Bill them for the bastardized version…

Ffolkes,

“And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

~~ The Beatles, The last lyric of their last song ~~

Galway memorial to famine victims

Memorial to the Famine Victims, Galway, Ireland

Boy howdy, ffolkes…. Life, in all its glory, can be a bumpy ride at times; I guess that’s what drugs are all about. Of course, such a smarmy, sardonic statement so early in the day indicates a somewhat less than perfect status of the mind to take as a good sign, but, I think we can overcome any objections anyone might have, by merely saying, if you ain’t tried it, you don’t have nothing to say. Or, as Lily Tomlin, I believe, once put it, “Reality is for those people who can’t handle drugs.”….

All controversy aside, it’s a decent morning, thanks in part to the magic of cannabis, along with a bit of marginally risky application of a thaumaturge disguised as a cabbie, I’m alive, awake, and typing. Who knew? But, again, I digress, out of sheer relief and gratitude for a job well done, if not fully completed, or documented. This completes your morning dose of prevarication tempered with real-time compassionate intent, all for the amazingly low price of (FREE)!. What a deal!

And, hell, I’ll throw in the nonsense for nothing, too. We’ve got plenty in stock, believe me. By the way, the Pearl you will find below is not merely an odd one, it was unique, in that none of it was particularly vituperative, or even very snarky. It is, however, complete as I can make it, and that will have to do, as always. We don’t have any contracts right now, anyway, so it’s all part of the service we provide in these slack times for everyone. Besides, that way, we can keep up your dependence without having to spend anything extra…. bonus!

I can’t think of anything more for this section; I’ve emptied out my bag of BS already. I guess we’ll just give Luigi his head again, and get on over to the oyster beds, before we get into any deeper water. Hang on, ffolkes, he’s getting a little rambunctious these days…..

Shall we Pearl?….

It is better to deserve honours and not have them than to have them and not to deserve them.” — Mark Twain

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Lucy

Lucille Ball

Image from ebay.com via Google Free Images


Lucille Ball was one of the most powerful women in Hollywood during her day, long before powerful women were even seen as such. She lived her life exactly as she wished, and for that, if nothing else, deserves our respect. She’s also one of the greatest comediennes to ever trod the stage or screen. Enjoy ffolkes, as we all did as kids, for a half-hour to an hour a week, when Lucy, Desi, Fred, and Wilma (oops, Ethel….wrong sitcom) joined the entire USA in their living rooms….


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I Love Lucy

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le penseur-rodin

Le Penseur, The Thinker, by August Rodin


I don’t feel like ranting today; so be it…. Here instead is some self-revelation, all of which still applies…. Damn! Too much consistency enters the realm of hobgoblinship, so to speak. Oh, well, I like me, mostly, so, we’ll go with what Brother John told us, and “Let it be”…..

Last posted on 7/21/2014:

From 11/30/2013:

A man who can fool chiefs, and even gods, must still face the monsters he himself created.” — Old Maori saying

Introspection has always been a hobby of mine, but, since turning the ripe old age of 63, (note from the future; made it to 65…) it seems to have become even more of a time-consuming process for me than has been true for most of my life….

I can remember laying on my bed in the state of Washington, when my father was stationed there at Fort Lewis…. I would stare at the bottom of my brother’s upper bunk, and imagine all manner of things, including about myself, and my place in the universe…. Even at the tender age of 8 or 9, as the son of an Army sergeant, I had been many places, and seen more of the world than is usual for anyone other than Army brats…. our proud designation for ourselves…. The quest to maintain one’s personality in the face of all the changes going on around us gave me the impetus to perpetually be aware of more than is the norm for kids of that age; at least, it always seemed so, from what I can tell from my knowledge of others of that age….

Now that I’ve reached an age that completely got skipped in my earlier musings of what life would be like, I seem to be thinking back and forth more often, making connections with the past that explain certain elements of my own persona as they manifest today…. My hair, for example…. (I know, I know, my hair isn’t generally the subject of a rant, but, that’s not really what this is…. this is more of a…. a retrospective, yeah, that’s it…. a retrospective…. so, calm down, I’m not going to get all graphic, or gloomy, or pick at anyone in particular, other than myself…. ‘kay?…. ‘Kay!….)

So, I was looking at my picture on my About page, and can only say that, well, there I am…. My hair is even longer now, (a bit grayer, too….). as I see no particular reason to cut it…. which is the root thought that stimulated this entire subject today…. A little while ago, I was standing outside a moment, with my hair not yet tied back into the usual ponytail, and the wind was blowing it around a bit…. I started to get annoyed, then realized I could only blame myself for it getting in my face, because the solution to that problem is right over there in the drawer, where the scissors live…. I thought to myself, how many times has someone asked me, “why don’t you cut your hair?”, and realized I couldn’t count that high….

My own reaction to that particular query is to think, (again…), to myself, “Well, actually, the question that occurs to me to ask is, why don’t I NOT  cut my hair?”…. It seems to me, when I stop to consider the matter logically, and reasonably, that if the hair grows, as it has always done, it must have some sort of evolutionary purpose for doing so, right? It seems logical to me…. Therefore, it seems logical to ask, as well, “who am I to fuss with evolution?” This line of reasoning, naturally, tends to piss of most of the folks who make the original statement to me…. but, I figure that sort of anger is a personal problem, don’t you? I can’t go around taking the heat for what other people don’t like about me, when their anger is based on THEIR beliefs, not mine….

In a way, I suppose it’s the old hippie in me…. Aha, you say, now we’re getting to the meat of the matter! And, typically, I am supposed to say, at this point, “Just what do you mean by that? I don’t know what you’re talking about….”   Then, I smile, and get on with what I was doing, which is explaining why being a hippie is not what most people would think…. I mean, there were a lot of popular misconceptions floating around all during the 60’s (Believe me, it was a very confusing time…. I know, I was there….), when there were a lot of people who thought that there was something wrong, or even evil, about being described as one of those misunderstood knights of the sub-culture….

Yes, I said knights…. Jedi knights, before they were the iconic, eternal, peaceful warrior as made popular in later years…. Hippies were the knights of the 60’s and 70’s, diligently tilting at all the windmills we could find, poking our noses into the business of the military-industrial complex, which I now refer to as the BRC, until they were sick of the sight of anyone with long hair…. Back in the day, even the most rigid of conservative hawks understood that they were witnessing a change of culture, and there was nothing they could do to alter the course that history was taking…. The power of love, and compassion, and freedom swept through the entire world, as well as refreshing American society, with repercussions still being felt today….

One of the most important characteristics of hippies that I don’t think most people understood is that we were only interested in revolution in the sense that revolution means change; no hippie worth the name ever wished to violently overthrow anything that didn’t threaten violence first…. But, it is also true that real hippies have no objection to using violence to defend themselves, a fact which always comes as a big surprise to those who would try to oppress them. As with any tool, honor has to be the regulatory agency for determining which tool should be used, and how…. This, sadly, is a concept that those who prey on other people, who seek power over them, can never truly understand, as it is not a part of their perception of reality….

I see that I’ve reached a point where this must either get very pointed, or fade into the background for the time being…. I’m feeling mellow, due to re-connecting with the halcyon days of my youth, so I’ll show mercy here, and opt for the latter…. Besides, I’m all out of introspection for the nonce, and there’s no telling when it might drop back by…. I’ll leave y’all with one final pearl, to seal the deal….

“Oh, how we fear the metamorphoses through which we truly become fledged humans, real mensches of the species homo sapiens. Yet even if we do not willingly undergo them, changes pursue us just the same. The woman who never bears a child metamorphoses in different ways. We may dig in our heels and dare life never to change, but, all the same, it changes under our feet like sand under the feet of a sea gazer as the tide runs out. Life is forever undermining us. Life is forever washing away our castles, reminding us that they were, after all, only sand and sea water.” — Erica Jong: Parachutes and Kisses

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Comedy_Tragedy

    This one goes with the above treatise, as it was last posted on the same date last year…. Enjoy!….

Roses for Noses

I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
 nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
 how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
 too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
 Or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst”….

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
 since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
 The world is full of humor,  but not always easy to find
  so laughing at myself I learned never to mind….

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
 there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
 and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows….

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
 to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
 of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face….

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
 we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
 if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop….

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
 let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
 you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 1/27/2013.

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pearls_3

    I’d call this an Advice on Life at Large pearl, if I had my way. Oh, wait. Right. My blog. Okay, it’s an advice pearl…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s got some good stuff in it, which, if utilized, can make your life, well, better…. Try it, you’ll like it….

“Sleep is the best meditation.” — Tenzin Gyatso, XIV Dalai Lama

“Do not speak harshly to any one; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way.  Angry speech is painful:  blows for blows will touch thee.” — The Dhammapada (c. BC 300)

“Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.” — Lazarus Long

“Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt.” — Clarence Darrow

“You cannot run away from a weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand.” — Robert Louis Stevenson,  _The Amateur Emigrant_

“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

“Only that in you which is me can hear what I’m saying.” — Baba Ram Dass

“Why should we take advice on sex from the Pope? If he knows anything, he shouldn’t.” — George Bernard Shaw

(Oops! Sorry, that one slipped by me…. but, it’s funny as hell, isn’t it? I guess, it fits, if one looks at it with the right eyes…. Okay, one last good one, to make up the difference….)

He that will not reason is a bigot.
He that cannot reason is a fool.
He that dares not reason is a slave.

~~ William Drummond, “Academical Questions” ~~


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Leelu is lobbying HEAVILY for the application of her morning cuddle & scritch, so, we’re done, as she INSISTS it happen NOW! See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the sun comes up. Odds are good on that.

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Featured Image -- 2780


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

It’s all starting to wobble….

Ffolkes,

“I live in my own place
have never copied nobody even half,
and at any master who lacks the grace
to laugh at himself — I laugh.”

~~ inscribed over the door to Friedrich Nietzsche’s house ~~

kepler-k2-mission

Artist’s rendition of NASA’s Kepler Deep Space Telescope

Image from Space.com


Good morning…. Apparently, stupid is contagious. While playing with the cat, I leaned over the chair’s arm, resting my ribs on the wood of the arm. As I reached further to pick up the cat toy, my ribs slipped, and came down on the wooden arm with a lot of my weight on one rib, whereupon I felt it flex, painfully, as if it had cracked. I shot up, howling, and, after the initial rush of pain subsided, realized I had, if not cracked, badly bruised the rib, with some intercostal tissue damage. Now I have three weeks or so of painful breathing, sleeping, and moving around, to look forward to….

HONK! (For those who don’t know me well, that was my nose, which, at the moment, is large, bulbous, and bright red!…..) Thank goodness for cannabinoids! My magic cream is going to get a long workout, for certain….

Yes, I am a Bozo, of the first degree, and I am constantly giving myself another Life Lesson like this, to be more cautious in performing physical activities, as my now almost 65 year old body isn’t as fast, or as durable as I once considered it to be. SIGH…. Time marches on, doesn’t it? Too bad our humanity is such that we don’t bother to talk to each other about it much, so, a lot of it comes as a surprise to us when it happens. Ah well, makes life interesting, what?

Today’s Pearl, as all of them recently, is being posted late, from a public Wi-fi spot, of unknown location, as yet. In fact, I have yet to pack up to get to one, so, I’ll chop this off (as it probably deserves….) ruthlessly, so as to get us on the road in a timely manner. Luigi, you may fire up and go now…. Y’all should probably hang on; the music and ranting sections today are a rather wild ride….. guaranteed….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Nature has placed nothing so high that virtue can not reach it.” — Curtius-Rufus (fl. 100 A.D.)

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one more saturday night

Image from Dead.net via Google Images


Whenever I, or anyone, for that matter, feels their age, (i.e., old….), this is a great album to pull out of any such self-indulgence…. The title says it all, and, the music, well, speaks for itself…. Enjoy!….

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Old & In The Way
Garcia & Grisman

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We the People...  Dont keep calm

“Every man’s life, liberty, and property are in danger when the Legislature is in session.”

~~ Gideon J. Tucker ~~


As light-hearted as the above statement may sound to the uninitiated, we here at ECR know it to be all too true for anyone’s comfort. I’ve put both of the usual icons above this rant because I thought it was time to vent; fair warning, as the material I’ve chosen to discuss is liable to a) disturb or anger some readers, b) be of questionable taste, and/or, c) be of negative interest to the paranoids in the NSA, and those of their ilk.

For their benefit, I will say, I mostly speak in a non-real sense, in that I make observations about reality, and those observations are not the thing of which I speak, itself. There, that should confuse the issue well enough, while simultaneously indicating the obvious interest to those Gentle Readers who are NOT of that particular ilk….

In short, if I say a revolution is nigh, it is an observation, a prediction of probabilities, not necessarily a call to action…. Of course, I do believe it’s past time for such an event to occur, from a moral/ethical/honorable sense, and won’t act in any way to prevent any such happenstance. But, I’m a realist, and know I am too old to start any such ruckus myself; if/when it happens, the best I can hope for is to survive, and help those for whom I care do the same. That may take some rather radical steps, but, hey, we all do what we gotta do, right?

One might well ask what has prompted my angst; without too much need for thought, I can point to the latest reason for all of us to build up a bit of ‘rage against the machine’. It stems from a short video, to the presence of which I was informed of by the blog of a friend on WP; Tales from the Conspiratum’s Lou posted the video, and link to the You Tube page where he found it.

In turn, I posted it here, so, many of y’all have seen it; I’m not sure if the full implication of its message has penetrated, either your awareness, or the consciousness of the public at large. When it does, each and every one of the people who “get” the message will feel much as I do. It’s my belief the information in the video touches on a subject that has had a direct effect on the life of every single person in this country, at one time or another…,

In this space on previous occasions, I’ve demonstrated how our BRC lies to us, consistently, solely for their own advantage; news of one more lie might not seem so important. But, I think this one is an indicator, of the depth of the lies we are told, as well as an indicator of the true motives of those who achieve power in this country. Which lie, you say? Is it about spying on us? The environment? Corruption? Is it about guns? Is it about the wealth gap? Is it about health insurance, or Big Pharma, or the whole mess of a medical model? If you picked the last group, you’r warm….

“Can you trust a government that subsidizes tobacco and tries to ban vitamins to make intelligent choices about your health care?” — Pertinent Bee

The video whereof I spoke above was created by the hacking group, We Are Anonymous; in it, they make some rather pointed accusations against the US Government, specifically the office of the Presidency in 1974, when Richard Nixon was in office, and the disaster of the Vietnam War was winding down to its inevitable conclusion. According to the evidence they claim to possess, (and, have apparently posted online, though I’ve yet to find it… no service, hence, no Google….)(I’m also compelled to add, this group has, verifiably, NEVER lied about what they do, or evidence they possess, in all their history, which very few can say….), Nixon was looking for something to distract the public, and wanted to prove marijuana was worse than tobacco for people.

He (Nixon) gave a large research grant to a Virginia university medical school to investigate cannabis for its medical qualities, with the expressed desire they find some evidence to show it caused cancer, or some other nasty disease by its use. Instead, after just a few months, the report was issued, showing, clearly, the cannabinoid  components they tested acted to KILL every type of cancer they tried it on, as well as showing remarkable properties in encouraging the body’s other systems to heal themselves!

(These results, btw, have since been verified as true; the National Cancer Institute, in a very recent study, found cannabinoids can completely kill 97 types of cancer cells…. In that study, cancer cells literally exploded when they came in contact with certain components of THC….)

So, what did our beloved traitorous ‘leader’ do, way back in 1974? He shitcanned the report, swearing the researchers to silence with threats of prosecution if they ever told their story, I have no doubt….. Typical elitist behavior, but, in this case, particularly egregious, due to the implications of his act…. Some, at this point, might ask, what implications? To be perfectly clear, I will lay it out for you, clearly and simply….

Cannabis KILLS cancer. With proper research and development, the scourge of our time would no longer be a threat to the public health at large, as a cure would exist, a cure that most likely will lead to other new areas of knowledge regarding the efficacy of using plants in their natural form as our default source for medicine, rather than the chemicals with which Big Pharma and the AMA continue to poison us, in their quest for ever-higher profits, and a sicker population. Hey, can’t sell drugs to people who are well, can you?….

Moreover, think of this: If cannabis had been used since 1975 for treating cancer, how many people would still be alive? How many of YOUR loved ones would NOT have died? Personally, my father, and now, my brother both contracted cancer. My father might have lived past the age of 72, the age he succumbed to the disease, for another twenty years, at least…. Multiply the number of cancer victims each year by 40, and you will have an idea of the enormity of Nixon’s, and our own government’s, selfish act of betrayal.

(Per Google search & use of calculator: Approximate deaths per year in the US; 500,000, times 40 years = 20 MILLION people, in the US alone, have died from cancer, while the government fiddled….)

My brother is now treating his own version of cancer (lymphatic) with cannabis products, and has seen a lot of improvement, so, there is hope…. But, that does NOT mitigate my anger at the death of my father, or make me want to forgive Nixon, or any of the other government officials responsible for hiding this information from the public…. I also believe my anger will be echoed by MILLIONS of people, when they find out their own relatives didn’t have to die, at all…. Moreover, it happened because an asshole of a politician wanted what he wanted, and didn’t give a shit about the people who elected him…. But, then, he lied to get elected, (throughout most of his career; I was there…) just as they ALL lie….

Oh, I am SO angry…. I can’t write anymore, so, here are some closing thoughts, with a small instruction/suggestion to share this information with as many people as you can…. I think it’s important for the people of this country to know just how far the government will go to cover up their lies; nothing will change until enough of us feel the need for a change…..

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

(That is equally as scary as the idea of conspiracy!….. Logical, though….)

“In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.” — Bertrand Russell

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.” — Karl Kraus

“The difference between the Pope and George Bush is that whereas Bush walks on the ground and kisses women,the Pope kisses the ground and…” — Observant Bee

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on the human face– forever . . . And remember that it is forever.” — George Orwell, ‘1984’

“If Congress can determine what constitutes the general welfare and can appropriate money for its advancement, where is the limitation to carrying into execution whatever can be effected by money?” — South Carolina Senator William Draden 1828

“I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.” — Robert Frost

“In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile-and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. We owe that to ourselves and our crippled self-image as something better than a nation of panicked sheep.” — Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939), journalist — The Great Shark Hunt, Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1979)

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

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/27/2012; modified in 2013.

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pearls_3

    A classic, seven-star pearl, with the obligatory observations on Life at Large, as seen from the oyster beds of gigoid’s mind, and, SB’s database, which, I must confess, was a trifle fractious, unwilling to give up more than seven gems today. Ah, well, such is life with semi-autonomous software, that seems to have moods having nothing to do with my own…. Works for me….

“Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” — Gray

“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.” — Goethe

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain

“Knowledge is the antidote of fear.” — Emerson

“How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it?” — G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

“Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.” — Thomas Fuller

“As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 1

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It’s done; I’m not going to even bother trying to judge the quality. I repeat, it’s done, and for us, that’s all that matters. Hopefully, it came together well; otherwise, oh, well…. I will be back, though I can’t say exactly when…. It seems there are very few honest, non-greedy ISP businesses left out there to compete against the big guys, but, I’ll keep looking…. See ya, and, I figure, that’s fair warning…..

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


À bientôt, mon cherí….


All just a twist of the wrist….

Ffolkes,

“Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.”

~~ Bertrand Russell ~~

Earth-ISS

Image created in Celestia (Astronomy software) by gigoid


Good morning…. Or, so it says here on the label. Personally, I prefer to wait a few hours before trying to make such a distinction, or, for that matter, any judgments at all regarding quality. But, that’s just me; the rest of the world insists on perpetrating ‘social niceties’, even when they have little to do with Reality. Wow…. Sometimes, cool stuff just pops out like that…. If you look at that last statement, from “the rest of the world” to “Reality”, you will see it is a rather perfect metaphor for Life at Large…. in regards to humanity’s part in that Reality, anyway….

Now I’ve completely screwed the pooch for any sort of organized ranting, I suppose I should do something that will save this intro, but, it hardly seems worthwhile, as this Pearl may not get posted today at all. It’s not done yet, and, I still don’t have an ISP, so, a trip to a Wi-fi spot will be necessary to post. SIGH…. Life as a Bozo can be complicated sometimes, can’t it? Ah well, when the nose grows, you gotta let it show. And, it’s far too late in my life to make radical changes in my outlook, so, I’ll just keep honking when appropriate, and enjoy the irony of living life on a parallel track from everyone else, when I am so aware of the necessity of connection….

You pays your money, and you takes your chances; we’re all in THAT boat. So, griping and whining about it won’t help, or make any changes. In a way, I suppose this blog is part of my own attempt to make sense of Life; can’t say it’s helping a lot, but, hey, it’s better than not trying at all, right? Well, that’s what all the ancient sages say, so, I’ll go with it. They seem to have had most of it right, from what I can tell. Damn! How did we fall into this fatalism? God!….. “The emotions, Bunter! Terrible things”

Okay, that’s a clear signal it’s time to bring this to a close, which is another weird thought (closing the opening, yes?…). I am convinced now. We’d best be on our way, before Entropy and Chaos take full control. If we slip out to the oyster beds now, I think we can fool them into thinking we’re still here. Just leave your drinks and coats; we’ll pick them up later & have them mailed to the address you left on the “Instructions In Case of Death” y’all filled out in the initial phase of your training…. Luigi, fire it up & get us outta here!…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Sic Biscuitus Disintegrat.”

~~ Adrian Ogden ~~


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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

“Life without music would be an intolerable insult.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~


I don’t think I can be any clearer than that; here is part of the reason why it’s true….. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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Classical Music, Again

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We the People...

“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks.” — Johann L. Uhland (1787-1862) — Speech, May 27, 1836

Such an excellent pearl is suitable for ranting, certainly; its level of truth is astoundingly high, as well as the accuracy of its aim. And, in fact, I had a very full rant planned to go along with it, as we who live in today’s world are living with the consequences of what Mr. Uhland noted back in the early nineteenth century. As I sit to begin, however, I find myself tired of it; I have to deal, daily, even hourly, with the very real issues that arise out of the fact we are all merely slaves to money, an unreal concept the bankers have managed to convince the world is important to them…..

It makes me very sad, quite often, to think how easily most of humanity falls into the traps laid for them, then, spend their entire lives living according to two very serious delusions about Reality…. First, people have fallen for the delusion of a God, which, in my mind, is a completely unprovable, and dangerous, idea to fall for; secondly, they have been fooled into thinking a) money actually exists as something other than an idea, and, b) money is very important…. neither of which concept has any true meaning in Reality…. I mean, you can’t eat a dollar bill, ( One COULD eat a dollar, I suppose, but, I wouldn’t think it would be particularly tasty, or satisfying, and certainly wouldn’t taste like much without some ketchup & mustard….), and a coin put into the earth will not grow up to be food of any kind… so, what good is it?

I see I AM ranting, but, my heart isn’t in it. Here, take these, instead…. It’ll have the same effect, anyway….  As one of our most famous American authors once said…. “Draw your chair up close to the edge of the precipice and I’ll tell you a story.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, _Notebooks_

“A nation never falls but by suicide.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~


“If everyone believed in peace they would immediately begin fighting over the best way to achieve it.” — Goebel’s Observation on Utopia

“Anytime I see a person fleeing from reason and into religion, I think to myself, there goes a person who cannot stand being so goddamned lonely anymore.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

“Happy is he who dashes the heads of his enemy’s children against rocks.” — Psalms 137:9

“Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil.” — Lazarus Long

“The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt

(Whoops! Missed that train, didn’t we?….)

“I believe and I say it is true Democratic feeling, that all the measures of the Government are directed to the purpose of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.” — William Henry Harrison

(Funny (ironic) this statement being made by a President of this country…. One might think it to be true…. which it is….)

“As God is my witness – I am that fool!” — Gomez Addams

“..  I don’t know why but, suddenly, I want to discuss declining I.Q. LEVELS with a blue ribbon SENATE SUB-COMMITTEE!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Perfect ending quote; Zippy does it again!….)

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Ffolkes…. one last word on this subject, if I may (and, why not? It’s my blog….)

We Americans are in the pickle we’re in for one simple reason; not enough of us took the following statement seriously; we are now harvesting the crop of our failure to plant the idea in due time…. We forgot, you see….

Vigilia pretium libertatis.

[Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.]


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Comedy_Tragedy

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/27/2012; last posted 12/2013.

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ankh (2)

        Hopefully, the icon chosen for today’s final section will cause those Gentle Readers familiar with our methods to go on full alert. Here’s a pearl on Life at Large, but, from a viewpoint not often taken…. We’ll start with a nice definitive statement on the nature of Reality, and go from there to our jumping off point…. Take a towel, ffolkes, it can get a bit humid with all the thinking going on…. Enjoy the ride!….

“Why you say you no bunny rabbit when you have little powder-puff tail?” — The Tasmanian Devil

“Deem not life a thing of consequence. For look at the yawning void of the future, and at that other limitless space, the past.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 50

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

“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth, more than ruin, more even than death….Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.” — Bertrand Russell, “Selected Papers”

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Confucius

“All of our best and oldest legends recognize that time  passes and that people grow old and die.” — Alan Moore, The Dark Knight Returns

“Each of us visits this Earth involuntarily, and without an invitation. For me, it is enough to wonder at the secrets.” — Albert Einstein

“No human thing is of serious importance.” ~~ Plato ~~

“Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~


There you go…. I don’t think it can be any clearer, especially given the closing pearl from our old friend, Mr. Abbey…. So be it….

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Well, all in all, it’s all I can do, and, you know the rest of that one…. Oh, gosh, look, it’s a closing section! I believe I’ll take advantage of it, and close this puppy down. Now, the task becomes physical, to find the nearest suitable Wi-fi spot, comfortable enough to spend the necessary time to post. I decree it shall be done, since I also have reasonable hope of securing home service in the near future. Whatever…. I’ll be back, one way or another, ffolkes… count on it, at least for the nonce….

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

“Committing the Sin of Indolence” — a retrospective….

Ffolkes,

“I cannot teach anybody anything,

I can only make them think.”

~~ Socrates ~~

3000

Pluto as seen from the New Horizons Spacecraft

Image from the UK Guardian 9/17/2015


I had forgotten just how deeply embedded this process has become in my existence…. It seems the creation of a Pearl is more important to my degree of sanity than I’d previously admitted; if I don’t sit down to write for a while, I feel “off”. Once I’ve cruised through SB for a time, using my mind in a familiar way, some of the angst I seem to build up over the course of the day dissipates, leaving me better able to think introspectively, which is where I need to be just now…. So, I’ll write…. but, I may not post…. We’ll see.

For now, I think I’ll go make some coffee. It’s 0230 (almost) so, why not? It looks like me and LeeLoo will be up a while tonight…. Don’t know why insomnia struck tonight, but, I may as well take advantage of it to get some thinking & planning done…. Or, perhaps, I’ll gather up some pearls, and see what they have to say….

When I told myself, and y’all, this process would be changing, I didn’t realize just how many alterations the change would encompass. No complaints at all; I seem to have misplaced some of the angst I’ve typically carried around with me. Whatever the case may be, it’s slowed this down to a crawl…. The two paragraphs you see above were written yesterday. Since then, most of this Pearl has been finished; only some entertainment left to find now. Yet, I’m not even worried at all whether I get it posted today, or not…. which may be good, or not. We’ll see about that, too, I suppose. For now, I think I’ll go cruise You Tube & find something fun to watch, whenever this gets posted….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The laws of physics have no basis in reality.  They describe the operation of the human mind.” — Robert Anton Wilson

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george sez

    I don’t believe I need to say anything at all to introduce this artist/philosopher/social critic. Simply, he was the best of his time….


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George Carlin
It’s Bad For Ya ~ 2008

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“If the truth offends — too bad.”

~~ Hard Ass Bee, with gigoid’s full agreement ~~

Dont keep calm

    Okay, so, I lied. I COULD say I didn’t lie, so much as I misspoke, as any number of politicians would say. And, have said, repeatedly. (e.g.: “I just didn’t say it.” — Ronald Reagan — Associated Press, 10/5/66)

Actually, what I did is underestimate how long it would be until I was struck by the urge to write about the world at large, when I’m having my own troubles with the world inside the shell of my consciousness…. But, as I cruised through SB for entertainment, the following pearls kept jumping up, practically shouting at me, to insist on being included in a long, involved indictment of men of evil intent, who usurped the government of this nation almost before the ink was dry on the Constitution…..

Their efforts have resulted in the world we face today, where all the rules are made by those who insist on controlling the lives of all they see, without ever considering how others may feel about that…. 90% of the world’s population live as no more than slaves, threatened with poverty and destitution at the slightest emergency or accident in their lives, at the mercy of the bankers, and the predatory politicians, the fat-cat lawyers, the faceless myrmidons (i.e., police) who enforce the will of the masters, and the religious dogma dogs who encourage the slaves to respect those who oppress them, for the promise of a better life after they die.

I was raised by a man who went to war in 1941, to protect his family and home, thinking he was fighting for the liberties he believed he had, and that he believed would be the legacy for his children. He raised us to believe in those same principles, of liberty and freedom for all, upon which he, and we, were supposedly brought up….

If he were alive today, he would be as pissed off at what has taken place as I am, for, since the creation of the National Security Agency during WWII, every one of the Bill of Rights, and, all of the protections of our Constitution, have been abrogated, one after another, in the name of security and ‘national interest’, two concepts the definition of which the beloved ruling class reserves solely for itself…. Neither of those two concepts have anything to do with protecting the interests of American citizens; they only serve to protect the status quo. How else does one explain such statements as the following:

“You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in their struggle for independence.” — Charles Austin Beard, American Historian, 1874-1948

This is the absolute truth. We see this every day, in irrefutable evidence provided by videos of how using the words our forefathers used can get an American citizen shot by the police, ‘for resisting arrest’, or, for ‘disobeying a lawful order by an officer’…. It’s pretty hard to refute visual/auditory evidence, but, time after time, people continue to die, and no police officer is ever charged…. It is a disgrace, and, a national shame, one my father would have deplored with every fiber of his being…. I share that disgust, and, intend to never submit to such treatment myself, without making it clear it is a mistake to assume that a free man can be oppressed…. Whoever tries to take my rights will find I only have those rights I am able to defend…

In the meantime, here are a bunch of other statements that cover the same subject, from various angles, by various contemporary and historical figures; some are examples of how things ought to be, others point out the nature of the problem, or, at least, some of the motivation behind it…. All are, to my mind, spot on….

“If Congress can determine what constitutes the general welfare and can appropriate money for its advancement, where is the limitation to carrying into execution whatever can be effected by money?” — South Carolina Senator William Draden 1828

(Oops! Another warning missed by the general public, from someone who apparently saw what was happening, right from the start…. Typical….)

“Annoy a Fundamentalist: Tell him the truth!” — Sardonic Bee

“Any person under the age of thirty, who, having any knowledge of the existing social order, is not a revolutionist, is an inferior.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Solon gave the following advice: “Consider your honour, as a gentleman, of more weight than an oath. Never tell a lie. Pay attention to matters of importance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Solon, xii

“Conservative: Proof that evolution is not an exact science.” — Polly Sci Bee

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

“Capitalism in the United States has undergone profound modification, not just under the New Deal, but through a consensus that continued to grow after the New Deal. Government in the U. S. today is a senior partner in every business in the country.” — Norman Cousins

“We have watched American democracy at close hand for many years and we believe few governments are institutionally so susceptible to dictatorship as this one.” — Gerald Johnson

“The statesman shears the sheep, the politician skins them.” — Definitive Bee

“The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anything but himself.” — Sir Richard F. Burton

“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” — Jacquin’s Postulate on Democratic Government

“Is it fair to hold politicians to the same standards as humans?” — Snarky Bee

Books are burning
In the main square, and I saw there
The fire eating the text.
Books are burning
In the still air
And you know where they burn books
People are next.

~~ “Books Are Burning”, XTC ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

Sublime Indifference


Faces tell such stories

as these,

we know.

No one saw,

ever.

No one sees,

ever.

But, we know.

Forgotten,

deliberately bought

with

consistent threats

of Sitcoms,

Paisley Ties,

yes, and,

Lava Lamps;

proof offered

unbidden

 of Death.

Only

of Death.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 5/21/2015.

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lao

    In my world, pearls such as this are the standard. As far as any philosophy goes, other than my own, Taoism is the closest attempt made by mankind to describe Reality, period. Beginning, and ending, a lesson/pearl with Taoist principles is a sure way to ensure the balance, and accuracy, of whatever is created…. Add one in the middle, and, it’s unassailably perfect. Go ahead, try to refute ANY of it….  Enjoy!….

My teachings are very easy to understand and very easy to practice.
But no one can understand them and no one can practice them.
In my words there is a principle.
In the affairs of men there is a system.

~~ Lao-Tzu ~~


“You don’t know how much you don’t know until you know a lot.” — Nick Holland

“While all things have their opposites, it is also true that in each the spirit of the opposite exists.” — Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi writer

“Clay is moulded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing. … Thus, taking advantage of what is, we recognize the utility of what is not.” — Lao Tzu

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” — Carl Jung

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.  Curiosity has its own reason for existing.  One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.  It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.  Never lose a holy curiosity.” — Albert Einstein

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.
I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~


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I see it is done. Clearly, time to post; what the hell, it’s only two hours (and two days….) overdue, according to the previous paradigm. Good thing a new one is under construction…. For now, I’ll merely say there WILL be more Pearls; when that might occur is anybody’s guess. If the past two days are an indication, it shouldn’t be too long. See y’all then, ffolkes; you can 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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Absent gestures of high regard….

Ffolkes,

“Man has made use of his intelligence, he invented stupidity.”

~~ Remy De Gourmant ~~

Last of Eire 2015 019

Cows is Cows ~ These are Irish Cows


Good morning…. I could, in view of the actual nature of Reality, express that sentiment much more accurately, but, what fun would that be? Nobody really wants to know, anyway, right? So, what’s the point? None. And, if we can do nothing else around here today, let us at least try to have a point….

Wait. Do we really want to set a precedent like that? Maybe we should rethink that for a moment; it’s not as if there’s any real money riding on the decision, so, nobody will pay any attention. In this society, money talks, bullshit walks, as it is said in many places, all of them financially certified as bankable, the ultimate test of reality for an oligarch. Oops…. How did we start ranting so quickly? I wasn’t even feeling any particularly sharp angst anywhere, were you? Hmm…. the urge must be getting pretty strong…

It will have to wait, though, as I’m not done here in the intro….. Or, wait a minute…. Am I? Let me just check this little gauge right over here, and…. well! I’ll be damned! (No doubt on that one, is there?…. Ha!) According to this, we ARE done! There’s a bit of nonsense, a greeting, of sorts, some mini-ranting, or facsimile thereof, and some general confusion. Yep. That’s all of them…. Okay, then. Luigi, it seems we are finished here; take it away, as soon as you…..whoa! Hang on, ffolkes…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“There is no sun without shadow and it is essential to know the night.” — Albert Camus

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Last of Eire 2015 024

Ireland’s Best Feature ~ The Irish


I’m not in the mood to search You Tube today, so, I’ll put in some of the pictures I took in Ireland/Europe…. I didn’t get as many as I wished, being a bit under the weather, and I’m grateful for the help I received in getting as many as I did…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

Last of Eire 2015 002

Galway B&B

Last of Eire 2015 006

Gaelic/English Road Signs

Last of Eire 2015 003

Common Sight on any walk in Ireland

More Galway 005

Monument to the Famine Victims ~ White Strand Beach, Galway

More Galway 033

Monument to the Famine Victims II

More Galway 044

Abandoned Church in Galway

More Galway 051

Typical Irish Colors for Buildings

Last of Eire 2015 013

Scenes from a train ~ Leaving Galway for Dublin

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    I had thought by now I’d feel like ranting; I even let a bit of angst out in the intro as a precursor…. Now I’m here, it’s all gone, and I don’t even care. I’ve got a few little indictment style shots I’ve collected, which, if SB will cooperate by augmenting with a couple more, will serve our purpose ‘sufficient unto the day’, as it were…. And, if not, well, it will have to do, anyway….. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s all true as the day….

1. No matter what they’re telling you, it’s not the truth.
2. No matter what they’re talking about, they’re talking about money.

 ~~ Todd’s Political Principles ~~


“There is not enough love and kindness in the world to permit us to give any of it to imaginary beings.” — Nietzsche

“Any system of religion which has anything in it which offends the mind of a child cannot be a true system.” — Thomas Paine

“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.” — Albert Camus

“Make money and the whole nation will conspire to call you a gentleman.” — George Bernard Shaw

“It’s hard to decide if T.V. makes morons out of everyone or if it mirrors Americans who really are morons to begin with.” — Martin Mull

“Mankind…  infests the whole habitable Earth and Canada.” — Ambrose Bierce

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Comedy_Tragedy

Serendipity Morning

My mind wants to fly,
   my soul wants to hold close, the source,
strong, the moments of time;
   each as precious as golden thread,
binding together such elements of longing desire.

Love hovers, always patient,
   seeking the open heart,
reaching for the promise of tomorrow…..
   only for one, only for now, only what is real….
Dreaming, the morning calls,
   heavy with mordant belief,
replete, and eternally alive…..

~~ gigoid ~~


Written April Fool’s Day, 2013.

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pearls_3

    In order to get this done, I’ve gone to the archives. Believe it or not, this Pearl has taken more than seven hours to produce…. Something must be done. Damn! Guess who gets THAT job? Yep…. SIGH… We’ll see how it goes; for now, this will do….

From 6/24/2013:

All things considered, it’s been a good morning…. This isn’t to say it hasn’t been without its difficulties, but, I’m trying really hard not to be a whiner, so we’ll pass over all that, and get on with it…. Here is a seven-star pearl for your delectation, lovingly selected over the last hour from Smart Bee, who has been a bit off, but, came through in the end. The point of this is related to the above rant, but, not so’s you could tell at first glance…. Don’t sweat it, it’s all good stuff, even without the point, and who wants a point that’s all belabored, anyway, right?…. So, make sure you have your chopsticks, the protective bib provided for your convenience is in place, and you should be able to get through it without any new laundry bills…..

“You can best serve civilization by being against what usually passes for it.” — Wendell Berry

“All things come round to him who will but wait.” — Henry W. Longfellow (1807-1882) — Tales of a Wayside Inn, The Student’s Tale

“Against those skilled in the attack, the enemy does not know where to defend.  Against the experts in defense, the enemy does not know where to attack.” — Sun Tzu

“What matters today is not the difference between those who believe and those who do not believe, but the difference between those who care and those who don’t.” — Abbe’ Pierre

“If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; but if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.” — Don Marquis

“I don’t necessarily agree with everything I say.” — Marshall McLuhan

“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” — Eden Phillpotts

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It’s done; no more can, or should be said of this one. I won’t detail all the weird stuff that kept it from getting done before this, but, it includes cats, and hats, and that’s that. Enough, I’m outta here, and I MIGHT explain tomorrow, should I make it that far…. See y’all then, ffolkes….

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Tinny pegs, and tall….

Ffolkes,

“Fortune is unstable, while our will is free.”

~~ Diogenes Laertius — Epicurus, xxvii ~~

Dublin to Galway 011

Deeper Dreams/Eireänne


Good morning…. I use the term, not JUST loosely, but, in full knowledge it’s unreasonably optimistic, even now, when any good at all would be, well, good.

Hmm. That didn’t come out quite right, did it? Not quite as planned, either…. Oh, well….  So be it, anyway.

Hi, there. I’m back. Sort of. Are we confused yet?

Oh, good. Me, too. But, it’s okay, because at least I’m home to BE confused. Here, if and/or when I must spew, I know where to go, whether the need(must!) be mental, physical, or spiritual…. Each, as you know, of course, requires a different receptacle, all designed to prevent cross-contamination, of which none wish it so…. No, we all wish to keep them separate, in sturdy, attractive, thoroughly-tested nocturnal urns of great beauty, which I keep in numerous handy locations at home. (Doesn’t everyone?) In public, or on the road, as we’ve/I’ve been recently, one can’t always arrange matters so neatly, not ahead of need, anyway.

I wasn’t sure whether to go into moderate piles of detail, a lot of detail, or no details at all, at all, regarding my recent trip; there is certainly a LOT of stuff I need to process in my own mind about what occurred while I was gone. For the moment, since I’m still pretty effing tired from the rather extreme effort I had to expend to reach home, I’ll forgo any long diatribes, merely alluding to the entire episode as my Latest Slip/Slide/Ride Around the Learning Curve…. It has a nice, obscure, yet enticing ring to it, I think…. How ’bout y’all?….

Oh, don’t worry…. I don’t expect a lot of comments on that. Almost purely rhetorical, it was, so, relax. mates…. But, feel free, of course, to add one at the end, should you be so moved. No blockage encouraged here; we don’t even like the word. We like the word moved better. Speaking of which, if I DO decide to discuss the trip, you should find it in the ranting section, since I’ve already perused the news, observing nothing upon which I would comment, other than a lack of stuff on which to comment…. Ahem.

There. That will do. It will have to do, because that’s it for the intro…. In fact, look, it’s an old #4! Better duck, hang on, or go back to sleep….

Shall we Pearl?….

“When you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu

Well, maybe that’s a little grim for a first day back; let’s try again, shall we?….

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” — George Bernard Shaw

Better…. Let’s do this….

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15112676-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-1756-1791-on-engraving-from-1908-one-of-the-most-significant-and-influential

    To keep from overtaxing my brain, which is not yet fully recovered from our ordeal (See? Getting there…. it’s OUR ordeal now, which means the various parts of my shattered psyche are now within shouting distance of each other; first time in days…), I’ve chosen a rather mundane, average, unknown to me mix of our default music from You Tube, simply because I know it will do for our purposes today…. And, who knows? I can use all the healing power I can get…. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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The Mozart Effect
Heal the Body

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More Galway 056

Typical Irish Pub in Galway


Being the sort of person I am, I could easily write a million words about my trip to Ireland. In my head, I’ve already done so…. Sadly, I don’t think I can keep up with all that typing, as the little bit so far required today has taxed my rusty skills, and my carpal tunnels. So, here is a short, two pearl rant on my thoughts re: the oligarchy, and its ubiquitous attempts to shove its collective ass in everyone’s faces, all the time, everyfuckingwhere in the everfuckingworld…. There are only two, remember, so, try to keep up….

“There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.” — Will Rogers

“Once, there was NO fun…  This was before MENU planning, FASHION statements or NAUTILUS equipment… Then, in 1985..  FUN was completely encoded in this tiny MICROCHIP…. It contains 14,768 vaguely amusing SIT-COM pilots!! We had to wait FOUR BILLION years but we finally got JERRY LEWIS, MTV and a large selection of creme-filled snack cakes!” — Zippy the Pinhead

There you go. Now we can get on with the small amount of detail I am allowed to share regarding my time away…. Who’s saying what’s allowed? Oh, no worries, I am…. Who here would care what THEY would allow? Hah! Give me a break…..

Sorry, cheap hack crap, I know. Let’s start again, or, over, or, something….

So, I went into this pub in Galway, where I proceeded to have pizza. Wait. It wasn’t a pub. Walked around the Spanish Arch FOREVER looking for a relatively quiet place for a bite, but, could not find any, it being the night prior to their local version of the Super Bowl, to wit: the Irish Football championships, with Galway playing Kilkenny for the premier league title, for the 8th year in a row (Galway having lost the previous 7 times….). Needless to say, the place was jumping, and, yes, finding a seat anywhere was a challenge.

It took so long, I apparently reached what I discovered was the very end of my rope. Feeling tired but normal, I ordered a second glass of wine after a decent pizza marguerita in an Italian restaurant (in a place called the Spanish Arch, in an Irish town, with a Romanian waitress and a Polish bartender….). I took one sip of that wine, then, stood up, & quickly retired/teleported myself to the nearest restroom, where I proceeded to toss the entire remaining contents of the day’s consumption into the commode, calling desperately for RALPH! With the help of relative strangers, I made it to a taxi, back to the B&B, and into bed, where I remained, essentially, for days….

Always we hope
Someone else has the answer
Some other place will be better
Some other time it will all work out.
This is it.
No one else has the answer
No other place will be better
And it has already turned out.
At the center of your being
You have the answer;
You know who you are and what you want.
There is no need to turn outside
For better seeing.
Rather abide at the center of your being
For the more you leave it
The less you learn.
Search your own heart and see
the way to do is to be.

~~ Lao Tzu ~~


SIGH…. At the time, I’m afraid the sheer genius, and truth, of Lao Tzu’s famous lines left little impression on me, though, now, it makes perfect sense why my subconscious mind chose it for that spot in this missive. Naturally, there was no one else who could make the necessary decisions, so, with the aid of one particularly strong, compassionate person, I was able to get myself home from Galway before I, a) died, b) killed someone, c) first b, then a, d) a+b+c, or, e) started the revolution right there and then….

So, without getting into too many details, other than to say, gee, thanks, doctors, you fuck heads…. I’ll just say this…. Trying to exist without perpetrating violence upon STUPID sheeple for 28 hours straight, while confined in a closed space, with intermittent, all-too-frequent, alternating chills, nausea, muscular twitching, severe stomach pain, and, periods of panicked anxiety, all enhanced by various painful joints, muscles, and/or every single molecule in my body on full alert…. but, don’t move around the cabin!….

Great fun…..

End of rant, and, end of complaints. It’s all getting better, little by little, as I rest, applying the missing pieces to the puzzle of why it happened…. which I do happen to know, and am dealing with in my own fashion…. I’m hoping another day or two of rest will do the trick; it will take that long just to get my internal clock right, I should think…. Ah, well, so much for the world traveler, eh?…. More later on all this, ffolkes….

“I grow old ever learning many things.”

~~ Solon ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

Stray Cats

The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
 may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.

Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
 that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.

Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.

Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone….
yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept….

~~gigoid~~


Written 4/12/2013.

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ankh

    This is a really old-school old-school pearl, which I now don’t have time to explain….. It’s okay, though, because this one will stand up no matter what…. Go ahead, try to knock it over….

“Deem not life a thing of consequence. For look at the yawning void of the future, and at that other limitless space, the past.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 50

“Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms … but a *dying* culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Loss of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.” — Friday’s boss, Mr. Two-Canes Baldwin, from “Friday” by Robert A. Heinlein

“Most people would rather give than get affection.” — Aristotle

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” — Ovid

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” — Maya Angelou

“To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception; it is aneternal loss for which there is no reparation, either in time or in eternity.” — Soren Kierkegaard

“Always be a little kinder than necessary.” — James M. Barrie

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No, I don’t know what happened; all I know is I’ve been at this for hours, and it’s done…. Now to see if I can post it…. We’ll try again tomorrow, ffolkes, if I’ve regained some energy, or, have decided to give in to the demands of Fate. Hmm…. Not bloody likely, I think. We’ll see….

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….

Heretical truth , though heresy, remains truth….

Ffolkes,

I slept and drempt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was duty.

I acted and beheld that duty was joy.

~~ Rabindranath Tagore ~~

snake-piggyback-po_uktel-8-4-15

Take me to your leader, and don’t try anything funny!

Image from the UK Telegraph 8/4/2015


Good morning…. Before we actually begin today, I should relate a small but relatively important piece of new information about these Pearls in general, and, more specifically, about individual pearls, and their attribution. As I’ve shared previously, (though not recently; hence this housekeeping event…), when Smart Bee gives me an aphorism/quote/statement without attribution, I try to take time to plug it into Google, which usually can identify it. When it can’t, and I can’t figure out any other way to find out, I just give Smart Bee the attribution, and let it go at that.

From today on, whenever I feel like it, in such cases where the final attribution for any quote is to go to SB, I may, or may not, provide a short, pithy comment on the pearl itself, in the format of an addition/change to the usual form, e.g., Very Smart Bee, or, Sarcastic Bee, etc. It’s just another little way I can let off a bit of steam, which is part of the cathartic effect of the blogging process…. for me. I know for sure there are others who use this process to maintain their sanity, so, I’m not alone in that; hopefully, this little addition will help smooth it out for me, and, in the process, give y’all a chuckle or two…

So be it. gigoid has spoken. We now return you to your regularly scheduled intro, as this portion was pre-recorded for my convenience, then, locked in the Tardis until time to paste in here…. Slick, eh? Okay, here’s your intro….

{{ dignified silence }}


Gotcha! Okay, Luigi, I think they’re sufficiently stunned; let’s hit it…. Oh, y’all might want to hold on to something, no matter how apt what George says below may, or may not be; bumpy is too mild a word when Luigi’s on a roll….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The power to stand alone is worth acquiring at the expense of much sorrowful solitude.” — George Bernard Shaw

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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    In today’s video/music/entertainment section, we are going to listen to some more of my default choice, i.e., classical music. As a bonus, just below this paragraph, you will find an extra link. This link will take you to the home page of the SF Bay Area’s classical music radio station, KDFC. On their home page, you will find a button that says, “Listen Live”; click the button, to be connected to the streaming channel for KDFC, where you can listen to one of the finest selections of music ever compiled.

Though fully listener-supported, they stream their programs for free; on the home page you can also connect to listen to archived recorded music of various Bay Area events, such as the SF Symphony, every Wednesday evening, and other recordings…. And, you can listen to this fine selection ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!….. FOR FREE!….

An excellent resource, I’d say…. Enjoy:  http://www.kdfc.com/


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Classical Music For Sleep

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Dont keep calm

“All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.”

~~ Aristotle ~~


I’ve always felt a kinship to Aristotle; everything I’ve read attributed to him, and everything I’ve read about him, makes obvious his genius, not only for its depth of wisdom and rationality, but, for its simplicity, and, most importantly, its connection to what is human. This statement exhibits all those qualities, even though merely a general statement of truth as it applies to human nature.

Examining it for the depth of meaning implied by its simplicity explains a lot, about why the world we live in today has become such a burden to the common man, as society sinks ever further into the naturally occurring chaos which is the only possible outcome of such an unbalanced approach to society. The continuing repression of the masses of humanity by the oligarchy can never lead to any sort of harmonious existence for all; there will always be resentment for the all-too-apparent inequality of privilege, heavily in favor the few, over the many.

Trust Aristotle to put his finger on the core problem; humans are so constructed they cannot seem to handle the acquisition of power over others without losing their sense of morality, choosing every time to act in their own self-interest over that of others, regardless of the consequences for those others. They become so focused on the money and power, and their own desires, nothing else matters to them; not ethics, not morals, and certainly not the welfare of other people. One might think there would at least ONE historical report, which describes another outcome, but, I defy anyone to show me any, anywhere in the recorded history of mankind, from the days of ancient Greece, right up to the present, when society did not eventually fall prey to the same inner corruption we see today.

I’ve issued this challenge previously, and never received a single response; I suspect this is because there IS no adequate response (The more realistic side of me says it’s probably because not very many people see these pearls… but, the argument remains the same.). Any such period of time showing any truly ethical form of government was short-lived, as the oligarchy, in every case, has, over time, used their hidden resources to buy treachery, and to manipulate events to suit themselves…. a process at which they have become VERY adept.

Today’s world, with its new technology, threatens to turn our world into a truly dystopian nightmare, with less than .00001% of the people in the world oppressing the remaining seven billion, enforced by their typical violent means, with the added enhancement of computers and robots to assist them in their aim, which, put simply, is nothing less than to enslave the rest of the human race for their own benefit.

Once again, it seems I could rant forever; it also seems, sometimes, as if I already have. So, I’m mostly done, at least for today….. Here are three quick pearls, to give my opinion on the government we have today, then a short finishing blurb…. These 3 are pretty sharp, and pretty clear; no two-by-four needed….

“All forms of government are pernicious, including good government.” — Edward Abbey

“Love of money is the root of all Politicians.” — Obvious Bee

Laws are only words words written on paper, words that change on society’s whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool.” — John J. Miller, And Hope to Die — (in _Jokertown Shuffle – Wild Cards IX_)

I really think it is time for the people of the world to become aware of how ubiquitously they are being lied to, and, how they are enslaved, with their own tacit, ignorant agreement. When that time comes, when people finally realize their true state, it won’t matter how much control the oligarchs THINK they have. What do you think will happen to the predators of mankind when their prey, all 6+ BILLION of them, all get angry at once?… It wouldn’t be particularly hard to get the message across, as most people have heard the story, if only in music…. such as this, from the English speaking world… (I imagine it would translate well; most music is flexible enough to transcend mere language….)

And the sentence you’re paying is too high priced
While you’re living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he’s made on your dreams
~~ Traffic, “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” ~~


No amount of technology, no degree of control would be sufficient to protect them, for when all of mankind realizes the truth, the following would become even more relevant, on a scale unheard of in history….

“Beware of that person who is slow to anger. For when it is long in coming, it stays longer and is warmer and dies not so easily. Abused patience is a very strong fuel for a fire not easily put out by any known means.” — Ancient Smart Bee

Hey, it’s a nice dream, isn’t it? Now I just need to write the song…. You Tube can take care of getting it out to most of mankind….

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Comedy_Tragedy

Dreaming, I wait….


In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art.


~~ gigoid ~~


Written 8/18/2013.

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buddah-out-to-lunch_s

    Here’s a nice little nine-star pearl, with some good stuff to say about life, and the advantages of at least pretending to use one’s mind to live it…. sort of. You’ll see….

“I think, …. Do You?”

~~ Diogenes Bee ~~


” Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing.” — Publius Syrus

“But the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” — Arthur C. Clarke (1917-) — Profiles of the Future (1962; rev. 1973) — “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination”

“The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it.” — Realistic Bee

“A belief is not true because it is useful.” — Henri Frederic Amiel

“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.” — Phaedrus — Book i, Fable 26, 12

“Do you know that disease and death must needs overtake us, no matter what we are doing?   What do you wish to be doing when it overtakes you? If you have anything better to be doing when you are so overtaken, get to work on that.” — Epictetus

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” — Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

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Well, ffolkes, I’ve been over it twice, or three times now; I can’t find anything I missed. I guess it’s done. Damn good thing, too, as I’ve been done for some time. I hope none of what occurred after that point gets me in any deeper than I am already. Time will tell; it always does. It never can keep its mouth shut. Today, I just hope it can do so until I’ve safely donned my protective armor. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, ambush, or no ambush….

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Anecdotal scenes from the Ugly Bug Ball….

Ffolkes,

“The secret of man’s being is not only to live but to have something to live for.”

~~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky ~~

7-31-2015 063

Rorschach Rock

What do YOU see?


Some of y’all may note today’s opening looks slightly different than it has been lately. Good eye….. Not that it means much, there’s no prize or anything, but, hey, credit where credit’s due, I always say. What may not be as apparent is the reason for the change, but, I doubt you’re going to want to spend a long time trying to figure it out, as I’m not going to say, and, we have to go on almost immediately, so, no time for questions…. How ’bout that? Funny how that works, eh?….

S’okay, we’re all used to being ignored, or abused, & expected to just swallow it; our society finds a way to do that to each and every one of us each and every day…. But, I digress…. Ranting in the intro is no longer allowed, as we know, yet, somehow, the rage I’m feeling right now has grown past my ability to sublimate, or repress, or even understand…. I’m very close, emotionally, at least, to my limit. I’m a tough old coot, but, even I must have a limit to how long I can keep myself from firing back at the assholes who make our lives so difficult, in a way that gets their attention….

“I am grim… and harsh… and ripe with fury!  I fight and kill and howl and get *all bloody*!  I go bowling whenever I want!” — The Carrot’s statements on life…

I promised myself (during the FIRST time I was up last night…) I wouldn’t whine, no matter what. So, instead I’ll be aggressively vituperative, in a figurative sense, toward all things asinine, a word which, as we know, forms the basis of our name for our Beloved Ruling Class, and their Masters, those premier assholes of humanity, those servants of evil….. Yes, it’s the Asininnies, those small-spirited, egotistic, misogynistic, buttheads we know and love so little…. I suppose merely verbal, or, in this case, written vitriol won’t really kill the urge, (or, them, sadly…), but, it will help by not spilling it on anything or anyone undeserving of such honors, and help me keep my word to myself, thus abusing y’all less…. It can’t lose, as long as I can keep myself under control….

To assist myself in that task, it would be best to get on with the rest of today’s mess….

This introduction has been brought to you by the makers of tardive dyskinesia, medical science’s most annoying side effect, and, by Insomniacs International…. They’re ALWAYS up, for something or other…. All insults, accusations, indictments, assertions, founded, or unfounded, and, of course, all ridicule, is intentional, and, patently, well-deserved.

No spitting allowed without a permit; limit of three victims, all must be of different category…. snakehead, pundit, dogma dog, or myrmidon, which regulations require be clearly marked on the identification-toe-tags included in your kit. Please provide the caliber of your weapon to the stewardess, and ammunition will be provided….

Let’s do this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Laugh, and the world ignores you. Crying doesn’t help either.”

~~ Smart Bee, the Realist ~~


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Sandclock .jpg

    At the risk of being accused of living in the past, I’m going there anyway, for a specific reason…. I’m in the mood, as mentioned, for some serious ass-kicking. This is the kind of music one should have playing, at full volume, (the level should threaten eardrums for a quarter-mile….), while laying about with one’s weapon of choice…. Mine is a katana, or, perhaps, a staff…. Hell, a bag of rocks will do in a pinch….

As the old mountain-man hard-ass, (Brian Keith, in a BRILLIANT cameo appearance), in “Young Guns”, who rode slowly, sleepily up to the group of gunslingers on his donkey, stepped down, grinned, and, said, as he opened fire with both guns,

“Let’s dance!”….

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Boston Live 7/29/2014

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“If any man have an ear, let him hear.”

~~ Revelations 13:9 ~~

We the People...


Today’s rant will be of a slightly different format, simply because it’s all I could handle at 0330, (the SECOND time I got up last night…). I’ve got a lot of angst (translation: RAGE) built up in me, thanks to insomnia, dramatically increased pain level, and the living hell of tardive dyskinesia q4h like fucking clockwork, all thanks to the kind ministrations and completely asshole nature of my doctors, thank you very much. Assholes.

That said, my need to blame is assuaged, but, the rage is not. I’m not sure I could produce a coherent rant in this state; too many conflicting images of a homicidal nature keep intruding whenever I think about any of the issues I normally choose as the outlet for my dreaded outbursts (dreaded by me, for the adrenalin rush…. I don’t mind the energy, or the anger so much; it’s the hours of coming down that is an ordeal…. almost as bad as the TD….). So, we’ll go with a method I developed a couple years ago, but, never used much. It will work today; the comments I make are shorter….

Here then is the result of my attempt to get all the dross and drivel out of my head, and onto the screen, where it doesn’t cause so much trouble for me….

“Whenever, therefore, the profession of arms becomes a distinct order in the state….the end of the social compact is defeated… No free government was ever founded, or ever preserved its liberty without uniting the characters of the citizen and soldier in those destined for the defense of the state…Such are a well regulated militia, composed of the freeholders, citizen and husbandman, who take up arms to preserve their property, as individuals, and their rights as freemen.” — Richard Henry Lee

Can there be any doubt, in any reasonable mind, our social contract has been dissolved?…. Not only have our armed forces become organizations of professionals, run by hereditary families of warriors, and career students of War, loyal only to their sworn superior officers, not to the people of this country…. Even the National Guard has become a tool of government against the people; remember Kent State, back in the 60’s?

In addition, this professional militarism has spread to the no-longer-civilian police forces in every state, county, and town in this country, even going so far as having the government armed forces share equipment of war with those police forces, spreading their older, unused weaponry and accessories around to those departments, which now view the public as their enemies, not their neighbors…. The people now fear the government, rather than the other way around, as our system was designed to work….

“Deceit in the conduct of war outweighs valor and is worthy of merit.” — Niccolo Machiavelli

Can you think of a better example of how the political mind works differently than that of the public? This, to me, demonstrates perfectly how little the needs of the common man concern those who seek power; it doesn’t even enter into their calculations at all. Why would it, when their ethical/moral model of reality is the exact opposite of that espoused by our most revered scholars and sages, who regard Truth as an inviolable habit for the honorable man….

“Unfortunately, the people of Louisiana are not racists.” — Vice President Dan Quayle, regarding David Duke’s candidacy, 10/12/90, (reported in Esquire, 8/92)

No need for much comment here; Dan speaks for himself. This is included primarily for a bit of comic relief, much needed, I assure you…. Gad! He was/is SO stupid! It makes me cringe, every time I think of how close he was at times to being the President of this country…. I mean, what if the Junior Shrub had choked on some broccoli, or something? Wouldn’t THAT have been perfect irony?…

“Those who voluntarily put power into the hands of a tyrant or an enemy, must not wonder if it be at last turned against themselves.” — Aesop

Another way of reminding ourselves we only have ourselves to blame for all of this…. Sad, hard to swallow, but, true….

“The truest wild beasts live in the most populous places.” — Baltasar Gracian, “The Art of Worldly Wisdom” 1647

I would suppose it’s becoming more than clear I’m feeling a bit snarky today…. All I can say is, so fucking what? Whenever I think of all of the SHIT that flows out of Washington D.C., the truer the above statement becomes to me. I regard all politicians at the national level to be psychopaths, clinically insane, as proven by the mere act of running for an office at that level. Only insane persons WANT that sort of power over others, so, I regard their ambition as concrete proof of their lack of morality, ethics, or standard levels or intelligence, for that matter, all of which goes along perfectly with their incredibly delusional view of Reality….

Damn! I got so hyped up typing that last paragraph, my left hand fell asleep, from typing too fast for too long, as all that vitriol poured out without pause. I’d hoped to carry on for a bit longer, to at least seven pearls, but, it looks like five will have to do….

I’m pissed, ffolkes, if it wasn’t made clear. Just thought you should know…. I guess I’m done for now. I know I didn’t accomplish much, but, I think I got enough crap cleared out to at least get something done today along more constructive lines…. If nothing else, having thus completed this ugly, but, necessary self-imposed duty, it gives me the wherewithal, and the authority, to finish this pearl in the approved manner, with a short statement in summary….

“I came, I saw, I went back into the house.”

~~ gigoid ~~

~~ Wednesday 2015  ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

    Here is one of the first poems I wrote back in 2012, during the period of time my 35 year hiatus at writing in verse came to an end…. Even now, I still think it’s one of my best…. It’s certainly one of the most personal….

Raging at Aging

As old as you feel, we are told, is old as you are,
custom assures such vision will carry us far.
Reality begs to differ, may it be so bold
it is really quite painful, and very, very cold.

The power and strength felt in our halcyon youth
desert us with age, yet another unwelcome truth.
Irony rules our time here on this bountiful earth
as we reflect the changes over time since our birth.

As physical powers fade from this fragile shell,
we learn our mind can serve us quite as well.
The strength that once filled our bones and hearts
is now applied by our will, to more arcane arts.

Life’s greatest gift is our freedom of choice
no matter how often we forget, we still get a voice.
Energy, or apathy, by our will we may choose,
failing to do so, our only way to lose.

Each of us lives in the grip of time and space,
always seeking our balance, our own chosen place.
One must accept reality, for it is true at the core,
all we can do, is all we can do, and nothing more.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 10/17/2012.

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Yin-Yang-symbol-sun-and-moon

Relatively Consensual Reality

Image from 123rf.com via Google Images


This pearl came together in a rather odd fashion; in the end, it’s a pretty good range of concepts, all of which have to do with some of the more important parts of Life as we know it…. Well, I guess a qualifier is called for…. That would be Life as we dubioids know it; don’t worry, if you are one, you’d know (the big, round, honking nose is a dead giveaway). If you don’t, (know, that is…), that’s fine, too, because, hey, you’re a dubioid, and, thus, protected from the worst vicissitudes of Life by your very nature….

See how that works? No? Ah, well….

“If you shut up truth, and bury it underground, it will but grow.” — Emile Zola

“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” — George Bernard Shaw

“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 laugh of a child will make the holiest day more sacred still.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” — Albert Einstein

“Courage conquers all things.” — Ovid

“To teach is to learn.” — Japanese Proverb

“The deed is everything, the glory is naught.” — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“Surely every human being ought to attain to the dignity of the unit.  Surely it is worth while to be one, and to feel that the census of the universe would be incomplete without counting you.  Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and all depths; that there are no walls or fences, or prohibited places, or sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought; that your intellect owes no allegiance to any being, human or divine; that you hold all in fee, and upon no condition, and by no tenure, whatsoever; that in the world of mind you are relieved from all personal dictation, and from the ignorant tyranny of majorities.  Surely it is worth something to feel that there are no priests, no popes, no parties, no governments, no kings, no gods, to whom your intellect can be compelled to pay a reluctant homage.  Surely it is a joy to know that all the cruel ingenuity of bigotry can devise no prison, no dungeon, no cell in which for one instant to confine a thought; that ideas cannot be dislocated by racks, nor crushed in iron boots, nor burned with fire.  Surely it is sublime to think that the brain is a castle, and that within its curious bastions and winding halls the soul, in spite of all worlds and all beings, is the supreme sovereign of itself.” — Robert Green Ingersoll, “The Free Soul”

There you go…. I’m pretty sure I can’t make it any clearer than that, which is too bad, because that’s pretty obscure, isn’t it? Oh, well, c’est la vie, as they say in Paris…. That’s in France, which is why…. oh, never mind…..

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Difficult as it may be to believe, I’m done. For a bit there, it looked as if I might never get enough out to save my ass from another f’d up day in paradise; fortunately for all of us, I did. Y’know what? I’m gonna go buy some champagne, bring it home, pour it in a glass, and toss it down the sink… I HATE champagne! Hmm, maybe I won’t. Maybe, instead, I’ll just go on with the day, and see what happens…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I don’t seem to be able to find a way to keep it from happening….

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

We need less paleolithic data!….

Ffolkes,

Our subjectivity

Is a mirrored,

Spiked casket.

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

yeoldetrip_UK tel 7-19-15 1189

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem

Image from the UK Telegraph, 7/18/2015


Good morning…. In sooth, I really can’t tell whether the morning is of either category today. Having lost all sense of routine in my sleep habits, it is clear I actually have no habits in that regard. Tried hard to time my lie-down to maximize the chances to fall asleep quickly, but, found myself unable to come anywhere close, as pain and twitching hit as soon as I lay down…. Up for two hours again, then down again, to arise almost an hour after expected…

SIGH… Oh well, so much for plans, eh? Let’s go throw together a really fast Pearl, so I can get on with whatever today’s particular battle with Reality may bring….

Shall we Pearl?….

“We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.” — Helen Keller

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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    Speed is of the essence today, so, we’ll go with our default selection…. Enjoy!…

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Classical Music

Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G minor

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Dont keep calm

    C’mon! You KNEW this was coming…. Better grab some trail mix and a beverage; it’s a big one….

Originally posted in January, 2013:

“Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.” — Oscar Wilde

One may always trust Oscar Wilde to be both elegantly witty and intelligently insightful, though, to be sure, many of his most closely held views were somewhat divergent with what was commonly held to be true, philosophically. This divergence was, I believe, mostly deliberate on his part, as he tended to mock that which he did not respect, and he never had much respect for…. well, anything to do with human nature vs. reason and rationality. He mistrusted most people to act morally, and was unafraid of saying so; this, of course, made him both famous, and infamous….. His infamy, I’m sure, ultimately was his undoing, much to society’s loss; as is said so often about our brightest minds, “only the good die young….”

I often wonder, (well, maybe not so often, as much as I’m wondering now…) what the world today would be like, if somehow, some of those bright stars in history had lived to an age where their accomplishments, in relation to the advancement of human thought, and the betterment of the human condition, had a broader, and more lasting effect than their absence has left us. What if Keats had written poetry until he was 85? How many more inventions would have come to us from Nicolas Tesla, had he lived long enough for the rest of the scientific world to catch up to him, instead of hounding him to an early grave? How much more good music, and art, and literature would be available to all of us, if not for this tendency for the best of us to live as a burning meteor, flaming brightly through the sky, until burned out and lifeless?

It is a sad commentary for society to know that it is often the very brilliance of these people that brings about their downfall, at the hands of the ignorant, and the avaricious…. What is even sadder, to me, is that this demonstrates another part of human nature that is responsible for almost every issue in human history, and current society, that causes people to suffer pain, oppression, perpetual struggle, and will most certainly ultimately   lead to the extinction of our species, on this planet, at minimum, if not completely…..

That piece of our nature is the unfortunate characteristic, in a number of humans, to be able to put aside all conscience, and act solely in their own self interest. All of us, of course, possess this to some degree; it is an outgrowth of having a will to survive. To these few others, it is their primary modus operandi; they simply do not take other people, or their concerns, into account when deciding what they are going to do, and are not hampered by the consideration of any suffering they may cause other people, animals, or things.

As is patently obvious, to my mind, every elected official, every high level preacher, every corporate magnate, and a great many lawyers, are all of this ilk, and have, for nearly 230 years now, been quietly and efficiently plundering the pockets and rights of the American people (and those of every other country in the world, for that matter…. it is a HUMAN condition, not just American…. Ours are just some of the most obvious about it….), while simultaneously lying, cheating, and otherwise acting to secure their stranglehold on society.

Anyone who disagrees with this assessment, quite simply, isn’t paying enough attention to the world around them….. Sorry to be so blunt, but the facts are all laid out, right there, almost every day in the news media, if one knows how to look at the larger picture it presents, rather than the individual facets of that picture. Focusing on the little shit is just what those in power wish for people to do…. it keeps them busy not noticing other, more incriminating stuff they are carrying out, in the darkness where they mostly live….

“… change depends on individual acts of courage and commitment. Most such acts are private, invisible, and uncelebrated. But some find a place in the public spotlight; and their influence goes far beyond mere example.” — Arthur C. Clarke & Michael Kube-McDowell,  The Trigger, 1999

Each and every one of us, in the face of what we know about reality, is responsible in some way, and to some degree, for both the way things are, and the way they will be in the future. If you don’t believe that, well, discussion is, for you, probably useless, and little hope remains. For anyone with moderate insight, however, this is plain, clear truth, and we all need to accept it before any significant progress can be expected against those who are sociopathic, which I define, and hereby name, as homo suicidus, those who would kill us all…. But, it is imperative that we act soon, for the damage we have done, and continue to do to our world, is at a point where the effects are nearly irreversible, and even if we manage to wrest control from the beloved ruling class,it may be too late to save our lives….

“In regard to disagreeable and formidable things, prudence does not consist in evasion, or in flight, but in courage. He who wishes to walk in the most peaceful parts of life with any serenity must screw himself up to resolution. Let him front the object of his worst apprehension, and his stoutness will commonly make his fear groundless.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, _Essays_, Prudence

It is my hope, small and pale though it be, that we WILL speak up, that the rational among us will rise up, and take back the control of our destiny from the hands of those who would see us all die, rather than give up their own control. It will only happen when men of courage, as defined by Mr. Emerson, stand up to those who would render us all impotent, for their own benefit. The only hope that exists for the rest of us lies in enough of us showing this kind of courage, and overcoming the fear that keeps us in thrall…..

“I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.” — John Milton (1608-1674) — Areopagitica

Myself, I don’t want to die ignominiously, gasping for breath, because I didn’t have the courage to speak up, and to fight back against the immoral, avaricious assholes who dominate society….. Instead, let’s create a whole new world, without a beloved ruling class, at all….. Who knows? We might just find out that anarchy works!….. Worth a try, I think….. And, if it doesn’t work, well, we can always try a technocracy, which we have yet to do in history….. With a bit of foresight and planning, it might just be what we need to survive our own foolishness… Maybe, Richard Brautigan had the truest prophetic vision, when he wrote “All watched over, by machines of loving grace….”

“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.”

~~ Pablo Picasso ~~

History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

~~ Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning” ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

    Again with the archives, already!…. Ah, hell, what’s a poor white rabbit to do?….

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 ~~


Written 4/1/2013.

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ankh

    Here is today’s only fresh section, outside the intro & closing statements, you will see today. Happily, it’s a good one, which speaks about Life, Love, Death, and all that cool stuff…. Enjoy!….

“There is serenity in Chaos.

Seek ye the Eye of the Hurricane.”

~~ I Ching ~~


“The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” — Aristotle

“Not he who has little, but he who wishes more, is poor.” — Seneca (B.C. 3-65 A.D.)

“We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.” — George Bernard Shaw, English playwriter

“The little girl expects no declaration of tenderness from her doll. She loves it – and that’s all.     It is thus that we should love.” — DeGourmont

“I would rather live and love where death is king than have eternal life where love is not.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

“Truth never hurts the teller.” — Robert Browning

“The mind covers more ground than the heart but goes less far.” — Chinese proverb

“Death in itself is nothing; but we fear

To be we know not what, we know not where.”

~~ John Dryden — Aurengzebe, Act iv, Sc. 1 ~~


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

I’m not even going to think about what it took to get this done; if I did, I’d have to shoot myself. Since I’m not, I suppose I should close this down, so we can all get on to bigger & better things, should we have any of those on tap…. Why don’t y’all go see, while I do the same?…. See y’all tomorrow, unless you, and I, can learn to zig, instead of zag….

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Buffed up laces with worn out traces….

Ffolkes,

“If at first you doubt, doubt again, and again …”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Alaska Grand Adventure 091

Dancing Ferryboats, Victoria Harbor, B.C.


Good morning…. Or, actually, wait! I was wrong. The meter doesn’t read “good” morning; it says “frood” morning! I should have known, as the ambient atmospheric pressure is obviously way far away from anything approaching “good”. I can’t say just what “frood” means, but, it’s clearly not what we expected…. Ah well, given the presence of dancing ferry boats, I think we can give the universe a break, & just go along with whatever it has to say…. Otherwise, we’ll never get out of this intro….. Trust me, I’ve been here before…

Since that’s the case, I’m making an executive decision, to take us onward, in spite of our lack of any clue as to destination. I guess, when it comes down to it, that is true of every day here at ECR. And, that’s fine with me; the journey is much more valuable to me than the final destination…. Okay, let’s do this, ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?….

“A new broom sweeps clean, but the old brush knows the corners.” — Ancient Human Proverb

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Lord of the Rings

Gandalf & Shadowfax arrive at Helm’s Deep


Today’s video selection will be appreciated by all those with an imagination… Oh, right…. Okay, enjoy, ffolkes….


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The Lord of the Rings
Animated Version

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13923408614402

And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon Gods they’d made.

~~ Paul Simon ~~


No, it’s not the wrong icon; it’s deliberate. Today’s ranting section will consist of an old-school pearl with a group of comments, thoughts, and observations on the subject of religion, which, as I’m sure you have guessed by now, is one we here at ECR reserve primarily for those occasions when we are feeling a bit snarky, with a side dish of smirk. Some of them may be offensive to those who hold faith as more valuable than reason; too bad, so sad, move on…. The rest of us shall enjoy the fun….

“They [the clergy] believe that any portion of power confided to me will  be exerted in opposition to their schemes.  And they believe rightly: for I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” — Thomas Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800

“Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile!” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

“No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what he means.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Ridicule is the best test of truth.” — Lord Chesterfield

“It would be well, if some who have taken upon themselves the ministry of the Gospel, that they would first preach to themselves, then afterwards to others.” — Cardinal Pole

“To be an atheist requires an infinitely greater measure of faith than to receive all the great truths which atheism would deny.” — Joseph Addison

“No one who accepts the sovereignty of truth can be a foot soldier in a party or movement.   He will always find himself out of step.” — Sidney Hook

DEVIL: A popular character in mythology, commonly blamed by Christians for everything from plagues to burnt toast. Of course, if the devil ever actually appeared, it would scare these people shitless.” — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA

“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.” — Garrison Keillor

See? Relatively painless, as long as one chooses not to wear blinders…. Onward, ever onward we go….

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Comedy_Tragedy

    Being the compassionate, kindly sort, I wouldn’t wish for the other categories of Asininnies to feel left out of the fun today, so, here, to go with our persecution of the faithful, we’ll have a bit of fun at the expense of the Talking Heads, those pompous, avaricious gobshites who compose the elitists of our Beloved Ruling Class, the Politicians and Pundits!…. And, we’ll do so without involving the delicate reputation of any other of our society’s poets, by using one of my own outbursts…. Enjoy!….

A Few Words of Note

In place of ranting and raving about assholes every day
maybe I’ll try something more fun.
Rather than throwing words at all the assholes on public pay
I’ll switch to shooting at them, with a gun….

Should I actually hit one, purely by mistake,
maybe it would wake them up.
Maybe, if they had to think, or actually cut us a break,
we’d see a chance to win at life, to take a step up.

Our nation, such as it is today, was founded by men who told the truth;
that morality disappeared long ago.
Simple ethical strength so bright, so prevalent in our country’s youth
was soon corrupted, corporate interests now run the show.

Nothing would please me more than to fire off some rounds,
if only to gain their attention.
But, I can no longer run, I’ve gained too many pounds;
so, my keyboard and intellect must serve to fulfill my intention.

I won’t stop, of that you may be sure
I love my freedoms, and the philosophy from which it springs.
Tom, and Ben, and John, and Pat, those patriots pure
gave me their example, and the inner peace it brings.

If bullets won’t persuade our elected liars to toe the ethical line,
I’ll throw my most powerful words…..
If nothing else, it will make them wriggle to escape, or voice their pitiful whine,
thus exposing themselves for what they are…. plain and simple turds.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 7/19/2014.

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About Hopi Indian Symbols

“I think I am. That’s close enough.”

~~ Peruaosophy, axiom #1 ~~


Okay, ffolkes…. I have no excuses today. I was up early, but, somehow, just couldn’t seem to pull it together (SB wasn’t much help at first, but, came through in the end). The parameters for this old-school pearl were set to find quotes on ‘reason vs. faith’. I have no idea how it came out the way it did, but, I could probably figure it out, if I bothered to think about it…. It just seems easier to let it all work on the underside of your consciousness, in a semi-subliminal fashion…. Oh, right; you might want to hide your credit cards; ya never know what might happen when subliminal suggestions start affecting your brain….

Stupidity is no excuse for not thinking.” — Smart Bee

“Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.” — Mark Twain

“If error is corrected whenever it is recognized as such, the path of error is the path of truth.” — Hans Reichenbach

“By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 3

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” — Albert Einstein

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” — Oscar Wilde, “Oscariana”

“Only a brave person is willing honestly to admit, and fearlessly to face, what a sincere and logical mind discovers.” — Rodan of Alexandria

“True myth may serve for thousands of years as an inexhaustible source of intellectual speculation, religious joy, ethical inquiry, and artistic renewal.  The real mystery is not destroyed by reason.  The fake one is.  You look at it and it vanishes.  You look at the Blonde Hero–really look–and he turns into a gerbil.  But you look at Apollo, and he looks back at you.  The poet Rilke looked at a statue of Apollo about fifty years ago, and Apollo spoke to him.  ‘You must change your life,’ he said.  When the true myth rises into consciousness, that is always its message.  You must change your life.” — Ursula K. LeGuin

“Yeah, but you’re taking the universe out of context.” — Hacker wisdom

Time and again, example proves the best teacher; I reiterate, it’s all in the wrist….

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

Well…. that was…. something. I’m going to let it fly, simply because, in spite of the casual nature of the above, putting it together seems to have exhausted me…. Go figure. Ah well, it has the very attractive quality of being ‘done’, so, I’ll take it. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if the past nearly four years are any indication to go by…..

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.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….