Don’t push that envelope; stick a stamp on & mail it….

Posted on May 22, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

It took a while, but, I finally figured out a way to defeat the lack of creativity with which I awoke today….. It’s a busy day, with early appointments and lots of activity going on, so it’s not a good day for my head to take a break…. but, it doesn’t care about any of that, and has issued enough evidence to let me know it isn’t going to do any REAL work today…. So, I’m filling in from the archives today, shamelessly, as I found some good stuff, which will work for this Pearl nicely….

I’m so happy with what I’ve found, which is going to keep me from having to strain myself to come up with new material, I’m not even going to blather here in the intro any more than is necessary to get us on down the page a ways, so I can cut and paste the chosen archived material to my heart’s content…..

Some out there might think I’m being lazy, but, given the way I’ve felt for the last week or so, pain-wise, y’all are free to think anything you want; I simply don’t give a rat’s ass, and will do what I want anyway….. I’m not very likable sometimes, I suppose, when I’ve been in pain for several days…. and can’t bring meself to care much at all, at all…. I’m sure you’ll understand, and if not, oh well….

Hmm…. I hope I didn’t drive anyone off with that sort of curmudgeonry; if so, well, so much for honesty, eh? S’alright, I’m good with solitude, as long as I know I have been truthful, and not deliberately cruel…. I mean, I AM an American, and we can be real assholes, given half a chance, right? That is certainly our reputation over much of the rest of the world, a reputation that has been, I’m afraid, well-earned, though not by the average American…. No, our rep around the world is based strictly on what the assholes in our government do in their international relations, which is, mostly, bomb the shit out of little brown people….

Oops! Almost started in on the BRC there, and it won’t be necessary today, and certainly isn’t needed in the intro, much as it may fit in there sometimes…. Today, we’re looking for something a bit more rational, and, by golly, I think we’ve got what we need right here, right now… which is a damn good thing, as my wrists and fingers are beginning to become painful enough to cause some serious difficulties typing…. Thank goodness this is now legal…. even if not what could be called “good”…..

Shall we Pearl? Yes, yes, we shall…..

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I had intended to put something else here, but, I found this while looking for the one I’d chosen…. It’s equally appropriate, and more on point than the other, so, you get this, instead…. This diatribe was first included in the Pearl posted on 6/16/13:

“Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” — William Pitt (1759-1806) speech on the India Bill, Nov. 18, 1783

I had not intended to start with a political rant, but this just came up, so here we go…. This is as true today as it was in 1783, perhaps even more so. Since 9/11/01, when those fanatic idiots carried out their insane delusions of grandeur on the world stage, the “necessity” for Homeland Security has been the watchword of the political pundits who, unfortunately, are in charge of the legislative and executive branches of our government. Bill after bill after bill keeps coming down the pike, bulling their way through into becoming law, or even worse, created by executive order, without the benefit of review by Congress, useless as that may be.

The entire incident that happened that day was blown completely out of proportion by the media. Yes, it was a terrible tragedy, in which something over 3000 American lives were lost, in three separate incidents. The videos of those planes hitting the buildings in New York must have been replayed a thousand times before noon, all over the country, until every American who had access to a TV was informed of what had occurred….

The American media, and the political machinery that manipulates it so effectively, then proceeded to flood every channel with the after-effects, making sure that the sorrow and fear of every person they could find willing to speak of it on camera was put on the evening news, and ensuring that no rational, dispassionate examination of the events would take place. Before the first day had passed, the national reaction had been whipped to a frenzy, stirring the fears of every paranoid in society, and making it seem as if the entire nation was filled with anger and vengeful righteousness. Though I didn’t join in the paranoia, I could feel it happening all around me, as normally intelligent people became so angry they lost all sense of proportion, or for that matter, all sense of truth.

In the ensuing years, whenever the politicians have wanted to distract the nation from what they were actually doing, all they have needed to do was mention the word terrorism, or national security, to immediately put attention off of them, and onto the pitiful group of fanatical Muslims they blamed for the attacks (completely ignoring all the reasons those same politicians had provided those fanatics in the first place, with the justifiable reasons that were, in truth, actually designed just for that purpose, to stimulate an attack….). And thus, the Hunt for Osama bin Laden was on!

In this country, as a result of those attacks, approximately 5000 American lives were lost (that figure is larger than the actual number, purposely…. it is near enough to correct to make the point…). At this time, in the quest to find Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, over 50,000 Afghani civilians have been killed. In Iraq, which we somehow decided to invade, even though they had nothing to do with 9/11, well over 250,000 civilians have died to soothe our national pride.

In that same period, we lost another 1000 or so soldiers in fighting and bombings, not counting those allies we convinced to support us in our insane paranoia. And, as a side effect, the US Bill of Rights has been effectively eliminated, by Executive Order, disguised as Homeland Security (June, 2013 — Now, the abrogation of those rights are authorized by what is so laughingly called the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012…. signed by President Obama on New Year’s Eve of 2011, while everyone was partying, not paying any attention to their so-called “rights”…..).

“Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated” — George Bernard Shaw

So, what is my point here? My point is this…. those pathetic fanatics killed more Americans than they had ever been able to kill before, once…. yep, one time. Since that one time, our country has killed over 300,000 civilians in retaliation; you can call it what you like, I call it schoolyard revenge by bullies. It has caused every politician in this country to wrap themselves in the flag, not to proclaim their patriotism, but to manipulate the unreasonable fear they created in the public to keep them from realizing the truth of the matter.

That truth is this: we are in no real danger from Al Qaeda, or Qaida, or whatever, or from any other splinter faction terrorist group, nor have we ever been in any real danger from any of them. They may be able to pull off stunts such as this one occasionally, but for the most part, the world has gotten pretty good at either catching them in hiding, or stopping their plots before they actually carry them out. Governments have a LOT more resources than terrorists, no matter how rich they may be personally.

No, the pathetic, desperate people who become terrorists are created by those same political pundits who are reviling them and hunting them down. They are not a real threat to anyone, as they don’t have the wherewithal to perform more than one act of violence at a time; they cannot wage a war, they can only try to act as guerrilla forces, at best. Mostly, they are just sad schemers, planning glorious deaths, that ultimately have no meaning, other than to provide the Western politicos another unreasonable fear to use against the American public, in order to continue their raping and pillaging among their own people.

The entire issue is one that is repugnant to me; I have watched in horror, not as terrorists have been hunted, but as the rights of the American people have been taken away in the name of “security”. Security from what? We don’t need more security from terrorists; those techniques for dealing with it are well-established, and effective, as they employ the very same methods used by the fanatics to achieve their ends. No, we need more security from our own pundits, who have utilized this tragic events for their own benefit, to the everlasting regret of every true patriot….. bloody assholes, every one of them…..

“I have formed a very clear conception of patriotism. I have generally found it thrust into the foreground by some fellow who has something to hide in the background. I have seen a great deal of patriotism; and I have generally found it the last refuge of the scoundrel.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Judgement of Dr. Johnson, Act III

So be it…. gigoid has spoken….

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

Since today’s material came from past Pearls, here is a poem of mine, one of the last I wrote in 2013…. I hope you enjoy it….

Fine and Good, Good and Fine

A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,
cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.
This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around
cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.

Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,
I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.
Every damn time, it all went to crap,
Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.

‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;
why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….
Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,
’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.

Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,
life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..
T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,
is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.

My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,
each one colored with trust, which ain’t always smart.
Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,
I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.

It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,
and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all
Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;
Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.

‘Nuff said….

~~ gigoid ~~
tongue firmly in cheek….

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

Exactly a month after creating the above rant, in section one, I wrote this, a piece I re-post periodically, to keep things honest….. This was LAST posted on 7/16/2013:

I’m not feeling lazy, but, I AM feeling lazy, so I’m dipping into the past to come up with today’s third section…. It has been some time since I posted this, which I try to do at least once a year, to keep new ffolkes apprised of my history, and provide some background for the stuff I write here…. some of the back story, as it were…. So, here is my philosophy of Life, and some of the rationalizations that prompted its creation….. Though Peruaosophy originally was composed in the 1980’s, this article was posted on the site, GoodBlogs.com, sometime in early 2011, prior to starting this blog on WordPress….

Birds Do It, Bees Do It
So Do I…

In the dim, dark past, when I was, sort of, attending college at UC Berkeley, (1968-70) discussing philosophy was standard in many of the BS sessions in which I participated. In order to not be thought of as someone who was ignorant in the field, I naturally read the classic tomes by such philosophers as Friedrich Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard, Aristotle, Plutarch, Plato, Socrates, Epicurus, Solon, and Jung, as well as more modern folks, such as Bucky Fuller, Sartre, and John Lennon (yes, him too…his philosophy tends to lean way to the left…).

One day later on, sometime in the 80’s, I was involved in learning to raise kids, deal with a wife, and in general going quietly crazy trying to balance all the balls one must keep in the air to get by in today’s world. As I sat this particular day, it struck me how long it had been since I stretched my mind. It seemed as if I’d been buried in mundane details forever, and upon examination & reflection I decided I wanted to expand my consciousness, using the flight of imagination to lift me above the everyday cares and woes to which I had fallen prey. And I found, as well, that I had been unconsciously acting according to many of the precepts that I had learned in those halcyon days of my youth.

Encouraged by this revelation, I went one step further, and made the decision to codify my own personal philosophy, to put down in writing those things that I consider to be essential to becoming a well-grounded, well-rounded, productive and contented member of society. The process went more quickly than I had imagined, and I came up with seven basic concepts, all of which I hold to be an integral part of what I believe. Axiom #4 was added later as a necessary part of the whole, overlooked in the initial version, bringing the total number of axioms to eight.

The word I coined to describe this philosophy is Greek; “perua” means “pearl”, and of course, “osophy” is “the study of”. Thus I give you Peruaosophy, the study of pearls of wisdom. Each axiom stands alone, and together they describe fairly well how I approach Life…..

Peruaosophy

The wisdom of pearls…
(The world is my oyster; which way to the pearls?)

Axioms

1) I think I am; that’s close enough.

2) The nature of the Universe is Change. Unpredictable, innovative
transformation of Reality is the Norm. If you have a problem with this, you’re in for a rough ride in Life.

3) Thou art God, you know. Let’s do lunch.

4) Excellence is its own reward.

5) Girls think differently. So do boys. Don’t fight it.

6) Axiom #2 X axiom #5 = And God so loved the world, He said,
“Quit whining!”

7) Do your Duty. Respect Life. Honor the Truth. Share your Love.

8) Go back. Everything you need to know is in the first seven axioms.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Regardless of how it may seem from your side, this was NOT an easy Pearl to put together…. It’s done though, so, I’m content, if not happy. Enough so I will now post this, and be done with it…. The Big Blue Room is calling…. 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

Can we salvage any of the platitudes?….

Posted on May 6, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I’m confused, but, then, nothing new there, eh? Today’s confusion started upon arising, at my semi-usual hour of 4 AM, to find the cat already up, waiting for me, actually being a good kitty, staying out from underfoot until I’d punched the coffee machine on (it doesn’t brew itself until 0430….), and sat down to don my socks…. She then politely bumped my ankle for attention, accepted some ear scratches as if they were her due, then went to lie down in the middle of the floor, in her Mae West pose, looking at me as if I should be bowing and scraping in awe…. Cats are strange, aren’t they? Most mornings she’s a psycho kitty for the first hour I’m up; today, she’s a sphinx, unfathomably inscrutable…. or, that’s what she wants me to believe, anyway….

Cat antics aside, here I am, up in good time, but, with a severe lack of stuff going on in my head…. I’ve ranted enough lately that my angst level isn’t causing any discomfort….. even though there are plenty of issues in the news I could rant about. In fact, issues seems to be jumping off the page, shouting at me to be written up; remember a couple of days ago, I had gathered almost ten article links that needed discussion, piling seven or eight of them into one pearl?…. Ah, those were the days….

Sadly for me this morning, I don’t have the inner emotional turmoil so necessary to providing the driving force behind my rants, so, as usual, I’ll cheat, and use what I can find in my earlier material…. I can usually find something relevant, as the same issues are happening today as were there when I began this particular site, almost three years ago….

Plus, my opinions may evolve, but they don’t generally take a whole new direction, as they tend to follow the antics of the same group of idiots, most of whom act out their own particular brand of insanity in an elected office, or a court seat, or some other public position that, for some stupid reason, makes them believe they should open their mouths, and let everyone know just HOW stupid they can be….

In addition to my lack of drive for ranting today, my thumb is getting worse; I’m thinking it is the repeated use of the mouse that is doing it, as I don’t use it to do all that much knife work any more, which is what caused this the first time it happened. Whether it is the mouse, or the typing, is unclear, and I hesitate to tell my doctor about it, lest the treatment involve a hiatus from doing this specific activity, which is the worst culprit in terms of how often it makes it hurt…. Typing does, that’s for sure, so I’d bet I’ll have to at least cut back severely for a time, to allow the ligament at the base of the thumb time to heal….

Or, I could go to the doctor, & ask him to send me to an orthopedist, who would inject some cortisone, or other steroid, right into the thumb joint…. When that was done last time, it fixed it up right and tight in a jig…. Within seconds, my hand was back to completely normal range of motion, with no pain upon starting any of the activities that caused it previously…. It was like magic…. I just don’t like the idea of steroidal injections like that, unless there is some critical need; I believe it’s better to use more natural, less intrusively aggressive treatment modalities as a first choice….

Whatever I do, this Pearl will have to be done first, so, I suppose I’d best get on with it; the silly thing isn’t going to write itself, now, is it? No, probably not, if past issues are any indication…. That being said, and the usual, legally constructed amount of introductory blather having been produced, I suggest we do that now, before anything untoward has an opportunity to happen….

Shall we Pearl?…..

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

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As mentioned, since my own store of rantable emotion is a bit depleted, I’m dipping into the past…. This time, WAY into the past, to give you one of the first Pearls posted, with this one first showing its face here in May of 2011, as noted below….. Pearls of that time usually had a paragraph, or two, at the beginning, followed by a group of pearls…. It will appear a bit differently than it did then, as I’ll edit it using my current knowledge, to make it at least come close to what my writing should look and sound like today…. Regardless of all that, it’s a bit long, but, still pretty valid, so, I hope you enjoy it….

From 5/25/2011:

Ffolkes,
I’m not certain how or why, but this morning’s pearl took a serious turn on me, so bear with me. There will be pearls……

Humanity, and the societies that it formulates, are a never-ending source of interest to me. It provides not only data for my overactive brain to chew on, but also gives me almost limitless subjects for this grist. After the grist is milled of course….. One of the more fascinating areas of observation is about honesty, and its’ root, honor. When I grew up, half a century ago in the 1950’s, honor and honesty seemed to be part of the fabric of society, as least superficially.

What I didn’t know then was that those particular virtues were only given lip service, especially in the way the public was notified of the doings of government. It became de rigeur for politicians, and concomitantly government agencies, to lie to the public about what they were actually doing, claiming they were telling the honest truth. Truth to tell, it no doubt started well before that time period, but for me it was a disappointment to later find that the very people society chose (with promises of transparency and honesty) to lead them were bare-faced liars and cheats.

As partial proof of this, I offer the (already vetted) facts about the Vietnam conflict (Congress never declared war, so in my mind there was none). When I went to college in 1968 I found out the truth, which was that our government had been in the country, supplying ‘military advice and support’ since 1954, ten years before anyone in government admitted to it, having gone there to protect the interests of our ally, France, who had just been thrown out as colonial overseers, and the interests of the drug trade, in which both of those countries were heavily invested. Not 1964, when the government finally admitted we were there, because the number of troops sent there, and the money being spent, brought the situation into the public eye.

I have believed for a long time, and still believe, that the assassination of JFK was an act perpetrated by people in our own clandestine spook forces, who recruited and trained Oswald. It was designed to distract the American public from the chicanery in Southeast Asia, while at the same time removing Kennedy, who was proving to be an obstacle to the goals of the real government, and becoming far too popular. So, they gave us a martyr, blamed it on the Red Menace, and with the help of their (paid for) lackey, LBJ, proceeded to pour billions of dollars into the war, to continue to protect investments by our corporate classes in the heroin trade.

Today we find ourselves in ever more dire straits, as governments and politicians continue to lie, cheat, and steal, pretty much without any restrictions. The public, dazed and confused by a constant barrage of financial stress, is told lie after lie, confident-sounding utterances created by Spin-Meisters adept at making prevarication sound like truth. All of the politicians have become nothing more than talking heads, whose most valuable asset is their ability to lie with a straight face. And truth be told, there has to be some kind of character flaw in those people who run for office, for what sane person wishes to assume power over their fellow man?

It has gotten to the point that I spend each day fighting the urge to go buy a gun, and start hunting these assholes down. But that would be giving in to their perversity; better to take up my pen (or laptop in this case) and start my campaign by offering to the public the Truth (as opposed to the so-called truths offered up daily in the news services), and do so in my own unique fashion, that is to say, with Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. With that in mind, we now go into the better part of this daily spew, with Truths from folks throughout the ages. Enjoy!…..

“Sex! Lies! Drugs! Money! Power! Corruption! Man, I love Congress!” — Smart Bee

“They say you shouldn’t say nothin’ about the dead unless it’s good. He’s dead. Good.” — Moms Mabley

(I particularly like this one. I made a list of folks to whom this would apply, and in less than a minute came up with more than 10 names. Only two of them were already dead, and the other eight were all still out there, spewing their malice onto an unsuspecting public, shamelessly. Doesn’t say much for my tolerance, but then it has been in short supply for some time now.)

Annual drug deaths: tobacco: 395,000, alcohol: 125,000, ‘legal’ drugs: 38,000, illegal drug overdoses: 5,200, marijuana: 0. Considering government subsidies of tobacco, just what is our government protecting us from in the drug war?” — William A. Turnbow

“I don’t mind being screwed, but the government thinks I’m a nymph.” — Smart Bee

“It’s said that ‘power corrupts’, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable.” — David Brin, The Postman

Well, that is certainly enough for one morning. It can be a depressing subject, but we can consider ourselves fortunate that we have our own view of reality, and can modify it to suit ourselves. Y’all take care out there…….

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

“Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education.” — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy.

While I don’t usually use section two for ranting, the following poem, by an American icon, stimulated the following discussion, as any really good poem might do to someone, at any time…. especially one as powerful as this one….

I hadn’t realized that Walt Whitman was an atheist/agnostic….. It isn’t part of what is taught in your average elementary or high school here in this hypocritical, unabashedly Christian nation, which continuously spouts off about the separation of Church and State, yet gives a tax immunity to churches, even those of other denominations, and/or names of gods worshiped…. (Nor was it made common knowledge that the prevailing opinion, both in his own time, and with modern scholars studying his life, that Walt was probably gay, or bisexual, in his gender preferences…. Not that it matters at all, in the ultimate sense, but, merely knowing it provides some interesting perspective on his work, and his life, eh?….)

I call this (single-mindedness re: Christianity vs. Reality) hypocritical because, while this generosity in tax status displayed to other sects covers their claim of non-discrimination, simultaneously, at every turn of events in society, these single-minded “men of one book” work to weave their “Christian values”, and strictly Christian morals into very fabric of society, negating the entire spectrum of beliefs held by its denizens, by influencing the majority of elected officials to write laws that favor the morality based on Christian dogma, none of whom dare risk their own excommunication, or chance at heaven…. Bless their point little heads….

Aha…. Thankfully for my embarrassment level, I checked with Wikipedia re: Whitman’s religious views…. While I stand by what I stated above completely, it’s slightly out of context, as he was NOT an atheist, or an agnostic, per se, though his beliefs were radically different than those of the average American, especially in the eighteenth century. He is described as a deist, similar to my own stand, as one who believed that ALL religions were correct, and true as far as their metaphorical principles were concerned…

The differing views by all those religions, of what God looks like, or what He/She/It may, or may not have said, or where, or when, held no interest for him (as they don’t for me); his understanding of reality, and, thus, his views on divinity and spirituality were much too tall, and wide, and deep, to ever be confined into one little philosophy, or any one set of dogmatic principles, as seen from only one viewpoint….

To my way of thinking, this is a very intelligent way to think; he has nothing but my admiration for his independent individuality, in the face of a society that could not understand his mind, or his spirit…. Well, and for this poem, which prompted the above, with only three or four lines…

A Child’s Amaze

SILENT and amazed, even when a little boy,
I remember I heard the preacher every Sunday put God in his
statements,
As contending against some being or influence.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

“Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite sea; reason seeks to cross an infinite sea and so make it finite… he poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.” — G. K. Chesterton “Orthodoxy”

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Since most of today’s Pearl seems to have been produced at other times, I believe I’ll put together an old-school, but fresh, pearl for this section…. Let’s see what Smart Bee can find for us, with no hints as to what we should find, or see….

“Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too self-full to seek other than itself.” — Kahlil Gibran

“I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” — Thomas Carlyle

“Playing the banjo is a lot like throwing a javelin blindfolded… you don’t have to be very good to get people’s attention.” — Smart Bee

“Virtue is the beauty, and vice the deformity, of the soul.’ — Socrates (B.C. 469-399)

“Don’t believe your friends when they ask you to be honest with them. All they really want is to be maintained in the good opinion they have of themselves.” — Albert Camus

“They say you can’t do it, but sometimes that isn’t always true.” — Casey Stengel

“Let the greatest part of the news thou hearest be the least part of what thou believest, lest the greater part of what thou believest be the least part of what is true.” — Francis Quarles (1592-1644)

Hmm…. Not too bad, if a bit obscure…. But, all in all, I think it will do; it DOES make a point, though that point isn’t one usually found by any normal means….. But, then, we’ve never worried too much about normal, have we?….

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

I’m only sure of one thing at this point…. and that one thing escapes me still….. Be that as it may, all I have to do now is figure out what to say to either make up for what I’ve just put y’all through, or pretend that it’s good for you…. I think…. yes. We’ll go with the second one, because, even if it ISN’T good for you, it WANTS to be…. Intent is 87% of meaning, you know, and though it isn’t quite a much of a sure thing as being 99% sure, it’s not bad…. and, it’s done, so, there’s nothing more that can be done for it now…. Since that’s the case, I’ll see y’all tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Of course it’s soap; we needed radio….

Posted on May 3, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Somnochirgraphy or no, this may turn on us, so I’d advise wearing the Kevlar-lined cold weather gear, not the lightweight stuff…. You’ll recognize the symptoms, I’m sure, if it does go wonky on us, so I’m leaving you here as a sentry, to guard our back trail, as we work on finding today’s pearls…. One can’t concentrate adequately when distracted by having to watch out for the stray bander snatch, or worry about whether or not their vorpal blade is sharp enough to penetrate the armor we’ll face later on….

Okay, break time; coffee’s ready…. Somnochirographism, as you may or may not remember, is the word I coined a few days ago, to describe the typing I found myself doing in my sleep…. It is a word drawn from the Greek, I believe, with parts that follow the same rules as other coined words, to wit: Somno meaning “sleep”, and chirography, meaning “writing”, thus matching another word common to our species’ perverted nature, somnambulism, or, sleep walking….

As may be surmised from the opening paragraph, somnochirographism is no simple problem; the effect on people can be drastic, and daunting, to say the least…. not the least of which is knowing that one has developed a completely new perversion, er, condition….. Moreover, it’s a bit of a facer to realize, not only is this condition new to society, it is new to reality; in fact, since I coined the word, and I made up the condition, one might be able to convince SOME folks that it isn’t a real condition at all, merely another figment of an overactive imagination….

Not only that, but, the word was coined PRE-INJECTION OF COFFEE!….. Now, I realize that a claim like that is liable to create a bit of a stir among the not-so-faithful; that’s okay…. My readers, bless their souls, would never hold that against me, even though they know it adds time and energy to the process of digging ourselves out of the hole we tend to fall into; no, they’d just smile and nod their heads, and go on to the next section, because they know that, eventually, we’ll find our way back to, at least, a semi-current point in reality, from whence we may proceed to regain what little dignity to be found in a post-apocalyptic world….

Actually, to be honest, today’s Pearl may just turn out a little odd, even for me…. I can’t seem to shake off the post-slumber-mode yawns, or get my eyes all the way open…. Add in the right thumb’s insistence on letting the strained ligament voice its complaints in a loud, abrasive tone, which translates into a sharp, stabbing pain, like a needle into a nerve, in the base of the thumb, every time I type another letter (it doesn’t seem to care that it isn’t being abused…. it just hurts every time it moves….), and the overall shape, tone, and nutritional content of this missive could conceivably take a turn for the dark side, if I’m not careful….

All whining aside, ffolkes, it looks as if I’ve rambled incoherently long enough to fulfill the obligatory intro section requirements; five complete, if strange, paragraphs is two over the minimum, so, we’re good to go in that respect….. Now, if I can find even a shred of intelligence in me somewhere, and persuade it to help out, we may just get through this without having to kill any of the hostages…. or, maybe not. We’ll see how it goes, I guess…

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Every one wishes to have truth on his side, but it is not every one that sincerely wishes to be on the side of truth.” — Whately

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

For a couple of days I’ve been collecting headlines from the news…. As you know, I use them as a springboard for ranting, or for discussions of some idea or another that is stimulated by the article’s contents…. I’ve found, in the last two days, so many egregious examples of all that is wrong with this world, I can’t make up my mind as to which to use to as a jumping-off point…. So, I’ll let y’all create your own angst, and anger, and even your own rant, by letting you read them (I did….) and figure out how each one represents another nail in humanity’s coffin….

There are a lot, so we’d best get on with it…. I might make a comment or two along the way, but, mostly, just realize HOW FUCKING CRAZY the world is getting out there, ffolkes, and be alert…. As you know, the world can always use more lerts….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/GOP-presidential-hopefuls-met-with-donors-on-sly-5442909.php

(Politicians, meeting shadowy corporate interest lobbyists in the dark…. why, who would believe it?….)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ryan-holds-meeting-with-black-members-of-Congress-5443187.php

(More than just a little arrogant, don’t you think? Plus, why is it still an issue? Why does a white conservative Congressman feel he needs to abase himself before a token organization, one whose very existence hearkens back to the day when racism was the law of the land? Gosh, do you think they (rich, white men….) are finally cluing in to the fact they are NO LONGER the demographic majority in this country?….)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/world/europe/us-and-germany-fail-to-reach-a-deal-on-spying.html?_r=0

(This might fit better in the international group, but, it came first, on the front page…. When you read this article, you’ll note that our beloved leader didn’t even bother lying to Ms. Merkel…. he just said they’d stop listening to her…. but, nobody else was mentioned…. Golly, y’think they’re serious about not wanting to offend anyone with their data collection? Nope, I don’t think so, either….)

http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2014/05/01/judge-rules-state-farm-does-not-have-to-pay-for-exploding-corpse/?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea#20571101=0

( !!!!!! At first, I didn’t even WANT to know about this, but, it IS another example of how business interests always come first now, ahead of what may be right for an actual flesh and blood person….)

And, finally, a quick synopsis/summary of the day’s international headlines, as seen from the eyes of the editors of SFGATE, on the left coast of the USA…. What do you suppose those editorial idiots use as parameters for picking which stories will be written? Given the nature of the stories I found, it seems that at least ONE of those parameters is that there must be blood, or death in the story, or it isn’t news….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Ukraine-strikes-at-east-2-helicopters-shot-down-5447270.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Toll-up-to-19-dead-in-car-bomb-in-Nigerian-capital-5447483.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Attacks-in-Egypt-kill-4-including-police-soldier-5447351.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Seoul-subway-trains-crash-scores-injured-lightly-5447451.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Nigeria-police-276-abducted-girls-still-missing-5447560.php

Well, there you have it ffolkes, yet another NOT-A-RANT, structured for your convenience, perfectly set up for rapid, accurate consumption, and ease of comprehension…. Too bad it makes such an ugly reflection of Reality, isn’t it?….

“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 3/14/08

“There is a case for telling the truth; there is a case for avoiding the scandal; but there is no possible defense for the man who tells the scandal, but does not tell the truth.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 7/18/08
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve used this in the past, because it is one of my all-time favorite poems, by one of my favorite poets…. This is deeper than it seems, and is as close as they came in Ogden’s day to criticizing the monied elite… something that only poets may get away with…. It is just as apropos today as it was when it first appeared, pre-1960 or so….

Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer

This is a song to celebrate banks,
Because they are full of money and you go into them and all
you hear is clinks and clanks,
Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills,
Which is the rustling of the thousand dollar bills.
Most bankers dwell in marble halls,
Which they get to dwell in because they encourage deposits
and discourage withdrawals,
And particularly because they all observe one rule which woe
betides the banker who fails to heed it,
Which is you must never lend any money to anybody unless
they don’t need it.
I know you, you cautious conservative banks!
If people are worried about their rent it is your duty to deny
them the loan of one nickel, yes, even one copper engraving
of the martyred son of the late Nancy Hanks;
Yes, if they request fifty dollars to pay for a baby you must
look at them like Tarzan looking at an uppity ape in the
jungle,
And tell them what do they think a bank is, anyhow, they had
better go get the money from their wife’s aunt or
ungle.
But suppose people come in and they have a million and they
want another million to pile on top of it,
Why, you brim with the milk of human kindness and you
urge them to accept every drop of it,
And you lend them the million so then they have two million
and this gives them the idea that they would be better off
with four,
So they already have two million as security so you have no
hesitation in lending them two more,
And all the vice-presidents nod their heads in rhythm,
And the only question asked is do the borrowers want the
money sent or do they want to take it withm.
Because I think they deserve our appreciation and thanks,
the jackasses who go around saying that health and happi-
ness are everything and money isn’t essential,
Because as soon as they have to borrow some unimportant
money to maintain their health and happiness they starve
to death so they can’t go around any more sneering at good
old money, which is nothing short of providential.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

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

One of the blogs I follow is posted by a teacher, one Ivon-san, who has an appreciation for the beauty to be found in the world, and for the mindfulness that can be found everywhere, if one leaves themselves open to find, and use it…. He recently posted the poem below, in the format you see, with the drawing of the warrior embedded in the text…

I think the poem is, perhaps, the finest expression of the state of being one seeks as a “Warrior of the Light” that I’ve ever seen, taking into full account how the flaws in our nature can be used to find our strengths…. I’ve included a link to the post on Ivon’s site, as well as reproducing here the most excellent picture, with the accompanying powerful text message…. Enjoy!….

http://ivonprefontaine.com/2014/04/30/every-warrior-of-the-light-paulo-coelho/

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

In spite of, or, perhaps, because of the handicaps under which this morning’s Pearl was constructed, it came together quite efficiently….. The whole shebang took only an hour and a half, rather than the usual 3 or so hours; since it’s done, I’m not going to look in the horse’s mouth, but will just accept the gift as it is intended, or, as it is found…. That might be somewhat indulgent, but, hey, I’m retired, so, I’m allowed… Regardless of any such inanities, the silly thing IS done, so, I’m outta here, with the hope you enjoy today’s effort…. See you tomorrow, given half a chance…..

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

One of the new Innuendo Class ships…..

Posted on May 2, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Knew I not better, it would be my guess Murphy is in cahoots with Mother Nature; how else to explain such weather? Unless, of course, one wishes to believe the global warming theories, which, based as they are on scientific principles, and the collection of accurate data, don’t stand a tinker’s chance against the ignorant denial which so many of our democratic brethren bring to bear upon the issue….. Nope, one American idiot can put serious hurt to all of the ideas so presented, especially as so many of them are elected members of our national congress (of crows?…. Well, they do both sound alike, and both make as much obscene noise as any sane person can tolerate…)….

Once again, it seems the urge to rant grabbed me before I had a chance to stop it, or to throw a password on the keyboard…. That’s the only explanation I can give for the above opening paragraph…. Dry, stilted, poorly judged attempts at humor, with barely enough vitriol to annoy a congressional aide, much less a Senator, all of whom are practiced at not listening to what is said to them….

They’re special, you know, and aren’t required to waste their precious time listening to what peons may think…. even if those peons elected them. They know, or believe, anyway, that the fools who elected them the first time will continue to pull the wool over their own eyes, thus perpetuating the entire mess for yet another elective cycle….

“If you get somebody to give you a dollar, they’ll vote for you for the rest of their lives.” — Hugh Parmer, Democratic candidate for the 1990 U.S. Senate, from Texas

Wow…. I must have let my angst build up for too long…. I’m having a hard time getting through a single paragraph without falling right back into ranting mode… This is going to make it tough to get very far…. I do enjoy the ranting process as it manifests in me, mostly, but, it can be a trifle disconcerting to anyone watching it happen from the outside…. not to mention the degree of splash that makes it such a messy modus operandi…. But, since I’m a guy, messes are second nature, and that part of it has always been a snap….

Of course, one must also maintain a certain degree of clinical objectivity to rant; if I want to do a decent job of tearing down our leaders, I can’t afford to have sympathy for them, now, can I? No, of course not; that would be counter-productive, to say the least, not to mention the confusion it could cause for them…. the congresspersons, I mean….

Wait a minute…. confusion, congress…. hmm…. actually, it sounds as if ranting at them, in the final analysis, may be the best thing we can do for them, as it allows them to indulge themselves in their favorite, most natural state, i.e., deep confusion, and paralyzing ignorance, without any feelings of inadequacy, due to our lambasting of their integrity, their honesty, and their very nature, which is ugly, ugly, ugly….

Or, it that just Paul Ryan? It sounds like him….

Oops, did I just get personal? Oh my…. I’m ashamed of myself….. NOT! Ha! Oh well, just consider that my opening shot for the 2016 presidential election, an event of significant importance for all of us in the modern world, and not only in THIS country…. It is also an event of note for humanity as a species, one I predict may just be, barely, a precursor to the upcoming revolution….

Oh, no, I’m not referring the one the people of the world will be having sometime soon…. No, I’m talking about the one Mother Nature has in store for us, sometime in the next 100 years or so, when the atmosphere we breathe changes, becoming increasingly toxic to us…… It’s all of a piece, you know…. everything is connected, and what happens in the upcoming years leading up to the election will play a big part in how the next few years unfold out in the real world….

Okay, I think I’ve rambled and blathered long enough on this, or any subject…. As a rant, the above falls way short of the usual sort; in fact, it’s rather broken up, without any real organization, which always tends to devalue the effect it may have on a reader…. That’s what happens, when I allow such vituperation and angst to show in the intro, without any attempt to turn it into something useful…. I guess it’s all of a piece today…. In fact, it’s a pretty fair picture of just how confused I am this morning…. I’m surprised I’ve been able to get this far….. Typing on autopilot, I guess…

Since this isn’t going anywhere particularly valuable, or attractive, we’ll abandon all hope of saving any of it, and just get on with the rest of today’s effort…. That, actually, will probably be for the best, as this is going nowhere, fast….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Your face, my thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters.
To beguile the time,
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under ‘t.”

— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Macbeth — Act i, Sc. 5

Lately, Will’s quotes have been fitting in nicely with my themes…. He was so damn prolific a writer, SOME of what he wrote HAD to come out okay, though I’m still of the opinion that most of what he wrote is way over-rated…. This, however, is a perfect set of lines to go with my shot at our newest Republican presidential hopeful, Paul “I’m just a regular asshole” Ryan…. and I didn’t have to pay the million monkeys for it!…..

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

As I noted above, I’m a bit disorganized this morning; I’m so discombobulated (what a great word!….) (…. and such a perfect description of how I’m feeling!….), that I’m forced into the archives for self-protection…. But, I’ll be nice, and give you this, which is a discussion of the concept of forgiveness…. First posted on 12/31/2012, this one is pretty good, so, pay attention, please…..

🙂

Forgiveness. How does a person without faith in a higher power obtain this boon? Certainly not from themselves…. I know, if I have done something for which I feel the need, or desire, to be forgiven, then I most likely don’t deserve it, and refuse to give in to self-indulgence.

According to the preachers, God forgives all, but damn me if I can see any reason to do so, no matter how ‘merciful’ he/she/it might be. How can anyone expect moral behavior, if even our most grievous sins are forgiven? Because of the promise of reward for compliance, or threat of punishment for refusal to conform? I agree with Albert Einstein, that any such philosophy is not realistic, and certainly not moral…..

“In his private heart no man much respects himself.” — Mark Twain

All of us, without exception, have things we hide inside ourselves, secrets that nobody else will ever be told. Whether it is a memory of an act one is not proud of, or a bit of severe foolishness, or something so shameful that to share it would be to become a pariah, all of us humans have secrets. I would guess that almost all of them are akin to what is described in the first paragraph, to wit: acts that want, or request forgiveness, but do not deserve it.

I believe that this may be a method by which one can tell another person’s outlook on religion, for almost all religions are based on this principle, of divine forgiveness. Even though we may do things in life that are unforgivable, the gods, or God, for the monotheistic among us, are so merciful, that they will do so, if you but acknowledge their divinity, and admit they are your higher power…..

It’s a good deal, all in all, if one buys it. Myself, I’m a bit sanguine about it, since I only have the word of the preachers that it is so; there is no real evidence to be found that supports the theory, and the scientist in me wants at least a little bit of proof before accepting something as truth. I’m not going to buy anything just on someone else’s word, or assertion of truth; I’ve been alive long enough to know that doing things like that can only lead to losing something, if only the advantage of self-respect.

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

Wait, I thought we were talking about religion, not the last Republican President, Shrub, the Junior….. Sorry, couldn’t resist…. Any who, it all comes back to the basic idea of how we view reality, in terms of the concept of God, or a power greater than ourselves, that is responsible somehow for everything that exists, and thus, for us. By giving away that responsibility, I think, we are showing our own cowardice; I’m not willing to do that, not without more compelling evidence than hearsay.

I’m not blind to the other evidence that many religionists claim as being proof of God and his will; I’ve burst into tears myself at the sight of a particularly vivid sunrise, without knowing why, other than the beauty of it was so arrestingly powerful. I’ve seen good things happen everywhere, in human interaction, and in Nature. I’ve witnessed what priests like to call “grace”, and will admit that such events are not always explainable by ordinary means.

I’ve also witnessed the other side of existence, where human nature turns dark and cruel, while Nature reveals its own complete indifference for human suffering, and cannot accept that the same entity would dare to assume, or want responsibility for such a wicked universe, even if the balance of good and evil is maintained by the presence of the other.

That assumption is purely human, and thus does not qualify, in my mind, as evidence of divinity in the form of God, by any of the visions held by any of the churches of Mankind. Unless, of course, one goes beyond doctrine, into philosophy, where the above contradictions do not apply, or can be explained by one further assumption. That assumption is a hard one for most humans, as it involves taking responsibility for EVERYTHING that they do, and for everything that happens to them. (Yep, that’s a paraphrase of the basic principle of Karma…)

In other words, as Robert Heinlein put it so aptly in Stranger In a Strange Land, “Thou art God.” I know, it’s blasphemous, but, hey, been there, done that, let’s get past it…. It is the only explanation that fits ALL the facts in evidence, and even if a bit grandiose, really isn’t, because we are, after all, just a bunch of bozos on the bus.

Being God, though, would be a really boring job, the way the job descriptions in all the churches read, and I don’t think I want to take that on, particularly. It may be the only way I can find any forgiveness for those things I’ve done in my long life of which I am not proud, but, since I don’t feel that I SHOULD be forgiven for them, I think I’ll just accept the responsibility, along with the consequence, a certain lessening of my self-esteem, and try to act in the future in ways that won’t make me feel that way….

It really isn’t hard to be good, in reality, as long as you care…. The problem is, not enough people care, or even think about stuff like this….. Me, I can’t help myself…… Caring, to me, is what being human is about; those who don’t care aren’t fully human, and won’t be until they do…..

“I am covered with pure vegetable oil and I am writing a best seller!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Note from the future: I don’t know about the best seller, but I kind of like the vegetable oil concept….. what do you think?…. Actually, I think it would be best if we just go on to the next section….

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

Today certainly resembles a dream, which I am desperately struggling to keep from becoming a nightmare…. In hope of helping with that, here is a classic poem from a classic poet…. a bit of a dreamer, was Poe, but, elegantly so…..

A Dream Within A Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

~~ Edgar Allan Poe ~~

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

Aha! Made it!….. There were moments today when I wasn’t sure I would get this far; it’s been touch and go ever since I first got up….. That’s all good, now, so I can relax, and enjoy the process here in section three, where we find ourselves in preparation for a dive to find today’s old-school variety pearl…. I’m pretty sure that if I dared to set any strict parameters, the whole damn thing would probably explode, in a fireball much resembling the Big Bang, from a couple of billion years ago…..

Far be it from me to take chances with the lives of my Gentle Readers….. plus, who needs a new Big Bang? We haven’t yet figured out what to do about the first one, so another would just be more than we can deal with…. So, I’ll go for a nice, refreshing dive, to see what SB has for us today….

Man, in the unsearchable darkness, knoweth one thing
That as he is, so was he made; and if the Essence
And characteristic faculty of humanity
Is our conscient Reason and our desire of knowledge
That was Nature’s Purpose in the making of man.

— Robert Bridges

“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.” — George Bernard Shaw

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

“All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few.” — Stendhal

The villa’s and the chapel’s where
I learned with little labor
The way to love my fellow man
And hate my next-door neighbor.

— Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

“It is not every question that deserves an answer.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 581

“If our behavior is strict, we do not need fun!” — Zippy the Pinhead

When I began putting together pearls of virtual wisdom, I had no idea the process itself would become as critical as the end result; I suppose that was naive of me, as almost everything in life obeys that rule, to wit: The journey is more important than the destination…. In today’s case, that rule has been proven yet again…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is a good one…..

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

Today’s Pearl has been brought to you by the letter D, and the number 42, for better or for worse…. No metaphors were harmed in the production of this blog, though we tried our hardest…. All is serene on the home front, so, I’ll be taking this show on the road now, again, for better, or for worse…. I’ll see you tomorrow, unless, of course, you see me first…. Dosvedanya, gospodin…. I THINK I spelled that right….

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

Growing signs of increasingly bizarre pistachios….

Posted on April 21, 2014 by gigoid

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

To sell it, you MUST believe it…

Posted on April 15, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

In the world in which we live today, it can be hard to find sources of joy, the kind of all-encompassing passion that fills us, when the Universe presents us with an event that stimulates our sense of wonder…. This joy should be courted with great enthusiasm, to bring it into our lives, with the intent to make it a permanent part of our existence…. Such wonder brings with it the knowledge of beauty, that can inspire us, lift us until we feel as if we can touch the stars….

Tonight is one of these gifts from the Universe…. A few minutes ago, the first 2014 Eclipse of the Blood Moon began, when the ancient Monster in the Sky began devouring the cookie that is our Moon, threatening to eat it all, while we watch, until spitting it back out, piece by piece, as we pass out of the shadow of the Earth, which falls upon the face of the Old Man who lives in the Moon….

If you couldn’t guess by now, I’m just a little jazzed about the eclipse, and, in fact, am now in the process of watching it happen, only breaking to write a minute, because a) I forgot to charge the camera, and had to plug it in, and b) some clouds are passing by, so I have to wait a few minutes to see better….

Now, I’m going back out for a bit to watch…. I’ll be back, hopefully less motivated to get so flipping New Age on you…. It happens a lot to me when I get a chance to indulge my passion for astronomy….. It’s one of my best held secrets, you know…. I wanted to be an astronomer, and for the longest time, had every intention of becoming a science geek, who would have been completely content to have lived his entire life on top of some isolated mountain, peering through a telescope, taking pictures of galaxies and nebulae, playing with computers, & staying up all night….

Plans change, though, for all of us, so, I just keep in touch with what is going on in space, watch the occasional eclipse like this, and try to be happy with that…. Such is life…. But, it still gives me a big thrill to experience the wonder we can feel when we watch such an inspiring event, so, I tend to get a bit excited…. at least, for me…. Most of the time I shoot more for “phlegmatic”, rather than “enthusiastic”….. It fits my self-image a bit more closely….

Okay, so, I’m going out again, to see if the clouds will part for a few minutes to let me see what’s happening up in lunar orbit…. I’ll be back shortly…. Besides, you’ll never even notice I was gone….

See? What did I tell you? When will y’all learn to trust me?…. SIGH…. Oh well, at least the Eclipse gave me an intro…. I guess, given the number of clouds that keep getting in my way, Murphy is going to play his games with me for the duration of the time I’m up here in the middle of the night…. too attractive a chance for him to mess with me, I suppose… I just hope he relents long enough for me to get a picture or two before it’s done…. In the meantime….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Enjoy what you can, endure what you must.” — Friedrich Wolfgang von Goethe

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

It’s going on 2 AM here in California, where I’m up trying to see the full eclipse that is taking place outside as I type; clouds still in the way…. I did find a pretty good rant, though, while searching the archives yesterday or the day before (it all runs together a lot these days, so I’m often not sure just when I did most anything…. Good thing for me we have time, or everything would have to happen all at once…. Enjoy, if you please….

From 6/7/13:

“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.” — Leonardo da Vinci

I knew when I included this above that I would be using it another time in the future. It is such a succinct observation, one that parallels my own thoughts about what happens in our minds, and in truth, about what our minds are…. “What is the mind?” Where is the proof, the hard evidence that our minds, our conscious self-awareness, actually exist in a real sense? We know, because we are inside it, that it exists; but is that existence really a part of the real world? If so, how do we know it, if not only by our own perception? I’m not entirely sure, myself, that this can be answered in any way other than by acknowledging those perceptions as having validity because we perceive them, which is, seemingly, a tautological impossibility….

Of course, we can use the definition of Reality as proposed by Philip K. Dick, which says that reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away. This accounts for the inconsistency, but does so by transferring the validity from the perception, to the absence of the perception. I know, that’s a bit of a tenuous connection, but, it points out the difficulty of trying to validate reality with perception; first one must validate the perceptions, and to do that, we must assume the mind to be part of reality, and consciousness to be the connecting tissue.

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

I realize this subject is not one common to most folks, especially early in the morning. (Note from the future: nor, it seems, is it a common theme for late at night….. )…. I also will admit to knowing that much of what I’m saying is not particularly of interest to many people, but, I don’t write for many people. I write for me, to get out of my head all the stuff that otherwise would sit in there and cause havoc to my own equilibrium… It’s sort of an aftereffect of the course of my earlier life, admittedly a bit cumbersome, but, with the help of my trusty laptop, and a willingness to use time, given by my situation, to keep from building up so much angst and/or mental frustration that it starts to affect me adversely…. which is a polite, discrete way to say, it keeps me sane….

I think about stuff like this because, to me, it is important to know our own place in the scheme of things, and we can’t do that without a clear understanding of both ourselves, and the way we perceive, and react to, the universe at large; in other words, our response to our perceptions, and, ultimately, our response to Life. We determine our own happiness according to what we do with what we perceive, and I believe it is critical to stay aware of that process, and how we are utilizing what we perceive.

It’s good to take out our attitudes now and again, to examine them for necessary updating, dusting off any acquired prejudices, and giving them a good shake to let them fall into the proper shape to pick up the clearest perceptions, in order to use them efficiently, and compassionately…..

“‘T is strange, but true; for truth is always strange,– Stranger than fiction.” — Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Don Juan, Canto xiv, Stanza 101

And so am I, for I live for the truth. I accept that (strangeness) as the proper price for the understanding I have of reality, and for my own ever-increasing ability to deal with it on my own terms. It does make me a bit conspicuous at times; that is probably why I don’t go out in public all that often. It gets chancy sometimes, trying to maintain a cloak of normalcy when I’m out in the Big Blue Room, so I tend to avoid most public venues, just to avoid controversy…. I’m social, but not sociable, if you catch my drift…..

Well, I see I’ve blathered on about this until it petered out…. Not much left to say, really, about Reality, and our perceptions, that I haven’t said before….

In life, “True power is control of the routes of perception.” — gigoid

This is a universal truth, my own deduction, based on observation and historical fact. The BRC and the churches know this, and do everything they can to control what people perceive, and what they are allowed to believe. I have no illusions about the degree of their control over society… This knowledge gives me a certain degree of defense against such control, as knowing it is there is the first step to resisting its influence, or to making it appear as if I am allowing it to control me, while maintaining my own reality….

And THAT is quite enough of that…. I don’t wish to pull ALL my covers, not at once anyway, and it makes little sense to give away my best defense… I don’t think I’ve gone too far today; after all, it’s just a little bit of truth…. What harm can that cause?….

“I don’t think they could put him in a mental hospital. On the other hand, if he were already in, I don’t think they’d let him out.” — Smart Bee

More notes from the future…. Oops…. By the tone of the last line from Smart Bee, it probably wasn’t the best idea to tell it so much…. now it’s spilling my secrets for all to hear…. Ah well, I’ll just go back now, into the grip of real-time, where at least I know I’m anonymous, mostly….

“Sometimes the need to mess with their heads outweighs the millstone of humiliation.” — Fox Mulder, X-Files “Squeeze”

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

I’m not sure right now just what poem will suit tonight…. I’ll get back to you on this… Okay, I’m ready to pick one now…. Let’s see…. Oh, I remember…. Here, here’s a good one, from a modern genius, one whose work stands as the voice of the American people in the twentieth century…. at least, for those all-too-numerous Americans who spend much of their lives struggling to survive on the streets…. as this poet did….. If you haven’t ever heard of him, he’s an interesting man, well worth reading about, as is his poetry; this one is a particularly strong piece, a poem I believe will affect everyone who reads it in a powerful way …. Enjoy!…..

A Smile To Remember

we had goldfish and they circled around and around
in the bowl on the table near the heavy drapes
covering the picture window and
my mother, always smiling, wanting us all
to be happy, told me, ‘be happy Henry!’
and she was right: it’s better to be happy if you can
but my father continued to beat her and me several times a week while
raging inside his 6-foot-two frame because he couldn’t
understand what was attacking him from within.

my mother, poor fish,
wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times a
week, telling me to be happy: ‘Henry, smile!
why don’t you ever smile?’

and then she would smile, to show me how, and it was the
saddest smile I ever saw

one day the goldfish died, all five of them,
they floated on the water, on their sides, their
eyes still open,
and when my father got home he threw them to the cat
there on the kitchen floor and we watched as my mother
smiled

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

Relationships are tough…. we all know this, if not instinctively, we learn it before long in our lives, or suffer the consequences on a regular basis. It’s way too early, now, (or late, depending on where one stands to view it….) to get into a deep discussion of the ins and outs of Love, or how people deal with all the complexities inherent in interacting with another human on that level…. Good grief, it’s probably ALWAYS too early/late for THAT discussion; we all have a tendency to get a bit worked up over our triumphs and/or our defeats along these lines…. and I’m not what might be called stupid, so I’m not going to get caught writing about the opposite sex…. I’m old enough to know better….

But, what I CAN do, and SHALL, is to put together an old school pearl that deals with that issue, subject, material, whatever it may be…. Love, and all its ramifications, is obviously a part of life none of us can avoid altogether, though it makes us nervous at the thought of the pain we experience when it doesn’t go well…. Most of us would rather put up with that, though, to get to the rewards, which are beaudacious, to say the least. With that in mind, let’s see what Smart Bee can find to say on the matter…..

“If you don’t like yourself, you can’t like other people.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“Women are the only realists; their whole object in life is to pit their realism against the extravagant, excessive, and occasionally drunken idealism of men.” — G. K. Chesterton, A Handful of Authors

All human history attests
That happiness for man,–the hungry sinner!–
Since Eve ate apples, much depends on dinner.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Don Juan, Canto xiii, Stanza 99

“No woman ever falls in love with a man unless she has a better opinion of him than he deserves.” — Ed Howe

Parting day
Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues
With a new colour as it gasps away,
The last still loveliest, till–‘t is gone, and all is gray.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iv, Stanza 29

“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955), when asked what his Theory of Relativity was by William Randolph Hearst’s mistress during a visit to Xanadu, the Hearst mansion

“The more you love, the more you can love — and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just. ” — Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein

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

Approximately five minutes after the eclipse’s beginning, clouds began to cover the sky overhead here, giving me mere glimpses of the moon periodically, and all too randomly…. so much so I’ve managed to finish today’s Pearl, at the ungodly hour of 0322….. I did manage to get the camera charged up, just in time to take some lovely photos of the unrelieved gray sky…. Oh, well, there are supposed to be three more eclipses this year; maybe I’ll get some pictures of one of those, if they are visible here…. One may only hope….

I’m going to press my luck here, and go ahead & post this, then go back to bed, to see if I can make up for the lost three or four hours here in the middle of the night, futilely waiting for a glimpse of the Blood Moon being eaten…. To do so, however, I have to stop writing, so…. 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

Spirit lamps have been provided, and lit from within….

Posted on April 9, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

‘Tis a fortunate thing for all of us, Time…. Just think of where we’d be without it….. Days such as yesterday would go on forever, and we’d have no way to either stop it, or start again, or anything…. I’ve always liked to think of Time as being our most important gift from the universe…. otherwise, everything would have to happen all at once, and how icky would THAT be? It would get old in a heartbeat, for me, anyway….

Howdy, ffolkes… I’m back, and none too certain about what happened yesterday…. I’m not going to even think about it, as it was miserable there for the first while…. It all got better, as Uncle Sugar, as my friend Jerry D. calls him, sent my monthly stipend, for which I slaved away my youth, scavenging pennies for my old age, dutifully, (though with little choice…) depositing a portion of them into the SS bank, so kindly thought up for us by ol’ FDR, that master slave master with the big heart….. Having thus been forced by society to save my money for my old age, I am now reaping the rewards for that diligence, even if it was not my own, but enforced upon me by society….

None of the above is a complaint…. it only sounds as if it is, because I’m a natural grump, a curmudgeon in training…. It’s perfectly natural for me to sound that way, and, in fact, I can be cited for being nice to the wrong people…. Suffice it to say things got better yesterday as soon as I checked my bank balance online, and could plan the day’s events with that in mind and hand….. I AM a trained consumer, like everyone else, and it’s soothing to my capitalist soul to spend money….

Now, with all that having been said, I COULD go on to the Pearl for today…. but, what fun would that be, as I haven’t tormented the passengers yet, or issued any of the standard warnings, codicils, updates, or weather and terrorism bulletins ? (We’ve found the latter to be a very popular addition to the program…. everybody seems to enjoy hearing the latest warning statements issued by Homeland Insecurity…. they always get the biggest laughs of the program…) Indeed, we have yet to even board the gigoid-mobile, which we cannot do until they bring the damn thing here from the hangar….

I’m going to pretend it’s already here, though, and just get on with it…. I don’t think we can afford to take the time away from our schedule to wait for the vehicle we’d planned to use; they’re already late, and nothing is in sight…. Can’t call to see, as everyone involved is busy moving the plane….. but, that means they’ll be here in time to dive, so, I’m going to issue the face-masks, body armor, and box lunches, so we can board as soon as it shows up…. which means we’ll be on our way shortly…. Whew, good thing, as I don’t think I could fake this much longer…

Shall we Pearl?…..

“And this,” said Caesar, “you know, young man, is more disagreeable for me to say than to do.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Caesar

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

WARNING: The following pearl grew beyond all reasonable boundaries, until I finally had to use a variation of Emergency Method #6 to get quit of it…. I’m putting in a disclaimer so you may skim over it to the poetry section, if you wish…. but, I wish you wouldn’t, as it’s a pretty good rant, all in all….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/USAID-chief-to-face-questions-on-Cuban-Twitter-5384467.php

Ominous key phrase: “publicly launched shortly after the 2009 arrest in Cuba of American contractor Alan Gross. He was imprisoned there after traveling repeatedly on a separate, clandestine USAID mission to expand Cuban Internet access, using sensitive technology that only governments use.”

I almost missed this little “tell” from the media lackey who wrote this, shall we say, LESS than unbiased report…. Sensitive technology that only governments use… What was that? That only GOVERNMENTS use? When did a government become NOT a person with a laptop? What does this mean, that “only” governments use some kinds of technology?

Does this imply to you, as it does to me, that there are things they aren’t telling us, in terms of the available technology in certain fields? You mean the government is, GASP! , LYING TO US? They’re keeping advanced technology away from the public? Why, I’m shocked, I tell you, simply shocked…

What the hell ELSE could it mean, ffolkes? Apparently, the government(s)(!!!) have technology the rest of us aren’t allowed to have, if any of this is at all accurate…. and, I’m guessing it is. (!!!) There you go, ffolkes, they’ve let the cat out of the bag, and it is now clawing its way up your leg toward where you keep you wallet, to snag its contents for the corporate masters who assign the tasks for their government myrmidons to carry out…. clandestinely, with the technology they’ve kept hidden from us….

This whole scenario, all this noise about more instances of spying by the government, by the way, is just MORE BS, a big smoke screen being thrown up to distract the public from matters of greater importance, in those areas where the actions of the government require the darkness that is provided by pulling our attention to other matters….. The hullabaloo in this issue goes right along with what is taking place in the article listed just below, which we will now proceed to address….

Nothing much more to say here, except, ffolkes, you’d better keep a sharp eye on your perimeter, and stay aware of whomever is lurking about…. Then, take measures to protect yourselves from your own government, who are among those lurking about, looking for anything they can steal, or get their fingers into…. and, now, we know they’re also trying to hook your kids up to some sort of techno system that will farm your information for anything that will further their cause….

“As you grow older, you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.” — Zachary Scott

I can relate…. I’ve spent many hours of regret for NOT having spent more time randomly shooting politicians, bankers, and/or preachers until I ran out of bullets…. Let’s move on to the next issue that prompted this outburst, which began two or three days ago, & is only now coming to fruition….

Yesterday morning, I felt like crap, without ever finding out why…. It passed, but not before abandoning this series of thoughts, which had been collecting in my head, and on this screen, for several days,, stimulated each time by each new outrageous news article I found, that could be identified as part of the government’s ongoing campaign to fill the heads of the public with useless, misleading information, or something that LOOKS like information, but, is actually just fluff, that will fill up their heads for a cheap price….

Below you will find the link to an article re: the continuing saga of DiFi and the CIA, (sounds like the name of an indie band, or a really bad, way-off-Broadway play…)…. which is followed by some of the key phrases I noted while reading it, with my comments appended where appropriate….. Just to keep y’all busy, some of what I said is in parentheses, and some isn’t….. Even after proofing, I’m uncertain as to which should be which, & it’s too late to go back and figure it out, so just deal, okay? Thanks….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Dems-slam-CIA-ex-boss-over-Feinstein-criticism-5382997.php

Key phrases in the article, taken from each side:

CIA: “We’re safe now, the CIA is here!” — Famous Last Words

(Okay, it’s not really in the article…. but, it fits, so it should be…. which is why I put it there….)

Hayden: “Hayden could not be reached for comment.” (Mr. Hayden is the CURRENT Director of the CIA….)

( This WAS in there…. All I can say is, well, I guess he would’t comment for this article, so they used stuff from another interview from earlier in the week, when he said the stuff that WAS included in today’s brief, such as the following….) (All excerpted portions from the article are in quotation marks….)

(The report…) “may show deep emotional feeling on the part of the senator, but I don’t think it leads you to an objective report.” Regarding Feinstein, he said, “When she gets an idea in her head, she’s very focused” — in much the same manner as current CIA Director John Brennan. Hayden said Feinstein’s report, however, was “designed to discredit the (interrogation) program and those who said this provided useful information.”

(I don’t know about y’all, but, those statements have a distinct tone of “nyah, nyah, nyah”, as might be heard on any third-grade playground….)

From the other side of the aisle, we have the statements on the issue by the Senator, and her supporters…. most of whom are Senate Democrats:

Feinstein: “Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement that declassifying the review of CIA’s detention and interrogation program after the Sept. 11 attacks “would ensure nothing like it happens again.” She called Hayden’s reference to her emotions “nonsense.” “The report itself is objective, based on fact, thoroughly footnoted, and I am certain it will stand on its own merits,” Feinstein said.”

(Duh! What the hell else would she say? I don’t think she could say what ACTUALLY was true, such as ,”Oh, they’re right, the report is just another way of making noise, by accusing them of chicanery over here in this issue, so the public won’t look at what the White House is REALLY doing about all this….” That would go over real well over on Pennsylvania Avenue, ya think?…. Probably not….)

But, she had to say SOMETHING, didn’t she? Can’t leave a media hound without a sound byte….. It just isn’t done …. Plus, if she’s telling any truth at all, it IS all footnoted, thoroughly….. or so she asserts, anyway, so that’s something, right? That will scare them, boy,…. we all know how dangerous those footnotes are…. Shoot, the way she said the words, “thoroughly footnoted”, like their mere utterance was some sort of magical proof of truth, just MAKES me HAVE to read them, if ony so I can see what “thoroughly footnoted” means…. to them….

Udall: ” Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat who serves alongside Feinstein on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the reference to Feinstein’s emotions a “baseless smear” that Hayden wouldn’t make against a man. ”

Others: “Does this sound like a person or party that respects women?” Reid said. Of Feinstein, he said: “She has been fearless. She has been thorough and fair… She’s being too emotional? I don’t think so.”

Good job, dudes…. Senators Reid and Udall chimed in to show the unity of the Dems in the Senate…. They wanted to be supportive of their colleague, plus, it was an opportunity to slip in one of their Party’s best strategic talking points, dragging down the Republicans about their views on women…. which, by coming to her defense, as if “the little lady” needed it, shows complete disdain for women, while simultaneously highlighting their own misogyny…. Utah must be proud….

Besides, thinking of Dianne Feinstein as a “little lady” is more than just stupid… the woman stands over six feet three in heels, and is built like a left tackle….. I know, I’ve seen her in person, in close proximity…. I’m not tall at 5’8″, but, I’m a wide-body, built like a fire-plug, or a linebacker, and don’t usually feel dwarfed by any woman, no matter how tall, but, she was BIG…. Scary, especially when one remembers she’s married to SF financier Richard Blum, a Chuck Schwab type of guy, who is definitely NOT a huge fella…. He was there, and is only about my own height and weight….

You’ll note, please, that I am confining myself to minor pokes and prods, without becoming overly vituperative…. This is because I am writing this ahead of time, and feeling quite glib right now…. thus, I am taking advantage of my momentary glib facility to get in some good licks from my sardonicism, and its ever-present side-kick, sarcasm…. hopefully, a bit of shameless guilt-tripping is getting through, as well…. But, no real ranting thus far…. I decided, here at the last, to rant no further, since this has grown beyond all reason….

Not only am I not going to subject you to a full-on, pedantic, pompous episode of ranting, at least, not any MORE of it, I’m going to stop my sharpshooting now, and finish off this epic section with a five-star pearl, with the expected parameters…. Enjoy, and I’ll see you in section three….

“He who reforms himself, has done more towards reforming the public, than a crowd of noisy, impotent patriots.” — Lavater

“The streets are safe in Philadelphia, it’s only the people who make them unsafe.” — Frank Rizzo (ex-police chief and mayor of Philadelphia)

(Typical attitude of an elected psychopath….)

“There are some remedies worse than the disease.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 301

(Yep…. such as any remedy for social ills proposed by a POLITICIAN, who, by nature, has no invested interest in ever solving any social issues, other than for the purposes of their own aggrandizement, thus, only in the interests of self-service….)

UN-AMERICAN, adj. Wicked, intolerable, heathenish. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

(Typical…. Just ask any redneck, conservative, or anyone else who calls themselves a “Patriot”, those of the “My country, right or wrong” ilk….)

“Honor is the reward of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

(Oops! How did THAT get in there…. That won’t go over well with an elected official; like George Carlin pointed out, such words make a lawyer or a politician feel uneasy; they know they take the risk of choking on either word, if they try to apply it to themselves…. Let’s try for another closing pearl, that will say something along the lines we’re seeking here today….)

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people are so full of doubts.” — Bertrand Russell

That will do nicely…. NOW we can go on, with confidence we’ve kicked the shit out of THIS section today….. Even though it makes me a liar, (count the number of pearls herein…..) I’ll leave you with this final thought, from one of the designers of our modern government, as he comments on the already-suspect behavior of those who inhabited the halls of our government, even back then, in his time, and, speaking with a degree of clairvoyance he never knew, eerily describing the Beloved Ruling Class, as it exists today…..

“I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a Congress.” — John Adams, (1735-1826) in 1776

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WordPress recently began placing suggested related posts at the bottom of our blog pages, referring readers to older, archived posts with similar material for them to peruse… In doing so, yesterday or the day before, I came across the following, from From February 2, 2012…. I like it a lot, so I decided to format it into verses, whereupon it turned into a poem I think I can be very proud to have created…. Well, I like it…. Here then, is the original prose version, followed by the resultant poem….

Written 2/2/12:

But you shall not escape my iambics.

Soft, sinuous patterns of unearthly beauty blithely commune with sinking stars, as pale shadows of former virtue hover near, ever clean, ever tolerant. These unbidden habits are worn with age and care, ready now for dissolution, welcoming gladly the kiss of death’s handmaiden. Unknown to all, the child stands aside, and weeps for the lost days of youth, days that now shall never be, nor yearned for ever after. Only darkness shall lay upon the landscape, cold, hard, and eternal. Such then are the signs and portents as we enter into the unknown future, and they are grave indeed. Uncertainty will be our sole companion, as the search for hope yields no result. The lamentations of the gods shall sound the elegy for Man, who never learned to see the gift that was made, so many echoes ago, in the hopeful past; thus will we pass this plane of existence as we came, baffled and afraid…..

Well, sorry….this was supposed to be a poem, but it just ran away with me there for a few minutes. I’ll have to come back later and look at it with fresh eyes….. Okay, so it’s not bad, as a not-poem goes. I’ve certainly created worse…..I’ll just have to put it out there, and let it fly or not, as it chooses… (I do tend to anthropomorphize fairly often; its a gift…..)
_____________________________

This is how it looks as a poem, complete with brand new title:

Gently Came a Wounded Child

But you shall not escape my iambics.

Unknown to all, the child stands aside,
weeping for the lost days of youth,
days that now shall never be,
nor yearned for ever after.
Only darkness shall lay upon the landscape,
cold, hard, eternal.

Such then are the signs and portents
as we enter into the unknown future,
they are grave indeed.

Uncertainty will be our sole companion,
as the search for hope yields no result.
The lamentations of the gods
shall sound the elegy for Man,
who never learned to see the gift that was made,
so many echoes ago, in the hopeful past;
thus will we pass this plane of existence
as we came, baffled and afraid….

~~ gigoid ~~

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Well, I’ve made it this far, I may as well finish up…. This will be a standard old-school pearl…. I’ve ranted QUITE enough for one day, above in section one, so you probably knew this was coming… S’okay, I expected the regulars to figure it out, and the newbies, well, they have to take what they get, don’t they? I’m not trying to be smarmy, or anything, I just figure since we’re mostly done here for the day, I could get away with a touch of smarm, if I had to…. Okay, I won’t then…. Be that way….

Instead, I offer, then, for your viewing pleasure, a random, harlequin pearl, with parameters set to describe “a life lived well”…. or, maybe that was, “well, living life”…. Yeah, that was it…

“Don’t blame me–I was raised by humans” — Smart Bee

“A child is a curly, dimpled lunatic.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.” — Albert Einstein

” ‘He deserves death’. ‘Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them ? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.’ ” — J. R. R. Tolkien – The Lord of the Rings

“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” — Frederick Douglass

“All of the animals excepting man know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.” — Samuel Butler (1835-1902)

“Mongo only pawn… in game of life.” — Alex Karras in “Blazing Saddles”

Okay, to end this, here is a statement of reaction to the above that is a perfect example of Art imitating Life imitating Art imitating Life, as perfectly highlighted by the immortal words of George Peppard, when he said, at the end of each episode of The A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together!”…. Serendipity is a wonderful thing….

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Go, forget me! why should sorrow
O’er that brow a shadow fling?
Go, forget me, and to-morrow
Brightly smile and sweetly sing!
Smile,–though I shall not be near thee;
Sing,–though I shall never hear thee!

— Charles Wolfe (1791-1823) — Go, forget me!

Actually, it would be rather nice if y’all DIDN’T forget me just yet…. After I’ve gone to my next appointment in the reincarnation cycle, THEN you can forget me…. Of course, my words will still be here, and one or two of them are, if not unforgettable, hopefully, at least, memorable…. On that note, anything other than tootling “ta-ta” would be anticlimactic at best….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

How to train predator birds with vertigo….

Posted on March 31, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A word is dead
When it is said
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

Was Emily channeling the future with this poem? With the correct tilt to the head, with a slight look around the corner of the eye, this ~~would be~~ IS a very good statement to support the concept of blogging…. Each of us bloggers MUST abide by this feeling, in order to continue to post….

Well, I do, anyway…. But, I’m an Emily fan, so maybe that has something to do with it….. We all tend to fall back on the words of our favorites when it comes to justifying our own existence, or, in this case, our own continued presence on the web….

Okay…. So, was that a bit more comfortable? I thought a bit of a different opening might be in order….. Not that I feel the old way wasn’t working, but, I’ve never been quite satisfied with that part of the Daily Pearl…. Breaking past the morning block that almost everyone’s mind suffers upon first awakening has become, if not easy, at least doable….. But, the fear of the blank white screen still hovers in the background, always ready to jump up, freeze my brain’s connection to my fingers, & generally put a complete halt to the morning’s process of writing….. Damned neuroses!….

In the last few months, I’ve managed to NOT feel the fear so consistently, by using a combination of trickery, cheer leading, and flat out lying to myself, which seems to be working fairly well…. we haven’t had a freeze-up in close to a year. But, it’s never been an easy process, and I’ve never felt fully engaged in how it gets done….

I’ve always felt that somewhere, deep inside the back reaches of my brain, there is a structure, a building of words, so to speak, that I will someday find, establishing a solidly constructed edifice here at the beginning of each Pearl, to mark the beginning of another fine piece of work….

That is probably just another of my fantasies, but, hey, it’s MY fantasy, so leave it alone, okay? We all need our illusions to keep us going…. I know this; otherwise, why would we put up with so much fictional bullshit from our leaders? I’ve always known, and been saddened, by the knowledge that our leaders are liars; congenital, trained, or just naturally glib, it doesn’t matter, they’re all a bunch of self-serving assholes who would lie to their own mother if they thought it would buy her vote….

Oops! Ranting mode…. stand clear, please…. Okay, I turned it off, you can relax….. Almost started in on the BRC there…. I guess they just make too attractive a target to leave them alone too long…. I’ll not start that here in the intro today, though, for which I’m sure you are thankful….

I suppose, given we’ve managed to wander through a number of paragraphs already, we could conceivably call this completed, and get on with the day’s business…. Since I’ve had eight sold hours of sleep, and my pain meds are currently ahead of the pain, score-wise, I think I’ll go ahead and do that…. I suppose there are worse ways to start the day….

In fact, I KNOW there are, as I’m familiar with just about ALL of the different ways one can start badly….

Shall we Pearl?….

How good is man’s life, the mere living! how fit to employ
All the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!

— Robert Browning (1812-1890) — Saul, ix

_____________________________

As iterated above, ranting is on hold…. Since it is, and I want to keep going, we’ll put today’s old-school pearl here…. It will give me something easy to do, and pass the time until I am ready to go find something in the news upon which to focus my vitriol…. a waste bin, as it were, for the angst I wish to throw away…. For now, let’s find a group of pearls that says something about Life At Large….

“You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a realist, he is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing.” — Sydney Harris

(Side note: When applied to politicians, the accuracy of this statement approaches 101% validity. — gigoid….)

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) –Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

“Wisdom outweighs any wealth.” — Sophocles (406 BC)

“I never resist temptation, because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me.” — George Bernard Shaw, “The Apple Cart” (1929), Act II

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” — Beverly Sills

“In morals, what begins in fear usually ends in wickedness; in religion, what begins in fear usually ends in fanaticism. Fear, either as a principle or a motive, is the beginning of all evil.” — Mrs. Jameson

“Why does there have to be an end to the rainbow? Can’t we just let beauty exist without trying to prove that it dies?” — Spite, The University of Akron

PERFECT! Q.E.D., mon amis….
_____________________________

Here is one of my favorite poems; it’s been here before, and, no doubt, will be here again…. This time, it has the name of the translator, who does an excellent job of creating a compelling English equivalent from the ancient Chinese verses….Enjoy!….

Drinking Alone

I take my wine jug out among the flowers
to drink alone, without friends.

I raise my cup to entice the moon.
That, and my shadow, makes us three.

But the moon doesn’t drink,
and my shadow silently follows.

I will travel with moon and shadow,
happy to the end of spring.

When I sing, the moon dances.
When I dance, my shadow dances, too.

We share life’s joys when sober.
Drunk, each goes a separate way.

Constant friends, although we wander,
we’ll meet again in the Milky Way.

~~ Li T’ai-po ~~

tr. Hamil

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“When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” — Richard Cardinal Cushing

“If you call a dog’s tail a leg, what do you have? A dog. Calling a tail a leg, doesn’t make it a leg.” — Abraham Lincoln

Aren’t these complementary pearls great? They’re the perfect lead-in for a rant about politicians, most of whom are of the type of person (I use the word liberally….) who regularly attempts to convince the public they are NOT a duck, or a dog, when, in truth, they either quack, or bark, quite clearly…..

The subject of politicians lying to the public is one I spend a lot of time writing about here, so it would fit right in with all of my other rants very well…. Unfortunately, the news is currently being usurped with a story that makes it far to EASY to show how wide-spread the issue is in our government….

Leland Yee, a California State Senator from San Francisco, and Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, a Tong leader from SF’s Chinatown district, (Kinda makes ya wonder, don’t it? “Shrimp Boy?”….. Personally, I get all SORTS of weird mental images popping up when I say those two words to myself….), have been arrested, and are being charged with a number of counts related to their (alleged….. 🙂 …) long-term involvement in drugs, gun-running, political corruption via voting, murder-for-hire, and just about every crime against society that exists, save for, perhaps, stealing from babies….. and that one isn’t out of the question for these two…. I just didn’t see that among the charges for which they were indicted….

It seems that for over twenty years, Yee was selling votes and political influence to Chow, and others, for lucrative economic advantage, for him, and for those who benefited from the programs he voted in to being. He also laundered millions of dollars of ill-gotten gains, by using his political campaign accounts to accept donations, for the Chinese Tong, run by Chow….

This money was collected from prostitution, drug, and racketeering enterprises, all run by the Tong. An undercover FBI agent infiltrated the Tong organization, establishing trust by posing as an ex-Mafioso of high repute, whereby he was able to gather tons of condemning evidence of their corruption, for over four years before the arrests were made…

But, it’s all too easy a target…. In fact, the focus being placed on these two will, long-term, have the opposite effect that it should….. These two clearly criminal individuals are providing too obvious a target for the public’s ire, thus taking it AWAY from all the other, less obviously corrupt politicians out there, almost ALL of whom are hard at work raiding the public treasury, but are much better at hiding their machinations than these two clowns appear to be…

Putting all the public’s attention on a couple of bozoids, who managed to get caught, literally red-handed, with their fingers in the public till, will ultimately have the effect of making other politicians appear to be more honest than they actually are…. That’s human nature, and the pundits, who all know this, will be using it to their advantage for a long time to come….

So, rather than waste a lot of my time and angst-driven energy on ranting about the corruption they are exposing, I’ll just remind you that what you are seeing is NOT atypical for politicians, and shouldn’t be thought of as an anomaly, but, rather, as an omen of things to come, when we expose ALL their asses, and throw them ALL out of office, and out of our lives…. (Picture an iceberg, 90% unseen, floating on the ocean…. Yee & Chow are a small part of the ice visible above the water line….)

Then, when I know you’ve realized that, in spite of all the nonsense in the news, detailing the shenanigans of what they’d like us to believe are swans swimming in the public pond, you now see they are really only ducks, stealing food from the swans, and the dogs, to wit: from you and me… Once you’ve realized how the politicians of this government are NOT in the business of helping us, but are only in Washington to steal as much as they can during their term of office, is the absolute truth, with a capital T, we can go on…..

Now, since y’all have put up with my blathering for so long on such an obvious issue, I’ll reward your forbearance by throwing together a set of pearls to further illustrate and/or enhance my points, to close this off with a flourish…. which, though not particularly common here, is, no doubt, warmly welcome when it occurs…. Enjoy!…..

“The seeds of our own punishment are sown at the same time we commit sin.” — Hesiod

(Sin, otherwise defined as voting…. the two words are interchangeable when politics are involved….)

“Intolerance of ambiguity is the mark of an authoritarian personality.” — Theodor W. Adorno

Gerald Ford: In the Bob Hope Golf Classic, the participation of President Gerald Ford was more than enough to remind you that the nuclear button was at one stage at the disposal of a man who might have either pressed it by mistake or else pressed it deliberately in order to obtain room service.” — Clive James

“If they become politicians they were switched at birth.” — Mom’s Hint #096

“A kitchen in every pot. I mean, a pot in every — I mean, a chicken in every…” — George Bush, 1988

“All a man needs to be elected President is the kind of profile that looks good on a postage stamp.” — B.B. Franklin

“We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans…” — President William Jefferson Clinton, USA TODAY 11 Mar 1993

“As Athenodorus was taking his leave of Caesar, “Remember,” said he, “Caesar, whenever you are angry, to say or do nothing before you have repeated the four-and-twenty letters to yourself.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Caesar Augustus

“Now I’m having INSIPID THOUGHTS about the beautiful, round wives of HOLLYWOOD MOVIE MOGULS encased in PLEXIGLASS CARS and being approached by SMALL BOYS selling FRUIT..” — Zippy the Pinhead

Damn, that was close…. I thought for sure I’d NEVER get out of there!…. Smart Bee took me at my word, and proceeded to inundate me with pearl after pearl that just fit into the group seamlessly…. I managed to keep it down to eight, then got lucky, and found the perfect Zippy quote for closing it off with just the right touch of nearly-coherent insanity…. “He was bigger than me, Ma, but, I took ‘im down!”….. Now we can all go get some rest….

You, you, and you, panic. The rest of you, come with me….
_____________________________

I suppose we will be forced at this point to declare a moral victory…. We only had to leave behind three bodies in a state of panic, but, the rest of us made it through to here, so, I have to count that on the positive side of the scale…. Otherwise, they’d close me down….

Besides, one of the three bozoids we left behind was a trained bozoid, so they’ll all eventually stop screaming & jumping around like idiots, whereupon the bozo will get hungry, and the others will follow as he goes off to find the exit door behind the nearest banyan tree….

On that phantasmagorical note, I’m outta here…. and, none too soon, I’m can tell…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Assaulted with logic by a Master of Balliol…..

Posted on March 29, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Oddity after oddity keeps piling up in front of me, daring me to question why all these strangenesses are happening so closely together…. Therefore, going with standard policy, I won’t bother to even think about it, as I’m not in the habit of answering dares from reality….. I’m old enough to have learned the usual consequences of that sort of stupidity, & have no desire to spend the rest of the day dealing with whatever my stupidity has cost me, in terms of having to fix something that can generally found to be both real, and critical to my serenity of spirit…. elusive as that may be…..

Having thus dodged a number of bullets at once, I’ll head off into the wilds of Consensual Reality,to see what kind of mischief I can find….. I suppose it doesn’t HAVE to be mischievous, but, that’s the venue I end up choosing most often, and I’m not one to break tradition, as you know, without sufficient reason to do so….. We have NO reasons today, so, mischief it is, provided I can find any…. It isn’t very hard, most days…..

Of course, most days, I’ve got more than five functioning neurons to work with; this morning, my brain feels as if I swapped it out for a bowl of oatmeal, or something; I just can’t seem to get going faster than it takes to keep up with this little snail over here….. Oh, wait, that’s a hallucination…. Never mind….

No, actually, my brain IS pretty foggy today, a result of once again getting more sleep than I know what to do with…. I had an attack yesterday afternoon, where my back seized up for some unknown reason, putting me into severe grunting mode for about an hour and a half, until shortly after six o’clock, pip emma, when I gave up the fight against gravity, & trundled off to bed…. Once I found a comfortable position, I fell out almost immediately, oddly enough, and spent the next nine hours in a restless, but heavy sleep…. go figure.

Now, it’s a bit past 3 AM, and I am once more up, typing, and hoping to find a bit of clarity, or inspiration, both of which have thus far been well-hidden from my desperately seeking gaze…. The cat is happy, but, I’m a bit less than perfectly situated, attitude-wise…. I’m feeling a bit of a grump, actually, & finding it convenient that nobody else is about, as I’d be sorely tempted to take a big bite out of them, just for existing in my space…. As you can tell, I’m finding it a bit tough to gather my wits about me….

I suppose I’ll have to cut this off here…. It would be completely self-centered, and more egotistical than usual, for me to continue in this vein; probably isn’t very interesting for y’all either…. So, I’ll head out now, to go for a dive…. Maybe the peace and serenity that often settles over the oyster beds at this time of night will seep into my soul while I’m there, and help me find some peace of mind…. Or, maybe not…. I suppose we’ll see, won’t we? We always do….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Some obstacles exist in order to challenge us. They are a test of our resolve. Others however, are there to awaken us to the undesirability of a course of action. Their purpose is to make us turn to some more fruitful path. The hard part is telling one kind from the other. ” — Smart Bee

Sometimes, Smart Bee is smarter than others…. This pearl was the very first one that came up in front of me today…. As you can see, it is a PERFECT pearl for the introduction that precedes it, restating the gist of the entire six paragraphs in three short lines…. and, in the process, waking up my mind, with the shock of recognition….. My first thought, upon reading it, was, “Well, no shit!”…. a clear indication of how much I liked it….

Okay, we can go Pearl now….

“The moment of enlightenment is when a person’s dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities.” — Vic Braden
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Given the state of my intellect this morning, I’m not going to even attempt a rant until the third section…. I could hurt myself, as well as many of my Gentle Readers, in the state I’m in, if I tried to bring myself to the point needed to carry out one of those rather emotional episodes….. As cathartic as the experience may be, it’s still pretty volatile…. Since I’m well aware of my own (potential) lack of control today, we’ll skip right past a rant, to the next available old-school pearl we can put together on short notice…. Let’s not waste any more time, & get right to the dive, shall we?….

“So very difficult a matter is it to trace and find out the truth of anything by history.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Pericles

“Diogenes said once to a person who was showing him a dial, “It is a very useful thing to save a man from being too late for supper.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Menedemus, iii

“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.” — Latin Proverb

“Morality is learned, not legislated.” — Smart Bee (at gigoid’s insistence…..)

“Bother!”, said Pooh, as he rolled another joint for the President. — Smart Bee

“Although it is tempting to resent disaster, there is not much use in doing so… Whether we remain ash or become the phoenix is up to us.” — Deng Ming-Dao

“The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.” — Carl Sagan

Not bad at all, even WITH the “one of these is NOT like the others” entry, from Pooh…. but, I will point out, even that one has a point to make….
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I’m in the mood for Emily, so Shawna will have to skip over this section today…. (Sorry, S….)…. In fact, I’m SO in the mood for Emily, you get a two-fer….. Enjoy!…. I did….

A Book

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

A Bird Came Down

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,–
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

_____________________________

“I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends…that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.” — Adlai Stevenson

I really, really love this; it’s a PERFECT political insult, and much closer to reality than most would care to admit…. Of course, both parties lie about each other, so, one must keep in mind that to be truly perfect, one must realize it works also in the opposite direction, swapping the position of the party names in the joke…. An all-purpose political insult is always good to find, to paraphrase Mae West….

My memories of Adlai Stevenson are vague, beginning as they do when I was very small; he was involved in national politics during the years following WWII, and after I was born in 1950, during the Korean conflict, which, thanks to my birth, my father was not required to attend (though he did get stationed in Japan AFTER that time, in 1954, when the US ARMY was still there in force, keeping a weather eye on the Japanese, AND on Korea…..) But, I do remember that he was the sworn enemy of Joe McCarthy, that bigoted paranoid who caused such a stir back in the early part of the second half of the century….

During those years, McCarthyites pounded the public awareness with all kinds of verbal garbage, trying to drum up the public’s fear of Commies and Pinkos…. I remember a lot of the rhetoric being bandied about then, and can only be glad that such nonsense didn’t last too long…. thanks to people such as Adlai, who, even back then, as a four to seven-year old, I could tell was hated by the McCarthy camp….. The vitriol with which they spoke of him was VICIOUS, and had the effect of convincing me, and probably several adults, his was a voice of reason, one who spoke gently, clearly, and with intelligence, in contrast to all the loud, bombastic, ignorant bullshit being flung about by the idiot Senator and his cronies….

Today, of course, our political legacy from the past is one of unadulterated fiction; in my admittedly critical point of view, there isn’t a single elected official among the 455 men and women who sit in our federal government (SOTUS, HoROTUS, pOTUS, vpOTUS, & 12 judges on the SCOTUS….) who speaks to the public with only the truth to guide their words…. all of which is a long winded way of saying they ALL lie to the public, regularly, and consistently….

If you have evidence to the contrary, PLEASE, PLEASE, show it to me…. I honestly would LOVE to see some conclusive proof that even ONE of our elected officials habitually tells the truth when making statements to the press…. Just ONE would be good… It would imply the potential presence of others, which would be a big improvement over what we have now, which is a big ZERO….

SIGH…. I’m ranting, aren’t I? I didn’t even notice when it began, but, I guess I am…. Oh well, it’s never out of place, not in this society…. I’m going to pull an Adlai, though, and do something which, if not enlightening or particularly uplifting, may well come as a relief…. I’m stopping the rant here, and will come back to praise Mr. Stevenson (and, further vilify Mr. McCarthy) another time…. For now, let’s find some old-school pearls on the subject of our Beloved Ruling Class, and have some fun with that…. It will be better for all of us, I’m sure…..

“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 3/14/08

“We have met the enemy; in fact, we elected him.” — Cruickshank’s Law #1

“To be overtly queer, in a culture that denigrates and hates queerness, is to be political.” — Michael Bronski

“Successful and fortunate crime is called virtue.” — Seneca (8 BC) — Hercules Furens, i, 1, 255

“Anyone can grab a Tiger by the balls, but it takes a real man to squeeze!” — Smart Bee

“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it.” — Mark Twain

Aha!…. An Oreo pearl…. and if I need to explain that, I’ve done something very wrong….. Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did, because I damn near orgasmed there on the Twain quote!…. Bwuuuhahahahahaha!!!…..
_____________________________

I was right, or write, whatever the case may be, when I implied my own level of mischievousness today; it almost got away from me, but, I managed to keep it within the assigned limits, so, we’re good to go…. I’ve proofed the above, but, if my recent attempts at that are any indication, you’ll find at least one, if not many, egregious typos and/or errors of syntax, or grammar…. You can bet on it…. If not, well, good, but, otherwise, so be it…. I’m done with this one, and will now perform the necessary incantations and spells to get it online…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Be well, and happy…..

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

Measuring infinitesimal increments may take a while….

Posted on March 8, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I’m tired….. in my head…. I’m tired of writing, tired of sitting, tired of not being able to do enough to keep my mind from chewing on itself. I have a mind that requires rather a lot of stimulation, to feel as if it is being utilized in a way that maximizes its qualities, which are extensive, to be sure, although never as much so as could be wished…. In other words, I’m smart enough to have a strong need to keep busy, but, not so smart as to have all the answers I’d like to have…. Just smart enough to know how much there is still to learn, is the way I like to think of it….

My tiredness is, I think, a result of having written this blog each morning, with only a few minor failures, every single day for almost three years…. In that time, I’ve made some changes to the structure, and tweaked it until I pretty much have it how I like it….. and, according to the WP stat bots, I keep getting new followers…. Just yesterday, two new names showed up as new followers of our blog here at ECR, one of which is an old blogging friend, who just now followed, after almost 3 years of visiting the site, and leaving an occasional ‘Like’….. So, I know that there are at least a few ffolkes who read it every day…. Out of the 375 ffolkes who have hit the button to follow, at least a few MUST come by each day, right?….

In addition, I send the Daily Pearl out via my own email to 47 others who have been receiving them now for over a dozen years…. When I worked for the State, it was sent out each day for about six years to almost 400 employees at NSH, all of whom were addicted to receiving them in their morning email, to start their day….. Conceivably, I could still send them to those people…. but, it annoys their IT folks, as 400 emails sent in a group tends to burn up a lot of bandwidth, causing a spike in their traffic, and the possibility of a network slow-down…. Of course, I figure that’s their own damn fault for not spending enough on infrastructure to handle the traffic, but, hey, they’re friends, so I don’t fuss with them….

All in all, I’ve been writing A LOT for the last couple of years, since retiring…. which, in the ultimate sense, is a good thing…. But, I’m tired of the frustration of constantly feeling as if what I have to say is extremely important for mankind at large to be aware of, but, never having that message heard by anyone who NEEDS to hear it….

If we are to have any real chance at surviving the upcoming events in the environmental arena, all of which are a result of our own foolish asininity, (speaking from the viewpoint of one who knows quite well what NEEDS to be done, but, has no clue as to how to get people to get off their asses to do it….) well, if we ARE to survive, we’ll need to first admit the need to do so…

As you are well aware, if you’ve been here previously, I write a lot of such “gadfly” rants, exhorting the public to wake up, to pay attention to what the corporate assholes, political assholes, and religious assholes have been up to, because what they’ve gone and done is going to kill all of us if we don’t put a stop to it, NOW….

It needed to be done yesterday, and, it certainly won’t help to do it tomorrow; tomorrow, (metaphorically) we’ll be DEAD (literally).

We, as a species, need to get off our collective asses and kick the stupid, selfish, ignorant bullies, who are busily killing us all, straight into the ocean, where their sorry, no-doubt bitter-tasting carcases can at least provide the sea life with some little bit of extra protein…. which would comprise the FIRST useful, unselfish act of their lives….

These rants are generally justified with evidence, or, if nothing else, a link to where such evidence may be found; I try not to make assertions without some sort of proof, as I’m unwilling to base them merely on articles of faith…. a habit of writing and communicating which, I may point out, is more than you’ll ever get from a political pundit, a preacher, or some corporate asshole….

THEY will all expect you to believe whatever comes out of their mouths, without ANY sort of proof, other than their version of the Bible, or, hilariously enough, their “word” as to it’s veracity…. We’ve all heard a pundit on TV, saying “Trust me!”, with the obvious sub-text of, “I’d never lie to you!”…. which, of course, is the first lie….

My rants, however, in spite of the number of followers who evidently stop by only now and then, are not getting into the mainstream consciousness of society, which is where the need for them is strongest…. The message I’m putting out is one that isn’t going to help much unless it is seen or heard by a very large number of people, who would then, hopefully, use the information and stimulus contained therein to form the nucleus of a movement, that eventually would lead to the eradication of the centuries-long oppression of mankind by the slave masters, and our eventual survival on this beautiful planet….

Or, the message will be lost, as are, thus far, ALL the other common sense messages that might be of help to us, buried in the cacophony of noise that is always roaring in the background of TV, radio, and the internet, never to be of any help, or aid us to survive beyond the next hundred years or so that are left to us….. all because of the insane blindness of those who have usurped human culture for their own purposes….

I’d rather there was a greater chance for us to survive, but, there’s not a lot I can do about it…. People are gonna do what they WANT to do…… That seldom means anything intelligent…. and, sadly, that’s just the way it is….

Shall we Pearl?…. We may as well, we’ve got nothing better to do…..

“Every human being on this earth is born with a tragedy,and it isn’t original sin. He’s born with the tragedy that he has to grow up. A lot of people don’t have the courage to do it.” — Helen Hayes
_____________________________

Obviously, the intro section this morning fulfills any ranting requirements that may be in place, anywhere…. So, that means I can go bananas in this section…. Well, maybe not fruit, but, perhaps, a rutabaga, or other vegetable would do?….. As you can see, my bozo wants to come out to play, and, it’s best all around if I don’t get in the way of that…. So, I’ll give that side of me the reins, and we’ll see what SB can do for us today, in the way of a group of pearls to start us off in the proper direction to get us where we need to go….. where it will, hopefully, come to a halt….

“Quemadmoeum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est.” [A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killers hands.] — Lucius Annaeus Seneca “the younger” ca. 4 BC – 65 AD

“A student brings something to discuss, saying, “I don’t know whether this is really good, or whether I should throw it in the wastebasket.” The assumption is that one or the other choice is the right move. No. Almost everything we say or think or do — or write — comes in that spacious human area bounded by something this side of the sublime and something above the unforgivable.” — William Stafford

“Actions lie louder than words.” — Carolyn Wells

“I never understood why God decided to endow the military man with His big brain when bone and marrow are all that he needs to execute his purpose.” — A. Einstein – Ideas and Opinions

“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” — HAL 9000

“Do you think there’s a God?” “Well, SOMEbody’s out to get me!” — Calvin & Hobbes

All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 289

Well, it’s a tough one, I’ll admit, but, those are always the best kind, you see, because, hey, challenge?….. Believe it or not, it IS a good one…. just a trifle abstruse…. In fact, upon reflection, it’s a lot like that word, abstruse….
_____________________________

In truth, I suppose, the translator of this poem is the one who deserves a lot of the credit for the power, and the clarity, of the images and language that make this so compelling a poem…. Whomever is responsible, it is one of my all time favorite poems, and I include it today, again, with great pleasure….

Shui Tiao Ko Tou

Will a moon so bright ever arise again?
Drink a cupful of wine and ask of the sky.
I don’t know where the palace gate of heaven is,
Or even the year in which tonight slips by.
I want to return riding the whirl-wind! But I
Feel afraid that this heaven of jasper and jade
Lets in the cold, its palaces rear so high.
I shall get up and dance with my own shadow.
From life endured among men how far a cry!

Round the red pavilion
Slanting through the lattices
Onto every wakeful eye,
Moon, why should you bear a grudge, O why
Insist in time of separation so th fill the sky?
Men know joy and sorrow, parting and reunion;
The moon lacks luster, brightly shines; is all, is less.
Perfection was never easily come by.
Though miles apart, could men but live for ever
Dreaming they shared this moonlight endlessly!

~~ Su Tung-p’o ~~

_____________________________

This was already an old rant last time I posted it, in June of 2013…. and, since I spent all of my fresh angst in the intro section today, this will have to suffice, to fulfill any other legal standards that may apply…. I think it will do, just fine, as it remains as valid today as the day I first wrote it….

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

“Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” — William Pitt (1759-1806) speech on the India Bill, Nov. 18, 1783

I had not intended to start with a political rant, but this just came up, so here we go…. This is as true today as it was in 1783, perhaps even more so. Since 9/11/01, when those fanatic idiots carried out their insane delusions of grandeur on the world stage, the “necessity” for Homeland Security has been the watchword of the political pundits who unfortunately are in charge of the legislative and executive branches of our government. Bill after bill after bill keeps coming down the pike and bulling their way through into becoming law, or even worse, is created by executive order, without the benefit of review by Congress, useless as that may be.

The entire incident that happened that day was blown completely out of proportion by the media. Yes, it was a tragedy, in which something over 3000 American lives were lost, in three separate incidents. The videos of those planes hitting the buildings in New York must have been replayed a thousand times before noon, all over the country, until every American, and for that matter, anyone in the world, who had access to a TV was informed of what had occurred….

The American media, and the political machinery that manipulates it so effectively, then proceeded to flood every channel with the after-effects, making sure that the sorrow and fear of every person they could find willing to speak of it on camera was put on the evening news, thus, ensuring that no rational, dispassionate examination of the events would take place. Before the first day had passed, the national reaction had been whipped to a frenzy, stirring the fears of every paranoid in society, and making it seem as if the entire nation was filled with anger and vengeful righteousness. Though I didn’t join in the paranoia, I could feel it happening all around me, as normally intelligent people became so angry they lost all sense of proportion, or for that matter, all sense of truth.

In the ensuing months and years, whenever the politicians have wanted to distract the nation from what they were actually doing, all they needed to do was mention the words “terrorism”, or “national security”, to immediately pull the attention off of them, pointing it firmly at the pitiful group of fanatical Muslims they blamed for the attacks (completely ignoring all the valid reasons those same politicians had provided those fanatics in the first place, reasons specifically designed to stimulate an attack….). Thus, the Hunt for Osama bin Laden was on! (“We’ll get him, by God”… We did, of course…)

In this country, as a result of those attacks, approximately 5000 American lives were lost (that figure is larger, by quite a lot, than the actual number, purposely…. it is near enough to correct to make the point…). At this time, in the quest to find Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, over 50,000 Afghan civilians have been killed. In Iraq, which we somehow decided to invade, even though they had nothing to do with 9/11, well over 250,000 civilians have died to soothe our national pride.

(Note from 2014; the number of casualties in both arenas has, naturally, grown on all sides, with the greatest number of deaths, by far, having been suffered by the Afghan and Iraqi civilian populations, just as the number of our American casualties remains, by many thousands of deaths, the smallest of any of the participants…. This amounts to, literally, millions of Afghan and Iraqi deaths, and fewer than 10,000 Americans…. go look at them yourself if you don’t accept my figures….)

In that same period, WE lost another 1000 or so soldiers in fighting and bombings. And, as a side effect, the US Bill of Rights has been effectively eliminated, by Executive Order, disguised as Homeland Security (June, 2013 — Now authorized by what is so laughingly called the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012…. signed by President Obama on New Year’s Eve of 2011, while everyone was partying, not paying any attention to their so-called “rights”…..)

“Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated” — George Bernard Shaw

So, what is my point here? My point is this…. those pathetic fanatics killed more, of people THEY considered to be the enemy, than they had ever been able to kill, one time….. ONCE….. Since that one time, our country has killed more than 300,000 civilians in retaliation (amendment from 2014: make that >1 million…).

You can call it what you like, I call it nothing more than schoolyard revenge by bullies. The events of that day provided every politician in this country the opportunity to wrap themselves in the flag, not to proclaim their patriotism, but to manipulate the unreasonable fear they created in the public to keep them from realizing the truth of the matter.

That truth is this: we are in no real danger from Al Qaeda, or from any other splinter faction terrorist group, nor have we ever been in any real danger. We never really WERE in MUCH danger….

Oh, sure, they may be able to pull off stunts such as this one occasionally, but for the most part, the world has gotten pretty good at either catching them in hiding, or stopping their plots before they actually carry them out. Governments have a LOT more resources than terrorists, no matter how rich they may be personally. Most times, their piteous efforts kill a handful of people, and destroy a building or two, and that is the extent of it….

No, the pathetic, desperate people who become terrorists, in direct concatenation of intent, action, and responsibility, are actually created by those same political pundits, who, after bombing their villages, killing their families, and destroying their homes, are now reviling them as monsters, using all their bloated resources in hunting them down.

The terrorists I see in the news are not a real threat to anyone; they don’t have the wherewithal to perform more than one act of violence at a time; they cannot wage a war, they can only try to act as guerrilla forces, at best. Mostly, they are just sad schemers, planning glorious (in THEIR twisted minds….) deaths, that ultimately have no meaning, other than to provide the Western politicos another unreasonable fear to use against the American public, in order to continue the raping and pillaging among their own people.

The entire issue is one that is repugnant to me; I have watched in horror, not as terrorists have been hunted, but as the rights of the American people have been taken away in the name of “security”. Security from what? We don’t need more security from terrorists; the techniques for dealing with it are well-established, and effective, as they employ the very same methods used by the fanatics to achieve their ends, and many more not available to them, because of the depth of their resources, and their lack of morality. (Note from 2014: See, Eric Snowden, NSA, “US Cyber-Security Forces”, etc….) No, we need more security from our own pundits, who have utilized these tragic events for their own benefit, to the everlasting regret of every true patriot….. Bloody fucking assholes, every one of them…..

So be it…. gigoid has spoken….

3/8/2014: This rant has been updated and edited to conform with the most current version of Reality, including, but not limited to parenthetical comments, and actual textual edits to improve the flow of thoughts… I also have to say, with this one, I hit the nail right on the fucking head, so, I can say, without any doubt whatsoever…

So be it…. gigoid has spoken, again….
_____________________________

I’d suppose it’s a function of having done this repeatedly for a relatively long time, but, gosh, Wilbur, I think I’m getting the hang of this…. Even if not, it feels as if I am, so, I’ll take comfort in axiom #1, to wit: “I think I am. That’s close enough.”….. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes, if YOU’RE lucky….

Just kidding….. 🙂

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

gigoid

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

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: G.K. Chesterton

Don’t push that envelope; stick a stamp on & mail it….

Can we salvage any of the platitudes?….

Of course it’s soap; we needed radio….

One of the new Innuendo Class ships…..

Growing signs of increasingly bizarre pistachios….

To sell it, you MUST believe it…

Spirit lamps have been provided, and lit from within….

How to train predator birds with vertigo….

Assaulted with logic by a Master of Balliol…..

Measuring infinitesimal increments may take a while….

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