Tag Archives: Frank Zappa

Twelve reasons to spit, rather than swallow….

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Ffolkes,

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

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

11-8-2014 002 (2)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shall we Pearl?

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

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

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

Adults Taste Baby Food

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

But we, who name ourselves its sovereigns, we,
Half dust, half deity, alike unfit
To sink or soar.

~~ Lord Byron (1788-1824) ~~

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


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

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

Who could imagine
That they could freak out in Kansas
Who could imagine
That they could freak out in Washington D.C.
Everybody’s clean, it can’t happen here, no, no
And they thought it couldn’t happen here
They were so sure it couldn’t happen here
It can’t happen here

 ~~ Frank Zappa ~~

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

hello, how are you?

this fear of being what they are:
dead.

at least they are not out on the street, they
are careful to stay indoors, those
pasty mad who sit alone before their tv sets,
their lives full of canned, mutilated laughter.

their ideal neighborhood
of parked cars
of little green lawns
of little homes
the little doors that open and close
as their relatives visit
throughout the holidays
the doors closing
behind the dying who die so slowly
behind the dead who are still alive
in your quiet average neighborhood
of winding streets
of agony
of confusion
of horror
of fear
of ignorance.

a dog standing behind a fence.

a man silent at the window.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Sorry, couldn’t help myself….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Turning, he calmly walked into the door….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Alexander [the Great] asked Diogenes if there was anything in the world he wanted. 


Diogenes, without looking up, replied: `Yes. Get out of my light.'” 


~~ Plutarch ~~


volcano-LDT


     No way, Jose…. There’s no way in Hell I’m putting myself through this today, not with all the stuff I have to do out in the Big Blue Room. I can barely stand up straight, and certainly not without putting myself into severe pain, as the lower back has picked this morning to act as if it were a new condition, perfectly happy to demonstrate all the different postures and movements which will cause it…. So far. even magic cream is failing the test, so, the remainder of the day has taken on new, dark colors….


In order to deal with it as best I may, though, I’m again going to be ruthless in composing today’s Pearl. In fact, this paragraph is the last one you’ll get in the intro; when I said ruthless, that’s exactly what I meant. If I give myself any room at all to start, I’ll rant, or start blathering, either of which, today, would just be absurd, not to mention bad…. But, it will probably be okay, as the relative length will cause most of y’all to celebrate, at least in the privacy of your own minds…. As for the rest of us, we’ll be down below, trying to finish off what got done yesterday, and get this posted…. See, ruthless…


Shall we Pearl?…..


“He declared that he knew nothing, except the fact of his ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xvi


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“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleges, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” ~~ Tolstoy


Now THAT is a proper beginning for a rant…. too bad I’m not up to ranting…. Y’all will have to make do with a blast from the past…. It’s still valid, so, that’s something, anyway….


From 7/21/2012:


“There is always a second right answer.  Look beyond the obvious.” — Smart Bee


I am glad that I found this quote this morning. I was looking for something to go with a discussion around the events that took place in Colorado yesterday, wherein a young man shot and killed 12 people, and injured many others, before being subdued and arrested. I have not engaged in reading any of the stories about it, as they all follow the same pattern, and repeat the same cliches trying to describe the horror of the scenario, and to describe the terror felt by the victims. The news coverage of events of this nature vary little from one to the next; the only difference lies in the number of victims, and the place it occurred.


I don’t watch the stories, but the headlines always give enough information to satisfy my level of curiosity. The part of these events that interests me is always the amount of outrage and dismay that is expressed by those who are not even involved. People from all over the world will write articles condemning guns, or lamenting the victims, or expressing sorrow, or otherwise giving their reaction to the story. One of the reactions that is common after an event such as this is from the people who would like to see ALL guns taken off the streets, and make it illegal for citizens to even own a gun.


This to me is the reaction of a scared child. Yes, terrible things happen, and sometimes those terrible things are perpetrated by some idiot who has managed to get his hands on guns. But, it is folly to blame the guns themselves for the deaths of those people. The person is responsible, not the guns. But, to these frightened children, the very idea of guns is too scary to deal with, and they would like to see reality changed to suit their fears. It’s kind of like saying that “oh my, cars cause over a million deaths a year. Let’s get them off the streets!” It is an over-reaction, common to those who typically refuse to stand up for their own rights, preferring to allow the government to tell them what to think.


I agree that it is tragic that events like this should happen, and I feel bad for the victims. I also feel bad for the idiot, because only a soul that is in extreme distress could ever consider such actions. If it were to happen in front of me, I would not hesitate take him down and put him down like a sick dog, but I would do so in sorrow, knowing that he is a broken man. This event will mark a moment in time that none of the victims will ever forget, and it will change their lives in some way, for certain. But, to let these events cause us to make poor decisions about guns is an error in thinking, and can lead to the loss of more rights than we have already lost to the fear-mongers.


Living involves risk. This is a truism, and is not subject to debate. One may prepare for that risk by making themselves strong and educated regarding the extent of the risks, and dealing with those risks in an adult fashion. Or, one can retreat to their childhood, and give over the handling of risk to the authority figures in our lives, and feel snug and safe in their little delusional bubble.  


What these people fail to understand is this: prohibiting guns, or making them illegal, is NOT going to make guns go away. It will just drive them underground, and make it harder to keep track of them. The risk will be even greater, because NOW there is nothing to stop criminals from victimizing others, other than the police, and we can see already how little effectiveness the police have in stopping events like this.


This shit is going to happen, whether guns are legal or not. I am personally unwilling to trust the government of this country, or of any other, to protect me and my interests. If they have guns, I want mine, because otherwise there will be no reason at all for them to keep from taking from me whatever they want. 


Police in this country are NOT to be trusted; most of the time they have a poor opinion of the public, and a sense of entitlement that puts them above the law. The same goes for politicians; I’m not going to trust them any further than I am the police. Probably even less, as they have shown time after time that they are not to be trusted. If they can’t be trusted with my money, I’m certainly not going to trust them with my guns….


Attitudes adjusted, while you wait. — L.A. Police Car Bumper Sticker


I’m not overly concerned whether or not anyone agrees with me on this; everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Some will say that I am calloused and indifferent to the pain those people felt. Well, they are free to say whatever they like…. The simple truth is that I feel very sorry for all the victims, and their families, knowing full well that they are now looking at years of therapy and healing before they will ever be comfortable again. But it is also the simple truth that I am not going to get all worked up over something that happens all the time, and will continue to happen as long as the world remains so overpopulated that we are like rats in a cage, fighting and biting each other over the limited resources.


“Paradoxically though it may seem, it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” — Oscar Wilde


If one wants to get outraged over needless deaths, then let’s begin a dialog about the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who continue to die for no good reason. We were told that the wars in those two countries were started to “get Osama bin Laden” and put an end to  terrorism. Ten years and trillions of dollars later, bin Laden is dead, and terrorism is NOT ended. Probably, more than 12 soldiers are killed every day in both countries, but there is no outrage that I see….


So, let us not engage in the orgy of feelings, and outpouring of outrage, over an event that, while not normal or desirable, should nonetheless not be a surprise. And, let us not thrash about in fear, and center our anger on the wrong target. Guns are not the problem; people who are broken are the problem, whether they are shooting people in a theater in the mountains, or passing laws in a building in Washington D.C.  The answer is not to get rid of guns; that is never going to happen. The answer is to fix the broken people…. and you can take that to the bank….


“Americans like to talk about (or be told about) Democracy but, when put to the test, usually find it to be an ‘inconvenience.’   We have opted instead for an authoritarian system *disguised* as a Democracy.  We pay through the nose for an enormous joke-of-a-government, let it push us around, and then wonder how all those assholes got in there.” —   Frank Zappa


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Here is another legendary rock band from the sixties, with two members of The Jefferson Airplane (the bass and lead guitar players), a rogue drummer, and one of the best freelance fiddle players to ever draw a bow…. Enjoy!…..




Hot Tuna: Live at the Fillmore, 1984









































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Nobody else should ever receive any blame for this, so…. Here’s one of mine that I wrote on a morning such as this one seems to be….






Momentary Terror


Absently casual, memories pester endlessly 

   leaving only bleeding remnants, amiable and loving. 

Coming awake, I cry to still the pain, shamelessly.


Elsewhen, time gives surcease, if only to live,

   shoring broken pilings, worn and gray.

Passing on, I laugh at the pain, accept all it will give.


Time will build a shelter, warm and ever safe

   save for Fate’s busy hands.

Enduring, I follow the pain, knowing it will chafe.


Fixed against a darkened sky of starry black

   such beauty brings us to our knees.

Entranced, I welcome the pain, ’tis all I lack…..


~~ gigoid ~~




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“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, and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” — Robert A. Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long


I first read this paragraph when I was about 14, or thereabout; as might be imagined, it had a very strong effect on me, and how I looked at the world…. and, is a view of human nature I’ve tried to accept, and utilize, for all the years since. By implication, there are other qualities and skills that any human should cultivate, for their own benefit, and for the benefit of all around them…. One of those is a sense of the absurd, or, as I like to think of it, a keen appreciation for irony, and its place in reality….


Being silly, and accepting one’s Bozoid tendencies, to me, is an attitude that can only help in life; very few situations are immune to the power of an ironic eye, even the most emotionally tense, confrontational issues can be made more palatable through the application of some humor, thus aiding in achieving a successful resolution, where it might otherwise have created ugliness and pain…. Today’s final section is therefore comprised of a nine-star pearl, to celebrate and practice that very skill….. If you wish to LOL, feel free….


“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” — Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


“I want you to organize my PASTRY trays…  my TEA-TINS are gleaming in formation like a ROW of DRUM MAJORETTES — please don’t be FURIOUS with me –” — Zippy the Pinhead


“He had been kicked in the head by a mule when young, and believed everything he read in the Sunday papers.” — George Ade


“`She said you were born to hang,’ said Anathema. Adam grinned, Notoriety wasn’t as good as fame, but heaps better than obscurity.” — Pratchet & Gaiman, _Good Omens_


Demonstrating once again the importance of the lowly comma, this telegram was sent from a wife to her husband: “NOT GETTING ANY, BETTER COME HOME AT ONCE.”


“Courtroom: A place where Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot would be equals, with the betting odds in favor of Judas.” — H.L. Mencken


“There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had many of them.” — Casey Stengel


“If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” — Smart Bee


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


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Well, I managed to get it done…. but, that’s all I can do…. I’m going to post this, before I can’t…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, hopefully from a better starting point…..




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….




 



		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
No, no, not the taffeta!….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go;


it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow”


 — Alice M. Swaim






8-30-2014 003


    Today’s picture, which goes well with the opening pearl, is one of my own. The flower is one I found while out walking, picking this one to put on my hat for the day, as is my habit whenever I go out. When I got home, the gorgeous thing was still fresh and beautiful, so I laid it on the black surface of the couch, and took some shots of it, in addition to a couple others, including one of how it looked on the hat….. I am very pleased with this shot; the colors are both vivid and delicate at once, and the background black makes it almost glow… Not bad for an old curmudgeon, eh?


Now that my shoulder is back in the socket, after getting thrown out by patting myself so hard on the back, I think I can continue to type… not that it seems to make any difference in anything. It’s a good thing I don’t do this for money, or for self-promotion; I’d be starving, big time. I’m pretty sure the sobriety and deeply controversial nature of most of my ranting, along with the length of what I write, has been striking many of my usual readers with its repetitive qualities, such that not many are stopping in very often of late to read…. Oh, I’m getting readers, and have had some great dialogue in the comment section; just not a lot of traffic overall….


S’okay by me… I write to stay sane. I also figured out something the other day, as I sat one early evening, thinking about, well, stuff…. I do that a lot…. just sit, and think. Always have; it seems to provide me with the time alone in my head that I need to feel as if I’m keeping up with things in there; you know, sweeping out old bullshit, programming new stuff, planning for future events, examining new ideas and stuff learned for validity, truth, and/or flaws in reasoning, stuff like that…. If it were a computer (my head) you could call it file maintenance, or defragmentation, or maybe running a registry cleaning software program…


Any who, while sitting and thinking, I realized that the routine I’ve developed over the last three years has been my mind’s adaptation to retirement, which it accomplished in order to keep me young…. All my life, I had routines that I built to deal with the demands of life, all of which involved getting up early in the morning, to get a jump on the necessary thinking, organizing, and just plain waking up that can make the difference between a good day, and a bad one, no matter what kind of work I, or anyone, is involved in; good planning makes for good outcomes…. Now that I have no real reason to get up in the morning, my mind decided to give me one, and made it necessary for me to write….. otherwise, I would certainly have gone mad…. stark raving mad, rather than my current level of mild anxiety mixed with unpredictable, intermittent emotional fragility, easily handled…


So, my job now is to write each day, in order to keep the demons from staying too long, joining up with their mates, and giving me REAL problems to deal with… If in the process, I can write something that makes someone smile, or think, or burn with outrage, or fall on the floor laughing, then I’ll be content…. Money isn’t necessary to make me feel satisfaction; I get mine from a well-turned phrase, or an apt insult to someone who deserves more than I can hit them with…. it’s enough for me….


Why look! I’ve meandered and blathered again, mostly about stuff that means little to nothing, and have again arrived at a suitable jumping-off point just at the right moment, when I’d finished my egotistic drivel…. This means we don’t even need to use one of the emergency methods, though, we did go a bit long again…. S’fine…. it’ll all come out in the wash, right?


Shall we Pearl?…..


“Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be!” — Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote


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


Since the intro went so long, even without ranting, I’ll go old-school in this section, to try to keep from scaring anyone away this early…. Here is a pearl with parameters set to poke at our Beloved ruling class, and the public morality that allows them to keep on keepin’ on with their unruly shenanigans…. Hopefully, today, we’ll see some blood….


“Americans like to talk about (or be told about) Democracy but, when put to the test, usually find it to be an ‘inconvenience.’ We have opted instead for an authoritarian system *disguised* as a Democracy.  We pay through the nose for an enormous joke-of-a-government, let it push us around, and then wonder how all those assholes got in there.” — Frank Zappa


“A man that expects to train lobsters to fly in a year is called a lunatic and is locked up. But a man that thinks people can be turned into angels by legislation is called a reformer and allowed to walk free.” — Mr. Dooly


“A pig ate his fill of acorns under an oak tree and then started to root around the tree.  A crow remarked, `You should not do this.  If you lay bare the roots, the tree will wither and die.’ `Let it die,’ said the pig.  `Who cares so long as there are acorns?'” — Smart Bee


“Nothing links man to man like the frequent passage from hand to hand of cash.” — Walter Sickert (1860-1942)


“And the Clinton administration launched an attack on people in Texas because those people were religious nuts with guns.  Hell, this country was FOUNDED by religious nuts with guns!” — P. J. O’Rourke


“Sure we’ll have Fascism, but it will come disguised as Americanism.” — Huey P. Long


“Instead of giving money to found colleges to promote learning, why don’t they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything?   If it works as good as the Prohibition one did, why, in five years we would have the smartest race of people on earth.” — Will Rogers


Not too shabby at all; there’s some sharp sticks in there, ffolkes…. hope they caught one of the bastards right in the eye….. I love starting the day with some good red, American politician blood flowing…. It keeps all of us on our toes to see that shocking red color, and to know it’s our own fault if we let it continue this way…. Besides, they breed like flies, and there’s always another one ready to step into the old one’s shoes, bloody or not…. Sometimes, I swear, shooting politicians is like trying to stem the tide…..


Oops…. sorry, all you folks over there at the NSA…. I used the words “shoot” and “politician” in the same sentence; it’s a figure of speech. We’re only shooting insults, not bullets…. Bloody idiots…..


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


Here is another new poem, just bled out yesterday, that speaks for itself….




Retrospective, defined in folly….


Yesterday

I wrote a poem.


It bled out of my head,

like I’d been struck with

an axe,

right through the artery, 

in the neck,

spraying blood around

everywhere,

like a pulsing garden hose….


It hurt, at first,

then came the feeling,


of quick relief,

of timeless beauty,

 

of pain avenged,

of lust aroused,


of outrage aflame,

of deep compassion,


of endless empathy,

of truest love….


Now it’s gone, cast away

like pearls before twine.


(Grin…)


You thought

I was going to call you

a pig,

didn’t you?


Hah!


Well, you’re not.

You’re a person.


I know, because

you’re reading this poem…

if that’s what it is.

I think it is, 

so,

maybe it is. 


Or, maybe,

it will be,

someday, when it

grows up, 

and learns to rhyme.

Whew…

Just in time…..


That’s all.

Reality often sucks wind,

y’know?


S’okay, though….

It keeps us busy,

and out of some of the

mischief,

so much part

of our 

nature.


We all can do

only what we

do.


Or, don’t.


Two sides, one coin.


~~ gigoid ~~




Hmm…. well, that was…. is…. something different, for sure, and for certain….


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


“I was brought up in the other service; but I knew from the first that the Devil was my natural master and captain and friend.  I saw that he was in the right, and that the world cringed to his conqueror only from fear.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), “The Devil’s Disciple”


It is possible, if one reads with intelligent absorption, and open perception, to hear the echoes of sardonicism in Shaw’s words; for my own part, I can almost SEE his tongue, firmly lodged in cheek, while he wrote this, struggling with all his might not to burst out into maniacal laughter….. This may have been the single most satisfying phrase anyone has ever had the fortune to write; it pokes the entire Western culture, with its overbearing elitism, its incredible arrogance, its pompous, stuffy demeanor, and its sheer insane insistence on basing an entire society based on a set of delusions fostered upon them by insane fanatics with no other morality than the dictates of their own perverted fears of the unknown, right in the proverbial eye….


It’s wonderfully antagonistic, too… I like that. Shaw had a lot of fun with this one, for, by it’s nature, his contention sets itself up in direct opposition to every point of morality favored by those in Christian society; since his own philosophical structure is NOT based on delusions, it is simple for him to see, and point to all the nonsense in the dogma that is supposed to act as the guide for his behavior…. which only enrages them, as they have no hold on him, or any way to shut him up, without showing themselves as the lying, or at least, misguided fools they are….


Now, I could discuss (rant about) this for a long time, and would enjoy every moment. It’s great fun to think up ways to annoy those hidebound dinosaurs; it IS a bit dishonorable, as it is not very nice to engage in battles of wit with unarmed opponents, but, then, I’ve never been very nice… not about this. But, in hopes of luring perhaps a few of my readers back, I’ll use this opportunity to reproduce an old-old-old school pearl, first posted here on 10/31/2011, when the entire Pearl of Virtual Wisdom was an old-school format…. So, what you will now see is the whole Pearl from that date….. Enjoy, it’s a good one…..


Ffolkes,


Due to circumstances that are completely within my control, I have  lot to do today, so I will be using the old format for this morning’s offering, with just a short intro, and then some mighty fine virtual food for thought. Between fighting off depression, scratching for change, and juggling creditors, I have neglected my homework, which only hurts me, so there ya go. I sleep a lot, probably because when I’m asleep, I feel more in control of my life.


Pitiful, isn’t it? Ah well, life is Change, and this situation too shall pass in time. I’ve procrastinated almost as far as I can with the homework, though I’m sure I’ll come up with at least one or two ways to put it off before I actually get to it. I’m creative in that respect, if in no other…….any who, here are today’s Pearls, all of which can be found in Category “Finest Kind Stuff”………


“To be “matter of fact” about the world is to blunder into fantasy…. and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful.” — Robert A. Heinlein


“All the knowledge in the world is not wisdom”. — Albert Einstein


“Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can’t see them.” — Steve Ely


(Sound familiar? Has a certain Tea Party ring to it, no?…..)




You ‘d scarce expect one of my age

To speak in public on the stage;

And if I chance to fall below

Demosthenes or Cicero,

Don’t view me with a critic’s eye,

But pass my imperfections by.

Large streams from little fountains flow,

Tall oaks from little acorns grow.


~~ David Everett ~~

 (1769-1813)

 — Lines written for a School Declamation —




The wages of sin are high but you get your money’s worth. — Smart Bee


“Please come home with me…  I have Tylenol!!” — Zippy the Pinhead


Well, there you go, Ollie, another fine mess…..and in Technicolor too!  Y’all take care out there…..


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


With this Pearl, I declare this blog officially back to relative normalcy; up at the usual time, finished at an appropriate hour, and posted before 7 AM…. I’ll take it.  In fact, I’ll take it as it is, and be done with it for today…. I’ll see you mañana, amigos…..




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!








					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

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

			
						

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Ffolkes,




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


~~  Marcel Proust ~~





August 14 2014 010


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


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


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


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


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


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


Shall we Pearl?…..


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


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


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


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


From 4/4/2012:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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




Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Kansas

Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Washington D.C.

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

And they thought it couldn’t happen here

They were so sure it couldn’t happen here

It can’t happen here


~~  Frank Zappa ~~




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


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


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






When life calls, ready or not….


Memories are all we have sometimes

to keep our sanity intact,

with learned phrases and subtle rhymes

lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.


Presently all seems composed and intent

in stark contrast to hollow day,

forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,

fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.


Such vigorous and elevated temper

brings us rare moments to ponder,

filled with lessons all need to remember

lest base perception lose valued wonder.


Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast

leaving shameless anger in its wake.

Let bygones pass quietly into the past

reaping only what is left to take.


Final words of wise imagination

tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears

ever eluding choirs and congregations

finally finding home, never buried in tears.


~~ gigoid ~~


Unheralded Sagacity…


To many, who will not see beyond their nose

the world becomes a dangerous place,

a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,

no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.


Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,

men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.

No chains needed, held in thrall for years,

lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.


Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;

Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt

Strength is found in an unfettered mind, 

Cry “freedom” with a great shout.


No help from any gods can hinder so much

as our own lack of confidence;

finding the light within, knowing it as such

confirms us, becoming consequence.


Illumination…..


~~ gigoid ~~




Kirk: “Spock, comment.”

Spock: “Very bad poetry.”


— “Catspaw”, Stardate 3018.2.


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

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Featured Image -- 2780













					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Irregular behavior patterns on parade….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




You’ll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.”

~~  George Bernard Shaw ~~





dogs-dumbfounded_2863302k


“Did someone say “walk”?”




The dogs belong to a photographer in England. She rescued all three dogs, and now takes pictures of them together, and separately, from a unique viewpoint; I found this, along with a number of other excellent photos, on the web site of the London Daily Telegraph…. I love the pictures, which she uses to demonstrate a number of emotions or issues of a humorous nature…. If you have a chance, check them out some time… I forgot to take down the name, of either the dogs, or the photographer, but, Google will find the picture, if it is plugged in, just like it will find words….


Now that the housekeeping has been completed, we could go on to something more compelling, or intense, but, who wants to wake up to that? I could comment along the lines of the quote from George Bernard, above, or, I could even start a rant in the same vein, i.e., political asininity…. We could take a 90 degree turn, heading off toward some shiny thought off in the distance…. Or, I could ignore everything, and just start babbling, much as I usually do each day….


I can’t seem to make up my mind, which, although not all that unusual, is a trifle more stubborn than I generally find it to be…. There’s no rhyme, nor reason, I can find, other than an impish sense of fun that is sort of hovering about, looking for a way to insert itself into the conversation…. It’s bound for disappointment today, I can tell ya…. My mood is such that “fun” might cause sparks, and a fire…. we don’t want to have to deal with that before I’ve had more coffee, believe me…. I’m already riding the edge of control, couldn’t say why, but, I can say, it would NOT be a good day to test my patience….


Maybe it’s because I was all set to do a politirant, right off the bat today…. The quote, a good one, is also a good springboard for a discussion of the dangers of patriotism without the intelligence to operate such a dangerous state of being…. To be a true patriot of this country, it requires, no, it demands the citizenry be educated, and not by merely one book; anything less will not allow us to keep the freedom to think, and to act in ways that are actually free, and not merely conforming to custom, or tradition…..


But, then, most of the citizens of this country can no longer use their minds for independent thought, having given away the right to use their own minds a long time ago…. In fact, I’m pretty sure the fundies and zealots were already planning their insidious take-over of the government, in collusion with the corporate snakeheads and their bribes…. Now, both of them have the government in a choke hold, and nothing gets done unless they say so…. If you don’t believe me, just look at how many bills this Congress has voted on…. it’s pathetic….


Both of these groups, neither of which gives a shit about the common man, other than as the means by which they can assume control of the world’s resources, have infiltrated the ranks of those who believe they are in charge, to manipulate them into making laws that favor two entities only….. Business, which is protected by the granting of “corporate personhood”, and religion, which is protected by all sorts of special advantages in the laws, just like the corporations… such as no taxes on their operations or properties…. What a scam!


Oh gosh…. look at that. I’ve lost control again, and started ranting in the intro…. when I said I probably shouldn’t rant at all….. and, I find I was right, as usual…. (I know, being right so often is annoying at times, but, hey, it’s still better than being wrong!…..) My mood is such that just that little bit of expressed ire, and my blood pressure banged up a few notches…. Bogus!


Ah well, we’ll pretend it never happened, and try to go on…. In fact, we’ll take this opportunity right here to make our escape, n’est pas? Oui….


Shall we Pearl?….


“The greatest torture in the world for most people is to think.” — Luther Burbank (1849-1926)


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


“Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)



http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/07/29/prove-your-love-at-city-hall/


“The “rules” are more like frightened guesses based on pious fairytales, superstitious dogma, the thing that sort of worked for a few people, once, way back when. The church is more full of sh-t than anyone save maybe the government, right along with all developed cultures of the world, all clueless as stoned cats but simultaneously desperate to keep the populace locked into some sense of behavioral norm. ” — Mark Morford, Monday, 2014


I’ll bet you’re thinking, “Oh no! He’s going to rant again, against religion!” Well, you could be right, but, then, again, you might be wrong, too…. To be honest, I myself am, as yet, unsure which path to take…. Mark’s article is a good one, again, and this single paragraph is one of the finest short summaries of reality in our culture that I’ve seen in a long time… The last sentence in the excerpt, “….church is full of sh_t….”, etc. is BEAUTIFUL!, It’s precise, coherent, and shows reality in a strong, bright light….. such as it is….


I COULD rant…. goodness knows there is enough going on in the world to rant about, especially now the various branches of our government, which have been at war for generations, have apparently gone completely bonkers, with one branch trying to sue another branch, by filing suit with the third branch…. which just goes to show, the tree is rotten, to the core….


Rather than making it worse for you by pounding that into your face and mind, with a religirant, or a politirant, or even a politireligirant, I’ll make the same points, with a lighter touch, by putting together a pointed old-school pearl, with all of them, the politicians, the judges, the police, the corporate snakes, the preachers, the pimps, and all those other assholes who spend their lives taking from others, as the common target…. Enjoy….


“The Second Amendment doesn’t grant the right to keep and bear arms. You already have that right.  The Constitution just prohibits the government from taking it away from you.” — Smart Bee


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


“There are two sentences inscribed upon the Delphic oracle, hugely accommodated to the usages of man’s life: “Know thyself”, and “Nothing too much”; and upon these all other precepts depend.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Consolation to Apollonius


“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever.  I think you’ll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.” — Brian E. Moore


“Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, so don’t kid yourself…” — Frank Zappa


“Money talks. Usually it says, “Bend over.”” — Solomon Short


“Don’t ever tell anyone they ain’t free, ‘cos they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ just to prove they are.” — Terry Southern (script for Easy Rider)


And there, but for the grace of, well, somebody, go you or I…


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


I’m using one of my poems, just because it fits the theme, perfectly…. Well, of course it does, silly, I wrote it, didn’t I?….




Geezer to Congress, with Love


Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,

except for their money, I thinks;

Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,

what they actually do, it stinks.


“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,

steal from the aged, that’s their plan.

“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”

lie shamelessly, because they can.


Maybe just once, if we all act together,

it couldn’t miss.

Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,

take careful aim, and piss.


Why the hell not?

It’s worth a shot!


~~ gigoid ~~


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


Okay, so, it’s getting a bit late, and I’m tired, even though I haven’t ranted very hard or long…. Just a factor of my age, I suppose…. which is something I refuse to give in to. Rather than ranting, though, which could cause bleeding from the ears at this juncture, we’ll go old school again, with a random, harlequin style pearl, sans parameters, to make the process of searching faster and simpler…. Now, watch Smart Bee screw with me, and keep me busy for a half-hour or more, looking for that last perfect pearl…. Wish me luck….


“Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemies is at ease.” — Sun Tzu


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


“It is vain to look for a defence against lightning.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 835


“Let not thy mind run on what thou lackest as much as on what thou hast already.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vii, 27


“The man who boasts that he habitually tells the truth is simply a man with no respect for it. It is not a thing to be thrown about loosely, like small change; it is something to be cherished and hoarded and disbursed only when absolutely necessary. The smallest atom of truth represents some man’s bitter toil and agony; for every ponderable chunk of it there is a brave truth-seeker’s grave upon some lonely ash-dump and a soul roasting in Hell.” — H. L. Mencken, Prejudices: Third Series


“The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common.  Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts  to fit their views…which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to  be one of the facts that needs altering.” — Doctor Who, “Face of Evil”




This is thy hour, O Soul;

Thy free flight into the wordless

Away from books, from art.

The day erased; the lesson done.


Thee fully forth emerging,

Silent, gazing…

Pondering the themes thou lovest best:

Night, sleep, death, and the stars.


~~ Walt Whitman ~~




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


Naturally, I was, again, too bloody right…. except it took 45 minutes, rather than a mere 30…. But, the results were worth the time & effort, I think, so, I’ll let it go without further comment, which would only serve to anger me, and bore y’all…. Neither of those outcomes is desirable, so, we’ll just call it a day…. Well, we will, as soon as I can figure out the correct combination of words to get us out of here…. Oh, right, here they are…. See ya, ffolkes…. tomorrow, if everything goes the way it should….




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


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Another day in Paradox….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


Shot to hell, it is…. bowed, bloody, completely in tatters…. Fortunately, we’re referring to my routine, and, perhaps, my mind, not my corpus; typing would be even more difficult, if that were the case. It’s complicated, and challenging enough already, what with the revolt being carried out by the physical side of my persona; it has taken me well over an hour, and more than a single cup of coffee, just to be able to get this simple paragraph onto the screen.


Without going into details that might curdle the milk you just poured over your oatmeal, let’s just say that getting this done will be an act of monumental courage and perseverance, to push through the haze veiling my mind, and put some clarity into what goes onto the page. Brilliance, or even moderate style may be out of the question; we’ll have to wait and see what happens. I could conceivably loosen up a bit, and find a pocket of energy, and/or sanity, (either will do….) that will carry me through to the end of this, but, I can’t count on it, and it’s not too likely at this point, anyway…. I’ll be lucky to get dressed all the way, much less display any real creativity in my prose….


I had no idea at the start of this blog how hard it is to write something fresh and creative every day; it gives me a bit more respect for those columnists who manage to do that for many years, maintaining a witty, accessible, and fun atmosphere in their work over periods of time far greater than what I’ve done here for the last three or so years….. Herb Caen, Walter Winchell, Grantland Rice, Jon Carroll, and a number of other daily columnists now have my complete admiration, as well as my burning curiosity, wondering how the hell they managed it for all that time…


But, long discussions of old time heroes won’t get me any further toward finishing this; it’s barely given me a start. I suppose it’s some sort of solution to the lack of freshly minted material, which, combined with my fuzzy head and overall schmeckiness, (a fine old word, that I just made up…. It sure SOUNDS like I feel…. Schmecky….), but, I don’t think it will do in the long run, except as filler, which has already shown itself to be an acceptable pathway for taking such side trips into tangential subject matter…. It may be fun, and take up time & space, but, it won’t last for more than a few paragraphs before becoming detrimental to the larger picture….


Nonesuch…. what a great word. I’m not entirely sure why it floated up to the surface of my mind, unless it’s trying to give me a hint, that it’s time to try to regain our foothold on sanity, or, at minimum, make the attempt to return to reality, before we get so far lost we can’t even find a GPS, much less our own behinds…. In fact, I’d say that y’all might do well to find your own way back to your seats, because I’m about to bail out of here, and fight my way back overland….. It’s hard to fly when weighted down by depression, as we all know, and I’m not going to sit here any longer, pretending I’m okay….


On that cryptic turn, we’ll head out into the wilds of the pearl beds, where I may be able to locate my sanity…. If not, well, I’ve been there before, so, it shouldn’t take too long to fight my way out…. In the meantime, since I’ve got nothing better to do this morning….


Shall we Pearl?…..


“He should not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.’ — Elrond


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


Panting and wheezing, I clamber to the next level, only to find another sheer rock face, the only way to proceed…. Having climbed this far, I’m not willing to go back down, and besides, I get vertigo thinking about it…. I’ll just have to go on…. I know, I’ll make an old school pearl, and that will bring me right back to earth, if I do it right….. Let’s see what we can do…


“Each man reaps on his own farm.” — Plautus (254-184 BC) — Mostellaria, Act iii, Sc. 2, 112, (799.)


“A Puritan is someone who is deathly afraid that someone, somewhere, is having fun.” — H. L. Mencken


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


“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.” — Gerald R. Ford


“A clown is a clown and will always be a clown.” — Babbaluche the cobbler


“I’m not a god, I was misquoted.” — Lister, Red Dwarf


“I only wish I may see your head stroked down with a slipper.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Act v, Sc. 7, 4, (1028.)


Well…. I have to say this…. That’s the oddest pearl I think I’ve ever put together…. It is a bit esoteric, to be sure, but, I think the last quote, from Terence, just makes it all okay…. If you have any clues as to what he might have been referring to, or talking about, I’d love to hear them, because I don’t have one, at all….. But, I am not required to have one, legally, so, onward….


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


Here is a poem I wrote to try to describe this process, of creating Pearls…. It’s not bad, and will hopefully expiate some of the potential ire that may be engendered by today’s apparent, no, today’s all-too-real fragility, of both purpose, and intelligence…. The poem describes what I go through each day pretty well, which is, after all, WHY I wrote it to begin with…. Better out than in, I always say….






How It Works….


Retreat, retreat, he cries in vain

we cannot stand such pain!

Another battle, another day’s fight

Eternally at war, both day and night.


Storms within, crashing and thrashing about,

filling each moment with fear and doubt.

Cries of anguish, hopes for a swift end

Denied with wounds that will not mend.


The crisis approaches, time will not wait.

It marches on, driven madly by fate.

We have no recourse, no other road to walk,

No great power to whom we may talk.


Morning arrives, seemingly mild and free

Until one considers all that must be

An intro, some pearls, a photo or two

Today’s magnificent Pearl, created just for you…..


 ~~gigoid ~~


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


Due to the lack of any sort of intelligent activity going on in my mind, and the time constraints involved in my being so late getting to this, here is a religirant from the archives, with some closing comments to freshen it up a bit…..


From 5/09/2012:


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


This has always been an issue in my mind, from the very earliest times I was exposed to religious instruction, in some Presbyterian Sunday School when I was a young lad. Even at the age of five or six, I had a hard time understanding two things about God, if what they were telling me about Him was true. First, I couldn’t believe that a God, supposedly able to create an entire universe, would take the time and/or energy to care whether or not I was paying attention to His rules (I also questioned why He would make rules in the first place….)


Secondly, the whole idea of worship made me uneasy…. it seemed a bit, hmm, needy, or vulnerable, to me. I knew that the admiration of others made me feel weird; uneasy and uncomfortable with their fawning (baby sisters & brothers, little kids, and others who show such feelings for their older, more accomplished siblings….). Even the admiration I held for my older siblings, and my heroes, made me a bit uncomfortable. So, I could never understand why an all-powerful being would want any part of such a thing.


So, even then, before I had any real defenses, I suppose my ability to reason made it hard for me to accept a lot of what I was told. It never made sense to me that the pictures I saw of God made him look just like some human patriarch (hmm… no Freudian comments?); I mean, if he was so far above us, how did we know what He looked like? I didn’t remember seeing any photos of Him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, (another questionable entity to the mind of a five-year old….) playing in the Dead Sea surf, nor did I recall any such word from God Himself. There were a lot of folks saying that the Bible is the Word of God, but the only ones saying so were people, not Gods.


So, maybe I was a bit different than the average young bear cub, but much of what they tried to foist upon my unsuspecting mind never took hold, as I found it completely unbelievable. It just didn’t make any sense, even by the rules they claimed to be those by which reality operated.  If I, a little kid, didn’t like to be worshiped, why would an omnipotent being have anything to do with it?  Give me a reasonable, rational answer, and I will consider the concept. But, I think you’d best bring a new and different set of arguments, because the ones that have been in play for several thousand years just don’t cut it in my book….


“Everybody has the right to be stupid, but they’re abusing the privilege.” — Smart Bee

________________________


From the vantage point of two-plus years in the future, I’m compelled to expand upon what I wrote then…. which, advantageously, makes this a fresh rant, rather than one lazily pulled from the archives, and left to stand alone…. I can be nice, and diligent, when I want to be…. Of course, doing so only adds to my curmudgeonry when discussing the whole divinity scam, otherwise known as The Dogma Game….


In the above rant, in my attempts to make fun of the lack of logical structure which comprises, (or perhaps the word, infests, is better), the whole of the Christian credo, while not bad, fall short of hilarious…. I’m also aware that this current manifesto has assumed my pedantic, pontificating style, which is liable to put even me to sleep, should I insist on carrying it through to the arguments to follow…. or, that will presumably follow, once I get done deciding how to approach such a daunting task….


There, was that stiff and awkward enough for you? It was for me….. But, that’s okay, God won’t mind; from what I can tell, IF there is a God, even one remotely similar to the one the Christians, Muslims, et al envision in their holy writings, no matter what He/She/It wants to be called, I would guess His/Her/Its sense of humor would extend to include something like this essay will become, if it ever begins…. It (a divine sense of humor….), I would assume, by definition, would be infinite in scope, so, I’m pretty sure I’m covered….. If not, I should be….


Rather than bore y’all any further with all this, why don’t I find just the right pearl to close this off…. I’ll just leave you with this thought…. IF there is a GOD, and He is responsible for making us the way we are, then He MUST have a good sense of humor…. I mean, just LOOK at us! Ridiculously weak, physically fragile, and easily duped by our more aggressive, more unscrupulous peers; what was He thinking? Plus, we have noses, which grow red and make funny noises when squeezed…. If that isn’t funny, I’m a fire hydrant…. Not a funny fire hydrant, but, hey, what do you want from an inanimate object so early in the morning?….




And in your dreams you can see yourself

As a prophet saving the world

The words from your lips

I just can’t believe you are such

A fool.


 — Frank Zappa, “Oh No”.




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


Y’all are now fully aware of how strange it can get around here, so it won’t surprise you to hear that the Wise Old Pine Cone is still busy with his student, but has agreed to a photo session today…. It’s a good thing, too, as I’m starting to get a lot of fan mail on him; I’ve even received several proposals for him, from a number of traffic and ice cream cones…. Tomorrow, I promise, we’ll have more pix of him, and his handsome young paduan learner…. Who knows? Maybe I’ll devote an entire Pearl to the Old Cone’s world; we’ll see how today’s shoot comes off….


But, for now, I’m done, and a damn good thing, too, as I’m about to scream, and you don’t want to know why….. Suffice it to say, I’ll be back tomorrow, if I’m still able, and the internet doesn’t crash…. See y’all then…..




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid the dubious


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Tip the scales, but, only if they give good service….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


What we have here…. is a failure, to cogitate….. and, though it might further irritate the warden, I can’t see any such event taking place anywhere in the near future…. That, of of course, will make the creation of this Pearl just a trifle problematic, since virtually all I do, here, is based on at least a modicum of cogitation…. It may be MY cogitation, but, it’s there, and nobody can tell me it isn’t as valid, or as reasoned, as any other you might find…. presuming, of course, you are seeking any… So many of our peers on this planet make it a habit to “never touch the stuff”, which explains a lot about modern society….


Since that paragraph took almost 52 minutes to produce, you can see the difficulty to which I refer above…. or, maybe you can’t. Either way, my own head is in some sort of rebellion, or sit-down strike, or something…. I can’t seem to whip it into putting out anything more cogent than what you see before you now, and this, as is patently obvious, ISN’T going to cut it, not for an entire Pearl…. I’ve tried to use piffle, or blather, exclusively, to create Pearls in the past; it doesn’t work….. Nothing will make this kind of random BS acceptable for more than a few hundred words, despite my skill at creating it with little effort…. It just doesn’t hold up for long enough to get anywhere important, or even compelling….


Shoot, you’ve probably figured out by now that this intro section will be joining the ranks of many others, as being a marked departure from any real rationality, or even any cold, hard reasoning; it probably resembles a half-eaten peanut butter & banana sandwich more than anything else, though where that image came from I have no clue…. it just seemed to fit…. I may not have as much protein as peanut butter, but, I’m a good source of phosphorus, just like the banana…


So, how do you like my shoes?…. If I can’t impress anyone with my intelligence this morning, maybe I can charm them…. No, that won’t work, either, I’m thinking…. My charm won’t spread very far; it tends to get hijacked by my curmudgeon training, and the grump comes out, thus eradicating any good feelings the ostensible charm may have engendered…. besides which, I need new shoes, so they’re not going to charm anyone, except maybe an out of work shoemaker, or impress anyone but a mendicant…


Now that I’ve practiced my vocabulary usage, and literally babbled for four paragraphs now, I think we can wrap up this section, & try to get on with something that makes a bit more sense, and will possibly get us on our way…. I don’t believe I’ll even require the use of any emergency methods, as I seem to have wandered around to a point where we can easily jump off the wagon without getting in trouble…. Well, we can, if you follow directions, and jump NOW….


Shall we Pearl?….


“Since everything in life is but an experience perfect in being what it is, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter.” — Long Chen Pa


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


It has been a long while, too long, since I posted anything on the subject of human trafficking/sex slavery, one I consider to be truly evil, with its own category of posts that touch upon the issue…. To make up for that, below this paragraph you’ll find TWO rants on the subject, both from May of 2012, when I first began to write about it…. Please pay attention to these rants, ffolkes, and spread them around if you will, to spread this message to all who need to hear it, which is virtually everyone alive…. Men, especially gentlemen, have a big responsibility to uphold, and need to be made aware of how they are failing to do so….


Free our sisters, free ourselves…. take note, ffolkes, and pass it on….


From 5/2012:


O men with sisters dear,

O men with mothers and wives,

It is not linen you ‘re wearing out,

But human creatures’ lives!


— Thomas Hood (1798-1845) — The Song of the Shirt


Yesterday, I reblogged an article posted by rmott62, a very strong, inspiring young woman who writes about her experiences as a sex trade slave. I use the word “slave” deliberately, for no other word describes how the women, and children who are trapped, abducted, or even tricked into becoming prostitutes. I have reblogged her work, and the work of a couple others who have been fortunate enough to have exited the system in which they were entrapped, several times, and I will continue to do so as long as she, and I, still are publishing. I do this because I am ashamed….


Yes, ashamed…. I am ashamed at myself, and of all the other men in the world who turn their faces away from this issue, and pretend that there is nothing they can do about it. I am ashamed that this practice, of raping and abusing women and girls, just for their own pleasure (though I fail to see how it can be pleasurable to rape or abuse…), just because they can, not only has been present for thousands of years, but continues unabated in today’s supposedly enlightened culture. To my way of thinking, all of us men are responsible for this, and it is our DUTY to do whatever we can to put a stop to it.


Back in the days when mankind lived in caves, when a man in the tribe became dangerous to others in the tribe, for stealing, for abusing others, for whatever reason they had that went against what was good for the tribe, the other men in the tribe made it a point to discipline that man. It may have been merely a physical beating, or banishment from the tribe, or even death, but the other men took it upon themselves to see that the will of the tribe was upheld. Somehow, when culture grew, and started inhabiting cities, and there was more interchange between various tribes, the system broke down. The people of the society were now supposed to be protected from such depredations by law….


But, at about this time, the unscrupulous among us started to solidify their power over society; the richest among the tribes were those who made the laws; they were also the same ones who saw nothing wrong with raping and abusing women, assuming that was their privilege as one of the beloved ruling class. And so the laws were made to reflect that attitude, and the die was cast. This system has survived the centuries, and now the attitude that prostitution is an integral part of society is so ingrained that even those without any other kind of power over others can go to a brothel and act out their sick fantasies, at the expense of a woman or child who has no defense against the violence that occurs if they should object…. and if there is a discussion it is always about a “victimless crime”….


It disgusts me, right down to my core. It is perhaps the sickest part of our society, and very few people are even aware of it. There is certainly no discussion in the public at large of the issue; it is far too volatile for any politician to ever take the chance of siding with the women who are being abused. Hell, a good half of those assholes in office are trying to take away the few rights women have managed to get into law over the last 40 years; Roe vs. Wade has already been set aside, and the asshole men who can’t stand the thought of a woman having the right to choose anything, much less their own sexual nature, are trying to make sure it never gets revived.


I’m not sure what can be done, at least not on a society-wide scale. The attitudes, and laws, have been so set in stone for so many years that it may require surgical removal to make any progress. But, on a smaller scale, I can make noise about it, and try to shame any man who believes otherwise that he is not only a fool, but an asshole fool, and doesn’t deserve to call himself a man. When I was in college, the women’s rights movement was in its beginnings, and there was a phrase coined that says it all, to me…. Free our sisters, free ourselves….


None of us men will ever be truly and completely free until we have freed our sisters from such servitude. That is a fact. It is not just my opinion, it is a fact, and we would do well to pay heed…. and those who engage in this industry had best watch out, for if no one else does, I will be looking for them, and when I find them, I will do all I can to end them. And you can interpret that however you wish; I have no doubt in my mind as to what I mean, and I mean “end them”…..

______________________


From 5/2012:


“I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round.” — John Lennon


Men are afraid of women… hence all the jokes about them taking over, over slyly ruling us without us knowing it. Men’s fears of just that thing are what cause him to hate women, because they do not understand them, and fear arises out of lack of understanding. Here are a few examples of such lies, the lies that perpetuate the war between the sexes…..


“My notion of a wife at 40 is that a man should be able to change her, like a bank note, for two twenties.” — Warren Beatty


A lady is one who only shows her underwear intentionally. — Smart Bee


— Yo momma……so fat she has to buy two airline tickets. — Smart Bee


“A beautiful woman is paradise for the eyes, hell for the soul, and purgatory for the purse.” — Smart Bee


“Passionate kiss like spider web, lead to undoing of fly.” — Confucius say (No, he didn’t, but liars don’t care….)


Really, really sexist and paranoid, yes? Yes….


The mere existence of these jokes, and others like them, indicates clearly what men are afraid of in women, and that is their sexuality. We… well, men, not necessarily we men, because not all of us hate them… No I don’t understand them, but that doesn’t make them any less fascinating or wonderfully different. I am aware of my own self, and my own powers, and they have naught to do with what women can do; I feel no need to compare the two, or to assume one is stronger or better. They are just different, and what is different about women is not to be feared, even if not understood. It is just to be learned, that’s all….and the learning is a totally awesome trip, I assure you….


But, back to the sexuality that men fear. It is because these men have never learned to understand themselves, or their place in the scheme of things, that makes them unable to understand women, and turns their ignorance to fear, from thence to hatred and abuse against them.  Men cannot stand the thought that a woman might be more important than him, and that is a certain sign of lack of confidence, and of ignorance.  Men who know their place in life, and who are confident of their own ability to cope with that place and its demands, have no need or desire to be more important than anyone; they are complete within themselves….


Too many men in this world don’t come anywhere close to this kind of self-knowledge; most go through life without exercising more than two neurons at once, and those tend to lose function whenever the blood goes elsewhere than the brain (such as during an erection). Most men are so afraid of women that they spend half their life telling jokes like the above, and spreading the nonsensical lies that perpetuate this atrocity.


Yes, atrocity, because it is this fear and loathing, of both themselves and women, that leads to issues such as domestic abuse, sex trafficking, prostitution, and abuse of children. The only women who are actively engaged in these activities are those who have been brainwashed to believe the crap they’ve heard all their lives, and who have given up their own humanity; they are very few in number. Otherwise, it is men who perpetrate these vile actions on women…. all because of their own fear and ignorance…. and I say, shame on them, for they are not men, in my world…. they are vicious, unredeemable beasts, and should be put down like the dangerous creatures they are…..


“In the dark colony of night, when I consider man’s magnificent capacity for malice, madness, folly, envy, rage, and destructiveness, and I wonder whether we shall not end up as breakfast for newts and polyps, I seem to hear the muffled cries of all the words in all the books with covers closed.” — Leo Rosten


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


This poetess needs no introduction; the world lost one of its shining lights when she passed away last week. Also, it kind of fits in with the above themed rants…




The Lesson


I keep on dying again.

Veins collapse, opening like the

Small fists of sleeping

Children.

Memory of old tombs,

Rotting flesh and worms do

Not convince me against

The challenge. The years

And cold defeat live deep in

Lines along my face.

They dull my eyes, yet

I keep on dying,

Because I love to live.


~~ Maya Angelou ~~




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


Now that I’ve completely screwed the pooch, (and, just what does that REALLY mean?….), I’ll try to balance out the scales a bit, with a random, old-school pearl to finish off…. Hey, it can’t get any stranger, can it? I hope not….


“We enter into life naked and howling, covered with blood. The fun doesn’t have to end there.” — The Book Of Madness


“A man learns to skate by staggering about making a fool of himself; indeed, he progresses in all things by making a fool of himself.” — George Bernard Shaw


“In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught; but in life there are many things to draw us aside.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvi


“Please help keep the world clean: others may wish to use it.” — Smart Bee


“One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people’s minds.” — Frank Zappa, 1979


“Where the map differs from the terrain, believe the terrain.” — Swedish Army Manual


“I’m not available for comment..” — Zippy the Pinhead


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


Zippy, though always good for a finishing line, got this one wrong; consider the quote to be ironic, okay? I answer ALL comments, as far as possible….. That said, I think I’m done; I’ve reached that point where the damage has been maximized, and leaving it all for the street crews to clean up is the most efficient method of dealing with the mess…. We’ve got a good crew here, so, it’s always ready for the next morning…. Now that reality has been insulted past all hope of redemption, I’m outta here…. See ya, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid the dubious


Featured Image -- 2780



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
History will judge this a Pyrrhic victory…..

			
						

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Ffolkes,


Now, THIS is unusual, even for around here….. I’m up, I slept pretty well, I don’t hurt anywhere particularly badly, yet, I have no motivation to write at all…. It just doesn’t seem attractive to me this morning; the idea makes me nauseous, actually. If I didn’t know better, that would make me think I might be pregnant, which is, shall we say, less than good odds? Yes, let’s say that, and leave it there….


It’s true, though…. I really am not in the mood for this….. Of course, it might just be lack of coffee I’m feeling…. Let me work on that for a moment or two, okay?….. I’ll be back shortly…..


Nope, not the coffee…. Did you miss me? I thought not….. Even though I damn near fell asleep while worshiping, I feel torn, pulled on one side by my unwillingness to just give up, and my very strong desire to do just that…. I can’t even say why I haven’t found any of my usual strength of will; I only know it’s nowhere to be found. This, of course, is probably just another little gift from Murphy, to let me know he’s still there, and still an asshole…. as if I had forgotten….


This doesn’t even really make any sense…. I have a new format to play with, which has afforded me new opportunities to enjoy life, by getting me out into the world more often, camera in hand, to seek out interesting situations and/or places of interest to record, thus giving me both a focus for my daily need to get more exercise, and a relatively new activity to pursue while out there getting it….. It also gets me out of the house, so I’m not feeling as if I’m stuck between these four walls…. again…. I had enough of that feeling back when I was waiting for my SS, and was actually stuck from going anywhere due to having no funds to do anything beyond pay rent, and eat….


I guess it’s all just an adjustment my body/mind has yet to catch up to, so I’m feeling a bit of fatigue related to the adjustment process…. It’s typical to feel like this when getting used to new things; even if we accept the need for change, our persona doesn’t necessarily agree, because our subconscious minds don’t like to change. They prefer to always maintain the status quo, with no surprises, please…. When that desire is thwarted, as it often is by Reality, it (the subconscious….) retaliates, by making us feel fatigued with no reason, and eating away at our motivation, to prevent us from making the dreaded changes…. or, so it hopes….


So, how does it feel to witness mental illness, right out in front of you, complete with explanatory side comments?…. I don’t know about y’all, but, I think I’ll find something else to do now…. This…. intro, for lack of a better term…. has reached the point where I’m  no longer willing to play along….. It’s becoming an embarrassment to my literary self-respect, with good reason, and I am not going to sit here and put up with it, not while I’m still in charge of my own fingers…. We may not ever get to any pearls if I don’t put my foot down here, metaphorically speaking…. So, stand back please, while I do my version of the literary boogie, and trip the light fantastic, alphabetically speaking….


Shall we Pearl?….


“How I wish that somewhere there existed an island for those who are wise and of good will.” — Albert Einstein


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


I’m not sure exactly how this is going to work, but, we’re gonna give it the old college try, anyway…. First, you will see a seven-star pearl, whose parameters are obviously set to “pick on the Asininnies”…. Don’t worry, you’ll see…. After the pearls, you’ll find a series of photos, some by me, others not (but, they’re attributed….)…. Your task, should you accept it, is to match the pearls to the pictures…. but, no worries if it doesn’t fit, or even if they aren’t in the same slice of reality…. It’s all just a pearl, ffolkes, so enjoy…. Here are the pearls….


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


“I am further of opinion that it would be better for us to have [no laws] at all than to have them in so prodigious numbers as we have.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. xiii


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


“Authority and liberty are two incompatible ideas…. Liberty diminishes in proportion as man progresses and becomes civilized.” — Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970)


“Say what will convince, not what you believe.’ — Bureaucrat’s Law #2


“It is the mark of our whole modern history that the masses are kept quiet with a fight. They are kept quiet by the fight because it is a sham-fight; thus most of us know by this time that the Party System has been popular only in the sense that a football match is popular.” — G. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England. 156


“The White Rabbit put on his spectacles.  “Where shall I begin, please your Majesty ?” he asked. “Begin at the beginning,”, the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll


Well, there you have it, such as it is…. which is pretty good, all in all…. Maybe it’s just me, but, I think this pearl says quite a bit about the state of modern civilization…. about which we may also say, such as it is…. Here then is the Art to go along with this seven-star pearl…. Let’s see how it works today…. Of these pictures, two are not my own…. The caterpillar mimicking the snake, (and very well, I must add….), and the magnificent warthog Dad named Magnum both came from the London Daily Telegraph website, from their Pictures of the Day feature found & accessed on June 3, 2014…. The other five came from my camera….


Day the next 007I often wonder who this person was, and though it would be simple to find out, I don’t really care much…. He just LOOKS like a politician to me….


June 2 2014 002A wonderful plant near my where I live…. beautifully wild and free, in rejection of its urban placement….




A close-up photo of a caterpillar cleverly camouflaging itself as a snake to ward off predators. Professor Daniel Janzen captured the image as part of his work cataloguing caterpillars and says this is part of the hemeroplanes species. The neon-green bug creates the illusion of looking like a dangerous reptile by expanding parts at the end of its body. Its defence - designed to ward of predators while it is a larvae before becoming a moth - is so well developed it will even strike harmlessly if approached. Daniel, who is a professor of biology at the University of Pennsylvannia, snapped the bug while working in the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica.Picture: DANIEL JANZEN / JANZEN.UPENN.EDU / CATERS NEWS 
A close-up photo of a caterpillar cleverly camouflaging itself as a snake to ward off predators. Professor Daniel Janzen captured the image as part of his work cataloguing caterpillars and says this is part of the hemeroplanes species. The neon-green bug creates the illusion of looking like a dangerous reptile by expanding parts at the end of its body. Its defence – designed to ward of predators while it is a larvae before becoming a moth – is so well developed it will even strike harmlessly if approached. Daniel, who is a professor of biology at the University of Pennsylvannia, snapped the bug while working in the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica.Picture: DANIEL JANZEN / JANZEN.UPENN.EDU / CATERS NEWS


Absofuckincredibly awesome mimicry by a caterpillar…..


Day 3 and 4 013The houses of parliament, and Big Ben…. what else to go with a pointedly political pearl?….


June 2 2014 004An American Wall of Nutrition…..


Magnum is the nameMagnum the Magnificent! A zoo captive, but, a good dad, apparently…. and so magnificently ugly!…..


June 2 2014 003It’s spring in California, and even the most pathetically neglected flowers will bloom to the best of their nature…..


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

“…’cause anyone who would buy this record couldn’t give a fuck if there’s good musicians on it…. ’cause this is a STUPID song… …AND THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT!” — Frank Zappa, lyrics to “Little Green Rosetta” in “Joe’s Garage”


Okay, so I’m getting a bit hyped up; sue me…. Actually, I’m just getting warmed up, ffolkes, so, I’d suggest donning the Kevlar vestments that are situated in the mesh holders under your seat…. You won’t need them for the poem, but, considering the journey thus far today, I’m thinking it’s probably the best idea….






magical mystery tour


I am in this low-slung sports car

painted a deep, rich yellow

driving under an Italian sun.

I have a British accent.

I’m wearing dark shades

an expensive silk shirt.

there’s no dirt under my

fingernails.

the radio plays Vivaldi

and there are two women with

me

one with raven hair

the other a blonde.

they have small breasts and

beautiful legs

and they laugh at everything I

say. 


as we drive up a steep road

the blonde squeezes my leg

and nestles closer

while raven hair

leans across and nibbles my

ear. 


we stop for lunch at a quaint

rustic inn.

there is more laughter

before lunch

during lunch and after

lunch. 


after lunch we will have a

flat tire on the other side of

the mountain

and the blonde will change the

tire

while

raven hair

photographs me

lighting my pipe

leaning against a tree

the perfect background

perfectly at peace

with

sunlight

flowers

clouds

birds

everywhere.


~~ Charles Bukowski ~~


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


It’s late, & I’ve been at this for far longer than I had thought my motivation would take me…. It goes to show, I suppose, how focus and interest can completely ignore any factors outside of its own area of focus, and time will pass, unnoticed, until the interest is all used up, and reality can once again intrude…. We’ll finish up with the quickest sort of pearl, a relatively random old-school variety, sans any formal parameters…. Plus, the first one is a pearl I’ve been saving for a couple days, just looking for the right spot to include it, as it is a new contributor to me…. Enjoy!….


“No, sir, th dimmycratic party aint on speakin terms with itsilf. Whin ye see two men with white neckties go into a sthreet car an set in opposite corners while wan mutthers Thraiter an th other hisses Miscreent ye can bet theyre two dimmycratic leaders thryin to reunite th gran ol party.” — Finley Peter Dunne


“Happiness is an imaginary condition,formerly often attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.” — Thomas Szasz, in The Second Sin


CARTESIAN, adj.  Relating to Descartes, a famous philosopher, author of the celebrated dictum, _Cogito ergo sum_ — whereby he was pleased to suppose he demonstrated the reality of human existence.  The dictum might be improved, however, thus:  _Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum_ — “I think that I think, therefore I think that I am;” as close an approach to certainty as any philosopher has yet made, — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“The contact with manners then is education; and this Thucydides appears to assert when he says history is philosophy learned from examples.” — Dionysius, Ars Rhetorica, XI,2


“A faith-holder puts himself below his faith and lets it guide his actions. The fanatic puts himself above it and uses it as an excuse for his actions.” — Gordon Dickson, Chantry Guild


“Many a man has decided to stay alive not because of the will to live, but because of the determination not to give assorted surviving bastards the satisfaction of his death.” — Brendan Francis


Men of reason have endured; men of passion have lived.” — Sebastien Roch Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) — Maximes et Pensees (1796)


Well, that certainly came out well…. especially there at the last line…. I think I’ve always known this instinctively, which is why I have always tried to approach life with “passionate reason”….. It seems to be the best, if not the only, way to life life well, exactly the way we wish to live it….


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


I am sure, without even going back to look this over, that I’ve caused all the damage I can for one morning…. I mean, how much can you expect from me in less than three hours of random, yet somehow consistent effort to create, or, to give a reasonable facsimile thereof? Don’t fret, you don’t need to answer; it’s just one of those rhetorical questions one always hears about…. just wanted to show y’all what one looks like….. Any who, having done and said all there is to say, I’m outta here…. See ya, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid the dubious


dozer3



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Growing signs of increasingly bizarre pistachios….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


Oh carp! I mean, crap! Typographic fish just don’t afford the same degree of release as a good, strong vulgarity, do they? Probably doesn’t sound quite as formidable, either…. Either way, it may or may not be a good sign to have to begin the day with an expletive, delivered with enough emotive power to show just how irked I am today…. 


Awakening in an irk is somewhat less than my usual degree of angst, but, not so much I didn’t recognize the change in the level in the tank…. Of course, that doesn’t mean I am ready, willing, OR able to deal with that effectively, much less efficiently, I think we’ll just use the good old American technique for dealing with any kind of unpleasantness, to wit: we’ll pretend it doesn’t exist….


Denial, in this country, is an art form, highly developed by a number of different organizations and categories of people, the foremost of which reside in the halls of Congress, and in the many fine churches they have built in their own praise. The governing body, and virtually ALL the religious organizations, who vie for the public trust in this country are all quite adept at denial, and, in fact, have based their entire existence on the denial of many parts of reality that the rest of us take as truth…. Evolution, for example, and global warming/climate change caused by humans come immediately to mind, as does the whole concept of a supernatural creator based on NO perceptible evidence….


Stop, already! I told myself when I sat down I would NOT rant in the intro, and here we are, three paragraphs in, and I’m already lining up the shots, getting them ready to sling at their oh-so-deserving targets….. I promised myself I wouldn’t do that today, even if yesterday’s Easter Pearl, which DID rant extensively in the intro section, came out fairly well….


I’m guessing, though, it’s just too much to ask of my readership, to have to cope with that amount of passion and/or angst so early in the day, even if I do try to make up for it with the old-school pearls that generally follow such rants. I’m not certain that is what is keeping ffolkes away, but, chances are that’s why a lot of people are not coming to read….. it’s just too much for the mornings, and when I start in right off the bat, I suppose it gets old rather quickly….


Whatever the reason, it’s strange…. I am averaging, perhaps, four or five “Likes” per day, sometimes less, yet stats indicate I continue to garner new followers, as I am now up to almost 400 (398, as of yesterday, I believe….)…. But, that’s okay, as I still don’t write to get followers…. I write to take advantage of the spew effect…. purging the stuff that builds up in my head all the time is a necessary component of my overall level of mental health… If I DON’T spew every day, it can build up to dangerous levels; when it comes out, people are not happy, and the world becomes a more dangerous place….


But, I do write, and all is well in this corner of reality, as long as I do….. I won’t bother to mention that if I didn’t do this, the edges of reality begin to fray, but, they do, so, be thankful I do get up each day, no matter what time it is, to do what I can to protect reality, and the fabric of space-time we all depend on for our existence….


Shall we Pearl? Or should I continue to weave fantasies and delusions?…. Nah, let’s Pearl…..


“The most pathetic person in the world is a person who has sight but has no vision.” — Helen Keller


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


“Life is short. Get it right.” — Smart Bee


Before reading the following article, please engage your crap detectors; you’ll need them, as this short article has just about as many obvious lies and attempts at misdirection as is possible in so few words….



http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Drone-in-Yemen-kills-at-least-9-al-Qaida-members-5414550.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld


This little propaganda piece, which, had it been printed in a newspaper, would have been buried on the next to last page, bottom corner, was found at SFGATE, where it was put out just as if it were some kind of announcement of a meeting by a board of supervisors…. Very bland, straightforward, with no comments by the author….. If one paid attention only to the tone and volume of the post, one would believe it was completely unimportant, not worthy of thinking about…. It’s only a short little tale of murder, and terrorism, and hypocrisy, but, hey, who’s counting?….


Think a moment about what the story details…. Our nation has been, for some time now, killing people in other countries, countries with whom we are NOT at war (I don’t recall Congress declaring any in the last fifty years, do you? Only Congress is supposed to do that…. well, according to that pesky old Constitution thingie, anyway….), using unmanned, but heavily armed drones, with the targets picked on the basis of intelligence obtained…. how? Well, they don’t say…. In fact, if you look at the article with open eyes and mind, there are a couple of things that aren’t said, that perhaps should have been at least queried….


Who decided these people needed to be killed by us? Was that decision unilateral? How was the information on which the decision was based obtained? Why is it now okay for us to kill citizens of other countries with no regard for the laws of this country, or for the laws of the other countries? Who decided this was legal? Who decided that assassination was a tool this country would use? Shall we talk about water-boarding? (To mention just a FEW of those that occurred to me….)


It has always been my understanding that our values as a nation precluded the use of such ignoble forms of warfare; I have always liked being part of a nation that would NOT stoop to the vileness so prevalent in the history of other nations. I had pride in the virtue we have mostly displayed throughout history, having, until recently, declined to use torture, or assassination, or other anomalies of human behavior that would indicate a loss of morality….


Somehow, since 9/11, it seems to be okay with the people of this nation to use torture, to kill indiscriminately, targeting those who “threaten our way of life”, apparently giving us the green light to use even the most egregiously vicious and perverted forms of warfare, and espionage, justifying any and all of our transgressions with the phrase, “homeland security”, a catch-all to justify the use of the most immoral, illegal, and downright insane techniques of warfare available…. The assholes who run this nation have taken the words of Reichmarshall Göring completely to heart, when he said….


“Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America nor, for that matter, in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. … [V]oice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.” — Hermann Göring


There you have it, ffolkes…. The way our country now behaves on the world stage is exactly the way the Nazi Party in Germany would have done, had we not first bombed them into submission. If you believe there is ANY difference at all in the way the two governments have reacted to the press of world events, I’d be happy to listen to your evidence….


But, it seems to me that the political assholes in this country have decided for us; according to their paranoid reasoning, we no longer need live up to any such values as those the country was founded upon…. We are no longer justified when we call ourselves an example for the rest of the world, because we are no longer acting with any morality, or any virtue at all, much less enough to make anyone look at us as being anything other than the bullies we have become…. I think I would give just about anything to see a piece in the news such as this, from our old friend Isaac….


United Nations, New York, December 25. — “The peace and joy of the Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of all the military forces of the world.  Panic reigns in the hearts of all the patriots of every persuasion. Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the world.” — Isaac Asimov


Fat chance of that, eh?  Oh, well….. Stay alert, ffolkes, they’re all crazy, and they have WAY too much money for their own good…. If you don’t watch out, they’ll do their best to take all YOU have, as well, and then tell you to be happy to live in such a free country…. “Free”, meaning they are free to rob, cheat, lie, and steal from whomever they wish, with no consequences…. and if you think that is an exaggeration, then, baby, you are NOT paying attention….


It is clear and obvious to the rest of the world that this nation has become an oligarchy; it’s time as a democracy is past. Our government has been bought and paid for by the rich, fat cats who control most of the resources in the world, most of whom are white Christian bigots, who have little to no interest in sharing any of what they have with anyone, especially anyone who is brown, or not Christian…. Oh, they’re still making noises as if we live in a country that cares about the middle and lower classes, but the reality is much different…. Life is demonstrably less comfortable for those who live in the bottom half of society than it is for those at the top, who are all working very hard to make sure it stays that way….


I’m done…. I can’t say much more to convince anyone of the truth of this; if you don’t see it by now, you don’t WANT to see it, and I wish you a happy time in your ignorance…. because it will be short lived. We are all up against the wall, ffolkes, the rich as well as the less so…. In fifty years, the atmosphere of this planet won’t be breathable for anyone, including them, unless they give up their intransigence, and the rest of us give up our lack of courage…. If things don’t change, then change is going to kill us all; it is that simple, even if people don’t wish to see that…. Mother Nature won’t care whether we see it, and accept it, or not…. it’s just the way it is, so, get used to it…..


Unless, of course, you wish to survive…. If we do, then I’d suggest we get off our butts, and get the revolution started as soon as we can, before it is too late (which it may already be….)….. Think about it, ffolkes…. it’s about time we did so, because the clock is ticking, and it won’t stop for anyone….


“There is but one element of government, and that is THE PEOPLE.  From this element spring all governments.  “For a nation to be free, it is only necessary that she wills it.”  For a nation to be slave, it is only necessary that she wills it.” — John Adams (1735-1826), Letter to John Taylor, 1814


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


Just because I’m a nice guy, here is a two-fer, from a modern voice, straight from the street level of society…. Those who enjoy using their minds for more than merely finding the way from toilet to kitchen to toilet may enjoy these poems, but, I’ll warn any who don’t consistently exercise those neurons to be cautious, as poetry like this can cause anyone who reads it to experience the awakening of long-dormant brain cells, a process which is bound to be painful for those unaccustomed to such exercise…. Regardless of how you approach them, these are excellent, thought-provoking pieces, and well-worth a few moments of your time and mental energy….






Cause And Effect


the best often die by their own hand

just to get away,

and those left behind

can never quite understand

why anybody

would ever want to

get away

from

them


~~ Charles Bukowski ~~


Alone With Everybody


the flesh covers the bone 

and they put a mind 

in there and 

sometimes a soul, 

and the women break 

vases against the walls 

and the men drink too 

much 

and nobody finds the 

one 

but keep 

looking 

crawling in and out 

of beds. 

flesh covers 

the bone and the 

flesh searches 

for more than 

flesh. 


there’s no chance 

at all: 

we are all trapped 

by a singular 

fate. 


nobody ever finds 

the one. 


the city dumps fill 

the junkyards fill 

the madhouses fill 

the hospitals fill 

the graveyards fill 


nothing else 

fills. 


~~ Charles Bukowski ~~


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


Okay…. I ranted above, so, obviously, this section should be an old-school pearl…. and will be, if I ever get around to it…. Okay, there, that’s done…. Hi, there…. I’m back, from the daunting yet necessary task that has engaged my full attention for the past half-hour, ready now to don the sacred tanks of air, to go diving in the holy bed of oysters, searching for pearls we need to finish out the day with a bit of dignity…. At minimum, we are shooting for an engaging degree of chutzpah, or, alternately, all the charm we can muster…. Let’s see what Smart Bee can do for us today…..


“Before you have sex you have to be elected to a high government position.” — Zippy


“The essence of Christianity is told us in the Garden of Eden history. The fruit that was forbidden was on the tree of knowledge. The subtext is, All the suffering you have is because you wanted to find out what was going on. You could be in the Garden of Eden if you had just keep your fucking mouth shut and hadn’t asked any questions.” — Frank Zappa Playboy Interview, April 1993


“It is common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active.” — Smart Bee


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


“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.” — Kehlog Albran, The Profit


“The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.” — G. K. Chesterton


“It is ridiculous to lay the blame of our wrong actions upon external causes, rather than on the facility with which we ourselves are caught by such causes.” — Aristotle


Well, ffolkes, it took a while, but, this pearl will someday be known as “that special one”, for its completeness, pearl-wise…. “‘Nuff said, she said.” Handle with care….

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


Well, this one took a long time, requiring numerous breaks to keep the old gluteus maximae from turning to stone, but, it’s done, and just in time, as the sun is up, and the day is starting to roll…. I’ve done all I can do, so, I’m done…. 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


dozer3



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Drowning democracy in an ocean of cash….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


So, there I was, in my bed, sleeping away, and what happens?…. Oh, wait, I can’t use that; I forgot I promised not to do that sort of stuff anymore, after it caused such a hullabaloo last time…. The authorities were NOT happy with me for all the overtime they had to put in rounding up those mental patients, who just “happened” to break out of the maximum security hospital at the same moment I perpetrated my apparently unwelcome outrage upon the written word, and the resulting mess became a bit more than they could handle with ease, or even unease….. It wasn’t MY fault, but, they didn’t feel that way about it, and you know how those authority-types can be when they are discommoded in any way…. assholes, every one of ’em….


As you can tell, I woke up today in a bit of a curmudgeonly state of mind; I’m thinking “grump” will be my status quo statement, if anyone dares to even ask…. My general appearance is somewhat large and intimidating anyway, and when I assume grump status, my expression and demeanor seems to have the effect of keeping people at a distance that seems safe to them, generally about fifty paces…. or, if they don’t feel quite comfortable that close, a short taxi ride takes them out of range in jig time…. I don’t mind, and I keep a cab on call…. it’s safer for everyone, and my insurance rates stay down that way….


I’m so on edge today, it took me about 15 minutes, and a number of curses, to decide on today’s title, which is obviously not as meaningless as is usually the case….. What you see is the compromise worked out with my angst-ridden sub-conscious, which wanted to make the title a rant in itself…. The rant-like state it displays is the least offensive of all I came up with, the best I could do under the circumstances, with anger driving the bus I’m on…. Feel lucky, it could have been a LOT worse….


As it is, I may get people today coming in with expectations of reading a treatise, or discussion about democracy, and it’s state in today’s world…. but, all they’ll find is this blathering mess, so, I’d best get on with putting together a Pearl worthy of the name, so as not to cause TOO much disappointment…. there’s always quite enough of THAT going on as a matter of course, without any help from me…. But, that, again, is not MY fault, nor is it my sole responsibility to clean it up for consumption…. I’ll assume that onus for my own words, but, I’m not copping to what Murphy does, no fucking way….


That being said….. There really isn’t anything better to do, so we may as well get on with this….


Shall we Pearl?…..


“I’m pretending I’m pulling in a TROUT!  Am I doing it correctly??” — Zippy the Pinhead


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As noted above, I am in the mood to rant…. However, the depth of my anger today is beyond all reason; I’m feeling extremely homicidal…. It will take ALL of my will power to NOT become proactive…. Think about that, and you’ll see I’m not in a very good mood at all; in fact, it’s been hard to keep myself from casually booting the cat through the window, or some other powerful release of what is bubbling and churning in my head and gut…. To go there, in a real sense, I would have to have already purchased the weaponry that is part of my ultimate plan, which, sadly, I haven’t completed yet…. It’s harder than it seems to find just the “right” weapon(s) for the purposes to which I plan to put it/them….


“Frankly,” he said, “I’m just trying to get to the end of my life without becoming an asshole again.” The Buddha couldn’t have said it better. — Slomo, aka John Kitchin, San Diego, last lines of the Mark Morford column, 4/16/14…. ( http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/04/15/the-saddest-job-in-the-world/ )


“Me, too”, he said…. The above article is a good one; it kept me from killing anyone for three whole days, before I had to replace the old restraining thought patterns that keep me from breaking down, & carrying out one of the many fantasies that parade through my head whenever I start thinking about the BRC, the Asininnies in general, or the state of the world at large…. It makes me positively homicidal….


Every time I look at the big picture, extrapolating what I perceive out into the future, I see our species ending its short stay on Earth in the all-too-near future, ignominiously choking out our last painful breaths of a now toxic atmosphere, dying in sheer agony, in a world gone mad, broken and sad, from trying to contain our common insanity….. I see the real world, full of uncaring, selfish, avaricious thieves who prey upon the rest of mankind, to the detriment of all, knowing, but not caring how much pain and misery they cause others….


When I look at these images in my mind this morning, I am enraged…. so much so, I must go take a short break…. When I return, I’ll put together an old-school pearl…. Maybe that will allow me to calm down enough to make them fit just the way I like…. I’ll be right back, ffolkes, after I calm down a bit…. God! I HATE adrenalin….. I spent way too much of my life under its influence, and it just pisses me off when it rears its ugly head again…. Ah well, I’ll be back….


“… And yet the true creator is necessity, which is the mother of invention.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”, Book II. 369C


There! I feel better already…. finding a good pearl, that describes reality so closely in our current state, is always a good thing, in my book…. For the remainder of this group, let’s see what rant-like material regarding my favorite targets we can find today…. Enjoy…. and you can thank me later for not ranting….


“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)


“Democracy can learn some things from Communism: for example, when a Communist politician is through, he is through.” — Jacoby Smirnoff


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


“Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin; the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” — Robert A. Heinlein — Lazarus Long


“The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)


“Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage.” — John Updike, Couples


“I am Porky of Borg. You will be assim…bdeh…assim…I’m takin’ over!”– Smart Bee


This is, perhaps, the strangest pearl I’ve ever composed….. I like it….


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When I’m in this sort of mood, there is only one thing that will eventually bring me some peace of mind, and that, thanks to my bozoid nature, is always handy, and always welcome…. If you can’t guess, well, okay….. I’m talking about nonsense; I’m thinking a good strong dose of it is called for, so we’ll go with what we all know to be a classic of that genre….. “Go ask Alice….”, right? Right….. Enjoy!…. I intend to….




Jabberwocky 


‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 

All mimsy were the borogoves, 

And the mome raths outgrabe. 


‘Beware the Jabberwock, my son! 

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! 

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 

The frumious Bandersnatch!’ 


He took his vorpal sword in hand: 

Long time the manxome foe he sought — 

So rested he by the Tumtum tree, 

And stood a while in thought. 


And, as in uffish thought he stood, 

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, 

And burbled as it came! 


One two! One two! And through and through 

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! 

He left it dead, and with its head 

He went galumphing back. 


‘And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? 

Come to my arms, my beamish boy! 

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’ 

He chortled in his joy. 


‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 

All mimsy were the borogoves, 

And the mome raths outgrabe. 


~~ Lewis Carroll ~~


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I may not be burbling, but, I’ve been known to “stand in uffish thought”, which is just as good, in my book….. To finish off today, I’m going with more nonsense, this time from whatever Smart Bee can find for us with such a simple parameter…. Rest easy, ffolkes, it won’t always be like this, and old-school pearls are much safer when I’m in this mood, believe me…. Here you go….


I changed my mind (big surprise…)….. Here is a rant from last year, on gun control, which will serve, for the moment, to take a bit of the pressure off, so I can get on with my day, minus all this angst…. It’s a bit long, but, worth it…. to me, if nobody else….


From 6/5/13:


“Is this an out-take from the “BRADY BUNCH”?” — Zippy the Pinhead


I’m rather hoping it is, in sooth…. if not, we all are in serious trouble, up the proverbial creek without a hint of a paddle. Not that it should be anything new or unfamiliar, as most of our history has been spent thus occupied. Of course, previous centuries didn’t have the distinct advantage of having either the Brady’s, or Zippy, in all his insane wisdom, as cultural icons, as well as ethical touchstones….. They had to make do with Socrates, and Plato, and stuffy old guys like that….. Aristotle was practically a rock star in his day, and remains a pretty smart dude, by all evidence, but I still prefer Carlin, I think, for the most cogent philosophy for modern times….


“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 6, 1791


For a moment, I wondered what my unconscious mind was thinking when it made me copy and paste this amendment into the pearl, as a pearl…. especially as it seems to be in conjunction with the Zippy quote…. Here I am, five minutes later, still wondering what the hell I was thinking…. It happens that way sometimes…. just give me a few moments here, and I’ll come up with it…. Aha! Got it! Naturally, I only needed to go back to basics…. The answer to the question of how the two quotes are related is…. Reality….


Aye, that’s right, Reality. It’s what we do here, explore Reality, and all its implications, ramifications, and delineations. Also, it’s temperature. Well, perhaps that isn’t the right word, but…. Reality, as is clear and obvious to the most casual observer, exists in varying degrees (hence: temperature…. see?). The degree of Reality that is included in an out-take from the Brady Bunch is clearly not the same degree of Reality that is implied in the Sixth Amendment. I’d say, the Amendment would hit around 8 or 9 on the real scale, with 10 being the Reality of Amber, where all roads lead. (See Roger Zelazny’s book, The Courts of Amber…..), whereas the highest the Brady’s could hope for would be a 2 or a 3 on that same scale. They’re too oppositional in nature to be rated otherwise, as well as being on opposite ends of the scale of Relative Importance to ME and YOU…..


Now we get to the meat of this matter…. Of late, there has been a lot of public discourse regarding gun control, as a result of the media’s steadfast love of gore and manipulation. Another school shooting took place a few weeks ago, wherein some crazy idiot got hold of some firearms and used them in an insane manner. This, of course, all morality aside, is still a reprehensible act, and, IMHO, most easily solved by just taking one of his own guns and using it on him, at the time of his crime. Bang, problem solved, and since he’s standing there over the bodies he has made, no question of guilt. In such cases, the why of his guilt should not matter; whatever it is, it is reason enough to put him down, in defense of humanity. The other questions can be answered after the children have been defended….


Sadly, there are two segments of humanity who don’t agree with this logical outcome. One segment is what I term the humanitarians, a misleading term, since it usually involves the denial of much of human nature. The other, of course, is our old nemesis, the BRC…. our Beloved Ruling Class…. Neither of these groups will agree that allowing people to have guns should be allowed, or that killing the killers is a proper solution for the issue. In both of these positions, they are dead wrong, and, more, they know they are. This serves to make their arguments more shrill, more emotionally based, and, in their eyes, more valid, in some strange form of weird logic….


“Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, so don’t kid yourself…” — Frank Zappa


One of the most edifying parts of this discussion, for me, is how it makes it so easy to identify those who are wearing the uniforms, and from what camp they are from, according to their colors and insignia. You can tell the humanitarians, they’re the ones wearing the faux-camouflage pants, in support of the troops, they’ll assure you; they want the police to be the only ones who carry guns, believing, for some unknown reason, that police are somehow more moral or ethical than other people. (Of course, they also would have trouble if you asked them to define the words, “moral”, or “ethical”, in any other terms than those used in a philosophy paper they memorized in college, or in seminary….)


The BRC are always easy to spot, as their sense of entitlement provides them with all the armor against opinion, or law, they ever need. They want guns to be only held by the militia, (which they control), or the police (whom they also control), because it makes them nervous as hell to know there are guns out in the land, in the hands of people who would use them, for certain, if they attempt to perform their illegal lying, cheating, and stealing anywhere in their presence. It also makes them nervous knowing that they would be in danger for real, if the truth about what they do is ever made public with enough evidence to convince the masses to act…. They don’t want to have to worry they will be over-matched in firepower when that day comes along….


SIGH…. I’ve opened a can of worms, again, I know it….. I’m not going to claim to have all the right answers to the situation we find ourselves in today. Though it is a different world, technologically and culturally, from the time when the Second Amendment was written, deciding to abandon its precepts on that basis is not, and should never be, enough to justify any change in a law that is so important to the common man, the very people for whom the laws were created, to protect them from the self-same usurpation that is now being attempted. Once the law is amended, and weakened, the term “slippery slope” becomes very real, and a valid fear for those people.


To put a cap on it for now, I’ll say this…. Quite simply, I do not trust those who would take the right to bear arms from the people (added later: I reserve the same lack of trust for those who wish to amend, or limit in any way, the right to bear arms; ANY kind of change will ultimately be used as the basis for arguments designed to completely take the right away…). I have seen NO evidence, in history, or in recent current events, that ANY governing body, or ANY group, or ANY single person, of ANY persuasion can be trusted to have guns, and use them solely for the benefit of the people, without turning them to their own purposes, first. NONE. You can’t show me any, either…. Go ahead, I’m listening….


I have studied people every day of my life, and I know too much of human nature to ever believe what I’m told of another person’s intentions; even the best intentions can change in mid-stream, turning its back completely on any commitments made previously. People lie, they cheat, they break in their minds, and they can’t, as a whole, ever be trusted to act rationally on a consistent basis….. at least, not any more rationally than can I myself….


“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.” — Oscar Wilde


Such being the case, I’d rather keep my guns, thanks. I’ll accept the risks that go with that freedom, which includes the risk of bad people getting their hands on guns, and doing bad things to others. Don’t worry, if they do it in front of me, I’ll help…. and not by running away and hiding…. Life is dangerous, ffolkes, and one either learns to get along with that idea, or one spends a lot of time worrying about shit that can’t be changed…. A very unhappy state of affairs, to my way of thinking, and not very realistic in the long run….


“When the panorama of human existence becomes chaotic and confused, it is quite soothing to watch the sun rise in the East.” ~~ gigoid


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This Pearl, having been composed under what may be termed as extreme duress, didn’t come out too badly….. I cheated a little, by going back into the archives, but, given the circumstances today, that is all for the best…. In fact, I am compelled at this point to admit that there isn’t anything more I can do, either to improve matters, or to make them worse…. That being the case, I’m outta here until tomorrow…. 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


dozer3