Vilification process begun, sir. Add fries to that?….

Posted on May 24, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If you make a mess, clean it up.”

~~ Mom ~~

Stolen from ThumbUp and Buddha9

@ Live, Laugh, Love ~~ http://livelovelaughdotme2.com/

Good morning. These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise, whose mission, should she condescend to accept it, is to seek out new worlds, and new civilizations, whether they want us or not….

Actually, this is gigoid, fooling about with the intro again…. I think I’ll cut myself short, with good reason, too… Let’s do this, instead, eh? (Feeling a bit of a Canuck this morning… don’t fret, it’ll pass…)….

Shall we Pearl?

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that balances are correct.” — from “Manual of Muad’Dib” by the Princess Irulan

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I’ve been an unabashed Dead Head for more than 47 years now. Each year, the Dead Net, a loose conglomeration of all Dead Heads who are online, holds an informal event called the Dead Covers Project. Fans who are also musicians make videos of themselves covering Grateful Dead tunes, from across the entire spectrum of music the Dead played, and still play, 50 years on, though their creative icon, Jerry Garcia, passed a few years ago….

Here is a concert by a band that specializes in covering Dead songs. The two lead guitarists are masters, and I would LOVE to have heard them play a set or two with Jerry, or the rest of the band…. The lead female singer is a real, honest to goodness torch singer, and does great justice to the spirit of the band’s music…. This is one I’ve downloaded, so I can play it whenever I please…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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Cubensis

Playin’ In The Band

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https://youtu.be/LDPJcTThiWw

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“It takes all kinds of people to make a world, but did you ever think the percentages were wrong?” — Smart Bee

To answer the question posed, certainly I have; there are far too few of the people who make up today’s world who have any concept of the words Honor, Duty, Loyalty, or for that matter, THINKING…. 97% of the people alive today are bloody frigging slaves, and don’t even know it. Of the other 3%, 2.9% are wandering around going “What the fuck is going on here? How did all these stupid people get born. And why are those little assholes over there laughing?” That last 0.1% are the assholes who have enslaved the rest, and are laughing at all the mundanes who believe whatever bullshit they are told, as long as it’s on TV….

As you may be able to tell by now, I’m not feeling particularly friendly towards the rest of my species…. I find the few people in the world with whom I actually communicate limited to about 25-30 people TOTAL; the rest are either too stupid to bother conversing with, too busy carrying out their slave duties, or, are Asininnies, or simple assholes…. Seriously, that is a fairly accurate breakdown, if a bit, oh, say, PISSY! I feel pissy, whenever I think of the stupidity it took to allow those assholes to gain their foothold of control over society, and how most people don’t even know they are slaves….

So pissy, in fact, I’m really not up for ranting; I find myself merely wishing to spout vilification and bile all over those who would be kings, and those who would allow them that privilege…. Though it’s somewhat cathartic, I prefer to take REAL shots, with arrows, or knives, or at minimum, rocks. Yeah, rocks; that’s the ticket….

SIGH….. Sorry, got distracted by my anger…. Instead, I’ll go fire up Smart Bee, and, then, I’ll do my best to find an old-school pearl, a collection of individual pearls taking good, solid shots at those aforementioned Asininnies, who deserve every ounce of shit we can pile on them…. (Asininnies, as most of you know, include the Corporate Snakeheads, Polly pundits, Religicos, Myrmidons, Pimps, and other assholes of their ilk… You know…. the Predator Class….) Then, all I have to say to them, is a big, loud, meaningful FUCK YOU All, YOU ASSHOLES!

Let’s pearl, shall we?…..

GOD is applied POWER
which is applied GOVERNMENT
which is applied POLITICS
which is applied ADVERTISING
which is applied SOCIOLOGY
which is applied PSYCHOLOGY
which is applied BIOLOGY
which is applied CHEMISTRY
which is applied PHYSICS
which is applied MATH
which is applied PHILOSOPHY
which is applied BULLSHIT

~~ Smart Bee ~~

“Governing a large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking.” — Lao-Tzu

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

“A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.” — Thomas Paine [Author of the Declaration of Independence and even more, but no politician.]

“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” — Edward Abbey

“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“One of the chief problems a modern society has to face is how to provide an outlet for the intellectual’s restless energies and yet deny him power. How to make and keep him a paper tiger.” — Eric Hoffer

“A politician has to be able to see both sides of an issue, so he can get around it.”– Smart Bee

But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,
As round and round we run;
And the truth shall ever come uppermost,
And justice shall be done.

~~ Charles Mackay ~~

~~ Eternal Justice, Stanza 4 ~~

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I’m feeling a bit lazy today…. What, you couldn’t tell? S’alright; I hide it pretty well…. To fulfill the purpose of both the blog, and my laziness, here is a poem of mine, strangely enough, having to do with the same folks of whom we were speaking in the last section…. Well, one part of that group of nasty, ignorant, self-absorbed folks, anyway…..

Geezer to Congress, with Love

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

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

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

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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Ankh ~~ Symbol of Life

Here is an off-the-usual-track pearl about Life at Large, hence the new icon, for pearls of this nature…. Not a bad little packet of good advice from a few of humanity’s most familiar sages, with a few less well-known sources, as well… You may wish to take notes; I have a feeling you will, eventually, be tested on this material, in one of the Quizzes Life presents to all of us in times of ‘interest’….

“Justice consists in doing no injury to men; decency in giving them no offense.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Officiis

“…all life is only a set of pictures in the brain, among which there is no difference betwixt those born of real things and those born of inward dreamings, and no cause to value the one above the other.” — HPL, from The Silver Key

“Anger blows out the lamp of the mind.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity.” — Tom Peters

“What is to give light must endure burning.” — Viktor Frankl

“Education is the best provision for old age.” — Aristotle

“To be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.” — Descartes

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

“You are only what you are when no one is looking.” — Robert C. Edwards

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Considering my ongoing/upcoming plans, and, hopefully, their fruition, here is a small bit of irony to finish off the day’s effort; though one must consider the source, viewing this with a bit of tongue-in-cheek dubiousity, the message remains valid, and true, being merely a paraphrase of the very old piece of wisdom from the East, to wit:

“The Journey is the lesson, and the value of travel; the Destination is the reward….” — gigoid’s interpretation of one chapter of the Tao Teh Ching

Or, more aptly re-gifted, in more contemporary language….

“One of the joys of travel is visiting new towns and meeting new people.” — Genghis Khan

There you go…. I think, all things considered, that’s enough out of me for one day…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. That’s the plan, anyway. We’ll see what Reality has to say about it, en la mañana…. Ta then, luvs….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Festooned in gay silk pantaloons…

Posted on May 15, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intentions.”

~~ Cicero (B.C. 106-43) ~~

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Site of Aristotle’s School, Mieza, Macedonia

Image from Wikipedia article on Aristotle

Good morning….

Shall we Pearl?

“From out of all the many particulars comes oneness, and out of oneness come all the many particulars.” — Heraclitus

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The Doobies

Image from revivemediaservices.com via Google Images

In the interests of keeping things balanced, here’s another American band from the golden age of Rock and Roll…. I spent many a happy hour at concerts by these lads…. though I’ll be honest and admit much of the memory of those times can be a bit blurry…. Go figure, eh?…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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The Doobie Brothers

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https://youtu.be/uRnMjQw63tQ

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I’m still fighting the issues I’ve been dealing with for a week now, so, you get something from the archives, the nature of which has yet to be determined at this writing.. I’ll make it a good one, never fear…. Ah, here’s a good one, speaking on the subject of religion, I believe…….

From 11/8/2012:

“Who, being loved, is poor?” — Oscar Wilde

Hmm…. While I happen to agree with this little gem from Oscar, I’m afraid I’m just not in the correct mood to do it justice…. I’ll have to try again…..

“If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” — Jimmy Buffet

That’s better….. This is a perfect quote for today, since it both points out the problem, and the solution in one lyrical phrase. Jimmy’s good at that kind of turning of a phrase, being an excellent songwriter. Now, if only I could find something, anything, that I found amusing enough to laugh about. At the moment, the only thing that seems to work is letting myself picture the SS caseworker undergoing the pleasures of a stint in deepest HELL! When I envisioned some devilish figure poking him with a pitchfork, I have to admit, I chortled. And when the devil then picked him up with the blade and tossed him into a lake of fire, I guffawed…. and felt much better. Shoulda thought of it a long time ago….

“Baby, after considerable thought I’ve reached the conclusion that the only conceivable legitimate answer to the Universe as constituted is a peal of hysterical laughter.” — Keith Laumer, _Night of Delusions_

Yet more proof of this theorem…. I’ve heard it said all my life that the reason people laugh is so they don’t have to cry, and found it to be absolutely correct. I’ve also heard it said, by those who believe in Him, that if God had wanted us to be sober, He wouldn’t have given us a sense of humor….. While I can’t necessarily agree with the idea of God, I can see what they’re getting at, and agree wholeheartedly. (Hey! Look! Something a Christian and I can agree on!…. Who’d a thunk it?….) I mean, why else would a platypus exist at all?….

“It is ridiculous to suppose that the great head of things, whatever it be, pays any regard to human affairs.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book ii, Sect. 20

This sounds a lot more reasonable than supposing that God is the sort of weak, spineless entity that requires worship and obedience from His creations. I mean, if you’re going to have a God, then why give him all the worst characteristics of a fool? The only people I know of who demand that sort of obeisance are pretty psychopathic, and take medications for their delusions; or, in some cases, elected officials will get this way. I just can’t see an entity who is capable of creating a universe even spending one second worrying about being worshiped; it just doesn’t make any sense at all, and, quite frankly, I can’t understand how anyone in their right mind could ever buy into that idea. Such worship would make me feel uncomfortable, at best, and I just can’t see a God worrying about it overlong…. If such a God were to worry about anything, it would be wondering how He had screwed up in making such idiots in the first place…. and, in figuring out what asshole even gave them the idea….

“A long tradition has regarded low self-esteem as a powerful and dangerous cause of violence. Our review has indicated, however, that it is threatened egotism rather than low self-esteem that leads to violence.” — Case Western Reserve University psychology study as quoted in Thomas C. Palmer, Jr.’s Boston Globe article (3-31-96),” Self-Esteem Self-Threatening?”

Here is a clue, though, as to how it all came to this….. As noted previously, Christianity, as with any other religion, gives its followers a sense of entitlement, and an opinion of their importance all out of proportion to reality. It is this sense of elitism that leads to a lot of the violence in the world, rather than low self-esteem; when one argues with a believer, their anger is immediately brought out as a defense against having to consider any validity in the arguments presented, and they will often resort to violence to try to force their beliefs on the unwilling. In fact, I’d say that 90% or more of all violence between humans is a result of a challenge to the pride one feels in their beliefs, or to the pre-eminence of their religious mania. Yes, greed enters into this equation, but greed is just another form of that same feeling of entitlement, so it doesn’t alter the facts at all; it supports them…..

The trouble with reality, is that it’s taken much too seriously. — Smart Bee

Smart Bee once again comes through…. it has faithfully supplied the proper quotes for this discussion, and here provides the perfect quote to bring this now over-long treatise to a close. We humans have a talent of screwing things up pretty radically, just because we can; it’s a gift. And then, of course, one must factor in that bloody Irish demi-god, Murphy, whose kind attentions are unwelcome by all. I once saw a pearl that said “God created the world in seven days, and then said, “I’m going on vacation…. Murphy, you’re in charge!”, and I knew…. the Universe is just one big joke, and because of our nature, the joke is on us…. so we may as well learn to laugh, and enjoy it the best we can….

“With YOU, I can be MYSELF.. We don’t NEED Dan Rather..”– Zippy the Pinhead

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This woman’s poetry has been amazing me for about four years now, almost. She was one of the first poets I found on WordPress, and I still find an amazing piece every time I visit her site…. Here is one I first posted back in 2012…. You can find her site at: http://starsrainsunmoon.com/

Obligating Hums

surely we’ve met in midair
sometime ago
your stubborn neck disregarded my smile
apologetically you stirred these mediums
the melancholic instruments attached to my head
on a solid oaken table we wrote
the aloofness of a spell
critiquing the crafty shapes
with your index finger you pointed at me
and shivered
i waited
and thickened your space very slowly
my voice reached your core
i knew then how bitter your loneliness was
tempting these souls to write
and with your little murmur
a flame in my chest i saw
i slowly began to weep
you stroke my head listening to me pray
softening my thoughts
the names that inhabit my soles
the steady pure familiar calm
the wind the golden faces inside this life of mine
designed for staying here
urging trumpets to melodically banner my heart tonight . . .

~~ Mari Sanchez Cayuso ~~

First posted here on ECR 7/30/2012.

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Here is a classic style old-school pearl, on the rather large subject of life at large….

“For a man can lose neither the past nor the future; for how can one take from him that which is not his? So remember these two points: first, that each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle, and that it signifies not whether a man shall look upon the same things for a hundred years or two hundred, or for an infinity of time; second, that the longest lived and the shortest lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ii, 14

“Everything flows and nothing abides; everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.” — Heraclitus

“To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge.” — Benjamin Disraeli (Earl Beaconsfield) (1805-1881) — Sybil, Book i, Chap. v

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” — Carl Jung

“Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit.” — Aristotle

“Better clean death than dirty life.” — Frank Herbert

“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula, the big answers don’t remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith a dictum. I am my own God. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” — Charles Bukowski

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Ah well, what can I say? It’s done, and, I’m certainly not going to go back & do it over…. In fact, I’m going to take the money, all zero dollars of it, and make a run for the border…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided I can continue to fail to find a reason not to do so….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Bluffing on a busted flush….

Posted on May 1, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“He is able who thinks he is able.”

~~ Buddha ~~

Road Trip

Image stolen from unknown Internet site.

Unburdened by the rigors of coherent thought, I sit to begin another Pearl. I sincerely wish, too, I could claim credit for the opening sentence; sadly, I stole part of it. Beautiful, though, isn’t it? The part before the comma is the part I stole, which is why I wish I’d said it; it is, in almost every sense, a perfect expression of my state of being almost every day as I start this process. Process it is, too, beginning with will power sufficient to arise from bed, (always a challenging exercise, these days….), stumble to the coffee machine to turn it on, then, walk to the computer to attempt to find the tiny button to turn it on….

About ten minutes later, having somehow waited to get the coffee into my system, (often performing completely unconscious physical actions to do so…. I seldom remember FIXING the coffee, only consuming it…), I look at the screen to see if, maybe, I wrote something worth keeping while in my semi-conscious state. At least THAT is consistent…. it’s never there…

Today, the process is complicated even further by the vertigo I’ve been gifted with of late. In case you’ve never experienced it, let me assure you, it’s no picnic. Any sort of motion seems to stimulate it, which makes the process of writing somewhat problematic, as the head makes natural movements while thinking about them…. To be honest, it’s getting to be a bit of a bother…. and, yes, that’s sarcasm….

But. I got some of this done yesterday, so, I’ll push through, pretending I’m tough. I really did used to be tough; I just need to remember how to go about it…. Shouldn’t be too hard; I’ve played with pain, or other issues, all my life…. I’m not going to let it keep me from doing what I need to do now…..

Fuck Murphy….. and the fucking white horse he thinks he rode in on….

Shall we Pearl?

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me and turn my inner eye to follow its path. When the fear is gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” — The Litany Against Fear (Frank Herbert, -Dune-, 1965)

Good timing on that one…. it’ll come in handy today….

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Image from scotsman.com via Google images

I am NOT an opera fan, at all. However…. I AM a big fan of the human voice; I learned to play guitar so I could sing along. This isn’t to say I’ve the world’s best baritone; in fact I’d say any one of these three gentlemen are much better, without any fear of disagreement, from anyone but my dog, which I don’t have. And, they’re tenors, not baritones, which goes to show you how good I might be…. When all three of them are hitting a top note, it is, literally, spine-tingling…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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The Three Tenors In Paris ~~ 1998

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https://youtu.be/4IUcm3_aVTU

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As might be surmised, a fresh rant is out of the question, unless I want to start in on Kaiser, HMO’s, and Big Pharm; I think I’ve built up enough angst over them to rant for a week with stopping…. For now, this little exercise will do….

From 9/2/2013:

“The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this very afternoon.” — John F. Kennedy

What a great little anecdote! I love to see a great life lesson told in a few short words…. Here is a perfect description of the attitude one requires to achieve happiness…. Yes, happiness, an old word, one bandied about much by the uninformed, and the unhappy…. Happy people never need to use the word itself, as they are just…. there. There is little need to think about being happy, when you are, and in fact, not thinking about it is one of the keys to holding it, once found…. But, it is a rare person in today’s world who can maintain any long periods where they feel happy the entire time; the world intrudes too much into our lives to give us leave to be happy, unless we know the secret…..

Yes, there’s a secret….. Of course, it’s the kind of secret that is hidden right in plain sight, like Poe’s Purloined Letter. It only requires that one be willing to accept it, and to allow it to enter into one’s spirit, suffusing the world in the less harsh light of contentment, rather than the cold, hard light of resentment. People tend to be like the gardener, blocking their own happiness by finding all kinds of reasons to NOT allow it entry into their world. As humans, we are taught at young age to view reality with stoicism, and mute, unquestioning acceptance of our lot; we are shown all the ways to look ahead, to see the worst of what can happen, in order to be prepared….

But, there is another way to approach the matter, one little known, and therefore little taught…Reality is a tough go, for sure, but, with a little bit of mental effort, much easier than the alternative, one can be in control of how it (Reality) affects one’s life. In short, Life treats us all like shit; what determines how much of it gets in our sandwich depends solely on us, and how we react to that shit…. We can slap the shit between two slices of bread, and choke it down…. or, we can use it as fertilizer, to grow some rather nice weed…. potent, and good for you….

Whatever one decides, the choice remains, as long as one is aware of the options. The problem with most folks is, they don’t see the options, or they don’t believe they will work, as their attitudes keep them from even trying a lot of new ways to do things. I won’t say it is this way for all people, but the greatest majority of people I see in the world are unhappy, without ever realizing that a) they don’t have to be unhappy, and b) being happy is within their power to choose…. It’s too bad, really, because that unhappiness is part of what makes people go wonky, losing integrity, honor, and any sense of morality, in order to reach for an illusion, an illusion of happiness that, even if grasped, will drift away and vanish, like smoke in a breeze….

This little mini-diatribe was intended to be more…. more clear, more inspiring, more helpful in getting people to think in different ways…. However, I seem to have lost that thread, and it’s getting a bit obscure, and thick…. So, I’m going to switch to old-school, and politely ask Smart Bee to give me the right words to accomplish that intent, without having to subject y’all to another thousand words of pedantic persuasion…. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway…. If not, at least it will have been more palatable, with more chocolate chips….

“Going to bed with a woman never hurt a ballplayer. It’s staying up all night looking for them that does you in.” — Casey Stengel

“Pizza is a lot like sex. When it’s good, it’s really good. When it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.” — Smart Bee

“Beware of the “Black Swan” fallacy. Deductive logic is tautological; there is no way to get a new truth out of it, and it manipulates false statements as
readily as true ones. If you fail to remember this, it can trip you – with perfect logic. The designers of the earliest computers called this the “Gigo Law”, i.e. “garbage in, garbage out”. Inductive logic is MUCH more difficult – but can produce new truths.” — Lazarus Long

“Man errs as long as he strives.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust

“‘T is but a part we see, and not a whole.” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 60

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” — Mark Twain

“Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke.” — Hermann Hesse

Okay, so, that works, sort of….. My apologies…. It’s not as clear as I’d hoped, though it’s quite good, in its own small way…. Not bad directions, if one is accustomed to pearls…. I’ve got it! Here is an example of how happiness works, and is available for use by anyone who wishes to use it….

I’m happy now…. I’m done….

(That’s it…. that’s the secret….. No? Not clear yet? Ah, well…. Well, we’ll try again later, ffolkes…. just remember, you CAN be happy, any time you wish…. It’s all a matter of choice…. Bonus? Nobody can take the choice away from you….)

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Retrospective, defined in folly….

Yesterday
I wrote a poem.

It bled out of my head,
like I’d been struck with
an axe,
right through the artery,
in the neck,
spraying blood around
everywhere,
like a pulsing garden hose….

It hurt, at first,
then came the feeling,

of quick relief,
of timeless beauty,

of pain avenged,
of lust aroused,

of outrage aflame,
of deep compassion,

of endless empathy,
of truest love….

Now it’s gone, cast away
like pearls before twine.

(Grin…)

You thought
I was going to call you
a pig,
didn’t you?

Hah!

Well, you’re not.
You’re a person.

I know, because
you’re reading this poem…
if that’s what it is.
I think it is,
so,
maybe it is.

Or, maybe,
it will be,
someday, when it
grows up,
and learns to rhyme.
Whew…
Just in time…..

That’s all.
Reality often sucks wind,
y’know?

S’okay, though….
It keeps us busy,
and out of some of the
mischief,
so much part
of our
nature.

We all can do
only what we
do.

Or, don’t.

Two sides, one coin.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 8/31/2014

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Today’s old-school pearl is pretty simple; it’s made up of good advice on how to live your life in a manner of your own choosing…. In short, it’s mostly stuff you already know, for peace is ALWAYS there inside all of us, just waiting for us to realize we are connected to the Universe at all times, if only we can remember….

“Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.” — Edward Abbey

“It is the edge and temper of the blade that make a good sword, not the richness of the scabbard; and so it is not money or possessions that make man considerable, but his virtue.” — Seneca

“. . is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood. It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness. It cannot be.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

“Think all you speak, but speak not all you think.” — Smart Bee

“You can’t get wet from the word ‘water’.” — Alan Watts

“It is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.” — Indira Gandhi

“When I was born, death kissed me. I kissed it back.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

“The whole life of man is but a point of time; let us enjoy it, therefore, while it lasts, and not spend it to no purpose.” — Plutarch — Of the Training of Children

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There! Did it….. A great sense of relief infuses me; getting this done is almost made worthwhile by so feeling, I must say. Have said so, I’ll torment you no further, but, rather, take my leave, while the leaving is good…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; as can be seen, it will take a lot to stop me…. Let’s just hope the PTB continue to ignore my intransigence, chalking it up to insanity…. Yeah, that’s the ticket….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Borne to be filed….

Posted on April 16, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“You could not step twice into the same rivers;

for other waters are ever flowing on to you.”

~~ Heraclitus ~~

January Spring in California

Pale, shaking, I sit to type, knowing full well I’ll never finish this one…. I’m not up to this, ffolkes, not today… I got most of it done yesterday, so, that’s what you’re getting, without any polish or stain…. In fact, this is it…. If it gets posted, I’ll consider it a victory over Reality….

I win…. which is good, if unrealistic….

Shall we Pearl?

“It is by not always thinking of yourself, if you can manage it, that you might somehow be happy. Until you make room in your life for someone as important to you as yourself, you will always be searching and lost …” — Richard Bach, Spoken by Leslie Parrish, The Bridge Across Forever

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

Image from http://www.notrecinema.net via Google images

I’m STILL in love…. SIGH…. fantasies are all we have some days….

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

Marianne Faithfull

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

https://youtu.be/j8JJ6du3Vio?list=RDj8JJ6du3Vio

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

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

First posted online, via Triond, in June of 2012:

Shouting into the Wind

Exploring extinction from a non-rhetorical view….

“We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism. Land can be healthy or sick, fertile or barren, rich or poor, lovingly nurtured or bled white. Our present attitudes and laws governing the ownership and use of land represent an abuse of the concept of private property…. Today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see and nobody calls the cops.” — Paul Brooks, The Pursuit of Wilderness (1971)

This statement is now over 50 years old, according to the attribution. From what I can see in the real world, it remains as true today as it was when uttered. We are killing our planet, or rather, we are killing ourselves, and making the planet suffer in the process. No matter how God-like we believe our powers to be, I don’t believe we can quite destroy a whole planet. But, we can sure make it a tough place to survive, and we are doing that rapidly….

Why are we doing this to ourselves? I’m not the only citizen who is asking this question; there are actually millions of people like me who are aware of how bad things have gotten, and I’ve seen a lot of printed material on the subject. The problem is that nobody with any power to make changes to society at large is at all concerned with the problem, because A) They tend to deny it, as it doesn’t match their delusional view of reality, and B) They don’t care…..

The first reason, denial, is rooted in the avarice and selfishness of those who seek political and/or religious power. Their purpose in life is to “get” as much as they can, gathering resources, money, and power over others to their bosoms like a mother cradles her babe. This purpose keeps them focused on their own goals, and denial is the simplest way to deal with any ideas that are contrary to those goals. There is a popular saying these days, that I’ve heard many, many times, most often with a smile and a wink, to show that the person wants us to believe they are kidding, when they really are not…. that saying goes, “He who dies with the most toys, wins….” That’s America, all over….

The second reason, indifference, was taught to these folks by the Christian religion. That’s right, religion is responsible, fully and completely, for most of what is wrong in today’s society. This statement will no doubt cause some consternation among those believers who are still buying into that shell game, but it is nonetheless true. It is difficult to build a rational institution when one’s beliefs are based on a basic untruth. More simply, false conclusions are the only possible result of beginning with a false assumption….

“The common dogma [of fundamentalists] is fear of modern knowledge, inability to cope with the fast change in a scientific-technological society, and the real breakdown in apparent moral order in recent years That is why hate is the major fuel, fear is the cement of the movement, and superstitious ignorance is the best defence against the dangerous new knowledge. When you bring up arguments that cast serious doubts on their cherished beliefs you are not simply making a rhetorical point, you are threatening their whole Universe and their immortality. That provokes anger and quite frequently violence.” — G. Gaia

What, you ask, is this false assumption? Well, I hate to be the one to break it to them, but hey, Mankind is NOT the top of the food chain. Mankind is NOT superior to the other animals, and plants, that live here with us. Mankind is NOT the “owner”, or the “steward”, or the “ruler” of this world. We are not the “Lords of Creation”, nor do we either deserve or actually possess the entitlement so many of our beloved ruling class feels, or claims. We are nothing more than a fortunate (for us) accident of Nature, no less than any other creature, but no more, for certain….

Here the free spirit of mankind, at length,
Throws its last fetters off; and who shall place
A limit to the giant’s unchained strength,
Or curb his swiftness in the forward race?

~~ William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) — The Ages, xxxiii ~~

It is unfortunate in the extreme that so many people believe this prideful boast! Being able to reason hasn’t improved our morality. Being able to imagine has not increased our empathy, or our compassion, though it should. As a species, looked at from an outside viewpoint, we are much less efficient as an animal than are almost any of the other animals we know of; dogs and cats are far superior morally, ethically, and operationally than are humans; I would add they are more intelligent as well, but the humans out there won’t believe that, even though it is obvious to me. I mean, who is feeding who here? Although still subject to the cruelty to which humans so often resort, dogs and cats control their humans pretty well, as a rule…..

“Dogs are animals that poop in public and you’re supposed to pick it up. After a week of doing this, you’ve got to ask yourself: Who’s the real master in this relationship?” — Anthony Griffin

All this goes back to the same old message that I’ve been sending out for years. If this species, Australopithecus modernus, does not make a change in it’s mental viewpoint, in our morality and how that makes us deal with the world, we’ll all be dead within 200 years. The planet will recover; all the poisons we’ve pumped into the environment will be neutralized, and the damage we’ve done will heal over time. But, we will be gone, if we don’t figure out how to change the whole way we deal with reality, from the top of society down…. I hate to be a cynic, but I don’t see it happening, and that is just sad…..

“Time destroys the speculations of man, but it confirms the judgment of nature.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

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

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 ~~

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

“Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity.” — Socrates

“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.” — Phaedrus (c. 8 A.D.) — Book i, Fable 26, 12

“Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.” — Frank Herbert

“The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather to what he does not say.” — Kahlil Gibran

You know you’ve achieved perfection in design,
Not when you have nothing more to add,
But when you have nothing more to take away.

~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~~

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

As noted, that’s all you get…. See ya, ffolkes, should I recover in time…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

How DOES it feel Tehachipi?….

Posted on February 15, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Our subjectivity

Is a mirrored,

Spiked casket.

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

Redwood in the City

Boy! Deng Ming sure can be harsh sometimes, eh? I usually enjoy his take on Taoist philosophy in the modern world, but, some of his quotes seem to have suffered in the translation, whether he performed it, or someone else. This one just seems to be a bit more of a “written in stone” sort of approach to a concept which seems to me to call for more flexibility, more fluidity, as does any idea used to express some part of the Tao in a way that helps others understand.

Oh, well. I suppose they can’t ALL be great aphorisms. Much like the picture today, one of my own, taken while waiting for a bus. I’m not sure whether the light patches are normal, due to light reflecting off morning mist, or, just another indication my camera is going to die soon. It’s given me other clues to warn me I’ll soon need a new one, if I wish to continue to take pictures to share. These days, that isn’t such a budget breaker as it formerly was; a good digital camera today will go on sale for under $200, with all the features an amateur such as myself can use…. I already have a tripod, and a USB cable which is industry standard, so, all I need is the camera….

Now, the trick is to find one on sale for the best price… Oh, right. Duh. Like a friend keeps pounding into my recalcitrant memory, AMAZON. Or, some other online store selling at discount prices, like E-Bay, and the ilk. Okay. I guess now I’ll have to actually do it, or suffer the embarrassment of having somebody bring it up a week from now, asking me where all the new pictures are? Oh, joy.

Now I get to go shop. Even shopping online, the whole process exhausts me; there are just too many choices, and not enough time to see them all. Since I always have a good idea of what I want, and what I want to pay, I tend to go for the first example I run across around that price, snapping it up like somebody else was going to steal it from me…. which, these days, means I probably missed a deal somewhere else for half price, of which I’ll be notified by a rapid inundation of email notices, all with free shipping, a week after getting the one I bought, at double the price, and full shipping…..

SIGH…. Now do you see why I am in the habit of saying, in full agreement with Arthur C. Clarke, there is no concrete evidence available to prove intelligence has any value as a survival tool? Even though I possess all the tools and knowledge to obtain a new camera in short order, at a good price, my own bozoid nature prevents me from utilizing those tools, or knowledge, to their best effect. At the point in time when I have the right amount of money available, I forget to go to one of the sites where I can get what I need; as soon as the money is used elsewhere, an email arrives with a good deal, or I see a picture I like, reminding me of the shortcomings of the deal I made in haste…

Ah well, at least it got me through another intro section, without having to actually strain so hard, my forehead bleeds. I hate when that happens; it runs all over my mustache. Blood is hard to clean from hair without yanking on it. Not that I’m a wimp, or anything like that, but, hey, yank on YOUR upper lip a few times, & see how YOU like it, eh?

So, do I sound Canadian? I’m thinking of visiting…. It’s getting to be the right time of year, for us warm-weather birds; I hear the spring, summer, and fall is nice up there, as long as one stays within a few hundred miles of the US border. Beyond there, it’s anybody’s ballgame when it comes to weather and cold. I’m a California boy, born and bred, (well, actually, I never asked, but, I think I’d have heard if the family was out of state a certain number of months before I was born…. but, to be honest, that part I can’t swear to…. I WAS born here, for sure, if my birth certificate is telling the truth….), in my world, cold, for long periods, or with accompanying semi-frozen water, is NOT my friend, nor anyone I enjoy spending time with…. at all.

Okay. I think eight full paragraphs of not a damn thing worth writing home about is enough for one day…. I’m outta here, before I find something else to babble about….

Shall we Pearl?

“. . is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood. It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness. It cannot be.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

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This lady has been one of my favorite comediennes since I first saw her, probably on Ed Sullivan, sometime in the 60’s. (Yes, some of us were there, and still remember it!) She’s fearless…. If you can’t find a smile watching her perform, I’m sorry, but, you are one of the seriously humor-impaired…. Enjoy, ffolkes, there’s nobody like Lily Tomlin….

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

Lily Tomlin as Ernestine the Telephone Operator

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

http://youtu.be/G0l9fE2RAj8

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

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

“Love withers under constraint: its very essence is liberty:

it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear.”

~~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~~

Day before yesterday’s Pearl had the customary three suggested Pearls at the bottom of the page; I sometimes read them to look for appropriate pieces for those times I’m not up to ranting, as much of what I rant about are ongoing issues, still relevant in today’s world. This is one of them, from about a year ago… Since I am not particularly up for ranting today, I offer this in lieu of anything fresh, as a worthy substitute… I mean, after all, I AM the one making the judgment, right? S’okay, it’s allowed, it’s my blog…. I hope you enjoy it, depressing as it may be for those who continue to hold out hope the world will make any necessary changes, in time to save our sorry butts…

From 2/25/2014; Introduction section:

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

This is not new wisdom, that we’ve never before seen or suspected; history has provided us with innumerable instances proving the truth of this aphorism….. Time after time throughout our short span of existence on this world, we find examples of men or women who had prior knowledge of an issue, and, by their silence, allowed it to take place, to the detriment of all…. It doesn’t make it right, but, it is certainly not an uncommon issue for mankind…. Such issues are not, perhaps, of all those we are given by Reality, our favorite gifts, …. In fact, many don’t look on this, or any knowledge, as gifts, at all; THAT is a big part of the entire problem….

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

I have found, in my fairly long life, most of mankind, I’m afraid, are cowards…. I’m not an exception, though it IS something I’ve tried hard to mitigate…. Fear is a hard thing for most of us to admit, even though it isn’t considered abnormal; it’s strength, and the way it causes us to lose control frightens us… However, that power is also its saving grace; the guilt one feels, for having given in to fear, stimulates us to greater effort, whereupon we find that courage within ourselves, the next time we are in danger of giving in…. This is how almost everything we do, of an ethical nature, ever gets done…. because someone discovers they DO have the courage to act when there is danger to themselves, or to those for whom they care…..

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

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

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

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

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

Ah well, what’s a Bozo to do, but, pull up his pants, pull down his shades, and smile, smile, smile? Why, he should use an old sort-of-love poem, only a day late for Valentine’s Day…. Well, that or bend over & kiss his own butt, which, at his age, is anatomically impossible…. thank goodness. Just read the poem, ffolkes, & don’t make me talk any more, okay? I’m losing it, fast…. But, I do hope you like the poem….

Time, and again….

Life, and/or love, will seldom fit
into any box we keep for them to sit.
Loose and limber, without any reason,
always somewhat out of season.

Surprise, surprise, they seem to say,
we can’t help it, it’s just our way.
If only you would learn, instead of know,
maybe you’d find yourself with one to show.

Deal, just the way it is, now and here,
follow the path, on the other side of fear.
Finding the future isn’t all blood, sweat, and pain,
far, far more than mere joy we stand to gain.

The sages all say not to try, just do,
sounds as simple as putting on a shoe.
I’d say we could really go places,
if we could but learn, to tie up the laces….

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Below you will find a quite nice pearl, of the standard variety, stretched into a nine-star configuration…. Smart Bee has continued to perform its duty with excellent dedication, so, there is no lack of good stuff to include…. You might wish to take notes on this pearl; ALL of these little gems could conceivably be on the Final Quiz we all must take one day…. If not, they’ll be of good use getting you by, in Life, until it’s time to sharpen your pencils….

“Well begun is half done.” — Aristotle

“Many things do not happen as they ought. Most things do not happen at all.” — Smart Bee

“The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it. Death is a commingling of eternity with time; in the death of a good man, eternity is seen looking through time.” — Goethe

“All stressed out, and no one to choke.” — gigoid, the dubious, via Smart Bee

“The world is not to be put in order, the world is order incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order.” — Henry Miller

“I am only a rat in a maze, like you — only the dead go free.” — Smart Bee

“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

“Death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.” — Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

“What I like is when you’re looking and thinking and looking and thinking… and suddenly you wake up.” — Hobbes

See? Pretty good, eh? I keep telling you; it’s all in the wrist….

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

I’m not entirely sure what may have taken place here today. I’ve been up for over two hours, having somehow regressed into a strong episode of tardive dyskinesia, which I had hoped to be done with until the next med cut…. An hour in a chair, trembling oneself awake every few minutes, jumpy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs is NOT fun, let me assure you…. Fortunately, I’d done a lot of this yesterday, so, it went smoothly enough; I’m merely unsure of how my brain is functioning. I can’t seem to feel it….

Oh, well. More proof we don’t really need our brains to get by, I guess. For now, I think I’ll just toss in the towel, and try to go back to bed, once the sun comes up…. Hmm… that’s completely ass backwards, isn’t it?…. Fuck it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t talk myself out of it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Mildred, leave the toilet seat where it is….

Posted on January 25, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“You can easily judge the character of others
by how they treat those
who can do nothing for them
or to them.”

~~ Malcolm Forbes ~~

From the London Daily Telegraph, Animal Pictures of the Year, 2014

Reality, having assumed a configuration untenable to my sanity, has retreated from my perception, leaving me stranded, forlornly seeking a fantasy world in which to spend my time. Of course, there are many from which to choose, making the process of making a choice that much more intimidating. The feeling of doom, with its concomitant companion, depression, lies in wait behind a number of them, always ready to kick me to the curb with its melancholy insistence on dwelling upon that which cannot be changed…. Others are more friendly, yet, contain their own demons, certain to devour even more of my soul than even Reality can consume…. All of them, from the first to the last, are certain to make things worse, for any retreat from what is Real only worsens the issues one has in that state….

Wow…. now THAT is a bummer of a way to start the day, isn’t it? I think, maybe, given how downright depressing nature of the above paragraph, the proctors will allow me to begin again. The authorities who regulate this process are aware of the problems that can ensue when such material is spread around; the damn stuff grows like weeds, given half a chance….. So…. I think we should start over, don’t you? Well, too bad, because we are…. Here, let’s try this….

What was that? Who’s there? Did I say something? Oh, I see, alright…. Good morning, L & G, I see you all have your boarding passes correctly stapled to your foreheads, so, the scanners should be able to get us all on board shortly. Allow me to welcome you to ECR Airlines, your friendly first-class carrier to Reality, and back. We hope you enjoyed the visit to our waiting room by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Old Maid Division, who treated us all to a rendition of John Sebastian Bock’s Ode to Fish. To enhance your vacation experience, and to give you an opportunity to regain your hearing, no on-board entertainment will be provided…. If you’d all take your seats, and buckle yourselves in, we can be on our way….

There, is that a bit better? No? Well, shit. Oh well, fuck it, I’m done. We’ll just have to go with what we’ve got, and trust to our luck to see us to the other end of the Pearl…. I’m tired of this nonsense, so, as I have already mentioned at least once, fuck it…. Let’s dive….

Shall we Pearl?

“‘If everybody minded their own business,’ the Duchess said, in a hoarse growl, ‘the world would go round a deal faster than it does.'” — Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

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

“Life is full of surprises when you’re up th’ stream of consciousness without a paddle…”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

There is a great deal I could say about this man; his words, and books, have had a strong influence on my life. More importantly, that influence has been one I can truthfully say has brought me nothing but good results, for having embraced the knowledge, and the mindfulness, Mr. Watts shared with the world for much of his life. He was truly one of the most important philosophical minds we, as humans, have ever seen; his presence is missed sorely in these troubled times, but, his words of wisdom and reason remain, showing us the way to reach our true potential, if we choose to listen…

Alan Watts: Full TV series

http://youtu.be/0gyTymQobR8?list=PL02D3110151849463

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

“Never create by law what can be accomplished by morality.”

~~ Charles-Louis Secondat Baron de Montesquieu ~~

We begin today’s section devoted to venting the frustration and angst created in me, by the state of our society/world, with yet another ironic statement of advice from a reliable social critic, giving voice to a warning, one which has been repeated often throughout history. Sadly, it is also a warning never, ever remembered by those who MAKE laws, to the everlasting regret of everyone alive. Even today, in our computerized world, fueled by the availability of universal access to ALL of mankind’s accumulated wisdom, nothing seems to prevent modern fanatics and/or ignoramae from continuing their efforts to force their own morality upon everyone else, by passing laws intended to shape the societal norms….

Even considering the wide array of sources of information I try to use, to maintain an even balance from all sides of the issues at hand, everything in the world seems to be, quite simply, turning to shit, right before our eyes…. Nothing any of the great sages of history have said, warning mankind of the danger of unreasoning stupidity, generally involving some sort of delusional, or self-serving institutional system of thought, has altered the overall prevalence of deliberate ignorance in shaping society’s approach to Life at Large. In short, nothing we’ve ever had told to us, by those among us smart enough to see the Truth, has ever been of use in keeping our inherent tendency to look for the easy way…. or, to prevent the more ruthless and immoral among us from taking advantage of those who allow fear to rule their existence.

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” — Lazarus Long, from Time Enough For Love, by Robert A. Heinlein

I first read this when I was about 12 or 13 years old; every day since that time has provided me with evidence in support of its ongoing relevance, reinforcing my decision to adopt it as a proven theorem, suitable for everyday wear as armor against the worst effects of such ubiquity…. Every day I witness people performing acts of incredible stupidity, not just on TV, but, everywhere I look; on the streets, in the stores, in churches, in businesses, homes, and, most especially, in Congress….

Calm down, you knew we had to come to this point, didn’t you? You should have known, as soon as the quote from Lazarus showed up, talk of the public humiliation embodied by the US House of Representatives, along with the US Senate…. Hell, ffolkes you MUST have known such talk couldn’t be far behind…. Both of those houses, by their actions over the past 50 years, for all of which I’ve steadily observed their antics, showed, to the world, as well as me, a consistent, practical demonstration of the very definition of the word “stupid”….. Anyone who disagrees is free to do so, but, obviously, they must have been living on another planet since before 1950…. Tough to do, since we humans didn’t even get to our own Moon until 1969….

“Imagine, if you will, that I am an idiot. Then, imagine that I am also a Congressman. But, alas, I repeat myself.” — Mark Twain

As is apparent, our generation is not the first in this country to suffer from the asinine goings on in Washington D.C. In the less-than-glorious past of our country, more than one Senator, and/or Representative of the House, have acted as role models, prompting Twain to hold them up as examples of idiocy, one of his finer talents. In fact, one of his most telling insults, in my mind, is one I’m positive was made in reference to a politician of his era, though I couldn’t say which one it might have been…. If his work, and that of Ambrose Bierce, who wrote a bit earlier than Twain, are any indication of the public perception of typical politicians, then the following pearl makes a perfect statement of that view during most of the 19th century….

“His ignorance covers the world like a blanket, and there’s scarcely a hole in it anywhere.” — Mark Twain

Unfortunately, the description also can be, and must be, applied to far too many of the human race; the sheer, ever-increasing number of mundanes in the world, each one determined to maintain the status quo, imparts to society so great an inertia, any changes needed require herculean effort by large numbers of people, before any real reform, or even negative progress, can show any effect on society as a whole…. Only massive outpouring of human energy, over long periods of time, can cause society to alter the slightest custom….

This is why I like to say humanity’s bus is driven by, and, maintained by, those of whom the most charitable description of their relative intelligence might be considered to be derogatory….. In short, our fate as a species is being decided by folks who have trouble out-thinking rocks, who serve chiefly as a means for transporting their own ass from chair to toilet, while demonstrating, on a consistent basis, the emotional range of a button-hole.

In case it isn’t apparent, I’m not a big fan of politicians…. preachers either. Nor anyone whose primary goal in life is in any way involved in controlling other people for their own gain…. To me, that includes far too many of those who are in positions of authority in our world, in which sociopathy has become the most valuable and efficient means of gaining power and influence, not merely in what used to be termed the underworld, but, in government, churches, business, academia, the medical community, police and military…. All these powerful entities are all under the spell of the cult of self-love, what my uncle called ‘Me-Firsterism’, but, which I simply call ‘Evil’, borne out of a deep laziness, lack of compassion, and amorality….

But, then, that’s me…. Most of the world doesn’t even think about much of this sort of issue; they’re too busy trying to get by, to make the rent, or the car payment, or the food bill, to spend much mental energy on wondering why their lives are so hard…. S’okay, one of the most critical lessons my years on this sad old ball o’mud taught me is a simple one, which tells us, “Stupidity is its own reward”…. To me, ignoring, or accepting, those who would enslave us all is, quite simply, stupid….. I refuse to countenance such indifference of spirit, in me, or in my life….

I’ll leave you now a relatively short group of pearls, with some advice on the proper attitude to take when dealing with members of several of the categories mentioned above, all of which, by association, are applicable any time we are forced to deal with representatives of those we here at ECR call, the Asininnies….

“There is one sure way of telling when politicians aren’t telling the truth — their lips move.” — Felicity Kendall

“Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.” — Claud Cockburn

“I have an understanding with my local police–I have them outgunned, but they have me outnumbered” — gigoid

“For your penance, say five Hail Marys and one loud BLAH!” — Smart Bee

“All them surgeons – they’re highway robbers. Why do you think they wear masks when they work on you?” — Archie Bunker — All in the Family

“If idiots could fly, Congress would be an airport.” — Smart Bee

“Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.” — Lazarus Long

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

Well…. the poem I’ve been percolating decided to leak out of the vein I opened this morning…. I’m really not sure what I think of it yet; it’s still too close to my nose, so to speak…. I hope you enjoy it, such as it is….

Sundown, Sunrise

Feel the bones, watch them burn
allow the rage
accept the wage
seek out the page
waiting in vain, never to turn.

Craving only simple signs of justice
compelling each social act
cancels all critical impact
no virtue to be left intact
falling swiftly out of practice.

Simple acts of sincere compassion
nothing left to pretend
no stone, no able friend
only the pain to amend
ably fulfilling current fashion.

Memories help alleviate pain
no youth so callow
no field so fallow
no spirit so shallow
convince each inmate to remain insane.

Reality offers no pathetic amnesty
no contract with indemnity
no party to suffer serenity
shall stimulate dishonest pity
nor bring back Truth, or Honesty.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Weird…. I asked SB to make up a pearl, without giving any parameters, or any clue at all as to what might work…. When I came back to see the results, this is what I found; it seems to be SB’s interpretation of my life, as it currently exists…. Since it also seems to be pretty damn accurate, speaking, of course, metaphorically, we’ll let it fly, trusting to luck to see no deleterious side effects come into play …. You may want to take notes; this one could end up on the Quiz….

” The road to truth is long, and lined the entire way with annoying bastards” — Alexander Jablokov, “The Place of No Shadows”

“If a cat spoke, it would say things like “Hey, I don’t see a problem here.”” — Smart Bee

“Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.” — Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown

“Is consciousness just a special form of hallucination?” — Frank Herbert

“And when the physician said, “Sir, you are an old man,” “That happens,” replied Pausanias, “because you never were my doctor.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Pausanias the Son of Phistoanax

“To use words but rarely is to be natural.” — Lao Tzu

“Not for me” — gigoid, the dubious

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

“Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt.”

~~ Clarence Darrow ~~

Just before I wrote the poem you see in the poetry section, above, I found this most excellent pearl, without any good place to put it…. So, since it fits into our whole concept so well, I thought I’d use it today as a closing thought, to highlight the importance of teaching our children how to think, how to learn, rather than just how to obey…. On that singularly coherent note, I shall take my leave. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

As the sole survivor, he’ll feel some guilt….

Posted on January 5, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Go on, EMOTE! I was RAISED on thought balloons!!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

London Daily Telegraph Animals of the Week, December 2014

Timing is everything…. the photographer who grabbed this image certainly knows this, now, if not before taking the photo. Of the three entities involved in this cosmic interaction, which do you think is the most clueless? I say the frog…. but, the human probably comes close…. The moth obviously knows what it is about; it stopped to pose on a frog whose skin color is a perfect match for its own wings….

Now my little fantasy is done, what shall we do? It’s hopeless to think it will have any real meaning, but, maybe we could go for some humor; that’s always a good way to start the day….. Okay, we’ll try it….

A guy calls 911; when the operator asks what is happening, he pants in a panicked voice, “My buddy and I are out hunting, and he just accidentally shot himself! What should I do?” The operator calmly replies, “Calm down, sir. Now, the first thing to do is, make sure he is actually dead.” The guy says, “Okay”, & the operator hears the phone get set down…. She then hears a gunshot, & after a moment the voice comes back on the line, and says, “Okay, now what?”….

There, isn’t that funny? No? What do you mean? I happen to know this joke was voted the best joke ever told in a survey a few years ago….. Well, I think it’s funny….

Well, that didn’t work so well, did it? Y’know what? I’m giving up. I don’t give a shit anymore. Y’all can figure out your own damn introductions…. Screw it, we’re outta here….

Shall we Pearl?

“One of the most perverse things about the universe is that it doesn’t care what you believe.” — Smart Bee

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

“The moving cat sheds, and having shed, moves on…” — Smart Bee

What else? Cats, doing cat stuff…. Being the sort of person who likes to leave things done merely half-way, this one is about an HOUR of cat’s displaying their funny side…. Enjoy, if you have the time to waste….

Funny Cats Video Compilation 2014

http://youtu.be/h7Pr4ijnXNg

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

“The world is wide and beautiful. But almost everywhere, everywhere, the children are dying.” — Edward Abbey

What a powerful lament! Mr. Abbey shows us, in one line, the true state of reality, as it concerns any person to whom honor is as necessary to life as is breath… In truth, I’d love to be able to rant about it, but, I just don’t have one in me today…. I will, however, find an appropriate entry from the archives, to speak to this issue, the best I may….

Ooh, ooh…. Wait a minute… I saw this yesterday, when the email notice from this site came in…. Here then, to fill the need for some words of warning about “those who would be kings”, a post from our friends at talesfromtheconspiratum, by our old friend Lou…. with an article to remind us of the extent of lying to the public by the government, that goes on here in the good old US of A…. Pay attention, ffolkes, this is all evidence based fact, not supposition….

http://talesfromtheconspiratum.com/2015/01/04/2015-reminder-government-word-is-worthless/

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/2015-reminder-government-word-is-worthless_012015

Now, be honest, ffolkes…. You didn’t believe them, did you?…. I didn’t, but, I was lucky, & found out some of the truth at a young age…. Most folks never realize this at all, going through their entire lives living by the lies they accept as truth…. SIGH…. You know it’s a piteous, pathetic issue, when even Shakespeare gets it right…..

But man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he ‘s most assured,
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven
As make the angels weep.

~~ William Shakespeare ~~

~~ Measure for Measure — Act ii, Sc. 2 ~~

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

For some reason, this poem, the most recent of my own efforts, seems to fit perfectly with today’s themes, such as they are….

A dream, weeping….

“Never a dull moment to spare”, he said
with a crooked grin, and a broad wink.
“Can’t keep Reality hanging by a thread….
what would Chaos, or Entropy think?”

So, we plucked up our dreams of old,
to carry us on, in dutiful, strong arms,
stuffed a candle in the remaining fold,
for luck, and perfect proof against charms.

Storms follow the sun, but, never stay;
lessons round every corner, all free.
Past fleeting doubts, in a sad disarray,
the journey becomes the reason to be.

Simple kindness manifests untold riches,
in defiance of common cause’s demise.
Bold courage, hanging in stitches,
mends wounds that come as no surprise.

Still, waters run deep, ’tis said by many.
Too much pain cannot apprehend
the salient, sharp points of epiphany,
nor, plainly, to wisdom aspire to pretend.

Folly dogs even the simplest truth,
fumes of toxic ignorance and bile,
alienated as a loose rotten tooth;
it often hides itself, for a long while.

Sought after eons ago, we cried out,
to believe, to suffer no more doubt.
But found instead good reason,
for love, and truth, from season, to season.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Here is what I’d term a “normal” pearl of virtual wisdom, if such word may be used here; we do tend to stretch the meaning of it just a bit…. Chock full of good advice on how to live a life well lived, it also manages to bring us to the correct conclusion using humor, and deep insight into not just human nature, but, how to deal with being human…. Well, maybe I’m strange, but, it says all that to me…. Try it, ffolkes, you’ll like it….

“He ‘s armed without that ‘s innocent within.” — Alexander Pope — Satires, Epistles, and Odes of Horace, Epistle i, Book i, Line 94

“There’s more to living than not dying.” — Smart Bee

“Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be attained only by someone who is detached.” — Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace

“To endure oneself may be the hardest task in the universe. You cannot hire a wise man or any other intellect to solve it for you. There’s no writ of inquest or calling of witness to provide answers. No servant or disciple can dress the wound. You dress it yourself or continue bleeding for all to see.” — Frank Herbert

“The measure of a man’s life is the well spending of it, and not the length.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Consolation to Apollonius

“Keep the juices going by jangling around gently as you move.” — Satchel Paige

“Just the facts, Ma’am.” — Joe Friday

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

Finding myself here at the end of today’s post is a bit of a surprise; I suppose I got caught up in the sheer joy of an entire hour’s peace, found in the absence of my usual morning companions, pain and misery…. Not that they aren’t hovering, waiting to break through the distraction writing sometimes provides…. but, it’s nice to have a bit of space, which has been hard to come by…. We aren’t going to fall into a litany of complaints now, though, we’re going to take our leave, just as if it were planned that way…. Whether it was or not (and I wouldn’t wager on either direction….), I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, most likely…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Look Hilly! A red tie, a flag pin, a fake smile, & a ready lie…. It’s one of them rogue politicians!…

Posted on November 6, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Live so that you can at least get the benefit of the doubt.”

~~ Kin Hubbard ~~

The Litany Against Fear

~~ Bene Gesserit Mantra ~~

From “Dune” by Frank Herbert

The world we live in, because of a serious flaw in our nature, is a dangerous place…. As Albert Einstein once observed, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” The nature of our inherent flaw has been the subject of inquiry since the beginning of recorded history, and before; it has been examined, analyzed, dissected, and discussed innumerable times, and ways, with no real solution to the problem ever becoming apparent…. To this day, this…. weakness, prevalent in a large percentage of the species, continues to cause difficulties for the entire planet, not only for ourselves….

However, we, or I, won’t rant about it, not yet…. But, I’d like to point out the basic nature of the flaw that is so common it has proved to be nearly impossible to delete from our internal file systems, (Perhaps it may be said to be not so ‘nearly’…. nothing we’ve tried has ever helped much, so, it may just BE completely impossible to eradicate the root cause from our lives…. simply because it is a root part of our nature….). I like to describe the flaw by calling it by it’s most common name, to wit: deliberate ignorance…. This is not to say that those who possess the flaw are stupid, necessarily…. Stupid can’t help being stupid; ignorance is a choice, one made by those who wish never to feel, or, in their own eyes, have any responsibility for their actions, and, especially regarding how those actions affect those around them….

This, of course, a long winded way to say they are plain and simple, selfish, narcisstic assholes, who consistently choose to use their abilities and talents solely for their own benefit…. They have no compassion, for they don’t acknowledge the innate worth of anyone but themselves…. This attitude arises out of our most basic emotional reaction to what the world does around us, i.e., fear…. The asinine buttheads who prey on other people for their own benefit are, quite simply, cowards…. All of what they see and perceive about the world frightens them to death, because they do not have the courage to ever admit their own ignorance…. Without admitting one does not know, one can never learn anything at all, including anything that would reduce their overriding fears….

The Litany Against Fear, from the book, Dune, is one man’s attempt to offer a partial solution, to the extent that if one has the wit to study themselves, and use the ideas of others to help them understand both themselves and the world around them, affirmations such as the Litany help to train the mind, into one with true knowledge of the universe, and their place in it…. This knowledge, and the qualities one must develop to obtain it, have the net result of removing the power of the fear which is our most common reaction to things we don’t understand… When one has come to understand their own fears, those fears have no more power to control or influence one’s actions….

What I can tell you for sure is that it works…. I first read the book when I was about fourteen, and I found that, prior to that time when I studied the arts of war more thoroughly, and trained myself to be as dangerous as the world I inhabit, it helped to control the power of fear in me, to where I controlled IT, rather than the other way around. The knowledge I sought and found later served to supply me with even greater resistance to those fears, until it no longer was of any great concern…. Having had the advantage of knowing, and using, the Litany was of immense help….

There, now, that wasn’t so bad, was it? We managed to complete enough chatty conversational discussion to qualify as a proper intro section, so, if nothing else is true, that worked just fine…. I can’t say I’m any more impressed than usual, but, it works well enough to get on with the rest of today’s messiness…. which is, no doubt, a good thing, as my hands are all weirded out this morning, giving me fits if I type too long…. Before it gets so bad I can’t hit the right keys at all, I’d best use that hole right there, and get us out of here…. Hang on, ffolkes…

Shall we Pearl?

“When a man has pity on all living creatures then only is he noble.” — Buddha

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

In today’s digital world, becoming famous to much of the world isn’t necessarily difficult; what is difficult is maintaining the same degree of fame over time…. The world mostly has a very short attention span…. This comedian/social critic/self-styled revolutionary, Russell Brand, has managed, by publishing his thoughts and public interviews on You Tube, to keep society’s attention, if not completely focused on him at all times, still in their awareness to compel their attention, after a couple of years….

His ideas and words become news in no time, as the media finds him to be a ratings booster, due to his unique style, and the attractiveness of his ideas to a large portion of humanity….. If nothing else, he’s a kick to listen to, especially if one examines his ideas more deeply, to find they are, generally, right on the mark…. Enjoy, ffolkes, there is a lot of stuff at the link you might find either amusing, or astounding, or offensive…. but, mostly, you won’t dismiss any of it as nonsense, because it’s pretty obvious the stuff he spouts off about is mostly all true….

Russell Brand on David Letterman – October 13th 2014 – Full Interview

http://youtu.be/_9h7clmd6Vc

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

“The punishment suffered by the wise who refuse to take part in the government,

is to live under the government of bad men.”

~~ Plato ~~

http://time.com/3558263/mitch-mcconnell-shutdown-obamacare-majority-leader/

In an interview that brings new meaning to the phrase, “mealy-mouthed”, Mitch McConnell lives up to his reputation as one of the most dishonest, amoral politicians alive today, a true disciple of the master of evil, one of his predecessors as the third or fourth most powerful flunkie on the continent, the demon Cheney, and the newest example of the obvious lack of connection to the REAL demographic diversity of the citizens of the United States. Even though he actually says nothing in the interview that could be in any way construed as a promise, or a commitment to any position at all, he still managed to demonstrate his complete ignorance of anything that is of real importance to any of those citizens, beyond the now small minority of rich, white Caucasians, and those who believe all their bigoted, racist nonsense.

“It is a sin to believe evil of others, but it is seldom a mistake.” — H. L. Mencken

Mr. Mencken has, sadly, hit upon what gives all the appearance of a universal truth, when applied to Mankind…. Well, perhaps only in specific cases, rather than universal, but the great majority do have problems resisting evil impulses, or display a distressing lack of will regarding evil influences…. In short, strangely enough, a lot of people, especially those who end up as politicians, or preachers, or police, or mercenaries, or snakeheads, or bankers (to wit: that part of Man that preys upon the rest, acting solely out of motivations based on personal gain….) are those who make the decision to embrace darkness, rather than resisting its seductive call….

But then, the darkness promises one need never feel personally responsible for any acts of evil, or have any compassion for others, especially for their victims, whom they typically view with great disdain….. all while consistently presenting a different face to those victims, a face they are seduced into believing is one to be trusted to think for them….

Yes, it sounds rather far-fetched to me, also, that ANYONE would fall for this load of crap, but, they do, time after time, generation after generation…. To view the patterns of human history is to wonder if the tendency to be forced into slavery is a congenital failing, peculiar to a portion of the human race, as opposed to others who are congenitally predisposed to prey on their own kind….

SIGH…. Bummer. I find myself, at this point, unable to carry on this rant, due to physical constraints…. (Hmm? Oh, no. nothing life-threatening… it’s just that my hands seem to be turning into bricks….). Rather than just abandoning our indictment of the asininnies we’ve hauled into the limelight, allowing them to scatter off into the cracks in the walls, like a herd of the vermin they resemble so closely, without at least hearing the indictment against them, we’ll try something else…

I know, I’ll ask SB to put together a short pearl to accomplish for us some of the poking of their dignity, and pulling of their covers we so enjoy…. Let’s see what it can find for us, shall we?….

“At a convention of biological scientists one researcher remarks to another, “Did you know that in our lab we have switched from mice to lawyers for our experiments?” “Really?”, the other replied, “Why did you switch?” “Well, for two reasons. First we found that lawyers are far more plentiful, and second, the lab assistants don’t get so attached to them.” — Smart Bee

“Those who suppress freedom always do so in the name of law and order.” — John Lindsay

“Money is wrong. It’s the means whereby man enslaves his brother.” — Finny

“Government, today, is growing too strong to be safe. There are no longer any citizens in the world; there are only subjects. They work day in and day out for their masters; they are bound to die for their masters at call. Out of this working and dying they tend to get less and less.” — H.L. Mencken

“When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: ‘Whose?'” — Don Marquis

“He is useless on top of the ground; he aught to be under it, inspiring the cabbages.” — Mark Twain

“A guilty conscience never feels secure.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 617

“A traveller at Sparta, standing long upon one leg, said to a Lacedaemonian, “I do not believe you can do as much.” “True,” said he, “but every goose can.”
— Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Remarkable Speeches

Basta! We all probably can find something more productive on which to spend our time…. Onward….

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

Here is a poem by one of my favorite modern poets; his work is gritty, real, and straight to the point…. It’s very powerful stuff, written from the vantage point of a man who spent most of his life on the streets…. which made him an excellent voice of the people…. Plus, what he writes seems to often complement the subjects on which I choose to rant, such as today….

Challenge To The Dark

shot in the eye
shot in the brain
shot in the ****
shot like a flower in the dance

amazing how death wins hands down
amazing how much credence is given to idiot forms of life

amazing how laughter has been drowned out
amazing how viciousness is such a constant

I must soon declare my own war on their war
I must hold to my last piece of ground
I must protect the small space I have made that has allowed me life

my life not their death
my death not their death…

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

Smart Bee seems to think I have nothing better to do this morning than sit here and patiently wait for it to get off its ass & give me what I need to finish…. This took forfuckingever…. Wow. I must have used that word before, because Spell Checker didn’t even blink at it…. Okay, so, that bodes well for the rest of this group…. May as well get started…. but, I’d suggest you hook the safety line to the hook by the doorway, so as not to fall out of the plane if we have to make any sudden flight adjustments due to confusion….

Actually, this begins strongly, and in some way, brings us where we would otherwise wish to be…. I guess….

Happily may I walk.
May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.

— Navajo Night Chant

“When man learns to understand and control his own behavior as well as he is learning to understand and control the behavior of crop plants and domestic animals, he may be justified in believing that he has become civilized.” — E. C. Stakman

“Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be entertained.” — John Powell

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“As great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope.” — Ursula K. LeGuin

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” — H.P. Lovecraft, ‘Supernatural Horror in Literature’

“You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.” — Erica Jong

Hmm…. I’m not sure about this one, but, it seems to make some sense, sort of…. Ah well, each individual pearl is enough to work with, and, now, we’re done….

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

No doubt, I’ve done better…. But, since the last line of the last section pretty much says it all, I think I’ll take my chances, & take my leave while the possibility of arrest is still speculation, not a certainty…. 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….

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

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

“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”

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

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

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

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 ~~

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

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?….

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

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….

Bound for Bohemia….

Posted on October 7, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“One ought, every day at least,

to hear a little song,

read a good poem,

see a fine picture,

and, if it were possible,

to speak a few reasonable words.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

Since I never learned to speak, or read, or write in Latin, the soothing release of creating a poem in Virgilian hexameter is denied me; this is too bad, since I could use the bleed-off of some of this internal pressure. Beset on all sides, (for how does one escape one’s own memories?…), I have been withdrawing from the outer world, partly for my benefit, but, mostly to keep from inadvertently dumping on those who don’t deserve it, a nasty little habit to which just about everyone alive falls prey, at one point or another in Life. At least I’m old enough to see it coming, isolating myself until the danger passes….

My mind is being stubborn, though, and even staying away from the public as much as possible isn’t doing the trick; waves of dark memories keep assaulting me at odd moments, bringing with them the same passions they held when current, thanks to the now seemingly permanent stripping away of all my distance from them, a distance hard to build, and harder to maintain, apparently… It’s been a couple years since I felt this unstable…. and, I want to go on record as saying I don’t much like it…. a perfectly natural reaction, by the way….

That is my main problem, you see…. One of the psychiatrists I saw for a time told me once that I wasn’t really insane, so much as having a sane reaction to insane conditions in my life…. Not terribly helpful, other than as a directional pointer, but, it does make it a bit easier to accept, as being the only course of action available to keep myself sane…. It’s just that the sanity I’m experiencing resembles too closely the insanity I’ve also seen… more’s the pity….

So, I’m subsisting through each day, minute by torturous minute, trying desperately to find my center again…. It is an old, familiar search, but, sadly, needs to cover new ground each time I have to go looking for it… so, any maps or techniques I’ve managed to keep are not valid, or particularly useful in completing the search…. All the answers are to be found buried in new ground, which I first must find…. It sounds complicated, and, to an extent, it is… but, it’s also very simple, once I find the key, which is knowing not so much what to stop, but, where to look for something to distract me from the insistent remembrances that plague my waking hours…. i.e., finding that distance, between me and the pain, whether physical, or mental….

Ah, the hell with it, I’m just whining, so, fuck it…. I see a place we can break loose here, so, let’s take advantage of it while we can…..

Shall we Pearl?

Let us begin with a pearl that puts a very fine point on a core reason for the state of the world today, concerning how those who prey on others can bring themselves to do so, seemingly without conscience, or empathy of any kind….

“Alienation without must be accompanied by alienation within; that is the law for every social level, even individuals. To harm one’s fellows, even one’s enemies, harms you, takes away some essential element from your self-respect and self-image.” — Greg Bear

Or, as someone said, long ago, in a simpler time….

“It belongs to human nature to hate those you have injured.” — Tacitus (54-119 AD) — Agricola, 42

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

Having spent the last few days in conflict with myself, I accept there is no rant in me just now; one must be confident to spew….. As part of the battle, here is a piece from shortly after this blog was begun, with some words about some of what I’m dealing with…. You could easily skip this section today, as it is chiefly here to assuage my own needs…. But, it’s not a bad little pearl, so, read on, if you’ve got the time….

From 9/24/2011:

Ffolkes,
I once read an article or essay somewhere that made this claim: when we cry or feel deeply sad over the death of a loved one, we are really crying for ourselves, not for the departed. In at least one respect, that is true; the person who has passed away is no longer suffering, and presumably has gone on to a better place, so in truth we ought to be happy, not sad. But we are sad, because it hurts to know that one in whom we have placed our trust and love will not be around anymore for us to be with, to talk to, to enjoy. So in that sense we are crying for ourselves, in lamentation for lost love.

But, unlike the author of the piece I was reading, I believe that is okay. It is, if nothing else, a completely human reaction to feel pain at a loss, and to a certain extent our reaction may be called selfish; no one can deny that selfishness is purely human. But it is more than merely selfish, because humans are never just one thing at a time. We also feel our loss in other ways, and with other feelings.

There is relief, for the ending of whatever pain the loved one may have been experiencing. There may be guilt, too, for taking the presence of the loved one for granted, or for not telling them they were loved. All of these differing reactions, and the many more I haven’t mentioned, only prove our humanity more, for in spite of what some would have us believe, we are not simple creatures. The relationships we build throughout our lives are held together with a myriad of feelings, all relating to the other person and the time we have shared with them. Our feelings don’t occur alone; there are always more than only one, for when they occur, they engender other feelings, which will then cause another, and another, and so on.

These thoughts, and a million more, have been circling around in my head for about a day now, since my brother called yesterday to let me know that our mother had passed away at about 1:00 pm. It was not unexpected; she was 90 years-old, and had been in the hospital for a week after suffering a massive stroke. I am sad, of course, and will miss her very much, but in truth, I don’t think it has really hit me yet.

When my father passed away, 20 or more years ago, the full reaction didn’t come until weeks later, and I have the feeling that in this instance, it may be some time before I can grieve fully. It’s just so hard to accept their absence; there is never any real belief they are gone until one day, all one’s feelings just crash in at once. So, I have that to go through yet, which is okay by me. I have enough problems just now, and can’t really afford to fall apart at present.

Today’s Pearls were picked out before I heard about my Mom, and so have no particular point in light of that. They are. however, well able to make their own point…..

“A ‘No’ uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“He who is most slow in making a promise, is the most faithful in the performance of it.” — Rousseau

“Here I am in the POSTERIOR OLFACTORY LOBULE but I don’t see CARL SAGAN anywhere!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“If you never assume importance you never lose it.” — Lao-tzu

“Before you speak, just remember that you will not be asked to explain what you did not say!” — Smart Bee

Such a fine group of Pearls really deserves some witty or profound remark in response, but I’m afraid that may be asking too much of my Muse today, so we’ll have to make do with this…..y’all take care out there….and don’t forget to tell the people you love that they are appreciated. Ya never know when they might not be there any more to tell…..

Note from 2014: Okay, grieving for today is done…. let’s go on, shall we?…..

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

I picked this out days ago; if you’ve never heard of this artist, I’m not surprised, but, am also disappointed, as he was a legendary performer, and songwriter, perfectly voicing the beliefs and feelings of the time he was performing…. He also is one of the very few artists to give it all up when he started to become famous; he didn’t like the way it was changing his life, so he retired, to a private existence, only re-emerging recently to give us a bit more of his music… This was one of his few live performances, before he retired….

Cat Stevens, Live in Williamsburg, Va., 1976

http://youtu.be/pFuL3_RmxII

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

One thing about angst; it can make me bleed words….

Tempered Flesh, with Blood

Tiresome, the darkness, sitting in the sun,
submissively balancing over the pit.
Quiet as old terror, each brick one by one
building crescendo, sans music, sans style, sans wit.
Shadows thrown offer speculative fiction,
earning respite from burgeoning miscellany.
Light’s presence offers potential benediction,
if not divine, perhaps, then, beautifully zany.

Hours pass in days, minutes in a week,
challenging Reality to argue, adding a subtle smirk.
One humbly submits in hope of grace, small respite to seek,
in spite of prescient insistence ’twill never work.
Wave upon wave crash against the bloodied shore,
wearing down all natural defense.
All light is extinguished, darkness evermore;
if preserving life and love, sin no more.

~~ gigoid ~~

I’m not certain it’s done, but, that’s all there is for now…. I have a feeling it will grow further; for now, it’s all I have in me….

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

Now we come to the freshes part of this pearl…. picked out yesterday, in the midst of the cacophony in my head, I cannot vouch for how it came out, though I do accept responsibility…. Try to enjoy it anyway, okay?….

“What then in the last resort are the truths of mankind? — They are the’ _irrefutable_ errors of mankind.” — Nietzsche

“Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.” — Bergen Evans, The Natural History of Nonsense (1946)

“Human Kind cannot bear very much reality.” — T.S. Eliot, “Burnt Norton”

“To see what is right and not to do it, is want of courage.” — Confucius Analects

“We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” — Aldous Huxley

Far or forgot to me is near;
Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
And one to me are shame and fame.
They reckon ill who leave me out;
When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
And I the hymn the Brahmin sings.

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

“Brahma”

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

Before I forget, today’s first photo, of the beaver family, is another shot from the London Daily Telegraph Animal Pictures of the Week series. This one had a nice story: A young couple started observing two beavers in the wild, watching from a distance as they built their dam, had a baby, living their peaceful lives… After a couple years, the beavers became so accustomed to their presence, they allowed them to approach closer, to the point of greeting them whenever they came to visit, and posing for this picture…. It’s nice to see a story about something other than bombs, and rape, and police aggression…. hence, the inclusion here, as a reminder of something good in the world….

Thus far today, I have abused a surly security guard, two smarmy lab technicians, and one way-too-perky nurse, who dared address me prior to having coffee, but, I didn’t kill anyone while I was out, in spite of being caffeine-challenged…. Even when the sunshiny little perkette smiled at me & gave out with a classic cliche, (She actually said, “you’re alive!”, when I growled at her), I managed not to hit her with my stick, though sorely tempted. I did, however, reply to that statement with “Yeah, and not real f__ing happy about it, either!”, so, she went away with a bit less of a shine on her day…. I was sorry for it, but, it was her own fault for talking to me after I’d already growled a warning….

On that note, I’ll be leaving now, before I dump on somebody else…. See y’all tomorrow…. maybe…. I might have fled the country by then….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

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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Tag Archives: Frank Herbert

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Bound for Bohemia….

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