Tag Archives: Fred the Bird

Pushing back on all fronts….

Posted on by
2

Ffolkes,

“To conquer the enemy without resorting to war is the most desirable.

The highest form of generalship is to conquer the enemy by strategy.”

~~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War ~~

12-23-2013 003

“My greatest fear in life is that no-one will remember me after I’m dead.” — Anonymous

Too often, this blog begins with the word “I”…. Well, in sooth, I say, “too often”, when what I actually mean is, “too often for my comfort.” This, of course, is the natural result of a person who wishes to write, but, really doesn’t wish to indulge in much of the ego-driven parts of writing that are necessary to achieve any sort of prominence….

Ambition is required, if one wishes to become popular, whether in the blogosphere, or in the mainstream media venues, such as newspapers, radio, & TV; ambition; this is unfortunate, at least, for those of us who’d rather remain on a path with oh, let’s just say, a higher degree of spiritualism, or perhaps just less ego-driven….

But, then one must consider two things…. One, it’s MY blog, and we are often dealing with MY issues, so, using “I” becomes nearly impossible to avoid…. Second, being a pretty smart guy, with a fairly accurate sense of how smart I am compared to the average joe, I try to avoid either shoving that in people’s faces, or dwelling upon it, as I don’t view it as necessarily anything to be proud about….

All it does, actually, is saddle me with more perceptions than most, to my way of seeing it, and, that particular ability, for certain, is both a blessing, AND a curse. Factor in the simple FACT that smartness, or intelligence, has NO PROVEN SURVIVAL VALUE, and you can begin to see why I try to avoid overt egotism…. It really isn’t very nice, not to mention self-defeating….

In the past five or six days, since right before Christmas, I’ve been climbing out of a deep hole, which my mind seems to have fallen into without me even noticing I was off balance; that’s what comes from depending on vertigo to do that…. it’s unreliable, as is now patently clear…. SIGH….

Whatever the failure in my early warning system happens to be, I found myself in a position where I was bursting into tears rather frequently, due to some stressful issues I’m dealing with, which seem to have triggered some unknown, and certainly unwanted, unresolved feelings of sadness and emotional pain, left over from one of the many instances in my life where I experienced far more of them than I ever thought possible, and, apparently, stored up for later use…. Go figure…

I’m finally starting to see some light, and, I’m hoping this morning’s events will help, as I get to go do something that SHOULD shore up some of my feelings of inner conflict…. Of course, I have another appointment tomorrow morning, wherein I expect to have to fire the opening salvo of what promises to be a quite bloody battle with my HMO, and the modern medical society they manipulate and corrupt at every turn…. That, however will be, I’m sure, food for a future rant, not for now….

Ha! Thought I’d fall into that one, didn’t you?…. Nope. In fact, it would be a good idea for y’all to hold on, because, I’ve blathered and bitched enough for one morning…. We’re goin’ in, and goin’ in hard!…. Not only that, but, we’re doin’ it NOW!….

Shall we Pearl?

“Avoid making irrevocable decisions while tired or hungry (NB: Circumstances can force your hand. So think ahead!)” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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

I am all about quickness today, so what you get is another day of chill-out music, from the classical music genre…. This kind is nice to play while reading, and can provide a bit of armor against splashing, after a fashion…. The page to which I am linking is one with 112 selections of various pieces by various artists, and looks like a beautiful group to pass the time with…. enjoy…..

Classical Music Playlist

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

To fill in the space quickly, here is a short rant with an attached old-school pearl as augmentation…. It is from a period when I was apparently writing better than other times; I’ve found some excellent stuff in the period’s archives…. including this one, one of several from this month… If nothing else, you can enjoy its brevity….

From 9/18/2012:

Religion has never attracted me as a pastime that led to any particularly desirable activities. From the very first, even as a small child, I always thought the people at church were trying to get me to believe something that was not only hard to believe, but they wanted me to believe it, just on their word that it was true….. What they were saying wasn’t anything like what I perceived to be true about the world at large; none of it sounded like common sense, if you get my drift…. Plus, the more I resisted what they said, and asked questions that they couldn’t answer, the more insistent they became….. Most kids have a pretty good crap detector, and the whole church thing seemed based on fluff and wishes to me…..

Any who, it seems a lot of my saved up oysters have been on that very subject, i.e., religious dogma, and alternative ways of looking at the universe, and how it works, and what it means…. (you know, all the good stuff….), so I thought an old-school grouping would perhaps help ffolkes get a clue about what I do believe….. which can, I have to admit, change from one day to the next….. gotta keep room for new data, y’know…… shall we Pearl a bit?…..

“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the bible is filled, it would seem more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.” — Thomas Paine — The Age of Reason

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

“I believe in Spinoza’s God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.” — Albert Einstein

God:  What one human uses to persecute another. — Anonymous

The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.– Robert Heinlein, “Job”, 1984

“No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature.  Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my own constitution; the only wrong what is against it.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“If the lord had meant us to have faith, he’d have given us lobotomies.” — Zlatko

“A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the Lord in vain, then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?” — Robert A. Heinlein

“I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in     youth.  I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.”–Albert Einstein

“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” — Buddha

Well, there you go…. a complete mish-mash of different philosophies and outlooks, each with its own little piece to contribute to the whole, all ended perfectly with a piece of profoundly simple wisdom… not the virtual kind that is common around here, but real wisdom, that you can put in your pocket, take away with you, and use as needed…..

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

I’m using mine, only because it’s quicker, and I’m lazier than the average joe…. goes along with the smarter part…. Yep, I am aware that intelligence is merely a FACTOR of laziness in humans; one of the primary motivating factors for using our imagination is to find an easier, or quicker route to achieving our ends, whatever they are…. Think about it, ffolkes, you’ll see what I mean…. Meanwhile…. Here is one of my personal favorite poems…

Ah Ain’t Sho, but Mebbe So….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~


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

Smart Bee seems to have gotten over its snit, this pearl came together in jig time, with a nice little group of pears all pointing in one direction…. Well, close enough for pearls, anyway; my Gentle Readers have seen enough of them to see what point we’re trying to make without undue difficulty. Any newbies will find it reasonably clear, as well, I think, for it’s a simple idea being promoted today…. See if you don’t agree….

“Each man is the smith of his own fortune.” — Appius Claudius Caecus

“It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future, and impossible to live in the past.  Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.” — Jim Bishop

“All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific.” — Jane Wagner, _The Search For Intelligent Life In The Universe_  — [Performed by Lily Tomlin]

“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.” — William Saroyan

“All time in all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all bugs in amber.” — Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Slaughter-House 5

“Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it: men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp. In the same way, by doing just acts, we come to be just; by doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled; and by doing brave acts, we come to be brave.” — Aristotle

“Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: “I’m with you kid. Let’s go.”” — Maya Angelou

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

“This tagline is dedicated to my bird friend- Fred” — gigoid

Well…. considering that I’m currently in a state of mind I wouldn’t wish on an enemy, this didn’t come out too badly…. It’s also nice to have a little space from pain, which, thanks to the rain stopping for a few days, has been relatively manageable for two days now…. But, then, all is relative, is it not? I’m outta here, ffolkes… I’m gonna go see my grandson, and, for the first time in his life, be allowed to give him a Christmas present…. Now, THAT should make me feel better…. In fact, I’m counting on it…. See y’all later, ffolkes…. maybe even tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Arguing the salient points is thirsty work….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				Reply			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,




“There aren’t many times in your life when your body has absolutely nothing wrong with it.”


~~ Smart Bee ~~


thats some cold shit


     The quote, a rather poignant, yet perfectly accurate comment, which you see sitting right above my picture of The Tracy Arm Fjord/Glacier (Damn! That’s a LOT of COLD-looking water, ain’t it?…. Yet, this was taken from the deck of a ship, in July!….), struck me very hard, right between the eyes…. It seems so perfectly apt, when applied to my current physical condition, I couldn’t leave it be….


You see, the statement speaks the truth, from an overall view taken from this end of life…. However, for much of my earlier life, until the age of forty, I was perfectly healthy, in every respect, never suffering much from having some part of my body not feel good, beyond the minor pains involved in activities of a sporting nature…. 


It was only in the underlying habits I pursued during all those years, of extreme physical activity, (sports, martial arts, work of a physical nature…), combined with the average American’s poor eating habits, foisted upon all of us from a young age, along with the use of information, (supplied by society, which, as it turned out, was completely false)…. these factors led to the way I feel most days in the present…


Without going into a long, detailed examination of WHY the above statement is true, I’ll just summarize, by saying, if I’d known back then what I know now, I’d have done some things differently, for sure…. But, as we all know, we don’t have that ability, to change the past, even if we don’t always act like it…. Therefore, it does me no good whatsoever to complain, even less to worry about it… The effects of the past’s miscues still must be endured, and dealt with to the best of my knowledge and experience… In other words…. So Be It….


Normally, I wouldn’t comment on this, in this particular way, but, it hit me so strongly, I had to react, if only to verbalize the insight I came to perceive, which stated most simply, is this…. I miss my old body, and the way I could depend on it to do anything I asked of it, no matter how difficult…. But, going back to that is not going to happen, realistically, so, learning how to avoid, and/or overcome, days such as yesterday becomes more of a direct challenge.


Yesterday, you see, (the day I started this originally…. it’s been a work in progress since then….), was Christmas, and I felt so much pain, from stuff that just won’t go away, I was reduced to taking massive quantities of drugs, of every description, to knock myself relatively unconscious…. This, of course, meant losing most of an entire day…. I could go for the cheap laugh, & say, “what a pain in the ass”, but, what I felt was, by no means, confined simply to my ass; such a mild epithet wouldn’t be accurate, nor convey the proper degree of irrational anger that accompanies such experiences….


Nor would it suit the pompous style this intro has fallen into… damn it! Just when I was hoping for a break-out of weird nonsense, too…. I really wanted some nonsense, but NOOOO, my mind comes up with pompous, instead…. I swear, some days, all I get is shit for breakfast, and from myself, to boot…. Whattyagonnado, eh? I know what WE’RE going to do, and, since we’re going to do it NOW, I’d hang on, if I were you…..


Shall we Pearl?


“Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else.” — Smart Bee


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


Yesterday, I posted a video of the Sally Field version of Gidget…. Here is another beach movie from the same era, with a different cast of characters, but, based on the same basic plot…. Of course, it’s the same plot used in every movie in the genre…. It was movies like this that determined my hair style for several years….




Muscle Beach Party (1964) full movie



































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


“Liberty and freedom have to be more than just words.” — Kirk, “The Omega Glory,” stardate unknown.


It has long been my opinion, since before going to college, that nobody with a degree in law, or political science, or criminology, or any other professional governance subject should ever be allowed to participate in any way in government, or police, or any sort of position of authority over others in society…. Once that happens, we end up with a mess like we have today, where those with the authority to make, and break the laws are NOT interested, or invested, in doing ANYTHING to improve the lot of the common man….


The concept isn’t new with me; Arthur C. Clarke once wrote a novel about the 500th anniversary of the United States, i.e., it takes place in the year 2276, being the story of one representative’s trip, from a moon of Saturn, to Earth, to attend the celebration for the Fourth of July 2276. One of the government officials he is to meet during the trip is the current President of the United States, elected in 2276, by the, then, usual method of being picked by a computer as the most qualified citizen in the country. The primary quality looked for by the computer was a person who did NOT want to be President; they had to be dragged, kicking and complaining, to do the job at all, and, could only be persuaded to do so if promised they were to be allowed to leave in four years, if they did a good job….


This, of course, ensured that anyone in government had the best interests of the PUBLIC in the front of their minds, not their own self-interest, as is the case with, no doubt, over 90% of the current crop of elected bozos…. The 455 mostly white millionaires who run this country’s government demonstrate consistently how little little they care about the public, other than as a source of income for them, and their corporate cronies/masters…. When was the last time you heard about a Congressman being threatened with having their gas shut off for not paying their bill? Or any of the myriad of other problems common to all of us in the lower branches of society? That would be never, I should think….


But, to be honest, I really don’t feel like ranting, (any more than I already have, anyway…), so, we’ll leave it to an old-school variety of pearl to bring the point home, or, somewhere close enough to find…. Said point, it may be noted, is a direct pirated version of the real point, which was first noted by Fred, the Bird, when he said so aptly…. “Politics is poopadoodle.”….. Please note: in this pearl only, the initial pearl consists of the first TWO statements, indicated by a short dividing line from the other six stars…


“If we are to survive, this nation must end its love affair with guns.” — U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.


“If we are to survive, this nation must end its love affair with big brother government and individuals must relearn what it means to be free.” — Jeff Chan, chan@shell.portal.com


~~~~


“The majority is never right.” — L. Long  (1912-)


“George Bush shot JFK.” — Liberal history revision, but, only held to be true in Texas…. and, patently, in metaphor….


“I think grown-ups just act like they know what they’re doing.” — Calvin & Hobbes


“He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth.” — Goethe


“Since when is “public safety” the root password to the Constitution?” — C. D. Tavares


“Being good at being stupid doesn’t count.” — Smart Bee


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


The following poem is another of those I lost for a time…. Back in 2012, in September, I wrote several poems, during the first breakout of poetry I had written in over 40 years…. This one was one of the first couple I wrote, which I found in the archives just a few days ago…. Enjoy, ffolkes… This one, I believe, describes the process, as well as some of the aftermath, of how PTSD feels…. from the inside…. That makes it a particularly appropriate poem for today’s post….






Visible life


Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,

leave marks of salvation, often in pain.

Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse

fight heavily to keep a straight course.

Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense

Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.


Still the night comes soft and eternally dear

to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.

Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest

lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,

Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain

Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.


Now come brave signs of chapter and verse

Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.

Gravid portions of in-between retaliation

leave only pale marks of initial gestation

With hope even pallid warriors grow brave

Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.


Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace

Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.

Cheerful faces yet shine out of time

for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.

Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort

life is ever visible, if only as last resort.


~~ gigoid ~~




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


This is what I’d call a classic pearl; clear, directed, and useful, as long as one allows such activities in their head…. It’s pretty fresh, too, considering none of them were picked out before yesterday…. and, all were examined and formatted this morning, to assure freshness, in packaging, if not content… Here is a pretty decent remark, once all the dross is trimmed away from the essence, about one of our favorite subjects, to wit: Life at Large…. The final pearl is one of the finest gems I’ve ever come across, especially as the perfect closing line in this venue….




To each is given a bag of tools,

A shapeless mass and a book of rules,

And each must make, ere life is flown,

A stumbling-block or a stepping stone.


~~ R. L. Sharpe, Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone ~~




“No legacy is so rich as honesty.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), All’s Well that Ends Well — Act iii, Sc. 5


“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well.” — Aristotle


“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.” — G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1908


“By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 3


“There is no good in arguing with the inevitable. The only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat.” — James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) — Democracy and Other Addresses




The fastest draw is when the sword never leaves the scabbard.

The strongest way to block is never to provoke a blow.

And the cleanest cut is the one withheld.


~~ “Kensho”, by Dennis Schmidt ~~




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


Easiest Pearl ever, no doubt…. Of course, most of it was done yesterday, put together during moments of peace between bouts of either joint pain, or emotional pain, both of which have been my constant companion for a couple of days now…. This is not good, but, it will, hopefully, pass off soon…. In the meantime, if y’all don’t see a post here tomorrow, well, you’ll know why…. See ya, ffolkes, maybe even tomorrow…. but, maybe not, too…. Right now, I couldn’t make a firm commitment to either one….




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….





		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Soap? That won’t float?…..

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				2			

					


				

			
12/21/2014

Ffolkes,




“Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.” 


~~ Things We Can Learn From Dogs ~~


DSCN0027


     Today’s Pearl will be an unusual offering, even for THIS blog…. I’m using almost ALL archived material, which includes this opening section… I found such a fine intro in a post from 2012, I’m using it, along with some other material I found there which meets today’s requirements, all of which are designed to give my hands a break from typing…. Cut and paste is about all I’ve got in me today…. But, it’s all good stuff, so, please, sit back, enjoy an adult beverage, and lose yourself for a while in the Adventures of gigoid in Consensual Reality….


Ffolkes,

I am damned. In fact, I am damned by God Himself…. he told me, back when we were kids together in Jerusalem, oh, two or so thousand years ago…. You see, we didn’t get along very well. Our families lived in different parts of town; his was from the Golan Heights district, up there where all the priests, and political figures, and all the other rich folks lived. Mine lived downtown as far as you could go; the river was my backyard…… He called himself Yeshua back then; what I am called doesn’t matter any more…. but you can call me by the name I am known by in history books…. you can call me Judas…..


Well, that would certainly make for a decent story…. easy to write, too, as a lot of the action has already been covered by history and religious books, so I could pick and choose what stories to include…. all of course, looked at through my mind’s filter, and twisted just right to fit into the story line….. It would probably be fun to write, but it might not be the best activity I could choose from a karmic standpoint…. Many ffolkes consider it rude to make fun of religions, and, concurrently, making fun of their constituents.


Me, I enjoy it. The stiff, prudish people who make such complaints are, in my mind, the perfect targets for such barbed humor, as they have chosen to have no sense of humor, and are a pain in the ass to be around, for anyone with more than two functional brain cells….. But, that’s all just camouflage, this morning, anyway….


The truth is, I’m out of material…. can’t think of a damn thing to write about, and Smart Bee isn’t cooperating. I spent a half-hour last night searching for some pearls for this morning, and could only come up with more Shakespeare BS couplets for my growing collection. It’s beginning to look as if I’ll have to break down and use….. no, I won’t do it. I won’t go to my last resort….. It can’t be THAT bad yet. I refuse to go there….


Instead, we’ll just go diving, and hope for the best…. shall we Pearl?…..


Yes, indeed….    Shall we Pearl?


“Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” — Erasmus


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


Since we are spending so much time in the past today, here is another of my favorite TV shows from the 60’s…. A true classic….




My Favorite Martian The Matchmakers season 1 episode 2































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


“It is human nature that rules the world, not governments and regimes.” — Svetlana Alliluyeva


From 8/20/2012:


“We are inclined to confuse freedom and democracy, which we regard as moral principles, with the way in which these are practiced in America — with capitalism, federalism and the two-party system, which are not moral principles, but simply the accepted practices of the American people.” — Sen. James J. William Fulbright


I remember this Fullbright guy…. he was still spouting off when I was a teenager. I don’t recall any particularly strong feelings of approval at what I heard then from him, other than the normal disdain with which I greeted almost all politics back then. But, what he says here appeals to my current self much more than what I remember from back then. This is a very accurate description of reality in American politics, and the condition of the world in which we now find ourselves can be attributed in large part to this observation’s veracity….


The beloved ruling class has been pounding the minds of the public with manipulative lies for a very long time, and it can be a difficult task to separate the truth and the lies they put out at such an alarming rate. In addition, even doing so is made more difficult by the derisive attacks they make on anyone who dares to question their lies. It’s typical for them to call anyone who questions them a Communist, or a Socialist, or some other -ist which they think is evil whenever their lies are exposed. Or, like dear Mitt the Twitt said the other day, the people who want to see his taxes are “small minded”… the names they use don’t matter, as they are only calculated to draw attention away from the lies that are being exposed to the light of day….


“The liberal of any species is always more dangerous — because he always seems so much more rational.” — Solomon Short


This statement from Mr. Short is also perceptive, describing accurately the danger of listening to ANY politician…. even the most liberal pundit, by the act of seeking office, gives away their true purpose, not to help the downtrodden, but to gain power and influence for themselves…. They are more dangerous because their lies are designed to make the public believe that they are acting in their interests, looking out for the little guy, when in reality, they are just picking the little guy’s pocket…..


Reduce taxes on rich = trickle down prosperity. — Conservative idea #4


Never cooperate with conservatives. — Liberal Rule #34


Taken together, these two little aphorisms show why, or rather, how, it can be a confusing task to sort the truth from the lies that are served up on a daily basis. Both of these are true, in at least one sense, yet both are also outright lies, made up to demean the opposing party’s position and reputation. It’s kind of funny actually, because not only are these lies, but they are lies that can be fitted to either side like a tailor-made suit. To my way of thinking, both liberals and conservatives are wrong, so it’s easier for me to tell when they are lying…. quite easy, in fact…. if their mouth is open, they’re lying, count on it…..


“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” — T.S. Eliot


This, from our old friend T.S., can be considered to be a fact, even a natural law, and for proof, just go back and read any historical treatise from any century. It has always been clear, especially to the beloved ruling class, that most folks have no real desire to deal with reality as it is…. they would much rather have it behave as they would like it to do. This tendency toward mental sloth is well-known to our rulers, and they exploit it mercilessly….


The political pundits are constantly telling the public what they want to hear, even though that has nothing to do with what will really take place when they are elected. The weird, sad part for me is that the public falls for it all so easily, and the rapacious and the greedy are constantly rewarded with new terms in Washington D.C., or London, or Sydney, or wherever in the world the election may take place…. If it weren’t so damn depressing, it might be entertaining….


“George Washington said to his father, “If I never tell a lie, how can I get to be President?” — Red Buttons


In any culture, one can ascertain the true state of the society by listening to the comedians…. Red Buttons wasn’t known particularly for his political humor, but with this one he struck closer to home than he knew. Right from the very start of this country, the bankers and the rich have conspired to control the government, and have been singularly effective in that quest. Even the stated fears of the founding fathers were not sufficient to keep them from insinuating themselves into the political process at every level, manipulating the laws, and the courts, to establish themselves as the true rulers of this country. Nobody gets elected who isn’t supposed to be, for they won’t willingly give away any of the control they have gained over time, and the surest way to guarantee that control is to control the elections….


“There cannot be a nation of millionaires, and there never has been a nation of Utopian comrades; but there have been any number of nations of tolerably contented peasants.” — G. K. Chesterton, Outline of Sanity CW. V. 192


SIGH…. I don’t know…. it’s all so tacky! G.K. has probably got it right, but I don’t think I want to settle for tolerable contentment. I can stand a bit more excitement than that, I hope. I’m just so tired of having to watch, as society dumbs itself down further and further with every election, sending the worst possible candidates into the spotlight, and making all of us who want more from life nervous at having to spend another four to eight years keeping our heads down and our defensive strategies up-to-date… I know I am, and I don’t even care much about politics (you wouldn’t know it, by how much I write about it….). Ah well, at least we’ve got cable TV…..


“Politics is poopadoodle!” — Fred the Bird, from Odds Bodkins


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


Recently, while perusing old Pearls in the archives, I found a poem I wrote which never made it into the Poetry folder…. Here it is, unseen, by anyone, since the day it was written…. ‘Tisn’t bad, either….


From 8/23/2012:




Lamenting Empathy, No Grace


Strange, strong, passions burn from within

Selling nothing short, nor out.

Consumed, loudly, failing to mark the spin

Sad, resigned, in singular redoubt.


Fallow grounds for twisted seed

Become fated, grow, and die.

Experience never fills critical need

Save perhaps once, in ages gone by.


Shouting in severe, dulcet tone

Brittle, flaking, destiny floats away.

Making noise, rattling the bone

Simply ageless fears held at bay.


We mask our illusions in faux belief

Tied to reality by matter of rote.

Send them postcards, without relief

Consecrated time, forever remote.


~~ gigoid ~~




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


As a small treat, here is a classic pearl, taken from a post a couple years old. It’s a fine example of a nearly-perfect five star pearl, old-school variety…. Enjoy….


From 8/24/2012:


Yesterday, I sat down in the afternoon to do some pearl diving, as my stash was getting low. Out of the first ten pearls offered up for my perusal, the following entries, all, but one, from Smart Bee itself, popped up one after another, just as if they were meant to be together. Upon rearranging the order slightly, I found this to be a correct judgment; together they make a fine little old-school pearl. With no further ado, follow the bouncing thought bubble to the ending point, where you will find yourself in possession of a valuable piece of virtual wisdom…. or possibly, a great deal of confusion…. Your choice, both are free of charge….


Although everyone is entitled to be stupid, some abuse this privilege. — Smart Bee


Keep the pointy end forward and the dirty side down. — Smart Bee


I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it, my lad.  It’s dead! — Smart Bee


Tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow creeps in this rutabaga… — Smart Bee


Ignorance of one’s ignorance is the greatest ignorance.– Smart Bee


“YOW!!  I’m in a very clever and adorable INSANE ASYLUM!!” — Zippy the Pinhead


I think the final line from Zippy punctuates the idea very well, ending not only with wisdom, but with two exclamation points to drive it home!!…. Such courteous service, you won’t find just anywhere…. Most bloggers would just abandon you, leaving you to figure stuff out on your own. But, not here at gigoid’s house.. we’re all about customer service….. I hope you enjoyed the ride; you may now go on to the next section…..


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


Well…. This is a first, for sure…. I don’t believe I’ve typed more than a hundred or so words, to fill in the spaces between the older pieces of work…. All in all, it came out fairly well; good enough I’m not going to fuss with it at all…. So be it…. Maybe this way, I’ll get some use from my hands today, other than as a source of unrelieved agony, offered up as a counterpoint to the sharp knife sitting in my left shoulder…. SIGH…. Life goes on, ffolkes, until we’re done with it…. I’m far from done, so I wish it would ease up a little on the age-related crap…. Ah well, complaining doesn’t help, obviously, so, I’ll just try again tomorrow…. See y’all then, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Night birds sing their own songs….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				1			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,

Birthdays often lead to self-examination, as we are forced to acknowledge the passage of time with yet another celebration of an event that may or may not warrant such…. not that celebrating birth is bad, necessarily….. I’m just pointing out that not everyone feels as if their life is currently something worth celebrating….. Plus, there is the whole aging issue here; after 62 of these days over the course of my life, they lose a some of their “special” feeling, ya know? It’s hard to get excited over a day that mostly signifies the advent of further medical issues…..


I always kind of liked the way Hobbits dealt with birthdays in the Shire. On their birthday each year, they would throw a party, inviting all of their friends, and give each one of them a present to celebrate the day…. This, as J.R.R. Tolkien pointed out, meant that during a common year, hobbits only had to remember their own birthday, and buy a present for everyone then, one time a year. During the remainder of the year, they would be invited to many parties, getting a present each time, as their friends celebrated their special days. It always seemed a much more logical way to approach the whole subject than what we humans use….. less remembering of dates to accomplish, and presents and parties all year long…..


Ah well, one of the advantages of reaching an age like 62, (which is up next for me, this coming week….) is the foresight one is now accustomed to using. In this case, I’ll be using it to do my self-examination ahead of time, to get it out of the way, so to speak, so I can concentrate on enjoying that day without the angst thinking about it is sure to develop, given the current state of affairs around here. In fact, I’ll plan to do that introspective self-test tonight, just before bed, and it will be done, out of the way, and out of my mind….. Who knows? My mind might even buy it, and let it go that way…. if not, well, there’s nobody around anyway, to notice the difference, except for me, and I’m not going to tell…. hell, maybe I’ll get lucky, and won’t end up having to do it at all…. I could use the emotional break, for sure….


Of course, I’m saving up all that angst anyway, to dump on the poor psychiatrist who was unlucky enough to be assigned to examine me on November 8th; I intend that he/she will see EXACTLY how much my PTSD is affecting my life every day, complete with tears, rage, fear, regret, and thoroughly general malaise…. I only hope I can refrain from physical expression; I don’t wish to hurt them, just give them a good fright, which they deserve for involving themselves in the SS process….


I see that sort of service by doctors as sort of “copping in” to the establishment, sacrificing independence and insecurity for the security of consultations for the federal government…. It’s sort of the same impulse that those who seek public office have, to raid the public treasury with impunity…. and thus, I don’t have a lot of respect for them, as a rule. Besides, thanks to my lifelong habit of reading a book a day, I find I’m usually better educated than most of the doctors I meet, and they don’t much like that, as it tends to undermine the slavish obedience from their patients to which they are accustomed…. and will NEVER see from me, as I tend to question EVERYTHING they say….


I see that I am wandering, and threatening to fall into a rant, without ever picking a subject…. which means this intro section has gone on long enough…. If I don’t try to assume some control at this point, it can get away from me in a heartbeat…. so, Shall we Pearl?…..

__________________________________


“The incestuous relationship between government and big business thrives in the dark.” — Jack Anderson


“Have you noticed that many people who laugh at kids who believe in Santa Claus are the same people who believe in campaign promises?” — Smart Bee


My mind is in a very abstruse state this morning; I am seeing all kinds of tenuous meaning in different quotes, meaning that is certainly not obvious, and may even be illusion. Nonetheless, the meaning it implies is quite illuminating, so I’ll put these two quotes together, and see what happens…..


It may help in understanding to what I’m referring to know that the meaning I’m glimpsing has to do with the current election for POTUS here in this land we call, occasionally, home sweet home…. Each quote, of course, addresses a separate entity involved in the election process, and I will be scrupulously fair by not delineating my own guess as to who those entities might be…. hopefully, it is obvious, and I won’t have to beat around TOO many bushes to illustrate my points.


One of those points has to do with the first quote, and the quite obvious melding of the two entities in question, government and big business, that is so apparent in one of the candidates. This man is the perfect example of one who believes that he is entitled to be the POTUS because he is rich, and wants to have that power to solidify his status, along with the rest of his cronies. His disdain for the common man is written plainly in every one of his statements, even the lies, which are at least 50% of what comes out of his mouth. The opposition candidate isn’t completely innocent of such catering to the 1%, but he is at least attempting to equalize the playing field to some degree….


The most astounding thing I find in this election is the number of women who have, for whatever insane reasons they find, come out in support of the candidate who is on the right, merely because he is not the incumbent, whom they fear because of their own bigotry. Here is a man who has made it clear that he is a misogynist and a coward when it comes to women, and women’s rights, with almost every public statement he has made on the subject…..


He and his running mate, a mad dog if I’ve ever seen one, have both publicly stated they would support laws to make it illegal to have an abortion, even in cases of rape; moreover, they believe the rapist should have the rights of any father…. Yet these women won’t set aside their racism and brain-washing long enough to acknowledge these men’s campaign to have women’s rights totally controlled by men…. It is just plain incomprehensible to me, that any woman in her right mind would be able to stomach such a man, at all, much less allowing them to control their rights…. I’m not a woman, and it makes me want to slap them, repeatedly….


“The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” — H.L. Mencken


This election campaign will, I believe, go down in the history books as one that provides absolutely incontrovertible evidence that Mr. Mencken had this idea nailed perfectly. That it would be so, is no end a frustration to me, as I believe the average American to be more ethical than that, and much more self-aware. But, I suppose that is merely the part of me that subscribes to groundless hope, because I also know that one can never afford to underestimate the power of human stupidity….. especially when it comes to politics…..


“Politics…. is poopadoodle….” ~~ Fred, the Bird, from “Odds Bodkins”, an iconic comic strip from the 60’s and early 70’s

__________________________________


“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” — D.H. Lawrence



Alone And Drinking Under The Moon


Amongst the flowers I

am alone with my pot of wine

drinking by myself; then lifting

my cup I asked the moon

to drink with me, its reflection

and mine in the wine cup, just

the three of us; then I sigh

for the moon cannot drink,

and my shadow goes emptily along

with me never saying a word;

with no other friends here, I can

but use these two for company;

in the time of happiness, I

too must be happy with all

around me; I sit and sing

and it is as if the moon

accompanies me; then if I

dance, it is my shadow that

dances along with me; while

still not drunk, I am glad

to make the moon and my shadow

into friends, but then when

I have drunk too much, we

all part; yet these are

friends I can always count on

these who have no emotion

whatsoever; I hope that one day

we three will meet again,

deep in the Milky Way.


Li Po


“No poems can please nor live long which are written by water-drinkers.” — Horace (65-8 B.C.)

__________________________________


“I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word I am saying.” — Oscar Wilde


AOL!….. LOL…. “AOL!” is hacker slang for “me, too!”, patterned after the typical AOL user’s response to a witty statement in a chat room…. In this case, I can honestly say that Oscar and I have this in common, especially the part about not understanding a word I’m saying….. I would say that puts me in some pretty good company, what?….


“The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson.” — Smart Bee


Oscar once made a statement that ran parallel to this one, as well. It is a hard lesson for all of us to learn, but, it is one of those common pieces of natural law that affect all of us at one time or another in our lives. Life, like the physical universe, just doesn’t care whether or not we are ready for an experience, it just happens. It is our own reaction to that which determines whether or not we are able to cope with the experience, and learn from it, or whether it buries us…. an all-too-common fate. It’s a tough room, as the comedian said….


“If you’re smoking after sex then you’re going *WAY* too fast!” — Smart Bee


This is not a perfect segue into the next item for discussion, since I’m a) not sure what that was, and b) this wasn’t it, but it does exemplify what I like to call the “silly factor”, an offshoot effect of the natural bozoid tendencies that all of us humans possess as members of this silly species…. Murphy’s Law is merely an observation, but is one that could only be made by our species (even though I’ve noted that other species, that associate with us, can sometimes be pulled into Murphy’s influence, to do his bidding, and occasionally, to act as co-victims….), because he takes full advantage of our tendencies toward bozoid behavior, to set traps for us; traps that cannot, and never do, fail to catch us unawares.


“I sometimes think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)


Even if one considers that God did not exceed his capabilities when making Man, he certainly made a rush job of it, and left certain design characteristics out of the final production, facets that would have gone a long way toward making this world a lot more pleasant a place than it has turned out to be, with Man in his current foolish state. Ah well, it just goes to show that one shouldn’t depend on a notion like creationism to provide us with excuses for our behavior….. accepting that kind of indulgence, or even assuming it, has obviously led us to the state of affairs we now face in the world, as the great majority of people continue to behave just as if they had the right to use the universe as they choose, rather than as they should do as moral creatures….


“Instead of being born again, why not just grow up?” — Smart Bee


That about says it all, don’t you think? Mankind would be far better off if we all decided to act as grown-ups, rather than clinging to the ages-old fantasies that have put us in this position. Only a child acts without regard to consequences; our species has been refusing to grow beyond that avaricious stage for millennia now, and the world is showing the deleterious effects of that sense of entitlement. We cannot continue to treat this planet as our toy, to be used and discarded like it was some piece of manufactured plastic, or we will most certainly suffer the very real consequences of that foolish attitude.


“Morals today are corrupted by our worship of riches.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)


In spite of all the massive quantities of evidence that it is harmful, we continue to pump millions of tons of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere every minute of every day…. the effect of that on the balanced ecology of the planet is reaching a critical flash point, and may already be at a point from which there is no turning back…. This is FACT, not supposition….. but, the world carries on, certain that we may depend on the same old idea, that we are invulnerable, and not subject to the laws of nature…. a sincerely stupid idea at best…. It is almost enough to make one want to tear hair out and start shooting…. but, unfortunately, there isn’t enough ammunition to shoot all the folks who need to be shot, and it’s probably too late now, anyway….. Besides, who wants to be the one who has to decide who to shoot first? (I do! I do!…. which just proves that we humans can’t handle that sort of godly decisiveness….)


“All the secrets we may be able to keep from any and every god and human being do not in the least absolve us from the obligation to refrain from whatever actions are greedy, unjust, sensual, or otherwise immoderate.” — Cicero, On Duties


It’s really too bad that this idea never caught on…. Oh, many folks learned to use it, to lie to the rest of us, but, in reality, nobody ever really does this, they just say they do….. It kind of makes one wonder whether we deserve to keep living, doesn’t it?  Well, it makes ME wonder…. with not a little bit of sadness, for our species holds such promise…. a promise we have never learned to keep….


“It is only the superficial qualities that last. Man’s deeper nature is soon found out.” — Oscar Wilde

__________________________________


Well, it took me about three hours, but it all came together eventually. Once again, it has reached that all-important stage…. it’s done. See, now I can use that as an excuse to stop, which can often be a problem here…. As you may have noted, I suffer from massive inertia when I write… once I’ve started the whole process of getting it to move, it becomes hard to bring it to a halt, due to the tendency of objects in motion to remain in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force…. (thank you Isaac Newton, and your Second Law of Motion….)  I herewith activate said outside force…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
We’ll gate crash the Vatican….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				10			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,

Once again, the WordPress community stepped up, and came through to help when someone asked…. My mild whining yesterday morning, regarding site statistics, prompted my regular readers to respond with a veritable avalanche of support and intelligent, compassionate advice. Virtually all of the regulars, minus a couple, commented on yesterday’s post, and all of them were positive, and encouraging. This is, I think, the third or fourth time I’ve had this happen, when I’ve asked a question in the intro,  or commented on a difficulty I was experiencing with my blog, or my life…. each time, the ffolkes who read here often, took the time to comment, with answers and emotional support… it’s actually a very humbling experience.


So, I want to take a moment here to say a big, huge thank you to the ffolkes who wrote in yesterday…. Coming to blog at WordPress has been not only beneficial for that part of me that has to write, and the part that has to read, but also for my heart and soul, simply because of the people like you all who also participate in the WP community. It is people like you who will end up saving this sad old world, if it can be done, with your intelligence, your compassion, and your willingness to spend the effort to help your fellow man, without any thought of reward or gain, merely out of the passion in your heart. I am humbled, often, at your giving natures, and consider it a huge honor to call all of you Friend….


With that said, I should probably start diving for pearls, before I start blubbering like a baby…. my PTSD will do that sometimes, embarrassing me to death by making me burst into tears in the middle of a conversation….. quite degrading to the soul…. rather than have that happen, we will go now to the WWW to start our search… which could take a while, as I don’t have anything saved up, other than some Shakespeare…. hmm, maybe a bit of flaying his hide will serve….. Shall we Pearl?…..


Asking for aid here

always brings hope and advice.

Empowering friends.


gigoid


“Is that you reading me, or is that me being written?” — Smart Bee

___________________________________


“We are inclined to confuse freedom and democracy, which we regard as moral principles, with the way in which these are practiced in America — with capitalism, federalism and the two-party system, which are not moral principles, but simply the accepted practices of the American people.” — Sen. James J. William Fulbright


I remember this Fulbright guy…. he was still spouting off when I was a teenager. I don’t recall any particularly strong feelings of approval at what I heard then from him, other than the normal disdain with which I greeted almost all politics back then. But, what he says here appeals to my current self much more than what I remember from back then. This is a very accurate description of reality in American politics, and the condition of the world in which we now find ourselves can be attributed in large part to this observation’s veracity….


The beloved ruling class has been pounding the minds of the public with manipulative lies for a very long time, and it can be a difficult task to separate the truth and the lies they put out at such an alarming rate. In addition, even doing so is made more difficult by the derisive attacks they make on anyone who dares to question their lies. It’s typical for them to call anyone who questions them a Communist, or a Socialist, or some other -ist, which they think is evil whenever their lies are exposed. Or, like dear Mitt the Twitt said the other day, the people who want to see his taxes are “small minded”… the names they use don’t matter, as they are only calculated to draw attention away from the lies that are being exposed to the light of day….


“The liberal of any species is always more dangerous — because he always seems so much more rational.” — Solomon Short


This statement from Mr. Short is also perceptive, describing accurately the danger of listening to ANY politician…. even the most liberal pundit, by the act of seeking office, gives away their true purpose, not to help the downtrodden, but to gain power and influence for themselves…. They are more dangerous because their lies are designed to make the public believe that they are acting in their interests, looking out for the little guy, when in reality, they are just picking the little guy’s pocket…..


Reduce taxes on rich = trickle down prosperity. — Conservative idea #4


Never cooperate with conservatives. — Liberal Rule #34


Taken together, these two little aphorisms show why, or rather, how, it can be a confusing task to sort the truth from the lies that are served up on a daily basis. Both of these are true, in at least one sense, yet both are also outright lies, made up to demean the opposing party’s position and reputation. It’s kind of funny actually, because not only are these lies, but they are lies that can be fitted to either side like a tailor-made suit. To my way of thinking, both liberals and conservatives are wrong, so it’s easier for me to tell when they are lying…. quite easy, in fact…. if their mouth is open, they’re lying, count on it…..


“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” — T.S. Eliot


This, from our old friend T.S., can be considered to be a fact, even a natural law, and for proof, just go back and read any historical treatise from any century. It has always been clear, especially to the beloved ruling class, that most folks have no real desire to deal with reality as it is…. they would much rather have it behave as they would like it to do. This tendency toward mental sloth is well-known to our rulers, and they exploit it mercilessly….


The political pundits are constantly telling the public what they want to hear, even though that has nothing to do with what will really take place when they are elected. The weird, sad part for me is that the public falls for it all so easily, and the rapacious and the greedy are constantly rewarded with new terms in Washington D.C., or London, or Sydney, or wherever in the world the election may take place…. If it weren’t so damn depressing, it might be entertaining….


“George Washington said to his father, “If I never tell a lie, how can I get to be President?” — Red Buttons


In any culture, one can ascertain the true state of the society by listening to the comedians…. Red Buttons wasn’t known particularly for his political humor, but with this one he struck closer to home than he knew. Right from the very start of this country, the bankers and the rich have conspired to control the government, and have been singularly effective in that quest. Even the stated fears of the founding fathers were not sufficient to keep them from insinuating themselves into the political process at every level, manipulating the laws, and the courts, to establish themselves as the true rulers of this country. Nobody gets elected who isn’t supposed to be, for they won’t willingly give away any of the control they have gained over time, and the surest way to guarantee that control is to control the elections….


“There cannot be a nation of millionaires, and there never has been a nation of Utopian comrades; but there have been any number of nations of tolerably contented peasants.” — G. K. Chesterton, Outline of Sanity CW. V. 192


SIGH…. I don’t know…. it’s all so tacky! G.K. has probably got it right, but I don’t think I want to settle for tolerable contentment. I can stand a bit more excitement than that, I hope. I’m just so tired of having to watch, as society dumbs itself down further and further with every election, sending the worst possible candidates into the spotlight, and making all of us who want more from life nervous at having to spend another four to eight years keeping our heads down and our defensive strategies up-to-date… I know I am, and I don’t even care much about politics (you wouldn’t know it, by how much I write about it….). Ah well, at least we’ve got cable TV, and the Internet…..


“Politics is poopadoodle!” — Fred the Bird, from Odds Bodkins

___________________________________


A Thing of Beauty (Endymion)


A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkn’d ways

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,

Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon

For simple sheep; and such are daffodils

With the green world they live in; and clear rills

That for themselves a cooling covert make

‘Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.


John Keats


“….. is a joy for ever.”  Truer words were never written, and now I know the origin of the phrase…. true serendipity….  🙂    Enjoy!

___________________________________


“A can of ASPARAGUS, 73 pigeons, some LIVE ammo, and a FROZEN DAQUIRI!!” — Zippy the Pinhead


At last…. I may have been looking for this all my life. Or not. Either way, it has just jumped into my head, and established itself as the proper combination of plot ingredients for my new book of fiction. What a delightful set of possibilities are opened up by these four little metaphors-to-be! It’s enough to make a grown man sniffle in joy…. Here, watch this….


“It was hot. Damn hot, and the frozen daiquiri looked as cool and refreshing as the smile of the girl who served it. I watched appreciatively as she bent to set it down, giving in to the tempting invitation to gaze at her….. face.   🙂   Just as I was about to ask her where I could get some live ammo, I was distracted by a huge rushing sound, as if an entire flock of pigeons had begun to circle my head; it sounded like at least 73 of them…. I couldn’t be sure. It might have been only 71; it was a very loud bar. Bending my head to read the menu, I had gotten no further than, “We proudly serve canned asparagus” when my cell phone rang….”


There, now isn’t that riveting? And that was just one outline…. using another outline, putting the metaphors in different order, will give me at least 12 other plot lines, no sweat. I love it when a plan comes together, especially when there was no plan. It just dropped right into my lap….. Uh oh…. I just realized something….. Dropped into my lap…. by whom? Shit. I was so damn pleased at finding such a brilliant stimulus package, I forgot to examine it for traces of Murphy…. Hang on a moment while I run this through the wonk-o-meter….. It will only take a minute; it warms up fast….


I should have known….. This has Murphy’s mark all over it. Damn! Now if I use it, it will end up causing me no end of controversy and embarrassment…. SFPCCC!  (They’re swear words… you don’t want to know…..)  Just when I thought I was done…. True to his habit, and his nature, Murphy has waited for just the right moment to slip this into my head, right when I was primed to not look at it too closely….. Whew! I dodged a big bullet that time! I’m glad I caught it before it went any further… my keyboard would probably have exploded the next time I wrote something that used it as a basis for a plot. Ah well, it was enough to count as the pearl for this section, so I guess all’s well that ends well…..


Though I am young, I scorn to flit

On the wings of borrowed wit.

— George Wither (1588-1667) — The Shepherd’s Hunting

___________________________________


Well, this is another one…. it’s not like the other one. Much…..I hope….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..




—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!