Tag Archives: George Will

A mess for all seasons….

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Ffolkes,

“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”

~~ Samuel Clemens, (Mark Twain) ~~

Galway Bay sea wall

Galway Bay Sea Wall, looking South East


Hajime…. Having daily examples as to the veracity and ubiquitous nature of Murphy’s Laws, it should’nt have surprised me this morning when he decided to make my title all-too-appropriate. As some of y’all know (because I haven’t explained in a while) the titles of these Pearls are NOT connected, in any way other than subconsciously to what takes place below them, in the blog itself. I create them before actually finishing the blog, when I’m preparting the email version to be sent out.

When creating a title, the primary characteristics I shoot for are two-fold. First, it must make little or no actual sense in reality; second, it should have nothing at all to connect it to the contents of the day’s post. That’s it. If it turns out to be a compelling phrase that actually brings new people in to read, simply because of its weirdness, so much the better. Once it is done, and typed into the subject line, THEN I go finish writing whatever parts of the Pearl aren’t done…. Simple, yes?

Today, however, about 30 seconds after writing it in the email, Murphy himself stepped in; I saw it. An invisible hand pushed a jar of magic cream over the edge of the table where my computer sits (I tend to keep it close by….), knocking it to the floor, where the lid flew off, and the cream flew out, spreading itself in a nicely formed splash pattern, all over the couch and floor, BETWEEN two parts of a shelf, where it was nearly impossible to reach….
Perfect place for me to ruin my back completely to clean it up….. SIGH…. He is SUCH an asshole!

However, I managed to get it cleaned up, in spite of the massive pain in my back, the curious cat, who had to investigate both the spill, and the cleanup process, closely enough to be in the way the whole time, and, the immensely painful, dangerous act of trying to get up from the awkward position on the floor needed to get AT the fucking mess…. Now, it has furnished me with WAY more than enough BS to fill up this intro, so, I suppose that would be the iconic silver lining all those assholes talk of all the time….

Fuck this. Let’s get to the oyster beds before somebody comes to the door, and I end up in jail for killing an innocent person, Not a great start to the day, I’d imagine…. Instead, I’ll employ one of our newest toys, which I found in an old cabinet, in a dark corner of the Tardis….. Looks old, but, serviceable…. I’m going to push this button, right here, marked, “Anywhere at all”…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“When we step into the family, by the act of being born, we do step into a world which is incalculable, into a world which has its own strange laws, into a world which could do without us, into a world we have not made. In other words, when we step into the family we step into a fairy-tale.” — G. K. Chesterton, Heretics, CW, I, p.143

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beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Image from dectrendsk.esy.es via Google Images


Even though most of the time I choose to ignore my training as a consumer, like every other American child, I was taught how to make decisions based solely on expediency….. I’m making one such today, simply because Leelu is trying to make it impossible to finish this post before taking an hour to play with her; she just wasn’t satisfied with the half-hour I already gave her…. She’s sitting, now, about four inches from the computer, staring at the screen, trying hard to be in the way….

SIGH…. That’s why you get this choice, because it was simple, and, you can take over the finding of any further selections for yourself, by following the link to the page on You Tube where this version of the Fifth lives…. Enjoy! I gotta go figure out how to get the next section done before she starts biting for attention….

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Beethoven’s Fifth

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All seems infected that th’ infected spy,
As all looks yellow to the jaundic’d eye.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Criticism, Part ii, Line 358 ~~

buddah-out-to-lunch_s


“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.” — Buddha

This particular icon, which I stole from another blogging friend, isn’t often seen atop this section. But, this particular example of mindfulness and insight from Gautama Buddha, made its use mandatory. So be it…..

Let’s examine this assertion for its relevance in today’s world, shall we? Why not? We have little better to do than try to discover some of the reasons our world is in the throes of a desperate need for accepting change, for, if we do not, I suspect there is little hope for our entire species, as well as many others, to survive the coming century. Hopefully, we can find a consensus amongst the people of the world which will afford at least an opportunity to live through it, rather than merely more proof there isn’t any chance at all….

How, you may ask, do the words of the Buddha apply today? Well, let’s see….. Hmm…. Perhaps, the quote above the Buddha’s laughing face, by Pope, says, in essence, much the same as does the Buddha; the difference is only one of POV, and, perhaps, a matter of syntax, and, who the fuck cares about that?

We all SHOULD, of course, but, hey, nobody much even likes to say “syntax”, much less learn what it means, or how important it is to communication…. Humans are funny that way; if they don’t wish to learn something ( which is, in essence, denying their very nature, as the creature most able TO learn….)( Maybe….. Hard to say exactly what the dolphins have figured out already that we don’t…. They are the only ones on this planet with a bigger brain, comparatively….), they just WON’T. Perverse, as well as lazy, it seems….

Since we humans ARE lazy, and, I’m human, I’m going to change directions here. The concept under discussion is the human mind, and, how it works for us, essentially. The accuracy of Buddha’s observation, and understanding of that nature shows us, in an unequivocal fashion, how the world’s status today, in a state of inordinate chaos, in society, in government, in personal relations between people, has, at its root, this part of our nature, for it leads us to depend on the illusions and delusions we are taught from the cradle, to use expedience as a reason for acting, to using Ego to drive ALL of our social interactions, until the confusion reaches the point at which we see it, where nobody on the planet has any sort of peace….. not to mention the simple fact we are going to kill our entire species, taking thousands of other life-forms down with us, if we don’t change rapidly the way we are approaching life.

That said, it seems Smart Bee wants to place much of the blame on our theory, a badly mistaken one, that we NEED to be governed, for our own good…. Such bullshit! Let’s see what he/she/it found for us, rather than listen to my ranting any further, shall we? We shall….

“I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.” — H. L. Mencken

“The sense of justice springs from self-respect; both are coeval with our birth. Children are born with an innate sense of justice; it usually takes twelve years of public schooling and four more years of college to beat it out of them.” — Edward Abbey

“On a throne at the center of a sense of humor sits a capacity for irony. All wit rests on a cheerful awareness of life’s incongruities. It is a gentling a awareness, and no politician without it should be allowed near power.” — George Will

“A hand grenade exploded in a school of fish will supply food for days.” — U.S. Armed Forces Survival Manual

“Lawyers: the best argument against gun control..” — Fuckin’ A Bee

“Money confers the power to command the labor of others. Love of money is love of power. And love of power is the root of evil.” — Edward Abbey

“The “beast” is a myth we have created, a scapegoat, upon which we project the image of ourselves we are unwilling to acknowledge. When anyone behaves in a peculiarly unpleasant manner we tend to answer that he behaved “like a beast,” when the fact is, of course, that no beast every behaves so iniquitously as men frequently does… The myth of the beast is perpetuated from generation to generation. The result is a perversely distorted view of the nature of other animals, and a profoundly impoverishing failure to understand our true kinship with the rest of animated nature. So-called primitive peoples have never lost this kinship with other animals… Without the benefit of a Darwinian theory of evolution our technologically less advanced peoples in their creation myths and in their conduct toward the animal world exhibit a far deeper understanding of the interrelatedness of all living things than does so-called civilized man.” — Ashley Montagu,_The Humanization of Man_, 1962

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Comedy_Tragedy

    Poetry-wise, today, I got nothin’. Here’s a poet damn near everyone has heard of, but, few have read, or appreciated, though she is responsible for the very nature of ALL the poetry we see today…. From a VERY LONG fucking TIME AGO, here is the poetess who began much of it all…..

He Is More Than a Hero

He is more than a hero
he is a god in my eyes–
the man who is allowed
to sit beside you — he

who listens intimately
to the sweet murmur of
your voice, the enticing

laughter that makes my own
heart beat fast. If I meet
you suddenly, I can’t 

speak — my tongue is broken;
a thin flame runs under
my skin; seeing nothing,

hearing only my own ears
drumming, I drip with sweat;
trembling shakes my body

and I turn paler than
dry grass. At such times
death isn’t far from me

~~ Sappho ~~

circa 600 BC


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A-laughing-girl-and-her-camel

    I couldn’t help myself. The picture is too perfect for today’s final pearl. You’ll need to read all of them before you will know why…. Tricky, I know, but, hey, works for me, eh? Enjoy, ffolkes. Oh, some of them may appear weird, or out of place. They’re not; just go with it, you’ll see…. Well, I hope….

**********

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is man.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 1 ~~

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“Most people prefer certainty to truth.”

— Observant Bee

**********

“Then again, e=mc^2 may only be a local phenomenon.”

— Einstein

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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro…”

~~ Dr. Hunter S. Thompson ~~

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“Healthy mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine,
because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for
are a genuine portion of reality;
and they may after all
be the best key to life’s significance.”

~~ William James ~~

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“The things you can’t laugh at control you.”

~~ Buddha Bee ~~

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“Take a dog for a companion and a stick in your hand.”

~~ English Proverb ~~

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“Love is a dog from hell.”

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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“‘T is but a part we see, and not a whole.”

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

 ~~ Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 60 ~~


I like balance. Don’t you? Balance is good….

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Having thus completed THIS duty, I can now go perform the next. That’s how it works; the completion of one duty provides the privilege of acting upon the next. Otherwise, it becomes hard to look one’s self in the eye each morning in the mirror…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the sun comes up again…. As I’ve said in the past, the odds on that are pretty good….

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 -- 5012


À bientôt, mon cherí….


			

			
								

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
We shall begin in doubt….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Things ain’t what they used to be and never were.”


~~ Will Rogers ~~


Glasgow-Greenock Port 029


     Pelete delo sogrino, igintelete. Doftole singre ankalatuprofuto! Sporiada se kunka, tele se falluke. Protogat salumbo, te gorte so fahl…..


So, I was sitting here, staring at the screen, when the line above flowed, very gently, from my brain to the screen, transported without comprehension by fingers of steel…. Well, they felt like steel, anyway. And, no, I don’t know what it means, and, in fact, I suspect it is in a language that has been dead since before the sinking of Atlantis, many, many moons ago…. All I really know for sure is that every single word of it was rejected by Spell Checker….


Not that I’m an expert in dead languages, but, I am fairly familiar with the current crop, and this, though it resembles several language’s word patterns, is nothing like any of those I’ve heard…. If anyone out there thinks it might be one they know, please, let me know via a comment…. Google spit at me when I plugged it in to their translator, and my little translation program froze for almost an hour, before telling me to never ask that question again, and what did I think I was doing, messing with a free program like that….


I suppose, at this point, I should just give in, and give up the ghost, in a manner of speaking….. Of course I made it up. What else? You expected, perhaps, some sort of actual phrase from a real language? If so, y’all need to spend a bit more time here, to gather some more info on me, which would have told you to never trust your senses, or to ever, ever take something I say in this intro seriously…. This is where it ALL hangs out, all my weirdness, all my angst, all my silliness…. because it’s all allowed to play with whomever it finds, and to say, and do, anything at all, if it only fills in the space needed to call this legal…..


Hell, some of the crap I’ve pulled here could conceivably have been prosecutable, had any lawyers caught wind of it. Especially with some of the rants I start; they do have a tendency to be somewhat vitriolic in nature when found in this section, with little regard for saying what is legally acceptable…. I guess one could say I’ve been a bit lucky there…. Today’s little blurb is even stranger than usual, as I seem to be slipping in and out of real-time as if it were a raincoat, on a rainy day in town…. On and off, off and on, we have been teasing reality with a bit of fantasy, pushing it for all it’s worth…. In this market, that won’t be much, but, hey, we’re a non-profit organization, so no big deal, eh?


In fact, I see I’ve blathered quite sufficiently for one morning, and may now proceed to fill in the rest of this mess, with whatever comes to mind today…. That, I can tell, MAY be somewhat odd, to say the least…. I’m in an odd mood, to be sure…. For me, that’s saying something, indeed…. We do odd quite well, when we do it at all…. and, when we FEEL odd, well…. It’s probably best not to give too much warning, lest y’all be tempted to ask for a refund, before we get out of the foyer…. In fact, let’s be downright ruthless, okay?…..


Shall we Pearl?


“Yes,” said Piglet, “Rabbit has Brain.” There was a long silence. “I suppose,” said Pooh, “that’s why he never understands anything.” — A. A. Milne


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It probably won’t take quite so long to read today’s post, as it would take to hear all of this collection, but, here is some pretty good music to listen to while reading this blog…. Trust me, Pearls are long, admittedly; I doubt, however, it will take eight hours for y’all to plow your way through it…. But, then, one never knows, do one?….




8 Hours best of Classical Music – 8 Stunden Klassische Musik

































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“Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself.  Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others?”” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)


As many of y’all may have realized by now, I hate to be too obvious…. In light of that, rather than a rant on the mess our country has stepped into in Missouri, with yet ANOTHER asinine denial of justice, I’ll go with a rant from the archives, on another subject close to my heart…. Well, actually, in terms of how I feel about it, it’s much closer to my ass, but, we’ll go with heart for now, to maintain our dignity, such as it may be…..


It’s good to remember this issue, because it hasn’t gone anywhere at all…. In fact, it has worsened considerably, as the administration continues to completely ignore the public’s wishes in this, continuing its obsessive quest to expand the degree to which they spy on us…. If you doubt me, just read the damn news…. It’s all over the place….


From 11/4/2013:


“I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is  largely a waste of time.” — H. L. Mencken


Eric Snowden will someday be recognized as the honorable Über-geek he really is; more importantly, I am hoping that he’ll rightfully be admired as an American hero. It is already clear that he was just as brave as any soldier on the front lines of a war, for having had the courage and integrity to defy his corporate-controlled, amoral spy-masters, to reveal to the world the illegal and seemingly limitless spying tactics used by the NSA at the behest of our governmental corporate lackeys, knowing full well that by doing so, he was setting himself up to be persecuted by them. This situation is a perfect example of how the government will say one thing in public, and do another in private…. More specifically, it shows how little the government believes in its own need to follow the laws they make…. They seem to feel as if the making of the laws allows them to assume they are exempt from them….


“I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face.  Don’t trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance, any day in the week, if there is anything to be got by it.” — Charles Dickens


We have “whistleblower laws” in place in our country, laws which are SUPPOSED to protect people like Mr. Snowden from being prosecuted when they bring illegal activities into the light of day; theoretically, these laws keep them safe from the people they are accusing, who would otherwise try to harm them to stop the bleeding…. However, our dearly beloved ruling class chooses to ignore all that, and are trying to bring charges of espionage and treason against him, as though he were some kind of spy himself, working for another country….


Eric Snowden was not a spy, unless it was for US, the people; after all, the NSA did hire him in the first place didn’t they? He must have had some technical credibility, and must have been relatively clean of misdeeds, as an über-geek, in order to have been asked to work for them at all, right? I would assume so…. Of course, that makes the arguably incorrect assumption that the NSA has some clue as to what they are doing, as well as at least a small degree of expertise in their chosen field… I could be wrong about that, though…..     😆


I think he’s done about as well as he could to keep from helping our enemies. What he HAS done, to our own leaders, is embarrass them highly; THAT is what they will not forgive…. To a politician “face” is very important, as are all illusions of appearance; why else would they all wear those stupid ties, all of a “power” color, and that silly-ass flag pin…. 


They feel they cannot afford to be seen as weak, or indecisive, so they will make ANY decision, no matter how wrong it may be, just to keep from appearing as if they don’t know what to do. They’re incapable of making a decision at all if it would make it seem as if they were admitting to being wrong in any way…. To give Mr. Snowden the credit for what has done, they would have to first admit they have DONE wrong, and they are not willing to do that, more’s the pity….


http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-says-calls-reform-prove-intel-leaks-were-114707696.html


(Note from 2014: This link is still active; I checked. For much more coverage of the issue, go to the UK Guardian website, which broke the original story. They have a full archive of articles examining the subject, from the time the story broke, up to very recently published works…. It’s very thorough coverage, giving a clear picture of the timeline of events….)


I happen to agree with Mr. Snowden’s assessment of the overall effect of his information leaks; I think he has made the world a safer place for all of us, if only because he made it perfectly clear that we are being lied to, right and left, by our own leaders. This is invaluable information, that the public NEEDS to know, if we are to be able to protect ourselves…. 


It is a bit disheartening, to be sure, to have to protect ourselves from our own leaders, but, hey, it’s better to know than not to know, for sure…. Now that we know, we can act accordingly to bring more pressure on the government to straighten up and fly right; if nothing else, more people have learned that it is important to keep a close eye on those who would call themselves our leaders, to keep them from screwing us around any more than they already are….


“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


I believe that not only is Eric Snowden NOT a traitor; I consider him to be a Patriot of this country, deserving of the Medal of Honor, or the Freedom Medal, the highest civilian award possible, for bravery and courage in the face of severe persecution by his own government, and for bringing to light the illegal and immoral acts of our government lackeys. It took great courage, and strong commitment to the truth, for him to make the decisions he made…. I, for at least one, thank him with all my heart….


“He who endeavors to serve, to benefit, and improve the world, is like a swimmer, who struggles against a rapid current, in a river lashed into angry waves by the winds.  Often they roar over his head, often they beat him back and baffle him.  Most men yield to the stress of the current…  Only here and there the stout, strong heart and vigorous arms struggle on toward ultimate success.” — Albert Pike (1809-1891)


(Albert Pike…. another interesting fellow…. If you have a few moments, Google his name, and read the Wikipedia article about him… It’s a pretty interesting life he led, and I wonder why he is less of a well-known figure than he is… He was responsible for a lot of good work back in the 19th century, and deserves some of our thanks for all he did to preserve the freedoms we DO have today…. Check him out…)


“To use power is to make yourself infinitely vulnerable to greater powers.” — Bene Gesserit


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As I’ve mentioned previously, this lady’s poetry is, perhaps, my favorite of all, save perhaps that of Alexander Pope…. I post this particular poem about once a year, or more, simply because it is so perfect an example of what poetry should be…. I don’t even have to say “Enjoy!”, because, if one has ANY appreciation at all of beauty, they WILL enjoy it…. Guaranteed, or, your money back…. (Hah! Gotcha there…. How much did you pay?….)




A bird came down the walk:

He did not know I saw;

He bit an angle-worm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw.


And then he drank a dew

From a convenient grass,

And then hopped sidewise to the wall

To let a beetle pass.


He glanced with rapid eyes

That hurried all abroad,–

They looked like frightened beads, I thought;

He stirred his velvet head


Like one in danger; cautious,

I offered him a crumb,

And he unrolled his feathers

And rowed him softer home


Than oars divide the ocean,

Too silver for a seam,

Or butterflies, off banks of noon,

Leap, splashless, as they swim.


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~




It occurs to me, I should add at least a token from Alex, to demonstrate why he is my other favorite poet…. Here is a very short, but clearly superior quatrain, that will give you a good idea…




Lull’d in the countless chambers of the brain,

Our thoughts are link’d by many a hidden chain;

Awake but one, and lo, what myriads arise!

Each stamps its image as the other flies.


~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~




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Today’s Pearl is mostly fresh, save for the rant, which is only because I didn’t wish to get started on the Ferguson issue; I could tell, if I started, I may have never stopped…. If I did that, how would this Pearl ever get posted? That wouldn’t do, so, we went to the archives, as is our wont in such cases…. To compensate, I will see if Smart Bee is in a good enough mood to provide us with some good shots at the Asininnies this morning…. That should give y’all a hint as to the parameters, but, no worries, mates…. by the end, it will be clear just whom we are targeting….


” Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and scarcely in that; for it is true, we may give advice, but we cannot give conduct. Remember this: They that will not be counseled cannot be helped. If you do not hear reason she will rap you over the knuckles.” — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) — Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1757


“One generation cannot bind another.” — Thomas Jefferson


“On a throne at the center of a sense of humor sits a capacity for irony. All wit rests on a cheerful awareness of life’s incongruities. It is a  gentling awareness, and no politician without it should be allowed near power.” — George Will


“The Pledge of Allegiance says ‘liberty and justice for all’. Which part of ‘all’ don’t you understand?” — Rep. Pat Schroeder (D) Colo.


“Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910)


“America’s one of the finest countries anyone ever stole.” — Bobcat Goldthwait


“A truly great man will neither trample on a worm nor speak to an emperor.” — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)


Not too shabby, even if we had to resort to bracketing by Ben….. It will do…. It has to, it’s the last section, & we’re NOT starting over….


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“All right, you degenerates!  I want this place evacuated in 20 seconds!” — Zippy the Pinhead


I have to confess… It may have been a better idea to create a fresh rant; I’m not sure I cleaned out enough dross and/or drivel to keep me sane today…. Ah well, in our society, insanity is merely another option, one, which, in sooth, is a sane reaction, to an insane world…. If you followed that, you know exactly whereof I speak; if it is a bit unclear to you, well, that’s pretty damn insane of you, so, good on ya…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, whether you got that, or not….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….







		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Complex & time-consuming? Try making felafel for the masses!….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“From the depths of Hell I will follow thee; to the heights of Heaven, and back, I will hate thee.” Weird, huh? Often, in these early morning sessions with the computer, phrases will come to me, out of nowhere, apparently, niggling at my mind for attention, until I either put them down, like the one at the head of this paragraph, or dismiss them to the limbo of wherever stuff like that goes when it is deleted….. As with a computer, deleting something doesn’t mean it goes completely away…. with a bit of finesse, we can even find such items, if we know where to look, and how to get there….


Now, if that isn’t obscure enough for you, I can try again…. I’m pretty sure, though, that I can’t possibly BE any more unclear as to just what the hell I’m talking about, or where we might go with it…. The funniest part of this particular opening is that it doesn’t matter at all whether it goes anywhere, or even whether or not it informs us of our destination, or not…. Yep, none of it matters at all, not in THIS reality, anyway…. Maybe if we were in some OTHER reality, where they cared about this stuff, we WOULD care about that, but, as it isn’t, we aren’t, so we don’t, and we won’t….


Aren’t, won’t, don’t, yep, that’s got it covered….There, that probably did the trick…. If you’re not confused yet, I’m doing this wrong…. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, this is Consensual Reality, not some cheap imitation, so you can expect that level of quality confusion with your order every time you grace our presence with yours….


Of course, that sort of luxury doesn’t come cheap, so the price is somewhat higher than the normal level of confusion you find here; we had to adjust all of our menu venues to reflect the new service levels, but, as I said, it was worth it, to keep that same high level of quality in whatever Reality we explore….


Not that we go too far afield; consensual MEANS we have to stay at least within sight of the parameters under which we operate, or we can’t claim any consensus….. But, it doesn’t mean we don’t get out of the box now and again, to go where no mind has gone before, just to see what it looks like out there on the fringes of human imagination…. and when we do, you can bet we’ll be taking y’all along for the ride, because, hey, that’s the kind of ffolkes we are….


Now that I’ve completely gone bonkers, again, I suppose I ought to start winding my way back toward that reality we share here in the cockpit, so I can at least complete the proper paperwork for our journey today…. I mean, it’s like Tommy Toilet always says, ffolkes…. “The job isn’t finished, until the paperwork is done!” With wit, and wisdom, such as that, how can you lose? Of course, it’s also good to remember what else Tommy reminded us about, when he said, “Remember to always wipe thoroughly, kids! Rectal itch is NO picnic!”…. Ya gotta love it, right?….


On THAT note, I think it would be best if we just slip quietly into the water, to begin our dive for pearls for the day, yes? Yes…..


Shall we Pearl?…..


“I might make you feel, but I can’t make you think.” — Gerald Bostock


“Oh, thou hast a damnable iteration, and art indeed able to corrupt a saint. Thou hast done much harm upon me Hal, God forgive thee for it. Before I knew thee Hal, I knew nothing, and now am I, if a man should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act i, Sc. 2


(I know, I know…. My opinion of Will is well-established, and well-known…. but, he wrote so damn much, SOME of it HAD to come out good!….. I’ll use ANYTHING, if it’s good….)


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(Note: You will find a number of pearls scattered throughout the text of the following rant; they kept popping up AFTER it was done; each one fit so perfectly, I had to add them to the narrative at the appropriate points…. They actually do add quite a bit of punch to what is related, so, deal with it, okay?…. Thanks… We now return you to your regularly scheduled program….)


“That the gods superintend all the affairs of men, and that there are such beings as daemons.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Plato, xlii


Well, ffolkes, the wait is over…. at least, for now…. I found this article in the news yesterday, 4/26/2014….  My immediate reaction was to realize we had finally been graced by the boon of receiving word from our Beloved Leader, the potUS, His Most Puissant Self, Barry the Obama, of the planned next steps they will take, all of which I predicted weeks ago, in the ongoing saga of Eric Snowden’s revelations, the NSA, the White House, Congress, and the American public, which has been such riveting entertainment for so many months now….



http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/White-House-Discrimination-potential-in-data-use-5431708.php


“If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged.” — Noam Chomsky


“President Barack Obama requested the review in January, when he called for changes to some of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs that amass large amounts of data belonging to Americans and foreigners. …… The technology that enabled those programs also enables others used in the government and the private sector. The White House separately has reviewed the NSA programs and proposed changes to rein in the massive collection of Americans’ phone records and emails.” — excerpted, verbatim, from the above article


It seems the White House, and the shadowy corporate masters who “advise” them over there, have, in their infinite wisdom, decided how to address the public’s fears about how they are spying on them, and how the data they have stolen is to be used…. In this article, in essence, they artfully begin to lay the groundwork for their next set of lies, preparing the public’s perceptions to be distracted by what is essentially the same scam they pulled after 9/11…..


Thanks to the candor of Herr Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring, exhibited in his statements at the Nuremberg Trials after WWII, we know this is is easily accomplished, by fanning the public’s fears of what CAN happen, thus convincing them they are working to protect them from the depredations that MAY, potentially, disrupt their feelings of security, giving lie to their sense of false entitlement, to a life without thought, danger, or, ultimately, liberty…. Lots of security, but no freedom, you know? Just the way the corporate masters like it….


“Ignorance is no excuse — it’s the real thing.’ — Irene Peter


The above excerpt from the article states that the President called for changes to what the NSA was doing…. It says that right out, just as if it were true…. Well, no, ffolkes, I hate to point this out, but, actually, he didn’t…. Back a few months, in January, after the most recent disclosures of the extent of the spying came out, he did make one (Yep, that’s one…. 1….) suggestion for a change, one that, in reality, had no teeth to it whatsoever…. but, by all the evidence to date, that one, I’m pretty certain, never got instituted, either, just suggested…. If it did, THAT information wasn’t published anywhere I was able to find…


Nothing of what the NSA has been doing in the last ten years has changed at all, as far as I can see…. There have been lots of noisy, vague statements made, all talking loudly and insistently about changes, but, to my knowledge, no actual reforms were ever actually instituted…. Go ahead, check that out…. I’ll wait while you do, because I know it won’t take long to discover there isn’t anything to find…. It’s perfectly true, you know….


The government has made lots of noise about it, but, there has been absolutely nothing done or said, anywhere, that actually states that the laws, that enable the NSA and their cohorts to do what they do, have been changed at all…. Not a bit, nowhere…. I’ve been watching…. 


There have been deliberately timed articles stating This, That, or The Other, but, none of them have claimed to report any actual changes, just the noise that both parties are making over it…. Fake arguments between the Senate and the CIA are not changes, nor are they anything other than distractions, designed to get people thinking along certain lines, which will lead them where the administration wants them to go….


Now, after the matter is beginning to fade from the public’s consciousness, they come out with this article, which seems to be yet another attempt to get me to believe that something is actually happening, or has been…. when all that has been taking place, in reality, are a lot of strategy sessions, where groups of spin doctors put together their pointy heads to figure out how to approach the task of altering the public perception of what has taken place, and what continues to take place, in the shadows, where the public cannot see, thanks to the blanket of secrecy thrown over the whole mess by the White House, and the rest of the 455 assholes who think they have the fucking right to impose their own beliefs on the other 300 million of us who live here….


Whew! Sorry, ffolkes, sometimes I forget to take a breath, and the sentence in which I’m stuck goes on forever…. Any who… onward….


The decision as to how to handle the hullabaloo, as it appears from the evidence in this article, seems to be to fan the flames of fear in the public, telling them how many different ways the data that has been stolen, and continues to be collected, can be used to compromise their well-being…. 


Back when I was in high school history class, learning about the early days of the Information Age, (they called it the Cold War back then….), this was known as “propaganda”, ffolkes…. and, theoretically, it was something the governments of OTHER countries engaged in, not ours….


In my history classes, we were taught to recognize these essentially “communist” techniques of mind control, so we could resist them…. The examples we saw were just like these info-bits with which we are now being insulted, straight from the White House lackey’s statements…. Large, impressively overblown, inflammatory statements of dubious plausibility, designed to create fear, of the unknown, or of the unknown “other”, in the hearer, without the superfluous need to tell anything resembling the truth…. It only needs to SOUND as if it could be true….


“Creative semantics is the key to contemporary government; it consists of talking in strange tongues lest the public learn the inevitable inconveniently early.” — George Will


I’m sorry, but they aren’t telling me anything I didn’t already know about their data collection; anyone with any technical knowledge at all knows what CAN be done (which is just about anything, if you throw enough money at it….), so, telling me how many ways the information is potentially harmful is NOT making changes; it is deliberate fear-mongering, and not even particularly well-disguised mongering, at that…..


In case you couldn’t tell, this has pissed me off royally…. It’s all just more posturing and noise by the BRC and their lackeys & myrmidons; nothing is actually changing at all…. Only their story, which they will change ad lib, as they blatantly attempt to transform the lies they’ve told already, from those folks might not want to believe, into something people WILL buy into, thus proving, again, how gullible is the public, and how egregiously unscrupulous are those who pretend to care about serving that public….


Just in case you might think this is all new subject matter for me, I give you now a short diatribe, against the same group of unscrupulous assholes as those who stimulated the above rant, but, written over two years ago, posted on the date shown, here on this blog…. It fits right in with the above, and it’s been sitting around, asking to be included in another Pearl for some days now, so, you get it today, as a bonus, and as added evidence of what I contend in the current missive….


From 3/28/12:


“By calling attention to ‘a well regulated militia’, the ‘security’ of the nation, and the right of each citizen ‘to keep and bear arms’, our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country.  For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will always be important.” — April, 1960 (Then) Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963)


President Kennedy was a pretty smart guy; not exactly the most ethical bulb in the box, but he had his head screwed on his shoulders fairly solidly. He also took the unusual political stance of actually wanting the American people to have a chance at what they deserve, and are promised by our form of government, i.e., a shot at “the pursuit of happiness”….. 


However, in this statement, he makes an unwarranted and dangerous assumption, to wit: “it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation.”  Jack was an optimist…. and as is often the case, the pessimists were closer to right on this one…..


Our rights are in imminent and clear danger of being abrogated, permanently. This is an indisputable fact. This kind of fact is provided with partial proof of its truth by the reaction of those responsible for this subtle attack on our legacy of freedom, who, when confronted with knowledge of their intent, immediately accuse the confronting entity of “spreading communist propaganda”, or “attacking the principles of freedom” or my favorite complete lie, “you’re threatening our national security.”


It’s would be somewhat amusing, if it weren’t so dangerously disgusting…. I mean, do they really expect the American people to sit around and do NOTHING?  I kind of hope they do believe that…. it will be then a bigger surprise to them, when the American people stand up, point their gun at the head of these idiots, and take their rights back….. call me treasonous if you will; I call it patriotism, of the first water…..


“Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third [“Treason!” cried the Speaker]–may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.” — Patrick Henry (1736-1799) — Speech in the Virginia Convention, 1765


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


“You can lead a yak to water but you can’t teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig in a poke.” — Opus


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Since the first section combines a new rant with an old one, I figure a reprint of a full second section wouldn’t be inappropriate today…. Hence, the following….. which you will find to be mercifully short….


From 12/15/12:


“Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave.” — James Thomson (1700-1748) — The Seasons, Winter, Line 393


The only possible comment is the same word that made up the first thought in my head when I read this… WOW…. Such an incredibly powerful line, so gripping and real, it makes me as jealous as I allow myself to feel. To write such a phrase would be enough for me; I could die happy. I’ll do so anyway, (die happy, that is….), just to spite Murphy, but, if I can write one line half as strong as this, I’ll be content, for sure…. Here is something that came to me last night…. at least, it began last night…..






Territorial imperative….


Beauty must define, 


as augment to existence,

  as life must be 


more than mere subsistence.



Nature demands more.



Truth helps.


~~ gigoid ~~




It ain’t long, but it’s much…. and better for being so, rather than the reverse….. Just as an afterthought to this section, I offer the following as proof that even genius can feel insecurity and jealousy….


“There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the other is to read Pope.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)


There you go…. Even as smart a guy as Oscar could fall prey to the weaker emotions, eh? We all do stuff that, upon reflection, we may wish we hadn’t…. It doesn’t mean we’re bad, just momentarily weak…. What matters is how we react to that weakness; do we accept it as part of our nature, or work to change it? That, I believe, is just as, if not more, critical to becoming the person we are most desirous of being…. Well, it works for me, anyway, and that will have to do, won’t it?….. Onward…..


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The rant in section one today was actually written yesterday; when I saw that article, my outrage exploded, and what you see above poured out in about ten minutes or so; it’s all been in there percolating since January, or longer, so, it flowed right out, just the way I like a rant to do…. As a reward, for you, and for me, here is an old-school, random harlequin style pearl, fresh as the day is long…. Abondanza!…..


Joshu asked the teacher Nansen, “What is the True Way?”


Nansen answered, “Every way is the true Way.”


Joshu asked, “Can I study it?”


Nansen answered, “The more you study, the further from the Way.”


Joshu asked, “If I don’t study it, how can I know it?”


Nansen answered, “The Way does not belong to things seen: nor to things  unseen. It does not belong to things known: nor to things unknown. Do not  seek it, study it, or name it. To find yourself on it, open yourself as wide as the sky.”


— Smart Bee Tzu


“If you go to a gunfight, take a gun” — Charles Nichols’ Law


“Lord, how the day passes! It’s like a life – so quickly when we don’t watch it, and so slowly if we do.” — John Steinbeck


Uhura: “This isn’t reality…this is fantasy!” — “Star Trek III:The Search For Spock, Stardate 8210.


“Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”


“In the world there are only two tragedies.  One is not getting what one wants and the other is getting it.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)


And, last, but, most certainly, NOT least…..


“Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.” — J. R. “Bob” Dobbs


Well, there you go…. Such as it is, this pearl is what I like to think of as “special”, but, not for the reason you may think…. In fact, there isn’t any reason at all, just as there is no justification for such inanity before dawn…. But, at least we’ve stuck to inanity, without tipping over into insanity…. This is good, yes? Yes….


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I am almost afraid to look at this one; it felt pretty powerful coming out, so I don’t know how it will come across… I suppose I’ll have to trust myself, at least that far…. So be it…. Okay, I’m confused, and so, too, will you be, in the end…..


My work here is done, ffolkes….. See ya…..




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid the dubious


dozer3