Tag Archives: Epictetus

But…. but…. what about the little bunnies?

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Ffolkes,

“History… a distillation of rumor.”

~~ Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) ~~

snow in IrelandSnow in Ireland, January 2015

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I won’t do it! You can’t make me! I don’t wanna write any more! No…..! Well, okay, maybe this once.

Morning, ffolkes. I just thought I’d give y’all a quick picture of the kind of stuff I go through each morning to get started. Depending on how much sleep I haven’t gotten (I’ve begun to keep track that way, rather than trying to keep track of all those fractions, of hours of broken sleep I’ve managed to steal….), this is a fine example of the usual degree of reluctance and angst I suffer before getting started….

. For the record, and to take another dig at Kaiser P, the corporate ghosts,  and the doctors who are enslaved by them, I’ll note that I am STILL feeling the effects of withdrawal; about an hour before the next dose of medicine is due, the jumpy nerves and twitchy muscles begin to hum, and I find myself keeping time with my legs to a fast, salsa-like rhythm…. If I have music on, it can take a while to notice, as I think I’m just keeping time with Jesse Colin, or Bob Marley’s songs…. It’s not quite as severe, because I’m cheating on them, and using the meds at the higher rate I used to take, in order to try to get a bit of sleep, and space from the withdrawal symptoms….

Fuck ’em. I’m done submitting to this society’s constant attempts to fix me with a slave collar. I’ve fought against having one for 60 some years now, at every turn. I’m becoming more and more angry at those who will not see how they are serving the forces of evil, having been brainwashed for their entire lives to believe anything told to them by a talking head. I intend to spend the rest of my life shouting at them, picking at them, hurting them as often as I can, however I can. I will hold them up for public ridicule, or, if necessary, find a way to remove them from this plane of existence, But, I will no longer sit quietly, going my own way, & keeping my head down.

I’ll be just as aggressive to them as they try to be to me; I didn’t spend my life learning martial arts so I could let bullies have their way; from now on, I intend to take the battle back to their doors, to hold them up into the light of exposure, for their lies, for their bully attitudes, and for their constant lies. On Tuesday, I’ll be taking on a local city council, led by a bully of a mayor, a man of color determined to get back at the man by becoming a caricature of a politician, resembling nothing more than a rich, old, white cracker, spreading lies and acting like a bully toward the public. It doesn’t surprise me at all to find he is a lawyer by trade….

Okay…. That worked well…. Nothing like a good mini-rant to get the juices flowing, is there? The only problem with it is finding a good place to stop, as it’s so easy to just go on, and on, and on, when one begins railing against the lies…. there are just so MANY of them!…. Ah well, enough for one day. I’m going to grab this box, marked with a big #4, & get us out of here, so we can get on with the rest of this mess…. You’ll probably recognize the number, which works like this….

Shall we Pearl?

“Bushido does not mean what it sounds like.” — Smart Bee

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Currently, though it’s Sunday, & the world is turned off, so to speak, my mind won’t seem to settle, wanting to pick at the two issues confronting me. So, we’ll go with some silly, to break the pattern in our customary fashion. Here are some cartoons, which, naturally, should be watched with a cookie or three and a nice glass of milk…. Enjoy!….

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Goofy Cartoons

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Dont keep calm

“Tell someone the sun is millions of miles away and they’ll believe you. Tell them the fence has just been painted and they’ll feel it to check it out.” — Smart Bee

Why do you think this is true? (Even if it isn’t, (which it isn’t, er, is… it’s true, by my reckoning…), it must be a behavior so frequently observed as to be considered worthy of note, as if it is a truism, a piece of common wisdom….No matter the source.) Any who, for the purpose of our discussion, we’ll assume it to be true (sigh… okay. Look. If you DON’T agree, can you wait to discuss it until we get further down? I’ll leave room…). If we can assume it to be so, I think I can guess the reason it is such a commonly held belief….

That’s because you’re human, and, they’re human. Consciously, or not, both are aware of this. Most people, if told the first, since they have no way of knowing for sure if you are right or wrong, will opt to trust, as the truth of it has no direct effect on them. The paint, however, is a part of their immediate environment, so, with another human present, the state of the paint becomes of more direct interest. There is an old saying in the Arab world, that says, “Trust in Allah, but row for the rocks.”…. if you get my drift. The Western world would more likely be familiar with a statement such as “Always cut the cards.” In the case of wet paint, any human over the age of two will check to see if paint is wet, when told, as a knee-jerk reaction….

How does this relate to the ranting section? Oh gosh, if you’ve been here before, you’d already know…. We’ve already used the word true, which is rooted in Truth, so, obviously we’re going to talk about those humans who seek elected office, at what I now know from PERSONAL experience, to be ALL levels, from international, to national, to state, to county, to local. Hell, I’ll bet the perversion of human spirit that pervades our culture seems to be not merely ubiquitous, but, cancerous in its aggressive intention of consuming all members of our society, regardless of their wishes in the matter.

I’m speaking, of course, of the complete loss of integrity in public office, where every person seems to be convinced their own personal beliefs should be used to determine the course of events in their immediate sphere of influence. From President, all the way down to mayor, and often, Grand Poobah level of government, ignorance, bigotry, and the use of power for personal gain is not merely rampant, but, glorified…..

In my personal observation of public life, as I have seen, heard, or read about, the events and information about the march of history since 1950, when I was born, (available for anyone of my age to still view, via a number of different media), the world has become more and more a mirror image of  the nightmarish society depicted in George Orwell’s novel, 1984, than I ever believed was possible…. If you really want to be scared silly, read, or, re–read the book, then compare what you have just read to modern society. The congruency is close to 100%; it seems Mr. Orwell was more accurate than even he knew in his vision of the future, a time at which WE have, seemingly, arrived….

In truth, it would be easy to list all the ways our supposed leaders display their total disregard for anyone’s agenda but their own, which is centered on their own avarice for power and control…. too easy. It would also take a VERY long time, which, as is apparent, I’ve already taken to get to this point, where we could get down to brass tacks, so to speak… (Why brass? Do they hurt more when you step on one?…. I wonder about these things….)

Any who, I’ll be nice today, sparing you the extra work and depressive mood swings. Instead, we’ll fill the rest of the time allotted for this with some very fine pearls of virtual wisdom, which highlight the very qualities of which I have been speaking…. Please remember, ffolkes….. VIRTUAL wisdom, not real. Don’t try to use them as if they were. They’re good for a snack, but not for a main dish, speaking, of course, metaphorically…. Enjoy!…

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Democracy, n.: A government of the masses.  Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of direct expression.  Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic… negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.” — U. S. Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), since withdrawn.

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

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

” To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child.  For what is man’s lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Orator

“Asking a Republican Senate and Democratic House to make a law is like trying to fry a single egg in two pans.” — New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981

“Now we have a Republican House AND Senate, with a Democrat in the White House. The problem here is obvious; no Republican in either body ever held so menial a job as cook. This means we’re likely to end up with is two eggs, burnt to a crisp, resembling nothing so much as a rubber replica of themselves, but, chewier, and not as tasty. A lame duck of either party makes poor fare for any table….” — gigoid, the dubious  Saturday, 2015

“Well, here it is, 1983, so it won’t be long before you start reading a lot of boring stories about people like Vance Hartke.  Hartke is a governor or mayor or something from one of the flatter states, and the reason you’ll be reading about him is that he’s one of the 50 top contenders for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.  These men will spend the next 18 months going around the country engaging in the most degrading activities imaginable, such as wearing idiot hats and appearing on Meet the Press. Meet the Press is one of those Sunday morning public interest shows that the public is not the least bit interested in. It features a panel of reporters who ask questions of a guest politician, who wins an Amana home freezer if he can get through the entire show without answering a single question …” — Dave Barry, On Presidential Politics

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Knowing my mood to be in a rather fragile state, I won’t even bother trying to find a poem from someone else; it’s best to not involve anyone else today…. It could affect their reputation negatively; wouldn’t want that…. Here’s one from 2013….

Pure Truth: Elsewhen

Everything I say and do, I’m sure,
only comes from what I know.
If what I’ve said or done is good, and pure,
I can say it’s not just for show.

Sometimes people don’t quite get me.
It can be a pain, for sure.
I try not allow it to keep me from being free,
especially when my thoughts may be impure.

In fact, I try quite hard most of the time,
to keep from hurting folks.
If any culture more often approached sublime,
I wouldn’t have to take so many pokes.

Now I’ll make another sacrifice, for y’all,
not for karmic advantage, not merely so….
But, to save me from yet another downfall,
I’ll stop here; ensign, make it so….

~~ gigoid ~~


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I’m not sure what’s up with Smart Bee; the process of finding pearls has been smooth as silk lately, compared to what has been the case for quite some time. Since I’m not one to look in ANY mouths, we’ll accept this metaphoric gift as if it were of an equine persuasion, and just hop on for a ride…. I’d suggest you climb on behind, or you could get run down…. No worries, mates, it’s all in good, virtual fun, real as these pearls may be….

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.” — Roy Goodman

“That humanity at large will ever be able to dispense with Artificial Paradises seems very unlikely. Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, at the best so monotonous, poor and limited that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and has always been one of the principal appetites of the soul.” — Aldous Huxley’s “The Doors of Perception”

“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv

“I say that a man must be certain of his morality for the simple reason that he has to suffer for it.” — G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, 8/4/06

“As long as anyone believes that his ideal and purpose is outside him, that it is above the clouds, in the past or in the future, he will go outside himself and seek fulfillment where it cannot be found. He will look for solutions and answers at every point except where they can be found–in himself.” — Erich Frohm

“Aren’t you glad that everything is going so smoothly?” –Smart Bee

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” — Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Little Prince

“Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.” — Lois Bujold

“The most important thing in a man is not what he knows, but what he is.” — Narciso Yepes

Yep…. That about says it…. all of it, I might add….

Well, trust Smart Bee to fall under Murphy’s spell, ffolkes. As soon as I finished this pearl, SB came up with the following, which, obviously, belongs here as a nearly perfect closing thought, to tie the group together with unbreakable twine…. Allow me to show y’all what I mean:

“The world is what it is, no less and no more,

and therein lies its entire and sufficient meaning.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~


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I’ve already expressed the problematic nature of the issues we’re facing today, though not in any great detail…. Suffice it to know, we’re done, and I’m outta here, taking my chance to escape while it’s fresh and hot. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Oh, gosh. We’re definitely going to need a llama….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“A soldier told Pelopidas, “We are fallen among the enemies.” 


Said he, “How are we fallen among them more than they among us?”


~~ Plutarch (46-120 AD) ~~


~~ Pelopidas ~~


Zack at Christmas 12-28-2012 002 (2)


     Odd, poignant pieces of sleep-induced optimism have begun to enter the fringes of my conscious mind, seemingly trying to convince me to hope. Without fail, hope eludes my grasp, while despair grips me in its iron fist, threatening eternity, laughing, and cruel. No light, no innocence penetrates the veil of sorrowful regret covering all I perceive, all I know….


Often, in the morning, these little blurbs leak out of my head; some of them are pretty good, others, not so hot. This one, which seemed to push it’s way out, more than merely leaking, obviously has a better opinion of its worth than is apparent to anyone else…. It’s okay, but, a bit depressing for opening a blog…. The part of me that creates these doesn’t seem to have much real connection to what might be good, or bad; it’s more of a random word generator than a real creative urge, I think. But, it’s worth letting it happen now and again, as a few really fine openings have resulted…. It’s too bad I can’t predict the quality before it comes out to play…. Oh, well….


Now we’ve wasted a good eight or ten lines to discuss not very much, we’re again confronted with the same issue which prompted the opening lines of fictional waffling, to wit: now wtf do I do? (Sorry for the text-style abbreviation, but, I figured it’s a bit early for graphic epithets… this way I still get to say “fuck”, but without actually writing…. oh…. whoops…. I did write it, didn’t I?…. Hmph. Oh, well; best laid plans, and all that…) If I’d had a clue as to what might go well this morning, it would already be here, instead of the ridiculous blathering we are now encountering….


You know what? I don’t have the patience for this…. We’re going to just leave this right where it is, without worrying at all about any damn introduction…. Y’all have been here before (or not… who cares?…), and know that sometimes, you just have to deal with whatever happens…. So, here is your chance…. Deal….


Shall we Pearl?


“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


AHA! So, that’s the problem….


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I’ve stated previously my belief we are not going to be able to survive, as a species, if we don’t colonize in space, whether it be on the Moon, Mars, the Asteroids which circle the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, or on the moons of the larger planets…. Wherever we may decide to go, it will be, in my opinion, the ONLY way we will see the twenty-third century…. Here is a video showing some of what is in store for us out there, to remind us of our true destiny….







1 HOUR of AMAZING HQ SPACE VIDEO – The BEST of Discovery Space 








































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“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average  star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.” — Stephen W. Hawking, Der Spiegel, 1989


Dr Hawking is probably right; he’s a pretty smart guy. On any normal day, which, admittedly, happens very little around here, I’d find this a perfect opening for a rant of some sort; there are lots of examples of people who have taken their ‘specialness’ way too seriously….


Today, though, I’m still not much in the mood to rant, having been at war with my own body now for a week or two; it’s a bit of a struggle to get myself to care much about anything other than trying to find some peace in my own skin… Those of y’all who have been here frequently will know what THAT means for today’s Pearl…. Yep, we’re going to the archives for todays’ rant, to further cement my reputation as one of the laziest bloggers on the Net….


Here is a pretty good one, from a little under two years ago…. It’s a bit lengthy, but, covers a lot of ground…. Enjoy!….


From 4/11/2013:


“He who conceals a useful truth is equally guilty with the propagator of an injurious falsehood.” — Augustine


If ever there was a perfect lead in to a rant about the Beloved Ruling Class, or our/their Corporate Masters, or about the Priestly Hierarchies, those fawning sycophants who support those two entities in their chicanery, well, I don’t know what it would be, if not this. It’s perfectly positioned to attack any, or all of these groups, all of whom make the described action, to wit: bare-faced lying, a habitual choice in their daily interactions with others. They do this with full knowledge of the harm they may cause, but are not concerned with that, other than as it pertains to the maintenance of their own image; they want us to see them as people who care about those over whom they hold sway. In short, they live a complete lie, they know it, and they like it….


Whether we speak of the political leaders of our nations, the corporate leaders of the banking crowd, or the Pope, Ayatollah, and other figures held as religious icons, they speak “with forked tongue”, in the vernacular of Tonto, our favorite TV Indian stereotype. Not only do they lie to the public almost every time the open their mouths, they know they are lying; with many of them, you can see it in their eyes, as they speak…. Some of them (perhaps even most….) are very good at concealing their cupidity from most people; it’s part of why they are successful. But, to anyone with even a hint of street smarts, or even moderate intelligence, and the patience to observe with impartiality, their lies are obvious…. Hell, it’s been said, with some reason, that you can tell a politician is lying, because his mouth is open….


“If I can’t misquote it, I don’t want it.” — Rush Limbaugh


This statement, whether he actually said it or not, explains quite accurately why he is so popular among the conservatives and ignorant fundamentalists in this country…. I would guesstimate the majority of elected officials in this country use this principle on a daily basis, as one of the standards by which they formulate their public policies, and one of their bywords when speaking in a public venue. Nothing is accepted so readily by the uneducated listener as a quote, or a statistic, that sounds elegant, and real, and comforting, even though it is an absolute untruth, or a mistake, or even a misquotation…. None of that matters to those in power, because they know that their success hinges on their ability to lie successfully to the public….. It’s a time honored tradition in our government, one every politician knows in his bones…


“It’s not that simple, no matter how you wish it so.  You made public statements from a position of false authority;  now you’re having them shoved down your throat.  Welcome to netnews. — Smart Bee


The advent of the internet has made it possible to detail these lies as never before in history. As always, however, the information is only accessible if one reads, and is competent enough to be able to use the internet to its full capability for gathering data. So, the lies continue, though they are much more visible now than in previous periods of history. They will continue as long as people are too lazy, or too brainwashed to think for themselves, and to question what they hear from those who hold power over them.


I don’t think it is reasonable to ever expect those who are in power to stop what they are doing, do a complete reversal of attitude, and start using their positions to advocate for the people, instead of their corporate masters. It isn’t going to happen, as they LIKE being able to raid the public treasury at will. There is no benefit for them, in their eyes, for them to stop lying, so they won’t…. No, if we want things to change, it will have to begin in that part of society that does not answer to the moneychangers, or to the call of avarice, to wit: with you, and me…. Otherwise, we may as well just bend over, and kiss our asses goodbye, because ultimately, the way things are going, we are all headed down the universal toilet, where all of Mother Nature’s failed experiments get flushed…..


I can rant on this subject without limit, I think, as there is no lack of material to work with; the news is all over the net every day with more evidence of the lies the BRC wants us to believe. Hell, one can take almost any large newspaper, look on the front page, and find at least two examples of issues that arise out of corruption in government, or some environmental disaster that is a warning of our impending doom…. In any of these, you will find at least one government official making a statement that is just plain wrong, or false in some way, intended to spin the information to benefit the administration, or to denigrate it, depending on which side is speaking….  It’s a circus maximus, for sure, and provides us curmudgeons with all the rantable material we could wish for, gratis (well, for the price of a computer, and internet access, anyway….).


“God said it, I believe it and that’s all there is to it.” — Smart Bee


I had to put Smart Bee as the attribution here, probably because nobody in their right mind would ever claim credit for having said it…. But, as I, in my lifetime, have actually heard several people say this, (realio trulio, I swear…. three times I’ve heard it, in person, come out of a real live idiot’s mouth….), I can only credit it as being a common feeling among a certain percentage of people. Be that as it may, as long as there is ANYONE who thinks this way, we are all going to be held back from being all our species could be, as well as being in danger of facing extinction because of the intransigence of their ignorance…..


“Misanthropology: the study of why people are so stupid and why most of them should die, SOON!” — Smart Bee


I don’t know the exact figures, but I would say that at least 50% of all the elected officials in this country hold this attitude, if not as gospel or dogma for all issues, at least as true for most issues. Our government has been taken over, insidiously, over time, by religious fanatics, who are working frantically to cement their hold over everyone else by enacting their own morality as law…. As history has proven, time after time, legislating morality is ALWAYS doomed to failure, but, as this group believes implicitly in the rightness of their articles of faith, they will listen to no evidence to the contrary….


“Religion is the highest vanity.” — Friedrich Hebbel


Ah well, I guess all I can say at this point is I think we’re all going to hell in the proverbial handbasket, and I, for one, would just as soon not be involved in this particular picnic…. Nope, not me…. Sadly, there isn’t anywhere else to go, where I can get away from these fools, as they have infested almost every corner of this sad old globe, and are busy destroying the chances for any of us to survive their ignorance…. Unless I, and all those like me, change our nature, and become like the ones who are in power, willing to kill our brethren over these issues, there is little to be done, for they will never give up until they kill us all….


~~ gigoid has spoken….


“Buy a rifle, encrypt your data, and wait for the Revolution!” — .sig of Travis J.I. Corcoran (TJIC@icd.teradyne.com)


“Speak the truth, but leave immediately after.” — Slovenian Proverb


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Just because it’s been a while since I made this clear….




Joe Friday’s lament


Life is short, and though I’m odd, they say

it really doesn’t bother me

to realize there is no God, per se.


Though other folks will disagree

and tell me I’m wrong

I won’t believe it, with naught to see.


Liars called padre tell me, have humility,

and do as the authorities say,

then fondle little boys with facility.


They also tell me to share the wealth

and give them a 10% tithe

so they don’t have get it by stealth.


So spare me the delusions, please

don’t bother with such a tale;

I’m nobody that needs such a tease.


Keep your fantasies under your hat

and out of my face;

I don’t need them, they’ll make me fat….. headed.


~~ gigoid ~~




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What we have here, purely by accident, is a nearly perfect old-school pearl, a stylish, studiously moral group of wise expressions, ranging from the somber to the joyous, with a nearly perfect metaphor at the end, to bring it straight to the most sensible, not to mention the most instructive perspective from which to view the pursuit of wisdom…. Well, I think so…. Or, just let it simmer a while, and it will settle into your psyche like a soothing cup of herbal tea….


“Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.” — Andre Gide


“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” — Ambrose Redmoon


“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”


“Cato used to assert that wise men profited more by fools than fools by wise men; for that wise men avoided the faults of fools, but that fools would not imitate the good examples of wise men.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Marcus Cato


“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.” — Booker T. Washington


“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.  We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.  We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle


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


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All I can say at this point is, thank goodness THAT’s done; I’m also glad most of it got done during moments of peace yesterday, and last night…. Why I continue to do this at all remains a mystery, but, no worries…. Life is full of things we may never understand, so, it’s best just to get used to it. Given the right set of circumstances, and a little luck, I’ll see y’all tomorrow…. See ya, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….







		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Supplicants in front, mendicants to the rear….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free.” 


~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~


chandra-nasa-ngc2207_0

Colliding Galaxies, picture taken by NASA’s Chandra Deep Space Telescope




It’s no use. Nothing is going to help this morning; that much is already clear. Not the opening quote, nor the most excellent photo, illustrating the sheer size of our Universe, nor any of the weird, silly, and/or just plain odd thoughts running around in my head will serve to open up today’s post…. None of it is stimulating anything in my head other than reluctance, both to start, and to make a decision about WHERE to start…. It can make a huge difference in where we end up, obviously, so I do like to at least have some input….


Today, however. it isn’t going to work, not the way it usually works, anyway. Since I have no alternative opening ready to use, we may end up wandering around, listening to me panic, until we’ve managed to fill in enough to satisfy the monitors (whoever they are….). We could also try something new, and dangerous…. what do you think? Want to try it? The danger isn’t as much as we face any other day; it’s just more specific to the section than is normal, due to the strange laws concerning such matters, none of which are on the books, or even published…. They’re the unwritten laws that control all writers, which, if they knew of them, would doubtless drive them even crazier than they are….


Of course, that, too, is merely another figment, drawn from the depths of my insecurity, just so I could fill in a few more lines, thus, getting us further down the page…. Did they work? No? Ah, shit….


“I find myself beside a stream of empty thought.” — Smart Bee


Well, that sinks it…. Now, of course, I’m gonna have to step in, and settle this for once and all, or we could be stuck here for days…. Since the usual methods haven’t worked at all, I’m going to apply the ruthlessness which has saved us so many times already…. It’s amazing what tossing out the bullshit can do for one’s decision making abilities…. It sure is easy to make a decision when one only considers ONE set of expectations, i.e., one’s own…. It’s amazing how much more gets done…. Here, watch, it works like this….


Shall we Pearl?


“He that respects himself if safe from others; He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.” — Henry Wordsworth Longfellow


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


For some reason, when I went to find a video, I thought of this show, from my childhood; it was one of my favorites… How could it not be? Space flight, magic, and Barbara Eden, a young man’s fantasy woman…. all hit my interests right on the money…. When I went to look for episodes to watch, I was delighted to find an entire page with several seasons’ worth of shows to watch…. Yay! I know where I’ll be wasting my time for a few days….




I Dream of Jeannie Season 2 Episode 1-2





































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


Here is one from the archives, which fits in with some of our recent discussions quite nicely…. (I’m still saving my hands, a very good excuse to be lazy, I find…)….


From 12/12/12:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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




“A universe of death, which God by curse 

Created evil, for evil only good; 

Where all life dies, death lives, 

and Nature breeds Perverse, 

all monstrous, all prodigious things, 

Abominable, unutterable and worse 

Than fables yet have feigned, or fear conceived, 

Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire.” 


~~ Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II ~~




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


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


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


“If brains were outlawed, nothing would change.” — Smart Bee


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


Today, you are getting one of my poems, simply because I’m too lazy to go find someone else’s…. So be it…. Here is one I haven’t used for a while, first created on a Friday in 2013…




A Dubiously Soft Morning


Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,

fill up the white, white screen on which I view

my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup

ambrosial remnants of anything new.


Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away

bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,

signs of one happy child, seriously at play,

blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.


Formidable cries of outraged simple justice

echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.

Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice

salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.


Creativity equals unquestioning farce, 

often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.

Instead, a blow is felt that no joy will soften,

accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.


~~ gigoid ~~




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


Whew! It’s a good thing I got up early today; today’s final pearl may be in the top five, on the list of pearls that took the longest time to complete…. Smart Bee appears to be in a mood… Ah well, all’s well that ends well, as we all know…. quite well… This one SEEMS abstruse, but, once you’ve finished it, you’ll see it really isn’t…. In fact, it’s quite transparent, in many respects…. Enjoy!….


“Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xii


“Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.” — Voltaire


“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Freewill.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)


“The miser is as much in want of that which he has, as of that which he has not.” — Publius Syrus


“Depend not on fortune, but on conduct.” — Publius Syrus


“Cato requested old men not to add the disgrace of wickedness to old age, which was accompanied with many other evils.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Roman Apophthegms, Cato the Elder




From ignorance our comfort flows.

The only wretched are the wise.


~~ Matthew Prior (1664-1721) ~~


~~ To the Hon. Charles Montague ~~




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


I know, already, without having gone back over this yet, it will be okay…. It may not ever be considered as one of the best Pearls ever, but, it will definitely do for our purposes today…. Hell, a lot of it is even fresh…. or, what passes for fresh these days…. Regardless of all my rationalizations and/or excuses, it’s done…. As I’ve been reduced to saying already today…. So be it…. gigoid has spoken…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. most likely….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
A few bricks shy of a wall…

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“The question was put to him, what hope is; and his answer was, 


“The dream of a waking man.”


~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) ~~


~~ Aristotle, xi ~~


Glasgow-Greenock Port 011


     I’m marking today down on my calendar; this is the first morning all month I’ve awakened without the usual screaming in my hands and shoulder, and I can once again attest to the accuracy of the old saw that says, “true freedom is the release from pain.” Even though there is some lingering stiffness, and threat of further pain, the mere absence of the worst part of it is a welcome sign, hopefully of changes for the better…. Hope springs eternal, even when unjustified by reality’s indifference to our suffering….


That, as they say, though, is Life, so, there’s no point in getting all worked up over those parts of it we can’t change…. Our old friend, Epictetus, told us that, and, he was right…. So, I’m not going to complain about any possible pain in the future, as it is merely the lot of man, and woman, to have pain as a part of life…. Nor will I spend any longer celebrating its absence, as it will no doubt make an appearance again before the day is done…. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to be somewhere else when it gets here….


Right…. Now that I’ve gone back to my fantasy world, maybe we can figure out what we’re doing with this Pearl…. Of course, that would mean we’d need to figure out what we’re doing here in the intro, and, since that particular event has NEVER occurred, it’s rather doubtful we’d be able to pull it off today. We’ve already established the futility of trying to change anything, (well, other than my own attitudes, and those aren’t going anywhere until AFTER coffee….), so there is little point in even discussing any such useless ideas…. Instead, we’ll wait, to see if we can fool anyone into making a break for the border, and just follow them….


While we’re waiting for someone’s nerve to crack, I suggest we get on with the rest of today’s post; if we can work this correctly, paying attention to the currents, and the obvious markers on the banks of the river, we might be able to cross off one of our daily chores while we’re at it. And, if not, well, I don’t think anyone would notice, anyway, so, why not? It won’t make any difference in the final product, and I’m pretty sure we can do it without any major splashage…. It’s worth a try, n’est pas?…. I think so….  In fact, I’m convinced, so, hang on, & we’ll get right on that….


Shall we Pearl?


“Some people never learn anything because they understand everything  too soon.” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744)


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


It’s another classical day, just because that’s what I feel like listening to…. and, so do you….




Best Classical Music Works Top 100














































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


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


Isaac Asimov was one of mankind’s best, a shining example of how a life can be lived well, with honor, joy, and compassion foremost…. He possessed a powerful intellect, and an insatiable curiosity about EVERYTHING in the universe; combined with his seemingly limitless energy, and an abiding desire to share all he knew with others, this made him one of history’s most prolific authors, with well over 600 books, of both fiction, and non-fiction, published during his lifetime. He wrote more books of non-fiction than fiction, literally covering every science listed in the alphabet, and more….


He is credited with the coining of three of today’s most well-known words, each of which is having a huge effect on our culture; he created the word, and the concept of “robotics”, as well as “positronic brains”, another term for artificially intelligent computer/robots…. He also created the concept of “psychohistory”…. All of these are are now considered to be mainstream usage, words which describe concepts on the cutting edge of technology, and modern psychology…


His belief in Man’s future in the stars was firm, as stated above; for much of my life, I’ve been a willing proponent of the same idea, i.e, we humans MUST explore space, if we are to have any chance of living up to our potential in this universe…. This single planet is not enough to encompass our imagination, as evidenced by our entire history of literature, which explores the very boundaries of existence, not merely on this plane, but, in all dimensions, throughout the visible, and non-visible universe….


Isaac believed, as do I, as humans, if we can imagine it, we can do it…. Thus far, nothing of which we’ve dreamed has been found to be impossible, but, rather,  merely time-consuming, or currently not within our sphere of knowledge…. The only question that remains to be answered is whether our lack of moral/ethical maturity will prevent us from surviving long enough acquire the knowledge, to achieve that potential…. It is to this difficulty that Robert Heinlein referred, when he stated:


“Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.” — Robert Heinlein


Isaac also recognized the difficulties involved in getting ALL of mankind to realize our commonality…. In fact, he was a victim of the unwashed masses of the ignorant for much of his life…. as evidenced by the following:




Isaac Asimov



    The cult of ignorance is now in control of the US Senate, with a number of Republican Senators who have, as recently as the last election, expressed their disbelief in the theory of evolution, which has long been regarded as scientific fact; the same group tends to disbelieve in global warming, as well, which has also been found to be unassailable FACT…. These ignorant fools will now spend the next four years blocking any legislation put forth which might mitigate any of the effects of that warming, which is no longer deniable by any rational being over the age of three…


But, these assholes know they’re right, even if we don’t, and they’ll protect us from ourselves, you betcha…. The side effect of that, of course, is, we’re all going to die, but, hey, at least they’ll be rich when they die, right?…. Idiots…


I almost fell into ranting there, didn’t I? I promised myself I’d keep this positive, so, I’m going to leave this somewhat unfinished…. I’ll merely say this…. I believe our destiny is to go to the stars; colonizing this solar system is the first step to that destiny, and may, at this point, be our only hope of surviving our own idiocy long enough to get there…. I’d like to think that someday, my grandchild will stand on one of the moons of Saturn, looking up at the rings, and wondering if HIS grandchild will stand on the planet of another star…. Now, THAT is a dream worth dreaming….




Our destiny lies

in the stars above our heads.

‘Tis our last, best hope.


~~ gigoid ~~




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


This poem is one of my better efforts, if only for its relevance to reality…. It rhymes, too….






Seeing is Conducive to Belief


Folly sits so comfortably upon my fevered brow

one would easily believe that I would know how

to look at Life with a jaded, weary eye

seeing enough, and more, to know Why.


Such seems the case, as I will it to be,

an open book of a face, it looks so like me;

what’s known to be so, needs no close attention

familiar sights require no minding, nor mention.


The eye is drawn at once to the stark and new,

and sent back to sleep by successful review.

Once we find evidence we feel we understand,

curiosity languishes, dismissed at command.


Ancient sages knew the insidious value of illusion,

preachers and pundits know the power of confusion.

Each pair of eyes contains its own point of reference,

each mind sets its own standards of preference.


Seeing is believing, for those who live in thrall,

accepting what is perceived is all they ever recall.

Unknown to them, reality follows another set of rules,

Deeper, more dangerous, and no place for fools.


~~ gigoid ~~




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


Much of yesterday is a fog in my memory, mostly due to the copious amount of drugs I consumed in the battle against my skeleton…. Somewhere in that fog, I apparently allowed Smart Bee to put together this pearl…. I’m not in the mood to figure out if it is just me, or if it is really a very deep, very useful pearl…. But, then, y’all are the only ones who can make any final judgments on that, as it is intended for y’all to consume, not me…. If it doesn’t make the grade, or, even if it does, somehow, manage to make a statement worth repeating, let me know…. Otherwise, you should probably just keep it to yourself, and let everyone else make their own decision…. I know I will…


“I exist as I am, that is enough.” — Walt Whitman


“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


“Complaint always comes back in an echo from the ends of the world;  but silence strengthens us.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Father Brown Omnibus


“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, “To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi


“Whatsoever that be within us that feels, thinks, desires, and animates, is something celestial, divine, and, consequently, imperishable.” — Aristotle (B.C. 384-322)


“Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)


“The meaning of here and now is beautifully illustrated by a Zen story of a monk who was being chased by two tigers. He came to the edge of a cliff. He looked back – the tigers were almost upon him. Noticing a vine  eading over the cliff, he quickly crawled over the edge and began to let himself down the vine. Then as he checked below, he saw two tigers waiting for him at the bottom of the cliff. He looked up and observed that two mice were gnawing away at the vine. Just then, he saw a beautiful strawberry within arm’s reach. He picked it and enjoyed the best tasting strawberry in his whole life!” — Ken Keyes


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


I’m too old a hand at this to make any snap judgments, but, I can say this…. It’s done…. Having just gone back and proofed it, I can add this: it’s a damn good thing it IS done…. If I need to explain that statement, well, too bad, because, hey, it’s done…. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, if I can figure out a good reason to do so…. Ah, hell, who am I kidding? I always do….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Casting the runes unnerves some people….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Are you mentally here at Pizza Hut??” — Zippy the Pinhead


einstein-princeton-papers-01_86633_990x742


     There may be many out there who read this, (which shows just how optimistically silly a mood I’m in; I can count, and, only a few hardy souls brave these pages each day…), who will question my use of the infamous pinhead to start out the day, but, to look at the expression on Albert’s face, he knows exactly why Zippy is at the top, as well as the answer to his query, which, naturally, is delivered in a piteously querulous voice, filled with apprehension and angst…. how else? I know for a fact Albert had a very silly side; I have a graphic example, to go along with ample text evidence, which has been presented here previously…. My graphic proof is, of course, this picture….






050405_einstein_tongue.widec     


    Previously, I’ve related what Albert said about Life, to wit: “After figuring out the shape and characteristics of space and time, wearing plaid with fuzzy slippers is easy.” (Or something like that….) There’s graphic proof, or suggestive evidence, anyway, of this one, too…. See?….






fuzzy Albert


    I’m really not making fun of Albert; I don’t have the chops to carry that off, obviously…. In fact, my irreverence is taken from him, and his own attitudes about living, as I understand those attitudes from my reading about him…. Sadly, he died when I was five, well before I had any chance to realize how wise he was; most of my knowledge of him comes from what he left behind, the legacy of what he wrote, and what others wrote about him…. That alone has been sufficient for me to realize he was one of the two or three wisest men who lived in the twentieth century, not only for his work in helping mankind to understand the physical world, but, for his insights into human nature, and life at large…. Plus, he was damn silly at times, obviously with a great sense of humor, and a keen appreciation for the absurdity inherent in reality…. The latter is a sure way to get MY attention, as y’all know….


Now, a large portion of that legacy, of information of his life, in the form of papers, letters, and pictures, of him, by him, and about him, covering much of his early life, is a much larger body of information, available to anyone who can access the internet. Princeton University, with which Einstein was closely connected for much of his adult life in the United States, has digitized ALL of the papers they had in their possession, and with the approval of the Einstein estate, have posted them online, without restrictions, for anyone to read…. Much of it is in its original German, the language of Albert’s youth, in which language he wrote his personal letters all his life; for those who don’t speak or read German, an English translation of each document is made available….


You can find it all at this address:


http://einsteinpapers.press.princeton.edu/vol1-doc


I, for one, will be spending a great many hours, happily perusing as many of those pieces of Albert’s mind at different points in his life as I can tolerate, both in German, (when I can follow it…. it’s been a long time, and I learned it well after he learned to write it; it will be thick, for sure, but, I’ll have a translation right there to help…. Yay!….), and in English…. Mostly the latter, I’m sure; it has been a VERY long time since I read any German…. But, who knows? Maybe it will break loose a whole big bunch of memories, or give me reason to find someone to speak it with me…. For now, I’ve meandered quite enough… we’ve got a lot of silly to get to today, I think….


Shall we Pearl?


“It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.” — Aeschylus


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


Ffolkes, nobody has a stranger view of the universe than this man…. For your viewing pleasure, I give you now, the world’s most DIFFERENT mind….




Steven Wright Special (1985) 



































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


“He asked me if I knew what time it was. I said, `Yes, but not right now.'” — Steven Wright


It isn’t every day I delete a rant which I’ve completely finished, but. yesterday, that’s exactly what I did…. I had it polished, buffed, and fitted out with appropriate pearls, all fresh crap straight out of my head, taking aim at myself, the Asininnies, aka the BRC and the Dogma Dogs (yes, that’s their new name…), the drones, and all us fools caught here on this particular plane of existence. Accurate aim, too, I think, though, the longer it’s gone, the better it gets, of course….


Dumb ass that I am, I failed to close the program I wrote it in, which then auto-saves whatever I’ve written there, so, when I inadvertently clicked the shut down button, forcing programs to shut down, all I’d done in the last eight hours, two or three minutes at a time, then breaking for pain, well… it all just went away, to wherever electrons go when they’re not given a memory address to stay in, so we can find them later….. SIGH….


Now what? I know…. I’ll go extreme….


“Hiccuping & trembling into the WASTE DUMPS of New Jersey like some  drunken CABBAGE PATCH DOLL, coughing in line at FIORUCCI’S!!” — Zippy the Pinhead


Now, THAT is monumentally silly! Sad, yet, silly…. Sort of like today’s Pearl, come to think of it…. I suppose now I’ll have to make a pearl here, to keep from breaking into a song, which would then turn into a rant, against Mary Poppins, or some such idiotic icon of her level of respectability…. If what we’ve seen so far is any indication, we’ll do fine, as long as we can keep from sucking milk up our noses…. Let’s not think about it coming, or going, in ANY other direction, okay?…. Instead, let’s go find some pearls, of the random silly variety….


Birth, n.: The first and direst of all disasters. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“Nobody HAS to do anything.” — McCabe’s law


“Always watch where you are going.  Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne


“Be good to your friends, or they may develop psychokinetic powers and destroy Tokyo.” — Smart Bee


“Where do we keep all our chainsaws, mom?” — Calvin & Hobbes


“A bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down — And won.” — John Prine


HASH, x.  There is no definition for this word — nobody knows what hash is. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


Enough! Any sillier, and we’d start circling the drain, clockwise….


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


Nobody does silly better than this poet….






Adventures of Isabel


Isabel met an enormous bear,

Isabel, Isabel, didn’t care;

The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,

The bear’s big mouth was cruel and cavernous.

The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,

How do, Isabel, now I’ll eat you!

Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry.

Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.

She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,

Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.

Once in a night as black as pitch

Isabel met a wicked old witch.

the witch’s face was cross and wrinkled,

The witch’s gums with teeth were sprinkled.

Ho, ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,

I’ll turn you into an ugly toad!

Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,

Isabel didn’t scream or scurry,

She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,

But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.

Isabel met a hideous giant,

Isabel continued self reliant.

The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,

He had one eye in the middle of his forehead.

Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,

I’ll grind your bones to make my bread.

Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,

Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.

She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off,

And when it was gone, she cut the giant’s head off.

Isabel met a troublesome doctor,

He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.

The doctor’s talk was of coughs and chills

And the doctor’s satchel bulged with pills.

The doctor said unto Isabel,

Swallow this, it will make you well.

Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,

Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.

She took those pills from the pill concocter,

And Isabel calmly cured the doctor. 


~~ Ogden Nash ~~




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


I’m not entirely sure what this pearl is trying to say, but, it all seems pretty important, so, I’m letting SB do what it wants with it…. Maybe there will be a point, but, given today’s theme, it’s somewhat in doubt…. making it a perfect ending pearl….


“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” — Oscar Wilde (1856-1900)


“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


“The doctrine of human equality reposes on this: that there is no man really clever who has not found that he is stupid.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton


“The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you’ve just done something as well as you can do it.” — Lloyd Dobens and Clare Crawford-Mason, Thinking About Quality


“Integrity needs no rules.” — Smart Bee


“We keep, in science, getting a more and more sophisticated view of our essential ignorance.” — Warren Weaver


“The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.” — Frank Zappa


Oops! Sorry, ffolkes, that last one slipped by me for a moment…. It’s too true to be cut, so, I’ll just find one more pearl, to finish this off properly, and leave it where it is, as a nod to its excellence…. Here’s the right one to end with….


“Time as he grows old teaches many lessons.” — Aeschylus (525-456 BC) — Prometheus, 981


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


My brain is clear, my conscience, though challenged, is clean, and, I don’t even like Jesus just now; I suppose I make a damn poor Amurrican. Since that’s a moniker I hope never to have applied to me, in any fashion, I’m outta here, before it occurs to someone just how silly this all is…. Oh, right. I guess it’s a bit late for that, isn’t it? Oh, well…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t talk myself out of it again….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
We boil the spread sheets, but, all clip art gets baked….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Nothing can be done at once hastily and prudently.”


~~ Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 557 ~~


POTD_Crew_Space_Tr_3124538k


     I’ve  been using a lot of space photos lately; this one is an artist’s rendering of the newest NASA manned spaceflight capsule, the Orion, as it docks at the ISS. Having always been a space flight enthusiast, an amateur astronomer, and a reader of science fiction, it all fascinates me. I had originally intended to study astronomy or astrophysics in college, and always wanted to be an astronaut, every since the very first manned flights, back in the early 60’s….. I even made a personal vow, at age 11, that I would not die on Earth, but, would be buried on another planet, even if only the Moon…. A bit fanciful, but, I still mean to try to survive long enough to get off Earth at least once….


Chances are getting slim that will ever happen, but, hey, a man has to have a dream, right? My dreams these days involve survival of the species, mostly, as that seems to me to be our most pressing circumstance, as humans…. We don’t have much time left, if any, to make an effort to establish ourselves on another planet, or planetoid, by which, I refer to moons, asteroids, comets, etc…. There are lots of places in our solar system containing abundant natural resources, easy enough for us to find and utilize, though not all of them are other planets…. In fact, there are fewer obstacles to overcome in order to colonize the asteroids than we may encounter trying to live on Mars…. It is amazing how much EASIER it is to live without gravity getting in the way, technologically speaking…..


Whether we try to establish colonies on Mars, the asteroids, our own Moon, Luna, or the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus, (of which there are more than a hundred….), it is becoming more imperative each day that we make some sort of decision, and get started on doing so, without any further delay….. We don’t have a lot of time before living on this planet will become an even greater technological challenge than living in space, with no gravity, and abundant solar and nuclear power, an existence made much easier to maintain than here on Earth. where we will see the necessity to find or manufacture our own air, food, and water…. None of these are impossible tasks, but, they won’t happen unless we first admit the danger, and the necessity to establish more bases for humanity to survive, in various points around the solar system…. If we continue to confine ourselves to one planet, we won’t survive at all….


Okay, I’ve now ranted, though it may not seem as if I have…. It sort of crept up on all of us I think…. After looking over what I’ve written above, I can’t say there is anything missing, or flawed, so, it will do, both as an intro, and as a mini-rant…. I didn’t mean to start out so strongly, but, the picture got me going; a view of the infinity of space will always stimulate my mind’s eye, pointing it toward the possible futures we may experience…. The planetary environmental crisis here on Earth is worsening each day, with new weather patterns being noted all over the world…. The coming year is predicted to be the warmest our planet has EVER experienced, according to all the historical and environmental evidence there is to be found, and we still don’t know how that will affect us, or the rest of our planet’s ecological balance…


Before I hare off in another direction, with a new rant on a new, related issue, I think I’ll take this opportunity to get us out of the intro, and down the line to the video section…. Today’s Pearl is going to be a fairly fresh one, even if the rant section may have to go with an archived piece; I don’t like to rant twice, and this is already enough to make ffolkes uneasy, I’m sure…. We’ll see how it goes when I get there…. for now, I see our turn coming up, so, put your liquid refreshments in their holders, tighten your belts, and hang on, because we’re going in…..


Shall we Pearl?….


“Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.” — Oscar Wilde


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


Okay, so, what did you expect? More cats? No way; I don’t like to repeat myself…. Today, you get PUPPIES!….







The Cutest Puppies Compilation 


































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


I went through the news yesterday, where I found the BRC, and the Asininnies, to be in full control. The news is mostly concentrating on the race issues brought to the surface of the nation’s attention, stimulated by the recent court failures to prosecute police officers who kill citizens. While this is, of course, an issue that must be addressed, it does focus attention  elsewhere than on the actions of our leaders, thus giving them the time and space to hide their true agendas from public view, by acting clandestinely to secure their aims…. The lack of any other news of significance is a sure sign that things are worse than they seem….


So much so, I am unable to find a reason to rant…. Oh, it’s not as if there isn’t any subject to rant about; the problem is that there are too MANY subjects to choose from, each of which represents yet another way the predators who prey on society are displaying their lack of compassion for any of the other members of their species, using them simply as a means of consolidating their own powers. To anyone with more than two neurons working together, it is quite obvious; to those who base their lives on accepting what they are told, nothing is amiss, at all…. After all, it’s Christmas, right?


Rather than spend eight or ten paragraphs trying, once again, to bring their chicanery to the attention of anyone happening by to read, I’m putting together an old-school indictment, to indicate to those who come by, exactly where they can see for themselves just how badly we are all being screwed, by those who would have us believe in their altruism…. which, in fact, does not exist at all…. So, here are some observations about those assholes who would be king…. Pay close attention, ffolkes, and any of you folks who might see this; it’s all true as the day….. Let’s see how vicious we can be this early in the day, shall we?….




One murder made a villain,

Millions a hero. Princes were privileged

To kill, and numbers sanctified the crime.


~~ Beilby Porteus (1731-1808) — Death, Line 154 ~~




“The truth is often a terrible weapon of aggression.  It is possible to lie, and even to murder, with the truth.” — Alfred Adler (1870-1937)


“The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president?  What is it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of industrial waste?”  — Dave Barry, On Presidential Politics


“The American Republic and American business are Siamese twins; they came out of the same womb at the same time; they are born in the same principles, and when American business dies, the American republic will die, and when the American Republic dies, American business will die.” — Josiah W. Bailey


“In many if not most elections, the consequences come to about the same  result as two bald men fighting over a comb. Whichever one gets elected is  going to commission the design of a new comb, and it is going to be expensive. Of course, most government expenditures are not as significant as the purchase of a new comb, but the point is made.” — Smart Bee


JUSTICE, n.  A commodity which is a more or less adulterated condition the State sells to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance, taxes and personal service. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perennially rejuvenated illusions.” — Albert Einstein


And remember, let’s do it to them before they do it to us. — Final line, US Senate Oath of Office


“Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits…  For my part I would as soon be descended from [a] baboon … as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies … treats his wives like slaves … and is haunted by the grossest suspicions.” — Charles Darwin (1809-1882)


“Giving power and money to the government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” — P.J. O’Rourke, former Gulf War correspondent, summing up what he learned during two years of research on how our government functions


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


Well, it took eleven pearls, but, I think we finally achieved the proper degree of disdain and vituperation…. If not, we can always try again tomorrow….


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


Just to keep this all in my court, here is another old one of my own….




Random Visions/Coloring Between the Lines of Grief


Everywhere is dark, and shining,

    with points in dissonant pain.

Sharp, senses dull past divining,

   tears burn, a torrential rain.


Escape! Flee within to cower,

    find an unconscious cave.

Call on Morpheus’ power

    deny reality’s beckoning wave.


Light breaks, drawing the inner eye,

    leading to the slippery slope.

Risk is critical, we may only sigh,

   yet welcome, for bringing hope.


Sanity seems far out of reach

    Insanity’s a stronger friend.

Decisions made will merely teach

    our way toward Death to wend. 


Lost, while still on familiar ground,

    the future yet undesigned.

Making way on paths unfound,

    to Now, as yet undefined.


~~ gigoid ~~




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


Okay, not bad…. All that is left now is to put together an old school pearl…. I’m getting a bit dazed and confused; it happens sometimes when the news is making me nervous with its lack of stuff to write about; I’m always concerned the Asininnies are busy behind the scenes, preparing more nasty surprises for us, usually springing their crap on Monday mornings, when everyone is busy worrying about getting back to work…. I think I’ll let Smart Bee pick out the rest…. I’ve chosen the the first two pearls, and SB will choose the other five; for fun, you can try to pick out the two I put in, to see if it is as obvious to you as it is to me…. or, you may just enjoy them, taking the meaning as you may….


“If I do not do it now, when shall I do it?” — Dogen Zenji


“Anacharsis said a man’s felicity consists not in the outward and visible favours and blessings of Fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men, 11


“Here is the beginning of philosophy: a recognition of the conflicts between men, a search for their cause, a condemnation of mere opinion, and the discovery of a standard of judgment.” — Epictetus


“If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.” — Confucius


“Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing.” — Walt Kelly, Putluck Pogo


Well…. There you go. A nearly perfect five-star pearl, to balance the eleven-star version above…. of which I will say this; I could have made that one even longer. There seems to be no end of quotes vilifying the Asininnies; they’ve been a pain in society’s collective ass for a long time… But. these five sparkling gems almost balance out the dirt they tend to toss around….


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


Okay, so much for another morning…. Given the amount of pain in my hands and shoulder, I’m astounded I got this done at all…. I have yet to proof it, but, it felt as if it actually had something worthwhile to say, even if it didn’t say it as well as I might like… Nonetheless, it got said, so, that will have to do for another day…. Living up to that initial quote, from our old friend, Publius Syrus, was harder than it seemed; still, perseverance, as is its habit, managed to win the day…. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Well, that’s my intention, anyway….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Twelve reasons to spit, rather than swallow….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.” 


~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vi, 3 ~~


11-8-2014 002 (2)


     To look at this piece of furniture, you wouldn’t believe it to have any particularly extraordinary qualities, beyond a simple functionality and inoffensive appearance…. By using Marcus Aurelius’ advice, however, we find a peculiar aspect of its existence which may not be explainable by any normal means…. I got the chair at a thrift store, as part of my thus-far-never-ending quest to find a chair that is suitable to sit in for the time I need to be in front of this computer, to compose, to read, and to otherwise multi-task, in short bursts when I can sit for a while without having to squirm, or get stiff… In trying it out in the store, it seemed to be a bit low, but, otherwise might work well for a time….


Well, as it turns out, it IS too low to type comfortably, but, is quite comfortable for watching a video, such as one of my Sherlock Holmes stories, or for reading the news, if no great amount of mouse work is needed…. Unfortunately, the chair also seems to be so comfortable, whenever I’ve sat in it for more than 5 minutes, I start falling asleep, sitting up, which will always give me a stiff neck, from dropping my head forward when I drowse…. This has happened five times now, without fail…. It’s getting to the point I’m beginning to believe the chair has been infused with some kind of magic cannabis cream, or just plain magic, to cause it to turn into a sleep chair, rather than an office chair…


It’s okay, though, I don’t mind having one spot where I know I can get drowsy; the way my sleep pattern goes, I can use all the spots like that I can find…. It’s also given me another intro section, without the need to go off on anyone’s religion, or take a side trip to the land of Odd, (which isn’t far away, in my head…), or even find some actual introductory remarks of a literary nature…. All I had to do is engage in some minor hyperbole, with a dash of stretching the truth of its effect on me, and there we were, two paragraphs down, and running strong….


Of course, right about HERE, we will start to see it fall apart, as my imagination begins to tire, having not yet consumed sufficient coffee, or sugar, to fuel such a complicated, stressful task as this has turned out to be…. I also suspect, if I want to be able to finish this out, without resorting to marginally legal acrobatics, I’m going to have to end it now, before it grows any hair…. The fuzz is already too thick for scissors, and my lopping shears are all dull from using them on my cacti….


It is, no doubt, a good thing the opening to the real world is right over there; we seem to have made good time…. This is what happens when we are lucky enough to start with a decent run at the wall; it doesn’t draw any blood, and we get where we need to go with less fuss, and less chance of litigation, which always pleases my lawyers….. Oops, sorry, got to talking and almost missed the turn…. Hold on ffolkes…. today’s missive could be a bit of a tough roe to hoe…. not to mention the possibility of cloning that is always a risk on Sundays…. (bet you didn’t expect me to remember, did ya?….)


For now, though, it is enough to know, we’re on our way, and nothing the government can do will stop us now….


Shall we Pearl?


“I was contemplating the immortal words of Socrates, who said… I drank what?” —  Shared by Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), Real Genius


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


Today’s video is a political cartoon from Mark Fiore, who makes brilliant short animated videos commenting on current world and national events…. I could not figure out how to embed the video, without joining a web streaming site, which I didn’t wish to join…. But, just follow the link below, and you can see this one, which is another outstanding observation regarding the recent midterm elections…. I won’t ask you to enjoy it, but, I will ask you to watch, and reflect on the information it has to impart….







Oh, heck…. Here, here’s a video for your morning laugh….




Adults Taste Baby Food



































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


“For some reason the little Senators make us laugh.” — Smart Bee


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









Oops…. It seems there is a bit of snark going on between the delusional leaders of one of the more delusional religious organizations, and the political representative their particular group managed to land in the Senate…. It all makes a pretty good example, for me, of how the separation of church and state has been quietly eroded to the point the religious group feels comfortable in making public their influence over their flock members who inhabit the halls of government, using the blackmail of guilt and threat of excommunication to try to force their desires to the forefront of the political agenda.


Now, the bishop of the church, in this case, is in trouble, for bringing it all into the light of day, more than any other reason…. I doubt very much the other church elders had intended for their influence to be outed in that manner, so, they will publicly chastise him, but, in the end, won’t really do much to him, other than muzzling his mouth by moving him to some position not accessible to the media for comment…. Having the Senate majority leader as a church member is a position those leaders will NOT jeopardize for any minor bishop’s cluelessness…. They’ll sacrifice him faster than Pontius Pilate gave up Jesus…


“I have short-term memory loss, though I like to think of it as Presidential eligibility.” — Paula Poundstone







I think I’ve become more angry at this president than any other since, well, I guess the Junior shrub made me maddest, but, then, Bill Clinton was a Bozoid of major proportion, too…. In fact, I think, in my entire life, there is only one man who was elected to the presidency who managed to garner my respect, without making me angry for having to listen to constant, unrelieved lying, or plain stupidity…. and that President (the ONLY one for whom I will capitalize the title….) was probably the LEAST effective of all the twentieth century office-holders, because he spent his entire time in office being neutralized by a Congress held by the opposing party….


His name was Jimmy Carter, and though I don’t usually admire preachers, he is the only HONEST politician I’ve ever seen at that level… the ONLY one…. and, he is the only president in the last century who didn’t made a career out of dishonesty, cheating, and public theft… and I mean the ONLY one…. Every other president, from the beginning of the last century, to the latest rogues elected in this century, has lied to the American public, almost without pause, from the first time they opened their mouths on national TV….


I had hope when Barry was elected; I didn’t know much about him, and some of what he said promised some hope of reform, in at least some areas…. But, he has been one of the greatest of my disappointments, as he has lied the MOST, of any president in recent memory, which is quite a feat, given the past few presidents…. It was unexpected that Obama would be a worse liar than either of the two Shrubs, but, he has proven time and again he is NOT going to tell the entire truth to the American people, especially about his clandestine activities, spying on his own citizens without compunction, and with impunity, thus far…..


“A politician is a man who stands for what he thinks the voters will fall for.” — Smart Bee


If I were the type to use religious expressions, I’d thank God for Edward Snowden, a man I believe future generations will regard on the same level as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Nathan Hale, as one of our greatest patriots…. It pisses me off no end that Barry the O continues to bad-mouth him, as well as refusing to acknowledge his own culpability, as do the rest of the 455 kidnappers of the American Dream, who inhabit the halls of Congress, the White House, and the Federal courthouses…. I accuse them all of treason, not lightly, and not in fun…. Assholes, every damn one of them, only concerned with increasing their personal power, and lining their pockets with our money…..


I know this is the ranting section, so such vituperation isn’t out of place here…. However, this morning I’m a bit on edge, and typing is getting harder every day, so, I’ll leave my rant at that point, which, some would say is quite enough…. It isn’t every day that I accuse the entire government of the US of treason…. but, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one to keep from calling a spade a spade, nor am I one to suffer fools gladly….




But we, who name ourselves its sovereigns, we,

Half dust, half deity, alike unfit

To sink or soar.


~~ Lord Byron (1788-1824) ~~


~~ Manfred, Act i, Sc. 2 ~~




Our government, long ago stolen by corporate and religious influence, to work the will of those who prey on the weak and ignorant, depending on their gullible trust in authority to allow them to lie, cheat, and steal without consequence, has now gotten to a point where they don’t even bother to hide what they’re doing very hard…. They don’t care any more, as they know that nobody has the means, or the wit, to turn against them…. They have fooled 98% of the population into believing them, in whatever they say, and know they won’t be disturbed during their cleaning out of the public’s pockets…..


Bah, humbug! I’m pissed….. and there isn’t much I can do, except this…. So, having done this for today, I’ll leave it here for now…. Stay alert, ffolkes, and call them a liar when they lie… Maybe there is still a chance, if a couple more Ed Snowdens come forth, and tell the people how much they are being fooled, and screwed….. Until then, I’ll keep yelling at them, and about them, as often as I can….




Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Kansas

Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Washington D.C.

Everybody’s clean, it can’t happen here, no, no

And they thought it couldn’t happen here

They were so sure it couldn’t happen here

It can’t happen here


 ~~ Frank Zappa ~~


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


On a day such as this, it’s gotta be Bukowski…. He’s the only one real enough to suit my crusty mood….






hello, how are you?


this fear of being what they are:

dead. 


at least they are not out on the street, they

are careful to stay indoors, those

pasty mad who sit alone before their tv sets,

their lives full of canned, mutilated laughter. 


their ideal neighborhood

of parked cars

of little green lawns

of little homes

the little doors that open and close

as their relatives visit

throughout the holidays

the doors closing

behind the dying who die so slowly

behind the dead who are still alive

in your quiet average neighborhood

of winding streets

of agony

of confusion

of horror

of fear

of ignorance. 


a dog standing behind a fence. 


a man silent at the window.


~~ Charles Bukowski ~~




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


Today’s old-school pearl came together in a rather fractured fashion; nonetheless, it came out well…. Well, it came out, anyway…. I’m not altogether certain the point it is trying to make is one of particular import, other than to each of us on an individual level…. I guess you should just let it flow over you, and if it feels right, let it flow through…. Otherwise, just take it all as good advice for living a life that makes some kind of sense, on a larger scale than the merely personal…. Hmm…. I suppose that may be asking a bit much of an obscure seven-star pearl, but, we’re like that around here….


“Integrity has no need for rules.” — Albert Camus


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


“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.” — Aristotle


“As a rule, there is no surer way to the dislike of men than to behave well where they have behaved badly.” — Lew Wallace


“Lampis the shipowner, on being asked how he acquired his great wealth, replied, “My great wealth was acquired with no difficulty, but my small wealth, my first gains, with much labor.” — Epictetus (c. 55-135 A.D.)


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




How lov’d, how honour’d once avails thee not,

To whom related, or by whom begot;

A heap of dust alone remains of thee:

‘T is all thou art, and all the proud shall be!


~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — To the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady, Line 71 ~~




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


Once more, I’ve pushed beyond my zone of comfort to get this done…. Oh, don’t worry, I’m not saying it makes me special, or that any admiration is due; I’m just glad it isn’t toxic, or overtly offensive to anyone but a preacher, a politician, a corporate snakehead, a pimp, or a myrmidon…. They, of course, may choke on it, as far as I am concerned…. For now, I’ll just bid thee adieu, until tomorrow….


See ya, ffolkes, and remember what Tommy Toilet always says… “Always wipe thoroughly, kids! Rectal itch is NO PICNIC!”© (R. Crumb, 1966, or so….)


Sorry, couldn’t help myself….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Ten superlative reasons to cease and desist….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Be not diverted from your duty by any idle reflections the silly world may make upon you, 


for their censures are not in your power, 


and consequently should not be any part of your concern.”


~~ Epictetus ~~



potd-saturn_3089926k


A Moon of Saturn Throws Its Shadow on the Great Red Spot




Life’s a funny business, isn’t it? We humans have a cultural icon, whom we have named Murphy. This force of nature, representing the power of Entropy in our lives, is common to all cultures on our planet, as a result of our perceptions, which are based on the the principle of the symmetrical balance of force that exists throughout reality; in short, everything exists as part of a universe in which every action has a reaction, every dark a light, every down an up, every yes a no. Our very organs of perception are designed to notice those differences in the substances we perceive, to give us information from the surrounding environs which will enable us to survive…. That is the intent, anyway….


Bit, given the power of stupidity that rules most people’s lives, most of them not only never realize how their senses work… much less what their perceptions MEAN. They also haven’t a clue as to what that might MEAN to them, in a larger sense, as applied to how their own actions affect that universe in which we all reside. This lack of understanding leads to a number of issues that have conspired to delay human advancement over the centuries, especially in terms of the development of the human mind, and cultural advancement…. In truth, we haven’t really gone too far from our origins, as savages, huddling in the cold around a fire we found by accident…


Truth be told, most of the people alive today would be perfectly comfortable living in a cave, with a fire for light and heat, wearing the skins of dead animals to cover them in the cold; those same people are uncomfortable living in today’s world, which asks them to actually USE their brain, rather than just following along behind it, scratching their ass and mumbling about being late for dinner…. Emotionally, we react to the world much the same as those cave dwellers, becoming angry to cover our fear, living with superstitions and delusions as to how the big, scary world out there is so incomprehensible…. So, we make up these supernatural entities who are responsible for all that stuff, and we don’t have to think about it….


I am NOT ranting. I’m not. It may SOUND as if I am, but, let me assure you, I am not…. That will come later, in section two…. I am laying out a premise, which, if reflected upon for a time, can be of use to us…. You don’t have to take it, and put it to use, but, it CAN help in dealing with others, to understand that, most of the people you meet in the world are clueless, and afraid, all the time… They don’t understand why they have to work so hard, just to get by, and never really get anywhere…. They don’t understand the stuff going on around them, so, TV becomes their source for all their opinions, or thoughts of any kind beyond what comprises their next meal…


You may think this discussion shows me as one who does not like people much; in that you’d be perfectly wrong. I love everyone; I also realize most of them don’t have the wit to understand much of what is happening in the world; what is more, some of them are plainly assholes. Those two groups generally end up in conflict, as the assholes try to take all the others have, and push them around unmercifully, while the group being bullied isn’t even aware they are operating in a Stygian darkness, out of which they will never climb to see the light…..


Ah well, that’s life, as they say…. I’m not sure just WHO says it, but, I’ve heard it said, so, that will have to do…. I see I’ve managed to wander around in my own head long enough to call this an intro, so, I’m going to take the money and run…. (What money? Oh, ffolkes, do I really have to explain?…. Sheesh….) Any who, I’d suggest you grab the closest stanchion, or other method of securing your position, because we’re going in, and it could get bumpy….


Shall we Pearl?


“I reject that philosophy. The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.” — Douglas Adams through Dirk Gently


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


Today, or, rather, yesterday, while working ahead on this Pearl, I was feeling a bit curmudgeonly, with a side of sardonicism…. hence, the rant you see below, about the current circus on the public stage around the Ebola virus outbreak…. To counter the sobriety of the piece, while simultaneously providing supportive argumentation for the rant, here is a video that should bring a smile to your face…. Well, unless you have no sense of humor at all, it will…. Plus, if you aren’t careful, this guy will also make you think….




The Best of George Carlin: Exposing our government and fall of humanity one joke at a time



















































 


 


 


 




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




“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” 


~~ from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long ~~




http://time.com/3554336/ebola-poll-quarantine-health-workers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29


The article I wish you to read today, which you may find by following the above link, concerns a poll taken regarding the subject of the Ebola virus, and its visible effects on the American psyche…. Quite simply, I was surprised, nay, astounded beyond belief, at the quantity of SHEER FUCKING STUPIDITY displayed by the American public in this poll… Seven out of ten IDIOTS in this country believe that healthcare workers should have their rights taken away, just because they had the compassion to go to Africa, to help protect THOSE SAME FUCKING IDIOTS from the disease, by treating it there….


As a reward for their compassion, patriotism, and selflessness, seventy-one percent of the Americans polled thought it was okay to confine the workers in quarantine for 21 days, EVEN IF THEY WERE TESTED, AND WERE NOT CARRYING THE VIRUS!  This number clearly indicates how the average American mistrusts science, (because they refuse to spend the energy to understand any of it….), and will do, or agree to ANYTHING, no matter how it affects anyone else, in order to feel safe behind the massive wall of their ignorance….


“In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


The dreaded sea-change, so feared by our founding fathers, has happened…. The American public has been brainwashed to a degree where they will surrender every right they used to have, if only they don’t have to think, or take responsibility for the consequences of their STUPIDITY!


“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.  Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise.” — Tom Paine


The Ebola virus, as I have determined (How? Oh, it wasn’t hard; there is a shitload of information already on file on the ‘Net….), by the evidence we have, is no more dangerous to us than is the virus that causes the common cold, or the yearly flu strains we all are encouraged to be afraid of….as if it were someone else’s planet we live on…. Sure, it’s a nasty little bug, and, it can kill, but, so can a cold, or the flu, if not treated, and allowed to take over the body’s systems, to its detriment…. But, with treatment, the victim has a very good chance of survival, as medical technology has advanced to a point where most people, no matter how ill they become with a viral or bacterial disease, can at least be supported enough to be able to survive, if uncomfortably during the course of the treatment….


But, comparing the number of people who catch it, and those who die, reveals a mortality rate no more disturbing than that of those who have contracted the AIDS virus… which we have learned to fight to a draw in many cases, with hope for future breakthroughs in treatment. This Ebola virus is made more dangerous than it actually is by the reaction of the political leaders of the “civilized” world, who look at the issue as a tool to use to solidify their hold on power, a perfect opportunity for Public Relations posturing; by the media, who use the issue to sell more papers & ads; and by the public, who are too stupid to investigate on their own, allowing the government and media flunkies to blow their fears completely out of proportion, so they can more easily be manipulated…


“How come you never see a politician laugh? Because they know what they’re getting away with, and if they started laughing, they’d never stop.” — Smart Bee


I was extremely proud of that nurse, Kaci Hickox, who has so courageously flipped the finger to all of those stupid people who would, if they could, turn her into another victim, this time at the hands of HER OWN PEOPLE…. The very people for whom she braved the wilds of Africa, to fight their battles at the front line of defense…. For this, that stupid lot of bloody gits turns on her, taking her rights, and trying to make her the victim of their fears and ignorance…. Good on her!….


That’s enough; y’all get the point…. Don’t listen to the idiots, ffolkes…. Let the doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals deal with it, and tell the Beloved Ruling Class, the Preachers, Priests, Imams, and all the other Asininnies who would live their lives in the darkness, if only they can feel safe and protected, without the need to think, or show courage, or, live with any dignity….. well, just tell them to go fuck themselves, hard, in the most inconvenient orifice they possess…. No lubricants allowed….


Now I’ve been vulgar, it must be time to draw to a close…. I’ll leave you with this final thought, with the caveat that you use it as intended….


“Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but habituate yourself to something else.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — How the Semblances of Things are to be combated, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xviii


Obviously, too many people assumed Epictetus was speaking of “thinking”, and decided to habituate themselves to something else…. In which case, they would do well to remember the following, and apply it, instead, to their approach….




Step with care and great tact

And remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft

And never mix up your right foot with your left.


~~ Dr. Suess, Oh, the Places You’ll Go ~~




In short….THINK!


So be it….


gigoid has spoken.


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


It’s an Emily day….. In fact, let’s do double-duty; they’re small…. at least, if all one considers is the number of words…. The images and ideas thereby produced can hardly be judged by the same standard….




Delight becomes pictorial

When viewed through pain,–

More fair, because impossible

That any gain.


The mountain at a given distance

In amber lies;

Approached, the amber flits a little,–

And that’s the skies!


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

—————————————————————-


I died for beauty but was scarce

Adjusted in the tomb,

When one who died for truth was lain

In an adjoining room.


He questioned softly why I failed?

“For beauty,” I replied.

“And I for truth,–the two are one;

We brethren are,” he said.


And so, as kinsmen met a night,

We talked between the rooms,

Until the moss had reached our lips,

And covered up our names. 


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~




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


Today’s fresh, old-school pearl was compiled mostly by Smart Bee…. I am a bit distracted, all in all, (no, I don’t know why, and don’t have the time or inclination to worry about it right now….), but, I think it came out okay, as long as one has a healthy tolerance for nonsense, and/or, implied sardonicism…. That may be so because, for the most part, they are comments about common human behaviors, to some degree… In any case, I should think that virtually anyone can find a chuckle or two in the grouping, and, if lucky, possibly even a chortle….




Col Mustard: “How many husbands have you had?”

Mrs White: “Mine, or others?”


 — Clue —




Apparently heard at a public lecture by the famous C. Northcote Parkinson at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras:  Government’s handling of a difficult matter by appointing a Commission of Enquiry is just like a person going to the toilet — there is a sitting, a report, and then the matter is dropped. — Smart Bee


“I was born by Caesarian section…but not so you’d notice.  It’s just that when I leave a house, I go out through the window.” — Steven Wright


“If you use a waffle iron for a pillow, be sure it is unplugged.” — Gary Owens


“Any man, in the right situation, is capable of murder.  But not any man is  capable of being a good camper.  So, murder and camping are not as similar as you might think.” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey


“I love to go down to the schoolyard and watch all the little children jump up and down and run around yelling and screaming…They don’t know I’m only using blanks.” — Emo Phillips




Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow;

The rest is all but leather or prunello.


~~- Alexander Pope — Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 203 ~~




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


For a morning rife with reasons for things to go badly, today’s effort went well…. I guess that’s karma in action for ya; one never knows how one’s karmic balance stands, do one? Sometimes, I think it’s a bit difficult, because it never seems to match my figures…. I suppose that means that our karma is like a checkbook…. hard to keep in balance…. On that singularly silly note, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
“Banging” seems popular this season….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Friends are needed both for joy and for sorrow.”


~~ Yiddish Proverb ~~


fuzzy Albert


     With a brilliant smile, and a pithy remark for the kids, the Samurai baking enthusiast shouldered his pack, took up his walking stick, and left the building with Elvis…. They didn’t know where they were going, but, they sang happily as the strode along, down the wide pathway leading from the city to the river’s edge. When they came to the water’s edge, they kept walking, straight into the swiftly flowing stream, step by step, until the water covered their heads. A couple of moments later, both men emerged, head-first from the water, as they continued their stroll up the far side of the river’s bed, to the roadway above….


Sliding into the multi-colored VW bug parked at the side of the road, the Samurai baker, turning to Elvis as he turned the key in the ancient car’s ignition, remarked, “Well, do you think any of them bought our story?” “They must have,” replied the King. “They didn’t hassle us about leaving, and if they’d known the whole story, we’d be locked up right and tight!” “You’re right, I guess,” sighed the Samurai, picking a bit of flour from his eyebrows. ” I wonder if they’ll ever get that stuff out of their town fountain’s filter?” “Who cares?”, Elvis grinned, “we’ll be on Mars by then!”


Hmm… a bit cheeky, but, not bad. I suppose, one of these days, I’m going to have to take this process a bit more seriously, by finishing at least a short story based on one of the introductory paragraphs I’ve created here over the years…. If I had any interest at all in ever making any money at this, I’d do that…. but, I don’t, so, if I were y’all, I wouldn’t hold my breath too long….


Speaking of which, I’m not going to make y’all wait too long today to get going. I’ve got a lot to do out in the BBR today, all of which promises to be a lot of fun, and very satisfying, to boot. One is allowed to hope, at least, so, I will. What I will NOT do is belabor any more points, or keep us wandering around in this section. Instead, I’m going to take advantage of that opening right THERE…. and get us out of here…. Hang on, it’ll be another bumpy ride, but, should get us where we need to go…..


Shall we Pearl?


“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


Very good question, Epi…. We’ll get to that….


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


Today’s video selection is another blast from my past… James Taylor’s album titled after one of his biggest hits, is probably one of the all-time best selling albums from that era, so much so, it can be considered to have achieved icon status… I know that it is one of the most fondly remembered albums of my youth, and still manages to hit all the sweet spots…. Enjoy, please…. I did, and am….






 


James Taylor – Sweet Baby James (1970) (Full Album) HD





























































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


“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.” — Isaac Asimov


In the upcoming days/months/years, you’ll see a change in the articles I’ll be using to supplement my arguments, on those subjects about which I rant. I am really tired of depending on just one, or three, or even four news purveyors, as they have all become sycophantically similar in the weight of their computing footprint; loading their pages can take forever, even at current speeds, because they like to include as many photos, videos, and income producing ads as they can… This is an example of how businesses pander to the stupid; they have determined that most of the people on the ‘Net, especially those who will click on anything bright, shiny, or lurid, prefer pix and vids, because they don’t have to read, or think; that’s all done for them…


SFGATE, the New York Times, even the UK Guardian, all have gone to a format heavy on less than challenging materials, though some in-depth, text-heavy reporting can be found on the Guardian, with a bit of digging. Other, internet based companies, like Huff post, and Bloomberg, etc. were already more like People magazine than a hard-line news reporting outlet…. Many of them now also want the reader to register on the site before being allowed to read anything other than headlines; this is so they can obtain your profile data, allowing them to sell that information, opening the registered reader to copious amounts of spam emails, all wanting to sell something, or seduce more data out of the victim…


Rather than spending my time to search far and wide every day for interesting material, both to read, and to use to discuss current affairs, I downloaded a RSS feed aggregate program, from Source Forge, the open source software development organization online, a clearinghouse for programmers working to develop new and more powerful tools, free to all, each one written in open source programming language(s), making them open to being improved by all who use them….


Now, any time I wish, I can open the RSS Owl, and find the latest news from virtually, and literally, any number of sources I wish, including all those I used to have to visit on my own…. The aggregate organizes all of it into appropriate categories, so I can find just the type of news I wish to explore, from all over the world… It starts with several thousand RSS feeds, from all over the internet, and the world, and can filter the results to fit any key words, or types of stories I want it to focus on, giving me just those in the categories I choose…. Pretty nifty, eh? Any time I find a new source of information with an RSS feed, I can add those to my reader, and see whatever they post, within seconds of it going online….


With the national, state, and local midterm elections coming up in a couple of days, I thought it would be good to start the new format/source utilization with a report on some of the issues being decided on Tuesday, all over the country… It’s a pretty good summary piece, and pretty fair-minded for a progressive site like the Daily Kos…. Other examples of new material will follow, as sort of a new kind of pearl…. I’ll see you at the end, hopefully not a bitter one….


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/02/1340952/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Round-up-Fear-and-lying-edition?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29


Well, there you go, ffolkes… This is how the new format, for this section, will look… or, knowing me, by tomorrow it may be completely different… But, rather than keep you now, glazing your eyes over with a rant on the upcoming election tomorrow, I’ll wait until AFTER the election, which promises to provide a wealth of material upon which to rant, as the Democrats and Republicans continue their battle for control of America’s wallet…. I’ll leave y’all with an appropriate thought, or two, as identified by our resident dB, Smart Bee….


“You are all depending for your spirituality on someone else, for your happiness on someone else, for your enlightenment on someone else…. You have been accustomed to being told how far you have advanced, what is your spiritual status. How childish! Who but yourself can tell you if you are incorruptible?… I desire those, who seek to understand me, to be free … from the fear of religion, from the fear of salvation, from the fear of spirituality, from the fear of love, from the fear of death, from the fear of life itself…. You can form other organizations and expect someone else. With that I am not concerned, nor with creating new cages, new decorations for those cages. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free.” — Krishnamurti (1895-1986) From his last speech to the Theosophical Society


Me, too….


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


One of the blogs I follow is that of a poetess of great talent, who writes under her own name, Mari Sanchez Cayuso…. She posted a blog with a short paean to Ms. Plath, which reminded me it had been a while since we’ve used her poems…. Here, then, is one of my favorites of hers, though all of what she wrote is pretty amazing…. Loosen up any resident constraints upon your imagination, ffolkes, you’ll need it to read Sylvia….




Witch Burning


In the marketplace they are piling the dry sticks.

A thicket of shadows is a poor coat. I inhabit

The wax image of myself, a doll’s body.

Sickness begins here: I am the dartboard for witches.

Only the devil can eat the devil out.

In the month of red leaves I climb to a bed of fire.


It is easy to blame the dark: the mouth of a door,

The cellar’s belly. They’ve blown my sparkler out.

A black-sharded lady keeps me in parrot cage.

What large eyes the dead have!

I am intimate with a hairy spirit.

Smoke wheels from the beak of this empty jar.


If I am a little one, I can do no harm.

If I don’t move about, I’ll knock nothing over. So I said,

Sitting under a potlid, tiny and inert as a rice grain.

They are turning the burners up, ring after ring.

We are full of starch, my small white fellows. We grow.

It hurts at first. The red tongues will teach the truth.


Mother of beetles, only unclench your hand:

I’ll fly through the candle’s mouth like a singeless moth.

Give me back my shape. I am ready to construe the days

I coupled with dust in the shadow of a stone.

My ankles brighten. Brightness ascends my thighs.

I am lost, I am lost, in the robes of all this light. 


~~ Sylvia Plath ~~




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


Y’all have been here before (unless you’re a virgin Gentle Reader…), you know what to do…. So, do it…. Today, we are, once again, talking about LIFE AT LARGE, as it applies to us naked apes….


“Everything is in a state of metamorphosis. Thou thyself art in everlasting change and in corruption to correspond; so is the whole universe.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 19


“The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind.” — Albert Camus


“Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.” — Friedrich Nietzsche


“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.” — Nikos Kazantzakis


“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will.” — George Bernard Shaw


“Sometimes I think we’re alone. Sometimes I think we’re not. In either case, the thought is quite staggering.” — R. Buckminster Fuller




Pity this busy monster, manunkind, not.

Progress is a comfortable disease.


~~ e.e. cummings, One Times One ~~




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


Today’s Pearl is now in that state in which I am able to pronounce it done… or, close enough for our purposes…. Since the BBR is calling me, I shall be off…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!




 À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
And another one bites the dust, dubiously….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Life is the sum of all your choices.”


~~ Albert Camus ~~





It might look like as spoked wheel or even a "Chakram" circular weapon wielded by television's fictional warrior Xena, but this ringed galaxy is actually a vast place of stellar life. A newly released image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the ga

NGC 1291, through NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope


Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 




The Beatles first major international hit song was “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, with Paul belting out the high notes in that pure Scottish tenor, as yet untrained to any great degree, but, showing the promise of his later efforts. That song came out in 1963, before my birthday, so I was still 12 years old…. A few years later, they released another song, about aging, from the point of view of a twenty-something, titled, “When I’m 64”. That song became one of their biggest hits, off one of their best selling albums, and to this day remains an iconic number, that McCartney still plays at his concerts, now and then….


A few days ago, I explained its relevance, but, my site hasn’t had a lot of traffic lately, so I’ll reiterate for those who’ve been avoiding my incredibly long rants, or have been otherwise busily occupied…. Today is my 64th birthday. I had hoped to have a good day, but, it isn’t looking promising at this point. Without going into tedious details, let it suffice to say I’ll be continuing my battle with an incredibly huge, incredibly evil HMO corporation…. They’ve won the last couple of battles, thanks to some support from their equally evil co-conspirators against the public good, to wit: the government….


Both of them are working at their usual stand, doing all they can to make life less comfortable, and much less profitable for the public, while simultaneously continuing to rip off every penny they can from the public treasury, and the pockets of their so-called “members”, with their selfish padding of every salable item they offer as a ‘service’…. Really? Each tissue one uses in a hospital stay is worth $12 a box? A pill taken by a patient costs $2 or more EACH, when it is impossible for the cost of production to exceed a percentage of ONE PENNY…. Those are typical price points in the healthcare field, and are NOT an exaggeration, so, they are making a profit, hand over fist, on everything they charge for, an endless list….


I see I have indulged myself already, by making a good start on a rant here in the intro, as is my bad habit…. In the interests of efficiency, we’ll call that an intro, but, we won’t be proud of it, okay? I AM trying to rant here less often, but, there are so many targets in our world, they seem to jump up while I’m writing, to insist on being discussed, or included in the day’s subject matter listings, with such piteous expressions of sincerity and purpose, I can’t resist…. Ah well, at least it brought us to this point, where we may do this…. Hang on tight….


Shall we Pearl?…..


“It is as useless to argue with those that have renounced the use and authority of reason as to administer medication to the dead.” — Thomas Paine


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


As mentioned, it’s my birthday, so, today’s selection is a nod to my status as a hippie, since the age of seventeen, when I went off to college at UC Berkeley, where I found a city full of like-minded young, inquiring minds…. This band, if any musical group could be said to do so, epitomized the ambiance and philosophy of the time….. Enjoy, and especially enjoy some of the concerts listed on the same page you find this sound track…. When you learn to ignore the occasional miscue in tuning of guitars, and the weak voices of young artists still reaching for their potential, you can see, and hear, the improvisational genius  that was this band’s legacy….. Abondanza!




The Grateful Dead: American Beauty – Full Album



















































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


Since it’s a special day for me, I don’t much feel like putting myself into ranting mode, though, if the intro is any indication, it wouldn’t be too difficult to get there in my head…. But, let’s do this instead…. Nearly a couple years ago, I wrote some pretty good rants, one of which I will reproduce this morning, as the subject matter, i.e., Sun Tzu’s Art of War, has been much on my mind of late, due to my ongoing battles with HMO organizations… Rather than work myself up this morning, here is a good sublimation to fill in this section…. As most of my rants are, it is still very relevant to today’s issues in our society…. or, what passes for society amongst the humans on this planet….


From 1/29/2013:




In difficult ground, press on;

In encircled ground, devise stratagems;

In death ground, fight.


~~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War (circa 400 B.C.) ~~




The Art of War is still considered by military experts to be one of the definitive books on warfare and strategy, after more than 2000 years. I’m not certain, but would certainly be surprised if it is not still used as a reference at West Point, Annapolis, The Citadel, and the Air Force Academy in classes on tactics and strategy in battle, and in peace time. In the book, which is actually quite short, Sun Tzu gives the basic tenets for success in war, and was so perfectly correct that it remains valid today, even though the landscape of war has grown much larger, and more complex. The issues that can decide victory or defeat remain the same……


One of the most surprising features of the book is the idea that Sun Tzu presents regarding the perfect warrior. In his mind, warriors came in a number of types, each of which required a different method of leadership. The surprise lies in his choice of the type of warrior that he considers to be the most valuable; oddly enough, on the surface he chose… the Spy…..


Not the weapons master, not the brilliant tactician, not the engineer… the spy. According to Sun Tzu, a properly trained and experienced agent provocateur was, by far, the most valuable type of warrior, for, with the proper application of truth and lies, and the correct timing, battles might be won without loss of life or property, or with a minimum of effort, due to the efforts before the battle by the spy. This choice indicates that Sun Tzu recognized the true battle that is waging at all times when people interact with each other…. the battle between truth and lies…..


We see this battle raging in our own society every day, as the politicians vie with each other to see which one can get the furthest from the truth and still convince people they aren’t full of shit. When we see priests telling us that we aren’t the masters of our own bodies or minds, and expect us to not even ask why, we are witnessing the constant struggle for control of our minds… and our pocketbooks…. The former, of course, will always lead to the latter, and you can bet your booties that it is the pocketbooks that the preachers and politicians are concerned with, not just our minds, or our souls….. You betcha, compadre…




She was a wight, if ever such wight were,–

Des. To do what?

Iago. To suckle fools and chronicle small beer.

Des. O most lame and impotent conclusion!


~~ William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Othello — Act ii, Sc. 1 ~~




Normally, or as close as we get to normally, I wouldn’t use a Shakespeare quote, and this one probably shows why, very well… I can’t for the life of me figure out what the hell any of it means, but the last line struck home for this discussion… Before what I am saying reaches the point where the last line might apply, I will refer you to the book itself…..  The Art of War, by Sun Tzu;  copies of it are available at any bookstore, and probably online in a number of places.


It is a fairly quick read, (though there are points that do require some thought and pondering), being less than a hundred pages in most of the versions I’ve seen. As I said above, it’s pretty simply written, but covers all that is needed to get his point across, which has to do with winning, not just at war, but in life. As with many things in Chinese culture, there is more to the subject than may be apparent on first view, and it is worth the time to look more deeply into what Sun Tzu has told us….




But war ‘s a game which were their subjects wise

Kings would not play at.


~~ William Cowper (1731-1800)  ~~


~~The Task, Book v, The Winter Morning Walk, Line 187 ~~




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


While perusing old Pearls to find material for today, this came up, a poem which fits today’s general theme too perfectly to resist….


From 2/7/2013:


Of late, I’ve been writing quite a bit on aging, and it’s effect on me…  an occupational hazard, I suppose, for us retirees. Last night, I was reading some WordPress blogs, and was introduced to this Australian contemporary poet, David Lewis Paget. In looking through his poems on PoemHunter.com, I found this one, which speaks very eloquently of this period of life, and beyond, and I’m happy to include it here as part of the ongoing discussion…. It’s a bit long, but worth it…. Enjoy!….




Age Rage


I was wandering through the Nursing Home

In the town of Morton Rise, 

Seeking an old and weathered face 

That I’d known in another guise, 

For Richard Spratt was my father’s friend

That I hadn’t seen for years, 

I was going to let him know his friend

Had taken a turn for the worse.


The eyes that stared from the armchairs there

Were blank, and devoid of pain, 

They’d taken the pills that dulled them down

So they wouldn’t be restrained, 

The nurses treated them all as fools

This gross humanity, 

Whose only sin was they’d given in

To age, and infirmity.


It was all so very depressing, I

Imagined my future there, 

Staring in immobility

From the prison of one of their chairs, 

Waiting my turn to be spoon-fed

By a very impatient nurse, 

Who shovelled the food all over my chin

As I sat, and inwardly cursed.


I wandered the home there, room by room

In search of his friendly face, 

This Richard Spratt in a cricketer’s hat

I remembered from Ambergate, 

He’d batted a decent fifty, while

My father polished the ball, 

And took five wickets alone that day

In his bowling, over all.


It was nigh on forty years before

That I’d watched them play as a child, 

Out on the green at Ambergate

With the weather, warm and mild, 

But the years dismay as they pass away

And my father grew so old, 

Now he lay in bed in a kind of dread

As the bell of his lifetime tolled.


I said that I’d find his friend for him

And let him know, at the last, 

That he was remembered, thick and thin

For a friendship, forged in the past, 

There were days when they both had sunny skies

And met each day with a grin, 

But time drew shrouds like storm-filled clouds

And the end was looking grim.


I heard a shout from a private room

And went to investigate, 

Quite a commotion in the gloom, 

I hoped I wasn’t too late, 

And there was a nurse stood over him

In a wheelchair, Richard Spratt, 

He’d thrown his meds all over the room

And sat in his cricketer’s hat.


‘You know what to do with your pills, you witch, ‘

He shouted, and turned to see

Just who was stood in the doorway, I

Was grinning from ear to ear, 

‘Well I’ll be… You can get out of here! ‘

He said to the wayward nurse, 

Who said, ‘If you’re going to be like that…’

And left the room, with a curse.


I told the news of my father then

And I swear, he sat and cried, 

Just a couple of tears escaped

That he hid, he still had pride, 

‘Life is a trail of sorrow, son, 

But we’re all on the same long train, 

Your dad and I in the tunnel, while

Your carriage is still on the plain.’


‘What do you value of life the most? ‘

I saw the pain in his eyes, 

‘Youth was that great and precious thing

That with age, you realise! 

I’d give it all for an hour to spend

In the glow of my lady’s eyes, 

The touch of her skin and a hint of sin

But the thing that we love, it dies! ‘


‘I’ve often thought of those balmy days

On the green in our cricket whites, 

And think I hear the crack of the ball

On the willow of sweet delight, 

I remember your father’s terse ‘Howzat! ‘

When he scattered another’s bails, 

Now I sit in this prisoning wheelchair, here

And all I can hear are wails.’


‘Wails from the ones who want to die, 

Wails that they want to live, 

The future is lost to the best of us

We have but the past to give.

You’d like to know how I feel right now, 

Like a leopard, caught in a cage, 

If only I could be young once more…

But all that I feel is rage!’


David Lewis Paget  


4 October 2012


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


Other than the intro and closing sections, this is the freshest part of today’s Pearl…. It’s an abstruse little group, commenting, it seems, once again, on the vagaries and idiosyncrasies that occur as part of being human, focusing, as always, on how live a full life, in an ethical fashion that preserves honor, rather than destroying it….


“A man’s true wealth is the good he does in the world.” — Mohammed (570-632 A.D.)


“One cannot play chess if one becomes aware of the pieces as living souls and of the fact that the Whites and the Blacks have more in common with each other than with the players. Suddenly one loses all interest in who will be champion.” — Anatol Rapoport


“… denn da ist keine Stelle, die dich nicht sieht. Du musst dein Leben andern.” ~~ (… for there is no place that does not see you. You must change your life.) — Rainer Maria Rilke, “Archaic Torso of Apollo”


“Nobody does good to man with impunity.” — Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)


“A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart, his next to escape the censures of the world.” — English Proverb


“Why, then, do you walk as if you had swallowed a ramrod?” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxi




I have known noble ones who lost their highest hope,

and then they disparaged all high hopes.

They lived shamelessly in temporary pleasures,

and hardly had an aim beyond the day.

“Spirit is also voluptuousness,” they said.

Then they broke the wings of their spirit;

it now creeps about, and defiles whatever it gnaws at.

Once they thought of becoming heroes,

but they have become sensualists.

A trouble and a terror is the hero to them.

By my love and hope, I implore you:

do not cast away the hero in your soul.

Maintain holy your highest hope.

Thus spoke Zarathustra.


~~ Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” ~~




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


I have yet to go back over this, to see how it turned out…. I will say this, though…. I’m pretty sure it isn’t too bad, and is certainly more than I intended when I began today…. In any case, it’s done, so, I’ll get it posted, then go see if I can find some kind of mischief to get into that will help me feel a bit younger, if only for a short time….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. I have high hopes of that, anyway….. Maybe I can find that hero in my soul….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….