Fricasseed rutabaga with mulled acorn sauce….

Posted on October 21, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion — i.e., none to speak of.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

The picture today goes to show that, a) timing IS everything, and b) even amateurs get lucky sometimes…. I took this from the deck of a cruise ship while docked in Scotland, at Greenock, the port town closest to Glasgow. After some mild fixing of the picture’s features to bring out it’s best appearance, it became clear the sky to the right side is different from the sky on the opposite, left side, with the rainbow serving to mark the line between the two opposing filtered views…. One obviously is where the rain is still falling, producing the rainbow as the light is broken up passing through the raindrops, each of which acts as a small prism, breaking the white, transparent light into its component colors…

For me, knowing what is happening doesn’t reduce the beauty, or the wonder of a rainbow….. One does not have to subscribe to the myths that grow up around such natural displays in order to appreciate the beauty; for me, just seeing it is wonder enough. That I can comprehend the process makes it more precious to me, as an example of how the universe yields its treasures to us little by little, exposing us to its idiosyncrasies and oddities one at a time, to allow us to study, and reason, and apply the power of our imagination to satisfy that monkey-curiosity, so much a part of us, which demands we know the WHY of all we see before us….

That, as you can see, is a fairly objective, yet accurate assessment of part of our nature, or, at least, that part of it I allow to affect my life…. We do, of course, have options, choices of what to believe, and how to act; as we learn, we know more how to make those acts the right actions, that will make life better for all of us, rather than choosing to behave in ways that cause trouble, for myself, or for others…. Sadly, mental discipline, and the power of reasoning, is all-too-often utilized by those who have chosen to assume the mantle of predator, a choice our entire culture seems to adopt at times, a choice which has turned our society into one marked by violence, and, in my view, insanity on a global scale….

Now, perhaps, you will see my own problem, at least in terms of writing this blog…. Starting out with the beauty and wonder of a rainbow, I end up ranting about human nature, with implications of impending global doom, in less than four paragraphs…. If it weren’t such a PITA, I might consider it a gift, of sorts….. But, my readership numbers seem to indicate it has become old, which, I am sure, it is…. Even I am getting tired of spouting off against the idiots who are making our world such a fucked up mess, threatening to kill us all by drowning us in our own shit (figuratively speaking, though, not by much….); my spouting doesn’t seem to have much effect….

Plus, if I rant here in the intro section, it diminishes the impact, if any, of whatever rant I’m planning for section two…. SIGH…. It’s a conundrum for which there may be no solution, given my own nature, and my need to write in order to maintain any semblance of sanity….. Oh, well, there isn’t anything to be done about it just now, so, I guess I’ll take advantage of the exit I see coming up, thus kick-starting the rest of today’s effort, such as it may be…. Hang on, ffolkes, that exit hole looks a little tight….

Shall we Pearl?

“A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.” — Buddha

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Whether you realize it or not, you’ve heard this woman’s music…. In today’s world, it would be hard NOT to hear it, as she, and her band of string artistes, made the music for a movie that all of society has either seen, or heard of….. I speak of the Lord of The Rings, of course, in the movie version…. Angele and the band played the theme song written for the first movie, The Fellowship of The Ring, entitled “Concerning Hobbits”, which you will hear in one of the first two or three pieces in this collection of their work; it will sound very familiar, as it has been all over the airwaves since the movie came out…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this is a great band….

Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà: 50 videos

http://youtu.be/zUWneBGoTh8?list=PLws4cSjvcS5q5x_v79DoLDqyonAH1nCtm

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I am apparently burnt on ranting; I don’t seem able to work up the angst to begin…. Ah, well, I’ve done so much of it in the past, there’s always one that will work…. here, for example, is a good one from last year, just after I got back from Europe…..

From 5/30/2013:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle

For much of my life, since reaching what I like to call the age of reason, at about 10 or 11 years of age, I have been aware of this aphorism from Aristotle. If not the aphorism itself, the principle was clear to me from a young age, and I chose then to always strive to be excellent, in whatever I chose to do. You see, I also found out, it requires a deliberate choice to pursue excellence, because it a) doesn’t just happen by itself, and b) it annoys other people. It is the second factor that dictates the need to make a deliberate choice; most people make the opposite choice, to be average, to not stand out too much, unless it is to their advantage to do so, to control or impress others, not for the state of being excellent.

More explicitly, most people try to excel at tasks, or games, or whatever, in order to promote their own agenda, not for the sake of just wanting to do things right, or to scratch the itch of curiosity, or to be the best person one can be. And society at large is quick to show their disapproval if someone is too different in this respect; the normals are afraid of both of the other ends of the human spectrum, the incurably unintelligent AND those who perceive more, and when most people are afraid of something, they make life hard for it, if not downright unbearable, and/or dangerous. Pink monkeys don’t go over well in a brown monkey tree….. They tend to either leave the forest, live in misery, or dye their fur brown, in short order….

This is why the choice must be made, to pursue excellence; it’s not an easy decision, but critically important. It is also a decision that can’t be made half-way; once committed, it extends to EVERY area of one’s existence, requiring effort and dedication to achieve to any significant degree. I can only speak for myself, but it was the best decision of my early years, and I have never regretted making it, because the rewards are much greater than mere comfort, or any other I can think of that comes with giving in to peer pressure; to live with not seeking all there is to see, hear, and do in life, and do it with style, intelligence, and honor.

“By steadily disciplining the animal nature, until it becomes one pointed, it is possible to establish conscious awareness of The Eternal.” — Lao-Tzu

This is a bit metaphorical, but describes well the intensity and consistency of effort that is required to maintain an excellent attitude about life. It’s hard to keep it up all the time, and I have to admit I’m as human as anyone else, and get tired, not to say just plain frustrated, when I cannot easily, or even eventually, reach the goals I’ve set for myself. Fortunately, I also know that being human is okay, and just because I am not always at my best, does not mean it is not still within me, ever within my reach, whenever my perceptions are clear enough to show me the way. The path to Truth, fortunately, is always well lighted, though it may get confusing, and sometimes seem dark through the power of illusion; it never stops being the Truth, though, and that makes it always attainable….

Perhaps there will be some who will read this treatise, and think it arrogant, or condescending; I hope not, because it isn’t intended to be so. It is intended to be a sharing, of the understanding I have that can be of help to anyone in their life. This understanding is based on what I know to be true, and not on fear, or lack of understanding of what is real, in both Nature, and in people. There is great potential in people, much more than we, as a species, or as individuals, ever achieve…. partly because much of humanity is content to be normal, to sit back and let other people decide how the world should go, because it’s too much work to try to control their own world.

We can be so much more than a society of couch potatoes, sagely listening and nodding our heads in agreement with the talking heads we see on the Tube, or laughing ourselves mindless over the insane, or downright stupid acts of imaginary people meant to be metaphorical, but only seen as role models for a reality that doesn’t exist. Even the advent of computer technology, with all its nearly unlimited potential for what only twenty years ago would have been called “magic”, has not inspired people to strive to be excellent, in work, in play, or in ethics; certainly not in government. Instead, we are drowning ourselves in fashion apps, or photo apps, or social media apps, and losing even more connection with the real world in the process….

Ah well, I suppose all will turn out how it will, in spite of my objections, or anyone else’s indifference. C’est la vie, as the French would say…. such is life; I think it appropriate that we hear from the ancient sages about that, as we started, to close this series of thoughts and rambles perfectly… well, maybe only one ancient sage…..

So be it…. gigoid has spoken.

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According to the above rant, this poem of mine goes well with the theme, so, here ’tis….

A Failure to Germinate

Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.

Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.

Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.

I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.

My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.

Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
that reality has boasted of proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Man, n.: An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth and Canada. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Day before yesterday, for some unknown reason, I took a moment during the day to sit down & just go through Smart Bee, to see if it had resolved whatever issue(s) that have been bothering it, preventing it from cooperating with any searches to any appreciable degree…. I don’t know yet if it has resolved those issues, but, this time, it regurgitated so many pearls, all on the subject indicated by the entry above, from the Dictionary I use most often, including, it seems, the concomitant subject of Life at Large, especially as it applies to Life in this country…. It was so prolific I had to create the first-ever 13 star pearl, just to include all the stuff it threw at me that fit…. plus an intro, and a closing pearl, to seal the deal with a flourish…

Enjoy, ffolkes, and don’t worry; this one explains itself as it goes along. You won’t have any trouble keeping up…..

“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of the colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” — Robert F. Kennedy Speech, South Africa, 1966

“I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of.” — Clarence Darrow

“He who dies for virtue, does not perish.” — Plautus (B.C. 254-184)

“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.” — Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961)

“Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and miss.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 4, 1791

“The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all evil that is in the world.” — Max Born, physicist

“Aryse ye techno Serfs! Let us seek out the bloated aristocrats, and roast them in their own juice upon the fires of righteousness and justice!” — Dan, rabble rousing the contractors

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

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

“The three branches of government: lobbyists, media, PAC’s.” — Smart Bee

“I love my country too much to be a nationalist.” — Albert Camus

See? Told ya…. However, my lawyer tells me I should provide a disclaimer with this one, so, here it is, in all its marginally (il)legal glory….

“I demand IMPUNITY!” — Zippy the Pinhead

YOW! ‘Nuff said….

So be it….

gigoid has spoken, more’s the pity…..

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So much for planning…. Without going into the details, let me just say…. HONK! That’s all ffolkes, I can do no more damage, and may just cause actual trouble if I continue, so, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

The replacement toads are working fine….

Posted on October 17, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Be slow in choosing a friend, but slower in changing him.”

~~ Scottish Proverb ~~

Yesterday gone, now, brain tired. Sleep good, not long enough. Pronouns lost. Can’t find, don’t care. Bogus, again….

Well, I’m not sure just what that means, or where it came from…. To look at it from here, it almost seems as if the poor, wee penguin lad or lassie we see here is saying all that; its expression certainly seems to fit. I happen to know, however, that I wrote the above, in perfect sincerity, at the time, so, it wouldn’t be fair, or even legal to blame the bird, even if it isn’t a member of my church (which I don’t have, anyway…. a church, that is….). There are strict laws about pinnipeds, you know…. Besides, it’s too cute to abuse….

Of course, the fact I won’t allow myself to abuse even a bird kind of sets me apart from the general run of humanity, but, that’s okay. I’ve always felt a bit out of it, in the sense that I’m different than the average bear…. much like Yogi, if you think about it…. or, maybe Boo Boo, who had several IQ points more than Yogi displayed. I suppose, if you stop to consider, even that makes me different, for most of the folks who make up humanity don’t analyze cartoons, or compare bears to people…. more’s the pity….

Don’t worry, I’m not going to use that as an excuse to rant in the intro again. I’ve given myself a stern talking-to about that, and we’re hoping for some good results from that…. It sees to be helping today’s post, at least, as I haven’t gone sober on you yet, but, hey, the day is young…. but, since we’re in the query mode, how do y’all think it’s working? Is this any better than usual? Or, is it just as bozoid, unorganized, and silly as most of my beginnings? Hmm….. I may have just answered myself….

Oh well, it worked well enough to get us this far; I see an exit opening up not far away…. Good thing, too, as my hands and shoulders aren’t holding up too well today…. even with magic cream, it’s getting hard to type for long…. I’m going to have to consider getting myself some voice recognition software for the computer, so I can speak my Pearls…. Soon enough, I won’t be able to type well enough to keep it up. For the moment, though, I’ve managed to get far enough to be in reach of that exit I mentioned…. so, I’ll use my new-found ruthlessness to get us on into the day….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action.” — Frank Herbert

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“I don’t know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.” — George Bush in Free Inquiry magazine, Fall 1988

Let’s talk about….. stupidity. It’s a subject all humans need to be aware of, not just because it can be troublesome for them in their own private lives, but, due to having reached epidemic proportions in society at large, it has begun to affect public life, as well…. a fact which only makes sense, as human nature will, of course, always affect human society…., No matter how much we like to think of ourselves as intelligent, or competent, the power of stupidity, to make itself felt in human affairs, is enormous; we tend to forget that we have a duality of nature that allows that sort of conundrum, in almost every human endeavor….

The above statement, from one of the Shrubs (which one really doesn’t matter; the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in that family….), is, patently, false, and is obviously a result of the ubiquitous human tendency to assign meaning to symbols, and, in the process, to assume truth, when it is actually false…. The word is NOT the thing; nothing we say or do will actually change that; it is only our own human (stupid) mental habit of assuming it can, that allows such egregiously false statements to occur at all…. People WANT it to be true, so, they assume it is, just because they say it is…. typical “ipse dixit” reasoning….

“I think as long as you suffer for your sins, they don’t count.” — Calvin

Ipse dixit, “He himself said it”, is the same sort of reasoning as this little gem of immorality from Calvin, speaking, in this case, without Hobbes’ input, obviously. It arises from the set of delusional beliefs taught by almost every religion, for each one is convinced they are the ONLY right set of beliefs, because their own particular prophet, or reformer, said it was so…. This leads, every time, to a sense of false entitlement, based solely on beliefs held without any evidence of support, or, for that matter, any evidence at all, beyond the fact that it was claimed by someone to be true….

The problem we have, here in the good old US of A, is that the people who are holding those delusions as true are the sworn leaders of the country, so, when they come out with bullshit like this, a lot of foolish, gullible people believe him, and will thence act as if it is true, when, if one is at all familiar with those documents upon which this country was founded, one can see the above statement, by a former president, no less, is completely false, and gives a very clear indication of how things are going wrong for all of us….

I could rant on this one all day; there are any number of quotes and aphorisms on the subject, each of which could conceivably lead us into another aspect of the issue, thus increasing our understanding, as well as boring us to tears…. Hah! Caught y’all, didn’t I? I can feel y’all glazing over, and leaning toward skipping down to the music video, so, instead of taking this further, we’ll just drive the point home with an old-school thrashing of our beloved ruling class, with some comments/observations on politicians, preachers, pimps, myrmidons, and those of their ilk (you know, the ones we call Asininnies…. when we’re not calling them assholes….) It will be a severe thrashing, too, with nine pearls to smite them….

“Perhaps the most widespread illusion is that if we were in power we would behave very differently from those who now hold it — when, in truth, in order to get power we would have to become very much like them.” — (Lenin’s fatal mistake, both in theory and in practice.)

“Governments which suppress freedom of speech… act like children who shut their eyes in order not to be seen.” — Ludwig Boerne, _Die Freiheit der Presse in Baiern_, 1818

“Being against torture ought to be sort of a multi-partisan thing.” — Karl Lehenbauer, as amended by Jeff Daiell, a Libertarian

“I’ll put an end to the idea that a woman’s body belongs to her . . . the practice of abortion shall be exterminated with a strong hand.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), “Mein Kampf”

(This one may seem a bit harsh, and/or out of place. to some…. But, I say, NOPE…. This is EXACTLY the same sort of attitude all too many of our elected officials possess, today…. so, nope….not too harsh as an indictment of the modern politician….) (See: Tea Party….)

“I think there are only three things America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music, and baseball.” — Gerald Early, writer, baseball documentary, 1994

“Lysander said that the law spoke too softly to be heard in such a noise of war.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Caius Marius

“Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike.” — Plato, The Republic. Book VIII. 558

“Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)

“Never appeal to a man’s “better nature.” He may not have one. Invoking his self-interest gives you more leverage.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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I didn’t get to see this group when they were touring, back in the day, but, I heard this album within days of its release; it has remained a favorite of mine ever since. At 14:12 on this video, the band jumps into a song, entitled “Only You Know and I Know”, in which Eric Clapton goes into a completely insane lead guitar riff, covering almost a full minute, that I consider to one of the very finest pieces of improvisational genius I have ever heard, from him, or any other guitarist, in the entire history of Rock and Roll, which I have personally witnessed from Day One…. No shit, ffolkes…. If you play, or just love guitar, you will be amazed; it’s almost orgasmic…. The rest of the album rocks out, too…. Turn it all the way up for this one, ffolkes, it’s the only way to hear it….

Delaney & Bonnie and Friends: On Tour with Eric Clapton (1970) Full Album

http://youtu.be/BscKvUJVmLA

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This poem was written on a day like yesterday…. It’s one I don’t think I can do any better, or say any of this more accurately…. I suppose, if I were a bit more evolved, I’d be able to be thankful that my pain and misery can at least stimulate me into bleeding this kind of insight onto the page…. Can’t honestly say I am, though…. but, at least this one affords me some small degree of post-misery relief, pointing out the path to serenity….

Raging at Aging

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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Smart Bee seems to be trying to have some fun today; the first five quotes came up within moments of each other, in order, so, the rest must be just waiting for us…. Let’s see what there is for us to find, shall we? Careful, though, I’m letting SB have total control, so, be alert…. The only parameter I asked for was to choose from the subject of humanity, warts and all….

“It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one’s neighbor.”– Eric Hoffer

“Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Where can you find a good lawyer? In the cemetery.” — Smart Bee

“Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.” — W. Somerset Maugham

“It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.” — Arthur C. Clarke

“A reverence for life does not require one to respect nature’s obvious mistakes.” — Robert A. Heinlein

“If what the philosophers say be true,–that all men’s actions proceed from one source; that as they assent from a persuasion that a thing is so, and dissent from a persuasion that it is not, and suspend their judgment from a persuasion that it is uncertain,–so likewise they seek a thing from a persuasion that it is for their advantage.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xviii

Oops…. Smart Bee tried to lose us there, didn’t it?…. Talk about quick changes; that was like a 180º turn in mid-air at 300 mph; at the apex of the turn, one would be hitting about, oh, 6-8 g’s, I think. If we hadn’t been paying attention, it would have smeared us right up against the cabin wall in the rear of the vehicle…. and, all that for a long winded way to say people will, whenever they can, look out for Number One before anything else…. I suppose this means we need a couple more pearls, just to finish it out with a bit of smooth, to counteract the rapid mind fuck SB attempted….

SIGH…. It’s too bad…. Things were Going So Well, too….

BTW, FWIW, IMHO, yes. OTOH, AAMOF, maybe not. — Smart Bee

“A closed mouth gathers no feet.” — Finster’s Law

I guess we should have looked at the last one first; it may have saved us a bit of aggravation, if not time…. Oh, well, at least it’s the last section for today…. Gee, how did he do that?….

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Well…. In spite of myself, I got it done. Some of the above was produced yesterday, during the less miserable moments of the day, and, after I had already gone through the morning’s extreme annoyances…. I was nice today, and didn’t share all that with you; you may thank me later…. Today, I must, again, sally forth into the Big Blue Room, to do battle with the huge bureaucratic forces of evil, otherwise known as Kaiser Permanente, to try to figure out how to decrease the number of days I lose to physical issues…. Wish me luck; I’m going to need a lot of it….. At least I can feel some sense of accomplishment, for having gotten this done in a timely fashion…. even if I did have to get up early to do it….

Enough, I’m out of cheese, so I don’t need any whine…. Reality doesn’t care, anyway, so, I may as well keep the rest to myself…. 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.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

2nd door on the left….flush twice….

Posted on October 14, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Of all the gods, Death only craves not gifts:
Nor sacrifice, nor yet drink-offering poured
Avails; no altars hath he, nor is soothed
By hymns of praise. From him alone of all
The powers of heaven Persuasion holds aloof.

~~ Aeschylus (525-456 BC) ~~

— Frag. 146 (trans. by Plumptre) —

To look at these flowers, bright, plentiful, full of life, one might think it did not fit with the quote from Aeschylus, but, one would be wrong, wouldn’t one? Death comes to all of us, no matter how alive we feel at the time of its arrival…. nor does it care how blue we are, nor how bright…. And, as the poem says, it takes no excuses, no delays, and no arguments; when it is time, one has no choice but to go with Death, wherever it may lead us….

A bit of a grim outlook, unless one is confident of what happens afterward, it would seem, unless, and until, one considers Life, and consciousness as a form of energy…. Since energy cannot be destroyed, only altered in form (as water is…. wonderful synchronicity there….), the only question to be answered is WHERE does that consciousness GO? I’m afraid there isn’t any evidence available to tell us, other than the fantasies made up by a number of religiously minded folks; those, however, do not place their faith in their guesses as to what happens after we die based on evidence that can be seen, felt, or otherwise acknowledged as real, but, rather, on a set of assumptions with no basis in the real world, only in their imagination….

Me, I prefer the outlook taken by Robert Heinlein, who advised us that we will know soon enough what happens, so why fret about it? Nothing we do here and now has any effect on what happens after we die; furthermore, there is nothing in the universe we can see to give us any indication that little fact isn’t true. If it isn’t true in THIS universe, why should it be true in another? I never did see any sense in trying to make people behave themselves in this world, to ensure our place in the next; that’s just bribery, and not a good way to stimulate behavior, or to build a morality inside someone….

Morality, and ethics, must come from within us, by choice, or they mean NOTHING. Choices, and behaviors that arise in us out of the hope of a reward are not how real humans become ethical creatures; we do that by learning to choose the right action, then, make that our duty, our CHOICE, not made in response to a bribe, or, even worse, in response to a threat of punishment for wrong behavior….. That only teaches people to become sycophants, always seeking someone’s favor by performing unethical acts, justified by their own delusions of adequacy….

SIGH…. Damn! I did it again, didn’t I? I sat down, and led myself by the nose right into a rant…. Boy, in looking back over it, I’m amazed…. I didn’t think even I could start into it that quickly, or that seamlessly…. it just sort of flowed out, as I started to type… and, now look at it…. Four bloody paragraphs, of pretty decent ranting, but, chock full of the deitrus left in my head after a night’s dreaming, and way too early in the process…. I may have driven off any newbies in the intro with this little diatribe….. can’t have that….. I guess I’ll have to use the rip-stop method, and get us out of here the hard way, before this gets any worse….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.” — ee cummings

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

“Only the educated are free.” — Epictetus

If we are to believe Epictetus, it is our duty as free men and women to educate ourselves… In view of that, here are some articles from the recent past, taken from several different news sources… Some of you may note the absence of material from SFGATE, which I formerly used extensively….. I’m sorry to say, the folks who run that site have gone bonkers; they’ve altered the look and feel of it until it now resembles the National Enquirer for sleaze level of the covered material, and increased even further the use of auto-play videos, advertisements, and just plain BS until my computer seized up while trying to load it…. So, I gave up on it, and confine myself to other sources on the Net, of which there is no lack…

That said, the articles today mostly focus on the lies being told to us by the Obama Administration, which are merely a continuation of the same line of bullshit they’ve been doling out for close to seven years now. Despite having made the promise, twice, to display transparency in his administration, this president has pursued a course of lies, secrecy, and clandestine spying on not only the rest of the world, but, on his own people. When confronted about any of it, they become obtuse, and even more lies come out of their mouths, which, given the previous events, is quite astonishing in its volume, and degree of chutzpah, otherwise known as unmitigated gall….

The revelations by Edward Snowden are being confirmed and justified at every turn…. Below, you will find one article which speaks to the extent of the spying, and how we, the people, can, and are, learning to show exactly how they are spying on us, and on everyone, graphically and accurately…. I’ve included a nine minute video describing the responsible artists vision, with accompanying links to the review, and to the You Tube site where other videos of the same nature may be found….

Stay alert, ffolkes, the Asininnies are doing everything in their power to shut us all down; nothing would make them happier than to completely take over the Internet from public control, so, we need to stay on top of what they are up to, in order to at least offer a token resistance… if not outright revolution, an alternative much of the world is seemingly finding increasingly attractive….

With each article, I’ve included, below the link, a pertinent excerpt from the article’s text, or a short comment, to give a notion of the material upon which to focus your attention…. At the end, you’ll find another old-school pearl, to deliver the final blows for this section, hopefully to good effect…. Okay, ffolkes, dig in!….. Remember! An educated voter is a danger to all politicians, so, educate yourselves!….

http://www.examiner.com/article/nsa-document-supports-whistleblower-claim-of-alien-ufo-communication-program

Really? Spying on alien/UFO communications? What were they thinking?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/nsa-surveillance-world-leaders-calls

This one is full of information, but most of it is from the past couple years; only a small portion is current. It does give a good indication of how widespread the NSA’s surveillance has become across the world.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/13/photographer-artist-maps-world-of-surveillance-agencies-treovr-paglen

“…the US National Security Agency headquarters in Maryland, the National Reconnaissance Office in Virginia and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Virginia. These agencies, which respectively lead national security, run spy satellites and manage mapping intelligence, had a combined budget request of more than $25bn in 2013”

http://youtu.be/9Igfu0VwdkQ

https://news.yahoo.com/secretive-x-37b-military-space-plane-could-land-132030466.html

More proof of the lack of White House transparency; this project has been running for Obama’s ENTIRE TERM OF OFFICE, with only occasional, small, buried articles like this one, with no hard information, and no admissions or comments from the White House, or military officials, as to just WHAT they are hoping to accomplish with these missions…. Again, not a bit of transparency that I can see….

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/13/st-louis-protests-religious-leaders-messages-anger-ferguson-activists

“In the early hours of Sunday morning, dozens of activists attempted to occupy a convenience store in support of Myers. The police arrested 17 people for unlawful assembly”

Okay, the last one is a different subject, but, you’ll note the italicized phrase at the end…. I thought the Constitution made assembly for protest lawful…. How is it possible to make laws that abrogate that? Just wondering….. Okay, here’s the pearls, which I hope makes them bleed profusely from numerous serious wounds about the neck and shoulders…. those portions, conveniently enough, they always show on TV, when they assume their “talking head” personae…. Oh, and just for fun (well, fun for ME….) I have placed two extra pearls at the end, which take a couple shots at the other side of that coin, the religious dogmatists who support the talking heads with their preaching….

“I don’t pick on politicians. They ain’t done nothin’.” — Red Skelton

“If you’re facing the richest and most disgusting conspiracy in history, you have to do more than stick up two fingers and say “peace”. — Ben Elton, Stark

“The maxim that “Honesty is the best policy” is one which, perhaps, no one is ever habitually guided by in practice. An honest man is always before it, and a knave is generally behind it.” — Richard Whately, Archbishop of Dublin

“An accommodating vice is better than an obstinate virtue.” — Motto engraved over the entrance to the chambers of the Supreme Court of the United States

“Them that has, gets.” — Iron Law of Distribution

“The louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Worship”

“A plague of all cowards, I say.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act ii, Sc. 4

——————-

“No creo en Dios, pero le tengo miedo.” [I don’t believe in God, but I’m afraid of Him.] — Gabriel Garcia Marquez, — “El Amor en los Tiempos de Colera”, 1985

“The church is actually patronized by the social order as a means of stabilizing and perpetuating the existing system.” — C. C. Morrison

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

Though it’s out of order, the poetry section remains the anchor for all the rest; today, we’ll go for a classic author, one whose reputation is beyond any harm I can cause by association….

All Is Truth

O ME, man of slack faith so long!
Standing aloof–denying portions so long;
Only aware to-day of compact, all-diffused truth;
Discovering to-day there is no lie, or form of lie, and can be none,
but grows as inevitably upon itself as the truth does upon
itself,
Or as any law of the earth, or any natural production of the earth
does.

(This is curious, and may not be realized immediately–But it must be
realized;
I feel in myself that I represent falsehoods equally with the rest,
And that the universe does.)

Where has fail’d a perfect return, indifferent of lies or the truth?
Is it upon the ground, or in water or fire? or in the spirit of man?
or in the meat and blood? 10

Meditating among liars, and retreating sternly into myself, I see
that there are really no liars or lies after all,
And that nothing fails its perfect return–And that what are called
lies are perfect returns,
And that each thing exactly represents itself, and what has preceded
it,
And that the truth includes all, and is compact, just as much as
space is compact,
And that there is no flaw or vacuum in the amount of the truth–but
that all is truth without exception;
And henceforth I will go celebrate anything I see or am,
And sing and laugh, and deny nothing.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

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

Shameless, aren’t I? Today’s video section is devoted to CUTE…. and what is cuter than puppies? Nothing, but, perhaps, kittens (See tomorrow’s Pearl…. Never say I don’t give ffolkes what they want….)

15 great Golden Retriever Puppy videos

http://youtu.be/t0KwtuYyy3A

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

In just a few minutes yesterday, Smart Bee offered up these seven pearls, grouped just as they are…. Obviously, they comprise a comment SB decided was either important, or at minimum, helpfully relevant, on human nature, and the process of deciding what sort of human we wish to be…. After the seven-star pearl is a separate pearl, which stands alone, but, makes a very cogent, as well as hilarious observation as to the proper perspective in which to hold our personal world-view….

Well, maybe that’s a bit high-minded, but, it did make me laugh, loud and long, with a strong sense of sardonic resignation… or, perhaps, it was irony I felt, along with a strong sense of wonder, at the depths of human ignorance; the wonder arises from the astonishing fact of our survival for this length of time….

“He is never less at leisure than when at leisure.” — Cicero (106-43 BC) — De Officiis, iii, 1

“A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.” — Richard Burton (1577-1640)

I slept and drempt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was duty.
I acted and beheld that duty was joy.

— Rabindranath Tagore

“If you don’t know where you’re going, when you get there you’ll be lost.” — Yogi Berra, Baseball Hall of Famer, NY Yankees

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” — Albert Einstein –

“Time is a great teacher but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.” — Hector Berlioz (1803-69), French composer

Ode to an Indispensable Man

Sometime, when you’re feeling important,
Sometime, when your ego’s in bloom,
Sometime, when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room;
Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow this simple instruction
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water;
Put your hand in it, up to the wrist.
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining
Is the measure of how you’ll be missed.
You may splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you’ll find in a minute
That it looks the same as before.
The moral in this quaint example
Is to do the best that you can.
Be proud of yourself, but remember –
There is no indispensable man.

~~ Saxon White Kessinger ~~

As the final note, mentioned above:

“A priest was walking along the cliffs at Dover when he came upon two locals pulling another man ashore on the end of a rope. “That’s what I like to see”, said the priest, “A man helping his fellow man”. As he was walking away, one local remarked to the other, “Well, he sure doesn’t know the first thing about shark fishing.” — Smart Bee

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

Okay, it’s a lot, so, I’ll keep this short…. Today’s Pearl has been brought to you by….. wait a minute! We have no corporate sponsors here! Get that out of here!…. Okay, whew, sorry…. didn’t see the little bugger until he jumped up & tried to give his pitch…. Any who, I’m done, and I think we can all get behind that today, right? Right….. 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.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Stick with the potted meats, Bosley….

Posted on October 3, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

(1688-1744)

— Essay on Criticism, Part ii, Line 15 —

Pretty little house & garden, eh? I thought so, which is why I took the picture; the colors, shapes, and overall effect have a balance that gives it a homey, lived in, comfortable appearance that appeals to me…. I guess, at heart, I’m just a traditional, romantic bozo, with a belief in home, and family. In my life, perhaps the only regret I have is not finding someone who felt strongly enough the same way to join me in making that happen….. I was able to give my children a home for the greater portion of their formative years, but, was not able to make it last, not having any control over my former partner’s wish to be elsewhere….

Such subjects are a bit too maudlin, though, to pursue very far in the intro, or, for that matter, at all; there is far more depressing material to pick from, on a less personal level, that will serve to provide plenty of reason to bemoan our fates, so, I’ll leave this one right here, and just say, “nice house”, & let is go at that…. It’s not as if we don’t have other stuff to talk about, right? Right….

Of course, we aren’t supposed to start on that here in the intro; I always have a hard time with that one, as my need/wish to rant can take control of the keyboard at any moment…. I’m working quite assiduously, in truth, to see that doesn’t happen today, but, most of those efforts are behind the scenes, in my head, where I am frantically blocking certain ideas from coming up into the forefront of my consciousness, or distracting myself from noticing other ideas that could turn on us, thus delaying even further the process of getting this event rolling down the road it needs to travel…

Of course, all of this is mere bullshit anyway, all designed to work our way just a little further down the page, until it looks like enough to fool the monitors, should they look our way. And, if I am not mistaken (I rarely am….trust me on this….), I see a point coming up in just a couple of lines where we can jump off this bandwagon, and get back on the track we need to take, by jumping on that other wagon, fast approaching from the south…. If y’all would just hold on to the edge of your seats for a moment, while I pull this lever….. There…..

Okay, that went well…. So, here we are, at the end of another fine, if a bit idiotic, introductory section, just chock full of nonsense, bullshit, and sheer blather, all for my gentle readers…. Of course, you may want to wash up, before we try to go on…. feel free to use the extra-strength Borax on the lower shelf, if you have any particularly grimy spots…. The rest of us will wait right over there until y’all are done….

Okay, I think we’re good to go, so….

Shall we Pearl?…..

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

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

“Become what you are.” — Buddha

Yesterday, while perusing the news, (for almost an entire three-quarters-of-an-hour, as it turned out; so much distracting stuff happening in the world, I completely ignored my increasing misery to do this…), I came to the UK Guardian site, to read the US version of their daily publication… My horror, my fear, and my depression mounted, story by story, as I read what has taken place out there in the world at large, just in the last few days….

I can’t honestly say any of it surprised me, nor did it catch me unaware, or bring any amazement; only a deep sadness, to see just how far the degradation of our society, and the world, including the environment we live in, has progressed. The evidence is all right there…. or, here, as I’ve collected a number of links to that evidence, to show y’all exactly whereof I speak, when I say, quite simply, ffolkes, we are all in deep shit….

With no further comment, until after you’ve seen the collected links, I give you, proof positive of imminent Armageddon, or a facsimile thereof that will accomplish the identical result… If you are hesitant to try to read so much, just look at the headlines, containing the key words, at the end of each link; those will give you at least an idea of what we are dealing with…. And, I promise, no more than one comment, under each one, just so I don’t explode….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/02/nobel-peace-summit-south-africa-dalai-lama-visa

Not much seems to have changed in South Africa, does it?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/01/argentina-president-claims-us-plot

Whether this poor president has gone bonkers, or not, what would you bet me, (I’m willing to wager SERIOUS money….), if I suggested there IS a document, somewhere at Langley, Virginia’s CIA HQ, in a drawer, a folder, holding a file that has just such a scenario, as described in this story?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/20/argentina-debt-default-lawyers-court-pay-clause

No comment required; yesterday’s rant, here, on lawyers? Q.E.D.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/02/nypd-inadvertently-killed-unarmed-man-brooklyn-shooting

Oops!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/01/drones-police-force-crime-uavs-north-dakota

Does anyone need any further proof of police militarization in this, or any other, country?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/30/police-officer-shot-john-crawford-walmart-lied-victims-mother-says

Gee, there’s a video, showing the officer lied, but, the grand jury doesn’t indict. I wonder if anyone bothered to show it to them, and if so, whether or not it was edited at all….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/02/pope-francis-angels-believe-guardian-help

Francis makes a nice change from the previous several popes; at least he’s harmlessly balmy, nor avaricious, or ambitious beyond his need to share his misconceptions (I like him, so, I’m trying to be nice…), or walking around with a stick up his ass… I just wish he wouldn’t encourage the more involved elements of his delusional thinking to so many gullible idiots, who unquestioningly take him at is word….

http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/oct/01/coca-cola-rivals-promise-changes-health

Gee….. what do YOU think motivates the folks at Coca Cola? Profit, ya think?…. That’d be my guess, and, I’d be willing to lay all I won above on it….

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/01/walrus-alaska-beach-trampled-death

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/01/satellite-images-show-aral-sea-basin-completely-dried

I can only comment on both of these two at once, because they both show how late it is, and how little anyone cares, really…. fucking assholes. Not you, but, you know to whom I refer; the corporate snakes who refuse to give up a penny of profit, even to save their own lives….

On October 2, 2014, despite the relative importance to us all of the subject matter contained in the articles above, the following five stories were the most widely read articles for the day, at least, at the time I copied the list…. None of them, you will note, appear above…. Obviously, the general reading public doesn’t care to think about such depressing matters as the end of the world, or even rogue police forces…. SIGH….

1. Your baby looks like your ex? This research is scarier than Alien

2. Confessions to murder of two British backpackers in Thailand reported

3. Banksy wanted Clacton-on-Sea to confront racism – instead it confronted him

4. Council removes Banksy artwork after complaints of racism

5. Wonga writes off debts for 330,000 customers

You will also please note that I have not ranted, to speak of, (thank you…. no, no, I don’t mind….), and, we are ending today’s discussion with the same thought with which we opened….. In this case, ranting would be superfluous; if you’re not angry, or disturbed, at the very least, by what you read above, then, well, sorry, but, I can’t help you any further, so to speak…. and, I don’t mean that in a condescending fashion, at all…. As for the quote from the Buddha, it fits, & I’ll tell y’all why….

I’ve done my best to make ffolkes, and folks, aware of what is to come, but, like most people, myself included, everyone is so busy trying to just live their lives, with all the handicaps, traps, and obstacles to happiness, peace, or even quiet that the world places in our paths, they cannot spare the energy to even think about most of it, much less have the time, or wherewithal, to do anything more than merely hold their ground, maintaining a slim, tentative hold on sanity, and/or reality, whichever works for them….

All of which is perfectly okay….. I mean, nothing that HAS been done has helped anyway; at this point, I see no possible way to stop the shit-storm to come…. So, we may as well try to make ourselves as comfortable as we can, and fulfill as much of our own destiny as we can, in the time we are allowed…. All you can do is all you can do…

I’ve done about all I can, so, for now, at least, I’ll let it be, with just this reminder, of who is responsible for everything that happens in our lives….. because, as the Buddha implies, but does not say, people ALWAYS do exactly this…. ALL of them/us, the good, the bad, the ugly, they all are what they are, by deliberate choice….

“Become what you are.” — Buddha

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

It may often seem as if I don’t like people much; that would be a false impression, mostly my own fault, due to the way my love for them is expressed…. But, I do love them, (in small numbers, mostly…. more than two or three at once tends to cause me to wish for my solitude again, if it goes on very long…. except with those whom I love the most, i.e. family, and extended family/friends/water brothers….), mostly because of the potential within all of us for creating beauty, arising out of our reaction to the world we perceive around us, which, in turn, is filled with beauty enough to fill all of our senses…

Here, then, is one of those expressions, from a musical genius, Antonio Vivaldi, with his interpretation, in music, of the passage of time on our world….. THIS, and other such expressions, musical, literary, visual, or otherwise, are why I get so damn angry when I think of how it may all disappear from existence, and for what?…. Only those who are causing it may know; the rest of us can only guess, and watch…. with only music such as this to help us balance the scales, and, at least for a time, feel better for having lived….

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

http://youtu.be/GRxofEmo3HA

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

I’m lazy today, so you end up with one of mine…. deal with it, you’ll feel better once you do….

Random Exposure

If I only knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.

Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.

Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.

Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.

Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

As often happens with pearls, this one changed, not in the middle, but, at the first ending. That happened to be the quote about Hitler, and, somehow, it just made all of it seem unfinished; consequently, I realized it was supposed to be a nine-star pearl, so, I went back to SB, & found the final two entries to properly finish it off, the way SB apparently thinks it should be…. I thought I had it under control, but, it goes to show this process to be as much a sub-conscious process as it is a conscious one…. Works for me….

“If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he next comes to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.” — Thomas De Quincey (1785 – 1859)

“It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.” — real standing law in Texas, United States of America

“Men freely believe that what they wish to desire.” — Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.)

“The public weal requires that men should betray and lie and massacre.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. i, Of Profit and Honesty

“If you view your problem closely enough you will recognize yourself as part of the problem.” — Ducharm’s Axiom

“…common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large…” — H. P. Lovecraft

“The fact that Hitler was a political genius unmasks the nature of politics in general as no other can.” — Wilhelm Reich

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be “meetings.” — Smart Bee

“The most virtuous of all men is he that contents himself with being virtuous without seeking to appear so.” — Plato (B.C. 427?-347?)

Hear, hear!…. On that final, positive note, we shall leave this exposition of human nature, and folly, to go finish this Pearl…. Ta, then….

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

Regardless of how it got done, it’s done. I’m still sleepy, somehow, so, I think maybe I’ll go back to bed…. Or, not, as I have some important stuff to get done today…. SIGH…. Life goes on, and on, and on, until it doesn’t, I suppose…. and, then, as the Scots say…”ye might as well live, for ye’ll be a long time dead.”…. or, something like that…. See y’all tomorrow, if I’m lucky….

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.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Living Life Large….

Posted on September 28, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Belief is the death of intelligence.” — Robert Anton Wilson

The picture you see above, an excellent study showing the area of space containing the Horsehead Nebula, the obvious design you see above the very bright globular cluster surrounded by blue gas in the lower left corner. This nebula, because of its obvious shape, has been known for many years to astronomers; this photo, however, was taken by a 10 year-old amateur astronomer, and was chosen as this year’s Youth category winner, in Space.com’s yearly contest of astrophotography…. Excellent, excellent work for any age….

That said, the picture also serves, if not as proof, at least as evidence in favor, of the truth stated just above the photo, by Robert Anton Wilson…. Although I didn’t really become aware of the depth of his writing, or the direction of philosophy he pursued during his life, what I’ve learned of him tells me our paths traveled on many on the same roads, or, at least, ended up at the same places…. especially when I see he is responsible for the above statement, which closely mirrors my own words, to wit: doubt is the beginning of wisdom….

Another, less elegant, but, perhaps more cogent way to get the same point across, it seems to me, would be, “better out than in”…. which is, in my world, one of those things that is true for all time, except in those rare occasions when reality ripples, and it can be temporarily suspended, for the good of all….. otherwise, reality has determined that that statement shall apply without exception, to all things human…. especially those issues and events that are typically determined by their mind set…. in ALL such cases, ’tis better out than in…. and any arguments to the contrary simply provide their own proof of the assertion…. by coming out.

There, how was that for a bit of logical Twister…. good thing we weren’t using the fast music, or we may have ended up with some severe strains, possibly a fracture or two…. and the insurance geeks would have killed me. Dodged a bullet there, boy howdy….. Since there is little alternative at this point, I’m going to pretend none of the above ever happened, other than to acknowledge that, somehow or another, we got this far down the page, and are now legally allowed to get on with today’s post, regardless of how well if flies, or, indeed, if it makes any sense at all…. I’ve finally received my master’s license for reality stretching, so, we’ll just reach around this corner, grab this little lever, and yank it good and hard….. This is what happens…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“You know what it’s like to be dead. It’s just like it was before you were born. Remember what it was like before you were born?” — Evan

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

Persuasive speech, and more persuasive sighs,
Silence that spoke, and eloquence of eyes.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

(1688-1744)

— The Iliad of Homer, Book xiv, Line 251 —

Today’s Pearl of Virtual Wisdom (see disclaimer…. I know I put it someplace… oh, hell, we’ll worry about that later….y’all know how I think, by now….sort of…. If you’ve had a clue at all, you know, if you just pay attention, you’ll get there….), will contain a new type of pearl, consisting of pearls, but, of a different nature, pearls from new waters, shall we say? Rather than our usual diet, culled from the waters known to Smart Bee, Ambrose Bierce, Daniel Bowen, and others, we will try to find something that is of a slightly different spin than our usual fare, which can tend to lead into sober, depressing, if altogether accurate discussions of what the news says….

“To light a candle is to cast a shadow.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, “A Wizard of Earthsea”, 1975

We all know, also, the news companies tend to concentrate on stories with drama, which will sell papers, or ideas, or whatever else it is they may wish to sell; people have always been drawn to drama, the gorier the better, and be damned with whomever has to suffer to provide the reports of their troubles….. Whether it be bloody bank robberies, starving African children, dying animals in receding wetlands and rain forests, creatures dying in the oceans, or, oceans dying, people being shot, and dying, or bombed, and dying, or strangled, stabbed, beaten, or otherwise killed, so their deaths may be served up with all the other random deaths each day, reported on the news as if it is the way it is supposed to be, and that life is just a series of catastrophes punctuated by random, periodic deaths….

“To light a candle is to cast a shadow.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, “A Wizard of Earthsea”, 1975

I do not even touch upon the other derivative incidents and reportable events, all of which vary only in the degree of drama implied by the events described, or the number of casualties, listed in deaths vs. survivors….. Derivatives include sporting events of every nature, where the drama, though vicarious to the actual viewer, and reporter, still offers the drama of conflict, between good and bad (home and away), and for the joy of each winner, there is the misery and failure of the loser to report, just as heavily as the victors. Financial news, to those who have money, or want money, presents the same sort of derivative violence, where those who make the ruthless choices tend to win out over those who choose to try to be honest in business, and that conflict, also inherent in the process, makes for great drama….

“To light a candle is to cast a shadow.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, “A Wizard of Earthsea”, 1975

The drama of course, is there to distract the reading public from any of what is actually going on behind the scenes, politically, financially, religiously…. all those institutions are operating with most of their inner workings invisible to public sight, in spite of laws that SEEM to say otherwise…. But, they always seem to find a legal rationale to cover their clandestine activities….. all of which makes for a wonderful addendum to the way the rest of the world is lying to everyone who tries to live a normal life, without any of the weird shit these pundits, corporate snakes, priests, police chiefs, military officers, and of course, the other side of society, the tongs, the mafia, the criminals who prey on those that the governments mostly leave for them, meaning all of them…. making them not necessarily worse, but, slimier, even more so than the corporate snakes, the absolute worst sort of person alive….. in my less than humble opinion.

“To light a candle is to cast a shadow.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, “A Wizard of Earthsea”, 1975

Now, you will see the newest format for pearls…. Rather than go any further on the road toward making targets of those responsible for the state of the world, I will merely provide, through the auspices of those doing the ridiculous dance themselves, links to articles that tend to exhibit some sort of indication of something not quite right going on in the world, whether from a sarcastic point of few, an approving squint with a bit of a wink, a nudge-nudge to the ribs, or as in the second one today, an “it’s an about damn time” sort of way. You may possibly even come across something you’d label as ‘good news’….. Oh, and I guess there’s one more category, that of the first article below, which can best be stated as “DOH!”…..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11121843/Decorated-soldier-quits-army-saying-hes-sick-of-being-treated-like-an-idiot.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11125717/Bishop-of-Arundel-resigns-after-admitting-breach-of-vows.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/11121922/George-Clooney-and-Amal-Alamuddins-wedding-in-pictures.html

The last one there must be real important stuff…. I didn’t look at even two of them, but there were reportedly more than 50 photos, just to show the celebrities arriving for the wedding, and pre-wedding “Bond Style” Bash…. I’m happy to say, Blooney, er, Cloony, was the ONLY one I recognized without having to read the caption to see who it was…. and he’s getting so old & salt & peppery, sometimes he blends in…. with the text…

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/27/chelsea-clinton-announces-daughters-birth-on-twitter-and-facebook

Oh. My. Gosh….. this is news? Oh, right…. never mind…. must have been a slow news day….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/26/north-korea-kim-jong-un-ill-health

Okay, if you aren’t weirded out after reading those, you’re a better man than I, Gunga Din…. The world is a very strange place ffolkes, which is probably why Epictetus said what the did, about being able to accept those things we cannot control…. besides, it makes it easier to laugh at all of them, and the whole picture… Once you can let go, learn to appreciate the irony, or sardonicism, or, at the very least, the futility of fighting against it…. well, there will be the bemusement, and serenity, you seek….

“When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.” — La Rochefoucauld

“Credulity is the man’s weakness, but the child’s strength.” — Charles Lamb

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

Eureka! I have found a treasure trove of old Sherlock Holmes movies and TV episodes, mostly on BBC, or from late night cable packages, all found on You Tube, our world’s newest repository of contemporary cultural knowledge, all in digital video format…. I now have enough new finds to defeat ANY bout of insomnia I may get…. The player will show you the titled story; the link will take you to the page where I found it, which has links to many more Sherlock videos, all based on the stories by A. C. Doyle…. Timeless human drama set in fascinating times in our past….

Sherlock Holmes — The Six Napoleons:

http://youtu.be/QR1X5pMTbg4

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

We haven’t seen anything from this Americam poet for some time; here is one I think of as one of his best….

A child said, What is the grass?

A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . .I do not know what it
is any more than he.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful
green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped,
Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we
may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child. . . .the produced babe
of the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow
zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the
same, I receive them the same.

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them;
It may be you are from old people and from women, and
from offspring taken soon out of their mother’s laps,
And here you are the mother’s laps.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old
mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues!
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths
for nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men
and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring
taken soon out of their laps.

What do you think has become of the young and old men?
What do you think has become of the women and
children?

They are alive and well somewhere;
The smallest sprouts show there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait
at the end to arrest it,
And ceased the moment life appeared.

All goes onward and outward. . . .and nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and
luckier.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

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

I wasn’t sure this pearl would come out okay… As it grew, it seemed to wobble all over the place, though with some indications of directing the fall, when it came…. Somehow, out of left field, it seems, it managed to bring itself to a close, on a note with which no argument is possible, which manages to, congruently, give one the appropriate key for both understanding, and for coping with, ignorance…. Don’t worry, don’t force it….. it will come to you. Or, it won’t, in which case, just go with the last line, and you’ll do fine….

Remember, ffolkes, they’re just pearls, merely euphemisms and metaphors, taken from virtual oysters…. so, there’s nothing to be afraid of… besides, once I’ve removed the pearls, with some garlic, wine, butter, and a bit of fish sauce, we can turn the oysters into a slice of heaven, and still have the pearls, all shiny and precious…. so, enjoy, either way you need to think about it…. as elucidation leading to epiphany, or lunch…. I’ve had good reason to choose both at one time or another, so no worries, mates, it’ll all come out in the wash…. Now that I’m mixing so many metaphors at once, on to the pearls….

“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1972)

“One of the most devastating enemies of the family is radical sex education in the public school. It is more explicit than necessary for the good of the child. Too much sex education too soon causes undue curiosity and obsession with sex.” — Beverly LaHaye, President, Concerned Women for America, in her newsletter, 4/81, as quoted in The Far Right, Speaking For Themselves, a Planned Parenthood pamphlet

“What UNIVERSE is this, please??” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

“Any religion…is forever in danger of petrifaction into mere ritual and habit, though ritual and habit be essential to religion.” — T.S. Eliot, Selected Essays, 1927.

“Old places and old persons in their turn, when spirit dwells in them, have an intrinsic vitality of which youth is incapable, precisely, the balance and wisdom that come from long perspectives and broad foundations.” — George Santayana

“An it harms none, do what thou will.” — Wiccan Credo

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

Having avoided any efforts from Murphy’s band of rogues, by finishing much of this yesterday, it’s only right I get it up and out before he can affect it at all… so, with no further fufera (alternate spelling for fooferaw….), we’re 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

“The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.”

À bientôt, mon cherí.

Safe in the arms of Melvin….

Posted on September 16, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“… the real friend… is, as it were, another self.”

~~ Marcus Tullius Cicero ~~

— (106-43 B.C.) Roman Orator, poet, statesman– De Amicitia (44 B.C.) —

I envy, a bit, the luck this photographer had to catch these two in such a revealing posture; it almost appears as if they are actually relating in some way, or, if nothing else, the bear is giving a “stank eye” to the gutsy bird…. wondering if it’s worth the effort to try to snatch it up as a post-tea-pre-supper snack…. I don’t know, though, he/she looks pretty comfy. Plus, who knows, the two could be best buds….

The picture is one of a type I normally don’t like to keep in my comp, not because it’s a bad shot, or belongs to someone else, but, because I really don’t like the whole idea of zoos…. I enjoy the animals, but, seeing them in cages does something to my heart, every time, especially some of the more intelligent predators, who suffer greatly when caged, such as mountain lions, and, yes, bears…

The saddest creature I’ve ever seen in my life was a poor Crescent Bear at the L.A. Zoo, many years ago…. At the age of about 11, I stood & watched it, in horrified fascination, for hours, as it spent the entire day outside its cavern, pacing a 10-step line in front of the door, turning 180º on its two hind legs, then pacing back…. back and forth, back and forth, with a manic look in its eyes, occasionally giving a half-moan, half-crying voicing of its misery as it turned around…. The poor animal was, obviously, neurotic, more than half-insane with grief and pain, from being confined, and made to act against its every instinct, just so people, whom it fears and would not be near in the wild, unless forced, can stand where they are safe from the bear, to ogle it, until throwing garbage at it, to see it dance, giving it no respect, no dignity, and no quality of life….

People, believing in their self-given, egotistical, delusional mandate as the Lords of Creation, think nothing at all about how being caged feels to the animals… or, if they do, they manage to adopt one of the many, easily supported rationalizations for doing so, imprisoning them anyway…. Can you think of a more miserable existence on this planet, than to be a polar bear, living in a cage in Brazil, or India, during one of their summer heat waves? The old saw about the animals being pampered, are well-taken care of, and much safer and happier than in the wild, is merely the human’s delusional system having its joke on reality…. at the expense of some of the most beautiful, free creatures on this world…

So, I try to keep and view animal pictures that aren’t from zoos; unfortunately, I too have rationalized at times, to keep pictures that are good portraits, that show the animal’s beauty, or spirit, while trying to avoid getting parts of the cages in the picture.. This one is from yesterday’s SFGATE Day In Pictures feature at sfgate.com…. a site that is getting so loaded down with ads and video crap, it will actually slow down your computer, by filling up the internet cache in no time at all…. so, if you go view it, be aware you may need to perform basic maintenance afterward….

Enough ranting in the intro…. though, to be honest, this isn’t so much a rant, as another indictment, of human nature…. about which I shall say no more, except to comment thus: I often wonder what will happen if there actually IS a God, and we are made to take responsibility for the way in which we have demonstrated only the baser side of our nature in our dealings with the creatures with whom we share the planet…. I have a feeling that there are a lot of people, expecting to be passed through the Pearly Gates, who will, instead, be trying to figure out why it is so damn HOT in heaven….

Mankind, for reasons having to do with his false sense of entitlement, has shown nothing but a form of species chauvinism for our entire history, without ever learning to question their own perverted outlook… without any possible, reasonable justification for such delusional thinking…. My suggestion? Send all the animals back to where they belong, and put the people in the cages….

So be it…. gigoid has spoken….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.” — Albert Einstein

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

Due to…. Oh, hell… I was going to try to be discrete, using formal language to disguise how SHITTY I currently feel, but, fuck it. I’m still experiencing vertigo whenever I move my head too fast; it’s not getting old, it IS old. Since I can barely sit up without effort, ranting, or even pearling is out of the question…. Fortunately, yesterday, in dealing with the same issue, I managed to sit down a number of times for a few minutes, & throw together most of today’s Pearl ahead of time…. Even so, ranting was out of the question, so, here is one from a couple years back, not really a rant, but, with the same general cause, and effect…. Enjoy!….

From May 15, 2012:

Here is a reverse pearl…. instead of a quote, or two, and my discussion of the subject, here are four excellent pearls, all of which I have previously discussed; there is really no need to write more about them, as my opinion is well-documented…. Instead, just read them all, in the order presented, and note how accurate a picture it paints of the current political scene in this country…. they clearly demonstrate, or at least highlight, how our own failure as citizens of a democracy has contributed to the position in which we now find ourselves….

“There is no such thing as security. There never has been.” — Germaine Greer

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
— C. S. Lewis

“It is not the fact of liberty but the way in which liberty is exercised that ultimately determines whether liberty itself survives… When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.” — Dorothy Thompson, American journalist, author (1894-1961)

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H. L. Mencken

I was watching one of my favorite movies last night, “The American President” and one of the lines reminded me of just how far we have come from the dream our founding fathers had for us…. from the speech at the end of the movie, the President says, “I assure you, Bob Rumson (read: Mitt Romney) has no interest in solving your problems. He is interested in only two things; making you afraid of it, and telling you who to blame for it.”

If we elect a fool into the highest office in the land, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. And me? I insist on only being afraid of what I choose to be afraid of, and what the political pundits would have me be afraid of is just an illusion…. another of the lies, at the creation of which they are very facile and experienced…. stay alert folks….

“Liberty don’t work as good in practice as it does in speeches.” — Will Rogers

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

With the above setting the tone, I believe we’ll go with something from this gentleman….

A Radio With Guts

it was on the 2nd floor on Coronado Street
I used to get drunk
and throw the radio through the window
while it was playing, and, of course,
it would break the glass in the window
and the radio would sit there on the roof
still playing
and I’d tell my woman,
“Ah, what a marvelous radio!”
the next morning I’d take the window
off the hinges
and carry it down the street
to the glass man
who would put in another pane.
I kept throwing that radio through the window
each time I got drunk
and it would sit there on the roof
still playing-
a magic radio
a radio with guts,
and each morning I’d take the window
back to the glass man.
I don’t remember how it ended exactly
though I do remember
we finally moved out.
there was a woman downstairs who worked in
the garden in her bathing suit,
she really dug with that trowel
and she put her behind up in the air
and I used to sit in the window
and watch the sun shine all over that thing
while the music played.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

“I don’t purr – I don’t beep – I ain’t cute!” — gigoid

Actually, someone else made this up; it does, however, describe me with disturbing accuracy, so, I’m laying claim to it, until I do find out who said it first, whereupon I’ll share that, then go eliminate them from this plane of existence, so I can keep it…. Yesterday, I spent a lot of time down, and while up, didn’t feel like surfing, or doing much of anything… but, I did manage a few minutes here and there, to collect pearls for today’s post, even if I didn’t know at the time how they’d be utilized…

It’s a trick I learned back in the early days of ECR, & even back to the original gigoid’s folly, that has helped before, when I run out of stuff to quote, and SB is being fractious, and/or I’m not up to much writing…. This one came out pretty well, as they are mostly just observations, and statements of reality from different viewpoints….. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one won’t really stretch the mind so much as soothe it… Watch your step though, it’s a nine-star pearl, so, there are extra thoughts required to get to any of the points that may be lurking within….

“Jehovah is an alien and still threatens this planet!” — Smart Bee, making gigoid chuckle

“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.” — Epictetus

“Knowledge of divine things for the most part, as Heraclitus says, is lost to us by incredulity.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Coriolanus

“…there can be no public or private virtue unless the foundation of action is the practice of truth.” — George Jacob Holyoake

“Men are even lazier than they are timorous, and what they fear most is the troubles with which any unconditional honesty and nudity would burden them.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.” — Knights of Pythagoras

“Don’t wait for someone to take you under their wing. Find a good wing and climb up underneath it.” — Frank C. Bucaro

“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” — Ingrid Bergman

“Oh, well, I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes.” — Smart Bee

Lovely…. I love when a plan comes together….

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

So be it…. Not only is that the best I can do, it’s all I can do…. 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

Dorothy, this is DEFINITELY not Kansas!….

Posted on August 29, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A thing may be too sad to be believed or too wicked to be believed or too good to be believed;

but it cannot be too absurd to be believed in this planet of frogs and elephants, of crocodiles and cuttle-fish.”

~~ G. K. Chesterton ~~

— Maycock, The Man Who Was Orthodox —

It is said that one can find anything, anything at all in Portobello Road, and, if the hour or so I spent wandering there on my stay in London can be considered as typical, I’m inclined to believe it to be true. The photo above, which I took when I was there, shows just one small alleyway market, off the side of the road’s main thoroughfare which, though a street only 20 feet wide from curb to curb, was jammed with market stalls holding what appeared to be every variety of movable commerce known to Mankind…. There was, of course, a lot of modern crap, repeatedly, if not rudely offered by many vendors, but, there were also great deals on antiques, rare books, stamps, and thousands of, well, anything anyone wants….

Now, if you were to ask me why I picked this particular picture this morning, I doubt I could tell you, since I didn’t. Pick it this morning, that is…. I picked it out yesterday, as has been my wont of late…. Now, five minutes after cutting & pasting it in, I no longer remember, and will have even less clue tomorrow morning, when this is actually being written, using notes made by the Time Lord software, about what will, or even what is supposed to happen then…. which takes me even further from knowing anything about WHY this picture is so perfect… but, it is, so, I’m not going to worry about it, or we may never get out of the intro section…

Not that we ever had a real chance to do anything about that; since introducing the rather special and appealing side effects of using the powers of a Time Lord, a number of contradictory, yet, unfathomable patterns of the apparent rules by which the Universe operates have shown themselves to have been altered to a very small, but significant degree… This wouldn’t be any cause for alarm, if it weren’t this particular set of rules…. These are those rules that all of us depend on, like, the sky is blue, and one moment follows the next; you know, the basic structure of the Universe rules….

Anyway, they’ve been changed…. just a little, but, now we can no longer depend on this moment being anchored where it is in Time; it could break loose at any moment, and end up sending us a millennium into the past…. or, it could dump us three days into the future, with events already happening about which we have no clue, with no chance to ever find out what happened…. It could get a bit ugly, if the BRC happens to notice; it may take a while, as they are usually pretty well focused on their own bullshit, but, it’s bound to come to their attention, when nobody is paying any attention to them while watching the incredible light shows that always accompany such alterations to the fabric of space and time….

There…. I see it only took four paragraphs of almost pure blather to set the proper tone for today’s missive; this is good, as it’s relatively late, according to routine. Since it is, I won’t bother to drive all this home any deeper; we’ll just sort of fade out here, like with a good sound system that uses a good control system that can keep the tone pure as it fades from our perceptions, leaving us ready to absorb all the finer nuances of what may follow…. Nice, eh? Not bad for a low-tech solution to a high-tech issue, especially given the lack of advanced engineering or programming techniques available to us by law….

Shall we Pearl?

(I don’t usually use any pearls that may cause any friction, or feelings of divisiveness between the genders; it’s a fruitless and actually destructive pastime. But, this little gem from Balzac, though it sounds as if it would, is actually a very deep piece of insight into human nature, and into the proper and loving relationship between a husband and wife. In short, it’s deeper than it seems, and requires one to look beyond the surface words to the meaning beneath… which is always good exercise for the mind, anyway…. This COULD have been expressed MANY ways; I like this one, just because it’s got a tone of phlegmatism that appeals to me….)

“He who enters his wife’s dressing room is a philosopher or a fool.” — Balzac

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

The lateness of our start today has resulted in some good luck for y’all…. I don’t have the time, or the inclination to rant; I’d have to go find something to rant about, and while that wouldn’t necessarily be difficult of time-consuming, the ranting itself could easily get out of hand, time-wise…. So, I’ll be nice, and just create a nice random, old-school pearl for this section today, and worry about ranting later….

Have fun, & I hope y’all appreciate this; it’s more difficult than you may realize to hold in what I customarily spit out each morning, and there could conceivably be a price to pay out in the real world, as whatever angst I’ve built up since last letting it out builds up…. If it gets too hard to hold in, it could come out on some unsuspecting bureaucrat, or even a police myrmidon, and that can conceivably be either a good thing, or a bad one, depending on which end of the rant one ends up on…..

Ah well, that’s the chances we all take in life; there’s no way to think of EVERYTHING, and sometimes, Reality is just on its own, y’know? Like today…..

“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvii

“At birth we woke to dream in this world between.” — Kan’ami Kiyotsugu

“It is a fundamental law of nature that nothing ever quite works out.” — Murphy’s Seventh Law

Government Intelligence – Another OXYMORON! — Smart Bee

“Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.” — Oscar Wilde

“At ebb tide I wrote a line upon the sand, and gave it all my heart and all my soul. At flood tide I returned to read what I had inscribed and found my
ignorance upon the shore.” — Kahlil Gibran

What an excellent pearl! It showed itself quickly, and managed to take a good poke at government, religion, and human nature, and hand out some good advice for living seemingly, all without breaking a sweat…. Nice!

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

I’m in the mood for a bit of classical poetry today…. Enjoy! In fact, let’s make it a two-fer…. Have a care, ffolkes, these are small, but, they’re filling….

A Coat

I MADE my song a coat
Covered with embroideries
Out of old mythologies
From heel to throat;
But the fools caught it,
Wore it in the world’s eyes
As though they’d wrought it.
Song, let them take it,
For there’s more enterprise
In walking naked.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

_________________________________

A Crazed Girl

THAT crazed girl improvising her music.
Her poetry, dancing upon the shore,

Her soul in division from itself
Climbing, falling She knew not where,
Hiding amid the cargo of a steamship,
Her knee-cap broken, that girl I declare
A beautiful lofty thing, or a thing
Heroically lost, heroically found.

No matter what disaster occurred
She stood in desperate music wound,
Wound, wound, and she made in her triumph
Where the bales and the baskets lay
No common intelligible sound
But sang, ‘O sea-starved, hungry sea.’

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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This is another of those rare Pearls, which created itself by merely popping up on screen, one after another, in a row…. How can I say no to such persistence and dedication? I can’t…..

“Much that passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love for power.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)

“All the world ‘s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. At first the infant, mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like snail unwillingly to school. And then the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier, full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard; jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, with eyes severe and beard of formal cut, full of wise saws and modern instances; and so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, with spectacles on nose and pouch on side; his youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide for his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, turning again toward childish treble, pipes and whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, that ends this strange eventful history, is second childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), As You Like It — Act ii, Sc. 7

“I call that a scumhead.” — James Joyce — Finnegans Wake

“The palpable obscure.” — John Milton (1608-1674) — Paradise Lost, Book ii, Line 406

“Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely.” — Erma Bombeck

“Asked from what country he came, he replied, “I am a citizen of the world.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes, vi

“I’m in direct contact with many advanced fun CONCEPTS.” — Zippy the Pinhead

I’ve said many times previously that Shakespeare was overrated, and isn’t one of my favorite playwrights, even though I fully admit he is possibly, overall, the best that ever performed that particular act of literary expression. I just don’t like a lot of it; to my mind, and ear, much of it simply sucks, big time…. That said, he wrote so damn much, some of it just had to be fucking brilliant…. The above quote, known by heart to a large portion of mankind for over 400 years, falls directly into that category, effortlessly. Possibly the greatest soliloquy of all time, it shines with a luster that outshines virtually all other of mankind’s works, to give us the truth about ourselves…..

Maybe that’s why I write so much…. I’m hoping to hit on, and create, at least ONE piece that shines like this, if not quite a match for its degree of brightness…. SIGH…. Well, I guess I’ll just keep trying; I have a ways to go to be that good…. And, in the process, I’ll try to remember this…. which was the last one that popped up; the one after this was so bad, I knew it was done….

“The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.” — Eugene Delacroix

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

Not bad; I’ve shaved over 40 minutes off the hour I got up late… I’ll take it, and y’all, I think, are fortunate that I am. This one is a good pearl, and not nearly as long as they have been for the last few weeks… I suppose even my fertile brain has to take a creative break now and again…. Enjoy it while it lasts, though; nothing I do or see these days is liable to shut me up for long…. Just sayin’….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, and remember, in spite of how it may seem at times, I love you all…. I can’t claim I like it, but, there it is, so, I deal…. you’ll deal, too, I’m sure….

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.

No worries…. it’s only a practice Armageddon….

Posted on August 18, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.

~~ Marcel Proust ~~

As my steps echoed through the still night air, a pale half-moon trailed after me, like a faithful dog following its master home. The stars, few, but bright in the thin air so high in the mountains, fell like freckles across the unclouded sky. Though the night’s beauty lay all around me, beckoning me to stop, look, and feel, my thoughts remained far too dark and heavy to give me such a boon…. Those thoughts…. darker and more terrible even than the blackest depths of night, hid completely all the sheer magnificence I could comprehend….

It pains me to say this, but, I’m not taking this any further; it’s too good. By that, I mean, it’s too well done in one respect, anyway, which is that it had so much promise, it scared me….. I thought for a minute there, it was going to actually pull me into the story, locking me down into a trance-state, one from which I wouldn’t be able to escape…. Trying to decide what those dark thoughts might be is what saved me; it was just confusing enough to let me wiggle free of the grasp on my throat, which the concept had applied with the line about the dog….

Now, many of y’all, and this would include me, in most cases, would think I’d sacrifice a lot to have a good concept like that take hold of me…. But, in my case, at least, a good concept like that could lead right to a book, or a short story, or something else I’d be compelled to try to sell, and get published…. all more of a hassle for me than it is worth….. How is that?, you ask…. Well, let me tell ya….

No, wait…. I don’t think I will tell you…. you’ll just have to learn to live with disappointment. We all do, and we all hate it, but, there you go, you know? You don’t know? Ah….. well, that’s okay, now you do, and there’s no further excuse for any such childishness, is there? Nope….. So, just get in line with the rest of the bozoids, and we’ll get in, get strapped down, and get this slow on the rode….

Wait, I forgot about the changes to the routine….. Oh, right, never mind…. Y’all don’t really NEED to know all that; it was just something the cruise director mentioned as a possible afternoon activity, one we call “Let’s legally limbo!”, where we all get together to see who has the most frivolous idea for a law suit to throw at the nearest megacorp polluters…. But, once we actually ran it by the legal experts in shipping, it got nixed, since their calculations indicated it was too much fun for Caucasians….

Rather than having to fall back of some random sub-routine, I think I’ll look around here for some way to get us….. Oh, good, there’s one of what I was looking for right over there….. It’s a way out, which, we, as the dutiful Pearl Drops we are, shall proceed to use, as directed by the signage so helpfully posted on the nearest bathroom wall…. If you’ll step up to the edge there, I’ll give you the required shove….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi

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

“Watchman, what of the night?” — Old Testament — Isaiah xxi, 11

Per our official policy, (We shall abandon no rant, until it no longer holds the power to offend an asininnie….), and our unofficial habit, of addressing the Second Amendment to the US Constitution on a regular basis, here is a politirant from a couple years ago…. I’ll be editing mildly, to correct anything I missed back then, but, it’s all still the same old story, brought to up-to-date by lighting up the proximity fuse…. which is easier than trying to hit that little thing with one bullet….

From 4/4/2012:

“Guns don’t kill people… bullets do.” — Smart Bee, being a smart Alexi….

Of late I’ve been reading a number of old articles, new items, and posts about gun control, and/or the concept of nullifying the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. The main argument seems to be centered on the obvious fact that society has changed since the Founding Fathers wrote the amendment, and the conditions that prompted its inclusion among the other basic rights they wished to secure are, supposedly, no longer present, or are no longer valid reasons for leaving it intact. Their arguments point to the number of killings and crimes that involve guns, and how much of a plague on society the guns are, how we’d all be better off, and somehow safer, if we took away all the guns from the American citizenry.

I could easily scoff at such naiveté, were it not so dangerous. Dangerous to me, and whether they wish to acknowledge it or not, dangerous for them. So, rather than scoff, I will first acknowledge the presence, if not the accuracy, of their statistics on how much guns contribute to crime. These statistics are, in and of themselves, fairly scary, but, they fail to take in to account a couple of very important considerations that tend to skew, or even nullify, the accuracy of their claims.

For one, these statistics never seem to include the number of deaths and injuries caused by guns IN THE HANDS of POLICE; they only seem to account for the civilians who use guns to commit crimes. I’d say the numbers would increase dramatically, if the times the police use their weapons inappropriately are included…. and, given the smaller total number of police, in relation to the number of publicly-held guns, I would wager the percentage of police incidents of causing death is higher than that of the public.

(For the math challenged: If there are a million publicly-held guns, (there are a LOT more, of course….), and they cause, say, 10,000 deaths/serious injuries a year, that’s a 1% ratio…. If there are only 10,000 police guns, in a force that polices that million people and more, (there are a lot of people without guns, too…. They also get shot by police….), a 1% ratio would be only 100 deaths a year…. I’d wager that same money I just won, doubled, that the true number for that number of police guns is MUCH more than 100 deaths/injuries per year…. and, I’d win again, too…. )

Second, the statistics do not compare the number of incidents to the total number of guns that are owned by citizens. I would, in the absence of hard figures, estimate that the number of incidents of crime involving guns is a very, very low percentage of the number of guns that are actually out there in the hands of private citizens. All the quoted figures are bloated to make them seem larger than they really are in comparison to the whole; the by-far largest majority of gun owners do not use them at all, unless threatened. Most never use them at all, keeping them only for home protection, and most of those have neighbors who probably don’t even know the guns are there.

Then, after addressing these two key issues that are not accounted for in their quoted numbers, I would ask a simple, but key question of those who believe we, as Americans in a modern society, that we citizens should not own guns. That question, simply put, is this: Do you honestly believe that the people to whom we would be entrusting our safety are going to give up their guns? Do you really trust those of our beloved ruling class to all of a sudden stop lying to us? Do you believe, even for an instant, that they would not be laughing all the way to the bank, at you, me and the rest of the American general public? I would say to you, as gently as I can, that you are then ready to put on your collar, and admit that you are willing to be their slave, because that is exactly what will happen….

Our beloved ruling class is NOT going to give up their guns; no matte whether the public agrees to ban private guns or not, they WILL NOT disarm their police forces. They aren’t going to do it…. If you don’t believe me, ask them; it’s one of the few queries to which they’ll give an honest answer. And I don’t care how much you may argue to the contrary, I don’t believe for a nanosecond that anyone in our government, and that includes Saint Barack, can be trusted to hold my best interests in their lying, cheating, sociopathic hands.

Nope, I’m 61 years old, (oops, now 63!…), and have sufficient experience in these matters that I can honestly say, with every assurance of being correct, that those who either seek office, or are in office in this country, are NOT people to whom I would give that kind power over me; not for anything, If you want to label me a NRA Nazi, well, feel free; it’s still a free country, for the present. I should tell you, though, I’m not in the NRA, and I think many of them are just plain crazy…. but, for the most part, they have the right of the basic core idea….

But, if you convince enough citizens of this asininity, and the guns are actually made illegal for citizens to own, it’s not going to be a free country for long. And, if you are naive enough to believe the lies the Powers That Be are handing out re: their trustworthiness, well, then, you will deserve the consequences…… But, don’t expect, for even a second, that I will ever consent to give up my right to own a gun, as I will dispute that to the death. Yours, mine, that is immaterial; if we play that game, it’s to the finish.

I’ve never been a member of the NRA, nor do I feel I have a lot in common with its vocal proponents, but I agree with one of their statements of purpose, to wit: you can take my guns, all right, from my cold, dead fingers, but no other way….. I’m NOT giving up my guns, and letting the assholes in charge of this government keep theirs…. Uh uh, nope, ain’t gonna happen in my lifetime….

“Hollow point ammo – the ultimate in feminine protection.” — Smart Bee

“A society that lacks the patience to read, and loses the ability to do so, is rendered defenseless against its most profound stupidities. As an example, consider the ease with which Americans came to regard a president known for his inaccuracy and imprecision as the great communicator, and by the tendency of American elections to give victory to the candidate who can afford the greatest number of 30-second TV spots.” — Mike Schmoker

(THESE are the people I’m supposed to allow to hold me at gunpoint? Snort!….pathetic….)

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 ~~

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

“Poetry–even bad poetry–may be our final hope.” — Edward Abbey

One side effect of not having internet service this week is that I can’t go look for anybody else’s work; all I have on tap is my own, and the one in there percolating isn’t ready yet to open up a vein…. So, here’s another of my older poems, which I hope you enjoy…. In fact, here, take two, they’re small, compared to most of what I do here….

When life calls, ready or not….

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

Unheralded Sagacity…

To many, who will not see beyond their nose
the world becomes a dangerous place,
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,
no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.

Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years,
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.

Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt
Strength is found in an unfettered mind,
Cry “freedom” with a great shout.

No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Kirk: “Spock, comment.”
Spock: “Very bad poetry.”

— “Catspaw”, Stardate 3018.2.

(Okay, what wise guy let THEM in here?…. Sheesh! Everybody’s a critic….)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you know, this week’s Pearls are being composed at various times, during the day, when I have the impetus, wherewithal, and relative space from the reality of my body’s issues, so they are ready to post first thing in the morning, after I’ve wended my weary way to a Wifi spot, where I can connect to WordPress and my email…. I should be all done with that in about four days; for now, the routine I’ve evolved is shot to shit, so, this is what we get…. I spent some time perusing SB for some pearls, & after organizing them by category, I found that I had put together at least one pearl group to go along with the rant above, not as support or addition, but, as contrast and balance….

This means that the politirant above is to be weighed against, and with, the religipearl (yep, new word…. gotta keep up with the technology, right?) you see below. It’s a freshly plucked old-school pearl, with comments, advice, and/or insightful insults that are, of course, aimed at concerned with religion, and the ubiquitous perversion of dogma at large….. Enjoy, ffolkes, I DID try to make it light-hearted, if no less sharply pointed….

“The following is not for the weak of heart or Fundamentalists.” — Dave Barry

“By all means, take the moral high ground — all that heavenly backlighting makes you a much easier target.” — Solomon Short

THEOSOPHY, n. An ancient faith having all the certitude of religion and all the mystery of science. The modern Theosophist holds, with the Buddhists, that we live an incalculable number of times on this earth, in as many several bodies, because one life is not long enough for our complete spiritual development; that is, a single lifetime does not suffice for us to become as wise and good as we choose to wish to become. To be absolutely wise and good — that is perfection; and the Theosophist is so keen-sighted as to have observed that everything desirous of improvement eventually attains perfection. Less competent observers are disposed to except cats, which seem neither wiser nor better than they were last year. The greatest and fattest of recent Theosophists was the late Madame Blavatsky, who had no cat.”– Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

— How many Islamic fundamentalists does it take to change a light bulb? 300 million — one to take out the old one, the rest to look for Salman Rushdie in the dark. — Smart Bee

“If there is no Hell a good many preachers are obtaining money under false pretenses.” — William A. “Billy” Sunday

“I think they will be very effective in keeping Catholic legislators away from the Communion rail.” — Idaho Senator Mike Blackbird, about ecclesiastical sanctions against politicians

(I’m really not sure just what that one means…. I just couldn’t resist a pearl that shoots at both politicians and preachers at once, by example, with one of them shooting their own foot in the mouth, or whatever that tired old cliche says….)

REVELATION, n. A famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who know nothing. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

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

“This is not my home world!” — I don’t know who said it, other than Smart Bee, and I can’t currently get to Google, but, I feel this way a lot of the time these days, even if that line IS a bit over the top…. Regardless, it’s still the way I feel, especially when I see how much of humanity treats each other, as a matter of course… SIGH…..

But, then, I’m a creature of great complexity, even to myself, and there are many such ambiguously cynical feelings to which I am subject; it’s part of being who I am, I suppose…. And, on that little note of introspection, we’ll leave you for another day; I’ll try to get to any comments each day, once I’ve posted….. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as I’m still standing….

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.

I didn’t realize it would be so…. bulbous….

Posted on August 7, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.” — Robert Cody

After taking this picture, I stood looking at this little display on the street near where I live, attempting to deduce the reason for its being there… You have to admit, it isn’t the usual type of thing one sees walking down a street in a quiet neighborhood. Whatever these are, they don’t appear to be bowling balls, though they are the correct size, and colors… I could not, however, find any finger holes, unless they are on the underside, where I couldn’t see them…. I was thinking maybe they were seeds for planets, but, who’d have those in their front yard? And wouldn’t they need to be refrigerated?

All good questions, none of which were susceptible to answer, since nobody was around to ask, so, I took my speculations and guesses, and went home…. One of these days, I’ll go by again, & see if anyone is around to explain why they’re using planetary seeds for an art display in their yard…. and, what idiot in the government sold him the seeds, which, as far as I know, are not available on the open market (they were only developed successfully in the past year, and are not fully tested out yet…. To my knowledge, very few people even know they exist yet, so the next question that strikes me is…. are they safe, sitting there in the sunlight? Won’t they start growing?…. Interested parties wish to know….)

I’m done now, at least for the moment…. I couldn’t figure out why these colorful balls were sitting on the wall as I walked by, and, truthfully, no one was around, or I would have asked…. It wasn’t any big deal to me, but, I was curious…. then, when I looked again at the picture, I figured it would work for an intro, so, here we are, engaging in fruitless, imaginary speculation about nothing at all, save some random human’s urge to express some vague artistic impulse…. So, there is no need to sit there, wondering what the hell I’m going with this, as we’re not going anywhere…. at least, not on THIS bus!

Ah hell, ffolkes, I’m lost again…. I thought I had a good one going there, and it just sort of fell apart on me…. I guess that is what happens when one bases the material on nothing much; it requires some “punching up” to make it worthwhile for us to use, and, apparently, I just don’t have the power in my punches that would make it work…. Not surprising, given my state, which, rather than whine and complain about, I’m ignoring…. It doesn’t do me any good to fret and whine about pain like this, nor is it helpful to wake up the neighborhood with the groans and moans that escape me as I move about, pouring the coffee that will save lives….

Without going into TMI, we’ll just relate that my arthritic joints have decided to make today a day of celebration, so they are singing….. Typing is such wonderful fun, and so stimulating, it makes me want to bite….. Instead, I’m going to take a short break, then come back to try to finish this….

Well, so much for that idea…. I suppose we’ll just continue our policy of staying out of the way of anyone who might get bitten, consuming massive quantities of powerful pharmaceuticals, until they work, and generally just typing whatever comes to mind, such as THAT may be…. It’s not necessarily Art, but, it works for me…. I can see now, though, I’m going to have to get us out of here rather abruptly, or we won’t get out of here at all…. Hang on, ffolkes…

Shall we Pearl?….

“With the pride of an artist, you must blow against the walls of every power that exists, the small trumpet of your defiance.” — Norman Mailer

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

Today, since I’m not in a state where any kind of rational arguments are likely to be generated in support of a rant, I’ll use a trick I know…. Here are a couple of links to articles that I expected to rant about today…. The first one is yet another example of how the police forces in this country have become so para-military in their attitudes, they assume they can do whatever they want, and only admit to what they are up to when exposed…. After the article, and an excerpt showing the need for worry, I’ll provide a couple of pearls to drive home the point I wish to make…. then we’ll go on to the next link after that…. Let’s see how this works, shall we?….

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/San-Jose-police-We-regret-secrecy-about-drone-5670183.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

“The purchase was approved by the City Council with no public debate and was not publicized until Vice’s Motherboard and MuckRock obtained public records on the drone.

“Another possible use would be for situations that threaten public safety,” the statement reads. “These could include dangers such as active shooters, hostage-taking, or other such tactical situations where lives might be in immediate danger.”

That troubled Nicole Ozer, an attorney who heads the American Civil Liberties Union’s Technology and Civil Liberties Project. “The City Council had been told it was approving a drone for hazardous material,” she said. “Now, in this statement, the SJPD says it wants to use it for any situation that will threaten public safety. As you can imagine, that can be very broad scenarios.” Ozer said the drone was “only approved because community members were kept in the dark. There hasn’t been any public debate about whether there should be drone use at all.”

— excerpted from the article

“Any excuse will serve a tyrant.” — Aesop (620-560 B.C.

“The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.” — Confucius

(Note: By this definition, none of the SJPD can make any claim to superiority, can they?…. They acted, but, then didn’t bother to speak; when caught out, they sheepishly spoke, but, once again, lied about their motivation…. thus, removing any attempt they might make at justification for their acts from the realm of possibility….)

“Habit is the nursery of errors.” — Victor Hugo

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” — Plato

(Did you ever wonder why cops all wear those mirror shades now, or some other kind of eye covering? It seems like you never see a cop’s real eyes any more; they’re all wearing “safety” glasses of some sort or another…. which, as we see by Plato’s astute observation, is a dead giveaway as to their real personal world-views…. Remember of whom we speak, now….

Do you think, even for a minute, the average cop is some altruistic, gentlemanly, heroic figure who went into public service because of their huge heart and wish to be socially useful? Don’t make me laugh, ffolkes…. Most of them NEED the authority and entitlement provided by the job to feel as if they are in control of their life, which is reinforced by their successful use of intimidation and aggressiveness to accomplish their ends, to feel as if they have that control, which they so desperately seek….)

“A thing either is what it appears to be; or it is not, but yet appears to be; or it is, but does not appear to be; or it is not, and does not appear to be.” — Epictetus

(I hardly need to point out that this applies perfectly to the SJPD statement regarding their alleged drone… because it is what it appears to be…. pure bullshit….)

(Okay, I’m done commenting now…. sure is an easier way to rant, though, I must say….)

Next, we have an article that celebrates the current crop of comedians who are poking fun at the Asininnies, on a larger stage than I can ever hope to find here at WP…. Jon Stewart, Russell Brand, Steven (Stephen? I dunno….) Colbert, and a number of others, all of whom continue the good works of society’s masters of critical humor, as epitomized by George Carlin, who was so adept at putting the truth out there for people to see, while at the same time exposing the lies, and the lying liars who tell them, as they spread their slime from every podium in front of a TV camera, anywhere in the world….

This one isn’t so much a diatribe as a thank-you note to all these young societal gadflies, with some good links to some hilarious take-downs of some of today’s most ridiculous pundits…. This is one you can enjoy, guilt free… After, I’ll throw in a couple pearls to drive the points home, then we’ll be off to another section, just like we had some sort of routine….

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/08/05/fierce-comics-at-the-end-of-the-world/

“Politics, like religion, hold up the torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

“An experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often quite often picturesque liar.” — Mark Twain

“Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth.” — Nero Wolfe, Rex Stout (1866-1975)

“Intelligence has nothing to do with politics.” — Londo Molari

Yes, many primitive people still believe this myth…But in today’s technical vastness of the future, we can guess that surely things were much different.” — The Firesign Theater

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

Here is a poem of mine, from , that goes fairly well with today’s apparent theme…..

Rhyming is better than lying….

It’s all too, too much, he cried
I can take no more!
It’s all crazy, my brain is fried,
battered, bloody, and sore.

Talking heads shout out hatred and fear
jam for my morning toast.
Pointing fingers far, middle, and near
enemies everywhere, almost.

Women, gays, and seniors fall prey,
easy targets, slow and weak.
Convenient fools, wanting only to play,
used, and abused, even as we speak.

It enough to drive me floridly insane,
or want to buy a gun.
I may end up in jail, or in massive pain,
but, oh, it would be fun….

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Having explained above the justification for any cheating I may do today, I won’t bother to repeat it here…. Suffice it to say, I’m using an archived pearl, one from a little over two years ago, a specialty format pearl that works quite well, I think…. I hope you enjoy it….

From 8/1/2012:

What we have here is a failure to…. wait, that’s been done…. Okay, here, I found it in the script…. What we have below is an old-school Sesame Street style pearl…. Taken together, in the order given, and with a relatively open mind, these quotes will lead one to the Thought For Today. If they don’t, well, that’s okay, too…. Once again, as we are going old-school, this will not be on the test….

“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 their oppressors in Church and State.” — Thomas Jefferson, [letter?] To S. Kercheval, 1810

“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

“One sure way to determine the social conscience of a Government is to examine the way taxes are collected and how they are spent. And one sure way to determine the social conscience of an individual is to get his tax-reaction. Taxes, after all, are the dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, campaign address, — Worcester, Mass., Oct. 21, 1936.

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.” — Thomas Babington Macaulay

“When I was made presidential press secretary my father sent me a telegram: “Always tell the truth. If you can’t always tell the truth, don’t lie.” — Bill Moyers

“What is left when honour is lost?” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 265

What, indeed….. on that note, onward…..

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

I have done my duty; enough is enough…. On that note, I will take my leave, sans the usual crap…. I’m in too much pain to worry about that, at all…. I’m gonna go somewhere and whimper a while…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I manage to keep from getting arrested for biting someone…. Hey, wait a minute, I just had a thought…. Now, where’s that cat?…..

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

Only use the strongest poison for the nastiest vermin….

Posted on July 16, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The company of just and righteous men is better than wealth and a rich estate.” — Euripides

I am up incredibly late, due to a completely unprecedented event, one that took me by surprise…. At the usual time, about 4 AM, I rolled over, looked at the clock, and said to myself, “Oh, go back to sleep!”…. The unprecedented part is, I did…. Fancy that…. Unfortunately for my schedule, that little snooze lasted another hour and a half, so now I’m already under the gun, and have barely started….

What does that have to do with a cheeky squirrel? Well, nothing really, other than their placement here at the beginning of today’s effort…. The squirrel, whom I met yesterday during my walk, lives downtown, near the library, in a park between a couple buildings…. He, (How do I know?…. look more closely at the picture, ffolkes….) is obviously quite used to people, as he walked right up to me to beg for treats, only stopping about three feet away from my feet, to stand up and look me right in the eye, as if saying, “Well, where’s the nuts?”…. I did have a scone, which I proceeded to share with him…. He sat a few feet away, calmly but quickly scarfing down the cake and blueberries like a true urbanite…. I was almost surprised he didn’t ask for a hit of my coffee….

Instead, he just looked at me, as if to say, “Thanks”, then politely turned away & jumped down off the bench next to me, running over to a bush to explore underneath, looking for more goodies, I would venture to guess…. I think it’s a nice thing that the people of this town have been so tolerant of the animals in the park that they have no strong fear of humans, and can coexist with them without any problems…. It is fairly unusual, in my experience, and good to see….

It’s a bit hard on my curmudgeonly nature, though, and definitely puts a test to my training…. but, small, furry creatures tend to hit me in my soft spot, so, screw it, it was a good day, and a good encounter with another one of this planet’s denizens…. who taught me a fine lesson about dignity of spirit…. How so, you may ask? The next picture should give you a clue…. just think, dogs, cats, etc. and how they act in public at times…. and you’ll see just how important dignity really is in the real world….

I rest my case….. WHY do they do that, you may ask? Because they can….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“There is a fine circumstance connected with the character of a Cynic,–that he must be beaten like an ass, and yet when beaten must love those who beat him, as the father, as the brother of all.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Of the Cynic Philosophy, — Discourses, Book iii, Chap. xxii

SIGH…. I KNEW there was a catch to this curmudgeonly old cynic business!… Oh well, bring it on….

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

“All things change; nothing perishes.” — Ovid

As noted, today’s post will be put together, primarily, using material from the archives…. Here then is the first of those cheats, with a quick, unusual little rant from the past, produced prior to the last presidential election….. Enjoy!….

From April 2012:

During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to Adlai E. Stevenson “Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!” Stevenson called back “That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority!”

Obviously, this implies he was part of the minority, along with not enough voters…. Mr. Stevenson was perhaps the last truly rational man to run for the highest office our country offers, hindered only by his commitment to honesty. I’ve seen a number of articles about that campaign, and it’s clear in my mind that his very rationality is what gave the election to the other candidate.

He made every attempt he could to try to engage the minds of Americans, naively, as it turns out. His opponent, Eisenhower, just mostly kept his mouth shut and let his slogans speak for him, such as “I like Ike!”, and other such intellectual standards, that appealed directly to the American public’s misplaced sense of national pride.

After four years of post WWII and the Korean war economic boom(s), it wasn’t hard for the Republicans to rest on their laurels, firmly attached to the coattails of a war hero…. There was, and still is, no place on the political scene in this country for rationality, obviously, as Ike and his ilk won in a landslide…. So much for the opportunity to see what a “thinking man’s president” might be able to accomplish….

The chances of such a man being elected today are even slimmer, considering that, in today’s media-frenzied world, those candidates who can be the most sly, underhanded, and completely dishonest, are those who catch the eye, and the votes, of the great unwashed, uneducated masses who now comprise the voting public….

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

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

Conscientiously, I cannot use another poet’s work today, to save the blame for this where it belongs, right in MY lap….

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 ~~

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

I don’t even feel up to picking out an old-school pearl today, and don’t have any time to fret over it, either…. It’s already light…. So, here is another rant, from the same year, different month…..

From 5/29/2012:

“Why shouldn’t WOMEN have to put the toilet seat back UP?!” — Smart Bee

When I was working, a popular subject for water-cooler discussion was the ongoing, never-ending war between the sexes. For some reason not clear to me, men and women seem to feel as if they are in competition with each other, in a contest to find the most annoying things about the other sex, and make fun of them for those qualities. One of the typical conflicts between the two has always been the toilet seat, a conflict arising out of the very basic differences in the plumbing system of each gender. Men are pointers, women are setters, and the difference is critical only because we both use the same appliance to deal with our needs.

The above question is often asked by men, usually after an argument over having failed to put it down after using the facilities. Being a man, it naturally seems to be a relevant question to me, but for some reason it just seems to piss off the woman involved. I mean, it DOES have hinges; the process of moving it up and down isn’t rocket science, and isn’t particularly hard to figure out. But, due to the ongoing hostilities, women have decreed that it is the responsibility of men to make sure the seat is in the down position, ready for the female to use. How this came to be will, no doubt, forever remain a mystery, but is nonetheless true.

“There will always be a battle between the sexes because men and women want different things. Men want women and women want men.” — George Burns

Thus far in history, at least that part of history since the invention of the toilet, and the hinged seat for it, a solution has never been found. It often seems to me that men and women must enjoy the ongoing war, because neither side seems willing to approach the issue with anything other than ego and divisiveness.

No real solution has ever been sought, to my knowledge. Women spend their time trying to “domesticate” their men to put the seat down after using the toilet, and men spend their time ignoring them, thus ensuring that the conflict will continue. It all seems a bit pointless to me, as I can see two or three possible answers to the question that would serve to ease the hostilities….

No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see. — Taoist Proverb29/2012

This little gem from Taoist philosophy holds the key to the end of the war. If men and women can, just for a few moments, look at the matter with logic, with the purpose of improving the situation, I believe the answers will make themselves apparent. One answer, in my mind, needs no physical effort at all; it involves a difficulty, but only because people find it difficult to make changes in themselves. If both men and women could, and would, put aside the anger and emotional investment in the conflict, then one small attitude adjustment would suffice to remove the entire problem….

If men could develop some sensitivity (I know, tough when it’s essentially foreign to their nature, but still possible to develop….), then they could see how leaving it up could conceivably cause problems for those who must sit down to use the appliance. As a matter of fact, this is how I personally became aware of the solution, for I once sat down to use the toilet, and found myself falling into the bowl, as someone had left the seat up, and I hadn’t noticed. It wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences, and from that time on, I was more conscientious about putting it down…. so, just a bit of empathy, and that won’t be a problem for men to take the second to put the seat down….

Women would also need to develop more empathy for men for the solution to work for them. The toilet seat is on hinges, and as mentioned, isn’t particularly hard to learn how to use. It’s just up or down, and no other choices. So, some tolerance for the forgetfulness that is part of the male nature would go a long way toward solving the bitterness when they leave it up; just put it down for goodness sake, and don’t complicate the issue with anger and emotional storms, all over a moment that in other situations would prompt the woman to feel affection for the man’s charming childishness….

Another solution presents itself to my awareness, as well. The toilet, and the whole system we use, have not been looked at with the intent of improving it for centuries. The toilets we use today would be recognizable to John Harrington, inventor of flushing toilets in 1596 (which is why they are called “johns”, btw…..); it hasn’t changed shape or basic function since its invention all those centuries ago.

It seems to me that a clever engineer could figure out some way to eliminate the need for the toilet seat altogether, thus eliminating the whole issue.

(No comments, please, on using the word elimination in re: this whole issue. It works, it fit, so get your mind out of the gutter for a bit…. (I don’t know about y’all, but, my mama taught me to pay attention to any advice that rhymes….) I mean, we can put men on the moon, and currently have people living in our space on the ISS, hundreds of miles above the highest mountains; why on earth can’t we figure out how to make a toilet easy to use for both sexes…. Seems like a no-brainer to me…. But, since no brains are involved in the process, I guess that isn’t surprising….

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

I’ve thrown this together so fast, yet taken so many breaks, it’s coming out late anyway; so be it. It’s done, and that’s the best it’s going to get….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, when I’ll hopefully have a bit more in me to create with….. gigoid has spoken…..

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

gigoid

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

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Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Epictetus

Fricasseed rutabaga with mulled acorn sauce….

The replacement toads are working fine….

2nd door on the left….flush twice….

Stick with the potted meats, Bosley….

Living Life Large….

Safe in the arms of Melvin….

Dorothy, this is DEFINITELY not Kansas!….

No worries…. it’s only a practice Armageddon….

I didn’t realize it would be so…. bulbous….

Only use the strongest poison for the nastiest vermin….

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