Hajime…. Well, hell…. I didn’t win the billion dollar jackpot, so, I guess I’ll get this done…. Personally, today, I got nothin’. I’m tired, it’s raining. and I hurt, everywhere…. But, then, what else is new? I’m not complaining, though, in truth, I could. I’m good at it. But, I’ll forgo any such indulgence, in favor of getting on with what I need to do to get this posted. Thankfully, that isn’t much, considering very little of it is fresh…. We have a fresh old-school pearl, and, some rather nice music from our old friend Camille Saint-Saëns; the poem is an older one of mine, and the ranting section, well, you’ll have to see for yourself, as we went to the archives for a bit of fun.
All that said, to our consistently little purpose, I suggest we head right over to the oyster beds, without any further silliness, or even, sobriety. In fact, we’ll just do this the easy way…. How, you may ask, could this be any easier? Simple. Watch this….
Shall we Pearl?….
“How could the drops of water know them”selves to be a river?
Yet the river flows on.”
~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~~
********************************
Since I’m putting this together in rather a rush, so to speak, we’ll go with one of my favorite composers, and one of his first published works…. Abondanza!…..
As previously noted, I got nothin’…. Well, not precisely, I suppose; I do have the archives. Guess where today’s material for this section came from? Yep…. Hey, look at it this way; no rant. In fact, this one is more of a laugh than a rant…. I hope so, anyway…. Enjoy, ffolkes; tomorrow I’ll be ranting afresh, so, fair warning….
From 9/12/2012:
This is an old school pearl for your reading pleasure, or nearest approximation of same…. a bit different, with some internal comments from yours truly (in parentheses for your convenience….), to give directional hints that may or may not lead you to the point being developed…. but, funny, at least, as far as I can make them….
“… 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”
(When I read this, or sentiments like it, I always get a picture in my head of the two Bushes…. GW and GHW, otherwise known as the Senior Shrub and the Junior Shrub, or vice versa…. The national mourning that took place yesterday is the best example of their work in this arena….)
“My first American ancestor, gentlemen, was an Indian-an early Indian. Your ancestors skinned him alive, and I am an orphan. All those Salem witches were ancestors of mine. Your people made it tropical for them…. The first slave brought into New England out of Africa was an ancestor of mine-for I am a mixed breed, an infinitely shaded and exquisite Mongrel.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)
(Me too! I loved this when I first saw it, back in High School, a VERY LONG time ago… so long ago, it was hot off the press…… The best part is, every one of those folks who believe themselves to be blue-blooded Americans are exactly the same make-up… There are very few real pure-bloods left anywhere in the world, and certainly not in a country with the diverse population we have….. we’re all, technically speaking, close to being “mutts”, every one of us…..)
“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.” — Galbraith’s Law
(I am reminded of those folks who are busy trying to convince everyone that they aren’t against Obama because he’s black, and then turn around and support R&R, who have all but guaranteed to return racism and bigotry to government….. Hell, just look at one of their primary talking point slogans, the key part of which is, and I quote, “…we’ll take America back….” Take it back? From whom? From other Americans? Does this mean the current government aren’t real Americans? That sounds suspiciously of both racism, AND treason, to me…..)
“The clinching proof of my reasoning is that I will cut anyone who argues further into dog meat.” — Sir Geoffery de Tourneville (ca. 1350)
(Ah, the good old days…. sometimes, I wish we would see someone in the House, or the Senate, say this at the end of a speech, just to see if anyone is paying attention…)
“Somewhere in suburban Honolulu, an unemployed bellhop is whipping up a batch of illegal psilocybin chop suey!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
(Okay, I admit it… this one isn’t part of the message inherent in the other quotes…. I just like it….. Though, now that I think about it, the fact that it is entirely possible this is true, does say something about the subject at hand, to wit: society and government thereof…. What it says could be paraphrased as “If God is in charge here, I am angry; if He is not, I am frightened….” — Smart Bee)
No one ever made laws keeping people from making fools of themselves. — Smart Bee
(This is a wonderful end point for this discussion, or at least, it is such an ending for the discussion going on in my head….. I think this is very, very true, sadly…. Moreover, I believe that the laws we do pass actually are the proof of the pudding, in terms of people making fools of themselves…. especially when we try to legislate morality…..)
That’s enough mental torture for one day….. I hope the conclusion these quotes led to is clear…. if not, well, that’s okay, because I never hold quizzes…. and hopefully, you got a chuckle or two from reading it…. and if not, well, console yourself with the fact that it is done…..
********************************
Unheralded Sagacity…
To many, who will not see beyond their nose
the world becomes a dangerous place,
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,
no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.
Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years,
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.
Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt
Strength is found in an unfettered mind,
Cry “freedom” with a great shout.
No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.
Illumination…..
~~ gigoid ~~
4/17/2013
********************************
Here we have an odd little pearl of nine stars; I’m a bit unsure exactly where it leads, but, given the contents, it has to be somewhere worth going, at least to pick up whatever is there for us to find…. Not a bad way to end this, I should think…. But, then we know what can happen in such cases, so, perhaps I’ll merely leave you to it, for better, or for even better…. Enjoy the ride!….
“Shall I show you the muscular training of a philosopher? “What muscles are those?”–A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised; careful resolutions; unerring decisions.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Wherein consists the Essence of Good, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. viii
“O to be self-balanced for contingencies! O to confront night, storms, hunger, ridicule, accidents, rebuffs as trees and animals do!” — Walt Whitman
“In the carriages of the past you can’t go anywhere.” — Maxim Gorky (1868-1936)
“Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that.” — Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire
“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne
“Instead of being born again, why not just grow up?” — Logical Bee
“Pain of mind is worse than pain of body.” — Publilius Syrus
“Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
But what am I?
An infant crying in the night:
An infant crying for the light,
And with no language but a cry.
~~ Alfred Tennyson — In Memoriam, liv, Stanza 5 ~~
********************************
With a bit of help from Leelu, who was kind enough to be patient waiting for her morning play time, it’s done. Rather than draw this out any further, which would be both inefficient, and cruel, I’ll show some restraint, and merely say, see y’all tomorrow, as long as the Space/Time Continuum hangs together that long…. As noted previously, the odds are good on that….
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.
“Democritus said, words are but the shadows of actions.”
~~ Plutarch — Of the Training of Children ~~
Beginning/Ending
Hajime…. I’ve been taking the words of Democritus more seriously of late; walking more & sitting less at the computer. Yesterday’s rant makes it hard to walk, but, the sky is still blue, & it’s pretty easy for us humans to ignore reality, so, I’ll keep it up, as it seems to be helping me regain some of the stamina and overall healthy status I once enjoyed. It has, oddly enough, also regularized my circadian rhythm; I’m sleeping at least 8 hours each night, often 10. That, however, is playing hell with my morning habit of being up early to finish each day’s post…. Now, I have to get done the day before, or, rush in the morning to do so….
So, you’ll find some shortcuts today; my regular readers realize this means some of the Pearl will be from the archives, where, in the last four-plus years, I’ve written about eight million words upon which to draw…. Bonus! It also means I’ll be cutting some of the crap out of this section, in order to get on down the page where I can make things right, with either fresh material, or, an archived piece….. In fact, you’ve already seen how that works, which is exactly like this….
Shall we Pearl?….
“I don’t think I’m ever more “aware” than I am right after I hit my thumb with a hammer.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey
********************************
Image from beatchronic.com via Google Images
Today’s music is from the same organization I wrote of yesterday, Playing For Change, which you can find here: https://playingforchange.com/. I receive an email notice when they publish a new song, and this one was so happy, and full of so much human spirit, it was irresistible to include today…. Enjoy, ffolkes, and, consider helping them out with a donation…. It’s well worth it….
Today’s ranting material comes from the archives; I started one, but, didn’t have time to finish it…. Hence, this blast from the not so distant past…. Enjoy, such as it was…..
From 2/5/2014:
Robert Heinlein called the latter half of the twentieth century, “The Crazy Years”, with good reason…. I have reason to believe that the period of US history to which he SHOULD have applied the term might better be placed in the beginning of the current century, instead…. As proof of that, below, I offer five links, to articles on ONE news site, all of which give a pretty good estimation of the depth of the problems we have in society today…. It’s a pretty good overview of some of the issues, but one should remember to remember the irony of having to read the words they’ve written, at all…. My comments will follow each link, in parentheses to avoid confusion….
“Two rules we should always have ready,–that there is nothing good or evil save in the will; and that we are not to lead events, but to follow them.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — In what Manner we ought to bear Sickness, — Discourses, Book iii, Chap. x
(In sooth, this one isn’t so crazy as sad…. In the massive pyramid scam that comprises the structure of the NFL, the bosses make billions, the players, basically a bunch of grown up kids, make millions, the lackeys (like cheerleaders, equipment managers, beer vendors, stadium workers, and all the other mundane drones working in the business somewhere…) make a few thousands, while the fans, who are paying in all of that gelt, pretty much get screwed… but, then, what would you expect of a business that engenders billions of dollars of revenue each year, while engaging in what is essentially a complicated game of tic-tac-toe, with live x’s and o’s….. Actually, the whole NFL scenario reminds me of the whole Religion scenario…. same scam, different clothes… Robes and collars in one, uniforms and helmets in the other….)
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sochi-city-hall-orders-killing-of-stray-dogs-5200318.php
(We all knew the Russian government was crazy, as often proven by their chief crazy, Vlad, the Bad boy, Putin….. and this little exhibition of the power of expediency over compassion is a perfect example of how the leaders of society take nothing but their own agenda into account when making decisions, regardless of how those decisions may affect another living creature, canine, or simian….. They don’t give a shit for anything but themselves, in essence, and this is more proof of it, to my way of seeing things….) http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Senate-sends-farm-bill-to-Obama-5202152.php
(You know which farm bill this is, right? I’m pretty sure this is what they call the Farm Subsidy Bill, the one that distributes the BILLIONS of dollars, stolen by the government from taxpayers, to various American farmers, to supplement their income by paying them NOT to grow things…. Farmers, being PAID to NOT GROW food…. now, if that isn’t crazy, then I don’t know what the word means….)
http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/television/article/Bill-Nye-defends-evolution-in-Kentucky-debate-5202990.php
(You know we’re in trouble, as a species, when a scientific theory that has been proven beyond all doubt is STILL being questioned in public…. The fact that the debate here is taking place in a Creation Museum is one of the more ironic parts of this….. Here, in one spot, is gathered all of the major points of ignorance that are held as true by Creationists, who believe the world was created 6,000 years ago, reportedly by some aged, white-haired, Caucasian Supernatural Being, with serious busybody tendencies, (whom nobody saw, other than a few minor prophets, where they had been in the desert, happily having visions from dehydration, and experiencing beautiful, inspiring visions from consuming the desert plants…), with the aid and collusion of some of history’s most accomplished con men, in support on the ground…. The mere fact that the matter under discussion here is still being questioned, by ANYONE, is the most ironic, and the saddest part of this one….)
(I’m pretty certain I don’t need to comment at all here, though I will; this story is infused with craziness…. The sheer insanity of this couple’s journey into methamphetamine hell, turned them from being human, into monsters…. I lay the blame for this death squarely at the feet of the BRC, as more proof of the failure of their “War on Drugs”….. Hell, from what I can see, everything the BRC has ever done to fight drugs has only worsened the problems that produce the drug use in the first place…. The drug use that is endemic in the lower reaches of the financial scale in our society is a direct result of the widening gap between the rich and the poor…. The sense of futility and hopelessness that goes with living in poverty, (and I know it’s real, having been there….) leads to despair, and drugs often seem like the only way to forget it all for a while….. Deal with THAT issue, the financial gap, and there MIGHT be some improvement in that area of societal behavior…. It’s obvious by the last 50 years that the current attempts to deal with drug use is NOT working….)
There you go ffolkes, a compendium of evidence that goes to prove how insane society has become…. I wish us all the best of luck in the coming years…. We are going to need it, badly….
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Intelligent Crimes
The value of wit is often said to cause harm,
for those who think, such is its greatest charm.
The new and the bold cannot be fulfilled
if innovation and change is left unwilled.
Society behaves at its base as a mob
conformity and submission its primary job.
Any sign of rebellion against the mob’s rule
is met with resentment, naming such rebel the fool.
Intellect and talent are looked at askance,
expressing artistry stands nary a chance.
To stand out from the rest of mankind
is fraught with danger, for body and mind.
Often I stand to watch in solemn dismay
as beauty and joy are left by the way,
ignored and reviled by the unwashed masses
who prefer darkness, and acting like asses.
With shouts of derision the normals make known
their fear of intelligence, greater than their own.
They hope to stop all semblance of progress;
for thoughts and ideas, they couldn’t care less.
The world struggles on in spite of all opposition,
managing to maintain its advanced position.
Pulling the foolish along in spite of reluctance,
helping each to learn the survival dance.
Hard though it may be to keep up with the future
genius manages its plans to develop and nurture.
In the final analysis, those who live by reason
enjoy life the most, season to season.
~~ gigoid ~~
10/7/2012
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“Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines,
but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.”
~~ Buddha ~~ **********
“If what Proust says is true,
that happiness is the absence of fever,
then I will never know happiness.
For I am possessed by a fever
for knowledge, experience, and creation.”
~~ Anais Nin ~~
**********
“You will know unexpected happiness.
You will know the sorrow
of seeing what is dearest to you cut down before your eyes.
Accept that
That is the nature of human existence,
and you have no time to buffer this fact
with fairy tales and illogical explanations.”
~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~ **********
“I always look outside myself for strength and confidence,
but it comes from within. It is there all the time.”
~~ Anna Freud ~~ **********
“All virtue is summed up in dealing justly.”
~~ Aristotle ~~
**********
“A good laugh is sunshine in a house.”
~~ William Makepeace Thackeray ~~
**********
“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
~~ William Shakespeare ~~ **********
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
~~ Anais Nin ~~
**********
“I don’t have all the answers, just those that count.”
~~ gigoid bee ~~
********************************
In spite of the natural and unnatural handicaps with which the morning has burdened our existence, this Pearl is done. I can only say hallelujah, and, be grateful it isn’t any worse than it is…. Not that it’s bad, necessarily, but, I don’t think we’ll need to notify the Pulitzer committee to convene any time soon…. On that deprecatory note, I shall bid thee adieu for another 24 or so hours…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; there doesn’t seem to be any choice in the matter for me….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.”
~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~
Laser-eye Leelu
Hajime…. ‘Tis indeed unusual for me to feel energetic, or, for that matter, less than homicidal, at this time of day. That’s a simple, obvious direct result of the severe insomnia I experienced for about 3-4 months. Now, after a night of 10 solid hours, again, I find myself feeling almost normal in the mornings, if with a bit more pain than in previous times in life. Hey, I accept, now, I’m 65, not 25; for a long time, like, I think, all of us, we try to deny the passage of time; that feeling of immortality we maintain for much of our youth carries over into middle and elder stages, unfortunately…. Then, something brings us up short, realizing, hey, that hurts! And, it’s something that never hurt before…. and, we realize, our life will never be quite the same….
THAT is, I believe, a moment which must come to us all, like it or not. Oh, we can continue to deny the effects of the passage of time on our bodies and minds; in my opinion, there’s a word for folks who try that…. corpses. Yep, that’s one of those really STUPID things we humans tend to do, and, every time, it will kill us, because, hey, the Universe just doesn’t give a shit about how we feel, about anything, much less a force of nature like aging, and dying…. After all, the process IS merely another example of how our lives are so connected to reality, for all of reality experiences the same aging process…. The Universe, however, doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as we seem to do….
Ah well, maybe if we’d try, as a species, to understand a bit more about death, perhaps we would handle living with a bit more style and elegance. As it is, much of humanity dies hard, and afraid; it’s considered a lucky man or woman who dies at an old age, in bed, with friends and family at their side. The major portion of life is spent trying to arrange a comfortable death, with the greater part of us failing miserably at that…. Or, at least, that’s the way I see it. I guess maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, for I see the ever-present battle in Reality being won by Chaos and Entropy, while the Order and Reason attempted by Man, falls into disuse and ill repute.
At this point in this narrative, I see it has already fallen into ranting mode, which is always dangerous here….. Y’know what else. I’m tired of all the doom and gloom I see all over the fucking world, including right here where I live, where every day I see falsely-entitled police forces hassling homeless and poor people, just because they can. I’m tired of the assholes who run this world thinking they can lie, cheat, and steal from everyone else, and get away with it. And, I’m tired of being lied to…. especially that. The so-called leaders of this country, and of every country in the world I read about, in their own words, suffers the same issue; the world is being raped, and pillaged, by just a small percentage, while the rest of us try to get by in a world gone mad….
Fuck it, let’s go find some pearls, to help get rid of some of this angst, and, maybe, in the process, find a bit of humor, and maybe even some hope….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Life is the childhood of our immortality.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
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The Grateful Dead Images from an email from Dead.net
Last night I was listening to some of the music I’ve downloaded from You Tube. Specifically, I was checking out some of the bands who played covers of Dead music for the Dead Covers Project in 2014. The Project started in 2013, I believe, and has produced some of the finest home-grown, home-made music one can find anywhere. I listened to the one I’ve included, and can tell you, you HAVE to see, and hear the lead guitar solo in this song. About three or four minutes in, the band breaks into some solo breaks. The lead guitar player, like most of the band, is an obvious O.O.F., apparently about 70-75 years old….
I swear, the old fart NAILS the solo; not only does he nail it, he kills it! Fast, clean, and rockin’, he, and the other old farts in this particular band, rocked the house where they played, back East sometime in 2014…. It’s well worth seeing, as are any number of the other covers that amateurs sent in each year…. Check them out; there are a lot of surprises. Some are really bad, but, some, like this one, will amaze you at the musicianship of the players…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a blast from the past, right here in the future….
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BEGGARS TOMB New Minglewood Blues Dead Covers Project 2014
“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad, “Under Western Eyes”
What a wonderful beginning for a rant! Too bad I’m not up to writing one… Plus, I’m in too good a mood to go there, so, instead, we’ll go with this discussion from a very good early Pearl, about a year after coming to WP. I hope you enjoy it; I did…. and, hell, I wrote it, and I’m a harsh self-critic….
From 10/21/2012:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.~~ Rudyard Kipling ~~
~~ Just So Stories (1902) “The Elephant’s Child” ~~
I first read the phrase “feeding the Elephant’s Child” in a Robert Heinlein novel, many years ago, and enjoyed it as a metaphor for reading/learning, before I knew from whence it originally came. Once I did know (a moment of illumination whose exact placement in time is hazy….), I liked it even more, from an aesthetic standpoint. The above little ditty is brilliant doggerel, astute observation, and deep insight, all presented in a simple, straightforward style, with a powerful, basic lesson for any would-be philosopher, or any one who wishes to encompass reason as their modus operandi, so to speak. Besides which, I find that another piece of Bob’s advice fits well with this one, to wit: “Life tastes better in big bites….”
“Never wear anything that panics the cat.” — P. J. O’Rourke
I like this, a lot. It summarizes perhaps one of the most elemental rules of getting along in the Universe, in essence saying, “You can learn a lot by watching what happens around you…” It is the perfect companion to the concept of learning as presented above, as it contrives to speak to both sides of Reality, i.e., how you approach reality (the clothing you choose to show to the cat….) and how reality will change to react to your approach (the cat’s opinion of your clothing….) It also gives one a subtle warning about how the wrong clothing can produce unwanted consequences, and we all know how an offended cat is likely to respond…. as Mark Twain once remarked…. “A man who carries a cat by the tail is learning valuable things. He will never again be dim or doubtful. Chances are he’ll not carry the cat that way again, but, I say, if he wants to, let him!” You can’t say fairer than that….
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” — Buddha
One can always trust the Buddha to state the most profound thoughts in the simplest way…. I often wonder how he came to such a complete understanding of Murphy, whose presence is acknowledged in all of what the Buddha stated, but whose ministrations seem to have passed by the Buddha’s existence…. either that, or Murphy shows him a lot more respect than he does anyone else alive. At times, it seems that what the Buddha states, such as in this statement, is, in at least one respect, an answer to a question that is raised when Murphy intervenes in our lives…. in simpler words, he explains why Murphy is able to affect us as he does, by cutting through the bullshite we perceive to the truth of what is real….. SIGH…. one of these days, enlightenment will slap me upside the head, and I’ll be able to see Murphy coming…. I hope…
There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan
Often I feel as if not only is life a joke, but it is our duty and purpose on this plane of existence to codify that joke, to put it down on paper, or on screen/disc, to free ourselves from the prison of sobriety, achieving an understanding that everything in this silly universe is here for our amusement, and we have been taking it, and ourselves, seriously for entirely too long….. So seriously, we have begun to offend those parts of the universe that just want us to relax and enjoy ourselves, and the time is growing nearer when we will have to admit that the joke is on us, for not being able to change our inner selves enough to be able to handle the humor of our situation…. See, the universe thinks death is funny…. not because it is cruel, but because death is just another part of life, and it doesn’t care about one more than the other…. See, now, isn’t it funny how you never noticed that?…..
I once read a science fiction novel, whose title and author escape me completely; in all it was very poorly written, with prose that did not live up to the good ideas contained in the plot line. However, it was a great plot line, in all….Specifically, there was one chapter I liked, which had a super-genius taking on the task of finding the solution to a mathematical treatise, an equation so complex and advanced that no civilization in the galaxy had ever been able to completely solve it.
The genius/hero of the book shut himself up in his room for three weeks, working on the problem. At the end, he was thinking so hard he entered a trance-like state, computing while nearly dead…. after a week of this, he suddenly opened his eyes, gave a look of astonishment, and burst into uncontrollable laughter for approximately 25 minutes. When he could finally control himself, he simply said, “It’s a joke….” and would never discuss it again….
In a pearl such as this one has grown to be, there comes a time when I have to decide whether to continue on, to try to reach the conclusion that was nebulously hovering somewhere in my mind as I began, or to admit that I have once again wandered into uncharted territory, and might find it a bit tricky to find my way back to clarity. This is that time…. and I’m leaving it up to Smart Bee, as always…. If I don’t find a proper pearl to carry on the tenuous chain of thought I’ve created, then we’ll take the first one that will appropriately wrap it up as a lost cause….. all within a specified number of attempts…. so, here we go… You’ll know in a moment what will happen….
“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi
There, see?…. That didn’t take long at all…. and I managed to find the perfect pearl to cover both bases…. In this case, we will use it as an ending quote, since it sort of summarizes a lot of the discussion, after a fashion. It could conceivably also be used as a springboard for further discussion, but this has gone on long enough, and I wouldn’t want to lose anybody due to an injudicious application of excess verbiage, culminating in tedium…. Of course, we may have reached that point some time ago, but, hey, who’s counting?…. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into not very much….
🙂
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Today’s poetry choice is here simply for the final line; it fits perfectly with my mood, and, tells us everything we need to know to have life just the way we want it, if we are smart enough to take it….
Dreaming of Calliope
La belle dame sans merci speaks aloud through endless night,
torturing dreams, with powerful words and stentorian phrases.
Manifest visions bathed in unbearable grace and light,
destroying all direction, standing lost, in unfathomable mazes.
Fate plays a part, one that will never face denial,
as fear and courage eternally vie for ascendancy.
Conflict becomes valid, gifting strength in open trial,
but honest emotion wears no costume so fancy.
Blood, sweat, and tears stroll on avenues of gold,
unlikely heroines heralding as in ancient lore;
Sharp, competent knives cut through tales untold,
eternally shifting reality past the naked shore.
Drifting toward origin, bereft of mandate or cause,
finished, nay, abandoned, tied with a figurative bow.
No simple gift from muses to give comfort or pause,
save that all we need to know, we already know…..
~~ gigoid ~~
12/13/2012
********************************
Naked Pearls III
“To know and to act are one and the same.”
~~ Samurai Proverb ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Happiness follows sorrow,
sorrow follows happiness,
but when one no longer discriminates
between happiness and sorrow,
a good deal and a bad deed,
one is able to realize freedom.”
~~ Buddha ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Do not eat your heart.”
~~ Pythagoras ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Truth is the summit of being,
justice is the application of it to affairs.”
~~ Emerson ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Learn or die.”
~~ Reality ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”
~~ Salvor Hardin, in Foundation by Isaac Asimov ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Adversity is the first path to truth.”
~~ Lord Byron ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.”
~~ Josh Billings ~~
~~~~~~~~~
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the word.’
Already I stick, and who shall help afford?
The ‘word’ at such high rate I may not tender;
The passage I must elsewhere render,
If rightly by the Spirit I am taught,
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the Thought.’ By the first line a moment tarry,
Let not thine eager pen itself o’er-hurry!
Does ‘thought’ work all and fashion outright?
It should stand: ‘In the beginning was the Might.’
Yet even as my pen the sentence traces,
A warning hint the half-writ word effaces.
The Spirit helps me – from all doubting freed,
Thus write I: ‘In the beginning was the Deed.’
~~ Dr. Faustus, Wolfgang Goethe, “Faust” ~~
********************************
Well, gosh. It’s done, and I’m NOT exhausted. What a nice way to start the day! Without my usual mistrust of such good feelings, I’m going to take the money and run. Should be easy, as the money doesn’t exist. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’m afraid there’s just no way to avoid it; it seems to be written in stone…..
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.
Mountainous ice shoreline on Pluto Image by NASA via the New Horizons Spacecraft
Hajime…. Today, I’d like to begin with a paean. Don’t worry, context will let you figure it out, if’n you don’t already know. It’s a paean to people, of course, because, hey, people here, myownself. And, I don’t even care if my, or your, spellchecker hates that word. It’s not very many people, so it’s not a very big paean, but, it IS sincere, so, I have to do it. I’m funny like that, I guess….
I LOVE these people. Quite simply, and, quite truly. I’ve never met any of them in the flesh, yet I know of them, and their lives, their ideas, their families, just as they know mine, by having read their blog for more than four years, minimum; the reverse, naturally is true. There are about forty or fifty people I still see regularly, perhaps more, and, always some newbies.
These ffolkes, on the other hand, have been here every day they were healthy enough to be at a computer, or were otherwise prevented by simple non-access to the Net. They, of course know who they are, so I don’t have to say it; all I want to say is, I love you, and thanks for being. I’m old enough now to know there are never any wrong times to tell those you love that you do; how many times have you passed up the chance?
I try not to pass them up when I think of it, and, this paean of gratitude, and sappy emotional stuff that DOES count in the final Quiz, is for them, the people I consider my WordPress family….. May whatever light is left in the world shine on all of us, for as long as we can hold the darkness at bay…..
Now, you may wonder what prompted today’s emotional outburst, other than the PTSD I live with each day? Well, easy. I wrote a Haiku. That’s all. It’s a damn good one, and, it’s placed where it happened when it leaked out of whatever part of my brain had been holding it. You’ll see, if you’re strong enough; it’s not really hidden, just put where it has to be. It was prompted by two things, yesterday’s Pearl title, and, the sight of one of the aforementioned family friends icon appearance, from where I know he lives, across the world…. I had to smile, and, there it was, right in front of me… Trust me, it’s a good haiku….
So, how’m I doing with the new, mysterious intro technique? Is it holding your interest? No? Ah. Oh, well. ‘S okay, we’re done here anyway. Even if YOU aren’t dazed and confused, I certainly am, so, we’re good to go. Luigi has been practicing, because he heard what a good job Guido did while he was off on his vacay…. Let’s see if it takes…. Luigi! Let’s do it!…. Hang on, ffolkes; I’m a little nervous myself, if the first paragraphs didn’t clue you….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.”
~~ Robert Heinlein ~~
********************************
Wolfie Image from sumwear.com via Google Images
Whenever I experience my deepest moments of personal darkness, I turn to the music of this man, and, in particular, this piece. Some consider it the finest music anyone in our species ever created; I am not judge enough to say. All I can say is, listen, and enjoy…. If you don’t, well, you might consider joining another species….
I’ve included only one video version, but, two links. The second is to a longer version, written and recorded on a separate You Tube page. Enjoy either, or both, your choice…..
“Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth.” — H.L. Mencken
I knew there was a reason I liked Henry’s work; it appears his mind and mine traveled on some very familiar paths in our personal journey in search of the Truth. This statement is one I could have easily made myself, if he hadn’t already said it over a hundred years ago. But, I will happily agree with every point he makes in it, without reservation, and with absolutely no regret….. Should anyone, anyone at all, take umbrage thereby, well, all I can say to them would be, tough shit. It’s the plain and simple truth, so, deal with it. Or, shut up….. Oh, sorry, forgot one part…. Put up, or, shut up….
Sorry, don’t mean to be rude; I do get tired of fundies, who can shout anything except an actual thought of their own, and, it seems they all have some sort of religion. I know, strange, huh? To think, in this day and age, people still fall for that stuff…. I’m sure glad I don’t have to put up with it too often any more….. Okay, I’ll stop, I know it’s getting deep. But, I think y’all know of whom I speak, and if not, well, I can point you to a human representation, not even a religious figure, but, one who has utilized and perfected ALL of the same sort of sleight of hand language and outright lying to fool people into believing what they say…. Any politician would do as an example, especially in this year’s GOP crop, but, of them all, the Trumpette is probably the absolute worst example I can think of, showing what a dildo a human being can become, by living their lives completely on illusion.
SIGH…. I remarked recently to a fairly intelligent doctor I met, “You know, reason is losing the battle.” He just smiled & said, “I know what you mean….”
‘Ere you go. You know, that’s probably enough of a rant for one day. If I get any takers to my challenge, I can make it a piece for this section at a later date. Hmm…. not much, is it? Oh, okay, maybe a few pearls, just to fill up the space…. We’ll see what we can find on the BRC, or one of the categories of Asininny we use…. Ooh, ooh, I know! I found an old pearl, from the early days here on ECR, and it’s perfect as an accompaniment for today’s rantless rant….. It’s one of my finest older pearls, and I hope you enjoy it. It takes some nasty shots at the BRC…. Most of it is from our old friend, SB, since he’s a pretty Smart Bee….
From 9/4/2012:
So there I am, cruising along in the database, and all these little pieces of observational excellence from Smart Bee keep popping up in my face. I figure that he (Smart Bee) must have something he wants to get across to the readership out there, and who am I to argue. If I don’t do this, I could spend years trying to find a new quote there…. Smart Bee is very insistent when he gets a wild hair like this…. So, just follow the bouncing thought ball to the conclusion that is most obvious….
Sex! Lies! Drugs! Money! Power! Corruption! Man, I love Congress! — Smart Bee
Gun Control – the belief that government, with its great wisdom and moral superiority, can be trusted with a monopoly on deadly force. — Smart Bee
It has been determined that most teenage girls lose their virginity during the summer months. This stands to reason, since congress is recessed at that time. — Smart Bee
Vote Democrat. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee
Vote Republican. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee (honest, both are in there….)
Congressional National Bank. Ours bounce higher and farther! — Smart Bee
“Crime does not pay … as well as politics.” — Alfred E. Newman
That should get the proper point across…. you may now smash face on keyboard to continue……
********************************
Today’s poem was written only recently, but, fits in so well with the apparent theme for today (which is never obvious until I’m nearly done), I couldn’t resist using it again. It’s a lamentation of current reality, thus, perfectly complements the rest of the Pearl…. Enjoy!….
Adjectives of Quality ~~ Bloody Friday
A baleful lump of ironic introspection
sits upon my shoulder today
leaving traces of fey reflection
with a smattering of true dismay.
Resistance may be futile, many have said,
belief didn’t necessarily follow.
Abnegation of fear marks all bills paid,
leaving such empty threats hollow.
Symbolic courage never sleeps so deeply
as when delusion holds sway.
Bartered virtue, sold far too cheaply,
stands in shame, until honor fades away.
Too many culprits exist to count just one;
all of us bear obvious blame.
Evil is as evil does, only, when it’s done,
it begins again, all same-same.
Nobody seems to care enough to deny the lies.
Ignorant fear rules humanity’s masses.
When evil passes unremarked, innocence dies;
silence equals guilt, leaving only hope’s ashes.
Reality screams; tales of terror unfold,
flames fanned with purposeful malice,
insidious dangers hide beneath atrocity untold
as Gaia weeps into an empty chalice.
~~ gigoid ~~
10/3/2015
********************************
Our final pear for today is old-school, as always. This one came out a little strange; it wanders around through a number of currently problematic issues in society, while still managing to describe reality as it is, and should be….. proving the ultimate lesson to be learned about reality, to wit: it is what it is, and that’s all it is….. Enjoy!…..
“Everything you can imagine is real.”
~~ Picasso ~~
“Humor is the best antidote to reality.” — Funny Bee
“There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year’s course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” — Carl Jung
“You must be either the master or the servant, the hammer or the anvil.” — Goethe
“It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.” — Voltaire
“That God is not other than the universe…does not diminish God but rather elevates the universe….those who choose to make an attempt to overcome their egoism find their efforts aided by forces outside their conscious control….the movement toward self-realization is inherent to the structure of the universe….The Mayhayana Dharmakaya radiates love and compassion to all, impersonally like the sun.” — David Loy
“I … reject the argument put forth by many fundamentalists that science has nothing to do with religion because God is not among the things making up the universe in which we live. Surely if a necessity for a god-concept in the universe ever turns up, that necessity will become evident to the scientist. “– physicist Ralph Alpher, Theology of the Big Bang, Religious Humanism, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Winter 1983), pg. 12
“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv
Mind Food
Lies can taste very
good sometimes. But the truth can
fill you up, always.
~~ gigoid ~~
12/6/2015
(for Ashi-san)
********************************
It’s a little bit of a bother lately; it seems my routine must alter itself, to become accustomed, again, to sleeping on a regular basis. Who knew one could completely destroy, or at least, ignore, our circadian rhythms so strongly? I had apparently become used to being up 24/7, and am finding it a bit of a struggle to fit sleep into the picture…. Oh, well, I guess I’ll get back to normal, some day…. Or, as close as I’ve ever been to normal, anyway, which, to be honest, isn’t terribly close…. In fact, I’ve never even been in the same room with normal, so, it should be a new experience….
See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I’d call it a promise, but, some might take it as a threat, so, we’ll just leave it alone, and say, see ya!…
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
~~ Hanlon’s Razor ~~
A meeting of minds Image of a Dukha tribesman,from themindunleashed.com via Google Images
Hajime…. I would trade almost any experience in my life, (save one or two…) to have the connection with nature, and the friendship of a bear. The man in the picture is a Dukha, a tribe which has lived in northern Mongolia since the dawn of time. They are so in tune with the land, and the creatures who live on it, I would consider them to be the highest example on the planet of the true purpose of being human, and how to live here in perfect comfort and harmony….. I don’t mean they are perfect; hell, they’re human, and I’m sure they have their individual faults, like all of us. But, the way they have learned to coexist with the total environment in which they live, to me, is how human beings SHOULD be, in attitude, with, or without technological advantages.
They ride caribou, for traveling, using them the same way other societies use horses and cattle. But, with some differences…. for example:
Attribution same as above
How many societies do YOU know of who will trust their farm animals to babysit for them? It seems to me, they have learned something that the rest of humanity passed by, to their everlasting disadvantage, I believe. What this tells me about their society is how well they understand their co-creatures, and, as well, how to create in those creatures the same sort of trust they place in their own species. Most societies have dogs to perform this sort of service, but, it seems to me, it might be to our advantage, as humans, to learn what it is this tribe has learned, to keep their connection to their natural side intact, a facet of personality which the rest of us seem to have lost….
Okay, subtle insult to the bulk of humanity thus delivered, as sugar-coated as I could make it, we can move on. That’s a good thing, because today’s Pearl is, if I say so myself, a good one. Without any spoilers, I can say it is one of my best efforts; I’ll let it speak for itself from this point…..
Uh, oh….. Shoot. (You will, of course, recognize as a euphemism for another word of similar spelling, and more odor….) Now what do I do with this intro? It started out as a sort of travelogue cum philosophical oddity, slipped over into honest discussion, and, now….. what? Hmm…. I suppose I’ll have to think up some weird, explosive literary surprise to distract everyone while we get the slow on the road. Damn, I knew I should have gone with the picture of Leelu!
Oh, well, okay…. Let’s see what we’ve got here in our bag of emergency exit methods. How ’bout a # 19? They’re always fun, though the dry-cleaning charges can get a bit steep. Okay, nope. Hmm, let’s see: hey, how about this one? It’s a # 23, and I don’t think I’ve tried this one yet. The only requirement is to make sure y’all have your thinking caps. Oh, you won’t need them ’til later on down the page, but, you WILL need them. Besides, this one is so fast, you might miss it, and then where would you be? Not at the oyster beds, that’s for sure…. Okay, here we go; hang on….
Shall we Pearl?….
“To regret one’s own experiences is to arrest one’s own development.”
~~ Oscar Wilde ~~
********************************
“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.”
I am not sure anyone ever completely understood The Doors. To see the quote upon which their name was chosen tells a LOT about them, if one is able to see clearly into human nature. I’m not as familiar with the band members, but, Jim Morrison was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the band, and to observe him was to observe a very, very complex human being, subject to very little comprehension he did not wish to allow. The band’s music also reflected his persona; complex, deep, often erotic and more sensual than was comfortable. He lived life in ways no one had ever thought of, much as any true artist, such as Picasso, or Dali, or, Michaelangelo lived…. without compromise.
Enjoy, ffolkes; if nothing else, the music of the Doors makes you FEEL life…..
“Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.”
~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~
When one considers the social background under which G.B. Shaw was raised and educated, much of what he wrote naturally demonstrates some of the prejudices common to his time. All in all, however, his thoughts on society, and human nature at large, were extremely accurate, and a better indicator of how his mind worked, and, in fact, how it excelled. In addition, short statements such as the one used today tell me he had a very sharp, and morally developed sense of humor about everything he witnessed in his life. He shows up a lot here, for that very reason, for his words are pointedly critical of Stupidity, Ignorance, and the sin of Expediency, which, even in his day, had become one of society’s most dangerous issues….
In his statement above, it is perfectly clear to me he could have been talking of the United States as it exists in 2015. Our country’s government is corrupted beyond repair; the bankers and corporate interests, such as Big Pharma, Big Oil, and the Angels of Death (Arms dealers & manufacturers), are in complete control of the White House, both Houses of Congress, and, to a significant degree, the Supreme Court….. If you doubt what I say, simply look at each of those persons mentioned in light of their yearly income. Then, tell me they represent the average man/woman in this country with a straight face. If you can do so, you are even stupider than they believe, which is pretty fucking stupid, believe me.
Harsh? Nah. Perfect truth. I can say, without fear of being wrong, 98% of the people in this country who are not involved in government, at any level, are completely ignorant of the degree to which their rights have already been taken away. Just ask anyone on the street if they believe they still have the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution and Bill of Rights; every one of them will tell you they do, without even pausing to think. The simple fact they are completely mistaken never enters their consciousness at all, a fact which the BRC, and the Asininnies in general not only know, but, take advantage of at every opportunity.
You could ask those same people on the street if they believed their leaders tell the truth to them, and they’d say “yes”, again without ever pausing to consider whether or not it might be true. They’ve been conditioned, by parents, by churches, by teachers, all their lives to accept what they are told by those in authority, and to believe them, NO MATTER HOW THEIR PERCEPTIONS DO NOT MATCH THE LIES! They are taught to adjust to whatever demands are placed on them, no matter how ridiculous or demeaning they may be, simply because their entire existence is based on maintaining the status quo, which they have never examined to even see if it can be changed for the better.
At this point, we will assume the mantle of a classic Jeffersonian, the political model which I have always preferred as my standard for judging today’s governmental participants, to wit; the BRC and the Asininnies…. I would like to begin this by noting how huge is the circle of ignorance that now comprises the American public, and, the first of many warnings of the consequences by Tom himself…..
“If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be … If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” — Thomas Jefferson
“I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.” — Thomas Jefferson
In today’s American cities and towns, we have libraries practically empty, in comparison to how many people SHOULD be using them. The American public, once graduated from school, never opens another book, contenting themselves with magazines, newspapers, and now videos, TV, and the internet, all of which, if not understood, are just another tool used to fortify and maintain their brainwashing, by directing their interests just where the BRC wants it to be…. which is generally focused on things to fear, or lust after.
Just today, I found how serious this issue has become. For the very first time in my life, I was requested to renew my library card, in the town where I live. In my entire life, I’ve never had a library request me to update any information; what is the need? Any citizen of this country, as far as I know, is free to walk into a library, and read, or use the facilities. There AREN’T supposed to be ANY conditions set on that freedom, (unless you wish to take a book home; then you must leave your name); yet, now, at the behest, I am sure, of the local police, with the power of the federal NSA organization behind it, want to know who has a card, their PHONE # (!!!), and where they live. This, of course, gives them access to my internet searches, all the books I check out, and a host of other information, NONE of which they have any right to gather……
But, that’s not the only front on which inroads against our rights are being made….
“Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.” — Thomas Jefferson
“A monied aristocracy in our country … has already set the government at defiance.” — Thomas Jefferson
Our country was warned, by Jefferson, Paine, Mason, Franklin, Adams, and others, about the very things we now face in our lives. They predicted the takeover of the government by the bankers and corporate interests, in letters they wrote, in articles they published, all of which still can be accessed in libraries. But, no modern Americans would believe it if told, because they will not make the effort to go see for themselves. Nor will they ever believe they are not free, because they’ve been taught all their lives to accept illusion as reality…. What chance do they have at this late date to overcome a lifetime of brainwashing? Very little, I would say….
This is why I rant. This is why I cannot stop harping on the lies told to us, or about the fear they want us to feel, fear of threats which simply do not exist, except in the minds of those who believe them. The governments of all countries want their citizens to believe they can make them feel safe and secure, when in fact, that is simply not true. Life IS insecurity; there is no safety from the Universe, if it chooses to come after you. You can’t dodge an earthquake, nor a flood, nor any other natural disaster…. Nor can you deny that humans are violent, and will BE violent in trying to attain their desires. It has always been so, and always will be, until we figure out how to change human nature.
The myth of safety in living, which governments would have us believe they can supply, simply does not exist in Reality. As long as we are alive. we are in danger, and that is a simple fact of Reality not even a government can change, not by any means. But, they get people to believe they can, and, thus, have them under their power.
The only true way in this life to be safe is to remove fear from your responses to anything you experience. Fear is a reaction to “not knowing” the nature of what is occurring; it is easily dismissed, or let go, if one is willing to LEARN. But, this requires first that one learn how to learn, and that is something our schools stopped teaching long ago. Knowledge kills fear, yet people seem to prefer to NOT make the effort to learn about what they fear, instead accepting whatever they’re told, which is only designed to increase their misunderstanding, and prolong the fear. A person who is afraid does NOT think, and the BRC and Asininnies know this. That is why they trumpet doom and danger every time something bad happens; it serves their interests to keep the public afraid….
Obviously, I can keep on about this for a long time; in my time I’ve observed the process I’ve just described happening, with governments becoming more and more corrupt and dishonest, and more of the people’s hard-won rights abrogated, in a consistent dismantling of the Constitution of the United States, by corporate interests, until the world in which we now live can no longer be called anything but a true oligarchy. The rich have won, ffolkes, and unless we, all together, do something about it, they’ll keep tightening the screws until we can no longer freely breathe….
In fact, that is a literal statement…. I can see a time, not so far off, when, because of the climate changes that are now occurring, for which we know no way to stop, the atmosphere we breathe will become tainted, and require treatment before we can use it. What does anyone wish to bet, if that happens, the oligarchy will try to CHARGE people for the air they breathe? I can see it clearly, can you? Is that what you wish for YOUR grandchildren? I can honestly say, I do not.
“Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebels against anything that does not deserve rebelling against.” — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to James Madison, stated, “The late rebellion in Massachusetts has given more alarm than I think it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in 13 states in the course of 11 years, is but one for each state in a century and a half. No country should be so long without one.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), in letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787
In what was probably the same letter, he also said, “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Madison, 1787
I know, it’s a lot of TJ, but, damn it! He WARNED us, and we didn’t listen! You see, to summarize, he also said,” God prevent we should ever be twenty years without a revolution.”
Guess what, ffolkes? It’s now been 229 years since our last revolution in this country. I have a feeling the next one isn’t far off, given the false sense of entitlement growing so fast in the monied elite, and amongst their myrmidons. I have a feeling they forget a simple fact when they are making up their plans and agendas to continue their oppression of the world’s people…. There are now more than SEVEN BILLION of those people…. If they aren’t careful, they’re going to piss off ALL of them. If that happens, I don’t believe their money, or their technology, or their sense of entitlement will save them from being shredded, limb from limb, by angry mobs of formerly downtrodden human beings….
But, then, when that happens, I’ll just sit back, and say, “Oh well….. Just desserts, assholes.”
Thanks fer listenin’. I’ll leave you with one last thought from TJ, and final word from Pope, to close the circle… Then, I’ll leave you be, to digest how to deal with the truths you’ve just absorbed….
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” — Thomas Jefferson to A. Stuart, 1791
For forms of government let fools contest;
Whate’er is best administer’d is best.
For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight;
His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right.
In faith and hope the world will disagree,
But all mankind’s concern is charity.~~ Alexander Pope ~~
~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iii, Line 303 ~~
********************************
When life calls, ready or not….
Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.
Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.
Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.
Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.
Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 9/10/2012
********************************
Today’s final pearl is a perfect reflection of the rest of the effort today. To be frank, it was intense, and satisfying. This one has a pretty standard structure, and message, for that matter. But, it’s such a profound one, it fits right in with all of the above…. I hope you enjoy it, just as much as I hope you ‘get it’…..
“Whatever happens at all happens as it should; thou wilt find this true, if thou shouldst watch narrowly.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 10
“Common and vulgar people ascribe all ill that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe to themselves; people of much wisdom, to no one.” — Epictetus
“A good man possesses a kingdom.” — Seneca (8 BC) — Thyestes, 380
“The reward of one duty is the power to fulfill another.” — George Eliot
” If you see a man approaching you with the obvious intention of doing you good, you should run for your life” — Thoreau’s Law
“What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more.” — Seneca
“Before teaching others, before changing others, we ourselves must change. We must be honest, sincere, kind-hearted.” — The XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, Address, 1982
“You’re not going crazy Arthur, you’re going sane in a crazy world.” — The Tick
“What then remains but that we still should cry
For being born, and, being born, to die?”
~~ Francis Bacon ~~
~~ The World ~~
********************************
Well, I did it. It’s done, and done as well as I can do it. Well enough, I shan’t trouble you here with any further nonsense, or sense, for that matter. I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow, and be done with it.
Sure I will…. I’ll be back, ffolkes. That’s not a threat, unless you fear the truth….. Ta, then…..
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.
“It is not the one with many possession who is rich, but the one who has no needs.”
~~ Philoxenos ~~
Memories of Spring
Good morrow…. Today we will be once again, truncating the normal process, as I slept more than 8 hours for the first time in recent memory. I’m still feeling under the weather, altogether, recovering, I think, from the physical ordeal I’ve been going through for over a year now, thanks to the lack of compassion and ignorance of the modern medical model, which has its head so far up its ass as to be, well, quite a ridiculous picture to contemplate. Ugly, too.
Any who, the upshot of all this is, I’m up very late, without a Pearl ready. So, to sublimate sufficiently to assuage my misplaced sense of duty in this matter, I’ll give you what I’ve got, and let it go at that, saving what little wherewithal I do possess to make the attempt again for tomorrow morning. For today, this will have to do. All you get is one skinny, seven-star pearl, and that’s it. We’ll all have to deal with it the best we can.
In order to get that accomplished, I’ll stop this meandering blurb here, and go directly to the rest of today’s mess. Enjoy, what little there is, is all there is. I hope it will do for the nonce….
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 (American lawyer and orator)
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As you see, it’s not the most robust of pearls; it will do, even if the meaning is a trifle obscure. I’m operating under some rather severe handicaps at the current time, so, I’ll offer my apologies, with the caveat that tomorrow, and the remainder of Pearls to come, will be back to their former size and content…. SIGH…. I hate feeling weak…. Ah, well, this too, shall pass….. Enjoy!
“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.” — Confucius (B.C. 551-479)
“There are fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is surely yours is the present, hence this is the time to speak the word of appreciation and sympathy, to do the generous deed, to forgive the fault of a thoughtless friend, to sacrifice self a little more for others. Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of someone less fortunate. Today you can make your life – significant and worthwhile. The present is yours to do with as you will.” — Grenville Kleiser
“If we are not stupid or insincere when we say that the good or ill of man lies within his own will, and that all beside is nothing to us, why are we still troubled?” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxv
“Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” — Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Return of the Jedi”
“Perish discretion when it interferes with duty.” — Hannah Moore
“Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”
“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Th, th, that’s all, ffolkes. I’ve shot what little wad I had, so, I’ll be on my way with no further ado, to try to put myself back together. It will be good to feel good, I think. I’ve missed that….. See y’all tomorrow; count on it…..
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
But, of course, it is morning, yes? It will be a good one, yes? Yes…. To be a bit more provincial, let me say, howdy, as they say in many other places, including, apparently, here. It should probably be said: this intro has been pre-written, to prevent any security issues, due to its incendiary nature. (Don’t worry, you’ll see….). All of this material has been certified as non-threatening, non-critical and non-interesting by several trained bureaucrats, which I had to pay, by the way, at the court’s direction….
At this point, you may ask yourselves, “Has he slipped around the bend again?”. No. Try again. “Well, maybe he really IS in trouble, and the court’s orders have to be followed.” Those are both a big no, as well. What the hell am I talking about then? Hell, if I knew, I wouldn’t be this far into THIS paragraph, and still have no idea where it should go next. I’m about to throw up my hands in surrender, if anyone were watching…. Shit, I’ll be lucky if anyone ever reads any of this one; by the time we get out of the intro, we’ll be mired in litigation….
But, that’s only if our screening procedures fail, and a lawyer gets through. Otherwise, they have to at least wait until we’ve landed, and, everyone’s been cleared as being free of virus exposure. But, as it says on your ticket, you’re not liable anyway, so, no worries, right?
You know, I’m thinking maybe it’s time to get on with the rest of today’s mess; this is starting to fray a bit around the edges. Okay, we’ll do this….. Luigi! Let’s get going!…. Perhaps y’all should sit down, and fasten your belts…. Since setting the new speed record yesterday, he’s had this wicked gleam in his eye…. Oh, and, please, use the cup holders….
Shall we Pearl?
“How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn’t you say?” — Kirk, “The Wrath of Khan,” stardate 8130.3.
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Jimmy Buffet
Image from billboard.com via Google Images
Jimmy and the Coral Reefer Band have entertained me a LOT of times, both live and at home. I’ve been to see the Coral Reefers play in more states than any other, save perhaps the Dead. Here’s a good concert (they ALL are; he has such fun the audience cannot help but ride along….) from a few years ago…. Enjoy!….
Bad juju precludes a fresh rant today; it’s a bit after 0330, and I’ve again been awake much of the night with physical issues. Suffice it to say anything fresh I write at this moment is liable to approach homicidal in tone, so, we’ll go with one from the archives…. Here’s one from early last year…..
From 1/3/2014:
“It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.” — Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U.S. Judge
It took long enough, but, what I have been expecting to happen has actually come true…. The media, deeply in debt to Eric Snowden for the new life he breathed into their existence, has finally stepped forward to exert itself on his behalf…. The two major papers, The New York Times, and the Guardian, in the UK, who originally printed his revelations, are finally coming out publicly with editorials, strongly calling for clemency for him…. Here are two of the reports, one from Yahoo, one from SFGATE, the Chronicle news outlet online…. Together, the two articles give a good picture of the history, and the current state of the situation with Mr. Snowden, currently living in exile in the USSR….
What does one say about this? What is appropriate? What is important? Well, to be honest, ALL of it is pretty important, but not for the reasons most would believe, or, for that matter, understand…. That’s not being condescending, (well, maybe a little…), but, the majority of people who read about all of these issues regarding the spying are only capable of comprehending what they read at a fourth-grade level…. This is a commonly known fact, and is the reason newspapers, magazines, and the internet outlets that disseminate information do so at varying levels of complexity…. Most newspapers are written to a fourth grade level, and magazines usually write to the level of their targeted audiences….
My point here is, these are complex issues, and there are a LOT of lies being bandied about, mostly by one side, but, not necessarily ONLY by them. The ability to comprehend the cloud of information that is spewed out by a lot of readers is NOT up to the task, so, they end up picking out the easiest opinion for them to understand, and going with that, no matter what it might say…. This is how the BRC, the PH, and the SCMs keep control of the masses…. They pitch their story to the level of the people they address, and make it appeal to their most basic desires, (which process chiefly involves saying things that will reduce the level of diffuse anxiety, and the fears about the future that the masses feel…. those being the unrealistic, imaginary fears created by the ruling classes to begin with…..), thus establishing trust and belief on the part of the masses, making them willing to believe any further misinformation that is relayed….
“A man who carrys a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful. Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either. But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain
So, anyway, it’s good to see the usual carriers of the administration’s manipulative lying doing a bit of their own fighting back, against the tide of über-control sought by the BRC, et al. As the largest information gathering and reporting companies in their respective countries, these two news outlets have the influence, both in the government, and with the public, to make a significant difference in any issue, and having them publicly come out with this particular expression of interest is not only unprecedented, (to my knowledge…), but extremely welcome….. It’s hard having most of the control over what gets into the media reports under the control of those who are in control of the government and banks; we, the public, NEED the media to work on our side, at least part of the time, or, there is no hope at all of ever making any changes, and, our doom would be sealed ever more tightly…..
“If people were required to know the law rather than to obey it, the government would be overthrown the next day.” — Smart Bee
There, how’s that for a fresh rant? Boot the assholes out, or make them straighten up and fly right, that’s what I say; I don’t much care which, but one of those two things are going to have to happen, if we are to have any chance at all to survive the upcoming events so graciously created for us by those same assholes. If we don’t get them, and their self-serving, selfish, ignorant, EVIL natures, out of their positions of control over the rest of us, they’re going to end up killing us all, and I am not being dramatic…. The evidence is all right out there to be seen, if one isn’t afraid to put the pieces together to form the picture….
It’s an ugly picture, ffolkes, and not much of a future to put our faith in…. Guess what, though? Like it or not, it’s the only future we have, if we don’t change…. and it’s just that simple…..
Folly, thou conquerest, and I must yield!
Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain. Exalted reason,
Resplendent daughter of the head divine,
Wise foundress of the system of the world,
Guide of the stars, who are thou then, if thou,
Bound to the tail of folly’s uncurb’d steed,
Must, vainly shrieking, with the drunken crowd,
Eyes open, plunge down headlong in the abyss.
~~ Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller, The Maid of Orleans ~~
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Haiku
3/12/2012
Poetry
Flashing, bright words create
inevitable pictures;
truth consumes.
~~ gigoid ~~
Revised version, 3/28/2014
Poetry
Sharp, bright words create
inevitable pictures
of consuming truth.
~~ gigoid ~~
***********
Honorable Request
Days, filled to a brim with fluff and time, pass
dimly into memory, bit by combative bit,
ever mournful, yet loud with life and sass,
only in dream do we meet, and dance, and flit.
Souls, spinning ’round in gleeful wonder, comply
as they must, never given a reason,
somberly proper, yet limber and quite spry,
dancing on to greet each bright new season.
Storms, angered by apathetic care, rage
proceeding into ministerial glare, unknown,
clothed in colors, purified solely with sage,
past an infinite future, already flown.
Life, plumbed to its depths and secrets, keeps
flowing with currents, strong and fairly found,
love stands, asking release, as it slowly weeps,
seeking refuge unasked, to stay honor bound.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 10/13/2012.
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Here’s a sweet little pearl, a bit odd in spots, but, all in all, pretty damn squiggly; Life at Large may never be more clearly outlined, or, for that matter, understood. Enjoy, even if you don’t get it; I didn’t at first, but, it grows on ya….
“It is not necessary that whilst I live I live happily; but it is necessary that so long as I live I should live honourably.” — Kant, Immanuel (1724-1804)
“What is the first business of one who studies philosophy? To part with self-conceit. For it is impossible for any one to begin to learn what he thinks that he already knows.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — How to apply general Principles to particular Cases, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xvii
“Don’t confuse the water with the pump.” — Tom Wolfe
“We should have a great many fewer disputes in the world if only words were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves.” — John Locke
“Listen to the colour of your dreams.” — John Lennon 1966
“Truth never hurts the teller.” — Robert Browning
“Even a single hair casts its shadow.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 228
“For a man can lose neither the past nor the future; for how can one take from him that which is not his? So remember these two points: first, that each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle, and that it signifies not whether a man shall look upon the same things for a hundred years or two hundred, or for an infinity of time; second, that the longest lived and the shortest lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ii, 14
“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” — Hawthorne
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After an ordeal such as this has been, I should be tired; in fact, I’m not. But, then, it’s not now, because I’m writing this late yesterday. Now we’ve completely lost track of where in time we may be, or, THINK we may be, we’ll leave, and come back to it tomorrow, whenever that is. See y’all then, if I can figure out these Tardis controls…. Oh, right; it’s TIME TRAVEL! DOH! I’ll always be on time, because, I’ll just wait in whatever time I’m in until I DO figure out the right way to set the controls…. THEN I come back to the correct spot on the sliding time scale…. Sorry for the confusion; anomalies can be dangerous to the Continuum, you know….
I’ll stop now. Bye….
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.
"If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand."
~~ Confucius ~~
LeeLoo, hard at work.
Good morning.... We are not happy. In fact, we are not we, but, nonetheless, we aren't happy. Nor would you be, if your plans to garner a bit of sleep fell through as thoroughly as have mine. It is now 0129, according to the microwave clock. That's too frigging early, even for me. I had hoped to make it all the way to 0400, but, it seems my body prefers for me to experience TD q4h, whether I am ready for it or not. (TD = tardive dyskinesia, the bane of all opiate junkies and victims of medical abuse, to wit: me....) I don't know about y'all, but I just LOVE being up all fucking night, shaking and pacing! Can you think of a better way to lose weight?.... Well, actually, I can....
Ah, well, not long to go now.... My stay in Hell should only last another eight or nine days. Piece o'cake, ya think? And, hey, I've gone this long without ripping anyones tongue out with my bare hands, so, it's looking good for making it through this without any jail time. Bonus! Mom would have been proud....
Now, of course, I am in even deeper doo-doo.... How can I save this, without resorting to outright cheating, or perverse manipulation of the sort we all must endure from the BRC and those of their ilk? (I sure am glad I'm in a different ilk....) (Exactly what IS an ilk, anyway?.... Never mind....) I suppose I could write a quick fictional opening, but, the reality based crap at the top kind of aced that idea. How about some.... no, better not. That didn't work out well the last time we tried it. Maybe we could.... nope. Forgot; we lost our license for that. Hmm.... this is getting sticky, isn't it?
Ah, I know. I'll break out an old #4. It works every time. It's also our cheapest method for getting us out of here, as it's simply too fast and effective to be illegal, thus saving us a small fortune in legal fees. As those of y'all who have been here before know, y'all should hang on to something solid, and, for heaven's sake, put down your drinks.... Luigi, it's a # 4; hold on!....
Shall we Pearl?....
"Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with." -- Mark Twain
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White Rabbit mode kicked in, for some reason; hence, the default musical selection for today reverts to our standard.... Enjoy!....
Those among you who have read the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig will know what I mean when I say I've been on a personal chautauqua, seeking the path to my own center of being. It's been a long journey, as I had apparently wandered much further than I had imagined, which, when one stops to think, is only natural, given the whole concept of losing one's way.... Any who, I'm getting closer, and can feel both poetry and prose percolating, with the promise of copious floods of nonsense, verbal trickery, and a bit of philosophy yet to come. For now, in place of the rant which would usually grace this section (a bit o ego there, yes?...), here is a nine-star pearl, with some thoughts on how it all got to be the way it is today, in this crazy old mode of existence we call Reality.... Enjoy, ffolkes....
"Humankind cannot stand very much reality. -- T.S. Eliot
"And it came to pass that in the hands of the ignorant, the words of the bible were used to beat plowshares into swords..." -- Alan Watts
"Prejudice is the child of ignorance." -- William Hazlitt
"The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible." -- Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals
"The entire world is being driven insane by this single phrase: 'My religion alone is true.'" -- Ramakrishna, Hindu saint & reformer
"Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man." -- George Gaylord Simpson
"Any religion...is forever in danger of petrifaction into mere ritual and habit, though ritual and habit be essential to religion." -- T.S. Eliot, Selected Essays, 1927.
"Before you have sex you have to be elected to a high government position." -- Zippy
"Grown men, he told himself, in flat contradiction of centuries of accumulated evidence about the way grown men behave, do not behave like this." -- Douglas Adams
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When life calls, ready or not....
Memories are all we have sometimes to keep our sanity intact, with learned phrases and subtle rhymes lessening life's vicious, vibrant impact.
Presently all seems composed and intent in stark contrast to hollow day, forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent, fill up night's bower, leaving hell to pay.
Such vigorous and elevated temper brings us rare moments to ponder, filled with lessons all need to remember lest base perception lose valued wonder.
Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast leaving shameless anger in its wake. Let bygones pass quietly into the past reaping only what is left to take.
Final words of wise imagination tell us living well's the best revenge, it appears ever eluding choirs and congregations finally finding home, never buried in tears.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 9/10/2015.
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Today's final old-school pearl speaks to our humanity, and, how to go about being the best human one can be.... Pay attention, ffolkes; this one is bound to be on the Quiz....
He not busy being born Is busy dying.
~~ Bob Dylan ~~
"Anyone who has had a bull by the tail knows five or six more things than someone who hasn't." -- Mark Twain
"No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see." -- Taoist Proverb
"Down in their hearts, wise men know this truth: the only way to help yourself is to help others." -- Elbert Hubbard
"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you get what you need." -- The Rolling Stones
"In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught; but in life there are many things to draw us aside." -- Epictetus -- Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvi
"No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor." -- Andrew Carnegie
"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein
"It's like brother Nietzsche said--being human is a complicated gig, so give that dark night of the soul a hug and howl the eternal yes." -- Chris, the Philosophical DJ on the TV show, Northern Exposure
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Since it's taken nearly three days to get this done, I'd best take it the way it now, before I decide to start over (no worries, not gonna happen....). In point of fact, I must go out today, into the BBR, to take LeeLoo to her first visit to the vet.... No telling when, but, I will be back.... Meanwhile, stay alert, keep your powder dry, and question authority; you know, the basics.... See ya....
Y'all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you; Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy and everyone else, too...
When I works, I works hard. When I sits, I sits loose. When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why....
Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes, I just sits.
“What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death.”
~~ Dave Barry ~~
Old Rocks, New Secrets
Good morning…. Well, that’s what I heard, anyway. I don’t believe it, though; I’ve found, to my regret, that there are many times people lie to me about little things like that. I suppose it’s human to wish to spare others any pain we feel they may not deserve, but, what good does it do, when the pain comes as a surprise? None. So, leave me out of that particular delusion, if you please…. I’d rather be grumpy than all wet….
Hmph. Grumpy is right. Well, you would be, too, if you were up in a chair half the damn night, twitching and fuming. That is all the complaint you will hear, but, you may have to deal with the resultant smarm, which generally follows after such a state of injustice has been endured. I don’t think anyone should have to go through what occurred, but, there is no specific target to be blamed, other than the insanity of the modern world. Not a lot I can do about that at 0430…. So, we’ll just go on, sublimating our need to kill into producing another in a long line of sublimated homicidal impulses. Hey, it’s better than fifteen to life, right? Well, I think so….
Regardless of the social advantages, or, more likely, disadvantages which may or may not be forthcoming in karmic reaction to our foolishness, I suppose we’d best be about our stated purpose today, which, though having never been stated out loud, nonetheless rules our actions. I’ll let you know if it ever gets published. Until such time, which will probably happen right about the same time we get the notice of a severe temperature drop in Hell, but, hey, we’re all trained to wait patiently, right? Sure we are; every corporate entity in the world makes us wait in line to obtain some sort of service, for which we are charged, so, don’t tell me you don’t know whereof we speak…. We know….
Since we do, we’ll let it slide, this time. That’s mainly because I’ve reached the end of my patience with this intro, and intend to issue an immediate cease and desist order, to get us the hell out of here. Luigi! Code Three! Stat!
Hang on, ffolkes; this one can be a bit painful if you don’t….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Everybody thinks himself so well supplied with common sense that even those most difficult to please. . . never desire more of it than they already have.” — Rene Descartes
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Yesterday, I watched this documentary at another WP blogger’s site (link to that post is below). I was so entranced, I sat for the entire 54+ minutes. without pause, to watch it; as Mr. Spock would say, “Fascinating!”….. SIGH…. Also very disturbing in a personal sense, as now I have to add Rajasthan to my bucket list of places to visit in India, if I ever get a chance to go there…. This would sure make it worthwhile, to be able to spend some time living in and observing this culture up close and personal…. Of course, it might be a little hard to come by a soft bed, but, I’m sure I’d adjust, provided I live long enough…. By then, I will be able to live through just about anything, I think….. This life looks like a hard one, to be sure…. but, the people have made the most of what they have, and live as happily, and peacefully, as any culture I’ve seen…. Enjoy this little change of pace, thanks to Lou over at Tales, who found it for us…. You can find him and his co-blogger Genie, here:
Yep. You guessed it. I’m late, so, today’s rant will be from the archives…. Oh, quit yer bellyachin’…. You can always skip down to the poetry section, so, stop whining. The others may enjoy it…. I hope you do, actually, even if it’s not fresh. They’re usually pretty relevant, as not much changes over time in that respect; the revolution is still brewing….
From 12/9/2012:
“The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind.” — Albert Camus
Albert is right, but is obviously a proponent of saying what he has to say, then stopping. In this case, stopping does not give enough clarity to this idea, which is a central one to a complete and balanced outlook, or, if you will, a balanced mind. It is indeed vulgar, as well as ultimately unproductive, to NEED to be right. What should be more important is to KNOW, or be able to learn to know, what is right…. only then can a rational decision be made as to the correct action, or non-action to pursue. I think in this particular case, Mr. Camus was telling us something we should all know; he was not telling us all that he knew….
I find this to be true of much of his philosophy, in that it only goes so far before dumping the reader back into a place where they must use their own resources to figure out his exact meaning. I’m not sure if this is deliberate, a method to force people to think, or if it is just his own sense of independence and curmudgeonry that causes him to only share part of what he really understands. I suppose, in its way, it is a very effective technique to encourage others to think, an activity of which I wholeheartedly approve, and is also, I suppose, one of the reasons I’ve always liked his published statements, and use them fairly frequently in pearls, or rather, as pearls….
In my world, the search for Truth is pretty much the backbone of all that I do. Even the mundane activities I perform are in some way in support of that search, or, at least, I’d like to think they are…. because the Truth is very important to me, and how I feel about the world. The use of it for manipulation, or its suppression for the same purpose, infuriates me, and makes me want to carve out of any human I see doing so, that part of their soul that makes them misuse the Truth for their own purposes, or allows them to believe that they have any right to do so…. To me, it is the simplest interpretation of the Golden Rule…. If I expect myself to honor the Truth, then I would expect others to do the same….
Sadly, that is MY belief, and very few of the people in the world who are in positions of power over others have any investment at all in promoting Truth, as it doesn’t suit their self-interest…. The statement that started this discussion is, in fact, one of the best ways to identify those in society who tend to act in their own interests before those of others. The need to BE right implies that one need not necessarily be IN the right; in fact, it is often to their advantage to be wrong, and lie about what is right, twisting facts and circumstance to suit their purpose. If someone insists on being right, you can usually bet they are not being entirely truthful….
“If what the philosophers say be true,–that all men’s actions proceed from one source; that as they assent from a persuasion that a thing is so, and dissent from a persuasion that it is not, and suspend their judgment from a persuasion that it is uncertain,–so likewise they seek a thing from a persuasion that it is for their advantage.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xviii
Human nature, and the flaws that are part of that nature, afford an endless opportunity for dissection. It’s really too bad that my mind is not in a place to go any further today….. Oh, sure, I could come up with any number of examples of the kind of deliberate selfishness and cupidity that characterizes that part of our tribe that preys on the rest of us; the news is full of their lies and shenanigans every day. But, I’m already exhausted by today’s effort to be rational, and since it is Sunday, have decided to give my mind the rest of the day off, and hope that my emotional state can go with the flow…… If not, well, I can always splurge, spend five bucks on whiskey, and sleep really good tonight…. But, that’s just hiding, and it’s indubitably not a good idea to bust the budget so early in the month….
I wish I COULD offer some simple explanation for why people can be such assholes….. but, I can’t. I guess we’ll all just have to deal with them the best we can, each in our own way….. and hope for the best……
“I feel like I’m in a Toilet Bowl with a thumbtack in my forehead!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Since I’m up late, we’ll go with another archived poem, to spare any embarrassment for any other poets who don’t deserve such treatment….
Random Exposure
If I only knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.
Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.
Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.
Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.
Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 4/22/2013.
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Nine pearls of ancient/modern human wisdom; one pearl of virtual wisdom, using the process laboriously developed over the past 15 years. What can be said of such insouciance? Such panache? Very little, I’m sure, but, one may always enjoy, especially when the final bit of advice comes from our old friend, the Zipster…. He is just SO cute!….. Enjoy, ffolkes; even Zippy couldn’t completely screw this one…..
Dharma: What is the greatest mystery of all?
Yudishthira: That each day, death walks the earth, and we continue to live as though we were immortal.
~~ The Bhagavad Gita ~~
“The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.” — Socrates (BC 469-399)
“A beautiful eye makes silence eloquent, a kind eye makes contradiction an assent, an enraged eye makes beauty deformed. This little member gives life to every part about us; and I believe the story of Argus implies no more, than the eye is in every part; that is to say, every other part would be mutilated, were not its force represented more by the eye than even by itself.” — Addison
“Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.” — Mark Twain
“At once it struck me what quality went to form a man of achievement, especially in literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously — I mean negative capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” — John Keats
“A plough that works glisters, but the still water stinks.” — Proverb
“Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Our minds possess by nature an insatiable desire to know the truth.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero
“If you can’t say something nice, say something surrealistic.” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Today’s Pearl is a tribute to the process of Pearling, and, no, I’m not going to explain anything here in the closing section; it’s against the rules anyway. I think we can just all be glad this is done, and, nobody died, and nobody bled. I’d call that a good thing, but, I know better. In spite of everything, I think I’ll probably be back tomorrow, if only to see what happened as a result of today’s mess…. Until then, just do as I do, and deny, deny, deny…. Hey, it works for the BRC! See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, unless someone comes up with an effective way to prevent it…. The odds are on my side there….
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.
Take me to your leader, and don’t try anything funny! Image from the UK Telegraph 8/4/2015
Good morning…. Before we actually begin today, I should relate a small but relatively important piece of new information about these Pearls in general, and, more specifically, about individual pearls, and their attribution. As I’ve shared previously, (though not recently; hence this housekeeping event…), when Smart Bee gives me an aphorism/quote/statement without attribution, I try to take time to plug it into Google, which usually can identify it. When it can’t, and I can’t figure out any other way to find out, I just give Smart Bee the attribution, and let it go at that.
From today on, whenever I feel like it, in such cases where the final attribution for any quote is to go to SB, I may, or may not, provide a short, pithy comment on the pearl itself, in the format of an addition/change to the usual form, e.g., Very Smart Bee, or, Sarcastic Bee, etc. It’s just another little way I can let off a bit of steam, which is part of the cathartic effect of the blogging process…. for me. I know for sure there are others who use this process to maintain their sanity, so, I’m not alone in that; hopefully, this little addition will help smooth it out for me, and, in the process, give y’all a chuckle or two…
So be it. gigoid has spoken. We now return you to your regularly scheduled intro, as this portion was pre-recorded for my convenience, then, locked in the Tardis until time to paste in here…. Slick, eh? Okay, here’s your intro….
{{ dignified silence }}
Gotcha! Okay, Luigi, I think they’re sufficiently stunned; let’s hit it…. Oh, y’all might want to hold on to something, no matter how apt what George says below may, or may not be; bumpy is too mild a word when Luigi’s on a roll….
Shall we Pearl?….
“The power to stand alone is worth acquiring at the expense of much sorrowful solitude.” — George Bernard Shaw
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In today’s video/music/entertainment section, we are going to listen to some more of my default choice, i.e., classical music. As a bonus, just below this paragraph, you will find an extra link. This link will take you to the home page of the SF Bay Area’s classical music radio station, KDFC. On their home page, you will find a button that says, “Listen Live”; click the button, to be connected to the streaming channel for KDFC, where you can listen to one of the finest selections of music ever compiled.
Though fully listener-supported, they stream their programs for free; on the home page you can also connect to listen to archived recorded music of various Bay Area events, such as the SF Symphony, every Wednesday evening, and other recordings…. And, you can listen to this fine selection ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!….. FOR FREE!….
I’ve always felt a kinship to Aristotle; everything I’ve read attributed to him, and everything I’ve read about him, makes obvious his genius, not only for its depth of wisdom and rationality, but, for its simplicity, and, most importantly, its connection to what is human. This statement exhibits all those qualities, even though merely a general statement of truth as it applies to human nature.
Examining it for the depth of meaning implied by its simplicity explains a lot, about why the world we live in today has become such a burden to the common man, as society sinks ever further into the naturally occurring chaos which is the only possible outcome of such an unbalanced approach to society. The continuing repression of the masses of humanity by the oligarchy can never lead to any sort of harmonious existence for all; there will always be resentment for the all-too-apparent inequality of privilege, heavily in favor the few, over the many.
Trust Aristotle to put his finger on the core problem; humans are so constructed they cannot seem to handle the acquisition of power over others without losing their sense of morality, choosing every time to act in their own self-interest over that of others, regardless of the consequences for those others. They become so focused on the money and power, and their own desires, nothing else matters to them; not ethics, not morals, and certainly not the welfare of other people. One might think there would at least ONE historical report, which describes another outcome, but, I defy anyone to show me any, anywhere in the recorded history of mankind, from the days of ancient Greece, right up to the present, when society did not eventually fall prey to the same inner corruption we see today.
I’ve issued this challenge previously, and never received a single response; I suspect this is because there IS no adequate response (The more realistic side of me says it’s probably because not very many people see these pearls… but, the argument remains the same.). Any such period of time showing any truly ethical form of government was short-lived, as the oligarchy, in every case, has, over time, used their hidden resources to buy treachery, and to manipulate events to suit themselves…. a process at which they have become VERY adept.
Today’s world, with its new technology, threatens to turn our world into a truly dystopian nightmare, with less than .00001% of the people in the world oppressing the remaining seven billion, enforced by their typical violent means, with the added enhancement of computers and robots to assist them in their aim, which, put simply, is nothing less than to enslave the rest of the human race for their own benefit.
Once again, it seems I could rant forever; it also seems, sometimes, as if I already have. So, I’m mostly done, at least for today….. Here are three quick pearls, to give my opinion on the government we have today, then a short finishing blurb…. These 3 are pretty sharp, and pretty clear; no two-by-four needed….
“All forms of government are pernicious, including good government.” — Edward Abbey
“Love of money is the root of all Politicians.” — Obvious Bee
Laws are only words words written on paper, words that change on society’s whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool.” — John J. Miller, And Hope to Die — (in _Jokertown Shuffle – Wild Cards IX_)
I really think it is time for the people of the world to become aware of how ubiquitously they are being lied to, and, how they are enslaved, with their own tacit, ignorant agreement. When that time comes, when people finally realize their true state, it won’t matter how much control the oligarchs THINK they have. What do you think will happen to the predators of mankind when their prey, all 6+ BILLION of them, all get angry at once?… It wouldn’t be particularly hard to get the message across, as most people have heard the story, if only in music…. such as this, from the English speaking world… (I imagine it would translate well; most music is flexible enough to transcend mere language….)
And the sentence you’re paying is too high priced
While you’re living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he’s made on your dreams
~~ Traffic, “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” ~~
No amount of technology, no degree of control would be sufficient to protect them, for when all of mankind realizes the truth, the following would become even more relevant, on a scale unheard of in history….
“Beware of that person who is slow to anger. For when it is long in coming, it stays longer and is warmer and dies not so easily. Abused patience is a very strong fuel for a fire not easily put out by any known means.” — Ancient Smart Bee
Hey, it’s a nice dream, isn’t it? Now I just need to write the song…. You Tube can take care of getting it out to most of mankind….
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Dreaming, I wait….
In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.
Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.
Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.
Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.
Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.
When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.
Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 8/18/2013.
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Here’s a nice little nine-star pearl, with some good stuff to say about life, and the advantages of at least pretending to use one’s mind to live it…. sort of. You’ll see….
“I think, …. Do You?”
~~ Diogenes Bee ~~
” Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing.” — Publius Syrus
“But the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” — Arthur C. Clarke (1917-) — Profiles of the Future (1962; rev. 1973) — “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination”
“The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it.” — Realistic Bee
“A belief is not true because it is useful.” — Henri Frederic Amiel
“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.” — Phaedrus — Book i, Fable 26, 12
“Do you know that disease and death must needs overtake us, no matter what we are doing? What do you wish to be doing when it overtakes you? If you have anything better to be doing when you are so overtaken, get to work on that.” — Epictetus
“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” — Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
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Well, ffolkes, I’ve been over it twice, or three times now; I can’t find anything I missed. I guess it’s done. Damn good thing, too, as I’ve been done for some time. I hope none of what occurred after that point gets me in any deeper than I am already. Time will tell; it always does. It never can keep its mouth shut. Today, I just hope it can do so until I’ve safely donned my protective armor. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, ambush, or no ambush….
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.
Naked Pearls III
gigoid 