Saved… by the Belle of the Ball….

Posted on September 22, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“It’s like brother Nietzsche said–being human is a complicated gig,

so give that dark night of the soul a hug and howl the eternal yes.”

— Chris in the Morning —

DJ on the TV show, Northern Exposure

“Hut! Two, three, four; hut! two, three, four…” The cadence rang out from the grizzled old sergeant, while alongside his ramrod-straight, hard-striding form, marched a column of grim-faced warriors, all tall, rangy specimens with bristling weapons strapped at various places, each one bearing scars from a hundred battles, brave circlets of gold circling arms, brows, and belts, to signify survival. Each somber face held the same eyes, a piercing blue that sharply contrasted the black hair all wore, in long braids tied down for convenience.

From the small knives worn on the belt and calf, to the laser-sword at the belt, to the long-range blasters, mortars, bazookas, and grenades, strapped to the belts worn crossed over the chest, this troop of warriors exemplified the best of the best, trained enforcers of the emperor’s will, the most dangerous soldiers in the galaxy…. Spoken only in a hushed whisper, their name, chosen to bring fear to all, implies the terror of….. the Emperor’s Arm….

We’ll leave the Arm to ready itself for its next battle, while we give a hug to the dark night, and howl with brother Nietzsche, an eternal YES! That sounds marginally better than trying to continue to come up with words I gave up, as part & parcel of my own life, a long time ago…. I have, in my life, had much more than my share of violence to deal with, in spite of having cleverly avoided getting caught up in the illegal warfare this country has been engaging in since before the day I was born…

In fact, the US was involved in its first, though certainly not last, incidence of this country going to a warlike state, but, without having any wars declared by Congress in which to engage, ON the day I was born, in 1950; we’d been in Korea with the UN for months by then…. Then, in 1954, our imperialist corporate masters were having a hard time keeping control of the heroin trade in Southeast Asia, so, we sent Air America, and a bunch of “advisers” to Cambodia, South Vietnam, and Thailand, to protect those corporate interests there…. Ten years later, in 1964, the covers got pulled, so Johnson, Nixon, and the crew sent over a few hundred thousand of our finest young citizens, to die for their corporate masters in the jungles of the Asian continent.

That, of course, kept us busy for a long time, only coming to a halt in 1975, when we finally had to admit defeat, for perhaps the first time in our history…. Well, of course, for our hawks, that certainly wouldn’t do, so, we started to see where in the world we could interfere with the locals, in order to keep our arms dealers happy, and making a steady profit, selling us bombs, and tanks, and all that nice weaponry and vehicles…. which, now that a bunch of it is out of date, is being sent to the police forces in America, to arm them beyond all reason or need….

Since leaving Asia, we’ve mainly been using our armed might to “fight terrorism”, a convenient ghost to chase, distracting the public from how much is being spent on the OTHER undeclared wars we’ve had in the last twenty-five years…. Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iraq again, now Syria…. It makes no sense, except to the arms dealers…. Since WWII, this country has been at war, pretty much constantly, for the entire time period from then to now…. and, I would wager serious money that we’ve spent over 100 trillion dollars, on just arms and ammunition, (planes and bombs add up quickly, at $75 million/day….), WITHOUT EVER DECLARING OURSELVES TO BE AT WAR!….

SIGH…. I really hadn’t planned to rant in the intro today…. that’s why I started with a fictional opening…. But, my talent for finding yet another piece of the crap with we are inundated each day by those assholes in charge of the world is greater than my ability to distract myself, apparently, and it just sort of happens…. Oh well, it got us down to here, & that’s the purpose, anyway, so, I’ll take it…. In fact, I’m going to be ruthless, an unusual state for me…. I’m usually pretty phlegmatic. But, since we’re right here, we’ll let it take us away, just as if we meant to do that….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.” — Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

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Back on 9/18/14, four days ago, I posted a Pearl, the first section of which was comprised of an excerpted rant from a post dated 12/21/2012…. at the end of the part posted, it seemed confusing, having spoken of another part of the rant, which I know now was missing…. It should have been included, at the point where it became confusing… if it had been, there wouldn’t have been any confusion…. To try to alleviate that, or at least soothe my feeling of guilt for having fallen prey to my own bozoid tendencies, I’m reprinting it now, right below this line…. This is the second half of what you should have seen back then….

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Here’s a good rant from the archives; it’s a summary rant, with a lot of issues to address…. I would say “enjoy”, but, it would be inappropriate, not to mention, in this instance, more than a little tacky….

From 12/22/2013:

Over the last three years, I’ve been ranting, off and on, about three, or four, groups of people in society whose actions have been causing the rest of us a hard time, continuing to do so, in spite of our best efforts to ‘persuade’ them to cease and desist….. These groups, which I’ve labeled with various derogatory names, just to keep them straight in my mind, and yours, are that part of our species that regards the rest of us as prey….

To these assholes, other people are on this planet merely to see they are supplied with all they wish to have, no matter how those others may feel about that….. Now, I could go into a lot of psychiatric, and/or psychological reasons for all of that, but the plain and simple truth is that they are assholes…. They were born that way, and have never been anything else, society having encouraged them to be so all their lives…. Why they are that way, still, is another matter altogether….

Normally, the universe, in the guise of parents, will supply people with good reasons NOT to be assholes… Sadly, many people never get exposed to those reasons, because their own parents don’t believe in them, having, instead, an enormous, false sense of entitlement, which, in their minds, despite its actual invalidity in reality, gives them the right to walk all over other people to get what they want…. This entitlement arises from one or more of several ideological sources, each of which, though based on completely delusional material, is so compelling, and so attractive to the mind that embraces cheating and immorality, that it has been solidly in control of the society in which we exist for the entire history we have endured….

The shadowy corporate masters who control society, who have done so for millennia, are VERY adept at concealing their presence from all but a few, of whom they have complete control, and nothing to fear…… In this way they have manipulated society for all that time, holding the majority of resources and money under their control, thus giving them very real control over the rest of us, as we all have to eat…. it’s that simple…. That, combined with their willingness to use violence, without any compunctions, or compassion, to achieve their ends, has provided them with the means to maintain their control, as well as the means to keep the rest of mankind in ignorance….

Now, however, their own ignorance, stupidity, and lack of foresight is going to kill them, and there is NOTHING AT ALL they can do about it….. Read this, please, and take heed of what it implies; note especially what it says between the lines of the statistical facts presented…. In other words, read it critically, so you will understand that to which I’m referring…..

http://www.thenation.com/article/177614/coming-instant-planetary-emergency#

This is it, ffolkes…. I’ve been predicting this moment for a long time, though I’d hoped to be wrong for the entire time…. But, it cannot be denied any longer, not now that we have the concrete evidence of our own imminent demise…. I’ve spoken often of a date when a certain flash point will have been reached…. That point has to do with how fast the temperature of the planet is rising, and the changes this will cause to the atmosphere THAT WE ALL BREATHE….

It is my incredibly sad duty to announce, that flash point has been reached…. The new evidence quoted in this article, regarding how fast the permafrost is melting in the Arctic environments, is not merely scary, it is downright terrifying…. It is clear evidence of that flash point I was referring to, and tells us, without doubt, that our time has come….

Do you know what this means, ffolkes? We are talking about an atmosphere that WITHIN FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW, WILL BE DEADLY FOR US TO BREATHE….. That estimate, of MAYBE fifty years, is now ensured of becoming reality….. That’s all, fifty years….. At that point, we all die, ffolkes, and there is no respite, no relief to be found, because, Hey, IT’S TOO FUCKING LATE!…. That’s correct, ffolkes, it’s already too late….

The flash point has come, and gone, and the chemical imbalances that our species has created on this planet will now proceed to kill us all within the next 100 years… Once the process of change reaches the point of parabolic increase, it is IRREVERSIBLE; it cannot be stopped….. And, yes, that figure is right….. I said a hundred years….. That’s if we’re lucky, and scientists DO find some way to slow the process down, once enough people have panicked enough to start trying to fix what we’ve done…

It can’t be done, though….it’s too late, and there is nothing in our technological bag that will fix what we have broken…. For many years, I held out the hope that, no matter how bad it got, we would find a way, through the magic of science, to fix things…. Sadly, that hope was never realized, things just went from bad to worse, and, now, have progressed to the worst-case scenario…. I’d hoped that this little aphorism below would be true…..

“If the Catholic church couldn’t stop Galileo, then governments won’t be able to stop things now.” — Carlo de Benedetti of Olivetti on the folly — of trying to regulate information technology

But, it wasn’t true, because, without us knowing it, it was already too late, by the time we got the computers….. It’s a sad thing, one that threatens to make me pretty angry…. So angry, in,fact, that I may even consider breaking some of my own personal commandments, and spending some of my remaining years hunting…. Since I’m sure you won’t misunderstand me about that, and, to also make sure I’m not jumping the gun, so to speak, let me say this…. I am pretty pissed off about this…. None of what is happening was NECESSARY, or even likely, not without deliberate ignorance of the assholes who put themselves in charge of everyone else, trying to grab all they could for themselves…. If those assholes had learned to share, like everyone else, we wouldn’t be having these issues at all….

But, nooooo, because the fucking Christians feel entitled, or better than anyone else…. or because the richest assholes on the planet can’t share…. or because the whites hate the blacks and browns, who hate the yellows, all of whom are afraid of the greens, we have been doomed, sentenced to a gasping, unpleasant death at the hands of our own planet, and our own people….. It’s enough to make a strong man want to give up, and start blasting away…. an event that may very well occur before too long….

I’ll be ranting about this again, ffolkes, and may not stop until I get enough ammo to start my hunting…. Now, don’t get me wrong… I know my hunting won’t fix anything, other than soothing a few of my own feelings about all of this…. But, maybe, just maybe, the game I bring down just MIGHT slow things down, even just a little, and that won’t be a bad thing….

Of course, we’re all going to have to come to terms with the fact of our own demise, and sooner than we had thought…. THAT should be an interesting show, to be sure…… Actually, I’m kind of looking forward to the time when all those asses realize what they’ve done to themselves…. I hope I’m around long enough to see some of them get their comeuppance…..

“This ain’t no technological breakdown. This is the road to hell.” — Smart Bee

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Here is the second half of the Royal Albert Hall reunion concert by Cream, in 2005, to finish the concert begun in day before yesterday’s post….

Enjoy!….. Hell, this is good enough to drive the depression from the preceding rant out of your head….. Ginger Baker’s drum solo is about 2/3 of the way in…. forgot to note down the exact time, but, hey, getting there is half the fun….

Part 2, Cream: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 2005

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I’ve been following the work of this poet for three years now, since first finding her blog on WordPress….. She is one of those poets whose attraction I can’t explain; her poetry is very randomly structured, seldom rhymes, and is heavily influenced by her feelings, obviously….. But, it is so powerful, I find it is impossible not to read, and feel…. and, I find, almost impossible to describe….

Sometimes, you just know, without being able to say why, or how you know…. Mari’s poetry does that to me consistently…. A link to her site is listed after the poem, if you wish to see more of her work…. I can recommend it highly….. Oh, and, read the About section; she is a very interesting woman, who has lived an interesting life…..

I SWEAR I DID

Lived too long in the dark woods

The gallantry of a mouth
My teeth, crouching, clenching

It is you, your incomparability
At least that is what I tell my soul

Your essential morn
Banishing these little birds

From flying just a bit higher

A dazzlemenent, my imagination

~~ Mari Sanchez Cayuso ~~

http://starsrainsunmoon.com/2014/09/20/i-swear-i-did/#comment-11461

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Ffolkes…. THIS is a pearl….. I worked hard on this one, to make certain it all was correctly arranged…. I may not be the most objective judge in this case, but, I think this is a grand pearl or virtual wisdom…. Y’all are welcome to think whatever pleases you….. you see, the first line allows that sort of thing for us….

“A gentleman can disagree without being disagreeable.” — Rules of a Gentlemen, addendum 1.1

“Where pain predominates, agony can be a valued teacher.” — Frank Herbert

“Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it…. Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 29

“Our worst enemies here are not the ignorant and simple, however cruel; our worst enemies are the intelligent and corrupt.” — Graham Greene, The Human Factor (1978)

“I hate the idea of causes, and if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.” — E. M. Forster, Two Cheers for Democracy

How lov’d, how honour’d once avails thee not,
To whom related, or by whom begot;
A heap of dust alone remains of thee:
‘T is all thou art, and all the proud shall be!

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

— To the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady, Line 71 —

“To leave this keen encounter of our wits.’ — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Richard III — Act i, Sc. 2

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Having worked on this ahead of time, I find myself in a position to be done in a very timely fashion, while still having time to edit thoroughly for mistakes…. which means, no doubt, you will find them everywhere you look today….. It’s just the way it works for me…. In fact, I’m going to go against my principles today, and NOT edit or proof…. It’s going out “as is”, and y’all will just have to take it that way…. I’m sure you can do it; you’ve had a lot of practice, even if you’ve only been here once or twice…. And, on that note, I shall take my leave…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. stay alert, & don’t let the Asininnies getcha…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

“The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.”

À bientôt, mon cherí.

Sir! Curb your cellulite!….

Posted on September 12, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”

— Muad’dib, from Dune, by Frank Herbert

It was a tough choice, but, I’m sticking with the mouse…. This wee beastie is a Kangaroo mouse. Some photographer captured the image & sent it to the London Daily Yell (Telegraph), where it was included in their series of Weekly Animal Pictures. There are, no doubt, a number of people who, at this point, are thinking to themselves, “Why is he prattling on about a mouse, cute though it may be?” Pay them no mind; they are impatient, and deserve to wait. Instead, listen up….

The quote above, from Dune, was uttered by the character Muad’dib, which, in Fremen, the language of the people who gave him the name, means, approximately “Little old man of the desert” or “Teacher of boys”; it was the Fremen word/name for the type of mouse you see here, a co-denizen of the desert planet, Dune…. They called him that because the creatures were considered by them to be the ultimate survivors, able to thrive on the surface of Dune, in an environment that challenged the adaptability of every creature who lived there…. To survive, Fremen children were taught to emulate the habits of the mice, and to respect them as the teachers they were…

Why am I going with the mouse, rather than the brilliant quote, which would, obviously, make a perfect opening for a sober philosophical discussion of reality, and our manner of regarding it, or any number of related subjects? Easy….. which would YOU rather read? Yet another rant in the intro section, detailing one of the many horribly depressing issues we face as humans in a sick society, or a fluff piece about a terminally cute mouse? See, no-brainer, right? Right….

Now, the only question that remains is how to turn this fluff piece into an intro…. I had a few ideas originally, but, as usual with my planning ahead, it is now useless, as I can’t remember a single one of them…. Plus, the newest issue with my hands is surfacing, causing my left hand to go numb as I type… Oh, thrilling…

Oh, well, another little reminder from my abused body, of my poor decision at age 8, to become skilled at sports, at least as much as learning in classes, thus determining the course of my athletic involvement, which eventually led me into the martial arts…. and, a lifetime of physical activity, much of which stressed my body to its personal limits on a daily basis…. Which is what I am now paying for, in early onset of age-related conditions, and, quite simply, a world of hurt….

Ah well, I have drugs, and more drugs, and a long-time habit of being able to ignore much of the pain, by focusing intensely on whatever my mind is chewing on at the moment….There are times, of course, when the pain is stronger than my focus and will, but, fortunately, they are, thus far, not too frequent….. and, it passes off, eventually… As long as that remains true, I’ll be content to go on as I am, in pain, but, not debilitated to the point it interferes with my wants and desires…. It IS causing a bit of adjustment, and flexibility of planning, but, hey, that’s a piece of cake for a retired executive assistant….

I see now I’ve managed to whine, and meander in my head to a point where we can jump off this bandwagon, and get on with the rest of this mess… I am thinking, as well, it’s probably a good thing, because I can’t see me winding my way to anything particularly gripping by continuing in this vein…. So, I think it’s time to boogie on down…. whatever that means these days…

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”

— The Litany Against Fear, a Bene-Gesserit lesson, from Dune, by Frank Herbert

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

Yesterday, I found quite a lot of material about which I would normally rant; in keeping with my new policy, instead, I’ve gathered some of the links to the articles that stimulated either my outrage, my sorrow, my pity, or whatever rantable material was found… Think of this as, sort of, a RSS feed, without having to set up any connections…. and with parameters that are only known to my subconscious mind…. Trust me, it’ll be better than a rant, even IF I end up having to throw in a comment or two, as is my wont with this type of pearl…. I’m also working on avoiding typos, which have been annoying me no end of late….

For now, forget all that, just read, and think, and, if necessary, or just desired, feel free to comment on any of them… I’ll get to a response within a few hours or so, hopefully; and, always, eventually…. Enjoy!….

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/09/towards-internet-nation

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/09/senators-and-other-experts-appeals-court-nsas-phone-records-program-massive

At the time of the inclusion of the following list in this pearl, these were the most popular stories being read by the SFGATE readers on 8/11/2014 at their home page, at http://www.sfgate.com/….. where, if you like, you can find all of the links to the stories in the list…. It’s just a bit pathetic, wouldn’t you agree, in re: what the subject matter, as the headlines denote, implies about the taste, and the intelligence, of the average readers on the site? I’d say that is patently obvious, without my usual dose of doubt, but, then, we all know I’m a cynic…. This list, though, is pretty compelling evidence, to my mind….

    49ers suspend announcer Ted Robinson two games for…
    ‘Scarf Guy’ steals show at Apple keynote
    Bay Area boasts top counties in California
    What was that mystery mega-yacht in San Francisco Bay?
    Frank Gore and Bruce Miller believe running game can improve
    Best and worst of New York Fashion Week
    La Taqueria in San Francisco named America’s Best Burrito

Below, I’ve placed a trio of the more “serious” pieces of journalism than those on the list, from the same site, which show well the prejudices and flaws in the media moguls who run the site; they always take a very obvious company line when talking about any political or foreign policy subjects, parroting and supporting whatever the administration is trying to get the public to believe….

This site also tends to get into the old “yellow journalism” sensationalism crap, with headlines screaming of danger from this, that, or the other, labeling them with hyperbolic adjectives, screaming of extreme dangers, only to read the actual statements made, and learn it’s no big deal at all, and is unlikely to cause any real problems… Apparently, though, the SFGATE news director felt that wouldn’t draw any readers, so they “pumped it up” so it could create feelings of panic in the gullible…. The link to which I refer is the first one; check it out, and realize, if you will, this sort of thing happens all the time, everywhere, whenever they feel they can get away with it….

www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Scientists-Extreme-solar-storm-heading-to-Earth-5746629.php

There…. Do you see what it says on the link? “Scientists: Extreme solar storm heading to Earth” Once you’ve clicked over to the article, the following excerpt is what you will find, after a couple of paragraphs of basic information stretching….

“New calculations from satellite data show that the worst of the energetic particles streaming from the sun likely will go north or above Earth this time, Berger said late Wednesday…..So while the power grid may see fluctuations because the storm will cause changes in Earth’s magnetic field, it won’t knock power systems off line, Berger said. It may cause slight disturbances in satellites and radio transmissions but nothing major…..”We’re not scared of this one,” Berger said.”

Did you catch that? Headline: reason for panic trumpeted… and, the supporting quote? “We’re not scared of this one,” Berger said. ‘

Brilliant, eh?

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Ferguson-reforms-met-with-rancor-at-city-meeting-5745305.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Changes-surround-9-11-anniversary-commemoration-5747443.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

I often find it instructive to compare the news coverage by the media from different countries; my favorite site to visit overseas is the UK Guardian, which is the agency responsible for publishing the revelations regarding spying by the NSA, leaked to them by the patriot, Edward Snowden, to bring the illegal activities out into the public arena…. Below are two links, which cover two of the subjects from above…

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/10/nipplegate-dethroned-net-neutrality-fcc-public-comments

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/10/ferguson-courts-system-fines-residents-council

Differences found? Yes, a few, just on the surface… In the Guardian, there were four links on the front page to stories connected to the Net Neutrality issue, of which this link was one. There were two other articles, and one op/ed piece on that one subject IN A FOREIGN NEWSPAPER!…. On SFGATE, there was one fluff piece on it…. EFF is one of the organizations leading the legal battle against the corporations in that battle, so, they are very involved in that, and many other areas involving computers and the internet….

Another difference is in the 911 coverage; the American article is emotionally manipulative, and attempts to re-establish the fear generated by the original act, by, in the same sentence, the first one in the article, by reporting the celebration in NYC, then, at once, adding in a mention of the newest terrorist threats, from the newest acronym for a terrorist group, ISIL, and our president’s intention to intensify the illegal bombing in Syria, ostensibly as part of his stated campaign to, well, essentially, kill them all…. thereby, as noted, parroting the administration’s talking points and lies…. The Guardian’s article takes an entirely different tone and approach to the very same subject….

Also, the front page story on SFGATE, about the non-existent solar flare danger, was nowhere to be found on the UK site; apparently, it wasn’t important enough to print, as there wasn’t any danger involved, or, anything out of the ordinary to report….

Okay, so it turned into a rant anyway…. I won’t say, sue me, because, damn it, somebody would take that personally, and try to do so…. but, otherwise, all I can say is too bad, so sad. You’re all done now, anyway, so quit complaining, and just go read the poem, okay?

“And don’t think any more. I do the thinking around here.” — Sark

One last word, that came to me… well, later… but, in spite of what some may think, it fits with the overall conclusions to be made from the above diatribe…. plus, it’s such an appropriate indictment of today’s culture, of cruelly, and dangerously, asinine inanity that characterizes modern life in this country, from a historical sense, if no other, I had to throw it out here… I’m just crazy that way, I suppose…

“The late rebellion in Massachusetts has given more alarm than I think it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in 13 states in the course of 11 years, is but one for each state in a century and a half. No country should be so long without one.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), in letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787

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It’s a day….. I’m not sure, at this point, that I would like to commit myself further than that…. Such being the case, it is clearly best if I use a poem of my own, to keep from having anyone else’s reputation tarnished by association…. I’ll see if I can find one that either fits, or will give a break to your sensibilities, which are doubtlessly being given a workout today…. Enjoy, please…. Oh, technical note: reading this in a Missouri accent helps the comprehension level, as well as making it sound more genuine, more true-to-life…. Well, I think so…. and, I wrote it, so, you might show a bit of respect for my feelings on my own blog…. Now, I’m hurt…. just kidding, enjoy the poem…

Ah Ain’t Sho, but Mebbe So….

Fried eggs got nuthin’ on me
Ah’m not even sure of mah name,
or how Ah come to be;
no idea from where Ah came.

Ah does like a mystery tho’,
puzzlin’ things out so’s Ah knows,
good from bad fo sho,
Ah sho don’t want no rock pillows.

If’n Ah cain’t figure out what’s best,
Ah just falls back on mah Daddy’s words,
seems he knowed just whut’d stand the test,
‘n how to gentle the scaredest birds.

‘Course, he’d lived a good long time,
‘n had lots of stuff go on by;
Went to a war, n’ lost a piece or two,
never once used it fer an alibi.

He tol’ me once Ah’d best learn to learn,
school’s only cool if ya ain’t already a fool.
Yer own good measure you can earn,
by startin’ yer learnin’ with the Golden Rule.

Always seemed to me as Ah growed up,
he mostly only spoke if it wuz true,
‘n by doin’ that clued me to what’s up,
kept me from stuff that’d a made me blue.

Without ever sayin’ the word itself,
Ah learned ’bout honor, ‘n helpin’ others
not some fake stuff from some shelf,
but, knowin’ whut’s right, ‘n that we’re all brothers.

Ah’ve been around long enough now, Ah think
to get around the block at least two times.
I s’pose long as my head don’t shrink
Ah’ll keep on doin’ right, ‘n makin’ these rhymes…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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SATAN, n. One of the Creator’s lamentable mistakes, repented in sashcloth and axes. Being instated as an archangel, Satan made himself multifariously objectionable and was finally expelled from Heaven. Halfway in his descent he paused, bent his head in thought a moment and at last went back.

“There is one favor that I should like to ask,” said he.
“Name it.”
“Man, I understand, is about to be created. He will need laws.”
“What, wretch! you his appointed adversary, charged from the dawn of eternity with hatred of his soul — you ask for the right to make his laws?”
“Pardon; what I have to ask is that he be permitted to make them himself.”

It was so ordered.

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

While lamenting the necessity, I must acknowledge, and, take advantage of this opportunity to state the obvious, in light of the above entry from Bierce’s masterpiece, to wit:

And, the rest is history…..

Sorry, couldn’t resist…. it isn’t often such a perfect opening for a pun…. Since this section is now useless for anything else, I’ll just throw together a pearl, with the key word, with qualifier, “*fun*”, which should give us the results I’m seeking, after such a shameful start…. Besides, count your blessings; with that opening, I COULD have easily fallen into a religirant, but, refrained, to, no doubt, your immense relief… Mine, too, if you want to know the truth, and, since you’re here at ECR, I’m assuming you do, or, if not, can take it anyway….

Basta! Abondanza! Have fun, in any and/or all its conjugations, definitions, adjectival or adverbial status changes, stages, and permutations….. Y’all should be able to find something to enjoy from that list….

“When choosing between two evils I always like to take the one I’ve never tried before.” — Mae West, in “Klondike Annie” 1936

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams” — Willy Wonka, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”

“I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should.’ — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Each generation has its sages. Ancient Greece had Socrates. We have bumper stickers.” — Smart Bee, chiming right in….

“Immorality: The morality of those who are having a better time.” — H. L. Mencken

“This is the Nineties, Bubba, and there is no such thing as Paranoia. It’s all true.” — Hunter S Thompson

“If nothing went wrong today, you’re probably dead.” — Murphy’s Last Law

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

I am, patently, a Bozo. This we know. I am, also, done. Go figure…. And, in the interests of practicing the promised brevity, I’ll now bid thee adieu for another day, with the caveat, warning, and disclaimer, as required by law, to wit: 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

Okay, but, who takes the hindmost?….

Posted on September 10, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something.” — Wilson Mizner

Since there can be no doubt as to exactly WHEN this was taken, (as long as we can trust digital appliances not to lie to us….) allow me to just say, it is one of mine, shot a few days ago, in a relatively futile attempt to get one good shot of the Super Moon,which took place at the date and time on the picture, as calculated by scientists at the Naval Observatory, & reported on Space.com. I intended to go out earlier, to find a spot to get a really good one, but, Murphy had other plans for my evening, as it turned out….

Approximately a half-hour before the moonrise was calculated to take place, I grabbed my phone, my stick, and the bagged garbage & recycling, to take it outside, downstairs, to the bins, which, I would then take out to the curb, for pick-up the next morning. Since I was still in quite a bit of pain, with some stiffness, too, it took me a few minutes, as I was moving, and, apparently, thinking slowly….

When done, I walked back up the stairs, with some difficulty, only to find the back door had blown itself shut in the breeze, while still locked…. Naturally, I didn’t have my keys on me, so, there I was, outside, no key, tired, in pain, and about two minutes away from A) biting myself, or, preferably, and, much more likely, the nearest human being I could find, and/or B) requiring the immediate use of articles only to be found indoors…. No, not what you’re thinking, but, well, ’nuff said… I had reasons to need to get in long before anyone would be able to bring m the means to do so….

Needless to say, I was NOT happy, first, with my bozoid failure to unlock the door, the first time I opened it that morning, as I almost ALWAYS do; nor was I happy with my bozoid failure to realize it would blow shut while outside, even though I am the one who opened the other door, the windows, & turned on the fan, so the very breeze that shut the door would be blowing, to cool off the house…. In short, my own bozoid nature gave Murphy the perfect opportunity to BURY ME in stress, in the course of a few short moments, a window of time into which I strode boldly, with full confidence that everything was fine…. the frame of mind that bloody Irish asshole LOOKS for…. I imagine he had a hard time containing his glee when he saw me go outside….

Since I had only moments to figure out how to get back inside, (remember, I had very GOOD reasons to HAVE to get in….), I tried to call one of the handymen my landlord employs, whereupon, of course, I found one out to dinner, and the other not answering… So, I made the only decision my executive nature was capable of under that sort of stress, proceeding to use my multi-purpose stick to break in the damn window on the back door, thus creating a HUGE FUCKING MESS inside my house, ten feet out into the middle of the kitchen floor, now COVERED with tiny pieces of breakaway glass, thus, necessitating a complete cleaning of the kitchen, and laundry room, which is where the back door is situated….

So, yesterday morning, (or, today, as I write this…. remember, I have a Tardis….), as well as overnight, I was completely unable to use about a quarter of my house, as it was covered in glass I had no way to pick up…. I have to wait until I can ask someone to come over, bring a real broom, (which has somehow disappeared….), and help me clean up, as doing it right is well beyond my current capabilities….

Now, is there anyone out there with any more questions about WHY I hate Murphy, even more so than your average Bozo? I am completely depressed now, because, in one swell foop, he has put me in a hole it will take days to climb out of…. the only thing that is currently serendipitous, as far as I can see, is the fortunate arrival in the bank of my monthly SS allotment. At least I’ll have enough to pay for repairing all the damages incurred in this episode, and, be able to obtain enough cannabinoids to knock down some of the severe pain that has been haunting me the last couple of weeks….

Plus, as you see, it provided enough material to complete another introductory section, with the ease of long habit in reporting the machinations of our planet’s least appreciated, most reviled icon, Jester to the Courts of Chaos, The Murphy, Most Puissant Asshole Supreme, He Who Has No Peer, Nor Ever Shall (because no other force of nature will have anyfuckingthing to do with him….)….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!”
“But that trick NEVER works!”
“This time fer sure!”

— Rocky & Bullwinkle, playing verbal ping-pong, with Metaphoric Balls, using Euphemystic Brand paddles, Hand-Crafted with ONLY the finest of Time Tested Cliches….

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

“Aim at the sun, any you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.” — Joel Hawes

“Beginnings are such delicate times.” — Princess Irulan, from Dune, by Frank Herbert

Of late, the posts here at ECR have been, shall we say, epic in proportion. I know I talk a lot; a certain percentage of responsibility for that can be laid at the feet of my writing style. Spare, it is not…. (Though that sentence isn’t bad, in that respect…. but, you’ll note this parenthetical comment has added approximately 15-20 extra words. See how that works?….) SIGH….

‘Tis a conundrum, for much of my sense of humor requires the long build-up to the punch line so easily displayed by using the more formal approach I’ve chosen; I guess I’ve always loved a long, involved story that ends with a pun, or something so unexpected, the usual reaction is multiplied by the surprise factor….. (Now that I’ve pointed it out, the convoluted grammatical structure of my style seems to be part of the issue; a sentence such as the one previous to this could have been written in half the words…. See? It’s almost as if I can’t help it; it’s a sickness, I guess… Verbalitis maximus, or some such Latin perversion….)

Once, on a bus trip in high school, one of the other students told a story to the entire bus… He took about 30 or more minutes to tell the entire story, giving background, and describing the characters, dragging it out with repetitive actions by the characters that lent themselves to long, drawn out dialogue, and slow speech…. At the end of the 30 minutes, when the story wound around toward a resolution, the question being asked by the protagonist, which is the quest in the story, to find out WHY this person did something, is about to be answered… The entire bus was hanging on this student’s every word; even the driver was engrossed. At the crucial point, the father asks his son, who is dying, the question, “WHY, my son? Why did you…..?” The dying young man, struggling to speak, chokes out, “Dad, I did it because….”

Then he died…. The student telling the story, at the word, “because”, dropped his head, shut his eyes, and fell over, as if dead….

For about15 seconds, there wasn’t a word, not a sound, as everyone on the bus sat in complete shock…. Then, the entire bus erupted, with shouts of anger, groans of dismay (the loudest and largest number of responses were the groans….), and some actual animated growls directed at him, right before half the objects on the bus started flying in his general direction, as each victim grabbed the first item at hand & let fly, intending serious harm….

I’ve never, in my entire life, seen a joke better told, unless by a pro, such as George Carlin, or Bob Newhart, who loved that sort of joke… nor have I ever seen such a loud, universal reaction to a pun, up to this day…. It was, quite simply, the best joke I’ve ever heard, even though it isn’t even a joke, except on the audience listening to it…. Nor, for that matter, is it a particularly GOOD joke; stupidly thick is the best one can say about all the parties in the story…. The value is in the telling, with it a critical factor to have the audience on the edge of their seats at the crucial point in the story….

Y’all are probably wondering where I’m going with this, since I’ve wandered so far afield in my mind…. Easy…. I’m giving y’all a break from the usual sober, involved, ranting that is generally my choice for this section…. I figured out, reading my blog isn’t easy…. it takes time, involves no little amount of cogitation, (a habit many Americans don’t possess), all of which probably asks more of the reader than I am entitled to ask in a blog…. Most blogs out there are much shorter, in terms of content, unless they post less often…. But, not ME, no sirree, Bob, I must write and post about 2000- 4000 words EVERY DAMN DAY….. I suppose I’ve come to realize it may be a bit much to ask of ffolkes, even those who enjoy my writing…

So, this little personal reminiscence is to let y’all know, I will be attempting, to some degree at least, to shorten the Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, to make them a little more palatable, and easy to swallow…. Perhaps, this will bring a bit more traffic to the site, because, even though I don’t write for the purpose of increasing my readership, as much as I do to stay sane, to try to hold off the mental calcification that may tend to settle in with us as we get older, decreasing our awareness, our cognitive abilities, and, ultimately, shortening our lives, by removing the pleasure of using our minds the way they were designed to be used…. which is hard, and often….

So, here is a single pearl, hopefully as cogent as I can make it, to seal the deal…. I can’t promise to succeed at this, but, I’ll promise to try, so, hopefully, you’ll see some less bulky Pearls, and a bit more dialogue in the comments, from increased traffic…. If nothing else, I’ll know I’ve lived up to the following aphorism, from one of history’s most prolific, and most accurately insightful moralists… Even if I don’t succeed, this tells me it’s the right thing to do….

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop (620-560 B.C.)

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

Today I will, once more, assume the ethical stance, to include a poem of mine in this section; you already know why…. This way, nobody else can catch any of the grief or blame for any of today’s missive…. Which, in at least one respect, makes it safer for me, as well; no fear of litigation is necessary…. Here is one written this year, in February, that fits in perfectly with the discussion in section one…..

Blithely Untitled

A poem came to me today, willy, nilly,
along with a sharp blow to the head.
Since it left me feeling just a bit silly,
anything that rhymes should lessen the dread.

Manifesting destiny into a small, insidious group
we push on toward sanity, concentrating hard.
Full engaging moments spent navigating the loop
shall ever make a difference to victims found in the yard.

Still corpses of creatures, straight out of nightmare
fill up the corners of our tortured minds.
While ever saddened, the iconic male, most debonair,
gazes softly, ironically, at all the mutual interest he finds.

Moronic public statutes compel outbreaks of sanity,
responding to momentary impulses toward inducing peace.
Still, the motions get completed, in fertile stages of inanity
while the bulk of our inmates can find no surcease.

Reluctant motivation to continue is unbound,
striving to ascertain how far there yet remains to go.
No precognitive guesswork will make any less of a sound
to soften the final strains, or teach us to truly know.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

In order to assuage my own needs and desires, as well as to subdue, or at minimum, sublimate my urge to rant, today’s section three will assume its typical format, of an old-school pearl, but, with specific parameters, set to find ideas, quotes, and/or poems to show our disdain for the Asininnies, and our anger at the shadowy corporate slavers who have held society in thrall for our entire written history….

“Search men’s governing principles, and consider the wise, what they shun and what they cleave to.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 38

“Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.” — Lucan

“It is hard to let old beliefs go. They are familiar. We are comfortable with them and have spent years building systems and developing habits that depend on them. Like a man who has worn eyeglasses so long that he forgets he has them on, we forget that the world looks to us the way it does because we have become used to seeing it that way through a particular set of lenses. Today, however, we need new lenses. And we need to throw the old ones away.” — Kenich Ohmae, The Borderless World

“Food is an important part of a balanced diet.” — Fran Lebowitz

(The above, on food, should be tattooed on the forehead of every one of the 455 men & women in Congress, the White House, and sitting on the SCOTUS; it’s something they tend to ignore, or forget, especially when forced to think about the ‘little people’….)

“People come o Washington believing it is the center of power. I know I did. It was only much later that I learned that Washington is a steering wheel that’s not connected to an engine.” — Richard Goodwin

“Our virtues are most frequently but vices disguised.” — Francis, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) — Maxims, Head

“And what is a good citizen? Simply one who never says, does or thinks anything that is unusual. Schools are maintained in order to bring this uniformity up to the highest possible point. A school is a hopper into which children are heaved while they are still young and tender; therein they are pressed into certain standard shapes and covered from head to heels with official rubber-stamps.” — H.L. Mencken

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

Well, there you go…. a reasonably fresh Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, (Required disclaimer: These are ‘virtual’ wisdom; any attempt to use them as real wisdom is the responsibility of the Gentle Reader; the author takes no part in that, for damn good reason….) with only the intro section written prior to this morning’s effort, and it needed to be edited, so, it’s all pretty up-to-date…. Not that freshness will make it taste better, but, hey, with Pearls, you never know…. time improves some of them, others are gems from the start, and, sadly, some cannot be saved by any power known to Mankind…. so be it. gigoid has spoken….

For today, it’s done, which will allow me to go on into the day with no lingering dross or drivel left in my head, just the way I like it…. I’ll need it today, as I go forth to contend with the bureaucratic forces of government…. with a buffering shield of drug-induced emotional space, in lieu of a force-field, (still can’t find one on the open market….), but, still, my hands and ears will require serious cleansing later on…. See ya 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.

Ah…. I see…. It’s the masticating jelly ….

Posted on March 2, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A powerful vortex begins to form in the open space in the air above the machine, outlined by crossing beams of laser-light, spinning swiftly, a maelstrom of flashing colors and shadows, assaulting the eyes with vibrating images sans identifiable form, nearly mesmerizing in their intensity. As the vortex spins, it begins to grow larger, until the edges push against walls of the machine, straining to break free of the light beams holding it at the size and shape to which it had grown, an oblong spheroid, about 6 feet long, by four feet wide through the middle…. A strong sense of Evil permeates the air of the room, seemingly emanating from the spinning shape, which is pulsing like a beating heart as it madly turns….. Doctor Mephistopheles looks over at me, grinning widely…. “Well,”, he says with satisfaction, “there’s your Doomsday Weapon, as requested.”…..

I’m not sure what prompted such an opening today…. I mean, it’s obvious, to me, what it is about, and what internal issues stimulated the mental images that bled out of my head…. I enjoy making up fictional beginnings for Pearls, as I like to think of myself as a writer of diverse skills, one of which is descriptive prose, that describes a physical scene, or an interaction between people… Of course, that opinion is most likely just a factor of my own gullibility, leading me to believe what isn’t remotely true….

No worries, mates, we all have our own set of delusions about Reality, which we use at our discretion to keep ourselves amused, and all of us tend to make those delusions a bit grandiose, given half a chance…. I may be smarter than the average bear, but, that doesn’t deter me from being a Bozo…. not at all…. Just look at my nose!….

That being said, and acknowledged, it may explain WHY the first paragraph came to be, but completely ignores HOW….. which is also okay, because, quite frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn…. Y’all know by now this section is where I experiment with any number of techniques for introducing the rest of these Pearls, so whatever happens here is pretty much okay, since it’s all going to be ignored later, and nobody is being charged for any of it, in spite of the (almost) negligible costs involved…. I reconciled myself to that long ago, with no resentment at all, realizing from the start that a certain amount of sacrifice would be necessary….

Now, at this point, y’all are most likely wondering just WHAT THE HELL IS HE BABBLING ABOUT NOW? Hell, your guess is as good as mine…. I’ve slipped into a trance-like state, typing away madly, words going onto the screen, but, I really don’t have a clue as to any of what they’re saying, or where it might take us if it continues much longer…. it could be just about anywhere….

As I type, most of my mind is thinking about breakfast, or perhaps, a morning worship session at the throne; it’s all a blur, when observed from a third-party viewpoint. I suppose I could use one of the emergency methods again, as this seems to have burst its buttons, and no longer bears any resemblance to anything remotely appropriate for ANY style of literature….. Hell, at this point, a poem probably couldn’t save this….

Whoa, Nellie! What the hell was that? I think, ffolkes, I’ve completely lost all control, as well as my bearings. (That’s the loud, chalkboard-scraping, nerve-bending, strident noise you hear, like metal scraping on metal…..) Now I KNOW we’re going to have to go with an emergency ending for this…. In fact, I’m breaking out #4 right now…. Stand back, please….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Everywhere I look I see NEGATIVITY and ASPHALT…” — Zippy the Pinhead
_____________________________

“Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.” — P. J. O’Rourke, Parliament of Whores (1991)

Of late, I’ve been using a lot of old material, from my archives…. I’ve ranted so much in the last two and a half years I feel as if I’m repeating myself, too often. This is frustrating, to some degree, because I really do want things to change, and my rants are intended to cause enough of a disturbance that people notice, and read what I have to say, thus, hopefully on my part, making some kind of difference in what is to come…. That is the intent, anyway…. Today, then, I give you the following freshly composed rant, about a rather old subject involving conspiracies at the highest levels of society, that were covered up as part of the circus of fear that accompanied the events of 9/11/01…..

Eric Snowden performed an act that will someday go down in history as one of two figures, depending on who gets to write the books…. Either he was a traitor of the first water, or his actions were an example of what patriotism REALLY means…. To my way of looking at the evidence, he obviously deserves to be included in the latter category, and I believe that will HAVE to be the eventual outcome, given the FACT that what he revealed is all the TRUTH…. and the TRUTH will always make itself known, one way or another…. It may or may not affect Reality, not enough to stimulate any changes, but, it will always be made clear…. even if I have to tell it myself….

That, of course, is my opinion, one not shared by those in the Beloved Ruling Class, who are bearing the brunt of the outrage over the information he revealed about our government’s illegal, immoral, and unethical spying on its own people, as well as on the rest of the world. He caused them no end of discombobulation and embarrassment, pulling the covers they had used to hide their activities for ten years, since the clandestine attack on 9/11/01, an event the BRC used to further its ends faster, and further, than it had ever before been able to accomplish….

In one short day, in the acts of a few hours time, the shadowy corporate slave masters forged the most valuable tool for control over others they’d ever had…. A massive outbreak of unreasoning fear, outrage and anger, felt by the entire nation, fresh and strong, all accomplished with a few thousand dollars, and the manipulation of some idiotic, fanatic, pathetic Jihadists, whose own set of delusions made them easy prey for those who wished to take advantage of the events that transpired that day…..

What? What’s that you ask? Where did I get the idea that 9/11 was a conspiracy? Oh, honey, I knew that was true the day it happened…. You mean you can’t see that? I clued into that the first time I saw that airplane hit the tower….

You can’t see how easily the whole scenario fell into place? Did anyone ever go look for the money? Who paid for the assholes who carried out the attacks? Who gave them the idea to attack the West using our own airplane in the first place? Who maintains a world-wide aura of anger and hatred against themselves, for the aggressive bombing, and ubiquitous meddling in the affairs of whomever we wish to oppress?

And, most suspiciously, why were the Saudis (whose rulers just HAPPENED to be in Washington DC, visiting their old friend, GWB Sr, the original shrub, who just HAPPENS to be an ex-CIA director….), able to get advance information on the attacks, such that they were advised to leave the country just prior to them?

A lot of other little discrepancies in the stories that emerged that day made it clear to me the whole set of terrorist acts had been planned, and probably paid for, by someone with an interest in diverting the public’s attention away from what was happening at the time on the political stage….

I do know the attacks came at what had to be the absolute most advantageous time to save the sorry ass of GWB Jr., whose butt was about to be put in a tight sling, for having cheated in a national election, stealing it through the egregious use of clandestine poll shenanigans, that caused a vital swing state to vote in the (idiotic) electoral college for Bush, when a vote for Gore would have swung the election the other way (remember the “broken” voting machines in Ohio?… No? Well, I do….).

In the days and weeks just prior to the attacks on 9/11, the office of the US Attorney General had announced it would be investigating the claims of election fixing on the part of the Bush camp, seeking to find out if they had manipulated the voting process to win the state in Ohio, and others…. This came with the intimation that, depending on the results of that investigation, the same would possibly be applied to examine the results of the previous election, in 2000, when voting irregularities in Florida gave the state’s electoral votes to the Bush campaign, as did the shenanigans in Ohio in 2004…. It was clear to me, at the time, that the Republican Party was in deep shit….

But, then came the attacks, and plans for any and all such investigations were lost in the flaring outrage that enveloped the entire country, the aftereffects of which are still being felt today, thanks to our egregiously selfish ruling class, and their shadowy masters behind the scenes…. This country has, in the past thirteen short years, lost the protection of more of the Bill of Rights than it had in the previous two hundred years, thanks to the events of that day, and I, for one, am not terribly happy about that…. In fact, I’ve gone beyond unhappy, through a bit upset, and on into downright pissed off….

…..and I don’t intend to stop feeling pissed off, until I start to see some of the people responsible start falling into the holes in the ground we’ve prepared for them, as they get picked off, one by one, by the soldiers of the upcoming revolution…. This world is ripe for revolution, ffolkes, anyone with half a brain can see that…. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider all the time…. when it gets to a certain point, the lines of human connection that keep society from bursting at the seams will be stretched beyond their strength, and they will break….

At that point, CHANGE will occur, whether we, (that means you, or I…. ), or the shadowy corporate slave masters and their myrmidons, wish it to do so, or not…. After all, the actual, true definition of the word “revolution” IS “change”….

I haven’t read the book listed below yet, (the link leads to a review), though I intend to do so….. Meanwhile, from looking at the review, this tome about Eric Snowden, one of the first to come out since his revelations became public, seems to present a fair-minded, equable view of the events leading up to the exposure of the illegal spying, as well as an accurate, even-handed look at the events since then. I intend to read it, if only to get some more details of what Mr. Snowden accomplished….

http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/The-Snowden-Files-by-Luke-Harding-5278264.php

I recommend y’all check it out, and think seriously about the stuff I’ve related in the above rant, about the Shrubs, (and their allies, all super-rich, arrogant, selfish, entitled assholes much like himself, and his idiot offspring….) and their chicanery….

I regard the senior Shrub as, perhaps, the single most egregiously dangerous, patently EVIL man alive, due to his background in dirty tricks (ex-CIA director), his proven complete lack of any kind of moral compass, and his painfully obvious absolute disregard for the rights of ANYONE else in the world…. but, that’s just me…. Nonetheless, I believe him to be personally responsible for most of the attacks on the Bill or Rights in the last 40 years…. In my less than humble opinion, he deserves every bit of disrespect and vituperation I can fling his way….

“There never was a bad man that had ability for good service.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797) — Reflections on the Revolution in France, — Speech in opening the Impeachment of Warren Hastings, Third Day, — Vol. x, p. 54

Oh, by the way….. I may as well get this out of the way now….

Hi there, illegal spying drones of the NSA…. which means, hi to the CIA, FBI and anyone else you’re sharing my metadata with…. Hail, thou foul denizens of some basement in DC, somewhere in the depths of the US Cybersecurity complex, at an unknown location! Welcome to my blog! Enjoy the atmosphere, and feel free to record anything you want…. as if you weren’t already doing so….

😆
_____________________________

First posted in June, 2012, & again in November, 2013, as presented both times:

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, ‘O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless–of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.’ That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” — John Keating, Dead Poet’s Society

Early Observations

Until I knew there was more,
I wanted to know God.
They said he was a nice guy,
and would let me live forever.

All I had to do, they said,
was live my life for Him,
always living by scripture
cleaving only to his Way.

But, everyone I saw in church,
acted different at home.
Living wild, cussin’ and fussin’,
nobody lived like they said.

Still, I tried to be like Jesus,
he was sort of cool.
He never hurt nobody
and walked on the right path.

‘Course they killed him for that,
they couldn’t stand his example.
Turned him into a martyr,
hid his real words among their own.

Then I found the Buddha,
and met Lao Tzu at the gate.
They saw things real different,
showed me how to see straight.

Right thought, and right action
replace blind obedience and faith.
Reality becomes manageable,
fear retreats, the universe expands.

Brother John said it pretty well,
“Imagine there’s no heaven,
it’s easy if you try.”
Sounds like he knew why.

Day to day, life is grand,
we walk in eternal beauty.
Open your eyes and hearts,
find yourself already immortal.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Having found that somewhat belated (belated in the sense that it’s way to late to do much about all of it now….) rant in my head this morning, I suppose it means this section will need to become an old-school pearl, for the balance such a charmingly structured pile of virtual wisdom provides, to a Pearl that might otherwise become wobbly (can’t have that!….)…..

Since all of what we do here at ECR is designed to support the universe in its quest to refrain from any such wobbles, I have no problem with going old-school…. In fact, it’s always one of my favorite activities to dispel the mild, but bothersome after-rant depression that can occur in some cases….

So, let’s take our fate firmly in hand, and go see what Smart Bee has for us today….

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

“I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: ‘The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that’s fair.’ In these words he epitomized the history of the human race. — Bertrand Russell, Education and the Social Order

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

“Civilization, like an airplane in flight, survives only as it keeps going forward.” — Edward Abbey

“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“Remember what Simonides said,–that he never repented that he had held his tongue, but often that he had spoken.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Rules for the Preservation of Health, 7

“You offend Shai-Hulud by sheathing your crysknife without having drawn blood.” — Fremen proverb (from Dune, by Frank Herbert)

Ffolkes…. I gotta tell ya…. Sometimes, I just don’t know how these pearls will come out; other times, I’m confident of whatever may come. This pearl came together in a way that tells me it is special, so, pay close attention to the point that surfaces in your mind after absorbing the final line, while still holding there the jumble of thoughts from the previous six pearls…. I think what you find floating up into your consciousness is an idea, a concept, if you will, that you may find both stimulating, and enlightening, if not actually a revelation…. Of course, it may not happen at all, whereupon, you’ll find yourself in a quandary, bemusedly wondering where you went wrong….

No worries, young paduans, this one won’t be on the Quiz…. It may, however, be on your next reality check; tell them you got it here, and they’ll give you a discount…
_____________________________

Well…. Hmm…. I hope y’all had your restraining belts fastened…. that one was quite a ride…. I’d decided yesterday to make this one completely original, in terms of the actual material under discussion, and managed to do that, only having to go to the archives for an original poem…. So, today’s effort, though not perfectly fresh, is all original, so, I’m happy with it, no matter how it came out…. which, having gone over it a number of times trying to proof it, seems pretty okay to me…. So be it…. gigoid has spoken. See ya….

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

Tiny, torn pieces of once proud menu items….

Posted on January 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

With a last, silent slide down the slippery sky, the nearly-full moon fell behind the mountain to the west, filling the valley below with darkness complete….. Instantly, twelve silent shadows moved as one, filing through the forest, to pass the edge of the clearing where they had lain hidden, near the darker line of trees, swiftly making their way to where the moon was last seen. No curious animals stirred in the now Stygian night, as the line of warriors, weapons in hand, passed through, below the silent nests of sleeping birds; no rasp of scraping leather, or clack of loosely packed arrows escaped the troop, no wheezing breath betrayed their position….. The twelve warriors moved like ghosts through the forest night, making their way to their destined fate.

As they made their silent way toward the mountain, their destination loomed, a darker mass against the bulk of trees…. Massive, with small twinkling lights at the highest corners of the crenelated walls, the castle spread itself higher and higher up the mountain, to where sentries could just be made out, marching past the lights as they worked their way around the castle’s outer walls. At a hand-signal, the troop stopped, looking to the front of the line to where the leader, gazing up at the walls, stood at the edge of trees leading up to the castle’s moat, and bridge gate…. Discipline had them standing silent, waiting for the next step to be ordered…. Before this night was over, the world would change; many innocents would die, and a new world would greet the surviving few….

Fortunately for us, we won’t be around when they get into the castle…. It’s been quite a while since I began a daily Pearl with a fictional story opening… It felt pretty good, actually, and, from the look of it, might be one I should put away to work on later, as it could conceivably work itself into a nice little tale…. So far, I’ve never finished one, but, hey, ya never know, do ya? Even I sometimes manage to do something right, so, hey, why not? In the meantime, here we are, already a good, solid two and bit of paragraphs into this, and it’s all good, and all fresh…. Bonus!

Of course, now we come to the conundrum of this type of opening section…. To wit: Now what? I suppose I could just jump in and start the dive, but, would that satisfy all the legal issues? Don’t know, & don’t want to pay the fines to find out…. Hmm, I could….. no, better not. Last time I tried that, it didn’t work out so well, and took me three days to recover my chutzpah…. Well, we could always…. wait, no, the automatic blender we’d need for that is broken…. Damn, well, shoot, what ARE we going to do? I can’t recall ever being precisely in this particular position before, but, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been here… I mean, even MY excellent memory has a few gaps in it….

Well, I guess there’s no other option; we’ll have to go back to method #4, which, in spite of its stark, ugly nature, remains the most effective choice to get this process unstuck at times like this…. I suppose if Reality weren’t quite so exquisitely diverse, there wouldn’t be as many choices, and making the right one would be easier…. Since it isn’t like that, we’ll have to go on with this, and hope for the best…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Being normal isn’t one of my strengths.” — gigoid
_____________________________

Other than the intro section, whose level of creativity needed for production has never been calculated (thankfully…), most of today’s Pearl is from 2012…. so, I’m creating a fresh pearl here, just so we can say it isn’t ALL old and possibly stale…. I’m not sure exactly what the parameters for this may end up as, so, I’d keep my safety harness hooked, at least loosely, if it were me….

“The farther you go, the less you know.” — Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching”

“Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. . . . the human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

“Antiphanes said merrily, that in a certain city the cold was so intense that words were congealed as soon as spoken, but that after some time they thawed and became audible; so that the words spoken in winter were articulated next summer.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Man’s Progress in Virtue

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” — The Wizard Of Oz

“Man is certainly stark mad; he cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by dozens.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book ii, Chap. xii, Apology for Raimond Sebond

“On with the dance, let joy be unconfined” is my motto, whether there’s any dance to dance or joy to unconfine.” — Mark Twain

“Being about to pitch his camp in a likely place, and hearing there was no hay to be had for the cattle, “What a life,” said he, “is ours, since we must live according to the convenience of asses!” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Philip

This, if you haven’t noticed, is quite possibly a perfect pearl, seven star random style, with a good set of ideas that add up to a pretty formidable lesson, if one has the wit to find it…. If not, it’s all still good advice, or, good thoughts with which to live life, so…. Any who, such perfection requires a finishing quote, one that reflects the useful nature of pearls, while still offering some actually useful information…. In those respects, this is as iterated…. perfect….

“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)
_____________________________

To avoid any potential lawsuits, here is one of my own poems, from some time in 2012….

Seeing is Conducive to Belief

Folly sits so comfortably upon my fevered brow
one would easily believe that I would know how
to look at Life with a jaded, weary eye
seeing enough, and more, to know Why.

Such seems the case, as I will it to be,
an open book of a face, it looks so like me;
what’s known to be so, needs no close attention
familiar sights require no minding, nor mention.

The eye is drawn at once to the stark and new,
and sent back to sleep by successful review.
Once we find evidence we feel we understand,
curiosity languishes, dismissed at command.

Ancient sages knew the insidious value of illusion,
preachers and pundits know the power of confusion.
Each pair of eyes contains its own point of reference,
each mind sets its own standards of preference.

Seeing is believing, for those who live in thrall,
accepting what is perceived is all they ever recall.
Unknown to them, reality follows another set of rules,
Deeper, more dangerous, and no place for fools.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Below this line you will find one of my most well-put together, and well-written pieces of work…. It’s a long rant, covering several issues, from way back in 2012 sometime…. I’m impressed, and so will you be…. I’m also lazy, and there’s just no cure for that…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. long as it is, it’s a pretty good read, I think….

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

It’s not every day I’m compelled to write about religion, politics, philosophy, and the Unified Field Theory, unless in separate pearls…. Taking them all on together might seem a bit egocentric of me, but I’ve never been one to dismiss a challenge, unless it was one that didn’t interest me…. This one definitely hits all the high points of my particular bent, or bents, so, what the hell, let’s see what happens…..

“Each religion, by the help of more or less myth which it takes more or less seriously, proposes some method of fortifying the human soul and enabling it to make its peace with its destiny.” — George Santayana

This idea is one that makes it possible for me to get through a lot of days without becoming homicidal toward a lot of people who bandy their religious beliefs about as if I were at all interested in them. I am aware that there have been a lot of good people throughout history, including current times, who are devout believers in one religion or another; they are sincere in their beliefs, and in their efforts to live their lives according to the precepts of their religions.

Some of them are even preachers, or priests of one sort or another, but the percentage in those categories of sincere belief is most certainly smaller than in the general public…. Let’s face it, most of those who go into the business do it because they aren’t any good at anything else, and the work is pretty easy…. Being a preacher is only hard if it gets taken seriously enough to try to help other folks, but most of the ones I’ve met are more concerned with convincing everyone of their piety than they are with actually helping…. and to most of them, the process of proving their own piety is accomplished by challenging everyone else’s beliefs, and sticking their noses into other people’s business….

One of the most insidious attractions of religion to many people, sad to say, is that it provides such a convenient vehicle for going through life without ever having to come up with an original thought or feeling. Every system of religious dogma, from no matter what cult, or division, or schism, or whatever it maybe called, is designed to give people answers to their questions about life and all the things that happen that they don’t understand, thus creating a sense of dependency. This is very convenient for political pundits, who manage to take advantage every time the preachers pull another scam on the public….

Unfortunately, those answers, comforting as they may be, seldom reflect reality very well, but are based rather on how that particular sect views the issue at hand…. and you can rest assured that those answers are designed to benefit the sect, and the preacher, in rather more ways than they will benefit the person with the questions…. But, I’m sure it is very comforting to know that if you just go along with what they say, you are somehow guaranteed something…. I never could understand that part very well, as there was nobody who could tell me just what was being promised…. other than I’d have to wait until I was dead in order to see it…. (The politicians like this one as well, because it gets people used to being told something, i.e. campaign promises, then having those promises unfulfilled…. )

“There are so many ways that we sabotage our own divinity, our own possibilities. and the mythologies of race and gender may well head the list.” — Callan Williams

Ah yes, the mythologies of race and gender…. Consider this…. each of us who are of the genus homo sapiens is a unique individual, no matter what color our skin, or whether we are male or female. Unique in our own right, beginning with the pattern of DNA that dictates and defines the characteristics of the organism that is each one of us. Unique. This is indisputable scientific fact.

And yet, there are still people who choose to believe that there are characteristics shared by certain groups of homo sapiens that make them somehow superior or inferior to another group. Which of those characteristics they claim as exclusive is always based on articles of faith, and never on any physical evidence. The basis for these articles of faith are outlined in the myths, myths that ignorance breeds, born out of fear of the unknown….

These fears are pretty formless, as the people who have them don’t like to think about them. First, because then they feel uncomfortable, and being comfortable is preferable to thinking, no matter how much it may alleviate the fear. Second, it is also hard to clearly define something that one rejects all evidence of knowing about; the fear is a known factor, and knowledge is not.

These behaviors are a very childish reaction to serious adult issues, but then, a large number of people never learn to deal with life after a certain age; the techniques of denial and avoidance that children rely on are hard for some to give up, especially in matters of emotional or psychological import.

“The ability to accept responsibility is the measure of the man.” — Roy L. Smith

This is very true, and actually would be claimed as their own by many folks who make a habit of refusing to even consider being responsible for anything outside their own little world. The flaw in their world-view is their intractable belief that what THEY perceive is the only true way that the world CAN be perceived; they seem to be constitutionally unable to entertain any idea to the contrary.

This makes compromise with them somewhat of a difficult proposition, as their unfounded, but unshakeable belief in their own rightness gives them a feeling of entitlement, of believing that they can lie to and cheat others without consequence, because the “others” are, as unbelievers, not worthy of honorable treatment. (Hmm, I can’t decide if this sounds more like a fundamentalist Christian, a ruthless business man, or a politician…. since it fits all three, I guess it fits Romney like a second skin….)

“It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true.” — George Santayana

This second quote from Mssr. Santayana points out another flaw in the philosophy held by those who follow many religions, under their own interpretations of the scriptures that are used by them. This flaw is obviously based on the relatively inarguable fact that all of them are faith-based philosophies…. grand, well considered, beautifully constructed philosophies, whose basic premise is an entity whose existence cannot be evidenced in the physical world.

There are innumerable thoughtful and elegant “proofs” of the existence of these entities, all of which, again, are constructed entirely of words and ideas. Some use logic, some history, some use hope, some use delusion, and some use an amorphous idea that cannot be pinned down…. none of them have actual pieces of physical evidence that incontrovertibly points to the existence of such an entity. If anyone knows of one, or two, or more, please let me know of it/them; I would be very interested in the information, and its provenance, to be sure….

I have wandered far afield today, indeed, into the most distant realms of human thought, and I’ll bet you thought I’d forget about the Unified Field Theory…. For those unfamiliar with the phrase, let me explain as succinctly as I can; this has gone on a long time, and I’m sure we all have better stuff to do, but, hey, I’m here, you’re here, so….

Any who, the Unified Field theory is a mathematical model of the universe that, in essence of its yet-to-exist-theory, explains and describes all the different types of energy that we know to exist in the Universe; Gravitational energy, Magnetic energy, Electric energy, Electromagnetic energy, Kinetic energy, Biochemical energy, life energy…. All are known to us; we can identify and measure them all, but we do not understand, even minimally, how they interact, or how they are all inter-related as part of the Universe at large…. hence the need for a unified theory, to connect our understanding of them all. It hasn’t been written yet; it is still just a concept for the future of scientific endeavor, though Stephen Hawking is said to be working on coming up with one before he dies…. if anyone can, then, he is certainly the most promising candidate.

In short, we are trying to discover and codify the one theory that explain how it all works, how everything fits into the larger picture…. There are many, including Mr. Hawking, who believe that knowing this can possibly lead us to a closer idea of the answer to the Why it all works the way it does…. by design, or by chance? Did God lose a bet, or win one? Or is there some as yet unknown reason beyond our current ability to understand? Being able to SEE and KNOW how it all works can only give us clues about the origins of it all. Even if it doesn’t give us all the answers we seek, we will have a better understanding of the Universe, and ourselves, and thus, perhaps, a better idea of our true place in all of what we see….

Whew! If you made it to here, you are indeed worthy…. as well as, most likely, tired, confused, and a bit troubled, with doubts as to my sanity…. It’s okay, I understand…. and I don’t blame you. I should have handed out warning notices at the beginning…. Ah well, ’twas fun for me, and that will do…. Stop me, please, I can’t seem to shut up…. wait, don’t pull that pl….
_____________________________

I’m pretty certain that this one will NOT make it to the Pulitzer short list, but, it’s done, and around here, that’s what we’re shooting for, first of all…. Any issues of quality should be taken up with the literary committee, which meets on alternate leap years in the main library conference room downtown…. Feel free to join them at their next meeting, in January of 2016, I believe…. For the nonce, you’re on your own….. See ya….

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

All the artichokes were bronzed in individual sterile containers….

Posted on September 23, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

‘Tis a sad and fearful thing, when I see nothing more than a vast plain of blankness upon first gazing into my mind in the morning….. Since it matches the blankness on the screen at which I’m gazing, it doesn’t bode well for the day’s Pearl when I do….. But, being the tough son of a bitch I am, I persevere, blindly blundering ahead, pushing aside the fear and loathing that accompanies such inauspicious beginnings, to make yet another attempt at breaking through the boundaries of reality, into the ethereal realms of reason, and hopefully, enlightenment…. or, at minimum, illumination…. Hell, I’ll settle for getting my eyes all the way open….

Or, we can just have some oatmeal, and get on with it…. That sounds a lot more attractive than the first paragraph, especially since we can add brown sugar and milk to the oatmeal to sweeten it…. The only thing I can add to the first paragraph would be hope, which is in short supply these days in this reality….. Of course, the oatmeal doesn’t get the Pearl done, but it increases the chances of it reaching at least a modicum of coherence, whereas, given the parameters implied in the first few lines, we couldn’t hold out much hope for that to happen….. If you manage to decipher all of that, well, I think you’ll see what I mean…

I admit it, I’m lost already…. Three short paragraphs in, and I’m toast…. I’m seriously considering reprinting an old Pearl, from a couple of years ago, just so I can be done with this, but, that would be cowardly, a quality I refuse to countenance in myself. I’ll end up going old school, if I’m smart… but, knowing myself as I do, I also could conceivably fall into another rant, since the BRC and the Priestly Hierarchies continue their policy of taking advantage of everyone else’s good nature, and have no intention of stopping. I can’t help it, they just do this stuff right out there in public, so what is a curmudgeon to do, but point at it, and laugh, as long and hard as I can?….

The laughter, it helps, though it really isn’t funny, is it? But concentrating on the futility and hopelessness won’t make anyone feel any better, either, and I DO try to keep from bumming people out deliberately…. It isn’t my fault the world’s news is what it is; I just look at it, and write about what I see, which, for the most part, astounds me on a regular basis… How else to describe my reaction to the depths of ignorance, and height of arrogance & entitlement that I observe in so many of the world’s so-called leaders? Astonishment is the only possible adjective to give the strength of my outrage at their sheer avarice, and their shameless absence of virtue….

There, I’ve ranted…. short, and not too detailed, but, I think it works…. And, I did remember to include the religious hierarchies today, which, for the last few days, I’ve neglected to do…. The churches and their delusional leaders are the most important of the supporters of the BRC, for they too know all the tricks of mind-control of the unwary, having practiced those techniques for many thousands of years now, to manipulate and control the masses of the faithful, who are the source of their great wealth, as well as their labor pool.

In these modern times, I’m sure the churches are ever so thankful for the newest way to tap the masses for their spare change, to wit: crowd-funding…. It fits right in with car washes and bake sales, as a way to get the ignorant to give away their spare money, to causes they believe will be fruitful in some way, but, actually will end up the same place as their tithes, and their taxes, and most of the rest of what they earn…. in the pockets of politicians and priests, as payment from their corporate masters for their continued support of the thievery happening at every level of society, except the top…..

If you think of the idea of trickle-down economics, but reverse it, you’ll get the picture of how our society ACTUALLY works, in a financial sense…. Everything trickles up, ffolkes…. just follow the money, and you’ll be…. well, perhaps not surprised, but, at the least, chagrined, to find where ALL of it ends up…. But, hey, who am I but one of the schmucks who lets them get away with it?….. I suppose it’s probably a good thing I’ve never owned a gun…. I’d be awfully tempted to use it…..

My dad taught me about guns…. He considered it as his duty to teach us (his children…) how to use them correctly and safely, and how to respect them for the tool they are (One part of which taught us that’s ALL they are, too, by the way…. just a tool, a big hammer; one that throws a lot of nails a long way, quickly…. but, still, just a hammer….). If I owned one, or more of them, however, I would most likely feel duty bound to use them for personal purposes, which, while I would see any such actions as being beneficial to society, those same actions might be viewed differently by that society itself, especially given the control over the news media that the BRC has…. Plus, I can count, and there are more of them with guns than there is/are(?) of me; strategic planning would seem to dictate a different approach, as that one is pretty much doomed to failure in the long run…. I just don’t have, and can’t get, as many bullets as they already have….

S’okay, I don’t mind…. guns have never been my preferred weapon of choice, anyway…. What I have between my ears is a much more versatile tool, and much more powerful in the long run… After all, I have based my life, in many ways, upon the following aphorism, which, if you examine it closely, and think on it a while, will show you who, and what I am… or, at least, who I try to be…. Of course, there IS no try, is there… Do or do not…. I do, mostly….

“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage amongst his books. For to you the Kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned by the flicking of a finger.” — Gordon R. Dickson, The Tactics of Mistake
_____________________________

Well, I ranted in the intro again, so, we’ll go old-school here, to bring a wee bit of balance to things…. Hope springs eternal, it seems…. Any who, I’m not going to set any parameters, but, it seems of late Smart Bee has had its own agenda in that respect, anyway, so, we’ll just see what comes up, and where it goes…. Enjoy!

“If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.” — George Bernard Shaw

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,–
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground;
Another race the following spring supplies:
They fall successive, and successive rise.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Iliad of Homer, Book vi, Line 181

“Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.” — Eugene O’Neill

“Under the most carefully controlled conditions of temperature, density, and pressure, the organism will do what it damn well pleases.” — Harward’s Law

“There are no winners in life; only survivors.” — Smart Bee

“I wish they would only take me as I am.” — Vincent Van Gogh

“Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other.” — Baha’u’llah

Onward, as they say in the movies; fear not, mes amis, all will be well…. I just took my medications…
_____________________________

In the interests of not letting anyone else take the blame for any of what has occurred here today, I will use one of my own poems, one which clearly states who and what I am…. well, sort of clearly….

Ah Ain’t Sho, but Mebbe So….

Fried eggs got nuthin’ on me
Ah’m not even sure of mah name,
or how Ah come to be;
no idea from where Ah came.

Ah does like a mystery tho’,
puzzlin’ things out so’s Ah knows,
good from bad fo sho,
Ah sho don’t want no rock pillows.

If’n Ah cain’t figure out what’s best,
Ah just falls back on mah Daddy’s words,
seems he knowed just whut’d stand the test,
‘n how to gentle the scaredest birds.

‘Course, he’d lived a good long time,
‘n had lots of stuff go on by;
Went to a war, n’ lost a piece or two,
never once used it fer an alibi.

He tol’ me once Ah’d best learn to learn,
school’s only cool if ya ain’t already a fool.
Yer own good measure you can earn,
by startin’ yer learnin’ with the Golden Rule.

Always seemed to me as Ah growed up,
he mostly only spoke if it wuz true,
‘n by doin’ that clued me to what’s up,
kept me from stuff that’d a made me blue.

Without ever sayin’ the word itself,
Ah learned ’bout honor, ‘n helpin’ others
not some fake stuff from some shelf,
but, knowin’ whut’s right, ‘n that we’re all brothers.

Ah’ve been around long enough now, Ah think
to get around the block at least two times.
I s’pose long as my head don’t shrink
Ah’ll keep on doin’ right, ‘n makin’ these rhymes…..

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

See, now we’re in the third section, and I get to do whatever I want; it’s in my contract….. So, since I don’t feel like ranting any more today, or maybe ever, I’m going back to the same old taxi stand where I leave from when I’m in a hurry, in a figurative sense…. Who knows what will come out of this one? I certainly don’t….

“Here pigs will fly, lightning will strike twice, hell will freeze over, and eventually, things will get really interesting…” — Smart Bee

“Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Peter Carr, Aug. 10, 1787

“The world will never have lasting peace so long as men reserve for war the finest human qualities. Peace, no less than war, requires idealism and self- sacrifice and a righteous and dynamic faith.” — John Foster Dulles

“If a rock falls on your head it does positive harm, but shame, disgrace, reproaches, and insults are damaging only in so far as you’re conscious of them.” — Erasmus

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” — Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) — Churchill’s Commentary on Man

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

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), As You Like It — Act v, Sc. 1

I don’t often use Willy’s stuff, but, he was so prolific a writer, even HE got some of it right….. 🙂 I didn’t know where it would go, but, it sure ended up there, didn’t it? I like it, so, I guess that makes me stranger than even usual…. Oh, well….
_____________________________

Yes, and no, I suppose, is the best response I can come up with, at least until I can go over this with a clear head…. and that could take days. I guess I’ll have to do that now, instead….

I reiterate, I have no idea how that happened, officer…. I’ll be going now, to look for my peace of mind, which I somehow dropped somewhere…. I’ll find it around here somewhere, I know it…..

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

Yet another display of consistently obscene pathology….

Posted on August 6, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I suppose it all comes down to whether or not one is willing to put up with the universe’s demands upon our time and energy, when deciding which of the many different types of cereal to have for breakfast. I mean, there’ the question of sugar versus aspertane; the question of rolled oats versus wheat or corn flakes, the question of puffs versus flakes, or the whole concept of cut-up fruit, and other accessories to the breakfast experience. And, then, just when you’ve decided on one thing or another, they ask you whether you want home fries or hash browns with that!…..

Life is hard, isn’t it? Decisions await the application of our will around every corner, every hour of the day; we can never really get away from the need for making hard decisions in life. Trying to do so only causes further difficulties, as Murphy has an entire department of imps just waiting to help us make decisions in life that are guaranteed to drive us insane, by feeding us false, or erroneous data about what we have to decide, thereby ensuring we make the wrong decision, thus, affording him and his minions hours of free entertainment, as we gnash our teeth and wail out our complaints to an uncaring universe….

Me, I stick to coffee in the mornings, leaving the decision-making to other folks to enjoy. I refuse to give Murphy the opportunity for any more free shots at me than he already takes. If I want to eat, I stick to pastries, or other stuff that won’t cause a big mess in the kitchen. That room is too full of too many dangerous objects; knives with sharp edges, fire, heavy pots, scalding hot liquids…. No, thanks, I’ll pass on all that in the morning, in lieu of making weekly trips to the emergency room to deal with Murphy’s latest version of what he thinks is funny, which, naturally, frequently causes me to leak one kind of body fluid or another…. another image I probably could have skipped using…. SIGH…. Oh, well, I can’t be responsible for the state of people’s stomachs ALL the time…..

Hmm…. compared to what generally passes for an intro in the mornings around here, this is pretty mild, and actually somewhat engaging, if you have any interest at all in breakfast cereals…. If not exactly your cup of tea, well, we’re serving coffee, over there in the corner, where Murphy and the gang are, of course, taking advantage of my hospitality by hogging all the condiments; you’re free to join them, at your own risk, naturally. He’s already had his way with me today, so he’ll be glad of the company. Me, I’m going to go pearling, as if it were the most natural thing in the world…..

Shall we Pearl?…..
_____________________________

Yesterday, Smart Bee was a bit off center at times, but, with good grace, and a willing heart, it managed to get me what I needed, and threw in a few extras for today’s post, which I dutifully saved, recognizing them as the lustrous gems they were…. I’ll now go search out a few more, to fill out the dimensions for a proper indictment of the beloved ruling class, and the panorama of human folly we call “politics”, which, as, I believe, Ambrose Bierce pointed out, is a combination word, coming from “poly” meaning “many”, and “tics” meaning “blood sucking insects”….. a perfect description of the general run of that sport’s participants….

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” — H.L. Mencken, “Little Book in C major”, 1916

“Can there be a republic that does not slump under the weight of so much human desire?” — Michael Scully

“‘Tis better to be alone than in the company of fools.” — Bobby Matherne, American Philosopher (1940-)

“I had too much to dream last night.” — Electric Prunes

“In our society, the Republicans set out to prove that the Democrats can not be trusted to run the government. And the Democrats set out to prove that the Republicans can not be trusted to run our government. The real problem here is that both the Democrats and the Republicans have come up with something which is absolutely true and perfectly correct. This means that the people get to pull some sort of horrible trick on themselves and live with their choice for four years.” — Smart Bee

“Now I’m concentrating on a specific tank battle toward the end of World War II!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, silly, I know…. but, look closely, and you’ll see how true all of them really are, when compared to reality…. Here, if it’s that big a deal for y’all…. here is a final word, that pretty much says it all… but, without the buffer of humor….

“…when all government… in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1821
_____________________________

Poetry is sometimes so powerful, it only takes a few meager lines to impart an incredible amount of inspiration, wisdom, and beauty….. Emily was a master of this principle….

Because I could not stop for Death —
He kindly stopped for me —
The carriage held but just ourselves
And immortality.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

“We have art that we do not die of the truth.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
_____________________________

I’m still feeling a bit silly, so I’m going to give in to the impulse to let that out into the light of day, and go with another old school pearl, this one gathered with the idea of ‘smiling’ in mind…. Let’s see what SB has to say on the subject…..

“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.” — Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm (1844-1900)

“Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.” — Joseph Wood Krutch

“If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.” — Murphy’s Eighth Law

“OH, STOP YOUR WHINING!” — Smart Bee
(ref: Peruaosophy, Axiom #6, to wit: Axiom #2 X axiom #5 = And God so loved the world, He said, “Quit whining!”)

* Greatest number of citizens who have actually boarded a UFO
* Many newspapers feature “JUMBLE”
* Hourly motel rates
* Vast majority of Elvis movies made here
* Didn’t just give up right away during World War II like some countries we could mention
* Goatees & Van Dykes thought to be worn only by weenies
* Our well-behaved golf professionals
* Fabulous babes coast to coast

— David Letterman’s “Things we can be proud of as Americans”

“The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool. — Jane Wagner”

“A day without a laugh is a day wasted.” — E.E. Cummings
_____________________________

I love it when a plan, etc…… Due to time constraints imposed upon me by the BBR, (Big Blue Room, for those with memory impairment issues….), I had to sort of rush through this morning’s post… Sometimes that affects the quality, or, at least, the format that is employed in creating the pearl. Today, I think it went well, so, let’s see….

Yes, yes, this pleases cute owl! Well, it pleases me, anyway, and that’s all that counts in the ultimate sense. Cute owl is only here as a hired consultant…. Now that I have demonstrably gone completely around the bend, I’ll leave you to treat your wounds in peace…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

They’ve pardoned all the equestrians….

Posted on July 28, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Did you ever have the feeling you’re stuck living in a Credence Clearwater Revival song? This morning, when I sat up, an old song of theirs popped into my head, first thing, and the lyric line “Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi, again…” is now playing over and over in my mind’s ear….. It wouldn’t be too bad, as it isn’t a bad song, but it won’t stop repeating that one line, endlessly….. Having been stuck in Lodi myself a time or two (I once had a girlfriend whose home town was in the hills above Lodi, in a little town in the Sierra Madre foothills, called Angel’s Camp….), I can attest that it isn’t the kind of place where one wants to spend a lot of time…. just another hick town in the boonies of California, whose residents didn’t even like John Fogarty….

You probably wonder how I can be so callous toward what is probably a group of nice folks, dismissing them offhand in such a cavalier fashion, not caring what my words may imply about innocent people…. Well, ffolkes, it’s called literary license, and is commonly used in literature to set up a joke, just like I did above. Of course, it is generally used to set up a joke that contains more than a mere dram of humor, but, one has to go with what is on hand, yes? I’m afraid that at this time of the morning, before coffee has worked its magic, that is about as humorous as it gets around here…. If I wanted to be really funny, I’d wait until the coffee kicked in, but I was trying to save a little time, and this is what happens…. I should know better than to try a short cut so early…

Is this stilted? Too formal sounding? It seems that way to me…. Of course, that’s me, and I’m not the best judge of what is appropriate at this time of day. I do try to keep from getting overly pedantic too early, but, that’s fairly easy, as it merely means keeping myself from ranting first thing… It’s the outrage that fuels such vituperation, which makes me feel all righteous and moral, which turns me into a pompous fool, a state that giving in to righteous morality will always put me…. I don’t know why, but being angry at the immorality I see causes me to turn into a prig, at least from a writing standpoint…. Something about the formality of presenting logical arguments, and discussing serious subjects that makes it hard to stay casual in my writing style, or in my approach….. Probably, if I’d just break down and be vulgar, it would flow better…. Fuck it, I’ll try it…. eventually….

That isn’t to say that my style is always pedantic and pompous…. Hell, I’d have a hard time classifying my writing into any single category, as it tends to go all over the map, chasing off after tangential ideas, or attempting to follow some train of thought, as suggested by a group of old-school pearls. But, I do get pretty serious at times, especially when I’m ranting about the political or religious scenes we see every day, and have then a tendency to turn into a pompous old bozo…. An accurate one, but a bozo, nonetheless….

Once again, I’ve managed to blather on to such a degree as to find myself at the end of the intro section, without ever really saying anything useful, or even relatively coherent, at all…. I gotta say, it’s much less stressful when I let myself wander like this, without worrying overmuch about where it is going, or whether it is an appropriate start to the day’s effort…. Just letting it flow out seems to be getting it done, though not necessarily with any panache…. One mustn’t expect miracles, I guess, but, at least I’m not agonizing over something that seems to be unresolvable by ordinary means…. Since anything more than ordinary is too much to expect at this hour, I’m happy with whatever happens….. plus, it’s less fattening, or, so they claim…

Shall we Pearl?…..
_____________________________

It looks as though ranting may not be feasible today…. I just found a great quote, one that will eventually give me the impetus for a fairly good-sized rant on human nature, and the flaws that nature exhibits…. but, not today. I put the quote in place, and even got a decent first paragraph started, then started giggling, for some unknown, and apparently, uncontrollable reason…. I guess my spirit is rejecting all attempts to be serious today; sometimes, guys just wanna have fun, too. So, I’ll be putting together an old-school pearl, using the premise of the now-defunct rant I had begun, but, with an eye toward causing mirth rather than outrage…. Let’s see how it goes….

“Kids toot or poot. Men fart. Women pass wind. And Ladies never, EVER have gas.” — Smart Bee

Listen to the MUSTN’TS child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVE’S
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

— Shel Silverstein

“What do you call a short psychic who escapes from prison? A small medium at large.” — Smart Bee

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

(Okay, so, not so funny, but, hey, it could be, if we put some makeup on it….)
(It’s also an interesting idea to contemplate as truth….)
(Hmm… If it IS truth, it would explain a lot of stuff about Congress, wouldn’t it?….)

“The SAME WAVE keeps coming in and COLLAPSING like a rayon MUU-MUU..” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, well, that’s just about perfect, for a five-star pearl, but I see it’s a bit dense…. Rather impenetrable, actually, so I’ll add a couple of clarification quotes….

“I don’t care what is written about me so long as it isn’t true.” — Dorothy Parker

“About them unfinished sentences and what they should be. And them subjects and objects which ought. Never no way should they not. Sometimes it is that they are and other times they aren’t. I took the Evelyn Woods Speed Reading Course and don’t know where I put it. Anyway, a sentence should always be.” — Smart Bee

Well, I don’t believe I can make it any clearer than that…. If it still isn’t gelling for you, don’t fret, it won’t be on the Quiz…..
_____________________________

Happy who in his verse can gently steer
From grave to light, from pleasant to severe.

— Nicholas Boileau-Despreaux (1636-1711) — The Art of Poetry, Canto i, Line 75

Aye, happy indeed, would he be…. Nothing new leaking out of my head so far today, so, we’ll go classic….

A Bard’s Epitaph

Is there a whim-inspired fool,
Owre fast for thought, owre hot for rule,
Owre blate to seek, owre proud to snool,
Let him draw near;
And owre this grassy heap sing dool,
And drap a tear.

Is there a bard of rustic song,
Who, noteless, steals the crowds among,
That weekly this area throng,
O, pass not by!
But, with a frater-feeling strong,
Here, heave a sigh.

Is there a man, whose judgment clear
Can others teach the course to steer,
Yet runs, himself, life’s mad career,
Wild as the wave,
Here pause-and, thro’ the starting tear,
Survey this grave.

The poor inhabitant below
Was quick to learn the wise to know,
And keenly felt the friendly glow,
And softer flame;
But thoughtless follies laid him low,
And stain’d his name!

Reader, attend! whether thy soul
Soars fancy’s flights beyond the pole,
Or darkling grubs this earthly hole,
In low pursuit:
Know, prudent, cautious, self-control
Is wisdom’s root.

~~ Robert Burns ~~

_____________________________

“A heart is not judged by how much you love but by how much you are loved by others.” — The Wizard of Oz

I spend a lot of time addressing what I call a flaw in human nature, without ever completely putting my finger exactly on the point I’m seeking to grasp, or to have y’all grasp, whatever… The point is, this flaw is one of choice, one that each person must decide within themselves, about how they will view life, and how they will approach living, especially concerning how they live with others, including animals, and our planet at large, which needs to be considered in any question of survival as a species. I see the flaw as most obvious in those people who end up in positions of authority, but it is a flaw that all of us have, to some degree, that concerns me, because it is the one that will ultimately seal our fate, as individuals, and as a species….

The above quote can be considered as the diametric opposite of the flaw, as it manifests in us. If one holds the above as true, then acting in a manner that will cause any loss or pain to another would be acting against that belief. In order to take advantage of another person, or thing, a human must first view that person, or thing, as being less important than they themselves consider themselves to be, by whatever standards are applied. By doing so, it objectifies the person, or animal, making it easier to detach emotions from anything done to them… In short, these people, who exhibit the flaw of choosing self over not-self, in all situations, consciously and deliberately decide to cause harm to others in order to achieve their own ends, and don’t feel any compunction, or guilt, about doing so, as they feel justified, by whatever rationalizations they have adopted….

This ability to disconnect from others is one of the most common features one observes in those people who make politics a career…. It is also commonly seen in certain professions, which, because of the key importance to people who need their services, tend to attract this type of personality, as such jobs offer many opportunities to take advantage of other people’s misery and trouble…. professions such as lawyer, preacher, doctor, judge, or any other areas that provide key services to people, that deal with situations that affect their lives and well-being…. These professions all provide sociopathic personalities with ample opportunities to carry out their agendas in life, which are focused on increasing their own control of resources, and power over other people….

Over time, these folks have gotten very good at what they do, and the whole world is now organized in such a way that almost everyone accepts the idea that there is no other better way to do things than the way they are being done… Any ideas to the contrary are either buried by those in positions of authority, or are ignored, or made superfluous by the construction of imaginary enemies…. Every time I hear from a government official that I should be afraid of someone who wants to kill us, or take away our rights and homes, I start to wonder just what it is they are trying to distract me from thinking about, or paying attention to….

You see, I make the automatic assumption, when ANY government source speaks, whether an elected official, or an official spokesperson, that that person is lying to me…. If the lies are not directly untrue material, then the lie is in what is NOT said, or in what is behind whatever they are speaking of, which, I always assume, means little or nothing beyond its intent to distract or befuddle me. Once that assumption is made, that the truth is not being told, then it becomes much easier to determine just what it is they are trying to do…. and, I find that what I see is never to the advantage of the public….

“DON’T STEAL – The government hates competition.” — Smart Bee

Actually, this sounds as if George Carlin might have said it; I know he had a short comment on why one couldn’t have the Ten Commandments displayed in courthouses; he believed it was because you couldn’t have all those exhortations against lying, cheating, and stealing around so many politicians and lawyers, as it would make for an uncomfortable work environment…. He saw exactly what I am talking about in society, and pointed it out clearly, and with sublime sarcasm, for all of us to see…..

Unfortunately, most folks don’t realize how close to the truth all of his assertions were, any more than most people know that the government lies to them on a regular basis, often, it seems, just to keep in practice. For those of us who DO see what is going on, it gets to be a challenge not to go around just slapping people left and right…. but, that doesn’t make any friends, and can lead to jail time if one isn’t careful…. Besides, nobody listens anyway, and even a two-by-four won’t make someone listen, if they don’t want to…..

I guess the Firesign Theater had it right, when they claimed we are all Bozos on this Bus….. It’s too bad that only clowns and comedians are the ones who seem to know what is going on in the world, because nobody votes for the clowns…. Hmm…. maybe we could get some of the comedians to run for office?…. It’s worth a shot…..

“He who laughs, lasts.” — Mary Pettibone Poole
_____________________________

I feel better, even if I already know I’m shouting into the wind…. and, that’s what this blogging is all about, for me. If the NSA don’t like it, fuck ’em…. Assholes….(Occasionally, I am influenced by an imp, sometimes dangerously…. Today, he advises me that if I really want to grab the attention of the NSA, I should put the two words together, so they can’t miss the allusion…. which, I think, is brilliant, so, here…. NSA-Assholes….)

I have a feeling I’ll be ranting more in the next few days; some of the stuff I’m seeing in the news is disturbing my equilibrium, and I’m going to have to vent some of it, so, be warned…. Let’s see how today’s effort came out….. I guess I I ended up in a state where I COULD be serious, but, at least I tied in the humorous aspects of the serious material…. Not too shabby, all in all, and certainly worth a moment or two of anyone’s time and mental energy…. Well, I think so, and that’s what counts for this purpose, if not for yours….

Don’t worry, none of what you’ve read today is toxic, unless, of course, you are heavily invested in maintaining that all is right with the world…. You Pollyanna, you…. Take that!… And, that!…. Oh, sorry, got carried away by the urge to be in a cartoon…. I suppose I’d best be going now….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

Left to our own devices, we drift…..

Posted on July 13, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Sleep, it has been said, is a weapon, a metaphorical adage in which I firmly believe, though one is not always certain against whom the weapon is to be employed. Since returning from the trip, I’ve slept really well, compared to the time before I left, and it is indeed a blessing, though not without its own conundrums to be addressed….. Such as, it is now already almost 0715 in the morning, and I’m just now getting these first words on screen. This is, I’m sure, the latest I’ve gotten started in a couple of years, if not ever, and I’m unsure how to deal with it. I’m almost tempted to break out the new computer, and see what kind of real damage I can cause over there….. But, it is not yet optimized for this process, and this needs to get going, so, onward, as they say downtown…..

Naturally, nobody you’ve ever seen or heard has EVER said “onward” to you, in just that way, other than me….. as a result, you are naturally predisposed to respond instantly, going along with whatever is said, especially if I say it in a rich baritone that reminds you of a TV pundit, or news anchor-type. Don’t fret, you can’t help it, we are all trained to react like that, although some of us have eradicated the bonds our early conditioning has placed on us, through the application of copious amounts of ironic sarcasm, and good, old-fashioned doubt. It doesn’t take long, and is ultimately quite cleansing, not to mention refreshing, so, take a few moments whenever you can, to shake off some of that pre-adolescent brainwashing y’all received, in school and during morning cartoons, so that you can get a clearer, more colorful view of reality….

I like to shake it off every chance I get, kind of like a dog shaking off water after a jump in the pond, and find it to be one of the most advantageous activities I can pursue, giving me, as it does, a viewpoint that is totally unavailable to those who go through life wearing the blinders and sun shades that the BRC and the Dogmatists supply to everyone who will wear them. Of course, these accessories also give their wearers the boon (?!!!?) of ignorance, which has been equated to bliss more than once. It’s hard to compete with bliss, and reality doesn’t even try very hard to do so, as it realizes people will do just what they want, consisting mostly of what is easiest for them…

There, let no one say that I haven’t ranted…. The foregoing could be construed as a rant, with ignorance and willful stupidity as the targets, and, at this point, I’ll take whatever I can get in that respect. Actually, I’ve been reading the news, and the amount of rampant idiocy being played out these days is reaching a point where picking a subject for a rant will be pretty simple….

There’s the gay marriage contortions going on in the religious right, as they continue to panic over the recent Supreme Court blows to their delusional demands for protection from the nasty old homosexuals…. Or, there are the the shouts of indignation from the world of women, as the male dominated Texas state legislature continues to parade their own brand of asininity for all to see, with new legislation set to take rights away from women, rights the rest of the world forgot were disputed…. I mean, confiscating tampons? What is that all about?….. The patriotic whistleblower, Eric Snowden is considering accepting amnesty in RUSSIA? The world is indeed going mad, and not slowly, ffolkes…. I don’t know if I’ll be able to write fast enough to get it all down before the cataclysm takes us all….

Ah well, that won’t happen today, though it could happen next week, so I guess I’ll try to get another Pearl done before it all goes away, and I have nobody left to talk to, or about….

Shall we Pearl?…..
_____________________________

I am often struck by the contrasts that abound in reality, and though they don’t always leave a mark, they always leave an impression. This is not to say I walk around with the finger-marks of reality’s ire on my face all the time, but, it DOES happen perhaps more often than it should, given my overall flexibility and willingness to go with the flow. And then there are the times, like now, when I have not a bloody clue as to what the hell I’m talking about, even to myself…. Times like this, I just let Smart Bee have its way, and pick out whatever pearls seem appropriate for the day…. Hence, these fine, lustrous gems, that make a sharp little point, and save my ass from the depths of introspective flagellation, turning it to more of a caress than a blow….

“The flesh surrenders itself. Eternity takes back its own. Our bodies stirred these waters briefly, danced with a certain intoxication before the love of life and self, dealt with a few strange ideas, then submitted to the instruments of Time. What can we say of this? I occurred. I am not… yet I occurred.” — Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah

“There is Moral Sense, and there is an Immoral Sense. History shows us that the Moral Sense enables us to perceive morality and how to avoid it, and that the Immoral Sense enables us to perceive immorality and how to enjoy it.” — Mark Twain

“The old patterns of the hero’s quest still hold true. The latest incarnation of Oedipus is standing at the corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street waiting for the lights to change.” — Joseph Campbell

“That which leads us to the performance of duty by offering pleasure as its reward, is not virtue, but a deceptive copy and imitation of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

“Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking.” — John Maynard Keynes

Wonderful! But, somehow, incomplete…. hmm, let’s see what we can find to shore up the leak….

“Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and scarcely in that; for it is true, we may give advice, but we cannot give conduct.Remember this: They that will not be counseled cannot be helped. If you do not hear reason she will rap you over the knuckles.” — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) — Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1757

“I’ve got an IDEA!! Why don’t I STARE at you so HARD, you forget your SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Sometimes, it is almost scary how Zippy is able to provide the proper ending to so many pearls….. just scary…..
_____________________________

Here is a poem by one of my favorite poets, a man often underrated by critics, but, one who remains ever-popular, and none more deservedly so….

Old Men

People expect old men to die,
They do not really mourn old men.
Old men are different. People look
At them with eyes that wonder when…
People watch with unshocked eyes;
But the old men know when an old man dies.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

_____________________________

It is hard to know what to write about our cruise into Tracy Arm Fjord…. It was, I suppose, the real purpose of going on such cruises, to see the types of landscapes, and wildlife, that are not to be seen anywhere else. I must confess, the sail up the channel, to the point where the glacier could be seen, definitely passed through some very gorgeous, and very wild country, places where it was instantly obvious that no man had ever trod the land we were seeing….. Sheer mountains reaching steeply down to the shore of the channel, to the water, an eerie shade of blue due to algae and bacteria unique to the ice chunks floating there, broken off from the glacier…..

There is almost no noise, other than the noises made by the ship as it slowly moved up the river… We passed small islands covered in vegetation, while on either side, long, skinny,white-water streams snaked down the sides of the mountains, converging together to flow down to the shore, where small waterfalls emptied into the slow moving water of the channel, which was dotted with chunks of ice and snow, miniature icebergs from the edges of the larger calves from the glacier at the head of the fjord….

The ship had a naturalist on board to give a talk about the landscape and scientific nature of the glacier and the surrounding countryside, including the animals that were common to the area, such as bears, moose, and mountain goats, in places. Unfortunately, the man they chose happened to have the most BORING tone of voice possible, soft, deep, and paced so slow one almost fell into it. He also possessed some unfortunate speech habits (such as long pauses in the middle of sentences, so long I suspected him of having a stroke in the middle of speaking….), that caused instant yawning in everyone I saw on deck taking pictures…… Dangerous, with so many folks hanging over the rails to get their shots….

The ship traversed to a point where the head of the glacier was in view, at a bend in the river, where the way closer was blocked by ice and a small island. The huge vessel then proceeded to spin neatly on its axis, turning completely around to face downstream, sat for a bit to allow folks on the other side to get their pictures, then slowly headed back down the river toward the open ocean, to head for our next stop, Victoria, on Victoria Island, in British Columbia, Canada.

Below are the pictures I got from the trip up and down the Tracy Arm river channel, and of the glacier…. I hope you enjoy them…. In spite of the cold air, and eerie silence that permeated the entire scene there on the river, it was a fascinating land to see, and well worth braving the cold to get the shots I did get…

_____________________________

Without comment, I read through the above, and can therefore say it is done, if not exactly Pulitzer-worthy….. But, then, I’ve yet to even come close to that, except for perhaps a line or two at a time, somewhere during the last two-plus years of writing, so it doesn’t fret me at all…. In fact, just the state of done-ness is sufficient for my needs, as is patently obvious by now….. As it has been said, whatever….. I do care, just not right now…. And, as usual, I have no idea what that means…… Oh, well….. I hope y’all enjoyed today’s effort…..Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

Mooning over pugilistic dreams….

Posted on June 11, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Salacious, grinning demons haunt the edges of my dreams, claws dripping in the blood of innocence. Hideous screams echo through the dark halls in my mind, as the torturous maze leads me ever deeper into the nightmare of my own mind. No soothing touch is felt on skin numb to all feeling, no mellifluous voice penetrates the foul cacophony ringing in my unwelcoming ears. Time stops, and pain becomes eternal, the focus of all perception, until I awake, groaning in fear, to find myself alive, and whole, shaking, soaked in sweat, and vowing never to sleep again….

Gee, look…. it’s already 0700 in the morning, and I’m just now getting started…. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe I had finally overcome the time distortion suffered when I went to a different time zone for over two weeks…. I knew about jet-lag, but didn’t realize just how powerfully it can affect someone unused to it (or maybe, someone so old…..). It has taken me until this week to feel relatively normal (though, if one is to judge by the first paragraph, normal has a very flexible meaning around here…); I suppose it is only logical, looking at it from the outside, to expect the recovery to take as long as the original change, but it certainly has been enlightening to experience the process from the inside.

I apologize if the first paragraph was too graphic, or negative, for anyone; it just seemed to flow out, as a reaction of some kind to the lack of sleep I’ve known for the past weeks, since leaving for Europe. Due to the absence of normally available substances to assist in getting to sleep, and staying there, during the time I was traveling, my sleep, for the entire time while away, was rather broken up…. Since returning on May 27th, it has taken this long to resume any kind of routine, as my body seemed to resist all attempts to change back to this time zone…. Ah well, persistence has saved the day, and I think from now on, I’ll be able to get back to a more acceptable level of rest at night…. If it keeps me from writing any more horror blurbs, I’ll be happy…. It’s just not my kind of thing, y’know?….

I distinctly remember, at age four, being taken to the movies by my older sister and brother, to see the opening of the (then) new movie, The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Needless to say, at that age, the monster scared the crap out of me, and I spent most of the last hour of the movie in the lobby, waiting for it to end…. While waiting, I remember vowing to myself to never, ever again spend my own money to go see anything that scared me;it seemed to me, even at that tender age, that spending my money on that was silly, or stupid, take your pick, and I wanted nothing more to do with it…. I lived up to that vow, too, and have avoided horror movies ever since….

At about age 25 or 26, some lady talked me into going to see “Jaws” with her, and since she offered to pay, I went along with it, despite my reservations… It was pretty scary, too, right up until that chicken-wire contraption jumped into the boat, coming after the stupid, asshole boat captain…. Since the chicken-wire was fully visible in the movie, when the camera looked straight into the shark’s mouth, in the scene where it grabs the boat captain, it lost a bit of its scariness…. but, it was bad enough that it reinforced my reluctance to watch any other horror flicks…. So, I don’t, which suits me just fine… Life is scary enough; I see no need to pay money to get scared, for any reason….

Now that we’ve taken a trip down memory lane, to no real purpose, it must be time to quit blathering, and get on with the day’s business, such as it is….. I’m really, really late getting started, thanks to Morpheus’ kind attentions, so I may have to dip into the archives for something appropriate, in order to get done, and get on with the rest of today’s planned activities…. So, Shall we Pearl?…..
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“I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology.” — Thomas Jefferson

This pearl is a perfect one for a discussion (rant, if you will…) of religion… a religirant, as we call them around here…. Or, it would be, if I had the mental wherewithal to create one today…. Oh, the angst, and the knowledge I need, is all in there, organized to be presented logically…. unfortunately, I don’t have the energy, for some reason. Though I slept well, for me, I’m still tired; probably has to do with smoking, and not getting enough oxygen, or something like that… Regardless of why, I don’t quite have it in me to rant today, so I’m going to sublimate that urge by going with an old school pearl from the archives, which, fortunately for me, is on the same subject, so the above aphorism from TJ fits right in…. Enjoy!….

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

I’m feeling curmudgeonly this morning, but also quite lazy. Therefore, old school pearl…. Here is another one that jabs a pointed stick in the eye of religion, as is fairly common ’round these parts….. All of these historical figures, and modern authors, had something to say on the subject, but all in a slightly different way…. which is what makes life interesting, right? Right…. Enjoy, and pay heed, because otherwise those preachers, they’ll getcha…. and they won’t let go…..

“Human, do you know how interesting it is, this thing you describe? Avata does not have a god. How is it that you have a god? Avata has Self, has the universe. But you have a god. Where did you find this god?” — Frank Herbert

“Strange, because they are so frankly and hysterically insane — like all dreams: a God who could make good children as easily as bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave his angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice and invented hell — mouths mercy and invented hell — mouths Golden Rules, and forgiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man’s acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites this poor, abused slave to worship him!” — Mark Twain, _The Mysterious Stranger_

“In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain.” — Pliny the Elder

“History records no more gallant struggle than that of humanity against the truth.” — whoever Google says it was, if not Smart Bee… (sounds like H. L. Mencken, or Voltaire..) (Huh…. Google attributes this to Ashleigh Brilliant….)

“I believe that ideas such as absolute certitude, absolute exactness, final truth, etc. are figments of the imagination which should not be admissible in any field of science…This loosening of thinking seems to me to be the greatest blessing which modern science has given us. For the belief in a single truth and in being the possessor thereof is the root cause of all evil in the world.” — Max Born

(As perfect proof of this particular assertion, I offer the following unattributed piece of nonsense, that nevertheless is probably one of the most revered items of dogma in many Christian cults…..)

God didn’t call them the 10 suggestions! — Unknown fundie

(If you can’t see how WRONG this statement is, in so many different ways, I have a great deal of pity for you…. Reality is going to really work you over…..)

Under Alabama law, the wearer of a false mustache in church who causes unseemly laughter is subject to arrest.– Smart Bee

Well, there you go…. It all will make sense….. maybe if you just play it backwards….
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For some poetry, no introduction is needed…..

Ancient Air

I climb up high and look on the four seas,
Heaven and earth spreading out so far.
Frost blankets all the stuff of autumn,
The wind blows with the great desert’s cold.
The eastward-flowing water is immense,
All the ten thousand things billow.
The white sun’s passing brightness fades,
Floating clouds seem to have no end.
Swallows and sparrows nest in the wutong tree,
Yuan and luan birds perch among jujube thorns.
Now it’s time to head on back again,
I flick my sword and sing Taking the Hard Road.

Li Po.

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Here is a another pearl from the archives, first presented in November of 2012….

I first read a Robert Heinlein novel when I was about 10 years old. Then, when about 11, I read his masterpiece work, Stranger In a Strange Land, and my mind was forever changed. His characters were real to me, and the words they spoke were filled with Meaning and Truth, capitalization required. Over time, he has continued to be my favorite author, and I was saddened beyond measure when he passed on, as was the entire Science Fiction world of readers and authors (I’m sure his editors and publishers were also saddened, but for different reasons, the ghouls…). He was considered, by all of SF fandom, and by all the other SF writers, to be the Grand Master of the genre, deserving every bit of praise he garnered in his lifetime.

His character, Lazarus Long, continues to be my favorite of all his protagonists, though it is a close race with Miss Friday…. Lazarus’ character is one that gave Mr. Heinlein unlimited scope for the wisdom he wished to impart to his readers. At the beginning of the book, Time Enough For Love, Lazarus has just reached the age of approximately 2600 years, having been born in 1912, with that age somewhat skewed by some travel through hyperspace, which does funny stuff to Time.

But, as near as he can remember, Lazarus has survived through all those centuries, and, in the course of the book’s plot, agrees to share some of the wisdom he has collected over the years, in the form of his “Notebooks of Lazarus Long”, a short chapter in the larger book, Time Enough for Love. Here are a few of the most cogent aphorisms in the Notebooks; all of them are used by me on a daily basis, if not more often, and one can do no better than to keep them in the forefront of their mind, to ward off the insanity the world can foist upon us with no notice…..

“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

“Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: “Of course it is none of my business, but –” is to place a period after the word “but.” Don’t use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“One man’s theology is another man’s belly laugh.” — Lazarus Long, Time Enough for Love

“A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.” ~~ from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“If you don’t like yourself, you can’t like other people.”~~ from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“Bromidic though it may sound, some questions don’t have answers, which is a terribly difficult lesson to learn.” — Katharine Graham
(Okay, not Lazarus, but, it’s one he might have said, perhaps in the character of Lorelei, or Lapis Lazuli, Lazarus’ cloned twin sisters, had he/she/they thought about it…. )

“Always store beer in a dark place.” ~~ from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” ~~ from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long

That’s enough for one day; Heinlein’s ideas are not as simple as they may appear at first read, and should be absorbed only after considerable rumination over their meaning…. like any chocolate for the soul, it needs to be thoroughly mixed into the milk…. 🙂
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Such as it may be, here it is, complete…. Let’s see how it floats….. Okay, I have to admit it… It’s all a cheat, but it ain’t too bad…. and it’s going out the way it is, so there…. I seem to detect a bit of friction building up in my attitudes… I’d best take a break from this now, or suffer the consequences; that would be totally unfair to y’all, as you’d probably get splashed, or dragged down with me…. Instead, I’ll just say this….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

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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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Frank Herbert

Saved… by the Belle of the Ball….

Sir! Curb your cellulite!….

Okay, but, who takes the hindmost?….

Ah…. I see…. It’s the masticating jelly ….

Tiny, torn pieces of once proud menu items….

All the artichokes were bronzed in individual sterile containers….

Yet another display of consistently obscene pathology….

They’ve pardoned all the equestrians….

Left to our own devices, we drift…..

Mooning over pugilistic dreams….

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