“The living world is a continuum in each and every aspect.”
~~ A. C. Kinsey, The Kinsey Report ~~
Just when you thought it was safe to go outside….
Hajime…. Okay, so, here’s the deal. I’ll write ’em, you read ’em. Deal? Deal.
Of course, this presupposes I will be able to come up with something to write. Since that, at the moment, seems a rather remote possibility, we’ll cut this intro off before it gets rolling, keeping us trapped here again. So short, you’ll need to keep the oxygen handy…. It looks like this…..
Shall we Pearl?….
“And those who were seen dancing
were thought to be insane
by those who could not hear the music.”
~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~
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I’m in a mood, & when I’m in a mood, this is who I listen to…. Today, you can listen, too…. Even if you’re not in a mood…… Enjoy!….
The quote from Ed Abbey is a perfect lead for a rant on a subject I can write about endlessly, apparently. I’ve related any number of times how humanity needs to grow up, give up the illusions of their fearful youth, and learn to face the damn universe with some courage…. But, has anyone listened, other than the choir who end up here, listening to me preach? No, not really, for they don’t wish to hear they need to stop acting like children….
To save y’all from any further haranguing on this, I decided to sublimate, with some thoughts from historical figures, all of whom have seen the same issues during their own time on Earth, and wished to give warning to those who will not see…. There are only nine, so, don’t fret too much; besides, I know my Gentle Readers could, using these aphorisms, create the same rant I might have written, had I gone with the urge to do so…. Enjoy, if only for its brevity…..
“I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: ‘The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that’s fair.’ In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.” — Bertrand Russell, Education and the Social Order
“There are more stars known to exist right now than the total number of all the grains of sand on every beach in the entire world. With those kinds of odds, it would seem downright naive for someone to go to a beach in, say, some out-of-the-way inlet in Baffin Bay, stoop to pick up only one tiny grain of sand, and declare that that grain alone was the only place where life could exist.” — Hugh Downs
“If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” — Anatole France
“Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.” — Noah Webster
“In this world of sin and sorrow, there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.” — H.L. Mencken
“Instead of giving money to found colleges to promote learning, why don’t they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as good as the Prohibition one did, why, in five years we would have the smartest race of people on earth.” — Will Rogers
“Held to be a crime when committed by individuals, homicide is called a virtue when committed by the state.” — Obvious Bee
“Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on them [public offices], a rottenness begins in his conduct.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1799
“The purpose and function of government is not to preside over change but to prevent change. By political methods when unavoidable, by violence when convenient.” — Edward Abbey
“Is it not a noble farce, wherein kings, republics, and emperors have for so many ages played their parts, and to which the whole vast universe serves for a theatre?” — Michael de Montaigne — Essays, Book ii, Chap. xxxvi, Of the most Excellent Men
********************************
As noted above, I’m in a mood. In this mood, only one poet will do…. In fact, we’ll overdo, with two….
Had we our senses
But perhaps ’tis well they’re not at Home
So intimate with Madness
He’s liable with them
Had we the eyes without our Head —
How well that we are Blind —
We could not look upon the Earth —
So utterly unmoved —
~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
*********
Said Death to Passion
‘Give of thine an Acre unto me.’
Said Passion, through contracting Breaths
‘A Thousand Times Thee Nay.’
Bore Death from Passion
All His East
He – sovereign as the Sun
Resituated in the West
And the Debate was done.
~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
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Easy money here, ffolkes. It’s just a classic nine-star pearl about living life large…. Well, I think so; if not, you tell me what it says….
I care not, Fortune, what you me deny:
You cannot rob me of free Nature’s grace,
You cannot shut the windows of the sky
Through which Aurora shows her brightening face;
You cannot bar my constant feet to trace
The woods and lawns, by living stream, at eve:
Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace,
And I their toys to the great children leave:
Of fancy, reason, virtue, naught can me bereave.
~~ James Thomson. The Castle of Indolence, Canto ii, Stanza 3 ~~
“Let honor be as strong to us an obligation as necessity is to others.” — Pliny the Elder
“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.” — Marcus Aurelius
“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.” — Robert Cody
“True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.” — Halifax
“Once, I read that a man be never stronger than when he truly realizes how weak he is.” — Jim Starlin, “Captain Marvel #31”
“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.” — Confucius
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations.” — George Bernard Shaw
Listen to the MUSTN’TS child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVE’S
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
~ Shel Silverstein ~~
********************************
That went well, don’t you think? No? Well, I do, and guess who’s driving this bus? Yep. To keep with the tone set in the intro, I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, given the proper set of Time/Space coordinates….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
Hajime…. Late again, dammit! Ah well, such is life in the big city, I suppose. Since there is little to say without going into issues not appropriate for a family blog…. Wait a minute! Who said this was a family blog? Fuck that! I don’t intend to alter my language for anyone’s false sense of propriety, thank you very much…. But, then, I gave up on making the front page of WP long ago; one ‘fuck’ and that was history. So be it, he said, with a smarmy grin….
The smile fades, though, as he realizes he is, once more, lost in the intro…. Nowhere to go from here but down, it seems, so, we may as well bail early again. How about it, ffolkes? Let’s do this…. we’ll just pretend none of it happened, at all, and get on with the rest of today’s mess, just as if we intended it to go this way…. That looks like this….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Inside myself is a place where I live all alone,
and that’s where you renew your springs
that never dry up.”
~~ Pearl S. Buck ~~
********************************
The Four Seasons
Today’s musical selection is one I listen to regularly, for it is one of the most delightful pieces ever written. It also gave me a chance to use the fine picture you see, which I stole from another blogger, who just laughed when I asked permission…. ‘S okay, she was joking, right? At any rate, it’s worth listening to, if only for how it makes you feel…. Enjoy!….
The discussion upon which I’m working isn’t done yet, so, we’ll go back about two years for a strange little discussion of life at large in today’s world, such as it is…..
From 1/23/2014:
I am bound and determined (what a clunky, awkward phrase! How did it ever survive in the English language for so long?….)… any who, I am firmly invested in having a laugh or two now, even if I have to resort to picking on my own bozoid tendencies…. There are certainly enough of those to go around, which any of my exes would be happy to tell you…. Bozoid tendencies? What are those? Well, really, ffolkes, do you need for me to explain that? The very words are pretty self-explanatory…. but, I guess it’s been awhile since I expounded on my version** of this theory, so, to answer, quickly….
Bozoid tendencies are those human characteristics that are embedded in our species’ persona, hard-wired, as it were, into our psyches, that can only be described as being “clownish”, and cannot be suppressed, no matter how dignified or stuffy one tries to be…. It can be best expressed vocally by the phrase, “I came, I saw, I screwed up.”…..
At some point in life, each and every one of us will do something really stupid, right in front of the most embarrassing group of people possible, such as family, or an entire stadium of excitable fans, or a restaurant full of strangers…. Often it is something as simple as forgetting a wife’s birthday, or forgetting to close a zipper, ensuring a wardrobe failure at the wrong time, or it could be as compelling a moment as running the wrong direction in a Super Bowl…. but, we all do it at one time in our lives, without exception…. Hence, the theory of Bozoid Tendencies….
** Inspired by the metaphoric brilliance of the Firesign Theater’s audio improvisational album, “I Think We’re All Bozo’s On This Bus!”, the Theory of Bozoid Tendencies was first discussed and codified in Berkeley in 1969…. This is the period when gigoid (that’s me….) spent a lot of time in such discussions with other burgeoning social philosophers, all UCB students of various vintages, in various dark, smoky venues, in various stages of mindfulness due to either extreme use of sober imagination and logic, to the often brilliant scintillation of drug induced excitement of the imagination, whether the drug was wine, beer, MJ, or something more exotic, if infrequent. Having obviously survived the experiences intact, the Theory has been shown to be valid in many, many instances over the years, in myself, and in the world at large…. with most of such proof provided in the daily news…. when not in the mirror….
With all of that in mind, we’ll now search for some pearls that can make me laugh…. you’re on your own, this one will be according to MY sense of what is funny, and what isn’t…. So there…. I TOLD you we all have a sense of entitlement, didn’t I?….. Besides, if nothing else, YOU can laugh at MY sense of entitlement, or my humorous standards, if you so desire, and I can laugh at myself (I’m easily amused….)…. just for making the effort, which goes to the evidence folder for the theory’s validity….
“A guinea pig is not from Guinea but a rodent from South America. A firefly is not a fly, but a beetle. A giant panda bear is really a member of the raccoon family. A black panther is really a leopard that has a solid black coat rather then a spotted one. Peanuts are not really nuts. The majority of nuts grow on trees while peanuts grow underground. They are classified as a legume-part of the pea family. A cucumber is not a vegetable but a fruit. — Smart Bee
(Just a few of the reasons I love the English language…. and the English mind, which is completely twisted…..)
“I think you ought to know I’m feeling terribly depressed.” — Douglas Adams — The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Marvin
(And I think I have very good reason to be depressed, don’t you?….. So much so, I have to laugh, so I don’t cry….)
“The education of a man is never completed until he dies.” — Robert E. Lee
(Don’t know exactly why, but this, to me, is funny…. perhaps more funny, strange, because of the irony, than funny ha ha, but, funny….)
“Life isn’t fair.” — L.J. Smith
(This reminds me of my favorite line to try to gently remind someone they are whining for no reason; simply ask, “Who was the one who lied to you?” “Who was who?” “The one who told you life would be fair.”…. First heard from my father, at a young age….)
(Okay, so, I’m not funny today…. I’ll quit with the comments, and find a solid final threesome of pearls for ya….)
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read.
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
~~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias” (1819) ~~
“Everything that goes up must come down. But there comes a time when not everything that’s down can come up.” — George Burns (1896-1996)
You know it’s going to be a bad day, when you find a note on your door that says, “Knocked, you weren’t in. — Opportunity” — Smart Bee
You may well ask yourself why I felt compelled to include the excerpt by Shelley in there, but, I, being the curmudgeon that I am, will only say that I know that my Gentle Readers will be able to look at that, in juxtaposition with everything else I wrote today, and see why I fell over laughing when I saw it come up on the screen, and why it’s a particularly funny joke right now…. The others, well, as I said, you’re on your own…. I laughed….
😆
********************************
“Poetry–even bad poetry–may be our final hope.”
~~Edward Abbey ~~
Rhyming is better than lying….
It’s all too, too much, he cried
I can take no more!
It’s all crazy, my brain is fried,
battered, bloody, and sore.
Talking heads shout out hatred and fear
jam for my morning toast.
Pointing fingers far, middle, and near
enemies everywhere, almost.
Women, gays, and seniors fall prey,
easy targets, slow and weak.
Convenient fools, wanting only to play,
used, and abused, even as we speak.
It enough to drive me floridly insane,
or want to buy a gun.
I may end up in jail, or in massive pain,
but, oh, it would be fun….
~~ gigoid ~~
4/1/2013
********************************
Today’s final section is comprised of a seven-star classic, with a subtle message for those who enjoy life as it is…. Trust me….
Living Dead
the path is chosen,
to live forever
is to die forever.
To not know
when you’ll die
is to find life
wherever you are.
~~ Alagad ~~
“You see things, and you say “WHY?” But I dream things that never were, and I say “WHY NOT?” — George Bernard Shaw, “Back to Methuselah”
“All life is based on death. Nothing exists except by feeding on something else. Even photosynthesis depends on the heat-death of the sun. Humanity is not
exempt. Embalming doesn’t cheat the worms, it cheats the system. But only temporarily.” — Solomon Short
“Because you’re not what I would have you be, I blind myself to who, in truth, you are.” — Madeleine L’Engle
“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” — Abraham Lincoln
“Do not eat your heart.” — Pythagoras
“A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind…” — Kahlil Gibran
********************************
It’s done. That is all you’ll ever hear me say of it, as it was slapped together with great rush, and, I won’t be held responsible for the results, not without a warrant. Since it IS done, I’m going to do the expedient thing, so highly prized in today’s world, and bail. See y’all tomorrow, with the usual caveats in play….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Just by choosing where you stand,
You alter your destiny.”
~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~
Home Image from a Tweet by @LimaChely
Hajime…. Finding our natural rhythm, once lost under the sands of time and circumstance, can take time, even if one is treading the proper path. The damage done by neglect over time is just as deep as that incurred quickly, adding to the frustrations that come with any such effortful task. But, small steps get one to the same place as long strides, thus taking the time needed to make sure one remains on the correct path. Or, as is commonly stated by those wise ones on the streets, “Keep on truckin’!….
All that said, it merely means I’m late again; different reason, but, the rhythm remains the same. The result is, I’m again sitting here, with nothing really done for this Pearl, beyond picking a picture for the top, and a couple quotes to go with it. Such is the life of a blogger, I suppose, meaning I’d best get to it….
Some will be fresh, but, some will be either archived, or, someone else’s work that fits in with today’s theme, whatever it is…. I’m not the person to ask, because I couldn’t tell you until it’s nearly done; I never know until then, as the process demands a certain degree of unconsciously directed thought and choices…. Trust me; I’ve been doing this a while now; it’s best not to fuck with the process, lest it fall apart at the seam…. Only the one, so, we try to be careful….
Sure we do….. Regardless of any near-untruths we may use here in the intro, we/I do try to avoid it altogether; if seen here, one may regard it as a necessary nod to expediency, and forgive us our trespass…. Or, not; we/I care not…. Just trying to be like the universe….. Innovative, unpredictable Change, often more rapid than we can believe, or handle, is the Norm, so, we/I do try to keep up in that respect. To do so today, and, in the interests of maintaining the small degree of efficiency so far displayed this year, I’ll get us over to the oyster beds the most efficient way, with my mind, and the power of the Metaphorse…. Watch closely….
Shall we Pearl?….
“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence.
When mindfulness embraces those we love
they will bloom like flowers.”
I feel like some of the Best this morning; for me, as a guitar playing singing fool, there’s only one guitarist who can claim that title today…. There may be someone better than Eric, but, I’ve never heard them, or seen them, so….. he’ll do for today…. Enjoy, ffolkes; this is as good as it gets…. Oh, turn it up….. All the way…..
I didn’t have time to rant, so, here is an old-school pearl of nine gems, beginning and ending with some appropriate comments from Shakespeare, on the subject of the Decline and Fall of the American Dream….
***********
The devil hath power
To assume a pleasing shape.
~~ William Shakespeare — Hamlet, Act ii, Sc. 2 ~~
“There are those who claim that magic is like the tide; that it swells and fades over the surface of the earth, collecting in concentrated pools here and there, almost disappearing from other spots, leaving them parched for wonder. There are also those who believe that if you stick your fingers up your nose and blow, it will increase your intelligence.” — “The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VII”
“Blood is a cleansing and sanctifying thing, and the nation that regards it as the final horror has lost its manhood … there are many things more horrible than bloodshed, and slavery is one of them.” — Padraic Pearse
“Courses of action which run only to be justified in terms of practicality ultimately prove destructive and impractical.” — Mark B. Cohen
“Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. In democracy, what you get generally is bad government by a bully, tempered by the pen of several newspaper editors.” — George Bernard Shaw — Man and Superman (1903) Maxims for Revolutionists: Democracy
“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.” — Isaac Asimov
“A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.” — Robert Frost
“Bill Clinton’s tax-and-spend policies will create a recession in America.” — Vice President Dan Quayle in New Jersey, 10/19/92. — He did not go on to distinguish between the predicted Clinton recession and the current Bush recession. — (reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/20/92)
“He must needs go that the devil drives.”
~~William Shakespeare, All ‘s Well that Ends Well, Act i, Sc. 3 ~~
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INCOMPOSSIBLE, adj. Unable to exist if something else exists. Two things are incompossible when the world of being has scope enough for one of them, but not enough for both — as Walt Whitman’s poetry and God’s mercy to man. Incompossibility, it will be seen, is only incompatibility let loose. Instead of such low language as “Go heel yourself — I mean to kill you on sight,” the words, “Sir, we are incompossible,” would convey an equally significant intimation and in stately courtesy are altogether superior.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”
So, after the quote, you expected someone else?…. Enjoy, ffolkes; definitely one of the treasures of humanity, right here on the page you see….
Election Day, November, 1884
If I should need to name, O Western World, your powerfulest scene and show,
‘Twould not be you, Niagara—nor you, ye limitless prairies—nor your huge rifts of canyons, Colorado,
Nor you, Yosemite—nor Yellowstone, with all its spasmic geyser-loops ascending to the skies, appearing
and disappearing,
Nor Oregon’s white cones—nor Huron’s belt of mighty lakes—nor Mississippi’s stream:
—This seething hemisphere’s humanity, as now, I’d name—the still small voice vibrating—America’s
choosing day,
(The heart of it not in the chosen—the act itself the main, the quadriennial choosing,)
The stretch of North and South arous’d—sea-board and inland—Texas to Maine—the Prairie States—Vermont,
Virginia, California,
The final ballot-shower from East to West—the paradox and conflict,
The countless snow-flakes falling—(a swordless conflict,
Yet more than all Rome’s wars of old, or modern Napoleon’s:) the peaceful choice of all,
Or good or ill humanity—welcoming the darker odds, the dross:
—Foams and ferments the wine? it serves to purify—while the heart pants, life glows:
These stormy gusts and winds waft precious ships,
Swell’d Washington’s, Jefferson’s, Lincoln’s sails.
~~Walt Whitman~~
********************************
Naked Pearls
Short Shots on Life at Large
**********
“O, well,
you win some, you lose some,
but you gotta get dressed for ’em all.”
~~ Susan Kenney ~~ **********
“A Lie is still a Lie, even if you believe it.”
~~ Honest Bee ~~
**********
“Never let yesterday use up today.”
~~ Wise Bee ~~
**********
“What is defeat?
Nothing but education,
nothing but the first step toward something better.”
~~ Wendell Phillips ~~ **********
“When you are content to be simply yourself
and don’t compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.”
–
~~ Lao-Tzu ~~ **********
“But where shall I start?
The world is so fast, I shall start with the country I know best, my own.
But my country is so very large,
I had better start with my town.
But my town, too, is large.
I had best start with my street.
No, my home.
No, my family.
Never mind, I shall start with myself.”
~~ Elie Wiesel ~~
**********
“Give more than take.”
~~ Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book ~~
**********
When all is done, human life is,
at the greatest and the best,
but like a froward child,
that must be played with and humoured a little
to keep it quiet till it falls asleep,
and then the care is over.
~~ Sir William Temple — Miscellanea, Part ii, Of Poetry ~~
**********
“Where does it go when you flush?”
~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~
********************************
Whew! I wasn’t sure I could do it, but, as usual, trusting the process, and, maintaining an unconscious direction, saved the day. So to speak.
What the hell? It’s done; in the final analysis, who gives a crap what else happened? We cannot afford such weakness; hence, this offering. I do hope you enjoy it, or, if nothing else, it pisses you off; any reaction will do…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the world keeps spinning along….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.”
~~ Michel Eyquem de Montaigne ~~
~~ Essays, Book i, Chap. xxx, Of Cannibals ~~
I’m busy; what’s YOUR issue?
Hajime…. I am up, but, thus far, without coffee, so, I wouldn’t expect a lot of sense right now, of ANY nature other than weird, or, confused. But, then, seldom do we ever approach even a tangential orbit to common sense at all, so, I don’t see how it will make any difference, in the final analysis. That, of course, is IF we can find anyone who’ll come here to make any such analysis; anyone who WOULD do it probably can’t be trusted to be either fair, or, competent to any real degree…. So, what the hell, we’ll wing it….
As if it wasn’t already obvious we’re doing so, no doubt, as a standard policy. That, frankly, would be untrue, and, unkind as well, so, let’s not even go there, eh? But, wait, there’s more! Not just more, but, way more, which is probably not much better than less, especially on such a morning when making any sense out of what you will see is, pretty much, a wash. Yep, in fact, I am sure…. No, make that, I’m positive, we won’t be seeing a lot of the common sort of sense today; nonsense seems to be the order of the day…. Unless, of course, we get some coffee soon…..
What the hell was that? I’ve downed a couple sips, & went back over the above…. If I weren’t a professional, I’d start over….
Wait! Nobody’s paying me for this, so, I’m NOT a pro…. Whew….. Okay, I’ll start over.
Hajime…. Hmm. Nope. I don’t think that’s gonna do for our purposes today, either….. Especially since, as I began to start thinking about what to put in, that might possibly save this from complete disaster, I realized NOBODY could do that…. This one, I can see, is, frankly, and earnestly, too, hopeless, and should be abandoned as quickly as possible…. Hence, the small device you see in my hand…. Oh, right… You can’t see my hand…. Oh, well, that’s okay, this is beyond help anyway…. In fact, I’m going to shut the fuck up, now, until further down the page a bit…. See y’all at the oyster beds….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Here’s Looking at you, kid.”
~~ Casablanca ~~
********************************
Image from mtv.com via Google Images
I chose this video simply because it had all Roy’s songs in one place; plus, the sound quality is excellent, even with poor speakers. I just felt like some easy, feel-good music; there’s nobody whose voice is easier to listen to than Roy’s….. Enjoy, ffolkes; we all lost a treasure when Roy passed on to the next adventure…..
Back in 2004, for several months, I wrote a column for a small local newspaper, both print and online versions. It was titled Gigoid’s Folly, with the intention to use the column as a platform for encouraging public discussion of computer issues, and the effects of those relatively new issues on everyday life in America…. This was one of the articles posted….
Note from 2015: I’ve made some minor changes, involving what I’ve learned about grammar, and good writing, since 2004, not to mention small changes to formatting to fit into current software and blogging requirements; technology has jumped another 50 years in the past 11…. None of the ideas were altered at all…… In fact, I can see traces in there of gigoid’s latest efforts…. or, rather, the germinating seeds of those incredible messes efforts…. Enjoy!
********************************* Gigoid’s Folly ~ Episode VII
Reality, in its’ inimitable way, has somewhat less-than-politely smacked me, (and you, as well, if you hadn’t noticed), smartly about the head and shoulders, bringing inevitably to mind the following truism, inspired by Samuel R. Delaney, to wit: “True power, in the real world, consists of control of the routes of perception.” It is also too bad cupidity isn’t always immediately painful… or, in the words of Fred, the philosophical penguin from Odd’s Bodkins, “Politics is poopadoodle.” And that’s the last you’ll hear from me about that subject. Well, maybe not the very last, but enough for this decade…..
“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.” (Some of you may have heard this previously.) The opposite possible reaction is also true, that is, flexibility in the face of change tends to smooth out even the most turbulent situations. Consider this also: each of us differs in our reaction to changes in the world around us, giving rise to even more variables, (often called the “spice of life”).
Fortunately, or in some cases, unfortunately, each new situation also creates new choices for us to make. Choices create opportunities, both good and bad, each of which may perhaps necessitate even more changes. This “hall of mirrors” effect can make reality a slippery concept, and can obviously produce a great deal of confusion. Very frequently we are left feeling as if we were going through life without any real control over what happens to us, internally, or, externally.
As may be surmised by the above, I’ve felt this way myself at times. There is soooo much information out there, and so little time to comprehend even a significant portion of what is available, it’s no wonder the whole world seems uneasy, confused, and struggling, most of the time. The rapid advancements in computer technology over the last quarter century have certainly aided in narrowing the gap, by providing the means to manipulate more and more data, faster and faster. Far from easing our sense of lack of control, however, this increased capacity for data manipulation can bring about further feelings of being out of touch, as our own ability to process the data we perceive is outstripped by the seemingly endless parade of information made accessible by new and faster machines.
Since there is more information than we can possibly utilize, how, then, can we make the best use of what we are able to absorb? To be brutally honest, I don’t know of any sure-fire answers. I know that I spend at least four hours a day just trying to stay abreast of the latest news that interests me (i.e., sports, computers & technology, food & dining, community & culture, business, etc.), and I constantly have the feeling that I’m missing a lot, even though I consider myself to be pretty efficient at processing information.
Modern software offers a multitude of ways of condensing many different information sources into one easily accessed program, such as web portals/directories, email newsletters, RSS feeds, news services, bulletin boards, forums, and many other formats. This is where the choices I mentioned become critical. Each person has to decide how they prefer to receive and process information, and choose the means appropriate to their personal learning style. I use the word ‘critical’ in the sense that it’s important to make good choices, as it is extremely easy to waste a lot of time & energy sifting through a multitude of less than optimal sources for information. The World Wide Web is HUGE, and, believe me, there are more crappy sites than good ones!
In today’s frenetic world, as it takes progressively greater efforts to keep up with daily life, it becomes attractive to many to just give up, to pay little or no attention to the integrity of one’s sources of information. It’s easier by far to NOT read the news (from numerous different sources, for purposes of verification and corroboration); for many, it is easier to sit down, stop thinking, and, listen to it on radio, or, more often these days, watch it on TV. After a hard day of work, where the need to be mentally alert is paramount, most folks don’t want to expend the energy required for reading and/or critical thought, ending up, usually, making little effort to ascertain the validity of what they see or hear. Only a small percentage of people regard thinking as relaxation, sadly enough.
Aha! At last we come to the key! The mind is not separate from the body, though we tend to speak of them as such. They are one organism, and the requirements for keeping one’s consciousness in optimal operating condition are the same as those for keeping physically healthy, to wit: adequate nourishment (accurate data), adequate rest (time for dreaming), and lots of exercise (cogitate, ponder, cerebrate, deduce, infer, reflect, reason, imagine, ruminate, invent, deliberate, meditate, consider, speculate, think!).
The last activity in the above paragraph, exercise, is indubitably the most important factor, though a balance of all three is, of course, essential to optimal health. The mind is just like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. If you don’t use it, it becomes atrophied, flaccid and weak, good for little beyond deciding whether to pop the next beer before, or, after the commercial with the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.
Once again, as life itself makes it clear, the choices we make in life are critical indicators of our direction, or lack of it. Those choices provide proof, personal responsibility is the ultimate deciding factor in determining the course of our lives. Choose ignorance and sloth, and life becomes an unending succession of making choices based on lowered expectations, a lifetime of limited opportunity. Choose to exercise the will, strive to evolve, and life becomes a wondrous landscape of enrichment, and, enlightenment, where everything perceived is interesting, serving as a springboard for the exploration of unimaginable vistas.
Of course, there is a great deal of middle ground between these two ideals, as with any subject involving people. It’s difficult to fit all human beans into the same jar…. we don’t always fit. I suppose it’s part of our charm to be unpredictable, rather like a pale imitation of reality itself….. It remains to be seen if we have sufficiently charmed the Universe into allowing us to proceed unmolested along the path to our destiny. Such situations seem to be self-correcting anyway, as we continue to do a pretty good job of molesting ourselves!
🙂
~~ gigoid~~
11/08/2004
First modified for blog use, on GoodBlogs.com, 7/12/2011
Last posted on WP on 7/16/2013
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This poem is dedicated to ‘il NOEGO’
**************
If you press me to say why I loved him,
I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.
~~ Michel Eyquem de Montaigne ~~
***************
Human Skin
A crazily-wise man, with no Ego, to speak of,
said to me, Love is a contact sport, friend o’mine.
After serious drinking at the Pierian Trough,
the idea grew bolder, more true, like a good red wine.
‘Tisn’t a simple idea, even if ‘t sounds justly so;
complexity is quiet, most times, I’ve found,
sneaking round corners, hiding down below.
Ah, well. In for a penny, or a pound.
Quickly, as mist in unexpected breezes,
complex and simple merge, dancing a dance we all know.
Sometimes ‘t gives us naught but chokes, and wheezes,
other times, nothing will do, but to go with the flow.
Dancing with martial exactitude, kicking, punching,
Love fights in us, and, for us, at each and every instance.
With every block and strike, every joint crunching,
Balance brings Joy, at every turn, in every circumstance.
Thus, we see, Balance in Life brings Love,
in an odd, deeply human, roundabout way.
We seek it,
we feel it,
we make it,
we bring it,
we find it,
or,
we deny it,
we drop it,
we miss it,
we break it,
we lose it.
When Love touches us, or we touch Love,
we’re brought into Contact with Life, every day.
No need to keep score.
Everybody wins, and loses, forever more.
There are only ties, all the same.
Life’s a full-contact, ever-changing game.
~~ gigoid ~~
12/28/2015
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Naked Pearls
Secrets of Life at Large, with examples
**********
“How much lies in laughter;
the cipher-key wherewith we decipher the whole man!
Some men wear an everlasting barren simper;
in the smile of others lies the cold glitter, as of ice;
the fewest are able to laugh what can be called laughing,
but only shiff and titter and sniggle from the throat outwards,
or at least produce some whiffing, husky cachinnation,
as if they were laughing through wool;
of none such comes good.
The man who cannot laugh is only fit
for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
but his own whole life
is already a treason and a stratagem.
~~ Thomas Carlyle ~~
**********
“Some call it laziness, I call it DEEP THOUGHT…”
~~ Definitive Bee ~~
**********
“The man who invented the zip fastener
was today honored with a lifetime peerage.
He’ll now be known as the Lord of the Flies.”
~~ Ronnie Barker ~~
**********
“I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent.”
~~ Ashleigh Brilliant ~~
**********
A Native American elder once described
his own inner struggles in this manner:
“Inside of me there are two dogs.
One of the dogs is mean and evil.
The other dog is good.
The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.”
When asked which dog wins,
he reflected for a moment and replied,
“The one I feed the most.”
~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~
**********
“I before E except after C.
What a weird society!”
~~ Tricky Bee ~~
**********
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.”
~~ Gandhi ~~
**********
“If astrology is superstitious,
then how come weather forecasting is a science?”
~~ Smarmy Bee ~~
**********
“I am a pastry.”
~~ John F. Kennedy in Berlin ~~
**********
“If you don’t want to be replaced by a machine, don’t act like one.”
~~ Arno Penzias ~~
**********
“All the troubles of man come from his not knowing how to sit still.”
~~ Blaise Pascal ~~
********************************
Well, ffolkes, it’s done. At this point, I don’t believe I’m in any condition to judge it, so, we’ll let ‘er fly on ‘er own, & see how it goes…. I know for a fact, I can do better than much of this, so, what the hell, I’ll try again tomorrow…. See y’all then, if nothing untoward occurs to prevent me from getting to the computer….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Hmph! Seriousness. Hmph! Sobriety. A Jedi craves them not.”
~~ Yoda Bee ~~
Saturn’s Moons, Aligned Image from NASA via Space.com
Hajime…. Whew! Usually, as I sit to begin, I’m still half-awake. Today after half-a-cuppa, a visit to the throne, and a fast, hard 15 training session with Leelu (it seems to hold her for a while, if I feed her afterward…), I’m fully awake, if a bit out of breath…. She demands we move fast in the morning, as she’s been waiting for hours, no doubt, for me to wake up….. Ah, well, new routines always take time to feel comfortable with, so, so be it…..
With that being said, I’ve kinda messed up any nonsensical beginning; it also seems rather inappropriate to get too silly, or weird, after such a, well, realistic, if boring, beginning…. As is my apparent habit, it has taken me only one and nearly a half paragraphs to lose my way. It’s a shame, really; I had this really strange, yet compelling opening all ready to go, then got distracted by Leelu to play, and, poof, out the window of my mind it went…. I guess I should shut that window….
Well, as long as we are this far down the page, I may as well wind this up and get on to the rest of the mess we’ve cooked up for y’all today. It’s not bad, as Pearls go; in fact, since some of it is from the archives, it should hold up quite well. Sometimes, it’s easier to poke holes in things when one uses an older style tool, from the days when brute force was our primary method of living…. Oh, wait…. Hmm. I guess I can’t say it WAS our primary characteristic as humans, because, as we see every day in the news, we still do violence quite well, and often…. Oh, well, there goes ANOTHER paragraph, down the tubes to oblivion….
Never mind. We’ll just employ one of our new toys, found in that drawer in the corner. The one we tried out before worked well, didn’t it? May as well try another one…. Let’s see what this little gadget, in such a nice, black color, will do when we push this button, marked, “Elsewhere”…..
Shall we Pearl?….
“I have tried marijuana, hashish, psilocybin, opium and heroin, but none of these have changed my way of seeing as much as has understanding the process of evolution by natural selection.” — purported J.B.S. Haldane quote
(Addendum: I must say, if J.B.S. found this to be true, he needs to find a new drug dealer; he’s getting ripped off….. Just sayin’…..)
********************************
Image stolen from FB long ago
As might be surmised from the picture, and, to balance the raucous video we enjoyed yesterday, we are going Classical. We start with Brahm’s Lullaby, then, follow it with nearly 12 hours of soothing music, designed to help babies sleep (like they need help…..). Whether or not it works, it IS soothing to listen to, which is fine with me today…. Enjoy!
I find myself spending a lot of the energy I previously put into ranting, by commenting on other WP blogs. Some of my recent comments approach the epic; so far, no one has objected, so, why not? It’s probably why I haven’t felt like letting it all out here, as is my habit. Feeling better gives me more opportunity for surfing the blogs I follow, so, this is, no doubt, a good thing… Since I have so many older rants in the archive, I figured, why not use them here? Indeed, “why not?” is a good question any time….
Here then is a rant suggested by WP at the bottom of yesterday’s post, in a blog from the LAST time we were working up to a Presidential election…. I made some observations then which are perfectly appropriate as a response to the upcoming charade; I found the comments I made regarding the GOP candidate from that year to be quite similar, in fact, eerily similar, to the entire GOP lineup of candidates in this year…. Go figure….
From 9/30/2012:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” — Alexander Frazer Tyler (1748-1813), — The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic
It seems to me that we, here in America in the early 21st century, are just about at the selfishness phase(s). We’ve been using and squandering a large portion of the available resources of the planet now for quite a while, and apparently haven’t learned to play well with others yet, as a culture. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that we have entered the complacency stage, as we seem also to feel entitled to have so much, and share so little with the rest of the planet, which is a complacent sort of arrogance.
Elitist, to be sure. And in the election coming up in November, we have as one of the choices possibly the most elitist candidate ever to run for the highest office (though Reagan was no slouch at that….) (come to think of it, neither was Franklin Roosevelt, but he seemed to be able to put it aside, for the most part…. He wasn’t nouveau riche, you see; he still had some degree of noblesse oblige left in him….) Mitt the Twitt Romney is unapologetically elitist, and doesn’t seem to care who knows it, even the voters…..
“Whereas it has been known and declared that the poor have no right to the property of the rich, I wish it also to be known and declared that the rich have no right to the property of the poor.” — Smart Bee
Even if we leave aside all the myriad of reasons that Mitt is unqualified for the position of POTUS, and, my use of the word myriad is both intentional and accurate, his sheer arrogance and lack of sincerity should be enough to convince people of his unsuitability for the office. There are literally thousands of reasons not to give this egregious fool such great power, all of which indicate he would abuse that power from day one. But none of those reasons even matter…. to me, his greatest point of detraction is that he is, plain and simple, an asshole, or, as is sometimes used in lieu of that word, a dick….
Actually he is both an asshole and a dick, as those words are commonly defined. The running mate he chose is a perfect indicator of how little he cares about the voters, other than what they can do for him, not the other way around. Pauly, the Lyin’ Ryan is, if anything, a bigger asshole than Romney, though he might not be as big a dick, and is no more ashamed of it than his ostensible boss. Each of them is a bare-faced liar. Each of them displays the compassion and sincerity of a sub-lieutenant in Satan’s Army, on a good day. Each of them (Romney & Ryan) is motivated by simple greed, and the desire for power, and, of course, the wish to be handed the keys to the national treasury.
Both have been manipulating the system since their well-funded time in college; neither has ever even held a job that could be considered an actual job; they’ve been sucking at the public teat for their entire adult lives. Now, they are making their grab for the ultimate prize for a thief…. the keys to the national treasury, handed over by ignorant voters who buy into their lies, because they think that these two pieces of white bread will save them from the scary black man as President…. They are counting very heavily on the racist fears of part of the population to carry the tide of victory in their direction; moreover, they are feeding that fear as much as they can, with constant lies and misrepresentations, without even the illusory benefit of sincerity….
As we all know, I could rant about these two all morning, but there are things I need to do today, even though it is Sunday, and I don’t want to spend any more time stirring up shit, even though the shit is only what clings to the Republican ticket every time one of them opens their mouths to spit out another lie….. But, we’ll get on with the day, and try to find something more positive to do…. Just make sure y’all get out there and vote on November 6th, ffolkes, we need to show these assholes that there are more of us than there are of them, and we still have the vote on our side…..
“If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and measures you want to vote for… But there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.” — Lazarus Long
********************************
After the old rant above, only one of my poems is appropriate; it’s kind of silly, but, I like it. Why wouldn’t I?…..
Geezer to Congress, with Love
Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks.
They talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.
“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.
Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.
Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!
~~ gigoid ~~
12/23/2012
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Naked pearls A pearl of balance, about Life, lived well…
“Dream as if you’ll live forever.
Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.
~~ James Dean ~~
************
“It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.”
~~ Voltaire ~~
************
“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point
than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.”
~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~
************
“Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to none.”
~~ William Shakespeare ~~ ************
Virtue could see to do what virtue would
By her own radiant light, though sun and moon
Were in the flat sea sunk. And Wisdom’s self
Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude,
Where with her best nurse Contemplation
She plumes her feathers and lets grow her wings,
That in the various bustle of resort
Were all-to ruffled, and sometimes impair’d.
He that has light within his own clear breast
May sit i’ th’ centre and enjoy bright day;
But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts
Benighted walks under the midday sun.
~~ John Milton — Comus, Line 373 ~~ ************
“He who learns but does not think, is lost!
He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”
~~ Confucius~~ ************
“If you love the sacred and despise the ordinary,
you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.”
~~ Lin-Chi ~~
************
“Be strange… it’s cool out there.”
~~ Hunter S. Bee ~~ ************
“Dream as if you’ll live forever.
Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.
~~ James Dean ~~
********************************
Gee, that was fun…. Really, it was. But, it’s over now, so, in the words of Death from yesterday’s final pearl, I guess I’ll put the chair up, shut out the lights, & lock the door on the way out…. See y’all tomorrow, if they don’t shut off my power….. Bill’s paid, so we’re good to go….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.”
~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~
Laser-eye Leelu
Hajime…. ‘Tis indeed unusual for me to feel energetic, or, for that matter, less than homicidal, at this time of day. That’s a simple, obvious direct result of the severe insomnia I experienced for about 3-4 months. Now, after a night of 10 solid hours, again, I find myself feeling almost normal in the mornings, if with a bit more pain than in previous times in life. Hey, I accept, now, I’m 65, not 25; for a long time, like, I think, all of us, we try to deny the passage of time; that feeling of immortality we maintain for much of our youth carries over into middle and elder stages, unfortunately…. Then, something brings us up short, realizing, hey, that hurts! And, it’s something that never hurt before…. and, we realize, our life will never be quite the same….
THAT is, I believe, a moment which must come to us all, like it or not. Oh, we can continue to deny the effects of the passage of time on our bodies and minds; in my opinion, there’s a word for folks who try that…. corpses. Yep, that’s one of those really STUPID things we humans tend to do, and, every time, it will kill us, because, hey, the Universe just doesn’t give a shit about how we feel, about anything, much less a force of nature like aging, and dying…. After all, the process IS merely another example of how our lives are so connected to reality, for all of reality experiences the same aging process…. The Universe, however, doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as we seem to do….
Ah well, maybe if we’d try, as a species, to understand a bit more about death, perhaps we would handle living with a bit more style and elegance. As it is, much of humanity dies hard, and afraid; it’s considered a lucky man or woman who dies at an old age, in bed, with friends and family at their side. The major portion of life is spent trying to arrange a comfortable death, with the greater part of us failing miserably at that…. Or, at least, that’s the way I see it. I guess maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, for I see the ever-present battle in Reality being won by Chaos and Entropy, while the Order and Reason attempted by Man, falls into disuse and ill repute.
At this point in this narrative, I see it has already fallen into ranting mode, which is always dangerous here….. Y’know what else. I’m tired of all the doom and gloom I see all over the fucking world, including right here where I live, where every day I see falsely-entitled police forces hassling homeless and poor people, just because they can. I’m tired of the assholes who run this world thinking they can lie, cheat, and steal from everyone else, and get away with it. And, I’m tired of being lied to…. especially that. The so-called leaders of this country, and of every country in the world I read about, in their own words, suffers the same issue; the world is being raped, and pillaged, by just a small percentage, while the rest of us try to get by in a world gone mad….
Fuck it, let’s go find some pearls, to help get rid of some of this angst, and, maybe, in the process, find a bit of humor, and maybe even some hope….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Life is the childhood of our immortality.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
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The Grateful Dead Images from an email from Dead.net
Last night I was listening to some of the music I’ve downloaded from You Tube. Specifically, I was checking out some of the bands who played covers of Dead music for the Dead Covers Project in 2014. The Project started in 2013, I believe, and has produced some of the finest home-grown, home-made music one can find anywhere. I listened to the one I’ve included, and can tell you, you HAVE to see, and hear the lead guitar solo in this song. About three or four minutes in, the band breaks into some solo breaks. The lead guitar player, like most of the band, is an obvious O.O.F., apparently about 70-75 years old….
I swear, the old fart NAILS the solo; not only does he nail it, he kills it! Fast, clean, and rockin’, he, and the other old farts in this particular band, rocked the house where they played, back East sometime in 2014…. It’s well worth seeing, as are any number of the other covers that amateurs sent in each year…. Check them out; there are a lot of surprises. Some are really bad, but, some, like this one, will amaze you at the musicianship of the players…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a blast from the past, right here in the future….
********************************
BEGGARS TOMB New Minglewood Blues Dead Covers Project 2014
“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad, “Under Western Eyes”
What a wonderful beginning for a rant! Too bad I’m not up to writing one… Plus, I’m in too good a mood to go there, so, instead, we’ll go with this discussion from a very good early Pearl, about a year after coming to WP. I hope you enjoy it; I did…. and, hell, I wrote it, and I’m a harsh self-critic….
From 10/21/2012:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.~~ Rudyard Kipling ~~
~~ Just So Stories (1902) “The Elephant’s Child” ~~
I first read the phrase “feeding the Elephant’s Child” in a Robert Heinlein novel, many years ago, and enjoyed it as a metaphor for reading/learning, before I knew from whence it originally came. Once I did know (a moment of illumination whose exact placement in time is hazy….), I liked it even more, from an aesthetic standpoint. The above little ditty is brilliant doggerel, astute observation, and deep insight, all presented in a simple, straightforward style, with a powerful, basic lesson for any would-be philosopher, or any one who wishes to encompass reason as their modus operandi, so to speak. Besides which, I find that another piece of Bob’s advice fits well with this one, to wit: “Life tastes better in big bites….”
“Never wear anything that panics the cat.” — P. J. O’Rourke
I like this, a lot. It summarizes perhaps one of the most elemental rules of getting along in the Universe, in essence saying, “You can learn a lot by watching what happens around you…” It is the perfect companion to the concept of learning as presented above, as it contrives to speak to both sides of Reality, i.e., how you approach reality (the clothing you choose to show to the cat….) and how reality will change to react to your approach (the cat’s opinion of your clothing….) It also gives one a subtle warning about how the wrong clothing can produce unwanted consequences, and we all know how an offended cat is likely to respond…. as Mark Twain once remarked…. “A man who carries a cat by the tail is learning valuable things. He will never again be dim or doubtful. Chances are he’ll not carry the cat that way again, but, I say, if he wants to, let him!” You can’t say fairer than that….
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” — Buddha
One can always trust the Buddha to state the most profound thoughts in the simplest way…. I often wonder how he came to such a complete understanding of Murphy, whose presence is acknowledged in all of what the Buddha stated, but whose ministrations seem to have passed by the Buddha’s existence…. either that, or Murphy shows him a lot more respect than he does anyone else alive. At times, it seems that what the Buddha states, such as in this statement, is, in at least one respect, an answer to a question that is raised when Murphy intervenes in our lives…. in simpler words, he explains why Murphy is able to affect us as he does, by cutting through the bullshite we perceive to the truth of what is real….. SIGH…. one of these days, enlightenment will slap me upside the head, and I’ll be able to see Murphy coming…. I hope…
There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan
Often I feel as if not only is life a joke, but it is our duty and purpose on this plane of existence to codify that joke, to put it down on paper, or on screen/disc, to free ourselves from the prison of sobriety, achieving an understanding that everything in this silly universe is here for our amusement, and we have been taking it, and ourselves, seriously for entirely too long….. So seriously, we have begun to offend those parts of the universe that just want us to relax and enjoy ourselves, and the time is growing nearer when we will have to admit that the joke is on us, for not being able to change our inner selves enough to be able to handle the humor of our situation…. See, the universe thinks death is funny…. not because it is cruel, but because death is just another part of life, and it doesn’t care about one more than the other…. See, now, isn’t it funny how you never noticed that?…..
I once read a science fiction novel, whose title and author escape me completely; in all it was very poorly written, with prose that did not live up to the good ideas contained in the plot line. However, it was a great plot line, in all….Specifically, there was one chapter I liked, which had a super-genius taking on the task of finding the solution to a mathematical treatise, an equation so complex and advanced that no civilization in the galaxy had ever been able to completely solve it.
The genius/hero of the book shut himself up in his room for three weeks, working on the problem. At the end, he was thinking so hard he entered a trance-like state, computing while nearly dead…. after a week of this, he suddenly opened his eyes, gave a look of astonishment, and burst into uncontrollable laughter for approximately 25 minutes. When he could finally control himself, he simply said, “It’s a joke….” and would never discuss it again….
In a pearl such as this one has grown to be, there comes a time when I have to decide whether to continue on, to try to reach the conclusion that was nebulously hovering somewhere in my mind as I began, or to admit that I have once again wandered into uncharted territory, and might find it a bit tricky to find my way back to clarity. This is that time…. and I’m leaving it up to Smart Bee, as always…. If I don’t find a proper pearl to carry on the tenuous chain of thought I’ve created, then we’ll take the first one that will appropriately wrap it up as a lost cause….. all within a specified number of attempts…. so, here we go… You’ll know in a moment what will happen….
“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi
There, see?…. That didn’t take long at all…. and I managed to find the perfect pearl to cover both bases…. In this case, we will use it as an ending quote, since it sort of summarizes a lot of the discussion, after a fashion. It could conceivably also be used as a springboard for further discussion, but this has gone on long enough, and I wouldn’t want to lose anybody due to an injudicious application of excess verbiage, culminating in tedium…. Of course, we may have reached that point some time ago, but, hey, who’s counting?…. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into not very much….
🙂
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Today’s poetry choice is here simply for the final line; it fits perfectly with my mood, and, tells us everything we need to know to have life just the way we want it, if we are smart enough to take it….
Dreaming of Calliope
La belle dame sans merci speaks aloud through endless night,
torturing dreams, with powerful words and stentorian phrases.
Manifest visions bathed in unbearable grace and light,
destroying all direction, standing lost, in unfathomable mazes.
Fate plays a part, one that will never face denial,
as fear and courage eternally vie for ascendancy.
Conflict becomes valid, gifting strength in open trial,
but honest emotion wears no costume so fancy.
Blood, sweat, and tears stroll on avenues of gold,
unlikely heroines heralding as in ancient lore;
Sharp, competent knives cut through tales untold,
eternally shifting reality past the naked shore.
Drifting toward origin, bereft of mandate or cause,
finished, nay, abandoned, tied with a figurative bow.
No simple gift from muses to give comfort or pause,
save that all we need to know, we already know…..
~~ gigoid ~~
12/13/2012
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Naked Pearls III
“To know and to act are one and the same.”
~~ Samurai Proverb ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Happiness follows sorrow,
sorrow follows happiness,
but when one no longer discriminates
between happiness and sorrow,
a good deal and a bad deed,
one is able to realize freedom.”
~~ Buddha ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Do not eat your heart.”
~~ Pythagoras ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Truth is the summit of being,
justice is the application of it to affairs.”
~~ Emerson ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Learn or die.”
~~ Reality ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”
~~ Salvor Hardin, in Foundation by Isaac Asimov ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Adversity is the first path to truth.”
~~ Lord Byron ~~
~~~~~~~~~
“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.”
~~ Josh Billings ~~
~~~~~~~~~
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the word.’
Already I stick, and who shall help afford?
The ‘word’ at such high rate I may not tender;
The passage I must elsewhere render,
If rightly by the Spirit I am taught,
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the Thought.’ By the first line a moment tarry,
Let not thine eager pen itself o’er-hurry!
Does ‘thought’ work all and fashion outright?
It should stand: ‘In the beginning was the Might.’
Yet even as my pen the sentence traces,
A warning hint the half-writ word effaces.
The Spirit helps me – from all doubting freed,
Thus write I: ‘In the beginning was the Deed.’
~~ Dr. Faustus, Wolfgang Goethe, “Faust” ~~
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Well, gosh. It’s done, and I’m NOT exhausted. What a nice way to start the day! Without my usual mistrust of such good feelings, I’m going to take the money and run. Should be easy, as the money doesn’t exist. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’m afraid there’s just no way to avoid it; it seems to be written in stone…..
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
~~ Hanlon’s Razor ~~
A meeting of minds Image of a Dukha tribesman,from themindunleashed.com via Google Images
Hajime…. I would trade almost any experience in my life, (save one or two…) to have the connection with nature, and the friendship of a bear. The man in the picture is a Dukha, a tribe which has lived in northern Mongolia since the dawn of time. They are so in tune with the land, and the creatures who live on it, I would consider them to be the highest example on the planet of the true purpose of being human, and how to live here in perfect comfort and harmony….. I don’t mean they are perfect; hell, they’re human, and I’m sure they have their individual faults, like all of us. But, the way they have learned to coexist with the total environment in which they live, to me, is how human beings SHOULD be, in attitude, with, or without technological advantages.
They ride caribou, for traveling, using them the same way other societies use horses and cattle. But, with some differences…. for example:
Attribution same as above
How many societies do YOU know of who will trust their farm animals to babysit for them? It seems to me, they have learned something that the rest of humanity passed by, to their everlasting disadvantage, I believe. What this tells me about their society is how well they understand their co-creatures, and, as well, how to create in those creatures the same sort of trust they place in their own species. Most societies have dogs to perform this sort of service, but, it seems to me, it might be to our advantage, as humans, to learn what it is this tribe has learned, to keep their connection to their natural side intact, a facet of personality which the rest of us seem to have lost….
Okay, subtle insult to the bulk of humanity thus delivered, as sugar-coated as I could make it, we can move on. That’s a good thing, because today’s Pearl is, if I say so myself, a good one. Without any spoilers, I can say it is one of my best efforts; I’ll let it speak for itself from this point…..
Uh, oh….. Shoot. (You will, of course, recognize as a euphemism for another word of similar spelling, and more odor….) Now what do I do with this intro? It started out as a sort of travelogue cum philosophical oddity, slipped over into honest discussion, and, now….. what? Hmm…. I suppose I’ll have to think up some weird, explosive literary surprise to distract everyone while we get the slow on the road. Damn, I knew I should have gone with the picture of Leelu!
Oh, well, okay…. Let’s see what we’ve got here in our bag of emergency exit methods. How ’bout a # 19? They’re always fun, though the dry-cleaning charges can get a bit steep. Okay, nope. Hmm, let’s see: hey, how about this one? It’s a # 23, and I don’t think I’ve tried this one yet. The only requirement is to make sure y’all have your thinking caps. Oh, you won’t need them ’til later on down the page, but, you WILL need them. Besides, this one is so fast, you might miss it, and then where would you be? Not at the oyster beds, that’s for sure…. Okay, here we go; hang on….
Shall we Pearl?….
“To regret one’s own experiences is to arrest one’s own development.”
~~ Oscar Wilde ~~
********************************
“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.”
I am not sure anyone ever completely understood The Doors. To see the quote upon which their name was chosen tells a LOT about them, if one is able to see clearly into human nature. I’m not as familiar with the band members, but, Jim Morrison was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the band, and to observe him was to observe a very, very complex human being, subject to very little comprehension he did not wish to allow. The band’s music also reflected his persona; complex, deep, often erotic and more sensual than was comfortable. He lived life in ways no one had ever thought of, much as any true artist, such as Picasso, or Dali, or, Michaelangelo lived…. without compromise.
Enjoy, ffolkes; if nothing else, the music of the Doors makes you FEEL life…..
“Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.”
~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~
When one considers the social background under which G.B. Shaw was raised and educated, much of what he wrote naturally demonstrates some of the prejudices common to his time. All in all, however, his thoughts on society, and human nature at large, were extremely accurate, and a better indicator of how his mind worked, and, in fact, how it excelled. In addition, short statements such as the one used today tell me he had a very sharp, and morally developed sense of humor about everything he witnessed in his life. He shows up a lot here, for that very reason, for his words are pointedly critical of Stupidity, Ignorance, and the sin of Expediency, which, even in his day, had become one of society’s most dangerous issues….
In his statement above, it is perfectly clear to me he could have been talking of the United States as it exists in 2015. Our country’s government is corrupted beyond repair; the bankers and corporate interests, such as Big Pharma, Big Oil, and the Angels of Death (Arms dealers & manufacturers), are in complete control of the White House, both Houses of Congress, and, to a significant degree, the Supreme Court….. If you doubt what I say, simply look at each of those persons mentioned in light of their yearly income. Then, tell me they represent the average man/woman in this country with a straight face. If you can do so, you are even stupider than they believe, which is pretty fucking stupid, believe me.
Harsh? Nah. Perfect truth. I can say, without fear of being wrong, 98% of the people in this country who are not involved in government, at any level, are completely ignorant of the degree to which their rights have already been taken away. Just ask anyone on the street if they believe they still have the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution and Bill of Rights; every one of them will tell you they do, without even pausing to think. The simple fact they are completely mistaken never enters their consciousness at all, a fact which the BRC, and the Asininnies in general not only know, but, take advantage of at every opportunity.
You could ask those same people on the street if they believed their leaders tell the truth to them, and they’d say “yes”, again without ever pausing to consider whether or not it might be true. They’ve been conditioned, by parents, by churches, by teachers, all their lives to accept what they are told by those in authority, and to believe them, NO MATTER HOW THEIR PERCEPTIONS DO NOT MATCH THE LIES! They are taught to adjust to whatever demands are placed on them, no matter how ridiculous or demeaning they may be, simply because their entire existence is based on maintaining the status quo, which they have never examined to even see if it can be changed for the better.
At this point, we will assume the mantle of a classic Jeffersonian, the political model which I have always preferred as my standard for judging today’s governmental participants, to wit; the BRC and the Asininnies…. I would like to begin this by noting how huge is the circle of ignorance that now comprises the American public, and, the first of many warnings of the consequences by Tom himself…..
“If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be … If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” — Thomas Jefferson
“I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.” — Thomas Jefferson
In today’s American cities and towns, we have libraries practically empty, in comparison to how many people SHOULD be using them. The American public, once graduated from school, never opens another book, contenting themselves with magazines, newspapers, and now videos, TV, and the internet, all of which, if not understood, are just another tool used to fortify and maintain their brainwashing, by directing their interests just where the BRC wants it to be…. which is generally focused on things to fear, or lust after.
Just today, I found how serious this issue has become. For the very first time in my life, I was requested to renew my library card, in the town where I live. In my entire life, I’ve never had a library request me to update any information; what is the need? Any citizen of this country, as far as I know, is free to walk into a library, and read, or use the facilities. There AREN’T supposed to be ANY conditions set on that freedom, (unless you wish to take a book home; then you must leave your name); yet, now, at the behest, I am sure, of the local police, with the power of the federal NSA organization behind it, want to know who has a card, their PHONE # (!!!), and where they live. This, of course, gives them access to my internet searches, all the books I check out, and a host of other information, NONE of which they have any right to gather……
But, that’s not the only front on which inroads against our rights are being made….
“Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.” — Thomas Jefferson
“A monied aristocracy in our country … has already set the government at defiance.” — Thomas Jefferson
Our country was warned, by Jefferson, Paine, Mason, Franklin, Adams, and others, about the very things we now face in our lives. They predicted the takeover of the government by the bankers and corporate interests, in letters they wrote, in articles they published, all of which still can be accessed in libraries. But, no modern Americans would believe it if told, because they will not make the effort to go see for themselves. Nor will they ever believe they are not free, because they’ve been taught all their lives to accept illusion as reality…. What chance do they have at this late date to overcome a lifetime of brainwashing? Very little, I would say….
This is why I rant. This is why I cannot stop harping on the lies told to us, or about the fear they want us to feel, fear of threats which simply do not exist, except in the minds of those who believe them. The governments of all countries want their citizens to believe they can make them feel safe and secure, when in fact, that is simply not true. Life IS insecurity; there is no safety from the Universe, if it chooses to come after you. You can’t dodge an earthquake, nor a flood, nor any other natural disaster…. Nor can you deny that humans are violent, and will BE violent in trying to attain their desires. It has always been so, and always will be, until we figure out how to change human nature.
The myth of safety in living, which governments would have us believe they can supply, simply does not exist in Reality. As long as we are alive. we are in danger, and that is a simple fact of Reality not even a government can change, not by any means. But, they get people to believe they can, and, thus, have them under their power.
The only true way in this life to be safe is to remove fear from your responses to anything you experience. Fear is a reaction to “not knowing” the nature of what is occurring; it is easily dismissed, or let go, if one is willing to LEARN. But, this requires first that one learn how to learn, and that is something our schools stopped teaching long ago. Knowledge kills fear, yet people seem to prefer to NOT make the effort to learn about what they fear, instead accepting whatever they’re told, which is only designed to increase their misunderstanding, and prolong the fear. A person who is afraid does NOT think, and the BRC and Asininnies know this. That is why they trumpet doom and danger every time something bad happens; it serves their interests to keep the public afraid….
Obviously, I can keep on about this for a long time; in my time I’ve observed the process I’ve just described happening, with governments becoming more and more corrupt and dishonest, and more of the people’s hard-won rights abrogated, in a consistent dismantling of the Constitution of the United States, by corporate interests, until the world in which we now live can no longer be called anything but a true oligarchy. The rich have won, ffolkes, and unless we, all together, do something about it, they’ll keep tightening the screws until we can no longer freely breathe….
In fact, that is a literal statement…. I can see a time, not so far off, when, because of the climate changes that are now occurring, for which we know no way to stop, the atmosphere we breathe will become tainted, and require treatment before we can use it. What does anyone wish to bet, if that happens, the oligarchy will try to CHARGE people for the air they breathe? I can see it clearly, can you? Is that what you wish for YOUR grandchildren? I can honestly say, I do not.
“Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebels against anything that does not deserve rebelling against.” — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to James Madison, stated, “The late rebellion in Massachusetts has given more alarm than I think it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in 13 states in the course of 11 years, is but one for each state in a century and a half. No country should be so long without one.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), in letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787
In what was probably the same letter, he also said, “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Madison, 1787
I know, it’s a lot of TJ, but, damn it! He WARNED us, and we didn’t listen! You see, to summarize, he also said,” God prevent we should ever be twenty years without a revolution.”
Guess what, ffolkes? It’s now been 229 years since our last revolution in this country. I have a feeling the next one isn’t far off, given the false sense of entitlement growing so fast in the monied elite, and amongst their myrmidons. I have a feeling they forget a simple fact when they are making up their plans and agendas to continue their oppression of the world’s people…. There are now more than SEVEN BILLION of those people…. If they aren’t careful, they’re going to piss off ALL of them. If that happens, I don’t believe their money, or their technology, or their sense of entitlement will save them from being shredded, limb from limb, by angry mobs of formerly downtrodden human beings….
But, then, when that happens, I’ll just sit back, and say, “Oh well….. Just desserts, assholes.”
Thanks fer listenin’. I’ll leave you with one last thought from TJ, and final word from Pope, to close the circle… Then, I’ll leave you be, to digest how to deal with the truths you’ve just absorbed….
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” — Thomas Jefferson to A. Stuart, 1791
For forms of government let fools contest;
Whate’er is best administer’d is best.
For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight;
His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right.
In faith and hope the world will disagree,
But all mankind’s concern is charity.~~ Alexander Pope ~~
~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iii, Line 303 ~~
********************************
When life calls, ready or not….
Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.
Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.
Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.
Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.
Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 9/10/2012
********************************
Today’s final pearl is a perfect reflection of the rest of the effort today. To be frank, it was intense, and satisfying. This one has a pretty standard structure, and message, for that matter. But, it’s such a profound one, it fits right in with all of the above…. I hope you enjoy it, just as much as I hope you ‘get it’…..
“Whatever happens at all happens as it should; thou wilt find this true, if thou shouldst watch narrowly.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 10
“Common and vulgar people ascribe all ill that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe to themselves; people of much wisdom, to no one.” — Epictetus
“A good man possesses a kingdom.” — Seneca (8 BC) — Thyestes, 380
“The reward of one duty is the power to fulfill another.” — George Eliot
” If you see a man approaching you with the obvious intention of doing you good, you should run for your life” — Thoreau’s Law
“What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more.” — Seneca
“Before teaching others, before changing others, we ourselves must change. We must be honest, sincere, kind-hearted.” — The XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, Address, 1982
“You’re not going crazy Arthur, you’re going sane in a crazy world.” — The Tick
“What then remains but that we still should cry
For being born, and, being born, to die?”
~~ Francis Bacon ~~
~~ The World ~~
********************************
Well, I did it. It’s done, and done as well as I can do it. Well enough, I shan’t trouble you here with any further nonsense, or sense, for that matter. I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow, and be done with it.
Sure I will…. I’ll be back, ffolkes. That’s not a threat, unless you fear the truth….. Ta, then…..
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Tá tú bualadh mo chroí, an anáil i mo chorp, an solas i mo anam.”
“You are the beat of my heart, the breath in my body, the light in my soul.”
~~ Spoken to Eve Dallas by Roarke ~~
~~ Excerpt from “Indulgence In Death” by Nora Roberts ~~
Leelu in fierce battle with paper and shoe….
Today’s Pearl was actually the one destined to be posted yesterday. Since I slept, and celebrated by taking the day off from posting anything other than a notification of same, I’m going to be lazy (what else is new?….) and use it today. It’s okay, it’s all reasonably connected to today’s reality, sufficient unto the day….. Carpe diem, as they say….. Let’s get right into it, shall we?…..
Hajime…. I may have to stop using that particular opening for a while. It is losing some of its meaning by my own lack of ability to sleep; there’s never any end, so how can I begin? I had no idea the human body could withstand such a prolonged stint of sleeplessness, without becoming terminal, or, as we like to call it, dead. As it turns out, the human body can stand almost any level of pain, or fatigue, or all-around miserable abuse; what actually suffers is our mental state, as we become tired, and lose the edge of sharpness necessary to successful reasoning. The hallucinations aren’t particularly helpful, either…. No, it’s the leg aches from constant pacing, and the anxiety that comes with the restlessness, and the general sense of futility of almost anything…
Yep, Depression aggravated by physical stress. Situational, naturally; there’s got to be an end to it sometime. If my calculations are correct, it could stop any day; the most it can last is another two weeks…. Since I’ve already done that much, and more, I can hack it. And, if I live through it, I’m going to, first, sleep for a week straight, then go hunting….
Not really, though it’s really tempting. But, at least, if I ever need to, I’ve had so much time on my hands, I came up with at least three new almost infallible murder plots (for books, of course….) to try out. Even worked out details & timing…. The thought of the targets I would select got me through more than one long night, imagining the lovely mist it would make when…. well, let’s not go there….. Too early in the day…. or in the Pearl, anyway.
But, not too early to get started. I’ve been informed Luigi has another day off, and Guido, that pro, has everything ready to go. After y’all….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” — Mark Twain
Lou Reed is another rock artist whose attraction is primarily based in his unique vision of his music, and a unique singing style. Gritty, simple, and compelling, voice and words combine with solid rock to provide a one of a kind performance no one ever forgets. Enjoy!….
I speak here a lot about what is wrong with our world and society; there’s a lot to talk about in those areas, which is, I think, something upon which everyone can agree. Hell, each and every one of us humans will spout off about what’s wrong at the slightest provocation; we’ve always been a species of whiners, it seems to me. Everybody has an opinion, and most of them are firmly held opinions of what they DON’T like in life, especially when it comes to how their interactions with others progress.
For the most part, I see these “opinions” to be, more accurately, “convictions”, the difference being a conviction usually is placed in our consciousness BEFORE we can reason, and has the force of social custom mandating its belief. An “opinion” is a reasoned belief, formed in one’s own mind, after forming one’s own beliefs…. Thus, it’s clear that much of the actual intercommunication which occurs between most people is merely a confirmation of what we all have been told since we were born, an insidious form of mental slavery…. Our only defense against assuming the collar of the mental slave is our ability, if we choose to acknowledge it, and are brave enough to use it, to learn, to eliminate our fear, thus forming our own opinions of reality, based on what we know, instead of what we are told by others.
In short, our species, in all-too-many cases, makes a deliberate choice to be ignorant, very early in life; most of these folks do so in order to save themselves the effort and pain of using their intelligence or imagination, which frightens them. So, they learn to depend on what they are told by others to form their beliefs, thus operating under the impetus of conviction rather than reasoned will.
Closer examination reveals the decision to pursue ignorance is always, always based on fear; fear of the unknown, without the courage to face the fear long enough to learn, which is the only way to remove the fear. So, we see that courage plays a big part in the process, as well. In my experience in life, every part of it in which we are successful has required, at first, the courage to begin. In my mind, I equate this fear of the unknown, and the lack of courage to face it, as yet another form of mental slavery; giving up one’s own mind to allow others to dictate its contents, and its beliefs.
This mental slavery extends into every aspect of our society, as the greater number of people in the world haven’t the will to ever even consider that all of what they’ve been told in their life was, for the most part, just a lie used to manipulate them. I can understand their reluctance; it’s not an easy thing to admit one has been wrong any time; to admit one’s entire set of beliefs is wrong just isn’t something most people will consider, in any way. It would destroy their entire frame of existence, and leave them without the tools to find their way back to any sort of sanity.
“Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.”
~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~
The difficulties the choice to fear life creates in society have manifested since the beginning of recorded history for mankind; it’s all too obvious to me that we have always been a species that prefers to live our lives based on illusions, which makes us vulnerable to those of us who have no actual humanity in their soul, and no compassion for others at all. These narcissistic predators manipulate, and lie, and steal, and do whatever they feel is necessary to gain their own desires, most of which center around the power and control of their fellows. Of course. this need to control is also based on fear. but. hey, try to tell THEM that! They’ll never listen; they’re having too much fun oppressing everyone else; what’s in it for them to admit they’re complete assholes?
Now, in this predator class of psychopathic humans I include a number of categories (we humans do love to organize our thoughts by category, don’t we? Well, it IS rather convenient….), to wit: Politicians (includes lawyers), professional police and soldiers, priests, imams, pastors, and all other proponents of a supernatural element of creation of Man, (ie. religionists), oligarchs in all their manifestations (bankers, the 1%, corporate heads, the shadowy elite who hide their malevolent influence from plain sight, manipulating mankind from unseen enclaves for their own aggrandizement), any and all of those who sell or deal with selling the weapons of war , snakeheads (pimps & human traffickers), abusers of women, children, or animals, or, most generally, anyone who believes they are, in any manner at all, any more important a piece of this universe than any other.
That last one is the key, you see. It’s an ego driven characteristic, to which humans are particularly susceptible, to assume that, just because we are human, an “I”, we are somehow, in some way, special, making us, in some way, more important than other parts of that universe. I don’t know exactly where it comes from; I’ve never actually felt a need to BE special, at least not more so than anyone or anything else. But. apparently, according to what I can ascertain through a passing knowledge of all of HISTORY. almost all of mankind DOES. to some extent. have this need. Perhaps it is an unconscious reaction to the sheer dispassion of the universe; obviously, in true reality, nothing is more important than any other. It’s only a man-made distinction.
Perhaps the difference is the lengths to which one is willing to prove it; personally, I don’t care if anyone other than those I love have any opinion of me at all, never have, so I’ve never felt a pressing need to prove I’m special in any way. But, for those who occupy any of the above categories, there is no limit to the depths of perversion or violence to which they will descend, in order to achieve their ends. Lying, cheating, stealing, killing, all are acceptable in their eyes, if only they get what THEY want…..
“Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry,
the philosophy which does not laugh,
and the greatness which does not bow before children.
~~ Kahlil Gibran ~~
To read what I’ve been writing, one might think I am of the opinion “I” am special, for I am holding forth in such a way as to make it seem so. I know this, but, to impart what I have to say, I must at least say it. I’m not perfect, not by any means. I can think, and I can survive. For 65 years, I’ve done both, but, neither of those have made me rich, or famous, or even, at this point, loved by other than family and friends (which is enough for now), or even particularly happy, though that, as always, and for all of us, is completely up to me.
What I believe I am, at this point in time, is clear-sighted, in re: Life at Large. This clarity of vision is part of why it is hard to be happy, for all I see happening in the world, on the larger scale, tells me there are hard times coming for everyone. Sure, life in the trenches, where most of us live. still exhibits examples of how good life can be, mostly in the relations people have with each other. But, on the world stage, our species is approaching a number of potentially lethal crises, of which 98% of the people alive are not even aware.
It’s easy to show the truth of that assertion; the evidence is presented every day on the news, on the internet, and, most tellingly, in the small, daily events which show just how corrupt, and perverted, and, sick our society has become. If I have to detail each one for you, you’ve already missed the point, which is to see the whole picture. The whole picture our species has painted is out of focus, ill-conceived, and, in the ultimate sense, a complete and utter tragedy….
Why a tragedy? Because, quite frankly, with the power of imagination we possess, along with the POTENTIAL for virtue with which we are imbued, we could have been much more. In fact, we could have been “special”.
Instead, we have become a scourge, a lethal threat to not only our planet, and every other creature living on it, but, to our own species, as a small percentage sucks the souls of the rest of the species for their own self-interest, which is nothing more than the cowardly, ugly habit of preying on their own kind. In short, cannibals. Or, as we call them here, Asininnies…..
I could do this forever, it seems. That’s the problem; there are SO many problems, it seems there is no end to them. Another problem? Almost all of them can lead us to extinction, one way or another.
It pisses me off, but of all the permutations of possible futures for mankind I can formulate in my imagination, using what I know of history and our nature, only one, or maybe two paths remain open to us that can lead us to what I consider our true destiny as a species, which is to explore the stars. What other purpose could our imagination have., but to lead us there? Only the infinite nature of the entire universe can fulfill the potential promise we have in the power of our minds. But, until we can learn to live in harmony on THIS planet, I don’t think we’ll make it very far out into space. The odds, at this point, are against it….
Oh, and the video at the top? Of Fum, and Gebra? I imagine some of y’all are wondering how it fits in to this discussion. Simply this; watch the video. Also, watch the video of how Fum and Gebra became friends. As you watch, note, please, how you feel to watch them play, and interact. Then, think of the paths of which I spoke, those available to us which have the only chance we have to survive into the future….
Fum, and Gebra are showing us one of those paths, the one I would prefer to take, to wit; to learn our ACTUAL place in the universe, join in friendship with the other animals we live with, to become a part of the real organism of which we are a only a part, Terrestrials. When we are capable of opening our minds to such a possibility, we MIGHT just find a way to survive the next hundred years. If not, well…. I suggest you prepare for hard times, like we have never seen before…. Me, I’d rather go to the stars…..
gigoid has spoken.
So be it.
********************************
Life as we know it….
As we grow and learn to be, in this sad, yet joyous parade,
we only have our Self with which to face life;
small, we are, and weak,
but, smart.
Reality, in studied contrast, is an invisible, ubiquitous shade
dispassionate ambivalence brings us mostly strife.
It’s never enough to seek.
Take part.
The universe won’t make a compromise, but will make a trade.
Give away your fear for knowledge, and a reasoned life.
It often requires a tweak;
live Art.
Love is an essential part of our own particular charade
without it, life can be filled with strife.
Souls perch high on a peak;
sweet, tart.
Pain always balances with joy, the price has to be paid;
for us humans, each must be equal in life.
To know one, the other must speak.
Never apart.
We are all actors, playing parts we’ve chosen to have portrayed;
the director’s absence produces endless strife.
Trying to make sense brings only pique.
Go. Start.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 11/27/2015.
********************************
Today’s final, old-school pearl is a good representative for today’s Pearl. Freshly produced, well-balanced, wide-ranging in its subject matter, yet, all well-interconnected as part of the message it conceals amongst the concepts presented. It’s not a difficult message, even if some of the concepts are a bit esoteric in presentation; that’s because the message itself it simple. Since that is so, you can bet all of this will be on the Quiz, so, taking notes is acceptable…. Enjoy!
“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” — Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Little Prince
“Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do.” — Don Galer
“The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking, for it is merely useful for the sake of something else.” — Aristotle
“Do something every day that you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.” — Mark Twain
“Good character, like good soup, is usually homemade.” — Practical Bee
“Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow” — Alice M. Swaim
“The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s the essence of inhumanity.” — George Bernard Shaw
“Great thoughts come from the heart.” — Marquis of Vauvenargues (1715-1747) — Maxim cxxvii
“”On with the dance, let joy be unconfined” is my motto, whether there’s any dance to dance or joy to unconfine.” — Mark Twain
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Today’s Pearl is done. I say that with some small sense of relief, yet, also, some reluctance to stop what became an epic of its kind. I haven’t checked, but, it could be one of the biggest Pearls I ever created, all in all; moreover, all of was/is completely fresh, written solely for this post. Not bad for someone who has been inhabiting one of the lower levels of a personal Hell for sixteen days, all of which, individually, and, taken together, have been illuminating. Tomorrow should indicate whether a corner has been turned. Until then, y’all be real. I’ll be back to take another shot at this in the morning….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Failure to understand reality is not reality’s fault.”
~~ Bill Henneman ~~
Irish Cheese & Butter Factories, on break….
Okay, I have to admit, I’m tired. ‘Tis to be expected, I would suppose, after this long (approximately 172 hours) without any sleep at all, at all….. ‘Tisn’t supposed to happen every morning, not this kind of fatigue, though I hear it happens a lot, beginning at about this age. So be it. Once I’m past this cold-turkey slice of hell in a few more days, I can deal.
I’ve been tired before; when duty calls, fatigue is irrelevant; there’s no other choice but to carry on, & hope for the best. I will, however, provide the following small disclaimer, to wit: This Pearl could conceivably turn out really bad, or, worse, weirder than usual, so, if it’s starting to make y’all uncomfortable, just try again tomorrow. I’ll keep on doing this until I think I get it right, and, so forth with other platitudes of purposeful sincerity. At least my pomposity is intact!
Oops…. Tardis-fart. It’s now late night, my pomposity is, no doubt, intact, and probably doing what I’d love to do, which is sleeping. Since I’m not, I guess I’ll continue putting together today’s mess of a post, which, in truth, isn’t messy at all; it’s just organizationally challenged. Whether or not we call it one, or the other, is, as it always is here at Consensual Reality, a moot point, as it’s been called many worse things in its time, short as it may be. How much time things take isn’t important to us here…. Remember, Tardis….
Now some of y’all might wonder how we got our greedy little hands on a Tardis. And, you’d be right to do so. However, that information, in particular, is one y’all will have to learn to do without in your life, as I won’t tell you. It would abrogate the agreement we made when we took it, besides embarrassing the hell out of yours truly… I mean, we got a REALLY GOOD DEAL on it, and, it’s kind of unfair to everyone else, But, y’know what? This is one of those things where I take my stand with the asininnies, and don’t give a shit about being unfair.
Whew! There. Didn’t think I’d get the obligatory mini-rant in, but, managed to squeeze it in there at the last. Now we can get on with this, as we have thereby fulfilled our quota of nonsense and blather for one morning. Well, other than this, of course…. Luigi! Get us up in the air, before the authorities arrive….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Anacharsis said a man’s felicity consists not in the outward and visible favours and blessings of Fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind.” — Plutarch — The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men, 11
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The Outlaws
Image from craigdailypress.com via Google Images
The Outlaws are a generic hard rock band who began their performing/recording career in the 1970’s; they play with a lot of gusto and immense driving energy. Here is a live concert from November 10, 1978 at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, N.J…. Enjoy!….
“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”
— Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Madison, 1787 ~~
All of us educated in this country know about Tom Jefferson; he’s a particular favorite founding father of mine, as his writings so often parallel my own thoughts, I feel I’m channeling him from the 17th century. In fact, I’ve taken to describing my political attitude/beliefs as what would termed a Jeffersonian… Another of my favorite Americans, not a founding father, but, a writer around the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries, was Henry L. Mencken. He lived in the Western states, mostly Arizona, was quite a libertarian by nature, and a political satirist by choice. His ideas, as he wrote them in his simple style, always seem to ring the right note. For example, one of his thoughts on modern democracy was put this way:
“Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by Jackasses.”
~~ H. L. Mencken ~~
Wonderfully whimsical, to my mind, and all too accurate, if the way this twenty-first century is shaping up is any indication. In fact, Jackals and Jackasses seem to be nearly perfect descriptions of a) our Beloved Ruling Class (the Jackals), and, b) their victims, er, constituents, the Jackasses, or as some of them are called, voters. Unfortunately, too many of them also get called to dinner way too often; have you looked around lately to see how MANY people there are who are not just overweight, but, obese?
Trust me, there’s a LOT, thanks to Mickey D, the King, and their co-conspirators in the junk food world, which now includes most of the items on supermarket shelves…. I note the only real cheeses in those markets come from other countries, or, locally. But, no American cheeses seem to be made; they’re all “pasteurized, processed imitation cheese food”, many of which won’t even melt directly on a hot pan, forget the bread. Plus, about 80-90% of the shelf items have many more chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors & flavors, and other NON-FOODS than they actually contain of the food item listed on the box’s face. Like chicken…. or other actual FOOD.
Now, of course, the corporations want to start selling everybody only GMO (genetically modified) foods, NONE of which have ever had long-term testing done on them. They don’t know if we can actually survive using them as food, but, damn, aren’t they BIG, and SHINY, and TASTELESS!? Why, yes, yes they are. They also have a longer shelf life, and cost less to produce, though you can be sure the corporate snakeheads won’t be charging any less. I bet they actually try to sell them for more, because they’re bigger! It doesn’t matter at all to the snakeheads these foods probably are not going to be good for people; they’ll just send all those sick people over to their cohorts in the medical/pharmaceutical corps, so they can extract their share of the available profits, as well….
By now, y’all are probably wondering how this all relates to Jefferson’s quote. Quite simply, the rebellion to which Tom refers is long overdue; he stated, in that same letter, he believed we should never go twenty years without some sort of public insistence on reform, in short, a revolution. It’s been many more than twenty, and, I predict the unwashed masses of the public, who are being oppressed, and having all their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights abrogated daily by corporate slaves acting at the behest of the corporations, who are engaged in a massive world-wide struggle to maintain control over the seething BILLIONS of slave wage earners, who are becoming increasingly aware of how they have been duped for so many centuries….
Human action on a societal level is very ponderous, due to the massive inertia needed to change any part of the established rules in place, often merely by long custom. It takes a long time for the pressure of oppression to build to a critical flash-point, but, when it does, there is no stopping the tidal wave of action, no matter what form it may take, for the amount of weight behind the wave-front is powered by the combined energy of everyone one alive, becoming the iconic irresistible force we hear so much about. When that flash-point is reached, as it will be in the relatively near future, we will see a world-wide uprising of anger against those in society who prey upon their fellow man….
Personally, I don’t think the oligarchy stands a chance in hell, but, they’ve been entrenched for a very long time, possessing a strong sense of survival, and of entitlement, so, their resistance to change will be violent, and may, indeed, end up in killing ALL of us in their own death throes. I figure, if that happens, so be it, for we humans have not exactly made the best use of our time on this plane of existence; it might be time to give another species the opportunity to take their own shot at glory….. I don’t think we’ll exactly be missed by the rest of the Universe, since it has no compassion anyway….
Well, THAT was certainly an outburst, wasn’t it? And, such a powerfully POSITIVE tenor to it, too! Bah! Humbug…. And, more succinctly, fuck it. We’ve been assholes, and, in my opinion, will deserve whatever happens, none of which portends much fun for any of us. Moreover, I don’t even think there are enough of us to make the difference, and turn the tide to the point where at least SOME of us survive. But, if we do, I certainly hope we can do a better job of it. This time around, as far as I can tell, we’ve fucked up pretty well, or, pretty badly, depending on your syntactical preference.
On THAT esoteric note, I believe it would be best to leave this where it is, without offering any solutions (which I don’t think will work, anyway), and, without any more whining, which, thankfully, I managed to keep to a minimum. To end this rather negative portrayal of reality as I see it, I’ll leave you with a somber, yet, at least positive statement of hope, from one of humanity’s most important poets…
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
~~ Dylan Thomas ~~
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I haven’t posted this one in a while; it’s one of my personal favorites, as it’s mostly about my Dad, and the lessons I learned from him. Oh, not by listening; he had other methods. He lived, with honor and dignity, and let us watch…. I like it, even though it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, simply because reading it brings him back to me for a time…. I hope you enjoy it…. It ain’t Yeats, but, it’s a poem…. sort of…..
Ah Ain’t Sho, but Mebbe So….
Fried eggs got nuthin’ on me
Ah’m not even sure of mah name,
or how Ah come to be;
no idea from where Ah came.
Ah does like a mystery tho’,
puzzlin’ things out so’s Ah knows,
good from bad, fo sho,
Ah sho don’t want no rock pillows.
If’n Ah cain’t figure out what’s best,
Ah just falls back on mah Daddy’s words,
seems he knowed just whut’d stand the test,
‘n how to gentle the scaredest birds.
‘Course, he’d lived a good long time,
‘n had lots of stuff go on by;
Went to a war, n’ lost a piece or two,
never once used it fer an alibi.
He tol’ me once Ah’d best learn to learn,
school’s only cool if ya ain’t already a fool.
Yer own good measure you can earn,
by startin’ yer learnin’ with the Golden Rule.
Always seemed to me as Ah growed up,
he mostly only spoke if it wuz true,
‘n by doin’ that clued me to what’s up,
kept me from stuff that’d a made me blue.
Without ever sayin’ the word itself,
Ah learned ’bout honor, ‘n helpin’ others
not some fake stuff from some shelf,
but, knowin’ whut’s right, ‘n that we’re all brothers.
Ah’ve been around long enough now, Ah think
to get around the block at least two times.
I s’pose long as my head don’t shrink
Ah’ll keep on doin’ right, ‘n makin’ these rhymes…..
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 4/6/2013.
********************************
The icon, as with the initial pearl, gives away the direction of this pearl; it can only be called an Aristotelian offering, for all of it is information of which Ari would have approved. In fact, without even looking, I’d wager good money all of the remaining eight pearls were based, at least in part, on wisdom and/or ideas Aristotle had left for us…. His mind, and its power, has influenced every thinking person who lived, in all the thousands of years since his death…. So, I’d say, beginning a nine-star pearl with one of his aphorisms can be called ‘well begun’, wouldn’t you?
“Well begun is half done.”
~~ Aristotle ~~
“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom, in the pursuit of truth as in the endeavour after a worthy manner of life.” — Bertrand Russell, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish”
The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” — Charles DuBois
“All great truths begin as blasphemies.” — George Bernard Shaw, “Annajanska”
“It is dangerous to make man see too clearly his equality with the brutes without showing him his greatness. It is also dangerous to make him see his greatness too clearly, apart for his vileness. Is still more dangerous to leave him in ignorance of both. But it is very advantageous to show him both. Man must not think that he is on a level either with the brutes or with the angels, nor must he be ignorant of both sides of his nature; but he must know both.”
— Pascal, Pensees, n. 418
“An intellectual is a person whose mind watches itself.” — Albert Camus
“There is this difference between happiness and wisdom; he that thinks himself the happiest man really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest, is generally the greatest fool.” — Charles Caleb Colton
“Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.” — Walt Whitman
Alas! by some degree of woe
We every bliss must gain;
The heart can ne’er a transport know
That never feels a pain.
~~ Lord Lyttleton ~~
~~ Song ~~
********************************
I suppose, when one is trying to fill in a large number of hours distracting oneself from the misery & bother of reality, a Pearl of epic proportion isn’t particularly surprising. It certainly is cathartic. Now, if only it would stimulate some semblance of normal sleep, I’d be content, if not completely ecstatic. We can hope, anyway, Why not? It’s the thing with feathers, that never stops at all, according to Emily. I think she’d know. And, now we know, for what it’s worth….
On that strange note, I’ll take my leave. This one may not be the ultimate Pearl, but, I think it’s pretty shiny. Still, I’d best try again tomorrow. I’m pretty sure I’ll have more than enough time on my hands, what with twenty-four hours to work with, all of which I’ll most likely be conscious, if not coherent. So, I’ll see y’all then…. if they don’t catch me, first….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
Yudishthira: “That each day, death walks the earth, and we continue to live as though we were immortal.”
~~ The Bhagvad Gita ~~
The Crane Bar, Galway, Ireland
Hajime…. Since any sort of schedule seems to be currently inoperable, the hell with it. I’ll post late, and hope any of my Gentle Readers will understand…. You see, I slept. Normally, and for a full eight-plus hours. Leelu got worried at my usual time to get up, but, she’s a cat, and understands wanting to roll over and go back to sleep…. She settled right back down for another nap….
Now I’m up, with all this energy, let’s not fool around & waste it. I’ll see if I can cobble together some decent material, and let ‘er fly. In fact, we’ll go do that now. Luigi, fire it up. Yeah, I know, we’re early, but, we’re late, so, it’ll even out. Don’t worry that little head of yours; just fly the plane…. Here we go, ffolkes….
Shall we Pearl?….
“God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent- it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash, and in small bills.” — Lazarus Long
********************************
George Harrison Image from clipartzebra.com via Google Images
George Harrison was one of rock & roll’s most beloved icons; the entire world mourned his death. This concert, put together by his friends, among whom numbered some of the world’s best musicians, of ALL types, was a fitting tribute to his memory. It still makes me weep to watch his son, who looks exactly as he did at that age, playing on stage with Clapton, Ringo, Paul, and a host of other famous rock stars who came to play for George. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is unique….
“Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.” — Laurens Van der Post, The Lost World of the Kalahari (1958)
I’m really sorry I don’t have the time or energy to rant on the above; it’s so perfectly apt for our current situation in America. But I don’t, so, we’ll make do with a short discussion from 2012, taking a few shots at one of our favorite targets…. our Beloved Ruling Class….
From 9/9/2012:
A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: “Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.” When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, “The one I feed the most.” — George Bernard Shaw
This is a wonderful anecdote, and one I feel very firmly about, as it is one of the clearest lessons in self-awareness I have ever seen. This one is so simple an idea, that even the ignorant asses who make up the political scene in this country would be able to understand it. They probably couldn’t do it, as they never, ever think about themselves other than as an important person, who doesn’t need to make changes in himself. Anyone who does think of themselves would never, ever consent to be put into a public office…. the two things (introspection vs. public office) just don’t mix…. That is because of the following, from a pretty smart fella, who lived quite some time ago, but seemed to have a good head on his shoulders….
“Neither do the ignorant seek after wisdom. For herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself; he has no desire for that of which he feels no want.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)
“…he who is neither good nor wise” is a perfect description of anyone who wants to be President of this country. I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again, because it bears repetition, that anyone, anyone at all, who actually WANTS to be President can be classified as clinically insane, usually a paranoid schizophrenic, with grandiose delusions of adequacy…. NOBODY is adequate for that job… nobody. And anyone who thinks they are is simply not all there…..
And it’s just a box of rain
I don’t know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it’s just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there~~ Box of Rain by Phil Lesh & Robert Hunter ~~
Ah me…. politics and politicians are such an easy target. If it wasn’t so much fun, I might call it a naughty habit, and leave them to their devices, which surely are many….. Since we’re pressed for time today, we’ll leave them be, and just caution y’all to watch out, because their antics can be dangerous, if they are left without supervision for long….
********************************
Retrospective, defined in folly….
Yesterday
I wrote a poem.
It bled out of my head,
like I’d been struck with
an axe,
right through the artery,
in the neck,
spraying blood around
everywhere,
like a pulsing garden hose….
It hurt, at first,
then came the feeling,
of quick relief,
of timeless beauty,
of pain avenged,
of lust aroused,
of outrage aflame,
of deep compassion,
of endless empathy,
of truest love….
Now it’s gone, cast away
like pearls before twine.
(Grin…)
You thought
I was going to call you
a pig,
didn’t you?
Hah!
Well, you’re not.
You’re a person.
I know, because
you’re reading this poem…
if that’s what it is.
I think it is,
so,
maybe it is.
Or, maybe,
it will be,
someday, when it
grows up,
and learns to rhyme.
Whew…
Just in time…..
That’s all.
Reality often sucks wind,
y’know?
S’okay, though….
It keeps us busy,
and out of some of the
mischief,
so much part
of our
nature.
We all can do
only what we
do.
Or, don’t.
Two sides, one coin.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 8/31/2014.
********************************
“I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word I am saying.” — Oscar Wilde
Sometimes, when constructing these pearls of virtual wisdom, I feel much as Oscar described; often it’s the fault of Smart Bee, which can be a fractious program (remind me to tell you about software sometime, and how it can act just like any other inanimate object, taking on the characteristics we give it with the application of our will upon it….), but, just as often, it’s my own fault, for letting my mind wander while collecting the pearls. Believe it or not, this process DOES take some focus, or it doesn’t work. Trust me. This one, in spite of my waffling, didn’t wobble, so, enjoy!….
“What’s hard is simple,
What’s natural, comes hard. Maybe you could show me,
How to let go,
Lower my guard,
Learn to be….free.
Maybe if you whistle…
Whistle for me.”
~~ Stephen Sondheim, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE ~~
“Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.” — Erica Jong
“Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul when hot for certainties in this our life!” — George Meredith
“It is not a man’s duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support. If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man’s shoulders. I must get off him first, that he may pursue his contemplations too.” — Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience
“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.” — William Saroyan
“No pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage-ground of truth.” — Francis Bacon — Of Truth
“It’s easy to come and go… The hard thing is to remain.” — Subtle Bee
“It is a good thing to be rich and strong, but it is a better thing to be loved.” — Euripides
How small of all that human hearts endure
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!
Still to ourselves in every place ensigned
Our own felicity we make or find.~~ Samuel Johnson ~~
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Well, I did it. Not that I’m completely convinced of whether or not I SHOULD be doing this, but, hey, I was never one to pay much attention to ‘should’. Lazarus taught me at an early age, when he pointed out, quite accurately, that when you hear that word, it is ALWAYS something someone ELSE told you, or thinks you ought to do, or think, or be…. No thanks…. Instead, I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow; count on it….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
Naked Pearls III
gigoid 