Sifting metadata for tidbits of information…. priceless….

Posted on May 24, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Well, this is strange…. For the second day in a row, I slept well, for almost eight straight hours, and woke up feeling a feeling I had not felt in a very long time…. I felt good. No major pain to speak of, no major stiffness, just a normal drowsiness while throwing off the effects of sleep. Coffee’s already on, and I’m sitting here, as ready as I ever am, to dive into another Pearl…. Now all I need to do is find an intro somewhere in the vast, empty reaches of my mind….

For an opening paragraph, that one doesn’t suck…. It doesn’t really impress me all that much with brilliance, but, hey, not sucking is good, it’s okay, right? And, boy, do I sound pathetically codependent, or what? (If I hear ANYONE say “what”, I’ll cry, so, please refrain for the moment…. it’s a cheap laugh anyway….) I suppose I could have found a bit more compelling secondary opening line, but, to be honest, I thought the ‘doesn’t suck’ part to be pretty cool… I smiled when I wrote it, so irony or no irony, it stays, and y’all can go to hell…

Just kidding; if y’all took off for the nether regions, who’d read the Pearl? I’m just thrashing about in random turns, trying to land on a spot from which I can actually get a grip on this…. I’m not sure if it is going to happen, but, if I keep looking, at least I’ll have an excuse when the boss gets here…. Oh, wait, no boss…. Sorry, sometimes I forget I’m retired…. I sit here composing a Pearl, which I did each day for the last five years I worked, and I can slip backwards in time, & believe myself to be sitting in the E.D.’s office at NSH, putting the daily Pearl together, before anyone else arrives…. It’s weird, but comforting…

I know, I’m weird, too…. But, you see, that’s one of the selling points I use when I actually do make a sale on one of these….. Of course, nobody has ever bought one, but, I’ve been trying so long, and the fantasy of actually selling one has been dreamed so many times, it almost seems real…. SIGH…. Someday, somebody will pay me to do this, and my life will be complete….

Until then, though, it would probably be best if I stopped spouting sheer nonsense, just so I can fill up space in an introduction that, once again, has gone terribly wrong…. No organization, no logic, and almost no humor, though not without a large number of attempts…. sad, sad, sad….

Oh well, it DID get me this far down the page, so, I’m going to invoke the subsidiary emergency clause, and declare this a legal, if odd, introduction, and get on with the rest of today’s effort…. It will be for the best, I’m sure, since THIS can go nowhere interesting, or important…. not from here, anyway…. Maybe from over there….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Think hard now! Which one is Shinola?” — Smart Bee, tongue firmly in cheek….

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

I don’t about y’all, but, I about busted a gut, and literally almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw the pearl above, that closes the intro…. I haven’t heard that expression in damn near thirty years, and it was so perfectly apt as a closing pearl for that section, it made it even funnier…. Whew! My tummy is all stiff and trembling, from the almost four minutes of hard laughter…. It may be hard to start to rant now, but, I think the following links should bring me right back into that mode…. Please read these, so you will catch any references in the comments I’ve included….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/nsa-reform-bill-usa-freedom-act-passes-house?CMP=ema_565

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/pentagon-report-snowden-leaks-national-security?CMP=ema_565

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/22/pentagon-report-snowden-grave-threat-overblown?CMP=ema_565

Okay, so we have two separate issues here… actually three, and it is the third I wish to rant on the worst…. We’ll take them one at a time….

First, as to the so-called “reform” bill passed in the House, it seems to be merely a sop to the public, more than any real reform. It doesn’t make any real changes to the way the NSA collects data; it makes only superficial changes to how the data is handled once stolen, er, collected…. And, none of it addressed the real issue, of how illegal, and immoral it is to spy on one’s own citizens…. The entire subject is one that irks me like a burr under a saddle irks a horse; it’s a constant irritation, all because the administration refuses to acknowledge the illegal nature of the process at all, and the public is allowing them to do that without any reaction… they’re just watching in resignation…

Second, we have two views of the same issue, to wit: the Snowden revelations, and the effect it has had on the American Unintelligence programs…. Sorry, just can’t use the word Intelligence to describe people who don’t show any…. Any who, these articles show, first, just how badly the government feels the need to lie, when the pentagon issues a whine, er, report, that doesn’t even address the actual effects of the information that Snowden took, but looks instead at what MIGHT happen, IF he took certain things, but, they don’t know for sure exactly WHAT he took, so it’s all a guess, anyway….

The third article is an opinion column, by a British columnist, explaining how the Pentagon report is, well, useless as a means of transmitting any actual information… It’s merely a long, detailed (with information that doesn’t apply to the issue) WHINE by the idiots who want to keep all they do out of the public eye, and are upset because this American Hero, Eric Snowden, was brave enough to stand up to the entire US government to bring the truth to the public…. If he DOESN’T win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, there is no justice in the world anymore…

Wow, almost forgot the third issue, which is this: I found these articles in a news outlet from the UK, (that’s Great Britain, to the geographically challenged). When I looked in the US news sites, I found ONE report, a video report by the Bloomberg network, a relatively new internet news outlet…. None of the US papers or outlets had anything on either of these two stories….

Now, why do you think that is? A lot of very disturbing reasons come to my mind, but, I’m a cynic… what do y’all think? I am certain, whatever the reason, it can’t be any good news for the American public, as any reason to NOT discuss it can only mean the spread of more ignorance among the unwashed masses of Americans, who already operate in an informational blackout, what with their ingrained preference for lies, delusions, and whatever nonsensical crap they are fed by anyone on TV with a nice smile, a blue suit, with a white shirt, a red tie, and a flag pin on their lapel….

I could rant on this for a very long time, but, good as I feel today, it’s not that simple, or easy… Plus, rather than take the chance of boring some of my less politically minded readers, I’ll switch this pearl in mid-stream, going old-school…. Here, then, is a five-star pearl, with parameters set to give us some pearlish comments on these issues, and the base issue, the corruption and fall of western civilization as we know it….

“I’m glad you asked me that. This gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about the problems with this Congress…” — Vice President Dan Quayle responding to reporter’s — questions about his use of Air force 2 to — go on golf trips at the cost of $26,000/hour

“When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.” — Confucius

“Following the Noble Path is like entering a dark room with a light in the hand; the darkness will all be cleared away, and the room will be filled with light.” — Buddha

“One lie does not cost you one truth, but the truth.” — Friedrich Hebbel

“If it weren’t for politicians, who would fashion disorder out of chaos?” — Smart Bee

I love it when a ~~plot~~ plan comes together….

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

One more time, I’m using my own poetry, for the simplest of reasons, to wit: if I do, nobody else can get blamed for this…. Besides, it’s all of a kind, today, poking at those assholes in Washington D.C., who keep themselves busy trying to fulfill the paranoid delusions under which they suffer….

Terror at Constitution Hall

Standing quiet, waiting on hope’s bright wing,
a stranger heralds the gift of Time.
Lyrical, spherical melodies we sing,
yet with silence, as a mime.
If fortune favors the bold and free,
truth may be spoken with courage unveiled.
But fortune oft is capricious and cruel,
and truth is naught but cold, with freedom failed.
Humanity has rights, ’tis often said,
if courage and truth can prevail.
If fear and ignorance are the diet we’re fed,
Life without liberty will be the end to this tale.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Having used up both my rant and my old-school pearl in section one, I’m going into the archives again to fill in this last section…. It’s about time to go over one of our only remaining rights, to make sure everyone knows the importance of protecting it as long as we can…. I forget exactly how long ago I wrote this, but, no doubt, there is a clue somewhere in the text to locate us in time… If not, well, it’s as valid today as it was two or three years ago, when it first appeared…. Enjoy, ffolkes, and, please, remember to put on your thinking caps….

“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” — James Madison

I found this yesterday; I’d seen it before, and it seemed serendipitous that it showed up just in time for the event today (psst!…. go vote!….). (Aha! I told you…. so, this was written on election day in 2012….) In my mind, a good standard for figuring out if a person is a true patriot is to get their take on the Second Amendment, and the idea of gun control by the government. As I’ve stated before, I believe the risk of letting the government restrict our rights in this regard, IN ANY WAY, can only lead to the eventual loss of the right altogether, and that is an event that is completely unacceptable to me.

Yes, it means that the world will be a dangerous place, but, guess what, ffolkes? That is something that happened a long time before guns. Taking them away from the general populace is not going to stop mass killings, or unjust, insane use of guns against innocent people. That occurs on a daily basis, anyway, but with the guns in the hands of police officers; that is a fact…. So, don’t tell me that the government is more qualified to use guns than I am, because that is just stupid….

Now that I’ve insulted many of you, we’ll try to go on to the election…. didn’t mean to get off into a rant on that, but, wanted to get it out of the way, so that the discussion may go on to other ways that the government is, quite simply, fucking us left and right…. George Carlin had a lot of good points about the corporate masters and their lackeys, the beloved ruling classes, and the priestly hierarchies. He often pointed out that the world has turned into a massive corporate conglomerate, with all the world governments at the mercy of those few individuals who actually control all the resources, and money. Those are people you never hear about, or see in the news, unless it is by intent…. they don’t allow accidents like that to happen….. But rest assured, they exist, and are perfectly content to let the world believe whatever it wants, as long as their profits, their power, and their control over others continues to grow….

“The rifle and handgun are “equalizers” – the weapons of a democracy. Tanks and bombers represent dictatorship.” — Edward Abbey

But, the invisible rulers don’t like the Second Amendment…. it leaves too much chance for independence in the hands of the people, and in case the people ever find out what they have been up to, they want to be able to know where all the guns are that might threaten them…. Having the general populace of this country continue to have access to any significant firepower is not in their best interests, so they work behind the scenes to get people to believe the nonsense about gun control, and how keeping guns from the hands of the citizenry will make life safer…. which is just so much bullshit, plain and simple. Ultimately, the only real effect of making guns illegal will be to make a large percentage of the American people outlaws, because I don’t think any of us will give them up without resistance, whether overt, or covert….

“The right to buy weapons is the right to be free.” — A. E. Van Vogt, The Weapon Shops, — in Astounding Science Fiction, December 1942

How, you may ask, does this relate to the election? Well, it doesn’t, directly…. it’s just a pet peeve of mine, and an example of another of our basic rights that are being eroded by politicians, preachers, and those who ignorantly buy into their lies. I don’t trust the Democrats any more than I do the Republicans; perhaps even less, because the Republicans seem to be far more open about their lack of concern with the rights of the people. In that sense, they are easier to spot, and to resist. The Dems are being more subtle, but that doesn’t make them trustworthy; they do, after all, seek that power over others as well. There just seem to be more of them who are motivated to do so out of some community feeling, and concern for others, and those are trying to encompass reforms that are sorely needed.

“A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.” — James Clarke

The difference between the two parties that have the only chance at the seats of power is extreme in this election; very seldom has the choice that needs to be made been clearer (even though it continues to be a choice between the lesser of two evils….). One can choose to move forward into a future with a chance for some change, or one can try to return society to the middle ages, with all of its injustice, and misery. It is that simple, and anyone who wishes to argue with that is welcome to present their views…. I’ll knock them down easily, with headlines from the daily news that, although not exactly unbiased or always true, are nonetheless balanced out by the outrageousness of each side’s contributions.

“Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.” — H.L. Mencken

The facts are all our there to see, and they clearly show one candidate whose only interest is in increasing his own power and wealth, and protecting his cronies on Wall Street, his cultish church, and the ruling class; he cares noting about the common man, and makes his disdain obvious. The other is, well, definitely the lesser of two evils…. on the apparent surface he is a dedicated, honest man, seeking reform and change, but, there are indications of less than stellar activity in his administration, too.

But, he obviously cares about the common man much more than his opponent, and since the common man is the one who will be affected the most by what happens this time, the choice is clear. If you don’t want to have to take up regular use of Vaseline and Preparation H, then vote the incumbent…. If you really want to get a good screwing in the nether regions, then vote the opposition…. it is that simple ffolkes….

“There is but one element of government, and that is THE PEOPLE. From this element spring all governments. “For a nation to be free, it is only necessary that she wills it.” For a nation to be slave, it is only necessary that she wills it.” — John Adams (1735-1826), Letter to John Taylor, 1814

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

Well, it’s long, it’s complicated, and it might make someone think about something other than their oatmeal…. I’ll take it. All those qualifications make for what I consider an excellent Pearl, no matter what anyone else may believe…. Deal….. (Just kidding…. there’s a bit of humor in all of this, in spots, so, it’s not ALL heavy and depressing…. only most of it….. Oh, well, tomorrow’s another day, and I’ll be here, to try again…. See ya, ffolkes, from just another ffoole on the hill….

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

Bursting with possibility, the newest day dawns, as ever, in shades of grey….

Posted on May 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I’m certain, if not completely unsure, I’ve never experienced such a long-term tweak…. Usually, it takes a day, maybe two to get the ol’ back to calm down enough to return to relative normalcy…. This time, it keeps relapsing, so to speak, with each morning’s level of pain in the lower part competing to see which day will get the prize…. which means, given that my back and its pain are NOT being nice, NONE of the prior six or seven days will ever be called a winner…. No prizes will be awarded, unless I get one for not killing anyone, in spite of numerous episodes of encountering people who gave every impression of WANTING to become martyrs at the throne of stupid….

The above paragraph, however, is all the whining you’ll see…. (Trust me…) I’ve decided that today’s Pearl WILL be fresh, even if somebody must die…. Well, not me, of course; if I die, who’ll write the Pearl? But, if anyone gets in my way, or even in my vicinity, I’m taking them down, and that’s a promise…. I’m tired of Mr. Nice Guy…. Whether it’s me, or somebody else assuming that guise, I’m done with it….

That being said, there will be no rant, unless you consider this ill-mannered outburst as such….. There WILL be two old-school pearls, and a poem…. but, that’s ALL there will be today, and hell, if I find something better looking than what I feel SB can do today, then what you get will be from the archives…. Deal with it….

That is all I have today, ffolkes…. I’m not even sure I can follow my own rules today, and play nice with others…. We’ll see, I guess… In the meantime….

Shall we Pearl?….

“I’m PROUD to be a CARBON-BASED life form!”– gigoid, asb SB

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

I have yet to begin searching through Smart Bee for some appropriate aphorisms, because I wanted to issue a warning, to both Smart Bee, and to y’all, to protect your sensibilities…. To SB, I say this…. DO NOT FUCK WITH ME TODAY. That’s it….. and, it had better be enough….

Oh, and, Smart Bee? If I were you, today, I would pay close attention to that warning, too…. To the Gentle Reader, my warning is this… if SB doesn’t behave, I will ask you to please avert your eyes; nobody should HAVE to see what I will do to the damn thing, as it will be guaranteed to cause nightmares, in both the recipient of the thrashing, and in anyone careless enough to watch…. Otherwise, enjoy, yes?…..

“Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.” — H.L. Mencken

“Every event that one would master must be mounted on the run, and no one ever caught the reins of a thought except as it galloped past.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.” — Smart Bee

“In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.” — Hubert H. Humphrey (1911-78)

“As a computer, I find your faith in technology amusing!” — Arthur, my laptop

“Humility is a virtue all preach, none practice, and yet everybody is content to hear. The master thinks it good doctrine for his servant, the laity for the clergy, and the clergy for the laity.” — John Selden (1584-1654) — Humility

“Anything that is good and useful is made of chocolate.” — Smart Bee

Okay, well, I like it….

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

To avoid any accusations (or worse, litigation…) of cruelty to a poet, here is another one of mine, so nobody else gets blamed for this… I wrote this some time in the latter half of 2012…. It’s about Pearling, or, Life as We Know It….

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Not too shabby so far; nobody’s dead, and no injuries requiring stitches…. bonus! In keeping with today’s pattern of insanity, here is another old-school pearl, fresh from SB’s database of virtual wisdom, hacker-style….. This one may be a bit loose, so don’t try to hang on to any of it too tight; just an easy grip, enough to allow you to follow it to where it leads….

“Happiness is the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.” — Robert G. Ingersoll (American lawyer and orator)

“The land of the free! This is the land of the free! Why, if I say anything that displeases them, the free mob will lynch me, and that’s my freedom. Free? Why I have never been in any country where the individual has such an abject fear of his fellow countrymen. Because, as I say, they are free to lynch him the moment he shows he is not one of them.” — D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)

“Ignorance is never out of style. It was in fashion yesterday, it is the rage today, and it will set the pace tomorrow.” — Franklin K. Dane

“How do you know that electrons are political? Because you can never determine their exact position.” — Smart Bee

“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes, Dreams

“An it harm none,
Do what ye will.” — This is the core belief in Wicca, upon which all the rest of their philosophy of life is based….

“Unknowingly, we plow the dust of stars, blown about us by the wind, and drink the universe in a glass of rain.” — Ihab Hassan

Ooh, nice finish! There you have it, ffolkes…. THIS is a pearl of virtual wisdom, clearly….

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

I did it…. In the interests of not hurting myself, though, I don’t think I’ll pat myself on the back just yet…. Instead, I’ll just trust in my instincts, and put this out for consumption, sans further attention or editing…. See you tomorrow, ffolkes, most likely…. Considering my record, the odds are good….

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

It’s just like the other one, mate…..

Posted on May 14, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Just once, I wish…. Shit! Duck!…. Get down, you bozos, this is live fire!…. Crap, who wasn’t paying attention to the perimeter alarms? Where’s my M-16? Thanks, keep your head down…. Oh, okay, Stan, no worries, we’ll check those later…. Damn, ffolkes, sorry ’bout this…. Stay behind the armored plating, & you’ll be fine….

We haven’t had an attack like this in months, since putting in the new digital cams on the perimeter…. Looks like they finally hacked them, or brought them down somehow; Stan says the monitors are dark…. Well, hang on, they never bring enough firepower; this should only take a few moments to drive them off….

Okay, good work, troops…. Ffolkes, you can go ahead and take your assigned seats now…. we’ll be taking off for the pearl beds in a few minutes…. Anybody sustain any injuries they can’t deal with using the first aid kit in the seat compartment? Good…. Stan, you’ll check the troops, please, to make sure they’re all intact? Thanks…. Me, I’ll get into the cockpit, and fire this sucker up….

Well, THAT was exciting, yes? Nothing like some adrenaline to get the juices moving, is there? My issue with that is the four hours it takes me to get over those little rushes that are our gift from our little supercharger gland…. It’s kind of fun, feeling ten feet tall and covered with armor, though it does take its toll later, when the crash comes at the end of the rush….

I prefer to have copious quantities of a preferred adult beverage on hand to consume, or some other merely semi-legal substance that will instigate the same sort mellowing process, with fewer side effects than the alcohol…. I guess my “spirits” are getting old; I know my liver is, for sure…. Can’t take those mornings after anymore….

Oh, that? Ah, don’t sweat the small stuff; this morning’s attack was actually a planned exercise; I don’t advertise them ahead of time, for a lot of reasons, the main one being security…. But, the forces that were firing at us, though using live ammo, would only have aimed to wound, not kill. The exercise is part of a mutual-assistance agreement I have with another libertarian down the street…. Once a month, unscheduled, we each mount a surprise attack on the other’s property, just to keep us each in tune, and give some practice to the shock troops who will be taking the brunt of any defensive casualties, as part of their contract….

Of course, all of the above paragraphs are a complete fabrication….. I don’t believe there are more than three or four words of truth in any of them, or all of them together, even though I padded them as much as possible…. What d’ya think, eh? Not too bad, and certainly not the average opening you’ll find anywhere else… I do try to find something new and fresh for y’all, and sometimes it works better than others, I’d say…. Whether or not THIS is one of those if for y’all to say….

Regardless of how it turned out, though, it IS an intro section, and, as such, there are certain regulations that must be observed…. Not that we pay all that much attention to them, but, we do observe them, from afar, with great admiration…. In spite of our lack of respect for those regulations, we do keep them in mind when composing this, even though WE are only ME; I just fall too easily into the royal ‘we’, so easily adopted when using the famous “sotto voce”…. as we do here, unashamedly, we admit, but, to great effect…. sort of…. To frequent effect, anyway….

Having thus used it, without the typical abuse that can follow, mostly, I believe I have reached the minimum limit of the aforementioned regulations, so, I’m going to summarily end this, hoping to go on to something a bit more entertaining…. I know, this wasn’t bad, but, I didn’t hear any outright guffaws, so, it needs a bit of work…. In the meantime….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Anyone who isn’t confused really doesn’t understand the situation.” — Edward R. Murrow

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

Any one of the following articles would, under most circumstances, be sufficient to produce a rant, if all things were equal…. At the moment, for a day or two, they are NOT equal…. Mother Nature is giving us a taste of how miserable the weather can be, and of how unpredictable it has become in these days prior to the completely chaotic time to come in the future, as the effects of global warming become more pronounced…. For now, She’s giving us a small heat wave, in May, with temps in the area threatening to hit triple digits….

Fortunately for me, the town I live in only expects to get into the mid-90’s, Fahrenheit, which isn’t too bad, but, given my decreased tolerance for heat, is more than enough to put me into a comatose state for much of the day, motionless in front of a fan on high speed…. I just can’t take it like I used to be able to do. Right now, it’s pretty nice outside, at a bit past 4 AM, but, the air is still, there’s no fog, as we usually see in summer, and it already feels muggy…. These are typically NOT good signs for the rest of the day; they tell me that HEAT is on its way….

As such, my energy levels are dropping dramatically, as I KNOW I’ll be needing it all to keep myself still, and cool, for much of the day, confining any physical activity to the morning, or late evening hours. I went to the bother of collecting these articles, so, I’m leaving them here, for you to peruse in your spare time; they’re scary enough all by themselves, even without my added commentary designed to bring out the obvious flaws or lies that you’ll see in them… especially the first one…

The two on either end are quite scary in their implications; the potential scenarios that have evolved, and those yet to formulate, from those issues, are NOT comforting, to say the least…. The one in the middle, on the FCC decision, is more encouraging, as it seems the noise we consumers made about it is having an effect on the officials involved…. YAY! It’s nice when so many people speak that they HAVE to listen….

But, I’m already tired, and sweaty, and it’s only 0423 in the morning, so, from this point, you’re on your own with these…. I WILL follow them with a five-star pearl to drive some of the points home, or, as in this case, to provide some contrasting information, in an ethical sense…. Enjoy this little taste of current events, please, or, at least, LISTEN UP….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/NASA-spots-worrisome-Antarctic-ice-sheet-melt-5471531.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/05/12/fcc-chair-said-to-be-backing-down-on-plan-to-destroy-net-neutrality/?cmpid=hp-hc-bustech

https://news.yahoo.com/spying-on-millions-of-americans-living-in-the–united-states-of-secrets-183952032.html

“Sanity is for the masses who don’t know how to handle insanity.” — Tim Sailer

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.” — Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

“The most common sort of lie is the one uttered to one’s self.” — Nietzsche

“The measure of man is what he does with power.” — Pittacus

“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: (1) not going all the way; and (2) not starting.” — Buddha

Ffolkes, I just can’t make it any clearer than that, without resorting to a rant….

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

Since this will be an entirely fresh Pearl today, I’d best go with a poem of my own, to save the reputation of anyone else I might choose….

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 ~~

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

Having decided to forgo a rant today, that means this will be another old-school pearl…. Yes, I’m being nice today; I’m too hot & bothered to spend the energy to be a curmudgeon… Enjoy!….

“Apparently I’m insane. But I’m one of the happy kinds!” — John Young

“In a technological world where anything is possible, paranoia will reign supreme.” — Stephen Crandall

“Never encourage Politicians, Fools, or Punsters!” — Smart Bee

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“Common and vulgar people ascribe all ill that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe to themselves; people of much wisdom, to no one.” — Epictetus

” … for these truths hold good for everything that is, and not for some special genus apart from others. And all men use them, because they are true of being qua being … For a principle which everyone must have to understand anything that is, is not a hypothesis … Evidently then, such a principle is the most certain of all; which principle this is, let us proceed to say. It is, that the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the subject in the same respect.” — Aristotle

“All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.” — Albert Camus

And sometimes, they end on that same silly note…..

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

After reading this, in editing/proofing mode, I think it would be best if I keep this closing section relatively short…. There’s too much in the above that could construed as legally actionable, or, at the very least, taken wrongly by those who find it hard to operate BOTH of their functional neurons at the same instant…. which is a clandestine insult those self-same few will never get, as it flies, serenely, right over their heads….

In any case, I heard an old saw once that says an author should always leave his audience wanting a bit more…. Unable to decide if I have reached that point, or not, I’ll concede its relevance, and just take my leave…. See you tomorrow, ffolkes….. if I don’t melt….

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

Fat sausages, sizzling in the pan….

Posted on May 4, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Savory pieces of bacon bits flew elegantly through the highest points of the tent, filling all below with joy at the smell of sizzling pork fat; the crowd went wild…. Vendors hawked their plastic Jesus bobble-heads to unsuspecting Muslim tourists, while numerous swift-fingered waifs worked the crowd, lifting wallets from unsuspecting tourists.

Down in the center, two pathetic roosters were being abused so they’d fight each other, while money exchanged hands all over the stands, as winners and losers took turns feeling stupid….Me, I just watched and grinned, since I was the only one who knew the whole building would be coming down around the ears of everyone inside in approximately four minutes….

And thank goodness for that! I don’t think we need to go back there again; I stopped enjoying what I was writing about halfway through that piece of nonsensical farce, having apparently lost all of my sense of propriety, right along with my taste…. That was supposed to be funny, or at least strange enough to feel that way, but, never seemed to reach anywhere like that…. It was probably the bacon bits…. Nasty little things, those little chemical bombs can’t even be classified as food; they’re an artificially colored and flavored food-like substance, and I haven’t a single clue as to why ANYONE would want to eat them, ever….

However, it’s too late now to worry about whether or not the opening paragraphs made any sense, or even any nonsense; it’s already two paragraphs back, and we all know how hard it is to turn back the clock…. In our minds, or our writing, we can alter time, using the chance to do things over, to do them right, but, we all know the real world doesn’t allow do-overs, and couldn’t care less how you feel about that…. Besides, since it’s me, we just need to be aware of how simple it is to fill up space on the page, as I seem able to fill these intros, with pretty much nothing….

Of course, that’s a skill I’ve been developing now for close to three years, on this site; meeting the minimum introductory regulations has become almost second nature, not requiring all of my attention…. which probably shows in these little disasters I call the intro section. But, it DOES get the task completed, at least to the point each day where I am able to break free of it, and go on to finish the Pearl…. Given the methods I use, that is more of an accomplishment than it seems, though I’m not looking for kudos…. Just some new shoes…. and maybe a shot of two of Jack, when it’s quiet at night….

Shall we Pearl?…..

(1) You can’t win.
(2) You can’t break even.
(3) You can’t even quit the game.

— Ginsberg’s Theorem

Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg’s Theorem. To wit:

(1) Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win.
(2) Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break even.
(3) Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can quit the game.

— Freeman’s Commentary on Ginsberg’s theorem

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

“Some people confuse boredom with security.” — Smart Bee

I seem to be unable to find any spare neurons this morning, to help me find some small degree of intellect, or imagination somewhere within the reaches of my mind…. Moreover, I can’t seem to work up the energy to care…. I’d like to rant, as there is always so much to rant about in today’s society, as the two segments of mankind continue at war…..

I’m talking about the war between those who want to control everything and everyone, and those who don’t…. Mostly, throughout our species short, bloody history, the bad guys have been winning; today, the gap between the wealthy, and the other 99% of humanity, is as wide as the Mississippi River during flood season, and growing wider each day….

This, of course, means that this section of today’s Pearl will be an old school variety indictment; it’s what we do here as a default, when ranting is an unattainable goal…. I have no apologies, but, I’m sure they are unnecessary, as it DOES spare you from having to listen to yet another seemingly endless diatribe against people who don’t give the slightest shit about anyone else…. Just take in these pearls, complete with comments, and you’ll get the same effect as if you’d listened to me spew…. Enjoy!…. or, not, as you wish…. just pay attention, please….

“One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to come up to you and show you a nice, brand- new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken, and this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of the deck and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not bet this man, for as sure as you stand there, you are going to wind up with an earful of cider.” — Damon Runyon

(And when you’re standing there, with your earful of cider, and a stupid expression, you’ll realize you should never have elected him in the first place….)

“We cannot assert the innocence of anyone, whereas we can state with certainty the guilt of all. Every man testifies to the crime of all the others – that is my faith and hope.” — Albert Camus (1913-1960) — The Fall (1957)

(Albert was a bit of an optimist sometimes….)

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics but for our contributions to the human spirit.” — former US President John F. Kennedy

(Why am I skeptical of this? Oh, right, because he’s a politician, and he opened his mouth… ergo, it’s a foregone conclusion he lied….)

“Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.” — George Bernard Shaw

(Oops! How’d that get in here? Oh, well, they’re (politicians and preachers…) all of a kind, so, it can stay….)

For some reason the little Senators make us laugh.” — Smart Bee

(In my case, that’s a full-blown belly laugh, complete with red face, tears, and runny nose from laughing so hard….)

“A liar should have a good memory.” — Quintilian (42-118 AD) — Institutiones Oratoriae, i, iv, 2, 91

(Is a comment necessary? I think not…. We all know to whom this refers…. and his name is Barry…. or Joe…. or Dianne…. or Paul, or Rick, or George, or Mitch…. or Anthony….)

(The last name refers to Mr. Chief Justice of the scOTUS Scalia, who is more of a politician than a judge… Actually, he’d be what is known as an honest judge, defined as one who STAYS bought, once he’s been paid for….)

“Dogs, ye have had your day!” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xxii, Line 41

(This last line, from Pope’s Odyssey, is wishful thinking on my part…. this is what I would LIKE to be able to say to any of those assholes I mentioned in the pearl above….)

Thus endeth this modified old-school pearl, picked fresh for your reading pleasure, with completely new, yet exciting comments to stimulate your….. well, to stimulate…. Onward, he said, rushing into the next room….

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

I’ve been spending some time reading old Pearls, to get new ideas, and, as we have here, to find old ideas, or material, worth posting again…. This poem falls directly into that last category, as one of my favorites, and as one of the best ever written, in my estimation…. I hope you enjoy it….

First posted on 7/15/2012:

For me, one mark of a good poem, and poet, is when one finishes reading the last line, the mind does not immediately let go, but follows the train of thought created by the poem to its conclusion, whatever that may be for each individual reader. Frost is a master at that type of poem, to my mind…. There is so much power in the phrase, “But I wonder….”!….. Enjoy!

A Brook In The City

The farmhouse lingers, though averse to square
With the new city street it has to wear
A number in. But what about the brook
That held the house as in an elbow-crook?
I ask as one who knew the brook, its strength
And impulse, having dipped a finger length
And made it leap my knuckle, having tossed
A flower to try its currents where they crossed.
The meadow grass could be cemented down
From growing under pavements of a town;
The apple trees be sent to hearth-stone flame.
Is water wood to serve a brook the same?
How else dispose of an immortal force
No longer needed? Staunch it at its source
With cinder loads dumped down? The brook was thrown
Deep in a sewer dungeon under stone
In fetid darkness still to live and run —
And all for nothing it had ever done
Except forget to go in fear perhaps.
No one would know except for ancient maps
That such a brook ran water. But I wonder
If from its being kept forever under,
The thoughts may not have risen that so keep
This new-built city from both work and sleep.

~~ Robert Frost ~~

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

In the last few days, I’ve found some rather good old entries, in Pearls posted back a couple of years…. Some of them are worth a reprint, so, here is one of them, which is obviously the larval stage of a complete, adult religirant….. Enjoy!….

From 7/16/2012:

Okay, here is another “old-school” Pearl…. and yes, it makes a specific point. Read all of them, in order, and the message will be crystal clear…..

“The truth is that Christian theology, like every other theology, is not only opposed to the scientific spirit; it is also opposed to all other attempts at rational thinking. Not by accident does Genesis 3 make the father of knowledge a serpent- slimy, sneaking and abominable. Since the earliest days the church as an organization has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has been, at all times and everywhere, the habitual and incorrigible defender of bad governments, bad laws, bad social theories, bad institutions. It was, for centuries, an apologist for slavery, as it was the apologist for the divine right of kings.” — H. L. Mencken

BIBLE : A bible is a book which one or more religions consider to be holy, and to be something that they should follow. It is of course generally rather impractical to follow books, not just because they don’t often go anywhere, but also because they are not very good at public speaking, decision making, problem solving, or any of the other qualities recognized as being an advantage for leadership. A religion based around the teachings of any compilation of Toxic Custard would be very strange indeed. To subscribe to this new cult following, send $15 now. — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA

“Angels, I read, belong to nine different orders. Seraphs are the highest; they are aflame with love for God; cherubs, who are second, possess perfect knowledge of him. So love is greater than knowledge; how could I have forgotten? The seraphs are born of a stream of fire issuing from under God’s throne… Moving perpetually toward God, they perpetually praise him, crying Holy, Holy, Holy… But, they can sing only the first ‘Holy’ before the intensity of their love ignites them again and dissolves them again, perpetually into flames. ‘Abandon everything,’ Dionysius the Areopagite told his disciple. ‘God despises ideas.’ — Annie Dillard, “Holy the Firm”

“Man has a single basic choice: to think or not, and that is the measure of his virtue. Moral perfection is an unbreached rationality — not the degree of your intelligence, but the full and relentless use of your mind, not the extent of your knowledge, but the acceptance of reason as an absolute.” — John Galt

“Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to doubt.” — H. L. Mencken

“The sagacious reader who is capable of reading between these lines what does not stand written in them, but is nevertheless implied, will be able to form some conception.” — Goethe (1749-1832) — Autobiography, Book xviii, Truth and Beauty

There you go…. I can’t make it any plainer than that…..

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

It’s probably a good thing my energy level is so low this morning…. I refrained from generating a discussion of the possible reasons for that (you can thank me later…), in order to keep from getting all wimpy, & to keep from wasting a lot of time whining about it, thus freeing me up to use that little bit of energy to put together the rest of today’s effort, a word definitely appropriate for what happened here…. Now I’m at the end, though, I’m at a loss for what to do…. This went together so fast, and so smoothly, it makes me nervous…. Ah well, it’s not as if I’ve never been THAT before… As I recall, there was this time in 1988….

Screw it, it’s done…. I’m not going to spend any more time second-guessing myself…. I’ll see you mañana ffolkes, provided we’re both lucky enough to get that far…..

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

Five counts of lewd acts with a WHAT?….

Posted on April 25, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

The usual blather isn’t going to cut it today; I can feel the need for something more organized, or, at least, more apparently organized, which is often the only viable alternative we can find…. You see, none of what you find here at the beginning of these Pearls has ever been scrutinized for any sort of naturally symmetrical or patterned structure, or, for that matter, any sort of structure at all, aside from the number of sections used for a pearl…. That has always been deliberate on my part, as I didn’t wish to stifle what little creativity resides in my being, by forcing it to assume any pre-determined shape or format….

Whether or not that is the right way to go about this, I’ll probably never know; plus, it’s too late now to go back and start over. So, I’ll have to keep on with what little organized formatting I’ve managed to scrape together, while continuing to torture my mind each morning in the search for something interesting, or compelling, or just plain funny to put here at the start of all of this….

I mean, it’s not as if it has to show any dignity, or class; I’m pretty sure I’ve managed to not raise any hopes in that direction, with the tone and timbre of what has gone before; you can’t tell me that anything I’ve posted here has displayed more than a minimum of dignity. I know for a fact that I’m not capable of much of it, so, I don’t worry about much of it contaminating what I produce…. What good would dignity do me, when the shit hits the fan? None at all, and it won’t keep any of the government’s myrmidons at bay, should one of them take offense at my ranting at them in a specific manner, but, that’s okay, I’m covered….. a .12 gauge over & under works wonders in that respect….

How did I get here? I had no intention of ending up anywhere where I needed to resort to guns, especially not when I had no clue as to what was going to happen today…. I guess my tendency toward ranting has become so habitual, I don’t even have to consciously decide to start in on the BRC; it just happens naturally as I type….. Whether or not that will be an advantage, evolutionarily speaking, I can’t say; it does make it simple for creating Pearls, though, doesn’t it? No having to search for the angst, or build up any resentment; just sit down & start typing…. Handy….

Of course, it doesn’t tell me how I’m going to find an intro that will consistently get us down to the first section without…. hey! Look! Look where we ended up! Here we are, in the fifth paragraph, pre-editing, and I hadn’t noticed, again, that we’ve reached the legal limit for blather in an intro, and may now, legally, if not morally, go on to our next chosen task, should we decide to accept the assignment….

(And doesn’t THAT sound typically American in nature…. meeting legal, if not moral, requirements….)

We are aware, as always, that if caught, we are on our own; the government will claim no responsibility for what we have been asked to do…. which is fine by me, as they always manage to fuck things up, anyway….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It is my misfortune – and probably my delight – to use things as my passions tell me. What a miserable fate for a painter who adores blonds to have to stop himself putting them into a picture because they don’t go with the basket of fruit! … I put all the things I like into my pictures. The things – so much the worse for them. They just have to put up with it.” — Pablo Picasso

Good attitude! I like it…. and, it goes right along with all of what is written above, if you just listen to it with that same attitude, as expressed by Pablo, in his little self-exposition….

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

“In practical life, the woman is judged by man’s law, as if she were a man, not a woman.” — Henrik Ibsen

I’m experiencing a minor motivational crisis here today, caused in part by an embarrassment of riches, in one respect, and, by my own laziness in another….. I have a lot of material that I COULD write about….. The news of late has had some very interesting subject matter for my perusal and examination for discussion…. not all of which is enough to get me started on some subjects, as they require a bit of emotional preparation before I can settle in to write….

I would like to be able to rant more often on a subject that is very important to me, as well as to the people who are involved in dealing with it…. This subject is the world-wide plague of immorality, a plague of evil, that exists in every level of society, often with the implicit sanction of that society; I’m speaking, of course, of the abuse of women, and children of both genders, in the sex trafficking trade…. This issue is one that prompts extreme emotionalism in my psyche, causing me to get really worked up, as I contemplate the perversity, the sheer ugly evil, and the lack of humanity necessary to even contemplate such acts, much less to carry them out in reality….

Ranting on this subject tends to put me in a state from which recovery takes a good four to six hours, to work off the adrenalin that starts to flow, whenever I start to think about the (asshole) men who perpetrate these crimes all over the world, just because they can…. It makes me want to buy a gun, go down to the streets, find me a pimp or two, and start blasting away…. Unfortunately, though it would make me feel a lot better, there are too many of those assholes for merely individual acts of moral correction to make any real headway…. Of course, if I did fulfill my little fantasy a couple of times, the word might get around, and the situation might improve minimally, but only in those places I could actually get to, physically, to plant the seeds of fear in the snakes who inhabit that particular patch of grass….

The biggest problem with solving this issue is that society, being run by males, tends to ignore the issue, as it doesn’t apply to them (they believe, anyway…. which is ANOTHER issue for another time….)…. Often, to provide lip service to morality and ethics, they will pass a law, one that has no teeth to prevent any actual crime, or they’ll find some way to minimize the issue in the public eye, so that nothing is ever done…. Typically, men will attempt to distract, or defer, the attention of anyone questioning their business in this arena, by suggesting that prostitution be taken off the streets, to make it safer for the women…. No, that’s a lie, and a deliberate misrepresentation, because, actually, it just takes it out of sight, and, thus, out of mind….

My adrenalin is starting to flow, so, I’m going to defer any further ranting, and just give you the article I read that stimulated my ire…. This article points out quite clearly how male society attempts to minimize the impact of such acts as rape, by putting disturbingly realistic enactments into a TV show, thus giving the impression that watching such an act falls under the concept of “entertainment”. The men who wrote it, produced it, and put in on air, actually believe doing so legitimizes the act, removing it from the realm of a crime to that of “boys will be boys”…. thus, by association, further legitimizing ALL of the acts of perversity and violent sexual predation that men carry out upon women, and, in some cases, girl and boy children….

Read the article….. then, look around you, and see just how pervasive this plague has become in our society, as it has been embedded in the fabric of our society since the beginning of recorded history, and before….

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/24/rape-game-of-thrones?CMP=ema_565

I guess I DID rant for a while, even if it’s a bit disorganized, so, I’ll end this here, and just hope you get the picture…. because if you do, and you are anything like me, you’ll want to do something to help…. The issue needs all the attention we can give it…. not to mention needing all the ammunition we can stock up, to use on the pimps, snakeheads, and other assholes who display their inhumanity in such egregiously vicious, cowardly acts…. It’s better than they deserve, but, it is the kind of final judgment I can get behind….

“We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Just in case this has stimulated your ire like it does mine, here is a link to the blogging site of a woman who survived being kidnapped and made to prostitute herself for many years…. She writes very powerfully, and is the perfect way to get a TRUE picture of that issue, without any of the nice coloring and soft, fuzzy tones of the picture the politicians and snakeheads would have you see, when you look at prostitution and sex trafficking… The picture she draws with her words are powerful, full of pain and hard-won wisdom, as she draws the most accurate picture of the effect that the process has on those trapped in it…. Her site is at:

http://rebeccamott.net/2012/04/27/are-we-not-human/

This link takes you to a post that is extremely powerful, and one of the best ways I know to give you a complete picture of how serious the issue is, and how pervasive it is in our world….. It’s hard reading, but, life’s tough, and this issue requires our will to be exercised…. I regard it as a duty, and so should any male who is made aware of it…. I believe that firmly, because only we MEN can stop it, my brothers….. WE must take responsibility for the actions of our peers, or it will never stop, and that’s the simple truth….

“Brother, brother! we are both in the wrong.” — John Gay (1688-1732) — The Beggar’s Opera, Act ii, Sc. 2

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

Again, simply a poem…. such as it is….

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 ~~

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

So, here we are, such as we are…. I ranted above, though I had no intention of doing so…. This, unfortunately, used up most of my angst, which I had hoped to use to discuss these two articles, from two different sources, that speak to the same relative issue, to wit: politics is poopadoodle…. I’m afraid I don’t have it in me to put out another long diatribe today, (Okay, hold it down…. y’know, when you cheer like that, it kind of hurts my feelings…..NOT…), so, I’m going to cheat, just a little bit….

Here are the links to the aforementioned articles, which, though mainstream, and thus, rather soft-ball in terms of hard questions, still manage to put some heat on those assholes who inhabit the halls of government, showing them up as the blatantly dishonest, self-serving gobshites they actually are in truth, no matter how brightly they like to paint themselves in, rational, helpful, patriotic colors…. Assbites, every one of them….

Below the links, you will find an old school pearl, whose parameters will be apparent right from the start…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. take today to go out, find yourself a politician, and make everybody’s day by putting him/her out of their misery…. We’ll have one less to worry about come the revolution, right?…. I know, a bit harsh, but, my ass is tired of getting worked over by these idiots…. Enjoy the pearls, and stay alert, ffolkes, the world needs more lerts….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Boogeymen-and-shady-deals-define-spin-for-Senate-5423023.php#page-1

Don’t forget to go wash up after reading that one, ffolkes. Senators, Congresspeople, and many of their BRC lackeys, much like chicken and salmonella, usually carry a nasty viral infection, easily transferable to the listener, if they forget basic cleanliness habits….

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/six-studies-that-show-everything-republicans-believe-is-wrong-20140423?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

See? Clear, without being hurtful, rational in the face of ignorance, and not a false word to be found anywhere within its borders…. an excellent breakdown of political reality here, in what much of the rest of the world considers to be La La Land…. not that they’re in any better position; they’ve just been aware of the flaws in their political denizens for much longer…. As is obvious, knowing doesn’t always help….

Activity is the politician’s substitute for achievement.” — Smart Bee

“It is a sin to believe evil of others, but it is seldom a mistake.” — H. L. Mencken

“As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

“You can’t use tact with a congressman. A congressman is a hog. You must take a stick and hit him on the snout.” — Henry Adams

“Imagine, if you will, that I am an idiot. Then, imagine that I am also a Congressman. But, alas, I repeat myself.” — Mark Twain

“Guns are generally pretty robust, their only enemies are rust and politicians.” — Jeff Cooper

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.” — Chinese Proverb

I’ll tell you, ffolkes, some pearls are just better than others…. and so is this one….

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

I know I’ve created a mess, but, I don’t care…. I am barely sane at this moment in time; it’s taking all of my will power to keep typing long enough to finish this before I break down completely, & start gibbering…. Since I won’t be getting any treats if I let that happen, I’m going to go medicate myself thoroughly, & go take a nap…. Maybe the world will be a bit saner when I wake up…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, God willin’ and the creek don’t rise…. I know, I’m an agnostic, but, it still sounds cool…. Okay, I’m gone….

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

Worldwide Celebration Held to Honor History’s Greatest Scam….

Posted on April 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A huge CRACK! boomed outside the cheap apartment door, just as a neat, round hole appeared in that door, as well as in the forehead of the small, weaselly-looking excuse for a human who sat, forlornly, and now, deadly, in the middle of the couch…. Turning quickly, I moved away from the door, ducking into the next room, where I grabbed the small bag containing the gems…. Drawing my own gun from under my coat, I moved to the opposite door, carefully looking around the corner to the mirror on the hallway wall, placed there for just that purpose, to see if anyone tried to come through the now sacred door …. Sacred…. holy…. holey, get it? Well, nobody ever accused me of being a comedian, just a thief…. It’s a tough job, but, hey, somebody’s, etc…. Well, you know the rest….

Even if you do know the finish to that line, I think we’ll let it slide by without picking it up…. When I wrote that short paragraph, last night, it seemed better than when I look at it now, in the light of day (or, actually, in the dark of an early morn, which is more accurate….). It does, however, sit nicely there across the top of the post, looking just as if it were really the opening to a novel, or, at minimum, a short story, and, since our society believes firmly in the value of illusion, we’ll let it stay where it is…. It’ll get in less trouble that way….

So, how are y’all this fine Oester morn?…. (Oester would be the Wiccan, or possibly Druidic term for the date associated with the rites of Spring…) It looks to be a pretty nice day around here, weather-wise, though I can’t say how it will be INSIDE the churches, where all of the various categories of Christian cults will be holding their mass delusional celebration of history’s greatest scam…. (Yes, I know, that’s what the TITLE said, and we NEVER do that…. get over it, we did….)…. Yep, today’s the day when the whole story gets told again, and all the preachers, priests, and “reverend sirs” will be repeating the talking points of the story we all have had crammed down our throats since we were little, and had no defense against it….

I know my opinion about the Christian faith is unpopular, and, in many cases, reviled by those who have strong faith…. That’s okay, I expect nothing less from anyone who can fall for that story year after year, in spite of a) the sheer unbelievability of what they are asked to believe, and b) the glaring lack of ANY sort of conclusive evidence of ANY of the basic premises upon which the story is based…. At four years of age I spotted most of the flaws in the logic of the whole mess, and over time have come to believe the same as Thomas Paine, who famously said, “Any system of religion that has anything in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be true.”

Mr. Paine, one of our earliest true patriots, also said this about religion, to wit: “All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” This, too, I firmly believe, as, every day, I see the hypocrisy and lies told by the BRC, which are then repeated in the pulpits around the nation in different words, complete with remonstrations to defer to secular authority, to support the ruling class, without whose cooperation their whole elaborately complex scam would fall apart…. It’s a good deal for both of them, as they perform the old “one-two” on the unsuspecting public, who believe these assholes actually have their best interests at heart….

Ah well, the intro probably isn’t the best place to rant, but, that’s what happens on days like today, when the sheer idiocy, not to mention all the wasted time, and loss of dignity that go hand in hand with the whole religion concept…. well, it gets to me, and I have a hard time not yelling at people to “GET A FUCKING CLUE!”….

Sorry, I don’t mean to yell, but, it’s just so frustrating to see how easily people will give up the use of their own minds, allowing these assholes, and their myrmidons, to tell them what they should think, so they don’t have to make the effort of doing so themselves, or to save themselves from the fear, and the necessity for self-reliance, honesty, and courage, that goes along with facing up to the big, bad world, and all of its scary inhabitants….

As far as I’m concerned, the Christian religion, or, more accurately, the dishonest suckwads who foist those outright lies on unsuspecting fools, for the purposes of their own aggrandizement, are responsible for much of what is wrong in today’s world, and, in my opinion, deserve nothing more than our disgust and anger, for being lied to, and for the endlessly manipulative attempts to control the lives of the less intelligent, and more gullible, members of society…. To my way of thinking, they deserve to inhabit the lowest depths of their own version of Hell, for the lies they have LIVED, and tried to pass on to others….

There, I got that off my chest, and may now go forth to finish this Pearl, which, no doubt, nobody will ever read, having been offended somehow by the above…. SIGH…. S’okay, I don’t mind…. much. As long as nobody tries to get ME to join in the festivities, or tries to convince me I am wrong, it should be a fairly nice day….

If someone DOES make that mistake, they will find me all-too-ready to discuss the issue, with passion and verve…. perhaps, a greater degree than that to which they may be accustomed, or desirous, but, that can’t be helped…. It’s been building up a long time, and I’ve never let it out on anyone, except here, on this blog, so it would probably be best for all if it never happened at all…. Trust me, I don’t think there would be much left, of whomever got the wild hair far enough up their ass to test me on this….

Shall we Pearl?…. I think we’d better do it now, before this gets me feeling any more aggressive than I am already….

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery,
None but ourselves can free our minds.

— Bob Marley

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

Since the intro section turned into the rant for today, we’ll go old-school to start off the rest of the Pearl…. I’m not sure right now just what parameters I’ll use, but, you can be sure that whatever comes up today will have sharp points, so use some caution when handling them, okay? I am a bit low on sterile bandages, after the last few attempts to skim the treetops of religious dogma…. Those sycophantic dogma dogs can be vicious when they are made to feel exposed in their lies and scamming…. Let’s see what SB can find today, shall we?….

“Bullshit detector: when alarm sounds, please reengage brain.” — Smart Bee

Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,
And without sneering teach the rest to sneer;
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, Prologue to the Satires, Line 201

(At first, this may seem out of place…. But, look at what Mssr. Pope says in these four lines, and think about any of the preachers or priests you’ve known…. Each of them (well, all of them that I ever met….) is a master at these techniques, all of which are taught to them in seminary, to use when arguing with us ideologues who don’t buy their line of BS…. They’re not actually argument techniques, that rely on logic or reasoning, but, rather, are conversational tricks, designed to make the one at whom they are directed feel as if they are lesser, that their words are foolish…. in short, dismissing any arguments without actually considering their merit…. A very valuable, and well-used tool from the bag, chock full of such trickery, that every preacher or priest is given upon graduation from their brainwashing seminaries….)

“Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.” — H.L. Mencken

(This one may not fit exactly, but, I couldn’t resist a pearl that takes a shot at both of my favorite targets….)

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” — Anais Nin

(And, is exactly what happens when one is more afraid of living than they are of death….)

SCRIPTURES, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.” — Josh Billings

“The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.” — Seng Ts’an, Third Zen Patriarch, — from Hsin Hsin Ming, Verses on the Faith Mind

There you go…. a bit esoteric, but, hey, it’s always a good thing to have to think harder than you expected…. trust me….

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

Given the subject matter that has dominated today’s effort, we’ll go with a poem of mine that speaks to that issue, directly… I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it…

Rejection

“Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so…”
I’d be crying a river, I thought
if ever such crap I bought.

Sorry if it hurts your sense of style,
but, hypocrisy always gives me bile.
Being lied to accidentally is okay,
but, deliberate lies make me angry, and fey.

Oh, God, hear what I pray!
Keep me from your followers today.
Having to listen to so much that is wrong
makes me puke, before it makes me strong.

I don’t know why it isn’t clear to other folks,
which is alright, you know; different strokes.
But, why should that mean that they must
force me to believe, or fail in trust?

Spare me the lies, and the make-believe,
fairy tales are easier to hear, and to weave.
They give us a lesson which we can feel
but don’t pretend at all to be real.

Reality can scare us, that’s a given fact;
still, met with care it will leave us mostly intact.
Met without fear, standing tall and alone
Life will allow us to make it our own.

Folly beckons, and so many follow;
mass delusions seem to me most hollow.
I’ll have to stick to my own chosen way
while so many go so sadly astray.

It’s lonely at times, it may seem sad,
but really isn’t, and I’m quite glad,
that knowledge is always stronger than fear,
year after year, tear after tear…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I’ve already ranted, and made an old-school pearl, so that leaves me little choice, but to pull something from the archives for this section, as I’m not quite sure I’ve got more in me to write, at least, not anything worth writing…. This one, at least, is a good follow-up to yesterday’s discussion of this particularly volatile issue…..

From 4/20/13:

Quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? [Who guards the Guardians?] — Smart Bee

This is the perfect opening for a discussion of gun control, for me, as I believe strongly that this is the bottom line issue for that particular subject…… Sure, taking guns out of the hands of people who are insane is a good thing; nobody, I think, can argue that. The problem lies in figuring out WHO gets to decide what sanity is, the same issue that comes up in discussing getting rid of firearms altogether.

You see, I’m sorry, but, I just can’t bring myself to trust the Beloved Ruling Class to decide who is sane, and who isn’t. Part of this stems from the fact that I don’t consider anyone in public office to have a very tight grip on sanity to begin with…. How effective can it be to have insane people making the rules for deciding who is insane? Not very, I suspect….

Yet, I read many articles that profess the belief that the police, and the army, who naturally would have to have guns, (Why? If nobody is supposed to have them, why would they need them?), are more trustworthy than the common citizen. I’m sorry, but, just what planet did you say you came from?

It certainly isn’t Earth, because, last time I looked, all the police, all the folks in the army, and all the folks who tell them what to do, are all PEOPLE, just like anyone else, suffering the same fears, the same delusions or preconceptions, and the same lack of morality, as does the average Joe on the streets. In fact, due to my experience at observing and identifying psychiatric symptoms common to the insane, I can honestly state, I consistently see a higher percentage of police and military personnel who have a demonstrable lack of moral compass than I’ve seen in the general public.

Part of the problem is that the police and military, by their nature, end up as being attractive to the type of person who enjoys having power over others, whose self-image requires them to be in positions of authority, to be able to view themselves in a positive light, as successful. They equate money and power over others with success, and so gravitate to those sectors of society that deal in those commodities.

Normal, stable personality types seldom need to exercise power over others, and so avoid such pastimes, but to the selfish, and the sociopathic, the police and the army are seen as a path to what they term as success. If you see a flaw in this logic, please, enlighten me…. Until I see some evidence to the contrary, though, I find this to be a valuable, and accurate summation of the situation, thereby affording myself the opportunity to avoid the majority of their machinations, at least in a directly personal sense….

We all have to deal with them eventually though, so it’s good, I think, to be aware of the above arguments, as it will forewarn anyone who absorbs it, and takes it to heart, allowing them to defend themselves from the worst of the BRC’s attempts at repression, or oppression, if not all.

I’ve always found it to be the best policy to maintain a high level of doubt when considering announcements and decrees, to constantly stay alert to the news, as well as to the meaning behind what I do see there, and, finally, to be ready to jump when the balloon goes up.

Things out in the Big Blue Room are getting a bit serious in spots, with potentially disastrous possibilities threatening us from several directions, so it would be a good thing to be ready for whatever may take place, no matter how insane it may appear to be from our current vantage point…. And remember, guard yourself, against the Guardians themselves, if need be…..

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift; the rational mind is faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” — Albert Einstein

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

Today’s Pearl may lose me a few readers, but, that’s always true on those days when I start picking on religion…. It’s one of our species most strongly held beliefs, delusional or not, and it is of no matter who judges the truth of those beliefs…. any opposition at all is going to create some resentment, or at minimum, mistrust….and, for that, I’m sorry…. I have no wish to alienate people.

But, I also am compelled to tell the Truth, no matter how hard to swallow it may be…. It’s just the way I am, and the way I insist on living…. and, I’m enough of a curmudgeon to not care at all who is offended by that…. In my world, Truth comes FIRST….. and THAT is a policy subject to no debate, whatsoever….

So be it…. gigoid the dubious has spoken…. 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

Standing in the pentagram, she began to chant….

Posted on April 7, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

In ringing dulcet tones, a fanfare sounds above the muted roar of the crowd, heralding the entrance of a stunning couple, tall and golden….. The room sighs in admiration as they saunter with ineffable elegance through the massive ballroom’s doors. Hand in hand, they cross to their host, offering their obeisance; though we are in Hollywood, royalty is royalty, and jealous of its privilege.

As I watched the swirling dancers and milling celebrities, rubbing shoulders in a good cause, all I could think about was the woman I’d seen on my way to the door, rummaging in the garbage in the back of the mansion in which we all stood….. I wondered what any of these elegantly dressed swells would say about their good cause, if they knew the woman had once lived here….

Hmm…. well, it’s not Faulkner, by any means, but, it got me here, to this paragraph, so I can count it a success, as that was its only task…. I hadn’t tried my hand at a fictional opening for some time, and figured, what the hell, it’s only 3:30 AM, & I’ve got plenty of time…. It’s not the best I’ve ever done, though it has its points of merit; I’ll let it fly, & not expect much from it…. That way, when it bombs, I can say I knew it all the time…. Hey, it’s a small victory, but, a man’s gotta take what he can get at this time of the day….

Why am I up again at 3 AM? Well, honey, I’ve given up trying to figure it out…. The cat, of course, played a part, by trying to get under the covers, but, that shouldn’t have been enough to make it so I couldn’t sleep any more… Even if I DID go to bed at about 8 PM, I should have been….. Oh, wait…. that’s right….. That makes seven full hours, doesn’t it? Okay, so maybe I WAS done sleeping, and was right to get up…. I sure wish I would tell myself this stuff earlier, before I go making a fool of myself…. Bozoid tendencies or no, it’s too damn early to be making that sort of mistake in my own story…. One could get the impression I’m not altogether “with it”, don’t y’know?…

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, I DO know whereof I am existent, though that perception can change in a heart beat; I’ve always been subject to unpredictable moments of perceptual convulsion, wherein the Universe seems to expand rapidly, then shrink…. Oh, wait, the Universe IS expanding and shrinking…. what was I thinking? Okay, now I’m pissed…. Who got me started on this? I want them in my office, NOW!…. I could have been seriously injured by the explosion!….

Sorry about all that, ffolkes…. It can be hard getting good help these days, even if I do pay more than minimum wage. Of course, in the process of bringing all the above into some sort of proper perspective, you may find yourself a bit confused, but, no worries, that’s to be expected on mornings such as this…. The emergency clinic has been mad aware of the potentially dangerous situation, and will be standing by to treat any possible further episodes of convulsive reasoning, which can be not only debilitating, but serves as a delicious and healthful snack….

What? You wanted sober reasoning…. Sorry, ffolkes, all I’ve got today is the convulsive sort. You’ll have to make do, as I’m already showing you how it needs to be done, in order to fulfill all the legal requirements. Not that we worry much about that; we’ve avoided getting any citations for years, ever since the last time when we had that little accident…. The poor deputy they sent is still receiving treatment for his psychosis….. Honest, we didn’t mean to let out the choir while he was in the foyer trying to decipher the warrant; they just started in on him, & after ten minutes of holistic hosannas, he was never the same….

Okay…. I think I’m done for the moment…. All morning, since sitting down to stare at the blank screen, snuffling and aching until the morning doses of caffeine & cannabis had a chance to take effect, I’ve been in a strange mood, even for me…. It’s hard to pinpoint a reason, as we humans are complex creatures, and our motivation for anything we do can be pretty obscure, even to ourselves….. which may be an unconscious indicator pointing to the whole problem we humans have in getting by in the world without causing so much damage, to the world, and to each other…. Ah well, I don’t think I’ve got anywhere NEAR enough drugs in me to start on THAT subject…. Instead, we’ll do this……..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Costing not less than everything.” — T.S. Eliot

“Everybody gets free BORSCHT!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Hmm, again…. It seems I’m even odder than usual today, because I could NOT decide which of these was more appropriate to put here…. which is why you see both…. Be warned, ffolkes…. it might get a little strange today….

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

Maybe, if I include something from an old Pearl, things might have a chance to settle, and we’ll be better able to see what we’re about…. We can hope, anyway…. here is a religirant from last year’s files…. Enjoy!…. I did….

From 5/28/2013:

What do you think? Is it time for a rant, perhaps, a religirant? I think so…. They haven’t done anything particularly stupid in public of late; some of the fundamentalists must have broken down and started listening to their lawyers. They’ve been careful lately about saying stuff that not only infuriates the rest of the country, but are probably legally actionable as slander. But, they’ll still ask you to send money, so they can afford to carry on God’s work…..

“They say give your money to God, but they give you THEIR address.” — Smart Bee

On my recent trip to Texas, I went by a church by the highway, and did a complete and classic double-take when the name on the sign registered. I don’t know if it is the one that keeps getting itself in the news, but it said it was the Westboro Baptist Church, home of the world’s most clueless, hateful, and ignorant preacher. Well, the sign didn’t say the last part, that was mine, but it’s still true, if it IS the church that has, for the last three or four years, made itself infamous, and the target of every other Christian in the US, for dragging the good name of Christians in general through some pretty dark mud, and flinging the rest of the mud on everyone it can see…..

These folks, and the idiot who leads them into their idiocy, are perhaps the stupidest people on the planet, if a willingness to display that stupidity, time after time, on national TV, is any indication, all in spite of the constant and strident statements from the entire rest of the world that they are not just wrong, but stupidly wrong, in each and every one of their stated objectives. Wrong, that is, according to every other interpretation of the Bible’s words by every Christian scholar in the world, except themselves.

These ignoramae refuse to even look at what they are doing, and have absolutely no clue of how completely ridiculous they appear to everyone else in the world. In a way, it is really sad, or would be, but for their vicious vindictiveness, and the vulnerability of their victims, the people they label as blasphemers and devils, just for being different in some way. In their ignorant blundering around like bulls in a china shop, they hurt the feelings of people who are already suffering, and do so deliberately…. Not just stupid, these assholes, but cruelly so….

“Some men become proud and insolent because they ride a fine horse, wear a feather in their hat or are dressed in a fine suit of clothes. Who does not see the folly of this? If there be any glory in such things, the glory belongs to the horse, the bird and the tailor.” — St. Frances de Sales

This is their justification, their rationalization for their actions, which they MUST KNOW to be wrong; no one breathing could possibly be THAT stupid, so much so as to not know their own cruelty. But, like all Christians do to at least some degree, in order to maintain faith, they can rationalize anything, as long as it supports their belief in their own rightness…. This is a necessary attribute for anyone attempting to live in reality according to the rules dictated by a delusion, and, in fact, is most likely a purely human characteristic, common to the believers of ANY religion.

“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.” — Martin Fraquhar Tupper

At this point in this discussion, I think this final quote can point the way out of such a distasteful subject. My hands already will need to be washed thoroughly after this stuff, so I may as well close it by saying this…. The people in the world who have decided to allow fear to dictate their entire approach to Life, and submerge their intelligence in the pursuit of an idea that has no real connection to the real world, in order to spare themselves the effort of dealing with life directly, by condescending to use their own minds. That being said, I can finally give them their precise due, which means, I no longer need consider them, at all…. which also means I don’t have to waste my time talking about them any more….. Bully good news for y’all, don’t you think?…. I’m going now….. See?…. I’m already gone…..

“To perceive is to suffer.” — Aristotle, De Anima

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

Here is one of Poe’s better works…. yes, I’m opinionated. Deal….

Dreams

Oh! that my young life were a lasting dream!
My spirit not awakening, till the beam
Of an Eternity should bring the morrow.
Yes! tho’ that long dream were of hopeless sorrow,
‘Twere better than the cold reality
Of waking life, to him whose heart must be,
And hath been still, upon the lovely earth,
A chaos of deep passion, from his birth.
But should it be- that dream eternally
Continuing- as dreams have been to me
In my young boyhood- should it thus be given,
‘Twere folly still to hope for higher Heaven.
For I have revell’d, when the sun was bright
I’ the summer sky, in dreams of living light
And loveliness,- have left my very heart
In climes of my imagining, apart
From mine own home, with beings that have been
Of mine own thought- what more could I have seen?
‘Twas once- and only once- and the wild hour
From my remembrance shall not pass- some power
Or spell had bound me- ’twas the chilly wind
Came o’er me in the night, and left behind
Its image on my spirit- or the moon
Shone on my slumbers in her lofty noon
Too coldly- or the stars- howe’er it was
That dream was as that night-wind- let it pass.

I have been happy, tho’ in a dream.
I have been happy- and I love the theme:
Dreams! in their vivid coloring of life,
As in that fleeting, shadowy, misty strife
Of semblance with reality, which brings
To the delirious eye, more lovely things
Of Paradise and Love- and all our own!
Than young Hope in his sunniest hour hath known.

~~ Edgar Allan Poe ~~

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

Due to the unpredictable nature of my mood today, I’ve avoided creating anything fresh….. I’m too familiar with the results of indulging such moods to allow one to affect today’s effort, which is already hovering around the “too weird even for gigoid” category. To assuage any lingering guilt for having shamelessly used the archives to fill in today’s post, here is a random, harlequin pearl to finish off this mess…. So much for vaulting ambition, eh?….. Let’s go see what SB can come up with for us today….

“Time is the great legalizer, even in the field of morals.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), “A Book of Prefaces”, 1917

“Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work, risking, and not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful: yourself.” — Alan Alda

“If we don’t know life, how can we know death?” — Confucius

“The Tree of Learning bears the noblest fruit, but noble fruit tastes bad.” — Smart Bee

“It is a maxim universally agreed upon in agriculture, that nothing must be done too late; and again, that everything must be done at its proper season; while there is a third precept which reminds us that opportunities lost can never be regained.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book xviii, Sect. 44

“It is never too late to give up your prejudices.’ — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” — Aristotle, Ethica nicomachea II (c. 325 B.C.)

I keep telling you…. it’s all in the wrist, see?….

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

Given the state of my mind this morning, I’m pretty well satisfied with this effort…. Nothing here will cause any bleeding, unless, of course, one rolls it up and strikes oneself in the face with it. I’d suggest NOT going that route, as it can lead to unwarranted accusations of self-abuse, a tough start to any day. Better to just read it with a certain degree of suspended judgment, and leave any build-up of angst and/or resentment to those simple folks who cannot comprehend their own ignorance….

Thus, having adeptly alienated anyone who doesn’t speak piffle, or at least another language that can help them to translate my alt-English into spoken, or written English, I will do the merciful thing, and end this here…. Y’all should probably check yourselves in the mirror before heading out into the public; it got a bit messy in here today…. See ya, tomorrow, I’m hoping….

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

Watching the Founding Fathers spin like a top….

Posted on April 6, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Having long been cognizant of the danger involved in living a life of free will, I accept that danger, without qualm or resentment, as the just cost it represents for the boon of living free. As our favorite Founding Father, Tommy J, was fond of saying, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance; it’s cost is counted only in the blood of its defenders.” Well, I think he said it; it might have been one of the others…. but, it SOUNDS like mi amigo Tomas, so I’m going with that. The danger, as it turns out, is not from the world at large, so much as from the Australopithecan inhabitants of that world, specifically a certain small part of the impossibly fecund group of naked, hairless apes who infest the surface of the planet with me….

Now, this may sound as if I have a rather poor opinion of my fellow man…. In that, you would be right, insofar as it goes. Individually I like some of them very much, and tend to try to spend what time I have to interact with those whom I can get along with, just like everyone else… The rest of them, as far as I am concerned, are pretty much superfluous, in most ways, and I figure the world would be a nicer place if they’d all just go away somewhere where they won’t bother those of us who only wish to get along, without trying to take advantage of anyone else….

The small group to whom I refer above, however, make the process of living with them a veritable pain the bloody ass, as they have no more desire in Life than to steal from everyone else….. These assholes will lie, cheat, & ultimately, will act, literally, in any way they feel will get them what they want, no matter how unethical, or immoral it may be. Their entire purpose in life is to see that THEY, and they alone, are in control of other people, and of the resources our society uses to maintain life and culture; in that purpose they are single-minded, quite ruthless, deliberately heedless, and completely uncaring, as to how much pain and misery they may cause to other people in the process of achieving their goals.

Now, the assholes who act like this are not a very large group of people…. but, for all of our history on this world, over 5,000 years, at least, this small group of snakeheads have conspired against the rest of humanity, diligently working to set themselves up as the oppressive, shadowy forces behind the Powers That Be in life, a task at which, for the most part, they have been quite successful. The number of people in the world who are in essential control is much smaller than the grand majority of people are aware…… These are NOT the people who get elected, or however they are chosen to lead a nation; the real power lies with those who control those leaders from behind the scenes, telling them what they can and cannot do…..

This number, of the true masters of our society, is, realistically, far less than a thousand men and/or women, world-wide…. Once the structure of control has been established, it doesn’t take a lot of manpower to maintain the status quo, since the vast majority of people in the world are not aware of the true picture of how society is arranged…..

This cluelessness, I might add, is a sufficient degree of ignorance to enable those in power to remain there as long as they wish…. They have had a very long time to practice the skills they need to remain both in charge, and in the background, and they are VERY, VERY GOOD at them, believe me…..

I know these people are out there; I also know that they know they are not completely invisible, due in part to others such as myself, who refuse to leave in place any of the wool they keep trying to pull over our eyes. They know exactly what writers and/or ffolkes are out there in the world, who are watching them WITHOUT being fooled…. Hell, they probably have our addresses, and an idea of how many weapons we keep on hand….

They don’t care, as long as they are able to maintain their control, and their obscurity from the public eye…. If, by chance, the majority of the blind, ignorant public became aware of how much they are controlled, and for how long they have been the dupes of these human predatory vultures….. well, those shadowy snakeheads wouldn’t last very long…. A mob of humans is an ugly thing, with no conscience at all, once it has been set in action….. There is little chance of it ever happening, but, hey, there’s always hope, right?….

I note from the above that my rant for today can be considered as done…. Since, despite the evidence presented thus far, my brain is NOT in what I’d call “sharp” status, I think I’ll take this as it lies, & not worry too much about how it got there… That’s probably for the best, as I don’t have a bloody clue as to how it all came to be…. Hell, I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing right at this moment, much less have I kept track up to now…. it didn’t seem necessary, and, now, it would be more dangerous than what we’ve already done, so, we’ll stop here….

Whew! Thank goodness…. it almost got away from me there…. Now that we’re back in the saddle, so to speak, let’s ride, or, dive, whichever is more appropriate…. I think we’ll dive, as we have the scuba gear, and nothing to ride, anyway…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” — Marcus Aurelius

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

“Come hether freind, I am ashamed to hear that what I hear of you… You have almost attayned to the age of nyne yeeres, at least to eight and a halfe, and seeing that you knowe your dutie, if you neglect it your deserve greater punishment then he which though ignorance doth it not. Think not that the nobilitie of your Ancestors doth free you to doe all that you list, contrary-wise, it bindeth you more to follow vertue.” — Pierre Brondell

When I found this, I thought it would make a good beginning to a rant, since it speaks to the concept of responsibility for one’s actions as a leader…. Then, I saw this one….

“Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797) — Reflections on the Revolution in France, — Letter i, On a Regicide Peace, Vol. v, p. 331

Recognizing the truth of this, I realized that, as in the rant in the intro section, I’m wasting my time, not even preaching to the choir, but to the flock of geese in the yard….. SIGH….. Oh, well, I suppose it had to happen sometime….. So, rather than bore y’all any further with such superfluous agitation, we’ll go with an old-school style pearl, to try to set some sort of example, to teach something about the true nature of our Beloved Ruling Class, and the shadowy corporate snakeheads who tell them what to do…. Let’s see what SB can find for us today, shall we?….

“Of all the forces in the universe, the hardest to overcome is the force of habit. Gravity is easy-peasy by comparison.” — Solomon Einstein (Terry Pratchett, “Johnny and the Dead”)

“The difference between fantasy and science fiction is that one hast honest politicians scrupulous lawyers, and altruistic doctors, while the other only has beings from outer space.” — William John Watkins

“Is it a bigger crime to rob a bank or to open one?” — Smart Bee

“Let thine occupations be few,” saith the sage. — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 24

(I was going to put in an explanation of this pearl from Marcus Aurelius, but, I decided, no, you should figure out for yourself just WHY it is here….)

“Government lies, and newspapers lie, but in a democracy they are different lies.” — Smart Bee

“In the United States…politics is purged of all menace, all sinister quality, all genuine significance, and stuffed with such gorgeous humors, such inordinate farce that one comes to the end of a campaign with one’s ribs loose, and ready for “King Lear,” or a hanging, or a course of medical journals.” — H. L. Mencken

“As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.” — George Washington

SIGH…. as for the last quote, all I can say is, so much for THAT idea….. Good idea, George, but, nobody’s interested in that stuff anymore…. At least, nobody in OUR government….

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

“All poets are mad.” — Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy

Robert is, as we all know, correct in this assessment…. But, who’s counting, anyway?….. Here is another of my old poems, because nobody else deserves a fate like this today…. Here is one, written back in 2012, in reaction to the advancing effects of aging on my health and well-being…. Call it a lament, or call it a paean to patience…. You can call it what you like…. I just call it a poem….

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 ~~

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

“It may be said that his wit shines at the expense of his memory.” — Alain Rene Le Sage (1668-1747) — Gil Blas, Book iii, Chap. xi

“A wit with dunces, and a dunce with wits.” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Dunciad, Book iv, Line 90

“Ahhh. A man with a sharp wit. Someone ought to take it away from him before he cuts himself.” — Peter da Silva

Aha! I finally found a place for these!….. I’ve been holding these three connected pearls for some weeks now, trying to find a place for them…. Since I’ve treated y’all today to a perfect example of the point of these three little barbs, I’ll just say that, all of these, taken together, form an idea that fits me like a Texas catheter, which, if y’all know anything about nursing, is an article of medical purpose which, once applied, will NOT fall off the appendage to which it is strapped, until it is meant to…. which is a delicate way of saying y’all should be careful when I’m slinging pearls around…. They can, if not respected for the damage they can do, make y’all wish you were never born….

That being said, here is another old-school pearl, whose only parameters for inclusion were set at “odd”, and “funny”…. Of course, you have to go by MY standards on both of those, but, hey, you’ll like it….. Trust me…

“Everything takes longer than you think it will.” — Murphy’s Law Corollary 2

(Including completing the consumption of this Pearl…..)

“During the invasion of Sicily in World War II, General George (“Blood ‘n’ Guts”) Patton was preparing to take the city of Palermo. He checked with his meteorologists and learned the day he had chosen would be incredibly rainy. So he issued an order to place copies of the New York “Times” immediately beneath the tailgates of the transports carrying his troops. In this way the men could keep their feet dry. His staff was mystified. Why the “Times”? Why not the New York “Daily News”? Patton was adamant; and one did not argue with the General. As five tons of old copies of the “Times” were being loaded, the General issued one of his greatest quotes to the assembled war correspondents: “THESE ARE THE ‘TIMES’ THAT DRY MEN’S SOLES.” –Smart Bee

(My abject apologies for that…. but, I couldn’t resist…. You may groan as loudly as you wish; you may even voice as many epithets as you desire….. Just don’t throw any of the articles from the pocket in the seat back in front of you…. Thanks….)

“Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.” — Aristotle

“America will tolerate the taking of a human life without giving it a second thought. But don’t misuse a household pet.” — Dick Gregory, The Shadow that Scares Me, 1968

The Preacher, the Politician, the Teacher,
Were each of them once a kiddie.
A child, indeed, is a wonderful creature.
Do I want one? God Forbiddie!

— Ogden Nash

“The believer is happy. The doubter is wise.’ — Hungarian proverb

“Go on, EMOTE! I was RAISED on thought balloons!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I really love it when a plan comes together….

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

Having thus completed the obligatory number of rants, or rant-like substances, including two old-school pearls, I am now authorized to bring this to a close, without fear of annoying any of the bureaucrats who keep tabs on this sort of function…. The poem was a bonus inclusion, due to the habit of those same bureaucrats to completely ignore all poetry, as being outside their purview and/or perception. Now, aren’t you glad you stayed to the end?….

Okay, I’ll shut down my incredibly over-zealous ego now, putting the lie to the old saw about never knowing when to shut up…. I can bust a preconceived notion with the best of them, as long as I have something with which I can replace it, in the traditional pantheon of necessary incongruities, with which reality is decorated whenever we gather like this…. Plus, it gave me one last opportunity to practice my nonsense and blather, without actually having to open a new package….. On that obscure note, I will release you from all bondage, and begone….. See ya, ffolkes, if I’m still relatively sane tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Sifting through arbitrarily discarded feathers……

Posted on March 25, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

While attending the unveiling of the newest polynomial bathysphere, I noticed a very fine example of meritoriously painted perfluffle, which I took as an indication of the ever-expanding influence of the Veil of Langerhans, prior to manifestation of any attendant mystery. Why that should have prevented us from getting to the Governor’s palace for tea will always be a bone of contention for the participants, even though several gratuitously engendered therapy sessions were severely instrumental in ensuring there would be no effluence before its time. All such diploid expenditures in the arena create insidiously small ripples in the futures market, otherwise the Minister of Ducks is required to intervene, lest there be any breakout of empathy ordered erroneously, or, for that matter, secular bread balls in aspic….

Whew! I feel better now….. So would you, if you had to get THAT sort of thing out of your head, prior to any real work getting accomplished. Since the alternative has been known to cause seriously dangerous wobbles in space/time, it’s just as well I got it out, don’t you agree? Well, whether you do, or not, is immaterial in the final analysis, because, hey, it’s a done deal…. We’re already here, in the SECOND paragraph, where we are legally free to make any and all assertions, evidenced or not, without any fear of retribution from any legal sources…. Of course, it doesn’t preclude a reaction from illegal sources, but the 12-gauge Winchester over & under we keep under the table always comes in real handy in those cases….

In case it isn’t clear yet, I’m sitting a bit on the odd side of my chair, having been unceremoniously awakened at 0144 by the resident furry asshole, who proceeded to get me up, & then disappear altogether, leaving me weeping in my chair…. I have no idea why the weeping is taking place; a leftover gift from my PTSD, no doubt…. But, sitting in one’s chair, weeping without reason, at 2 AM is NOT my idea of a restful night, especially when I stayed up as late as I could, so I could sleep in a bit….. I should know better than to make plans, shouldn’t I?…..

Anger, frustration, and emotional lability thus conspire to cause me intentional harm, thus miserablizing my morning (Wait…. is that a word? Spell Check doesn’t like it, but, I do…. I think it’s a great new word…. If people can make a verb out of the noun, such as when the word “impact” became “impacted” (which always puts a picture of a really constipated guy in my head….), why should it be wrong for me to make one out of an adjective? All this, of course, thus pushed my attitude, and the day, beyond any hope of redemption, save that which comes from fulfilling a duty…. Hence, paragraph one….

I know, it’s probably more than just a little bit odd, to require such a complicated method for relieving angst that occurs naturally; I could, no doubt, find a simpler, more effective way to get this stuff out of my head, without feeling the need to subject the rest of the world to my weirdness. But, what fun would THAT be? None at all…. So, I do what I do, and to hell with the consequences…. To hell, as well, with anyone’s ill will for doing so…. We have this great idea here in America, called “choice”…. and they can always choose to read somewhere else, if they can’t take the heat around here….

As long as we are all allowed to make our own choices in such matters, without undue influence from our beloved ruling class, we have a chance at being fairly happy on this old ball of mud…. Of course, they’re never going to allow that, not OUR BRC….. They’ve much too long of a history of never doing so, to ever think they’ll change…..But, hey, we have hopes…. Unreasonable, and with poor odds in favor of ever coming to fruition, but, we do have them…. Which is, in and of itself, an encouraging note, I suppose…. On that note….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Man is the only one that knows nothing, that can learn nothing without being taught. He can neither speak nor walk nor eat, and in short he can do nothing at the prompting of nature only, but weep.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book vii, Sect. 4
_____________________________

Since I’m up so early, I’m going to fool around a bit before getting serious (if that ever DOES happen today, be sure to make a note of it, in case I need the evidence later, for the lawsuits that are no doubt being researched as I write….)….. Rather than either an old-school pearl, or a rant, here is a short discussion of a concept few people think about as a rule…. which makes it fine grist for my mill….. Comes out tasty, too….

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

From 12/10/2011:

“A map of the world without Utopia is not worth glancing at.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900

A lot of people will tell you that there is no such thing as perfection, that it only exists as a concept, but has no physical reality. These folks will challenge you to point out something that is perfect, and delight in pointing out the flaws of anything you might come up with. But there is an answer that will shut them up, one always available for pointing. Just lift your hand, put a smile on your face, & point right at their heart….. then, say to them, “There you are. A perfect example of imperfection…..” Then duck, and run quickly out of weapon range, because the reaction can be somewhat explosive. People who act superior, especially when due to a sense of false entitlement, don’t much like it when you make them look and feel ridiculous…. but it’s their own fault, for exhibiting their stupidity in public, eh?

There is a Utopia. Perfection exists. If it doesn’t, where did the concept come from? We don’t just make up words for stuff that doesn’t concern us; the words we use have a meaning. The meaning may change over time, but the concept it describes does not cease to exist because the meaning changes a bit to reflect the passage of time, or the changes in society and/or culture, both of which cause languages to evolve. Every person alive has a picture in their mind of what Perfect looks like, based on their own perceptions, colored by the meanings they have learned to attach to those perceptions.

In fact, the word ‘perfect’ has a meaning that is clear in everyone’s mind; I can’t think of anyone over the age of oh, five or six, who couldn’t supply an accurate, or at least adequate, definition of perfection when asked. So if they know what it is, how can it not exist? The mere fact that we DO have such a concept in our mind, like with life itself, implies, and proves, its existence….. Don’t worry, it really does…..there are just a lot of folks who don’t like to use their brain long enough to realize that. This reluctance to accept reality won’t hurt them too badly, it just keeps them from growing, and is mildly annoying to the rest of us…….who are busy trying to find our own version of Perfection…..

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

In order to justify, to myself, if no one else, the above departure from routine, I’ll include here a relatively short, five-star pearl to augment and enhance the discussion above, with some comments from history that seem of a similar bent…. Well, I hope that’s how it works out…. we’ll have to trust SB to give us what we need…. Shall we see what we can find?…..

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” — Buddha

“To sit silently, and look wise, is not to be compared to drinking sake and making a riotous shouting.” — Ono No Tabitu

“As a person grows older and wiser, they talk less and say more.” — Smart Bee

“All the problems of the world could be settled if people were only willing to think. The trouble is that people very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work.” — Thomas J. Watson

“It is asserted that the dogs keep running when they drink at the Nile, for fear of becoming a prey to the voracity of the crocodile.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book viii, Sect. 148
_____________________________

At first, I was going to go with one of Emily’s poems today…. Then, I was struck by a strong wave of egotism, followed by a wave of empathy for the Devil, all topped of with some rather painful denial of reality…. In the end, I decided to once again spare anyone else the shame, and go with one of my own…. Here’s one from 2012, obviously written while heavily under the influence of The Metaphorse….. or some sort of form of literary epilepsy, causing an outbreak of euphemism….

Fatal Supplication

But what becomes of our deepest dangerous dreams?
Does fantasy rescue any part of life’s imperiled favor?
Reality becomes but silvery pairs of mismatched teams,
Dining with affable elegance, such diffident waste to savor.

Who decides what sorrows to carry bravely to term?
Will fragrant moments of sanity make hasty manifestation?
Only Time’s patient mutability sends messages so firm,
Yet salient impersonal vexation lends credence to ripe imagination.

Can folly bring out sadness and rampant visions of beauty?
What kindness can be found in distant open relations?
With countless faces the dead disturb with dire impunity,
From separate caches of wisdom come simple stylish privations.

Shall shallow emotion serve to provide such explanations?
When does avaricious intensity assume primary focus?
Plain answers slide softly through with multiple mitigations,
While conceptually indignant concepts engage a fatally personal locus.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Over the last couple of days, I’ve managed to find, and collect, several excellent pearls, all directing one’s attention to the same general area of contemplation, that of the ongoing, life-long quest to discover how to live our lives well, according to our own desires and dreams…. Each of the pearls included in this pearl is one whose truth and relevance has withstood the test of time, and/or my own examination; you can regard them as the rules I use myself to guide my steps toward the place I wish to be, to become the man I wish to become…..

“The worst sin towards our fellow creatures has not been to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.” — George Bernard Shaw, _The Devil’s Disciple_ [1901]

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” — H.H. the Dalai Lama

“A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.” — Buddha

“It was the sick and dying who despised the body and the earth and invented the things of heaven and the redeeming drops of blood: but even these sweet and dismal poisons they took from the body and the earth!” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra (1885).

‘I have seen soldiers panic at the first sight of battle, and a wounded squire pulling arrows out from his wound to fight and save his dying horse. Nobility is not a birth right but is defined by one’s action.” — Kevin Costner, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, 1994

“A wise man first determines what is within his control; all else is then irrelevant.” — Epictetus

“Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.” — Bergen Evans, The Natural History of Nonsense (1946)
_____________________________

I KNEW this would happen…. It is now just 4:20 in the AM, and this Pearl, except for a couple of minor items, is done…. This means I have to figure out what to do about this f___ing cat that is still demanding attention, until my lady gets up, when I’m hoping she’ll agree to give me a break from this hostage situation…. It’s tough to be held captive, cat-sitting to prevent chaos, when all you really want to do is go back to sleep….

Ah well, at least the Pearl for today is done…. such as it is…See you mañana, ffolkes…. Well, I’ll see you then, as long as Time continues to pass, beckoning us ever onward toward our destiny, in a random state of confusion, unless and until we realize, we always make our own…. Which, you ask? Both…. We make our own state of mind, and our own destiny….

So be it… gigoid has spoken….

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

1000? 1000? You let him get to 1000? Oh, DAMN!….

Posted on March 24, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Provided I can manage to complete this Pearl of Virtual Wisdom today, including the act of posting, I will have reached a significant milestone, for a project that has long since achieved its original goals, ultimately growing past all suspected intent…. That is, it’s significant to me, in my life, having been the focus of my existence every morning now since August of 2011…. This will be my 1000th post on WordPress….. I know, I said that before, but, I checked this time, twice already…. I specifically noted yesterday’s post, #999, when the editing page uploaded it to my domain, before closing the sidebar summary… Last time I looked, 999 + 1 = 1000…..

Oh, yay….. I’m so proud and happy, I could just bust a button…. Sort of….. I mean, other than the way I’m busting them now, from having gained too much weight on those parts of my corpus where my buttons serve some purpose…. If I weren’t so excited and discombobulated by the emotions that aren’t reverberating through my soul, I’d probably think about letting out a really loud cheer, but, since I don’t want to scare Patricia, or the cat, I’ll pass on that, too….. Y’all will just have to take my word for it…. I’m jazzed….

I thought about fireworks, but, you can’t see them, so there’s little point in that…. I suppose, if I were a true geek, I’d spend the time to figure out how to show some fireworks on the site today, such as with an animated .GIF file, or a short video, You Tube style…. Or, maybe in the background, like a few sites I’ve seen…. Unfortunately for you, though not for me, I have yet to take the time to learn how to do any of those things, so I’m safe from that, and so are you. Besides, all the neighborhood dogs hate it when I set off fireworks….

I also thought about some other sort of celebratory activity to offer the Gentle Reader today, but, how much interaction can one stimulate on a once-a-day blog? A chess game in the comments? Boring. Some sort of contest? I suppose, but, Bitcoins are dead, and I’m not funded well enough to have very many winners show up. I COULD announce the QUIZ, and, since it would be coming AFTER posting the 1000th Pearl here on WP, nobody could say they hadn’t been provided with enough material with which to work, or time to study up on the archived material, with or without healthy, delicious snack foods…. But, if I do that, what will I threaten anyone with from now on?…. Graduation won’t be for another 9,000 posts, so it’s way too early to think about the final….

Wait a minute…. Stop typing, damn it….. Okay, shut down, I hear something……. Cheese it, it’s the cops!….

“Here pigs will fly, lightning will strike twice, hell will freeze over, and eventually, things will get really interesting…”– Smart Bee

Maybe not, but, that’s probably how it will feel to anyone silly enough to be here when we hit the ground…. You see, all the above, everything above this line, was written yesterday…. Well, actually, so was this line, but, hey, I’m TRYING to get back to real-time…. give me a moment, okay? I had to go get the correct tool for this…. Okay, success…. one last turn, and…. okay. There…. THAT won’t be happening again…..

Sorry about the hijack, there, ffolkes….. My evil twin, Judas, the Faithful, tried to fool y’all into thinking he was me…. To look at what he wrote, he seemed to have been doing pretty well at it, too…. But, it’s over now, and it really IS my 1000th post on WP, so, we have some good stuff lined up for you today…. What that might be, I haven’t a clue, but, we’re hoping anyway….

You probably won’t believe me, but, this line is the first one I’ve actually typed today, on Monday, the 24th of March….. Yep, we are now officially, and actually, back in real time, ffolkes…. and today will be the 1000th time I’ve had to complete one of these silly introductory sections….. I have to say, it’s been a long road to here, with a lot of poorly written stuff before getting to this, which may, or may not, be any better. In any case, we’re finally up (it’s actually 5 AM already….) and we’re good to go for our celebration today…… whatever form that might take….

You see, I deliberately didn’t think about anything like that, to keep from breaking tradition; we’ve gotten this far without showing any real intelligence, I don’t see why I should start today…. Not that acting intelligently would help, or anything, it just might make it SEEM more worthwhile to anyone viewing it from the outside world…. Since that’s out of the question, we’ll just trust to luck, like always….

Shall we Pearl?…. I think we should, this has gone on far too long already, don’t you think?….

Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise
(That last infirmity of noble mind)
To scorn delights, and live laborious days;
But the fair guerdon when we hope to find,
And think to burst out into sudden blaze,
Comes the blind Fury with th’ abhorred shears
And slits the thin-spun life.

— John Milton (1608-1674) — Lycidas, Line 70
_____________________________

I’m going to switch things around a little today, & put the old-school pearl first; most days I put the rant here, to get it out of the way so ffolkes can get to the rest, which is often lighter, and mostly, less hard to chew, either figuratively, or metaphorically. Putting the rants here seems to be a habit, though not one ever examined, or thought out, so, I don’t think we’ll be trampling on a time-honored tradition or anything like that. No, we’re just randomly screwing with things, just to see what happens….. Hopefully, once I take this all apart, I’ll be able to get it back together again…. If not, well, here are some thoughts on Love, & so on & so forth….

“He is not a lover who does not love forever.” — Euripides

(I like that one….It happens to mirror my own feelings on the matter….)

“Unless you love someone, nothing else makes any sense” — E. E. Cummings (1894-1963)

“A person should take a bath once in the summer, not so often in the winter.” — from Kids Say the Darndest Things

“Communications are the lifeblood of a relationship, carrying the nutrients.” — Smart Bee

“God help the man who won’t marry until he finds a perfect woman, and God help him still more if he finds her.” — Benjamin Tillett

“We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

“Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, viii, 51

Hmm…. It seems the pearl’s contents settled during shipping, causing some alterations in direction…. this appears now to be more of a set of rules, or advice, for married men, or men in a long-term committed relationship, anyway….. Same thing from this end…. Believe me, I know….

In light of that, it’s probably just as well I found this last pearl, as it is the perfect ending for any man who is considering the ancient traditional method of destroying a perfectly good relationship, to wit: marrying their lover…. Having been there, done that, a number of times, I can say with complete confidence that it isn’t a particularly good decision in today’s world…. Better to maintain a healthy cynicism, and keep the following in mind….

“From stupidity there is always something to be learned, but it’s always the same thing: don’t be stupid.” — Robert M. Adams

Bitter? No, not at all, why do you ask?….

😆
_____________________________

Since today’s Pearl is a milestone, it will probably be best to include a poem of my own…. I COULD try to bleed out a fresh one, but, I’m not sure it would meet my standards today, so, we’ll just go with one of my older poems, and let it go at that…. At least you can’t blame anyone else for any of this, right?….. Since the first section dealt with an aspect of Love, here is my take on the emotion that, perhaps, defines us as a human being….

Beyond Agapé

Passion burns and shines like iridescent paint
yet solitude stands mocking such mundane complaint.
Schemes and dreams promise to tempt attraction
never ending effort spends wit in perverse reaction.

Hale and hearty reports of honor and love
draft recruits to collect manna from above,
while searching each soul for that which will serve
to bring pure sensation to each expectant nerve.

How simple to fall into complete helpless hope
of two hearts bound in tradition, with cultural rope,
living a simple life, shared, in joy and in grief
promises consummated, in consensual belief.

Reality dictates our degree of control over its state
insisting on changing whether or not we can wait.
Love will be present when we are completely at peace,
allowing ourselves, to give of ourselves, without cease.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

I had hoped to be able to produce a fresh rant today, but, the political arena is currently quiet, as the professional pundits prepare their next set of egregious lies, in their ongoing campaign to maintain the level of societal fear they require to control the populace. Since they won’t give me anything solid to chew on today, we’ll go with an old-school pearl, with parameters that SHOULD produce a set of pearls that will poke fun and/or ridicule at our Beloved Ruling (Cl)Asses, essentially the same effect my ranting would create in the audience…. Well, we’re hoping…. It’ll be fun, if nothing else….

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H. L. Mencken

“Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear — kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor — with the cry of grave national emergency… Always there has been some terrible evil to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant sums demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.” — General Douglas MacArthur, 1957

(Note: this seems to be a corollary, or, perhaps, a codicil, to the opinion of Hermann Goering, the WWII German Reich Marshall, who just “happened to be” the counterpart of General MacArthur, on the opposite side of the war….. However, the quote by General Mac shows how the theory was applied in our country, AFTER WWII, by our own elected officials, right here in the good old USA….. see below….)

“Naturally the common people don’t want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY.” –Goering at the Nuremberg Trials

hardcore signature virus: “As a juror in a Trial by Jury, you have the right, power and duty to acquit the defendant if you judge the law itself to be unjust.” — John McPherson, mcpherso@macvax.ucsd.edu

(Mr. McPherson is quoting, I believe, Alexander Hamilton, if not Thomas Jefferson….. Y’all know him, right?…. He was our first Treasury Secretary, the one our Founding Fathers trusted with the money?….) (This quote may not fit EXACTLY, but, I find it is always a good idea to remind people of this concept, as it is patently one of our most important rights as a citizen….. especially if we must consider our law MAKERS to be corrupt…. If you’ve been paying attention lately, you’ll know whereof I speak….)

“America!! I saw it all!! Vomiting! Waving! JERRY FALWELLING into your void tube of UHF oblivion!! SAFEWAY of the mind –” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, thrice is enemy action.” — Robert Hugh Moore (1912-1984), given as advice to his sons

Please note the name of the author of the last pearl…. It is the name of my father; his words are a piece of advice he gave me, and my brothers, on more than one occasion, before my tenth birthday…. I’ve included his words to me and my brothers (don’t know if he gave it to my sisters, but, it was part of OUR lessons from him, for sure….) because the words he gave us are the perfect ending to this indictment of the BRC.

Actually, in my mind, the last two pearls are perhaps the most powerful of the group, in terms of the proper viewpoint to maintain when thinking about our beloved leaders (yes, “beloved” is VERY sarcastic in this instance…. 5 points for Gryffindor….)

In fact, the whole pearl is one I would classify as a very powerful faux-rant, addressing how little we can afford to trust the elected officials in our government…. In fact, it cries out for one final pearl, to advise us exactly how closely we should be paying attention to what they are up to, especially since they claim to be doing it in our name, and for our benefit….

“This is a wise maxim, “to take warning from others of what may be to your own advantage.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Heautontimoroumenos, Act i, Sc. 2, 36, (210.)
_____________________________

I was up a bit late this morning, but, since I slept for eight straight hours without any significant breaks to deal with pain, or cat, I don’t much care….. Plus, this is one Pearl I want to be RIGHT, so I’m taking some time to try to make it so…. Having done so as well as I can at this point in the day, I’m going to trust my instincts, and let if fly…. See you tomorrow, provided ennui doesn’t set in so badly I fade away….. I’ve managed to avoid it so far, so, I’ll be positive, & just say…. 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

gigoid

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

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: H.L. Mencken

Sifting metadata for tidbits of information…. priceless….

Bursting with possibility, the newest day dawns, as ever, in shades of grey….

It’s just like the other one, mate…..

Fat sausages, sizzling in the pan….

Worldwide Celebration Held to Honor History’s Greatest Scam….

Standing in the pentagram, she began to chant….

Watching the Founding Fathers spin like a top….

Sifting through arbitrarily discarded feathers……

1000? 1000? You let him get to 1000? Oh, DAMN!….

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