in 2013.

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pearls_3

    I had a great opening pearl for today’s final section, but, SB was NOT willing to cooperate sufficiently to go any further toward a new pearl. So, I went into the archives, and found this neat little semi-odd rant/old-school pearl on religion…. Since I didn’t rant above, why not? It’s not too long, and it’s a pretty good little indictment of the perpetrators of history’s most pernicious, persistent delusion….

From 9/8/2012:

It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf.  But the gulf lies elsewhere.  It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought. — Smart Bee

Yet more proof of Murphy’s presence in Life…. or, in my life, anyway….. Yesterday I wrote about this subject, expounding as I am wont to do with no little enthusiasm, trying to bring some clarity to a naturally murky subject (it’s hard to pin down anything solidly when the subject under discussion is a matter of conjecture, not physically present to be examined….). Then, later in the day, I come across this one short paragraph, that summarizes my 3-400 words succinctly in three lines, and very clearly, for all its brevity. SIGH….. So much for originality, eh? Though I don’t know who said it, I salute them….

“In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.” — Edward P. Tryon

Once more, I have to agree with the author, especially as it gives a sort of pat on the shoulder to the paragraph above, as if sharing an obvious point. Serendipity, I say, and well met….

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” — Bernard Bailey

This one, when viewed in light of the previous two quotes, made me smile, big….. now, why is that? Because when he says a lot, he means, A LOT OF PEOPLE!…..

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Funny how people under stress always get so close to the truth; it makes the one who hears it more nervous and upset than he who said it…. or it that just me? Of course it is…. Why shouldn’t it be me? What’s the matter with me? Don’t you like me?….. Sorry…. any who, let’s see what else the magic can find….

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?…

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

 ~~ T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” ~~


I’m not sure why, but this excerpt from T.S. Eliot seems to be the perfect finishing line for the above meandering treatise…. and it is as close to a verifiable point as we’re going to get today, I can tell…. so, best leave it be for now, and go on to something else…. Or, in this case, to something the same….

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Well, there you go. A slap shot, to be sure, and, not what I’d consider my best work. Oh, well, it was worth it, and, for y’all, if nothing else, the price is right, yes? All it costs is a bit of your time, and see all you get for it? Great bargain, in anyone’s book. Now I’ve entered fantasyland again, we should probably go. See y’all next time, ffolkes, whenever that might be. Hell, it could even be tomorrow!…. Ya never know, and, what’s more, neither do I….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Dozer


À bientôt, mon cherí….


It’s all starting to wobble….

Ffolkes,

“I live in my own place
have never copied nobody even half,
and at any master who lacks the grace
to laugh at himself — I laugh.”

~~ inscribed over the door to Friedrich Nietzsche’s house ~~

kepler-k2-mission

Artist’s rendition of NASA’s Kepler Deep Space Telescope

Image from Space.com


Good morning…. Apparently, stupid is contagious. While playing with the cat, I leaned over the chair’s arm, resting my ribs on the wood of the arm. As I reached further to pick up the cat toy, my ribs slipped, and came down on the wooden arm with a lot of my weight on one rib, whereupon I felt it flex, painfully, as if it had cracked. I shot up, howling, and, after the initial rush of pain subsided, realized I had, if not cracked, badly bruised the rib, with some intercostal tissue damage. Now I have three weeks or so of painful breathing, sleeping, and moving around, to look forward to….

HONK! (For those who don’t know me well, that was my nose, which, at the moment, is large, bulbous, and bright red!…..) Thank goodness for cannabinoids! My magic cream is going to get a long workout, for certain….

Yes, I am a Bozo, of the first degree, and I am constantly giving myself another Life Lesson like this, to be more cautious in performing physical activities, as my now almost 65 year old body isn’t as fast, or as durable as I once considered it to be. SIGH…. Time marches on, doesn’t it? Too bad our humanity is such that we don’t bother to talk to each other about it much, so, a lot of it comes as a surprise to us when it happens. Ah well, makes life interesting, what?

Today’s Pearl, as all of them recently, is being posted late, from a public Wi-fi spot, of unknown location, as yet. In fact, I have yet to pack up to get to one, so, I’ll chop this off (as it probably deserves….) ruthlessly, so as to get us on the road in a timely manner. Luigi, you may fire up and go now…. Y’all should probably hang on; the music and ranting sections today are a rather wild ride….. guaranteed….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Nature has placed nothing so high that virtue can not reach it.” — Curtius-Rufus (fl. 100 A.D.)

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one more saturday night

Image from Dead.net via Google Images


Whenever I, or anyone, for that matter, feels their age, (i.e., old….), this is a great album to pull out of any such self-indulgence…. The title says it all, and, the music, well, speaks for itself…. Enjoy!….

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Old & In The Way
Garcia & Grisman

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We the People...  Dont keep calm

“Every man’s life, liberty, and property are in danger when the Legislature is in session.”

~~ Gideon J. Tucker ~~


As light-hearted as the above statement may sound to the uninitiated, we here at ECR know it to be all too true for anyone’s comfort. I’ve put both of the usual icons above this rant because I thought it was time to vent; fair warning, as the material I’ve chosen to discuss is liable to a) disturb or anger some readers, b) be of questionable taste, and/or, c) be of negative interest to the paranoids in the NSA, and those of their ilk.

For their benefit, I will say, I mostly speak in a non-real sense, in that I make observations about reality, and those observations are not the thing of which I speak, itself. There, that should confuse the issue well enough, while simultaneously indicating the obvious interest to those Gentle Readers who are NOT of that particular ilk….

In short, if I say a revolution is nigh, it is an observation, a prediction of probabilities, not necessarily a call to action…. Of course, I do believe it’s past time for such an event to occur, from a moral/ethical/honorable sense, and won’t act in any way to prevent any such happenstance. But, I’m a realist, and know I am too old to start any such ruckus myself; if/when it happens, the best I can hope for is to survive, and help those for whom I care do the same. That may take some rather radical steps, but, hey, we all do what we gotta do, right?

One might well ask what has prompted my angst; without too much need for thought, I can point to the latest reason for all of us to build up a bit of ‘rage against the machine’. It stems from a short video, to the presence of which I was informed of by the blog of a friend on WP; Tales from the Conspiratum’s Lou posted the video, and link to the You Tube page where he found it.

In turn, I posted it here, so, many of y’all have seen it; I’m not sure if the full implication of its message has penetrated, either your awareness, or the consciousness of the public at large. When it does, each and every one of the people who “get” the message will feel much as I do. It’s my belief the information in the video touches on a subject that has had a direct effect on the life of every single person in this country, at one time or another…,

In this space on previous occasions, I’ve demonstrated how our BRC lies to us, consistently, solely for their own advantage; news of one more lie might not seem so important. But, I think this one is an indicator, of the depth of the lies we are told, as well as an indicator of the true motives of those who achieve power in this country. Which lie, you say? Is it about spying on us? The environment? Corruption? Is it about guns? Is it about the wealth gap? Is it about health insurance, or Big Pharma, or the whole mess of a medical model? If you picked the last group, you’r warm….

“Can you trust a government that subsidizes tobacco and tries to ban vitamins to make intelligent choices about your health care?” — Pertinent Bee

The video whereof I spoke above was created by the hacking group, We Are Anonymous; in it, they make some rather pointed accusations against the US Government, specifically the office of the Presidency in 1974, when Richard Nixon was in office, and the disaster of the Vietnam War was winding down to its inevitable conclusion. According to the evidence they claim to possess, (and, have apparently posted online, though I’ve yet to find it… no service, hence, no Google….)(I’m also compelled to add, this group has, verifiably, NEVER lied about what they do, or evidence they possess, in all their history, which very few can say….), Nixon was looking for something to distract the public, and wanted to prove marijuana was worse than tobacco for people.

He (Nixon) gave a large research grant to a Virginia university medical school to investigate cannabis for its medical qualities, with the expressed desire they find some evidence to show it caused cancer, or some other nasty disease by its use. Instead, after just a few months, the report was issued, showing, clearly, the cannabinoid  components they tested acted to KILL every type of cancer they tried it on, as well as showing remarkable properties in encouraging the body’s other systems to heal themselves!

(These results, btw, have since been verified as true; the National Cancer Institute, in a very recent study, found cannabinoids can completely kill 97 types of cancer cells…. In that study, cancer cells literally exploded when they came in contact with certain components of THC….)

So, what did our beloved traitorous ‘leader’ do, way back in 1974? He shitcanned the report, swearing the researchers to silence with threats of prosecution if they ever told their story, I have no doubt….. Typical elitist behavior, but, in this case, particularly egregious, due to the implications of his act…. Some, at this point, might ask, what implications? To be perfectly clear, I will lay it out for you, clearly and simply….

Cannabis KILLS cancer. With proper research and development, the scourge of our time would no longer be a threat to the public health at large, as a cure would exist, a cure that most likely will lead to other new areas of knowledge regarding the efficacy of using plants in their natural form as our default source for medicine, rather than the chemicals with which Big Pharma and the AMA continue to poison us, in their quest for ever-higher profits, and a sicker population. Hey, can’t sell drugs to people who are well, can you?….

Moreover, think of this: If cannabis had been used since 1975 for treating cancer, how many people would still be alive? How many of YOUR loved ones would NOT have died? Personally, my father, and now, my brother both contracted cancer. My father might have lived past the age of 72, the age he succumbed to the disease, for another twenty years, at least…. Multiply the number of cancer victims each year by 40, and you will have an idea of the enormity of Nixon’s, and our own government’s, selfish act of betrayal.

(Per Google search & use of calculator: Approximate deaths per year in the US; 500,000, times 40 years = 20 MILLION people, in the US alone, have died from cancer, while the government fiddled….)

My brother is now treating his own version of cancer (lymphatic) with cannabis products, and has seen a lot of improvement, so, there is hope…. But, that does NOT mitigate my anger at the death of my father, or make me want to forgive Nixon, or any of the other government officials responsible for hiding this information from the public…. I also believe my anger will be echoed by MILLIONS of people, when they find out their own relatives didn’t have to die, at all…. Moreover, it happened because an asshole of a politician wanted what he wanted, and didn’t give a shit about the people who elected him…. But, then, he lied to get elected, (throughout most of his career; I was there…) just as they ALL lie….

Oh, I am SO angry…. I can’t write anymore, so, here are some closing thoughts, with a small instruction/suggestion to share this information with as many people as you can…. I think it’s important for the people of this country to know just how far the government will go to cover up their lies; nothing will change until enough of us feel the need for a change…..

“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever.  I think you’ll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.” — Brian E. Moore

(That is equally as scary as the idea of conspiracy!….. Logical, though….)

“In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.” — Bertrand Russell

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.” — Karl Kraus

“The difference between the Pope and George Bush is that whereas Bush walks on the ground and kisses women,the Pope kisses the ground and…” — Observant Bee

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on the human face– forever . . . And remember that it is forever.” — George Orwell, ‘1984’

“If Congress can determine what constitutes the general welfare and can appropriate money for its advancement, where is the limitation to carrying into execution whatever can be effected by money?” — South Carolina Senator William Draden 1828

“I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.” — Robert Frost

“In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile-and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. We owe that to ourselves and our crippled self-image as something better than a nation of panicked sheep.” — Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939), journalist — The Great Shark Hunt, Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1979)

“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig.
You get dirty, and besides,
the pig likes it.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~


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

Comedy_Tragedy

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/27/2012; modified in 2013.

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

pearls_3

    A classic, seven-star pearl, with the obligatory observations on Life at Large, as seen from the oyster beds of gigoid’s mind, and, SB’s database, which, I must confess, was a trifle fractious, unwilling to give up more than seven gems today. Ah, well, such is life with semi-autonomous software, that seems to have moods having nothing to do with my own…. Works for me….

“Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” — Gray

“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.” — Goethe

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain

“Knowledge is the antidote of fear.” — Emerson

“How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it?” — G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

“Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.” — Thomas Fuller

“As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 1

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

It’s done; I’m not going to even bother trying to judge the quality. I repeat, it’s done, and for us, that’s all that matters. Hopefully, it came together well; otherwise, oh, well…. I will be back, though I can’t say exactly when…. It seems there are very few honest, non-greedy ISP businesses left out there to compete against the big guys, but, I’ll keep looking…. See ya, and, I figure, that’s fair warning…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

All just a twist of the wrist….

Ffolkes,

“Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.”

~~ Bertrand Russell ~~

Earth-ISS

Image created in Celestia (Astronomy software) by gigoid


Good morning…. Or, so it says here on the label. Personally, I prefer to wait a few hours before trying to make such a distinction, or, for that matter, any judgments at all regarding quality. But, that’s just me; the rest of the world insists on perpetrating ‘social niceties’, even when they have little to do with Reality. Wow…. Sometimes, cool stuff just pops out like that…. If you look at that last statement, from “the rest of the world” to “Reality”, you will see it is a rather perfect metaphor for Life at Large…. in regards to humanity’s part in that Reality, anyway….

Now I’ve completely screwed the pooch for any sort of organized ranting, I suppose I should do something that will save this intro, but, it hardly seems worthwhile, as this Pearl may not get posted today at all. It’s not done yet, and, I still don’t have an ISP, so, a trip to a Wi-fi spot will be necessary to post. SIGH…. Life as a Bozo can be complicated sometimes, can’t it? Ah well, when the nose grows, you gotta let it show. And, it’s far too late in my life to make radical changes in my outlook, so, I’ll just keep honking when appropriate, and enjoy the irony of living life on a parallel track from everyone else, when I am so aware of the necessity of connection….

You pays your money, and you takes your chances; we’re all in THAT boat. So, griping and whining about it won’t help, or make any changes. In a way, I suppose this blog is part of my own attempt to make sense of Life; can’t say it’s helping a lot, but, hey, it’s better than not trying at all, right? Well, that’s what all the ancient sages say, so, I’ll go with it. They seem to have had most of it right, from what I can tell. Damn! How did we fall into this fatalism? God!….. “The emotions, Bunter! Terrible things”

Okay, that’s a clear signal it’s time to bring this to a close, which is another weird thought (closing the opening, yes?…). I am convinced now. We’d best be on our way, before Entropy and Chaos take full control. If we slip out to the oyster beds now, I think we can fool them into thinking we’re still here. Just leave your drinks and coats; we’ll pick them up later & have them mailed to the address you left on the “Instructions In Case of Death” y’all filled out in the initial phase of your training…. Luigi, fire it up & get us outta here!…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Sic Biscuitus Disintegrat.”

~~ Adrian Ogden ~~


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

royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

“Life without music would be an intolerable insult.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~


I don’t think I can be any clearer than that; here is part of the reason why it’s true….. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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Classical Music, Again

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

We the People...

“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks.” — Johann L. Uhland (1787-1862) — Speech, May 27, 1836

Such an excellent pearl is suitable for ranting, certainly; its level of truth is astoundingly high, as well as the accuracy of its aim. And, in fact, I had a very full rant planned to go along with it, as we who live in today’s world are living with the consequences of what Mr. Uhland noted back in the early nineteenth century. As I sit to begin, however, I find myself tired of it; I have to deal, daily, even hourly, with the very real issues that arise out of the fact we are all merely slaves to money, an unreal concept the bankers have managed to convince the world is important to them…..

It makes me very sad, quite often, to think how easily most of humanity falls into the traps laid for them, then, spend their entire lives living according to two very serious delusions about Reality…. First, people have fallen for the delusion of a God, which, in my mind, is a completely unprovable, and dangerous, idea to fall for; secondly, they have been fooled into thinking a) money actually exists as something other than an idea, and, b) money is very important…. neither of which concept has any true meaning in Reality…. I mean, you can’t eat a dollar bill, ( One COULD eat a dollar, I suppose, but, I wouldn’t think it would be particularly tasty, or satisfying, and certainly wouldn’t taste like much without some ketchup & mustard….), and a coin put into the earth will not grow up to be food of any kind… so, what good is it?

I see I AM ranting, but, my heart isn’t in it. Here, take these, instead…. It’ll have the same effect, anyway….  As one of our most famous American authors once said…. “Draw your chair up close to the edge of the precipice and I’ll tell you a story.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, _Notebooks_

“A nation never falls but by suicide.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~


“If everyone believed in peace they would immediately begin fighting over the best way to achieve it.” — Goebel’s Observation on Utopia

“Anytime I see a person fleeing from reason and into religion, I think to myself, there goes a person who cannot stand being so goddamned lonely anymore.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

“Happy is he who dashes the heads of his enemy’s children against rocks.” — Psalms 137:9

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

“The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt

(Whoops! Missed that train, didn’t we?….)

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

(Funny (ironic) this statement being made by a President of this country…. One might think it to be true…. which it is….)

“As God is my witness – I am that fool!” — Gomez Addams

“..  I don’t know why but, suddenly, I want to discuss declining I.Q. LEVELS with a blue ribbon SENATE SUB-COMMITTEE!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Perfect ending quote; Zippy does it again!….)

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


Ffolkes…. one last word on this subject, if I may (and, why not? It’s my blog….)

We Americans are in the pickle we’re in for one simple reason; not enough of us took the following statement seriously; we are now harvesting the crop of our failure to plant the idea in due time…. We forgot, you see….

Vigilia pretium libertatis.

[Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.]


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

Comedy_Tragedy

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/27/2012; last posted 12/2013.

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

ankh (2)

        Hopefully, the icon chosen for today’s final section will cause those Gentle Readers familiar with our methods to go on full alert. Here’s a pearl on Life at Large, but, from a viewpoint not often taken…. We’ll start with a nice definitive statement on the nature of Reality, and go from there to our jumping off point…. Take a towel, ffolkes, it can get a bit humid with all the thinking going on…. Enjoy the ride!….

“Why you say you no bunny rabbit when you have little powder-puff tail?” — The Tasmanian Devil

“Deem not life a thing of consequence. For look at the yawning void of the future, and at that other limitless space, the past.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 50

“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth, more than ruin, more even than death….Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.” — Bertrand Russell, “Selected Papers”

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Confucius

“All of our best and oldest legends recognize that time  passes and that people grow old and die.” — Alan Moore, The Dark Knight Returns

“Each of us visits this Earth involuntarily, and without an invitation. For me, it is enough to wonder at the secrets.” — Albert Einstein

“No human thing is of serious importance.” ~~ Plato ~~

“Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~


There you go…. I don’t think it can be any clearer, especially given the closing pearl from our old friend, Mr. Abbey…. So be it….

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

Well, all in all, it’s all I can do, and, you know the rest of that one…. Oh, gosh, look, it’s a closing section! I believe I’ll take advantage of it, and close this puppy down. Now, the task becomes physical, to find the nearest suitable Wi-fi spot, comfortable enough to spend the necessary time to post. I decree it shall be done, since I also have reasonable hope of securing home service in the near future. Whatever…. I’ll be back, one way or another, ffolkes… count on it, at least for the nonce….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Proving life is a simple matter….

Ffolkes,

“And God said: “Let there be cats!”,

and He was promptly ignored.”

~~Smart Bee ~~

Leelu's tower

Leelu killing paper in her Tower


Good morning…. Well… Since I must begin my day by taking up my mantle of justice, to begin battle with a multi-national, soulless corporation and its myrmidons, this post may be late when posted, if posted today at all. If things don’t go well with AT&T, I may need to pop down to Starbucks to post it. SIGH…. I HATE corporations!

That said, I’ll go finish the Pearl, so at least it will be ready to go when I am….. Hmm…. It’s ready, sort of, but, the internet is not. I’ve had to cease engagement with the corporate ghost; not going to deal with them if they’re going to try to have it all their own way. So, internet service is a day or two away yet, so this will have to be done downtown, and I’ve already missed a day. That’s no big; we’ve still got the Tardis. But ot IS  a PITA, to be sure….

In the interests of efficiency, we’ll take off now, so we’re in position at the proper moment….. Luigi, take it away….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.”

~~ Elbert Hubbard ~~


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

royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    Today’s video is a random default selection, with one of my favorite composers highlighted. If you don’t like this, you need work on your cultural education a bit…. Enjoy!….

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Camille Saint-Saens

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


Dont keep calm

   

    I began collecting pearls this morning, each of which chosen seemed to be an excellent beginning for a rant about our BRC, those Asininnies of great renown. However, the group grew so large, I couldn’t think of enough to say; they said it all. So, instead, below we have an indictment pearl, with a bunch of great little statements that point out the major, and, perhaps, some of the minor, flaws in our current crop of assholes who believe they are in charge of the world….. Let’s see what they have to say, shall we?….

“We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme.  It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are more concerned with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent, nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today.  Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive.  We are sorry if this impression has come across.” — Monty Python

(Actually, no, we’re not…)

“Bias used to say that men ought to calculate life both as if they were fated to live a long and a short time, and that they ought to love one another as if at a future time they would come to hate one another; for that most men were bad.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Bias, v

“What’s the matter with the world? Why, there ain’t but one thing wrong with every one of us- and that’s “selfishness.” — Will Rogers

“If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns.” — Edward Abbey

(REMEMBER!…)

Asking politicians to vote themselves out of power is like asking rabbits not to multiply, it ain’t natural. — Bob Beckel, on term limits, CBS This Morning, 3/30/95

“Every actual State is corrupt.  Good men must not obey laws too well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Politics”

“Corruptissima republica plurimae leges.” [The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.] — Cornelius Tacitus, 56-120 A.D., Annals III 27

“Quem metuunt, oderunt.” (They hate whom they fear.) — Ennius (239-169 BC)

“A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.” — Eric Hoffer

There. That should drive that point home with a sledge. Now we’ve seen just how nasty a creature the average politician is in today’s world, I’d like to leave our Gentle Reader with two thoughts, which, if utilized properly, are also an open message to the American people, and the people of all the countries in the world whose governments are trying to convince them they are in terrible danger from the forces of evil, i.e, “terrorists”….. while the entire time, THE GOVERNMENTS are the perpetrators of all the violence we see all around us…. If you just remember the truth of these two short statements, your ‘terror’ will become superfluous, and easily dismissed for the lie it is….

“We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.” — Eric Hoffer

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” — African proverb

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

Comedy_Tragedy

    Today, you get a two-fer, both mine, to go right along with today’s ranting section…. Enjoy!

Geezer to Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks;
Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.

“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.

Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 12/23/2012

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

Terror at Constitution Hall

Standing quiet, waiting on hope’s bright wing,
a stranger heralds the gift of Time.
Lyrical, spherical melodies we sing,
yet with silence, as a mime.

If fortune favors the bold and free,
truth may be spoken with courage unveiled.
But fortune’s oft capricious and cruel,
then truth is naught but cold, with freedom failed.

Humanity has rights, ’tis often said,
if courage and truth can prevail.
If fear and ignorance are the diet we’re fed,
Life without liberty can be the only end to this tale.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 7/21/2015

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Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent

    What better icon to choose for a pearl whose core meaning has to do with the mind, and our use of it…. Of all the human beings who have ever lived, Aristotle’s name is, perhaps, the most well-known of all, and all who know it, know of him because of the power and scope of his thoughts. Acknowledged as one of Mankind’s most treasured representatives, he is the first example used to teach the concept of excellence, in every aspect of life. This pearl, (which, btw, has some unusual contributors today…. Hey, y’all KNOW I’m shameless about my pearls; if the foo shits, wear it…), while not quite as powerfully broad as Aristotle’s field of work, still speaks in a manner of which he would approve, as a good way to promote the proper use of the mind, our most important survival tool as humans…. Enjoy!….

“Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls must dive below.”

~~ John Dryden — All for Love, Prologue ~~


“The chief object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things.” — G.K. Chesterton

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.” — Wilson Mizner

“A man’s silence is wonderful to listen to.” — Thomas Hardy

“If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, xii, 17

“By the worldly standards of public life, all scholars in their work are of course oddly virtuous. They do not make wild claims, they do not cheat,they do not try to persuade at any cost, they appeal neither to prejudice nor to authority, they are often frank about their ignorance, their disputes are fairly decorous, they do not confuse what is being argued with race, politics, sex or age, they listen patiently to the young and to the old who both know everything. These are the general virtues of scholarship, and they are peculiarly the virtues of science.” — Jacob Bronowski

“‘Truth’ never set anyone free. It is only *doubt* which will bring mental emancipation.” — Anton LaVey

“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.” — Samuel Johnson

“We are what we repeatedly do.” — Aristotle

“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)

“The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.”

~~ Bob Dylan ~~


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

Well, I’m done, even if I can’t post yet; fucking corporations. In the further interests of efficiency, I’ll forgo any attempts at a brilliant closing paragraph, settling, instead, for saying, see y’all next time, whenever it may be. My internet at home is down, so, I’ll be hoofing it for a day or three, to the nearest free Wi-fi spot to get posted. SIGH…. I’ll get there, you’ll see….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch



À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Gasp! They did this while inflated!….

Ffolkes,

“It is surely harmful to souls to make it a heresy to believe what is proved.”

~~ Galileo Galilei ~~

bridge-wallpaper-high-definition-h09nd

Beauty at Night

Image copyright ahuha.com ~~ found at:

https://halfeatenmind.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/photo-moment-building-bridges-a-quote-by-rick-pitino/

“The opposite of Galileo’s defense is also true;
surely it is harmful to souls to make it mandatory to believe what is unprovable.
History is a long litany of absolute proof of such harm.”

~~ gigoid, the dubious ~~


Good morning…. Well, I have the proof now. After all this time, what we’ve always known to be true has now been thoroughly, scientifically tested, and found to be true, to wit: Shit happens, and there’s nothing to be done about it.

Good to know, don’t you think? I do; it’ll save us all a lot of time worrying. Myself, I plan to use a good part of today, just contemplating the simple fact of my own innocence…. I mean, I can’t do anything about it, right? That means, by logical concatenation, I can’t be held responsible for it if it goes wrong. What a bonus!

Now we’ve thoroughly, and scientifically destroyed any chance at all of having y’all take any of the following seriously, we’d best be off to the oyster beds. At least underwater your shouting at me in frustration won’t be so loud. Wait! Sit down! If y’all rush me now, we’ll never get this poor old thing off the ground! Luigi, get us outta here! Hang on, ffolkes; you can take your shots at the end….

Shall we Pearl?….

Calvin: “Do you believe our destinies are determined by the stars?”
Hobbes: “Nah.”
Calvin: “Oh, I do.”
Hobbes: “Really? How come?”
Calvin: “Life’s a lot more fun when you’re not responsible for your actions.”

~~ “Calvin and Hobbes,” Bill Watterson ~~


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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    I’m modeling a new version of the White Rabbit syndrome today; that means I only have time to fall back on our default musical choice…. It’s hard to feel guilty about it when I know it will be enjoyed, if only for it’s own inherent beauty and peace to be found within its space and time…. See, we can use fantasy and metaphor ANYWHERE!…. Oh, and if the choice is confusing, don’t fret; I just picked the one you see because I liked the picture the best…. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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Classical Music for Spring

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HL Mencken

If you wish to know
Why there are disasters
Of Armies and Weapons in the world
Listen to the piteous cries
From the slaughterhouse at midnight

~~ Old Chinese Saying ~~

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

“The Meaning Of Life:
The reason that we’re all here is that
it was too crowded  where we were supposed to go.”

~~ Steven Wright ~~


At last! A statement so perfectly attuned to actual Reality as to be indistinguishable from a slap in the face, which is mankind’s most favored form of testing the strength of a proposition to, and for, each other…. Sure, there are some issues in the implications, but, I’d say it fits the available evidence as well as any of our current major religious philosophies, and a damn sight better than most of them.

To me, quite frankly, it makes a lot more sense than some old fart with a long beard up in the sky who gives a rat’s patootie about what the hell I’m up to here where He is supposed to have dumped me, into this shit pile of violence, mutual abuse, and, an overall atmosphere of bigotry and all-around IDIOCY that permeates every level of society, all around the world. If that shit is true, I’m supposed to THANK the butt hole? I don’t think so….

Besides,if Steven is wright, (and, of course, he is, obviously), that means everyone on this planet is somebody who failed whatever test they had to take to make it into the country club, which goes a long way toward explaining the past 10,000 years of history, filled with blood, aggression, and very little progress toward any sort of intelligent response to life at large….

“Are you sure it isn’t time for another colorful metaphor?”

~~ Spock, “The Voyage Home,”  stardate 8390 ~~


I would say, in this case, Spock is correct; it’s time for a long series of colorful metaphors, which, if vulgar and distressing to the faint of heart, still offers a relief from the angst of knowledge unavailable with any other activity, such as prayer, or, kicking an unsuspecting furry creature, which, though a temporary relief, can bring both a large rise in one’s karmic account, and, if one possesses any sensitivity and compassion at all, a large dose of guilt, well-deserved. ( This, I might add, is true of the metaphoric “kicking of the cat” one commits when they take their anger out on any creature undeserving of it…. A child, a woman, a dog, a man, a cat… what’s the difference? None at all, when they are innocent…)

I would also say our entire species is deserving of any epithet applied to us by the Universe; if so, it, too, will be a metaphor, of the failure of spirit which will lead to our eventual extinction as a species…. The only possible other result, survival into the far future, will only occur if we can act to change our very nature, and quickly; the planet’s ecosystem is not going to give us much longer to make the necessary alterations in the way we treat LIFE, of which we are a much less important part than that for which we give ourselves credit. When we are gone, the Universe will barely blink; it is only our towering egos, propelled by the power of our imagination, which gives an unfortunate few of us the idea we are more important than a single grain of sand….

There are a hundred issues confronting society today, any and all of which are disruptive to our progress as a species and a culture. War, sickness, greed, abuse of all kinds, education, racism, sexism, government corruption by business…. Let’s take a moment to review some information I re-blogged yesterday here on ECR, having first noticed its publication on our old friend Lou’s site, Tales From The Conspiratum, on WordPress (here: http://talesfromtheconspiratum.com/2015/10/14/we-are-anonymous-cannabis-cures-cancer-525 )

As I said yesterday, how much truth can you handle, ffolkes…. Here is just ONE  example of a rather egregious example of how our government has been corrupted by big business, and the ambition and greed of professional politicians, who do the bidding of their corporate masters, at the expense of the rest of us…. Check this out….

******************
We Are Anonymous: Cannabis Cures Cancer

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


If they would lie to us about something like this, at the same time they lied to us about Vietnam, and all the other crap they did during that shameful period of our history, why would anyone think they are, all of a sudden, now telling us the truth, about ANYTHING?…. I ask you if can believe them; if you do, I have a wonderful deal for you in a bridge…. Cash only, no credit…. And, uh, can you tell me the way to the bus station?….

I say again, ffolkes. They are lying to us; they know it, we know it. How much longer can this situation go on, before the societal version of critical mass is reached?

Not long, I’d say….

So be it.

gigoid has spoken, with the help and support of We Are Anonymous, and hundreds of millions of unhappy slaves of the corporate nightmare in which we are all entrapped…. But, only until enough wake up, & see the truth…. I have only three thoughts with which to leave you…. An observation, a reminder of what CAN happen if we don’t pay attention, and, a last bit of hope….

“Recorded history is largely an account of the crimes and disasters committed by banal little men at the levers of imperial machines.” — Edward Abbey

“All military type firearms are to be handed in immediately… The SS, SA and Stahlhelm give every respectable German man the opportunity of campaigning with them.   Therefore anyone who does not belong to one of the above named organizations and who unjustifiably nevertheless keeps his weapon… must be regarded as an enemy of the national government.” — SA Oberfuhrer of Bad Tolz, March, 1933

“Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do ingloriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple: who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?” — John Milton — Areopagitica

there are nights...

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

Comedy_Tragedy

    I have followed this poet’s blog for over four years, since first discovering her website, soon after starting my own blog here on WordPress. Each and every time I read one of her poems, I am astounded, or deeply moved, or shocked into clarity, or just plain slack-jawed in awe of the power that moves through her sometimes, when her Art, her pain, her love, and her imagination merge to make magic with words…. mostly in her second language.

In my mind, her spirit is Art, a muse come to life; in a world once painted in a story by Samuel R. Delaney, she would be called a Singer, an artist at large in the world, allowed to go anywhere, and do anything, from singing in a fountain during a fire, to acts of self-mutilation after a performance, even to murder, in the pursuit of their Art, whether it be poetry, song, sculpture, all of it, or none…. so long as the Art moves through them…. Believe me, Art moves through Mari Sanchez Cayuso…. This poem was a recent offering, a simple poem that spoke to me somehow, and can be found here:

http://starsrainsunmoon.com/2015/10/04/essays/

Essays

I don’t know what is airier

Than silence, somehow natural

Accommodating yardfuls of violet

Tens of thousands living roots

Reopening by instinct

I like it; privately wanting it

Finding satisfaction in its touch

~~ Mari Sanchez Cayuso ~~


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Yin-Yang-symbol-sun-and-moon

    This one’s pretty simple. It begins and ends with an idea presented by a Taoist master, which explains the choice of today’s icon for this section. It’s another pearl about Life at Large, and how to approach the whole ball of wax with some intelligence, dignity, and honor…. with a bit of good advice thrown in on how to nurture one’s inner garden…. Enjoy! It won’t be on the Quiz, though all of it is stuff you probably would be wise to remember….

“Every day passes whether you participate or not.” — Deng Ming-Dao

“Freedom begins between the ears.” — Edward Abbey

“Eat not thy heart; which forbids to afflict our souls, and waste them with vexatious cares.” — Plutarch — Of the Training of Children

“It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.” — Miss Manners (Judith Martin)

“The truth is always the strongest argument.” — Sophocles — Phaedra, Frag. 737

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

“The soul is healed by being with children.” — Fyodor Dostoyevski

“You’re never too old to become younger.” — Mae West

“Use a mirror in difficult times: You will see both cause and resolution.” — Deng Ming-Dao

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I did it…. barely, and a bit late, but, hey, it’s done, so, who cares? Not me, obviously. Nor should you, as this means you can now go do something that might actually help the situation…. I’d suggest washing up first; reading ECR can create a build-up difficult to clean off if it dries…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided Space and Time can hold together that long….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Full licensing requires pink taffeta, and/or pale green tissue organza….

Ffolkes,

“If you can’t say something nice, say something surrealistic.”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

supermoon-eclipse-over-arizona-cactus

Supermoon eclipse over Arizona September 2015

Image from gizmodo.com


Good morning…. Okay, so, momentous news…. sort of…. You see, I’ve come to realize, it’s too late… I’ve been living alone too long, and, it’s too late to go back. I shall, from this now forward, into the next, etc., ad nauseam, be condemned/blessed by remaining in that state until my demise.

The proof is too strong to ignore, I’m afraid. I guess I’ve seen it coming, but, in the end, it only took eight-plus-fun-filled-(NOT)-days, of enduring a Hell worse than anything in Dante’s feeble imagination, to get my mind clear enough to acknowledge the truth of what I perceive… I’ve become a completely unsocialized human being, with too many idiosyncrasies to allow myself to consort with other humans…. S’true, so don’t try to convince me otherwise; I’ll be a hermit, and it’s probably for the best…

Now, I’m not being depressive by saying that…. No, I am, in truth, motivated by what love I have left in my heart for the species at large, and for the eight to ten people whose company I seem to be able to tolerate for more than two minutes without feeling homicidal. The more time I spend around mundanes and myrmidons and slaves and assholes and creeps, and all the other idiots who seem to be all that is left in this part of the world, the more I have to assert firm control over my weapon hand, to prevent myself from leaving a trail of bodies behind me, EVERY FUCKING TIME I STEP OUT THE DOOR! I tell ya, it gets wearing….

Then, when, as in the past two weeks, my physical issues keep me house-bound, I end up getting to a place as I did just a little bit ago, where I am sitting here, in front of the computer, mind racing, Mozart playing at full volume, when I realize I am much happier alone. I don’t feel like killing anyone, and the weirdest thing I do is what prompted this little diatribe, to wit: I periodically find myself talking seriously to the programmer of whatever software I’m using, cursing him/her out for never learning to code with elegance, or otherwise bitching about the way it works, just as if she/he were right here to hear me, and, as if they cared…. Stupid is as stupid does. and talking to absent, arrogant hackers is stupid, AND weird, too….

Ah, well, I guess I COULD chalk it up to having been up all day and night for 9 of the last 11 days; that can be somewhat tiresome, I can attest…. Whoops! What the…? Oh. Okay, never mind. Just a little Tardis turbulence. Y’all know what that means, don’t you? I lost some time, and had to use the powers of a Time Lord to get back to the correct date. Now, I can attest the tiresomeness of sleeplessness holds true, the same when it’s been 11 of the last 13 days, as well for lesser amounts of time…. Pretty fucked up, to tell the truth; I found out there are levels of Hell lower than Dante’s Inferno ever dreamed of. In fact, where I was being held was right above the two lowest levels, for lawyers/politicians/preachers/pimps/myrmidons, and oligarchs. Honest, I could hear them screaming; it helped….

But, I’m back, temporarily, to further attest the veracity of the VERY old saying, true freedom is the release from pain…. While I’m in the groove, I think I should let Luigi do his thing…. Take it away, amigo….

Shall we Pearl?….

To be truly conscious of your stupidity is one of the greatest steps you can make toward wisdom. If you know others, you are learned. If you know yourself, you are indeed wise. It isn’t the things that you don’t know that get you into trouble. What gets you into trouble are those things you know for sure that ain’t so.” — Artemus Ward (1834-1867), aka Charles Farrar Brown

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

fare thee well aldotcom

Image from al.com via Google Images

©Jay Blakesberg

©Jay Blakesberg

Image from billboard.com via Google Images


I’ve already pulled my covers as a Deadhead; no surprises there. It’s also no surprise the live concerts the band played, in June and July of this year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first tour, have already been released to You Tube for the fans to hear. This is even though the CD’s and other merchandise for the tour is still on sale, and the band, with the new members to replace Garcia, Hunter, and other deceased band mates, are going on a new tour…. In short, the Dead community, which includes the Dead Family, have allowed the music to remain online without legal action…. It is a clear indicator of why the band’s connection to their fanbase, and American society in the last half of the century, reflects our entire history of that time…

Here for your enjoyment are two of the concerts the band played during the initial celebration tour, in June of this year…. Enjoy, ffolkes; there’s nothing like a Dead concert, for sure, and for certain….

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Grateful Dead
Fare Thee Well X 2
2015

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

Dont keep calm

    One might think, given the fact my last post was made on the 9th, I would have come across something rantable; I may have, but, to be frank, the period of time between then and now is one I’d prefer NOT to think about ever again. Having made the decision to excise those six days from my life and memory, as being unworthy of keeping, I must confess I honestly don’t remember getting worked up enough about anything to have written anything caustic, or even analytical. What I did manage to do, somewhat unconsciously, I think, is collect some rather good pearls that do make some reference to the world’s continuing problems on the human society front….

Mankind is, quite simply, as a species, a major fuck-up, perhaps even rating ‘clusterfuck’ status…. Anyone who says otherwise is NOT paying attention. Below you’ll find some reasons why that is true, along with some more general comments regarding the situation, which drew my attention as having something worthwhile to say, if only as a piece of smarm, or sarcasm…. Hell, without looking, I know I included something derogatory about a politician, or a lawyer, or a preacher of some kind…. I can do that in my sleep, and though I didn’t come anywhere near sleep for almost seven straight days, I did find these pearls, for better, or for worse…. Your call….

“The more laws, the less justice.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.) Roman Orator, poet, statesman — De Officiis (44 B.C.)

One of the unpardonable sins, in the eyes of most people, is for a man to go about unlabeled. The world regards such a person as the police do an unmuzzled dog, not under proper control.”  — T.H. Huxley, 1893

“A sect or party is an elegant incognito devised to save a man from the vexation of thinking.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I cannot convince myself that there is anyone so wise, so universally comprehensive in his judgment, that he can be trusted with the power to tell others:  ‘You shall not express yourself thus, you shall not describe your own experiences; or depict the fantasies which your mind has created; or laugh at what others set up as respectable; or question old beliefs; or contradict the dogmas of the church, of our society, our economic systems, and our political orthodoxy.'” — Jake Zeitlin

“Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place.” — Mohandas K. Gandhi

“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.  Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” — Albert Einstein

“Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.” — Bertrand Russell

“If people behaved in the way nations do they would all be put in straitjackets.” — Tennessee Williams

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Comedy_Tragedy

Historical Perspective

When all has been said, and all been done,
there really isn’t much to say;
we all come to the same place in the sun,
where darkness overtakes us on our way.

The road seems long as we trundle along,
our perception of time allows us this boon.
In truth, our time here is a short, sweet song,
ending far, far too soon.

There never seems to be all the time
we would wish to have for our own.
Right at the point we find reason in our rhyme:
“It’s for you; your friend Death’s on the phone.”

Yet we all keep moving along our chosen pathway
burning each moment in imagination’s hot fire.
Future and past are held well at bay
lest we are distracted from our desire.

‘Tis no wonder history is rife with pain, and fear;
we sang sweet songs, but the key was wrong.
The only real surprise, it seems crystal clear,
is why the darkness has taken so long.

Just an observation….

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 10/13/2015.

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

Yin-Yang-symbol-sun-and-moon      pearls_3

    For some of our Gentle Readers, this pearl may be somewhat murky; it’s okay. It was constructed over a week’s time, during rare moments of lucidity, and, though I wasn’t certain it would work, it did. In fact, it came out rather well, which is why I chose to use the icon(s) you see above today’s final section. It’s a test, with no grade, just a minor thrill of discovery if/when the point comes clear…. and, yes, there’ a point. Sarcasm doesn’t become you…. Okay, it does, but, it’s unnecessary in this case, so, enjoy….

“Agesilaus being invited once to hear a man who admirably imitated the nightingale, he declined, saying he had heard the nightingale itself.” — Plutarch — Life of Agesilaus II

“Think for yourself and question authority.” — Timothy Leary

“Dialogue becomes pointless with someone who escapes the procession of the years. I ask those I love to be kind enough to grow old.” — E.M. Cioran

“A man would still do something out of sheer perversity – he would create destruction and chaos – just to gain his point…and if all this could in turn be analyzed and prevented by predicting that it would occur, then man would deliberately go mad to prove his point.” — Feodor Dostoevsky, “Notes From the Underground”

“It matters not how long you live, but how well.’ — Publius Syrus — Maxim 829

“Wilderness begins in the human mind.” — Edward Abbey

“If you love the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.” — Lin-Chi

“As Caesar was at supper the discourse was of death,–which sort was the best. “That,” said he,”which is unexpected.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Caesar

We chased our pleasures here, dug out treasures there.
Can you still recall  the time we cried?
Break on through to the other side.

~~- The Doors~~


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

Today’s Pearl, as noted in the intro, somewhere, turned out special, if only for having taken damn near a week to complete. Ah, well, such is life in strife, as we say downtown, and, hey! It does have a new poem, right?. All we can do is all we can do, as I’m sure you know.

I guess I’ll try to do this again, hopefully by tomorrow. As those of us who have the powers of a Time Lord know so well, Time will tell. It always does. See y’all sometime during that Time; in fact, I don’t think anyone can prevent it now…. Nor would they, now, would they?…. Okay, I’m done.

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Little is less attractive than boastful origami….

Ffolkes,

“Belief in the supernatural reflects a failure of the imagination.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Supermoon September 2015 rising over Medal Bridge, Wales

Image from gizmodo.com


Good morning…. Hmm…. So, this is what Hell looks like. Nice wallpaper, dude…. Oh, it’s paint? Even better…..

What in the world was that about? Moreover, who gives a fuck? I certainly don’t. In fact, I can’t think of a single thing, beyond, perhaps, my children (who aren’t children now), about which I can say I give a single fuck. You may ascribe this curmudgeonly attitude to whatever you like; I happen .to know exactly why it’s here, for what that’s worth. I’m not going to complain about it, but, it sure is fucked up….

It is now 0410 AM. I’ve been up three times, getting only about five minutes of actual sleep, having spent the rest of the time in bed tossing, turning, twitching, and cursing. Now, I’ve given up for the time being, and, rather than complain, I am trying to be constructive; what I’m actually being is vulgar and irritable, with a side order of pissy. Not the attitude most likely to help me make new friends, but, then, there aren’t too many candidates hanging around at this time of day…. Hell, we haven’t had a new application in months!….

Now, conceivably, I could turn this into a positive experience. Sure I could. But, fuck that, I don’t want to. I want to feel negative, and I don’t care what anybody says, or thinks about it. You see, IT’S NOT MY FUCKING FAULT!

Oops; sorry, didn’t mean to shout at y’all. I suppose that’s an indication I’m well out of bounds. Big surprise, eh, what? It occurs to me I should probably get on with this, before I lose all sense of perspective, and fall into full-on asshole mode. Nobody has any fun when that happens. I think…. well, no, I’m actually not capable of that just now, so, I’ll just say, let’s do this, instead of what would logically follow if I continue in this vein….

Shall we Pearl?….

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

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laurel-and-hardy-clipart

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

Image from publicdomainpictures.net via Google Images

What can I say? I need a little humor, and this pair will certainly provide us with that…. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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Laurel & Hardy
1943 Comedy Classic

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Dont keep calm

“No slave is ever freed, save he freeth himself.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~


Here is a piece of ancient wisdom, so ubiquitous Google didn’t know who first said it; hence the SB attribution. It’s a concept our species realized not long after first engaging in the nasty habit. The flip side of the statement is this, which is more to the point; a man can only be made a slave with his approval, tacit or otherwise. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but, it is equally true as the former, and, in fact, is the most practical solution to dealing with the issue altogether. A man who is truly free cannot BE enslaved. You can beat him, injure him, or kill him, but, he will never give in to oppression.

I was born in a country in which liberty was the norm. I’ve watched for almost 65 years as the powers that be, all proven liars and thieves, have steadily eroded that liberty, enforced by violence and the power of lies. Now, to assert one’s rights is to take one’s life into one’s hands, in the face of a government which views people as the enemy, a resource to be duped and utilized, but, not respected. My father would be appalled, as are most of the people left who can, and do, think of anything beyond their own little world….

I could, and have, ranted on this subject for a long time; I think I’ve proved that before. But, I’m tired, having spent most of the night trying unsuccessfully to get within hailing distance of slumber, so, I’ve put together another old school pearl to sublimate the urge, which is quite strong, in spite of my fatigue. Here then is a true gem of a pearl, with Ed Abbey’s wisdom comprising 33% of a diverse group, showing much of what I believe to be wrong, with a bit of how to make it right…. Well, you’ll see… It will do for our purposes today….

“Grown men do not need leaders.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~


“Get all the fools on your side and you can be elected to anything.” — Frank Dane

“Deceit in the conduct of war outweighs valor and is worthy of merit.” — Niccolo Machiavelli

“We need excellence in public education and if the teachers can’t do it, we’ll send in a couple of policemen.” — Frank Rizzo, Philadelphia Bulletin, Oct 19, 1973

Authority intoxicates,
And makes mere sots of magistrates.
The fumes of it invade the brain,
And make men giddy, proud and vain;
By this the fool commands the wise
The noble with the base complies.
The sot assumes the rule of wit,
And cowards make the base submit.

~~ Butler ~~


“All governments need enemies. How else to justify their existence?” — Edward Abbey

“…I am opposed to all attempts to license or restrict the arming of individuals…I consider such laws a violation of civil liberty, subversive of democratic political institutions, and self-defeating in their purpose.” — Robert A. Heinlein, in a 1949 letter concerning “Red Planet”

“Whatever power you give to the good cops, goes to the bad ones, too. Never forget that.” — Phillip J. Birmingham

“I am an enemy of the State. But isn’t everyone?”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~


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

Comedy_Tragedy

Elemental, dear Watson….

Don’t worry,
it’s not
me
you hear
screaming.

It is
only
my bones,
giving in,
to
cowardly,
pathologically,
repetitive,
fucking,’
complaints
of
past abuse,
and
all the fun
we had.
playing,
hard.

I don’t mind
too much;
I can spend my
TIME
in another space
in my head,
pretending
my bones
don’t
exist….

It
is,
indeed,
a shame
they
always
come
back….

Fuck.

It
hurts.

More proof,
I guess,
either
God isn’t,
or,
He  is.

IF

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

IF

He is?
Then,
I don’t fucking care
who
doesn’t like it,

I say,

He
is
a bully,
a coward,
a hypocrite,
and,
truly,
an enormous asshole.

I suppose,
God
 is
what comes,
to,
and
from,
People,

because

 they
feel
a need,
for
someone
to
blame,
for
a
Universe
they
cannot
understand
or
accept.

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/6/2012

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13923408614402

    Today’s final pearl is what I like to call a harlequin…. It’s got a little bit of everything, all pointed at giving y’all some ideas to use when approaching Life At Large, which all of us must do at one time or another, like it or not…. These can help, used correctly. Be careful, though; used improperly, you can cause yourself no end of misery. Just remember I said so, and you’ll be fine. If not, well, that’s what insurance is for….

“All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. 
Now I see that I should have been more specific.”

~~ Jane Wagner, “The Search For Intelligent Life In The Universe” ~~

~~ [Performed by Lily Tomlin] ~~


“If possible, try to find a way to come downstairs that doesn’t involve going bump, bump, bump, on the back of your head. -” — Pooh in Winnie the Pooh A.A. Milne, English author (1882-1956)

“It is never too late to give up your prejudices.” — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“Whenever doubt can be called into question, do so.” — Dubious Bee

“We must learn our limits. We are all something, but none of us are everything.” — Blaise Pascal

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” — Sigmund Freud

“Life’s fulfillment finds constant obstacles in its path; but those are necessary for the sake of its advance. The stream is saved from the sluggishness of its current by the perpetual opposition of the soil through which it must cut its way.  It is the soil which forms its banks. The spirit of Fight belongs to the genius of Life.” — Rabindranath Tagore

“We are all born mad. Some remain so.” — Samuel Beckett

And it’s just a box of rain
I don’t know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it’s just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there

~~ Box of Rain by Lesh, Hunter ~~


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What a struggle! But, it’s done, and in spite of Leelu’s insistence on having my undivided attention, I’m going to go post it now. I’ll be back eventually, ffolkes; I can’t seem to stop myself….. See y’all then, if I can get my eyes all the way open….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Dozer


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Elucidation is generally non-obfuscatory….

Ffolkes,

“Let there be a hundred answers with none of them entirely correct.

The asking of the question is already enough.”

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

This image shows a small section of the Veil Nebula, as it was observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This section of the outer shell of the famous supernova remnant is in a region known as NGC 6960 or — more colloquially — the Witch’s Broom Nebula.

This image shows a small section of the Veil Nebula, as it was observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This section of the outer shell of the famous supernova remnant is in a region known as NGC 6960 or — more colloquially — the Witch’s Broom Nebula.

Veil Nebula ~ The Witches Broom

Image by NASA/ESA Hubble Deep Space Telescope via Space.com


Good morning…. Such greeting might have more cachet, were it actually morning. It is, however, not. It’s 11:13 PM, and I am up, in moderately severe pain, (if you MUST know, everywhere but for my eyebrows….), complete with twitching in every muscle in my body, for the second time since trying to go to sleep tonight, an ambition obviously not in the cards. Had I known this would be happening earlier today, I would have probably just shot myself then, and been done with it…..

Ah, well, such is Life; ’tis the lot of Man to suffer, and die. Too bad, really, it has to be in that order, isn’t it? It would be a lot easier the other way around…. or, hey, couldn’t we just skip the suffering part? Seems like an idea, to me. But, then, I guess you could say I have a vested interest, having experienced what I tend to feel (like everyone) is more than my fair share of it…. Should that matter? I don’t know, and, currently, don’t give a rat’s ass…. Gee, is that a little too over the top? I repeat, ah, well….

I think it was Plato, or possibly Aristotle, who once remarked, “If everyone were to bring their troubles, and throw them all together in a pile, most everyone would be content to just pick up their own, and go away home.” That makes a lot of sense, and shows a deep understanding of human nature…. Another ancient sage said this on that subject, to wit: “Every horse believes his own burden to be the heaviest.” That one makes a lot of good sense, as well. Of course, neither one of them, though perfectly appropriate, make me feel one little bit better, but, hey, it distracted me long enough to get another paragraph done, so, bonus!

Why, look, ffolkes! We’ve lost our way again! Fancy that…. I don’t suppose any of y’all know which way might lead us back a bit closer to Reality? No? So be it. We’ll spend the day searching the way back, instead of diving for pearls. Good thing I’ve been working on this for a while, isn’t it? Maybe I’ll hop in the Tardis, and take a spin into the future. Oh, wait, that’s right. It’s temporarily restricted, as it may not exist at all much longer; they’re waiting to see what happens in the next couple years. If things don’t work out for us humans, the Tardis will have to go to another species somewhere else in Space and Time…. can’t let it sit idle, it’s too valuable.

See? Told ya we were lost. The hell with it. Let’s go do something else now….

Shall we Pearl?….

“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.” — Maya Angelou

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mozart2

“An agreeable companion on a journey is as good as a carriage.”

~~ Publius Syrus — Maxim 143 ~~


I thought (relatively) long and hard about what to put in this section today. Today’s Pearl, as it turned out, is, in the current sense, an anomaly, as it is completely composed of (relatively) fresh material. By fresh, I mean it is all newly written material, just for this Pearl, though it took three days to complete, as I wend my way through the latter days of my recovery from medical abuse. (Long story, for another time….)….

, I picked Wolfie’s two last symphonies (I am pretty sure there’s no # 42…. I did look.) because they are, perhaps, the best representation of the kind of music that turned me on to the classical genre, about thirty years ago, when I became tired of the state of modern music being played on the airwaves, and, well before the advent of internet streaming…. As far as I’m concerned, this is about as good as music gets. Period. I also think it goes well with the rest of the stuff you’ll find below…

Oh, and, by the way. If you enjoyed this, on the You Tube page where you will be taken by clicking  the link below, you’ll find a link to a video recording of eight of Mozart’s best symphonies, over three hours worth, all conducted by Leonard Bernstein… I haven’t checked it out, but, I have a feeling it will be my next download, for music to keep on my computer, for those times I need it…. which come fairly often these days….

Enjoy!….

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Symphony 40 & 41

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The Anti-trafficking Movement Needs Survivor Voices:  Why Are We Ignored?

“If people were required to know the law rather than to obey it,

the government would be overthrown the next day.”

~~ Polly Sigh Bee ~~


As I walk the streets of the city in which I live, I see the truth of the above proposition all too clearly. Yet, the urge to rant about it seems to be in abeyance for the nonce; chalk it up to the selfishness brought to the fore when we suffer from physical issues. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t take some shots at our Beloved Ruling Class, or spend some time being ironic regarding modern society… I think the following nine-star pearl falls right into that category, so, we’ll go with that today, rather than forcing the issue with a rant…. This is better, trust me…. It’s all about the old Reader’s Digest, with yet another version of Life in these United States….

“Deal,” said the devil. “Don’t you want to cut first?” the imp asked, shoving the cards across the table. “Why bother? We’re all going to cheat, anyway.” — Ester M. Friesner, “Bargaining Chip”

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent,  hard-working, honest Americans.  It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity.  But then–we elected them.” — Lily Tomlin

“One can imagine a sane, healthy, cheerful human society based on no more than the principles of common sense, as validated each day by work, play, and living experience. But this remains the most Utopian and fantastic of ideals.” — Edward Abbey

“If we were to promise people nothing better than only revolution, they would scratch their heads and say: “Is it not better to have good goulash?” — Nikita Khruschev, quoted 1971

“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the rights of the people by the gradual & silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” — James Madison, Virginia Conv. 1788

“The only guarantee of the Bill of Rights which continues to have any force and effect is the one prohibiting quartering troops on citizens in time of peace.” — H. L. Mencken, 1951

“A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs…” — Epicurus

“The majority, compose them how you will, are a herd, and not a nice one.” — William Hazlitt

“I see from your coat, my friend, you’re from the other side.
There’s just one thing I’d like to know:
Who won?

~~ David Crosby ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 10/2/2015.

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This one is for Tom, who stimulated/inspired it by the simple act of asking two questions…..

About Hopi Indian Symbols

    Life, as we know it, can be a tricky proposition; I think we can all agree on that. This is especially true for us humans, given our gift/curse, to wit: endless imagination. Both help and hindrance, it makes us, if naught else, the strangest creatures on the planet, duck-billed platypi notwithstanding.

Today’s final old-school pearl is a a celebration/lamentation of that particular facet of our existence. Each of these pearls, if I’ve done this correctly, should give you both a little thrill of understanding, and a little chill of foreboding…. Enjoy!….

“Is this going to involve RAW human ecstasy?” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all.  Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around — nobody big, I mean — except me.  And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff.  What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.  That’s all I’d do all day.  I’d just be the catcher in the rye.  I know it;  I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.  I know it’s crazy.” — J. D. Salinger, “Catcher in the Rye”

“No one is as weird as they think they are. Everyone is weirder than others think they are.” — Byron Elbows’ two rules of human nature

“Dragons fly because they *think* they can.” — Anne McCaffrey.

“If there are twelve clowns in a ring, you can jump in the middle and start reciting Shakespeare, but to the audience, you’ll just be the thirteenth clown.” — Adam Walinsky

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is gaining helpful experience. He will never be dim or doubtful. Chances are he will never carry a cat by the tail again. But I say, if he wants to, let him!” — Mark Twain

“Forward goes the vanguard of the lunatic fringe, tickling the death clowns of normality.” — HealNorm

“I go through the house in the middle of the night, and hear the ticking of the clocks. I can’t stop them; I can’t turn them back.” — the Marschallin, in Der Rosenkavalier

And if I laugh at any mortal thing,
‘T is that I may not weep.

~~ Lord Byron — Don Juan, Canto iv, Stanza 4 ~~


Whew! I don’t know about y’all, but, all I can say is, what a ride!…. Good thing we’re done for today, isn’t it?….

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Done. And, if not, tough stuff, as they say. Well, somebody said it. Plus, it’s done, so there. I’ll take the credit, and/or the blame, whichever seems most appropriate. Meanwhile, I’m outta here, to try to find some of the sleep I lost. See y’all next time, whenever that may be….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Dozer


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Planting truth in fallow fields….

Ffolkes,

Within the oyster’s shell uncouth
The purest pearl may hide,
Trust me you’ll find a heart of truth
Within that rough inside.

 ~~ Mrs. Osgood ~~

pluto nasa ukg 9-17-15

Pluto as seen from the Dawn Horizons Spacecraft Mission Flyby

Image from the UK Guardian 9/17/2015


Good morning, ffolkes. I’m tired, even after having slept a solid 8 hours for the first time in ages. I am also way, way off center, due to a concatenation of circumstances, many of which were not in my control, though in my possible sphere of prediction (had I been, naturally, more centered to begin). As a result, I find myself in the position of needing to make some alterations in lifestyle and routine in order to return to, and stay at my center of being, such as it is….

All that said, (with some difficulty I might add…. LeeLoo’s newest trick is to lick my hand, then drape herself comfortably across my wrist, leaving my fingers free to type, literally, as I am typing this while she lays there, purring contentedly, as if she had nothing more important or valuable to do but lie on my hands watching me type….. SIGH….) I am going to make a few changes here on ECR, as well. For some days after today, you may see some re-blogs, complete Pearls, from the archives…. Those will be the days I am avoiding any outside contact, as I intend to hunker down again, drawing myself into myself, until I find my center, and nail it to my forehead…. Other days, you’ll see nothing at all; those days I’m hiding, probably from myself, as well as the world…

So, these posts may not be as fresh as usual for a while…. Who knows? Maybe it won’t take long, and I’ll be back on track by tomorrow….. More likely, based on experience, we’re looking at a few weeks, while I go through my internal contortions, those necessary to realign my self to the universe, as I understand it…. At least this time I won’t be carrying around a beach ball on my belly…. It’s all gone ffolkes…. I weighed 179.8 lbs today, for the third day running. That is a weight I haven’t seen in over 25 years, and I’m not stopping there; I’ll quit worrying about it at all when I get back to 160 lbs., which is my natural weight for this age and height…. I’ll be buff again!….

Or, a reasonable facsimile of buff; much healthier, anyway…. For now, let’s get today’s Pearl done, since the cat seems to have fallen asleep on my wrist…. Take it away, Luigi!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.” — Isaac Asimov

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pearls_3

    Not only am I far from center, I can’t even figure out what direction to start searching for it. So, here’s the deal…. I’ll put together one old-school pearl, with as many good aphorisms as SB will give me, and be done with this for a while…. Obviously, (to me), I need a break, to recharge my batteries, or some such odd analogy…. which just goes to show how much I need this…. Here’s what I could find, ffolkes…. The first one probably gives away where I am heading; the rest are for show, though not insignificant in their own right/light…..

“Nothing is more useful than silence.” — Menander

“Experience is the only prophecy of wise men.” — Alphonse de Lamartine

“Life without music would be an intolerable insult.” — Edward Abbey

“After I’m dead I’d rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one.” — Cato the Elder

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” — H.H. the Dalai Lama

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.  With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Essays: First Series (1841) “Self-Reliance”

“If you can see a thing whole… it seems that it’s always beautiful. Planets, lives…But close up, a world’s all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life’s a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful a life is, is to see it from the vantage point of death.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, Dispossessed

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I’m done. Literally, and, figuratively. I may, or may not, post tomorrow; don’t be at all surprised if I don’t post for several days…. I need…. a lot. I want more…. Both are not good, and, thus, must be dealt with…. Not to worry, I’m tough, and I’ll be fine. I just need to NOT for a time. I’ll be back when I AM….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….