Drop the waffle, Bob, or we’ll shoot….

Posted on June 23, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain.”

~~ Pliny the Elder ~~

Morning Glory, Indeed.

Good morning…. For the record: Later today, I’ll be hitting the trail, off to see a friend in another state. I’m hoping to be able to post as usual, but, the details and demands of life away from one’s base can alter our intentions to fulfill necessities of the trip…. In any case, if you don’t see a post at the usual time, check back later to see if I was able to get it done; if nothing else, I’ll try to post a few words to fill the empty spaces left by my absence…. Other than that, I doubt the Space/Time Continuum will see much effect from that absence…. And, for the nonce, it means we can get on with this show, forthwith….

Shall we Pearl?

“One man with courage is a majority.”

~~ Thomas Jefferson ~~

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Image from Amazon.com via Google Images

Some of the most familiar names in the history of Rock & Roll were members of this band; when it broke up in the late 60’/early 70’s, the members went on to form several other extremely famous iconic groups, including Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, Emerson-Lake-Palmer, Loggins & Messina, and others of equal fame. Almost all of them went on to brilliant solo careers as musician/songwriters…. In the beginning, before all the glitter and fame, there was Buffalo Springfield….

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Buffalo Springfield

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https://youtu.be/QtrPo3W-QjM

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“War is Capitalism with the gloves off.” — Tom Stoppard

Careful, Mister. Old Zeke is liable to fire that sucker up! Uh, oh! Now you’ve done it!….

Just what, you may ask, is that all about? And, well you may ask, as it turns out…. To be honest, I had some notion of passing myself off as the proverbial Zeke, but, it sort of felt weird even as I put it up there…. However, it still fits the issue at hand, which is, the quote by Mr. Stoppard, a phrase which, like it or not, I intend to discuss, as it perfectly fits the rant I have in mind…. Yes, that’s right, we’re going to indict the Asininnies again, into a bloody pulp, if possible…. Why? Well, why the hell not? They fuck with us…. no, make that, they fuck us, on a regular, consistent, daily basis; it’s our duty to give it back to them whenever the opportunity arises… Remember, ffolkes….

“War is capitalism with the gloves off.” How adroitly accurate! I’m in awe, for, Mr. Stoppard has, in a mere seven words, laid out an entirely rational, evocative argument for revolution, wherein the root cause of the problem, and implied correct solution, becomes as plain as the nose on a Bozo’s face. I can’t think of a better way to call a spade a spade….

The entire history of this country since WWII has been one of war after police action after war after terrorist hunt after humanitarian intervention after invasion after war after police actions…. well, you get the picture…. All of it, in one respect at least, has only one purpose in mind, to spread the “benefits” of freedom and capitalism to the rest of the “undeveloped” world, as well as to our ideological adversaries, who wish to do the same thing in the name of socialism, or communism, etc…. In my opinion, it’s all a case of mewantitall-ism…. Basically, our human governments consist of a bunch of men, mostly, who never grew up, so never learned they can’t have all they want. Their entire existence is centered around obtaining power over others, in order to be free to ignore their own responsibility, giving up honor for avarice…

In truth, the entire stated purpose of the imperialistic advances of Western civilization is all a sham, a two-sided excuse to apply the principles of economic slavery to yet another unsuspecting culture, to fill their minds with TV, and all the illusory “good” things that come with a slave society, where the many work for, and at the behest of, a very few elite narcissists, who believe in their own entitlements, and nothing else….

“Conservative Definition of Compassion: I got mine, Jack.” — Smart Bee

One one hand, these predators justify their depredations by the time honored catch phrase of bringing freedom, and justice, the American way, to those countries whose economic dependency isn’t tied to the business of business, also the American way…. We’ll bring them good old American know-how, and flood their markets and bodies with American poison, er, the boon of fast food (with enhanced nutritional value, and a tiny bit of actual food included), and advanced medicines, which will cause autism, obesity, and a lifetime of dependency on pills which keep you sick (Can’t sell pills to well people, now, can you?). We’ll sell them cars they don’t need every year, and a new phone every 3 months, and convince them they’re happy as pigs-in-mud, striding swiftly down the road to an early grave, while wading ineffectually, blindly, through their own hell…

“Where there is much light there is also much shadow.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Which, by the way, is the second gift we bring to those other lands we visit all over the world, invited or not…. We’ll use the promise of immortality as reward for obedience, balanced by a threat of a fiery hell for ignoring dogma, allowing our missionaries to bring the gift of Christianity to the natives…. Yes, Christianity, that insane, vicious, gruesome, wonderful, old-time religion, as described so vividly by hundreds of passages in the Bible, with battles where they killed not just warriors, but, the women, children, old people, and animals of their enemies, just because they could….

The religion of LOVE, so it is said, though you couldn’t tell by the way the countries they visit all end up, as yet more slaves to the corporate snakeheads, with the full cooperation and support of the religious teachers, who all preach obedience to worldly authority, in exchange for the promise of eternal life, AFTER you’re dead, (and, thus, can no longer contribute to the church, you’ll note….)

“It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Cleveland Press, 3/1/21

Boy, howdy; now THAT is priceless! Yes, yes, yessiree! I can say, without a qualm, I resemble that remark!

I also can say, unequivocally, I strongly agree with G.K.; how else, when I wish I’d said it!…. Of course, I’m sure he would have included the preachers in there with the politicians, had he thought of it, or, had he been able to figure out a short, pithy way to do so…. Otherwise, it’s perfect!…. Every damn one of them is clinically insane; on the political side we have your predatory, narcissistic, pathological liars, who live for rape (which is the ultimate power over others…), who have absolutely no compassion, or honor…. Their sense of unbridled entitlement comes out of their delusional belief in their own divine right to rule others…

On the religious side, we have your delusional, pathological, emotionally abusive, passive-aggressive manipulators, who sycophantically brainwash children with their own delusions, so they can enjoy the sense of entitlement of being close to God, thus, immune from the laws of Man…. These are even worse, in some ways, than the politicians, for they actually believe they are doing good, when, in truth, every time they “save another soul”, they save it into slavery, thinking, wrongly, they’ve done well…. By their very example, they teach how to embrace ignorance over reason, to value shadow over substance, and to deny reality in the face of desire…. Not to mention the whole thing about never having to be responsible for doing wrong, as long as you believe, and confess….

“A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the Lord in vain, then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?” — Robert A. Heinlein

No wonder the world is a mess!…. We’ve come to a point in this narrative where we can continue to indict our BRC, or take a rest for today, to come back to this subject later…. Since I’m feeling compassionate, and want to get on the road, we’ll call it a day…. Just remember, ffolkes, the people who run the governments of this world are NOT doing so for YOUR benefit…. They’re in it for all they can get for themselves, and nothing else. Anything else they tell is a LIE…. Believe it, or, be a slave; it’s up to you…. And, believe this, for sure…. In this Universe, being good at being stupid doesn’t count.

“Ignorance is a voluntary misfortune”

~~ Nicholas Ling ~~

So be it.

gigoid has spoken….

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I always get lazy before going on the road…. Well, about stuff like this, anyway. To demonstrate this concept perfectly, here is another poem of mine from the archives, to follow up (sort of….) on today’s rant…. Enjoy!….

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 ~~

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Today’s final old-school pearl is another of the classic type, filled with good ideas on how to enjoy the good parts of this Universe in which we live…. In short, tips and tools for living life large….

“Touch is the most fundamental sense. A baby experiences it, all over, before he is born and long before he learns to use sight, hearing, or taste, and no human being ever ceases to need it. Keep your children short on pocket money — but long on hugs. ” — Lazarus Long

“Who wills can. Who tries does. Who loves lives.” — Smart Bee

“We desire nothing so much as what we ought not to have.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 559

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” — George Santayana

“Although the world is very full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” — Helen Keller

“You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.” — Dale Carnegie

“Truth exists for the wise, beauty for the feeling heart.” — Johann von Schiller

“The strongest tyrant cannot crush freedom of thought.” — Smart Bee

“Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot about little puppies.” — Gene Hill

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I have to confess, this one came together without ALL my attention; I can’t say if that will affect the outcome, or not…. which is, obviously, a perfectly good metaphor upon which to take our leave, having thus described LIFE in one short phrase (“I can’t say, etc…”). Not bad for a (formerly) fat (still) old fart, with flatulence, fatally obsessive flippancy, and a plethora of personal issues… Besides, it’s done. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should Mother Nature grant me one more try at this….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Can you say “salivating for dollars”? Sure you can….

Posted on May 25, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Depend not on fortune, but on conduct.”

~~ Publius Syrus ~~

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Bucolic Romantic Picnic Site

Just add someone to romance…

California Delta

Good morning. Today, just for y’all, we have a Pearl with no ups, and no extras…. Don’t worry…. you’ll see.

Shall we Pearl?

“Learning builds daily accumulation, but the practice of Tao builds daily simplification. Simplify and simplify, until all contamination from relative, contradictory thinking is eliminated. Then one does nothing, yet nothing is left undone. One who wins the world does so by not meddling with it. One who meddles with the world loses it.” — Lao-Tzu — Tao Teh Ching

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Picture from apkmodgame.net via Google images

Today, let’s go back to our beginnings, to listen to the artist I consider the driving artistic force behind modern music. This man had a very short career, interrupted by his death in an airplane crash before his 30th birthday. He left behind a legacy of music that will not be forgotten, and remains some of the best rock & roll ever produced…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is special….

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Buddy Holly

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https://youtu.be/ZVM51PJzrSM

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As I’ve iterated recently, ranting seems to have become a fairly rare occurrence around here, due to a number of altered circumstances, and my own lack of angst build-up…. Today, it’s okay, because I managed to put together a pretty good old-school pearl, with parameters set to take some shots at the Predator Class, aka, the BRC, or Beloved Ruling Class….

These are mostly pure, with a couple of pearls which COULD be used for those other Asininnie category members, the Dogma Dogs, but, the characteristics of both are the same…. Any one of these will give y’all an idea of what is going wrong in this country, and why it probably isn’t a fixable issue…. I won’t say enjoy, but, I will say, THINK! I mean, think about it ffolkes…. As our first pearl demonstrates, even a blind person can see what is going on…..

We, the people, are not free.
Our democracy is but a name.
We vote?
What does that mean?
We choose between
Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

~~ Helen Keller ~~

“There is no force more potent in the modern world than stupidity fueled by greed.” — Edward Abbey

“The more I study the religions of the world, the more I am convinced Man never worshiped anything but himself.” — Sir Richard F. Burton

“It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Cleveland Press, 3/1/21

“Faith, n: That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be untrue.” — Ambrose Bierce

“The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.” — Robert Frost

“Patriotism is pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy.” — George Bernard Shaw

“A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither. — Thomas Jefferson

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

2. No matter what they’re talking about, they’re talking about money.

~~ Todd’s Political Principles ~~

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Today, we are again going with one of mine, simply because I want to… So there…. Try to enjoy it anyway, ffolkes….

A Few Words of Note

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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This one is about Life, and some of the concepts which can make it worthwhile living….

Sometimes we live no particular way but our own.
Sometimes we visit your country and live in your home.
Sometimes we ride on your horses, sometimes we walk alone.
Sometimes the songs that we sing are just songs of our own.

~~ Robert Hunter ~~

~~ Eyes of the World ~~

“Truth never hurts the teller.” — Robert Browning

“A person’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“He who has the courage to laugh is almost as much a master of the world as he who is ready to die.” — Giacomo Leopardi

“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” — Albert Einstein

“A man’s true wealth is the good he does in the world.” — Mohammed (570-632 A.D.)

“Men are used as they use others.” — Pilpay (or Bidpai) — The King who became Just, Chap. ii, Fable ix

“Character is that which can do without success.” — Emerson

It is the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It is the dream afraid of waking
that never takes a chance.
It is the one who won’t be taken
who cannot seem to give.
And the soul afraid of dying
that never learns to live.

~~ Bette Midler ~~

~~ The Rose ~~

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It may sound self-serving, but, ffolkes, that’s the best I can do today, so, like it or not, we’re done here…. I promise, tomorrow will be… well, maybe not better, but, it WILL be different. On that uplifting note, I shall bid the a fond farewell. Adieu, adieu! Until we meet again…. Tomorrow, if I have anything to say about it…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Perilous dreams of safety….

Posted on March 1, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Never take a stone to break an egg when you can use the back of your knife.”

~~ Scottish Proverb ~~

They’re everywhere! They’re everywhere!

Picture by Hubble Orbital Deep Space Telescope ~ NASA

As is my unfortunately consistent habit, at the sight of this terrifyingly white, empty screen, I find my mind to be completely blank; not only blank, but, seemingly unwilling to even move away even a step from its chosen posture of resistance, to allow even the slightest glimmer of inspiration to shine. Alas, woe is me!….

Whoops! We’ll have none of that, young man!…. Okay, that will be quite enough, I believe; I’m not so cruel, or idiotic, to think I could get away with such a massively mundane expression of angst, even here, at the very beginning, where it could be buried in the general confusion of getting started…. I don’t know what I was thinking, except, perhaps, to say, I wasn’t…. thinking, that is. It may have seemed like thinking, but, let me assure you, no such process was going on in THIS head, not yet….

That being the case, I shall, once again, endeavor to get us out of here before it gets to the point we are trapped in a meandering, ultimately useless pile of blather, searching for some kind of sensible, dignified way out, without ever realizing such are only given to those who remain clear-headed. Naturally, this means y’all will be losing out on the post-intro refreshments, but, I’m sure you won’t mind, since we’ll be back in time for the buffet…. For now, allow me to use good, old #4, which, as you all know, works like this…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.” — Henry Ward Beecher

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When I was a kid, Dragnet was the only crime show on TV; if there were others, I don’t remember them…. Even then, as far as I could see, Jack Webb had a stick further up his butt than anyone I ever saw, knew, or heard of…. no shit. But, the show was great fun, especially for those of us who looked on it as unintentionally funny; I’m sorry, NOBODY could be that stupid, or, refuse to allow ANY emotion to show, as Jack Webb played Joe Friday…. I don’t know what police detective he was trying to emulate, but, if it was a real one, I’m betting the cop was playing Webb for a fool, seeing him for the uptight dick he seemed to be, by all accounts…. No matter, it’s all in good fun, now…. Enjoy this blast from the past, ffolkes, then we can go on to bigger things…. Well, we’re hoping….

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DRAGNET: “The Hammer”

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http://youtu.be/nhFA3mnlYGE

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I try to post this once a year, as a minor tribute to Noah, one of the best dogs I’ve ever known….. It looks as if I missed last year, so, here ’tis, early in this year, to compensate…..

Last posted on 8/26/2013:

R.I.P. Old Friend

Ode to Noah

Noah came to live with our family when he was about 10 months old; we rescued him from taking the long walk at the Humane Society kennel in Santa Rosa. It was my son’s fifteenth birthday; he wanted a dog, swearing up & down that he would take responsibility for its’ care. Pets were always part of family life when I grew up; our last dog had been gone for a bit over a year, so, we decided it was time to expand the family once again.

As Cory and I walked down the aisle between cages at the kennel, a large variety of dogs started a welcoming cacophony of different barks; shrill tiny ones, deep booming ones, polite yips, all blended together in an almost desperate frenzy, as each animal, many of them almost frantic, tried to get our attention. Some pawed at the gate, or, danced around in circles; others jumped up & down. Some looked nervous, or, suspicious; others looked friendly, but, all of them, it seemed, were making noise.

As we drew near the last cage in the aisle, we saw a slender, medium-sized, black and white dog, not barking, not jumping, just sitting down, leaning against the wall by the gate. He was looking me right in the eyes with an expression that arrowed straight into our hearts…. sad, sad eyes, with a long, mournful face cried out silently, “get me out of here, please!”. What could we do? He was obviously our dog; he realized it too, but, seemed afraid to hope. We told him we’d be right back, heading back to the desk in the front to announce our choice, and complete the paperwork.

The attendant brought Noah in to us just as I was handed the receipt. As he was led in by a standard choke-chain leash, he looked a bit nervous, but composed & curiously calm. That is, he was calm until I clasped his new collar around his neck, then snapped on his brand new leash. All of a sudden, when we stepped outside, he realized he wasn’t going back into the kennel; he immediately became a different dog, wagging his tail furiously, looking at us with his eyes shining, almost dancing and vibrating in his eagerness to go. As we walked back to the van, he walked proudly in front of us, tail and ears up at attention, almost prancing, looking back every few steps to make sure we were still there, a very happy dog…..

Noah settled into the family immediately. He proved to be very well-mannered, both with people, and, in his habits. When out on walks, he would stop to sniff, lifting his leg to leave his mark at every interesting bush and tree, just like any other male dog. But when he had to do his secondary business, he made it clear he preferred to go behind a bush, or somewhere out of the way, preferably out of sight.

If he felt he was not sufficiently hidden from sight, he would assume a very embarrassed expression, turning away as if he felt guilty. A very private, discreet individual, to say the least. On those rare occasions he had been overlong between walks, so much in a hurry he made a mistake on the sidewalk, he would act just like a cat, walking away with head averted, pretending it had never happened. “What mess? Who me? I don’t know what you’re talking about….. C’mon, let’s go!”

Noah was an extremely intelligent dog; I’ve known a great many animals in my time on this old planet, but, he was one of the smartest I’ve ever been around. When he came to live with us, at about 10 months of age, he already knew how to sit on command (both voice and hand), to lie down, and to stay.

Actually, he had a little trouble with the whole concept of ‘stay’; he didn’t like being left alone, and would often follow us after a minute or two; it was as if he just didn’t want to believe we really MEANT for him to stay. He figured he should be with us so he could do his job, to guard and act as scout. As long as he could see us, he’d stay where he was; if he couldn’t, he believed it was his place to find us….. We never came to terms over the matter; on this particular point he was firm.

We also never had to teach Noah any tricks, as he seemed to have figured stuff out on his own, and his way was definitely cool….The first time I ever gave him a treat (a milk bone), I showed it to him and told him to sit. He sat. I told him to speak, and he gave one quick howl. I held out my hand, & he offered his own to shake. I straightened up, then, tossed the treat a couple feet above his head, in the air….

He didn’t just catch it; he made a jump, making the in-air snag like a professional left-fielder. As he touched the rug, he immediately tossed it back up into the air. He timed his move perfectly; as the treat hit the floor, he dove on top of it, rolled over, & started doing a happy dance, by twisting his back and hips as if scratching his back on the floor. I swear, he looked just like Snoopy doing the Dance of Joy.

When he was done celebrating, he rolled over, snatched up his milk bone, to begin chomping with a big twinkle in his eye. I always wanted to video the move for posterity, or, to submit it for Stupid Pet Tricks on the Letterman Show. Sadly, he lived before the age of cell phone cameras, & I never seemed to have a camera handy when he performed his feat, so, Noah missed his chance for stardom.

Noah’s gotten old now; we just observed his 17th birthday in February of this year; as they say, in dog years, he’s going on 120 or so. He can’t hear anything but very loud noises, & can’t see more than a few feet, which I suspect is confined mostly to shadows and moving light. I’m afraid he will be passing on soon, as he can no longer get up without assistance, and, is having trouble controlling his bodily functions.

I sometimes feel like I should have him put down, to ease his pains, but he doesn’t act as if he is hurting, and I can tell he enjoys just lying around and sleeping, as long as he knows I am near. For his entire life with us, over 16 and a half years, he has been a true and loyal companion. He has observed with honor the pact made between Man and Dog many thousands of generations ago; taking care of him in his declining years is both a privilege, and, an honor. In my entire life, I have never known anyone more loyal, more compassionate, or more courageous in standing up to life. He was, and is, by far, the best friend that any man could hope for, and, also by far, the best person I’ve ever known……

Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast,
To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.
I’ve read that things inanimate have moved,
And as with living souls have been inform’d
By magic numbers and persuasive sound.

~~ William Congreve (1670-1729) ~~

~~ The Mourning Bride, Act i, Sc. 1 ~~

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I measure every grief I meet
With analytic eyes;
I wonder if it weighs like mine,
Or has an easier size.

I wonder if they bore it long,
Or did it just begin?
I could not tell the date of mine,
It feels so old a pain.

I wonder if it hurts to live,
And if they have to try,
And whether, could they choose between,
They would not rather die.

I wonder if when years have piled–
Some thousands–on the cause
Of early hurt, if such a lapse
Could give them any pause;

Or would they go on aching still
Through centuries above,
Enlightened to a larger pain
By contrast with the love.

The grieved are many, I am told;
The reason deeper lies,–
Death is but one and comes but once
And only nails the eyes.

There’s grief of want, and grief of cold,–
A sort they call ‘despair,’
There’s banishment from native eyes,
In sight of native air.

And though I may not guess the kind
Correctly yet to me
A piercing comfort it affords
In passing Calvary,

To note the fashions of the cross
Of those that stand alone
Still fascinated to presume
That some are like my own.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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There are days when the making of pearls is justified in mere moments, with the creation of a single seven-star pearl, the most ordinary kind, which, seemingly, says it all… Today is one of those days….

36. Mind your own business. — Instructions for life

“Anyone who has had a bull by the tail knows five or six more things than someone who hasn’t.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Amusement is for the sake of relaxation, and relaxation is of necessity sweet, for it is the remedy of pain caused by toil; and intellectual enjoyment is universally acknowledged to contain an element not only of the noble but of the pleasant, for happiness is made up of both.” — Aristotle

“A shelf of classics for our young adults: Tolkien, Hesse, Casteneda, Kerouac, Salinger, Tom Robbins, and “The Last Whole Earth Catalog”.” — Edward Abbey

“If attacked by a lion thrust your arm down his throat. This takes some practice.” — Cyril Connolly

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” — Helen Keller (American Author, 1880-1968) — became blind & deaf at 19 months old

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” — Marcus Aurelius

I’d say, if all of these can be said to be true of you and your life, if you have learned these lessons, read these books, by them learning to respect the most critical concepts of Honor, Compassion, and Duty, you win…..

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

Ah yes! I love the smell of burnt neurons in the morning!…. Another day’s Pearl has been created, and I am content. Later today, I will, for the first time in my life, or theirs, be able to see BOTH of my grandchildren in the same day…. Of course, the pair of them have only BEEN a pair for four days, but, hey, a first is a first…. It isn’t every day one meets their newest granddaughter, is it?…. See y’all tomorrow ffolkes, probably with pictures of the wee lassie who now has a piece o’ my heart….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Bozoid personalities are natural fidgets….

Posted on November 27, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”

~~ Buddha ~~

Today’s holiday, being celebrated here in the US of A, is one I’ve always enjoyed, and not merely for the traditional foods we eat to excess. I like the idea of celebrating those things in Life for which we are thankful. In this society, we tend to celebrate for all the wrong reasons, which, for the most part, involve avarice disguised as religious fervor, or nationalism, or to celebrate someone in our lives who should be thanked every day, rather than once a year (Mother’s Day, & Father’s Day, & Valentine’s Day come immediately to mind….). In fact, but, for TG, , and Christmas, when Christianity has usurped the month of December for its propagation of myth, all of the other holidays we celebrate were created by government decree, in months where the economy lags from lack of business….

Even this holiday is one where we see the beginning salvos in the Christmas shopping wars…. Hell, this year, not for the first time, they’re not even waiting until after Thanksgiving to begin the seasonal campaign for our dollars, inundating the TV world with commercials touting the latest popular gifts for the season, with Santa, the talking M&M’s, and Rudolph all making their initial TV appearances a full week before this holiday arrives. Four days ago, I saw the same M&M Christmas commercial as has been shown for 10 years running now, where two of the talking candies meet Santa, causing Santa and the green M to faint…. It’s cute, but, having seen it hundreds, perhaps thousands of times over the years, it’s become a bit scary….

Ah well, I’m up a bit late, and I don’t feel like ranting as yet, so, we’ll let the crass commercialism that marks this time of year go by without comment, for the time being…. I’m sure, before the actual arrival of the fated day, I’ll have a word or two to add to the public discussion on the season. I can feel it building up angst as I type this, so, it shouldn’t take long for it to boil over onto the screen… I’m kinda looking forward to it this year, what with all the other crap going on; it will provide a bit of relief from the same old crap being pulled by those who prey on society, to wit: the beloved ruling class and the dogma dogs….

I had my Thanksgiving meal with my kids last Saturday, so they can be with their Mom today, if they wish, or with their other extended families, so, I’ll be chilling out, & will perhaps catch a college football game or two, if any are on…. The professional games tend to bore me, of late, since they’re such a cash-cow for the owners; the game has become stilted and predictable…. Any more, I only watch the last couple of minutes of the pro games, as it is the only part that really matters…. College games, however, remain unpredictable, due to the effects of enthusiasm on the players, which can seriously affect a game’s outcome, as one team may display a degree of will power and expertise beyond their normal levels, because they are so pumped up with team spirit….

The rest of today’s Pearl may be either short, or taken from the archives to save time; I’m being slow today, and it’s getting late…. Ah well, it’ll all come out in the wash, and tomorrow’s another day, n’est pas? For today, I think we’ll do this….

Shall we Pearl?

“One would like to stroke and caress human beings, but one dares not do so, because they bite.” — Vladimir Lenin

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

It’s a day for comedy, I think, and, who better to combine humor and poking fun at society, than this man?…. The link provided will take you to a You Tube page where many more of his shows can be seen…. Enjoy, ffolkes, we’ll never see his like again….

George Carlin – National Press Club

http://youtu.be/Pc0ZHsoHAlE

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

“Heaven and earth were created all together in the same instant, on October 23rd, 4004 B.C. at nine o’clock in the morning.” — Dr. John Lightfoot, — Vice-chancellor of Cambridge University

I’ve seen this quote before, and always felt like it would be a great start for a rant against the dogma dogs, as it establishes, and pretty well, the sheer, deliberately obstinate refusal to use their own brain, such as they possess, by those who engage in religious zealotry. However, it’s a day to be thankful, rather than vituperative, so, I’ll pick a milder rant from the archives to fill in today…. We’ll get back to taking our shots at them in real-time in a day or two…. For now, here is one from the past, which will serve the purpose nicely….

From 3/6/2013:

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. {2} If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. {3} If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. {4} Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. {5} It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. {6} Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. {7} It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. {8} Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. {9} For we know in part and we prophesy in part, {10} but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. {11} When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. {12} Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. {13} And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” — 1 Corinthians 13 NIV

It is such a shame that the Bible has to be regarded as divinely inspired, in my mind. There are a number of passages in the various books by different authors that display a deep insight into human nature, and, like the one above, beautifully give to man words of such truth they can form the basis of one’s entire world-view. Insisting that such ideas are only possible to God, to me, isn’t realistic, nor is it true. I’ve known a number of people I would consider very wise, who have never even heard of the Christian God…. so, where does that fit into the picture?….

No, from what I can tell from reading it, most, or, okay, I’ll be fair, much, of what is written, most especially those parts intended as dogmatic proclamations, are more human in origin, obviously, than they are divinely inspired. The premises all favor the church over the individual, and submission of each individual to dogma is required of the faithful; that much is apparent in every statement that asserts God’s authority over Man as Creator. It’s obvious to me, anyway…. I could never figure out why God, who could make universes, needed me to fall down on my knees and humble myself….. What kind of sick thrill does he get from that? I know that anyone who acts in a subservient manner to me makes me uncomfortable, and feel like I want to kick them, and tell them to stand up and show some pride…. or at least some dignity….

Any who, in the Bible, there is all this good advice, and good ideas, like the one above…. but, in order to find them, one must wade through all the nonsensical stuff that the priestly hierarchies would have us believe is “written by the hand of God”…. Much more likely t’was the hand of Guido, or Antonio, I would think, at the insistence of assholes like Paul, and Peter, those evil men who barely waited until Jesus was underground to start perverting his teachings…. I’ll bet they were a bit surprised to have to wait until after he rose, and left again, before getting down to the business of altering texts, twisting meanings, and generally setting things up to suit themselves, all with the convenient authority he so trustingly gave them….

Not for nothing is it said that Jesus was an innocent…. He believed he could trust his disciples, forgetting entirely they are human, and will act out of self-interest FIRST, every time, when it comes to morality…. Hell, soon after he died, all twelve of the disciples went their own ways, and began the task of creating the thousand and one different sects based on the teachings of Christ that exist today…. or at least, setting the stage for their creation…. There WERE only twelve of them to start with…. Even with that, it takes a while to split it all up to the point we now see today, with thousands of separate churches, all based on one or another of the basic core principles Jesus left behind as legacy, and all interpreted through the lenses of each person’s glasses, colored in self-interest….

Ah well, at least if one has the patience to look, some good things can be found in the Bible…. I just wish that people would learn not to take it so seriously… because, I’m sorry to have to tell them this, but, God doesn’t publish books, nor does He (as I understand the concept of Him….) use ghost writers….. In fact, I should think that, if such an entity had something to tell us, He might make it pretty obvious where the message came from, and what it meant…. otherwise, what would be the point? If nothing else, I would expect a God to be, at minimum, logical…..

Okay, I’m done….

“Due to intense mind fog all thoughts have been grounded.” — Smart Bee

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

Once more, I’m reduced to using my own poetry; time constraints, don’t y’know?….

A Dubiously Soft Morning

Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,
fill up the white, white screen on which I view
my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup
ambrosial remnants of anything new.

Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away
bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,
signs of one happy child, seriously at play,
blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.

Formidable cries of outraged simple justice
echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.
Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice
salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.

Creativity equals unquestioning farce,
often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.
Instead, a blow is felt that no joy will soften,
accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I’m still late, even with using all the short-cuts I could make or find, but, we’ve made up a little bit of time, so, let’s see if SB can fill in the rest of today’s effort with some fresh pearls for our perusal….

“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.” — Lauren Bacall

“Were it possible for us to see further than our knowledge reaches, and yet a little way beyond the outworks of our divination, perhaps we would then endure our sorrows with greater confidence than our joys. For they are the moments when something new has entered us, something unknown; our feelings grow mute in shy perplexity, everything in us withdraws, a stillness comes, and the new, which no one knows, stands in the midst of it and is silent.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

“It is not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that make horseraces.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), from Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar(1894)

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.” — Helen Keller

“All kings is mostly rapscallions.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“A great many people mistake opinions for thoughts.”– Herbert Prochnow

“Do not turn back when you are just at the goal.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 580

Not too shabby, not too shabby at all, methinks. It can stay, even if it IS a bit vague; that will just make y’all think harder about it….

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

Okay, I did it, in spite of my own lack of organization today; just lucky, I guess…. So lucky, I’m going to take the advice of my lawyers, and stop talking now…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as no charges get filed before then….

Oh, by the way…. Today’s PATT (picture at the top, of course…) is internally attributed; look closely at the right lower corner to see the photographer’s name; I found it on the London Daily Telegraph, a great example of good timing, with a meteor, the Big Dipper, and Northern Lights in the same photo…. Ta, then, luvs…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Baklava, balaclava, it’s all Greek to an Armenian….

Posted on April 30, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

NOOOOO!…. I’m MELTING!….. Well, perhaps not, but, it sure feels that way….. it’s almost like a bad flashback, like those we saw in the propaganda films back in the 60’s, where they showed the guy’s face melting in the mirror as he watched, horrifyingly stoned to the gills on LSD, or “acid”, as those who used it named it…. Or, maybe like the Wicked Witch of the East in “Dorothy In The Land of Oz”, the classic child’s horror story by L. Frank Baum….

What? You think the Oz books weren’t horror stories? Who are you kidding? Have you actually read them, because, if you have, you’d know they’re some of the scariest books for children ever written… In the original book, those flying monkeys were NOT cute, nor cuddly, at all; their favorite battle technique was to dismember their opponents, ripping off their arms, legs, and heads…. Nasty creatures, and not what I’d call the makings of a fanciful daydream for a child….

I’m not sure how I got off into that little foray into book criticism, but, I’m cutting it off here, as I’m experiencing some rather new and disturbing pain messages from my body…. Now, my right thumb is getting extremely painful, as I type; each time I hit the space bar with my thumb, a shot of excruciating pain shoots through to my wrist, and the whole joint feels stiff and arthritic, which, I suppose, it is…. That, and the swollen tendon, that has occurred before, back when I was cooking for work…. It comes from a tendon over the thumb-pad, that gets strained and swollen from overuse….

Back in the day, when I was cooking, it would start to catch on another ligament, freezing the thumb in place, painfully…. It isn’t quite that bad yet, which is good, because, then, the only cure was a shot of cortisone in the joint, which hurt like hell, but provided amazing relief for the condition…. Since it isn’t that bad yet, I just need to rest it, which I’ll do, once this Pearl is done…. I guess the typing is getting to the joint, after almost three million words created, and placed on screen…

Many of those words have been crafted right here, in the introductory section of these Pearls, as they’ve gone from short, to long, to medium, all searching for that one consistent format that I could use daily…. That has never been found, but, I keep managing to put down enough CRAP to fill up the page, so, that’s something, I would suppose…. I’d say it’s better than the alternative, which would eventually have driven me completely bonkers, without the advantage of doing so in an orderly fashion, as I do here at ECR….

Why, look! I’ve done it again…. I’ve blathered and spewed sufficiently to meet all the requirement, so, since each word takes me to a new level of pain, we’ll cut this off here, and get on with the rest of today’s effort…. I’m thinking it would be the wisest course, given the predictable ending…. Well, it’s predictable for me, cuz I’m writing it, but, even the dimmest bulb in the box can see I’d be stretching the limits of believability if I tried to tell you it wasn’t…. Or, I would, if I could, but, I can’t, so I won’t…. so there…

Shall we Pearl?…. Actually, I think we better go do that NOW….

“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Carl Sagan

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

Since a lot of typing has been removed from today’s equation, I’ll adjust the format a bit, and keep my personal ranting to a minimum…. First, some links, to articles in the recent news, from some European and American sources…. Each one demonstrates yet another aspect of modern life that shows how the BRC and their shadowy masters are running around, killing, stealing, lying, buying court decisions and legislators, and generally doing pretty much whatever they want to do, as long as it benefits them more than anyone else….

Just read the articles with a big load of salt nearby, to supply an adequate number grains of it to balance out the lies and bullshit being poured upon our heads by our beloved leaders…. I’m not even going to comment, until afterward, and even then, we’ll pull from the archives for the arguments of indictment …. For now, just be aware of this….

The governments of this world, ALL of them, ours especially, are NOT concerned, at all, in taking care of, or protecting, or helping, or in any way benefiting the people over whom they rule…. They are concerned with filling their own pockets, increasing their own sense of control over others, and justifying their own sense of entitlement…. If the people benefit, even the tiniest bit, you can bet it is because they have calculated that it is MORE beneficial for them, or it wouldn’t be happening….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/28/drone-civilian-casualties-senate-bill-feinstein-clapper?CMP=ema_565

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Sheriff-s-deputy-not-charged-in-fatal-crash-5437026.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/10796808/Julian-Fellowes-Modern-version-of-wealth-and-power-can-be-very-ugly.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10793543/Story-of-four-year-olds-near-death-experience-transfixes-America.html

Sorry, I HAVE to comment on this one…. The most significant statement in this article came from a quote regarding the film made by a self-proclaimed atheist, who said, “”Only in America could a book like this be classified as non-fiction…..“At age four, an inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality is charming. But among American adults, widespread identification with the mind of a pre-schooler is scary.”

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/29/supreme-court-cellphones-privacy-search-seizure

All of the above are pretty scary, taken either individually, or as a group; the implications for society of the flaws exposed by such reports is, to me, just about as obvious, and as frighteningly real, as it can be…. especially the last article, which examines our own Supreme Court, in an article written published in a British news outlet, but with what is apparently a very clear-sighted view of the issues….

It also points up how the asshole who is the Chief Justice of that court is, in my opinion, the most egregious example of a judge who has been bought and paid for by corporate interests…. His every legal opinion, for his entire judicial career, has been obviously motivated by the need to protect his business dealings, and his corporate masters….

Oops, caught me ranting, didn’t you? Okay, I’m done for now…. Instead, here is an older politirant, that, oddly enough, still makes perfect sense…. well, it does, to me, anyway…. Enjoy…. or, if not, pay attention, because it’s all true shit, and shouldn’t be forgotten, or ignored…. We do so at our own risk….

From 4/14/2012:

“We, the people, are not free. Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” — Helen Keller

Odd, don’t you think, that the most insightful views of society are often presented by those who have no sight at all? Helen Keller was, obviously, an intelligent woman; no matter how patient the teacher, a stupid person could not have become the woman Ms. Keller became, without at least a modicum of basic ability to think. To think well, one must learn to observe well, and she has definitely got that down, for in no other way could this statement have been made. And that, to me, is the point. She is(was) a smart woman, and this observation can be considered to be true. (Differences of opinion on that point may be presented, and welcome, but for another discussion…. for now, lets discuss this….) If so, why isn’t anyone doing anything to address the issue?

Well, I’ll tell ya, pardner, it’s like this…. Tweedledum and Tweedledee already fixed the election, and nobody noticed. Yup. It’s true. I would say that the voting process in this country has been a sham for oh, about 49 years, give or take a month or two. It got shot to hell, right about the same moment the rifle bullet struck the back of Jack Kennedy’s neck on that fateful day in 1963 when he was assassinated, and the last hope of the American people died with him……

When LBJ took office, it was the end of democracy as we know it. From that time to now, there has been NO candidate for the Presidency of this country who would be allowed to run, if the true rulers of the nation did not approve. Our true rulers have been underground, in the background, for a long time; they don’t like the public’s eye turned upon them, for they know that if the light falls on them, it won’t take long for all their evil to start to show. These men (there are no women in the group, other than those who become even more male than their counterparts, in their vicious disregard for the rest of humanity) have been in effective control of the political process for even longer; it just became more obvious at the time of Kennedy’s demise, and has been harder to cover up ever since.

I find it disturbing to see Mitt Romney out there, seemingly with their approval, as he is far too close to what one of their inner circle looks like, and they aren’t shutting him up. This implies they no longer care if anyone sees their manipulations, and that they believe they don’t need to hide as much as before, because there is NOTHING anyone can do to change the outcome that they have already decided on. Or, it could be a sort of sleight of hand…. present Romney for people to watch, then get Obama safely elected, and settle right back into the process of eliminating the Bill of Rights, a project they’ve been working on for some time now.

I feel I must point out to all the folks out there who believe our current president to be a new hope, that this is the same man who signed the National Defense Authorization Act into effect on New Year’s Eve, while the American public was busy drinking and celebrating the new year, completely unaware that their oh-so-liberal president had just handed the Bill of Rights over to the National Security Agency, and its myrmidons, to do with as it pleased….. If you doubt me, check the news from that day…. It’s a fact, it happened, and it is now too late…. officially.

The first and middle rounds are done folks. It is now the final rounds, and we are now officially at war with our own government, by their own decree. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m stocking up on ammunition, food, water, and body armor…… because the day of the final showdown is not far away. One of these days, and it is not far off, the gloves are going to come off all the way, and you will see the government of this country firing weapons at its own citizens, in the name of “public security”….

I’d think about this, if I were y’all, and think seriously. Try not to believe whatever they tell you; examine anything with a critical eye, and speak up. But, be ready to duck, because I have a feeling they are no longer going to even give a warning shot, or yell, before they fire at us….. If you look at them, you will see that the ‘executive orders’ in the NDAA say they are not required to do so….

Don’t be distracted, ffolkes, by all the yammering going on about taxes, or healthcare, or racism, or any of the other bullshite that is currently touted as “what the American people care about”. I care about my rights. I care about being able to live my life as I choose. I care about human dignity, and freedom, and compassion for others. But this election isn’t about any of those things, not what is in the papers, and not what s in the people’s hearts. It is about control over society, and money. That’s it.

It has been about that for a long time now. Unless the American public comes to its senses, it isn’t going to change, either, until Mama Nature steps in, and sends us all back to the drawing board as another failed biological experiment. That is Reality folks, and is not subject to our manipulation. We can control what we see of Reality, but we can’t change its nature, and it will end us as surely as the sun comes up every morning, if we don’t make some drastic changes. And, unfortunately, none of those changes will be allowed by the beloved ruling class, so….. end game…… Deal with it….

Once you’ve tried to change the world you find it’s a whole bunch easier to change your mind. — Smart Bee

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

I’m in the mood for gritty…. so, we’ll go with my own stuff… to save time, and embarrassment for anyone else’s reputation…..

Geezer to Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks;
Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.

“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.

Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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

It’s been a while since I ranted on religion, though I’ve managed to include them in some of the recent politirants, as supporting cast members of the show to which we are treated daily on the public stage…. Reminds me of Punch and Judy, sometimes… Any who, relax, I’m not going to rant now; what happened in section one fulfilled all the daily requirements, and I’m not motivated for that just now….

So, old-school, of course, but with the parameters set to find aphorisms, quotes, taglines, or punch lines about those happy, deluded creatures, the preachers, priests, pastors, vicars, reverends, cardinals, bishops, popes, shamans, imams, sadhu, or, whatever other titles are accorded to those who encourage others to buy into their divinely inspired delusional systems…. Enjoy, and be careful not to step in any of it….

“Our hope of immortality does not come from any religion, but nearly all religions come from that hope.” — Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)

“I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.” — Garrison Keillor

“THINK! Your brain’s only evolutionary advantage over sponge cake!” — Smart Bee

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

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

“Men have fiendishly conceived a heaven only to find it insipid, and a hell only to find it ridiculous.” — George Santayana

“Boys, you have ALL been selected to LEAVE th’ PLANET in 15 minutes!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

THAT was simply amazing! The entire group of pears for this section, minus the first one, which I found yesterday, came up in SB in less than two minutes, and the whole seven-star version was completed in five…. It may be, for a pearl of this quality and shine, the fastest ever….

And, as a bonus, all of the chosen aphorisms are perfectly appropriate, without the usual smarm…. well, maybe there’s a little smarm, but, not so much it will call for a trip to the dry cleaners…. That, by itself, shows the beneficial nature of this pearl, and proves my point nicely…. Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did…. and do….

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

It is most likely for the best that I’m already done with this…. Since I barely noticed it while in the process of creating it, it’s probably appropriate that I have no clue about what it may be like, or much of what is in it, to be honest…. Maybe if I proof it….

Well, that was fun, but, I’m still not sure about what happened here…. but, I’m not going to let it worry me, because, hey, it’s done, right? Right…. And, since I’m in charge, I get to say this, on my way out the door….. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Growing signs of increasingly bizarre pistachios….

Posted on April 21, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Oh carp! I mean, crap! Typographic fish just don’t afford the same degree of release as a good, strong vulgarity, do they? Probably doesn’t sound quite as formidable, either…. Either way, it may or may not be a good sign to have to begin the day with an expletive, delivered with enough emotive power to show just how irked I am today….

Awakening in an irk is somewhat less than my usual degree of angst, but, not so much I didn’t recognize the change in the level in the tank…. Of course, that doesn’t mean I am ready, willing, OR able to deal with that effectively, much less efficiently, I think we’ll just use the good old American technique for dealing with any kind of unpleasantness, to wit: we’ll pretend it doesn’t exist….

Denial, in this country, is an art form, highly developed by a number of different organizations and categories of people, the foremost of which reside in the halls of Congress, and in the many fine churches they have built in their own praise. The governing body, and virtually ALL the religious organizations, who vie for the public trust in this country are all quite adept at denial, and, in fact, have based their entire existence on the denial of many parts of reality that the rest of us take as truth…. Evolution, for example, and global warming/climate change caused by humans come immediately to mind, as does the whole concept of a supernatural creator based on NO perceptible evidence….

Stop, already! I told myself when I sat down I would NOT rant in the intro, and here we are, three paragraphs in, and I’m already lining up the shots, getting them ready to sling at their oh-so-deserving targets….. I promised myself I wouldn’t do that today, even if yesterday’s Easter Pearl, which DID rant extensively in the intro section, came out fairly well….

I’m guessing, though, it’s just too much to ask of my readership, to have to cope with that amount of passion and/or angst so early in the day, even if I do try to make up for it with the old-school pearls that generally follow such rants. I’m not certain that is what is keeping ffolkes away, but, chances are that’s why a lot of people are not coming to read….. it’s just too much for the mornings, and when I start in right off the bat, I suppose it gets old rather quickly….

Whatever the reason, it’s strange…. I am averaging, perhaps, four or five “Likes” per day, sometimes less, yet stats indicate I continue to garner new followers, as I am now up to almost 400 (398, as of yesterday, I believe….)…. But, that’s okay, as I still don’t write to get followers…. I write to take advantage of the spew effect…. purging the stuff that builds up in my head all the time is a necessary component of my overall level of mental health… If I DON’T spew every day, it can build up to dangerous levels; when it comes out, people are not happy, and the world becomes a more dangerous place….

But, I do write, and all is well in this corner of reality, as long as I do….. I won’t bother to mention that if I didn’t do this, the edges of reality begin to fray, but, they do, so, be thankful I do get up each day, no matter what time it is, to do what I can to protect reality, and the fabric of space-time we all depend on for our existence….

Shall we Pearl? Or should I continue to weave fantasies and delusions?…. Nah, let’s Pearl…..

“The most pathetic person in the world is a person who has sight but has no vision.” — Helen Keller

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

“Life is short. Get it right.” — Smart Bee

Before reading the following article, please engage your crap detectors; you’ll need them, as this short article has just about as many obvious lies and attempts at misdirection as is possible in so few words….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Drone-in-Yemen-kills-at-least-9-al-Qaida-members-5414550.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

This little propaganda piece, which, had it been printed in a newspaper, would have been buried on the next to last page, bottom corner, was found at SFGATE, where it was put out just as if it were some kind of announcement of a meeting by a board of supervisors…. Very bland, straightforward, with no comments by the author….. If one paid attention only to the tone and volume of the post, one would believe it was completely unimportant, not worthy of thinking about…. It’s only a short little tale of murder, and terrorism, and hypocrisy, but, hey, who’s counting?….

Think a moment about what the story details…. Our nation has been, for some time now, killing people in other countries, countries with whom we are NOT at war (I don’t recall Congress declaring any in the last fifty years, do you? Only Congress is supposed to do that…. well, according to that pesky old Constitution thingie, anyway….), using unmanned, but heavily armed drones, with the targets picked on the basis of intelligence obtained…. how? Well, they don’t say…. In fact, if you look at the article with open eyes and mind, there are a couple of things that aren’t said, that perhaps should have been at least queried….

Who decided these people needed to be killed by us? Was that decision unilateral? How was the information on which the decision was based obtained? Why is it now okay for us to kill citizens of other countries with no regard for the laws of this country, or for the laws of the other countries? Who decided this was legal? Who decided that assassination was a tool this country would use? Shall we talk about water-boarding? (To mention just a FEW of those that occurred to me….)

It has always been my understanding that our values as a nation precluded the use of such ignoble forms of warfare; I have always liked being part of a nation that would NOT stoop to the vileness so prevalent in the history of other nations. I had pride in the virtue we have mostly displayed throughout history, having, until recently, declined to use torture, or assassination, or other anomalies of human behavior that would indicate a loss of morality….

Somehow, since 9/11, it seems to be okay with the people of this nation to use torture, to kill indiscriminately, targeting those who “threaten our way of life”, apparently giving us the green light to use even the most egregiously vicious and perverted forms of warfare, and espionage, justifying any and all of our transgressions with the phrase, “homeland security”, a catch-all to justify the use of the most immoral, illegal, and downright insane techniques of warfare available…. The assholes who run this nation have taken the words of Reichmarshall Göring completely to heart, when he said….

“Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America nor, for that matter, in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. … [V]oice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.” — Hermann Göring

There you have it, ffolkes…. The way our country now behaves on the world stage is exactly the way the Nazi Party in Germany would have done, had we not first bombed them into submission. If you believe there is ANY difference at all in the way the two governments have reacted to the press of world events, I’d be happy to listen to your evidence….

But, it seems to me that the political assholes in this country have decided for us; according to their paranoid reasoning, we no longer need live up to any such values as those the country was founded upon…. We are no longer justified when we call ourselves an example for the rest of the world, because we are no longer acting with any morality, or any virtue at all, much less enough to make anyone look at us as being anything other than the bullies we have become…. I think I would give just about anything to see a piece in the news such as this, from our old friend Isaac….

United Nations, New York, December 25. — “The peace and joy of the Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of all the military forces of the world. Panic reigns in the hearts of all the patriots of every persuasion. Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the world.” — Isaac Asimov

Fat chance of that, eh? Oh, well….. Stay alert, ffolkes, they’re all crazy, and they have WAY too much money for their own good…. If you don’t watch out, they’ll do their best to take all YOU have, as well, and then tell you to be happy to live in such a free country…. “Free”, meaning they are free to rob, cheat, lie, and steal from whomever they wish, with no consequences…. and if you think that is an exaggeration, then, baby, you are NOT paying attention….

It is clear and obvious to the rest of the world that this nation has become an oligarchy; it’s time as a democracy is past. Our government has been bought and paid for by the rich, fat cats who control most of the resources in the world, most of whom are white Christian bigots, who have little to no interest in sharing any of what they have with anyone, especially anyone who is brown, or not Christian…. Oh, they’re still making noises as if we live in a country that cares about the middle and lower classes, but the reality is much different…. Life is demonstrably less comfortable for those who live in the bottom half of society than it is for those at the top, who are all working very hard to make sure it stays that way….

I’m done…. I can’t say much more to convince anyone of the truth of this; if you don’t see it by now, you don’t WANT to see it, and I wish you a happy time in your ignorance…. because it will be short lived. We are all up against the wall, ffolkes, the rich as well as the less so…. In fifty years, the atmosphere of this planet won’t be breathable for anyone, including them, unless they give up their intransigence, and the rest of us give up our lack of courage…. If things don’t change, then change is going to kill us all; it is that simple, even if people don’t wish to see that…. Mother Nature won’t care whether we see it, and accept it, or not…. it’s just the way it is, so, get used to it…..

Unless, of course, you wish to survive…. If we do, then I’d suggest we get off our butts, and get the revolution started as soon as we can, before it is too late (which it may already be….)….. Think about it, ffolkes…. it’s about time we did so, because the clock is ticking, and it won’t stop for anyone….

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

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

Just because I’m a nice guy, here is a two-fer, from a modern voice, straight from the street level of society…. Those who enjoy using their minds for more than merely finding the way from toilet to kitchen to toilet may enjoy these poems, but, I’ll warn any who don’t consistently exercise those neurons to be cautious, as poetry like this can cause anyone who reads it to experience the awakening of long-dormant brain cells, a process which is bound to be painful for those unaccustomed to such exercise…. Regardless of how you approach them, these are excellent, thought-provoking pieces, and well-worth a few moments of your time and mental energy….

Cause And Effect

the best often die by their own hand
just to get away,
and those left behind
can never quite understand
why anybody
would ever want to
get away
from
them

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

Alone With Everybody

the flesh covers the bone
and they put a mind
in there and
sometimes a soul,
and the women break
vases against the walls
and the men drink too
much
and nobody finds the
one
but keep
looking
crawling in and out
of beds.
flesh covers
the bone and the
flesh searches
for more than
flesh.

there’s no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.

nobody ever finds
the one.

the city dumps fill
the junkyards fill
the madhouses fill
the hospitals fill
the graveyards fill

nothing else
fills.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

Okay…. I ranted above, so, obviously, this section should be an old-school pearl…. and will be, if I ever get around to it…. Okay, there, that’s done…. Hi, there…. I’m back, from the daunting yet necessary task that has engaged my full attention for the past half-hour, ready now to don the sacred tanks of air, to go diving in the holy bed of oysters, searching for pearls we need to finish out the day with a bit of dignity…. At minimum, we are shooting for an engaging degree of chutzpah, or, alternately, all the charm we can muster…. Let’s see what Smart Bee can do for us today…..

“Before you have sex you have to be elected to a high government position.” — Zippy

“The essence of Christianity is told us in the Garden of Eden history. The fruit that was forbidden was on the tree of knowledge. The subtext is, All the suffering you have is because you wanted to find out what was going on. You could be in the Garden of Eden if you had just keep your fucking mouth shut and hadn’t asked any questions.” — Frank Zappa Playboy Interview, April 1993

“It is common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active.” — Smart Bee

“The meaning of here and now is beautifully illustrated by a Zen story of a monk who was being chased by two tigers. He came to the edge of a cliff. He looked back – the tigers were almost upon him. Noticing a vine leading over the cliff, he quickly crawled over the edge and began to let himself down the vine. Then as he checked below, he saw two tigers waiting for him at the bottom of the cliff. He looked up and observed that two mice were gnawing away at the vine. Just then, he saw a beautiful strawberry within arm’s reach. He picked it and enjoyed the best tasting strawberry in his whole life!” — Ken Keyes

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.” — Kehlog Albran, The Profit

“The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.” — G. K. Chesterton

“It is ridiculous to lay the blame of our wrong actions upon external causes, rather than on the facility with which we ourselves are caught by such causes.” — Aristotle

Well, ffolkes, it took a while, but, this pearl will someday be known as “that special one”, for its completeness, pearl-wise…. “‘Nuff said, she said.” Handle with care….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, this one took a long time, requiring numerous breaks to keep the old gluteus maximae from turning to stone, but, it’s done, and just in time, as the sun is up, and the day is starting to roll…. I’ve done all I can do, so, I’m done…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Free speech, with a side order of lies….

Posted on September 26, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Today’s title is a bit more relevant than usual; it’s kind of a mini-rant, in it’s own little way, complete with sarcasm, and outrage, right there for all to perceive, should they so choose. The title was a reaction, in essence, to an email I got yesterday from the White House…. Yes, that’s right, the White House…. There’s no need to be impressed, or to think I’ve got a good line into the administration, or anything like that….. Like millions of other folks, I once clicked on some link that offered me a chance to give my opinion to them, back in the beginning of Barry’s reign….. I sent what was supposed to be a comment on some of what I’d seen, knowing full well I what I was letting myself in for, to wit: spam with a side of grits….

I don’t mean to be racist by that statement; I was being literal, actually. Ever since sending that one email, I have been inundated with multiple daily blurbs from Michelle Obama, from Stephanie Cutter, and a host of other names I don’t recognize, all of whom are perky, enthusiastic, and want me to send them money…. Occasionally, like today, a personal note from the First Lady herself, asking me to send in a comment for them to parade as part of their claim to grassroots connections…. I’m so thrilled to have been personally addressed by the FLOTUS, and will immediately rush out to complete the task she asked of me, to furnish my version of “the number one issue I care about”, so they can use that information to guide them to doing the best thing for me and all the other poor saps out there believing this crap…

What annoys me the most, aside from having to delete several emails a day from these idiots, (and, yes, I include the FLOTUS in that group…. Sorry, I just can’t bring myself to get too enthused about anyone who buys into the whole scene she endorses….). Just because I sent ONE email to them, an email they obviously did NOT read, they assume I am behind them 100%, and address me daily as if I am one of their trusted minions…. This is actually the reason I have not opted out of the email group; it gives me some idea of what they are up to, which is a good thing for my strategic plans. I’m just following the old saw about keeping my friends close, and my enemies closer….

You may wonder how I can call myself a patriot, when I am so dead-set against BOTH sides of the political scene we see today…. Well, it’s simple…. I am patriotic only about the vision of our country, of what I believe framers of the Constitution and Bill of Rights had in mind when they wrote them. They had a vision of a country where men of good virtue and character could pursue their own personal view of what is good and right, in the atmosphere of freedom of thought, and of action, that the laws provide to us. The founders of our nation saw very clearly that what they sought was a fragile state, and would always be in danger from those who envy the freedoms we enjoy, and from those who would take it away, for their own profit and power….

Those people, the ones who have no virtue, save that of self-interest, are now in control of this country, and have been since the mid-19th century, when a corrupt federal judge made a landmark decision that gutted the Constitution, making it relatively useless for the purpose it was created. One legal judgment, deliberately made by a judge who made no secret of his loyalty to those who paid him, took the most basic rights away from the common man, and put them into the hands of corporate entities that don’t exist anywhere but on paper…..The corporate interests that actually control the events of history thus secured their position as the shadowy puppet masters of society, and they did so right in front of the public eye….

SIGH…. I see that once again I’ve ranted before I was really ready to do so…. I just get so outraged when I start to think about what ASSHOLES these people are…. They don’t give a SHIT about anyone but themselves, and could care less that what they do is detrimental to the well-being of others; it’s not something that even crosses their awareness, other than as it affects their travel plans…. It’s tough to have to decide whether to jet off to Chamonix for winter sports, or to Bali for water sports…. I suppose it’s marginally better than having to decide whether to stretch the chicken to one more pot of soup, or break down and buy some beef, which they can’t afford…..

Okay, I’m done for now….. I never really got started strongly, and only used vague references to real events, rather than factual accounts of actual happenings in the world, to make my points…. But, that is only because the urge to rant caught me unaware, again, and I didn’t want to take the time to go research so early…. Besides, I figure once I go look at some news headlines, I’ll find plenty to bring back the outrage, with plenty of evidence, as it is right out there for all to see, every day….. which, actually, is kind of scary, when one stops to think about that…. They don’t even really try very hard anymore to hide what they’re doing from us, which means they know there isn’t anything we can do to stop them, or to make a difference in what they wish to do….

I’m so discouraged, I’m going to end this introductory section here, after a healthy sized rant, and go on with the rest of today’s Pearl… even though my discouragement is preventing me from enjoying it very much…. I just get so angry at what I see in the world, because I know there are solutions…. solutions that will never be tried, because the assholes who run things don’t WANT any changes in the world, not until they have ALL they want from the rest of us…. and their avarice knows no boundaries….

Ah, the hell with it…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“We, the people, are not free. Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” — Helen Keller
_____________________________

Having lost my way completely, by giving in so far as to spit out the above seriousness, I want some funny…. Smart Bee, give me…. humor…..

“Is this where I’m supposed to insert the funny lines?” — Smart Bee

Yes, yes, it is…..

“All I kin say is when you finds yo’self wanderin’ in a peach orchard, ya don’t go lookin’ for rutabagas.” — Kingfish

(Good start!…. Humor and wisdom all rolled into one bubblegum cigar! Hopefully, it’s the exploding kind; a good explosion always raises the ratings….)

“Here I am in the POSTERIOR OLFACTORY LOBULE but I don’t see CARL SAGAN anywhere!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Zippy goes over the top much of the time, I know, but, it’s always amazing to me to look at the things he says, filtered through the light of metaphor; in that light, they take on deeper meaning, every time, and always in a way that can be traced back to reality, sort of….. As we all know, “sort of” is as close to real reality as we can tolerate around here, especially when I’m in a mood like this one…. the risk of explosion right now is, as they are fond of saying in the newspapers, significant…. Zippy is like cold water on a hot fire, in that sense…. )

“Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man. Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established. Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.” — Confucius, _Analects_, Book 20

(Well, it was funny when I read it….. A worthy group of statements, though….)

“The English are not very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.” — George Bernard Shaw

(Doesn’t seem to have worked very well, though, does it?…. I mean, look at them… Now, they are touting this poor new lad born to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge as their symbol of continuity and tradition…. Poor baby, can barely even drool yet, and already an icon, destined to live a life well-insulated from reality…..)

“Well, Darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable,
And Lightness has a call that’s hard to hear.”

— Indigo Girls

(Okay, busted…. not funny, but, it’s powerful, and it’s beautiful, so it stays….)

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” — Dalai Lama

(Actually, it might have been someone else who said this…. but, it’s something he would have said, had he thought of it…)

If on my theme I rightly think,
There are five reasons why men drink,–
Good wine, a friend, because I ‘m dry,
Or lest I should be by and by,
Or any other reason why.

— John Sirmond (c. 1589-1649) — Causae Bibendi

Well, I’m retired, what do you expect?….. It doesn’t HAVE to make sense any more, now, does it? Nope…. so, as is obvious at this point, most days, I don’t even bother trying to police that particular concept…. You get what you pay for, every time, right?….. Of course, I’m not counting the cost to me, but, that’s just the kind of guy I am…..
_____________________________

“What a lumbering poor vehicle prose is for the conveying of a great thought! … Prose wanders around with a lantern & laboriously schedules & verifies the details & particulars of a valley & its frame of crags & peaks, then Poetry comes, & lays bare the whole landscape with a single splendid flash.” — Mark Twain

A drop fell on the apple tree
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.

A few went out to help the brook,
That went to help the sea.
Myself conjectured, Were they pearls,
What necklaces could be!

The dust replaced in hoisted roa
The birds jocoser sung;
The sunshine threw his hat away,
The orchards spangles hung.

The breezes brought dejected
And bathed them in the glee;
The East put out a single flag,
And signed the fete away.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

_____________________________

I’m not sure what my mind is doing…. Some days I keep track, and others, it’s just too much work, so, I don’t…. Today is one of the latter type of days, and it’s probably showing in the structure of this Pearl…. So be it…. I’m not one to argue with what is, and I’m too short on meds to risk getting all bent out of shape about it….

Whenever I fight against reality, it wins, and I hurt for a while… So, I’m going to hearken back to the days of yore, when I was learning Judo, from Sensei Uchida, at UC Berkeley, and let the force of my opponent do the work for me…. a little cosmic judo, don’t y’know?…. Hope you enjoy it…. just relax, and spread the shock of contact with the floor over as much area of your body as you can… It will hurt less, and you can get right back up, where I’ll show you how it was done….. or, give you a couple of aspirin & some water, if you prefer….

“There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you please unless it causes others harm. With it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.” — P.J. O’Rourke

“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

A drill is a tool. A hole is a solution. — Smart Bee

All who joy would win
Must share it, –happiness was born a twin.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Don Juan, Canto ii, Stanza 172

“To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult.” — Plutarch (46 AD-120 AD)

A Scholar asked his Master, “Could you advise me of a proper vocation, Master?” The Master replied, “Some men can earn their keep with the power of their minds. Others must use their strong backs, legs and hands. This is the same in nature as it is with man. Some animals acquire their food easily, such as rabbits, hogs & goats. Other animals must struggle for their food, like beavers, moles & ants. So you see, the nature of the vocation must fit the individual.” “But I have no abilities, desires, or imagination, Master,” the scholar sobbed. “Have you ever thought of becoming a salesman?”. . . the Master queried.– 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)

(The last one is included as contrast to the other six pearls in this group, just because it popped up at a propitious moment…… Mr. Humphrey’s statement, while almost true, is actually a good example of why politicians in this country find it so simple to lie to the public…. This is related with all seriousness, as if it is great wisdom, when, in truth, it is simply not true, unless the person in question wishes it to be true…. Things are only what they seem to be in our perceptions, not in reality, and refusing to acknowledge that distinction is the same as learning to lie about it…. and believing the lie, rather than the truth….. Insidious, isn’t it?….. They get people to buy into the very lies they tell, by making it sound as if it should be true…..)
_____________________________

“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.” — Terry Pratchett.

That’s for damn sure, and exactly how I’m feeling today…. But, I’m okay with it, too, so, no big deal… I wouldn’t go back for anything…. Let’s see what the last three hours of struggle and pain has come up with today….

Well, it’s certainly more than I bargained for when I started…. I do have a tendency to ramble, don’t I? Ah well, so be it… I was up early, this took forever, and I’m too tired to make it all better, if such is possible at this point….. In fact, bye, now, y’all be real, I’ll see you tomorrow, I hope….

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

Salvation lay in perfecting a peony in fuchsia….

Posted on September 25, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Of late, the ranting in which I’ve engaged has become somewhat strident, to my ears…. Some unkind persons might take it upon themselves to say I’ve gone all the way over, into shrill cacophony, but, as yet, I don’t think I’ve quite achieved that particularly annoying attribute, so painful to the inner ear, though not for lack of effort, I’m sure….. The reason for this is merely my own sense of diffuse anxiety and imminent disaster, probably due to my PTSD…. which tends to mark ALL crises as personal, y’know? It doesn’t matter whether the crisis is right here, in my house, or out there, in the Big Blue Room, in Washington D.C., or some other place where history is happening…. Any crisis situation, to which I become attuned, brings out the worst of my all-too-familiar left-over fears and anxieties, forcing me to experience the full onslaught of emotion that accompanies them, whenever they show up…

This is why I’ve fallen into ranting in the intro section; when the rants are fueled by the emotional morass inside me, they pop up in the most inconvenient places they can find, pushing their way into the conversation, no matter where it started….. Kind of like the people they are generally talking about, actually….. Convinced of their own correctness, the usual targets of my ire are those feel no compunction against letting out their innermost thoughts, regardless of what else may be called for by the conversation, by the demands of reality, or by intent of the author, to wit: me…. In other words, I’ve lost control of this blog, completely…. That, or I’ve slipped back into the pit of insanity, and it’s all gone to shit….

Nope, I can’t claim that one… I’m still here, and fairly lucid, most of the time….. Well, lucid by MY standards, which probably aren’t the same as those of normal reality…… Mine are most likely much more stringent, as I have very high standards when it comes to how my own brain works….. It may not appear that way, but, it is true, nonetheless….. Normal Reality is a much less logical, and less highly organized, place to be, compared to being in my head, most of the time…. I can probably never actually convince anyone of the truth of that assertion, but, it is the absolute truth, regardless of how things may appear from the other side….

In fact, a lot of what is visible is illusion, just like out there in the real world….. I don’t show ALL my cards at once, not until the last bet is called, as my daddy taught me so long ago….. Okay, now I’ve really done it….. Here I am, talking about my daddy, and what he taught me, before I even wake up enough to realize I’m even writing…. How did I get here? What in the hell am I talking about? Is there any hope for this Pearl? I’d better take a step back, and look at this from a new viewpoint… Be right back, ffolkes…

Ah, okay, found the primary contributing issue…. I forgot this….

“Avoid running at all times.” — Satchel Paige

Satchel gave what is no doubt the best advice for living that I’ve seen, especially given his lack of education….. But, sometimes, as is obvious here, too much education can be an issue, as well, causing as much trouble for its possessors as it does to solve those troubles…. In my case, it only leads to verbal indigestion, but, that can be uncomfortable enough, believe me…. I also found, during my inner troubleshooting episode, that I had been forgetting the following aphorism, to wit: Hanlon’s Razor…. It becomes clear that I’ve been a bit harsh to the BRC, as well as to the priestly hierarchies, and the fools who inhabit them….

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” — Hanlon’s Razor

In other words, ffolkes, they can’t help being the way they are, so shouting at the top of my lungs to make them change their ways is NOT going to be an effective technique for instituting, or encouraging, any such changes…. But, then, I’ve always known, to some extent, that what I do here is shouting into the wind; I’m just one unknown, inconspicuous guy, with no societal props, or creds, as they say on the street, to make people pay attention to what I have to say….

As noted above, I seem to have lost all sense of direction, if not my sanity as well, so we may as well just get on with this, and try to put this one out of its misery…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.” — Henry David Thoreau
_____________________________

It is now the middle of the week, a segment of time that has little meaning to those of us who no longer work…. One of the more interesting issues I’ve noticed since retiring is how flexible time becomes….. The various little segments of time we use to describe different periods, such as “week”, “day”, “month”, “hour”, etc. have meaning to me only for keeping track of specific events that will occur at specific times… Otherwise, there is no strong reason to pay any attention to those distinctions, as one day, or one hour, is much the same in importance as the next, with little to tell one from another, (especially for those of us to whom Reality is a slippery concept, hard to grasp and/or hold for long, before it morphs into something else entirely…..).

The best part about this new scenario is, one assumes a great deal of control over each of those categories of time, by possessing the right and power to decide whether or not to acknowledge them at all; when we do, what we do with that time, too, is ours to choose, rather than being manipulated and/or controlled by the want and needs of other people….. Our time, after so long, is our own, to do with as we please, and it is a heady experience….

What does this have to do with creating a Pearl, or searching for pearls?….. Well, obviously, nothing much, but, then, it also has EVERYTHING to do with that process…. as it is entirely MY choice as to where we go from here… and, I say, let’s go find some GOOD STUFF…. Of course, I’ll leave the definition of GOOD STUFF up to random chance, but, hey, it sounds good, right?… Well, I think so, and it’s my blog, so there…. Sorry, don’t mean to get silly, or huffy, just having too much fun here…. Let’s go see what SB has today for us to find…..

“Growing old is not for sissies or the faint of heart.” — Smart Bee

“Let us not say, every man is the architect of his own fortune; but let us say, every man is the architect of his own character.” — George Dana Boardman

“A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.” — Chinese Proverb

“I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“For when I was a babe and wept and slept, Time crept. When I was a boy and laughed and talked, Time walked. Then when the years saw me a man, Time ran. But as I older grew, Time flew.” — Guy Pentreath

“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” — Mark Twain

When speaking of aging, and time, who better to finish with?….. I like how this turned out, but, it needs two addenda, making this a nine-star pearl, in order to have the absolutely correct feel….

“Is not old wine wholesomest, old pippins toothsomest, old wood burns brightest, old linen wash whitest? Old soldiers, sweetheart, are surest, and old lovers are soundest.” — John Webster (c. 1580-1625) — Westward Ho, Act ii, Sc. 2

“We all have a face that we hide away forever,
And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone.
Some are satin, some are steel, some are silk and some are leather.
They’re the faces of the stranger and we love to try them on.”

— Billy Joel, The Stranger
_____________________________

Some days, this process is rather a revelation, in terms of what the presence of entropy in the universe can do to how we view reality….. I went to find a poem for the rather odd mood I’m in today, and found a perfect candidate on the first try….. Here is a poem, which I find to be quite complex and intricate in its very simplicity… and quite powerful for all that…. It’s from a poet new to me, who sadly died recently, though not without recognition for his work… His name is Seamus Heaney, an Irish Poet Laureate….

Follower

My father worked with a horse-plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horse strained at his clicking tongue.

An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.

I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.

I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.

I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.

~~ Seamus Heaney ~~

_____________________________

This is what I call a left-over pearl; these kept popping up for consideration while I was looking for the pearls in section one. Since they all were connected, obviously, by subject matter and/or intent, it seemed wasteful not to use them…. so, here is another randomly chosen pearl, but with more of a point to it, critically speaking…. Seven stars should be enough….. Works for me…

“In America, anyone can become president. That’s one of the risks you take.” — Adlai E. Stevenson

“The heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next.” — Helen Keller

“Reason transformed into prejudice is the worst form of prejudice, because reason is the only instrument for liberation from prejudice.” — Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind

“Patriotism is a pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy.” — George Bernard Shaw

CABBAGE, n. “A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head. The cabbage is so called from Cabagius, a prince who on ascending the throne issued a decree appointing a High Council of Empire consisting of the members of his predecessor’s Ministry and the cabbages in the royal garden. When any of his Majesty’s measures of state policy miscarried conspicuously it was gravely announced that several members of the High Council had been beheaded, and his murmuring subjects were appeased.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“As you know, I planned a trip out there for some time, so it fits in very nicely.” — President George Bush, on his trip to LA after the riots

“Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.” — P.J. O’Rourke
_____________________________

“I don’t have a weird sense of humor. Your reality is just weird.” — Smart Bee, speaking for gigoid again…..

As I suspected after writing the intro section, this turned on me, into an epic effort; I haven’t taken this long to put out a Pearl for quite a while…. Let’s see if it was worth all the perseverance and dedication…..

As I noted above, today’s effort has been somewhat of a revelation…. With a few minor tweaks and/or edits, it turned out pretty well, all things considered, so I’ll once again consider myself fortunate, and will post and be done with it, until tomorrow….

Hmm…. maybe, someday, someone will see one of these Pearls, even a strange one like this, and think it worthwhile to bring to the attention of the world at large…. Nah, that’s too much like a fantasy, or a sitcom scenario…. which would, given the nature of this beast, probably result in lasting harm to the space-time continuum, and a huge alteration of history…. Never mind, probably not a good idea….. Until tomorrow, then….

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

Safely ensconced in warm socks….

Posted on November 2, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Okay, so now I’m officially old. I can start using all those little tricks I’ve been practicing to take advantage of youngsters. Oh, wait, I don’t do that…. well, okay, so now I get to be grouchy, right? No? Why not? I’ve been looking forward a long time to getting old enough to be cranky, whattya mean people don’t do that anymore? 60 is the new 40? What the hell are you talking about? I’m no 40, and if I felt only 40 I’d be doing handsprings, believe me…. Damn it, I’ve waited a long time to be old, why don’t I get some of the perks?…. I don’t get it…..

There are supposed to be perks to this getting old business, you know. Senior discounts, early boarding, special menus, we old ffolkes have done our duty on the front lines of life, and deserve a break or two. When I was younger, there were times I didn’t understand all the fuss about aging, possessing, as I did, the invulnerability of youth; now, I understand, and fully agree that the ffolkes who make it this far really do deserve some time off from the harder aspects of living….

In fact, most of us are looking forward to getting a few breaks, especially if it helps us physically. To my mind, the physical drawbacks of aging are the hardest to deal with…. Yes, the bureaucracies one must encounter and handle are atrocious in their lack of help, but even that pales in comparison to an attack of diarrhea, or pain so bad one can’t walk….. and I don’t know about any of the other seniors around, but I really do miss volleyball, and softball with beer, and martial arts, and regular sex…. of course, the last one might be available, had I an appropriate companion, but….

Ah well, one must put away the toys of youth to live as an adult, and this is just the next stage…. I just thought there would be less stress involved, and that society really cared…. but, the sad truth is that society does whatever it can to keep the issue of age related problems out of the public eye, which means spending just enough on it to keep them quiet, but not enough to really be of help. It is a typical approach in our society to those issues that the beloved ruling class really doesn’t care about at all, but is forced to make concessions to keep the masses from revolting…. There are a number of such issues, but those are tales for pearls, not for this intro….

An intro, which, due to my tendency to ramble on, has grown past all decent proportion into another morass of conflicting, yet hopefully humorous statements, none of which are designed for anything other than typing practice, and mental limbering exercise…. Now that I am limber, so to speak. shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

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

I am always struck by the depth of insight that Helen Keller displayed in her words, though, given her background, it shouldn’t be a surprise. For her first decade of life, or so, she lived in darkness and misery, never able to communicate with anyone, or come to any sort of comfortable terms with her environment, due to her lack of understanding and sensory handicaps. But, fortunately for the world, she met the one person of her time who had the kind of understanding needed to bring Helen out of the darkness, and into the light of knowledge and education. The trip she made in those years is an epic story, and one that never fails to bring tears (especially these days… I’m leaking as I write this, and I’m just doing background….) in sympathy for the effort she made to live her life in freedom, rather in self-made chains….

That effort is what makes her wisdom so much more powerful than it would, coming from anyone else. One KNOWS that what she says is true, because she obviously made too much effort to achieve the Truth to ever demean that by lying about anything. And, in the case of this statement, one must accept the truth of it absolutely, for who would know better than she how much bravery and patience are needed in order to be able to feel the joy that is also there. Our handicaps, and the obstacles thrown up for us by the world at large, are those very things that make our joys so sweet, for we know what has been overcome just to experience that feeling.

It would do us all well to pay heed to whatever Ms. Keller has to say about living, but this lesson is particularly important, especially in today’s world. There are so many issues and problems that we are all faced with every day, that finding any peace and joy becomes not merely difficult, but damn near impossible….. until, that is, one remembers the above statement. This allows us the emotional strength, and the space, to step back from our difficulties, and take a new look at what is happening; this often gives us the impetus to find what there is to be found to create our own joy, even if it is only the knowledge that we have struggled against our difficulties with honor and dignity…. In the correct light, even that can bring some satisfaction. And, in the best case scenario, one learns that our patience, and our strength, will always lead us back to those parts of our mind that keep the joyous feelings, and we can go there any time we wish….

Was there a time when dancers with their fiddles
In children’s circuses could stay their troubles?
There was a time they could cry over books,
But time has set its maggot on their track.
Under the arc of the sky they are unsafe.
What’s never known is safest in this life.
Under the skysigns they who have no arms
Have cleanest hands, and, as the heartless ghost
Alone’s unhurt, so the blind man sees best.

— Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), “Was There A Time”
__________________________________

I had hoped to finish the poem I’ve been working on last night, or this morning, but it continues to resist my ministrations…. I’ve got the title and first stanza done, but it stalled there, so I’m letting it percolate some more, and maybe tonight I can open the correct vein so it will leak out onto the screen…. We can hope…. in the meantime, you will have to make do with another of history’s classic poets…. Let’s see what Google comes up with today….

Ah… perfect… I found the quote used in the final of today’s pearls, and it prompted me to look up Mr. Marlowe’s poems, which, as it turns out, are some of the more famous of those we studied in high school. Below I’ve included one of his most famous, and you will be able to see why it has survived the test of time….

The Passionate Shepherd to his Love

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers and a kirtle
Embroider’d all with leaves of myrtle:

A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold:

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning;
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

Christopher Marlowe
__________________________________

What we have here is the oldest form of a pearl of virtual wisdom…. When I first started writing the Pearls, I was working in offices for the State of California Department of Mental Health, and the daily efforts were short and to the point, whatever it might be. I’d begin with a short introduction, leading the Gentle Readers into the desired frame of mind to absorb the lesson of the day. This intro, about a paragraph, generally, would then be followed by one, or two, or sometimes, for a deeper lesson, three pearls that would lead in the desired direction….. So, here are two pearls, that formulate one idea, about how mankind approaches life in general, and a life of reason in particular….. It also kind of summarizes my whole belief system, if you squint your eyes just right….. To wit:

“Suppose that a great commotion arises in the street about something, let us say a lamp post, which many influential persons desire to pull down. A grey-clad monk, who is the spirit of the Middle Ages, is approached upon the matter, and begins to say, in the arid manner of the Schoolmen, “Let us first of all consider, my brethren, the value of Light. If Light be in itself good…” At this point he is somewhat excusably knocked down. All the people make a rush for the lamp post, the lamp post is down in ten minutes, and they go about congratulating each other on their unmedieval practicality. But as things go on they do not work out so easily. Some people have pulled the lamp post down because they wanted the electric light; some because they wanted old iron; some because they wanted darkness, because their deeds were evil. Some thought it not enough of a lamp post, some too much; some acted because they wanted to smash municipal machinery; some because they wanted to smash something. And there is war in the night, no man knowing whom he strikes. So, gradually and inevitably, today, tomorrow, or the next day, there comes back the conviction that the monk was right after all, and that all depends
on what is the philosophy of Light. Only what we might have discussed under the gas lamp, we now must discuss in the dark.” — G. K. Chesterton, Heretics_, 1905

“There is no sin but ignorance.” — Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
__________________________________

I find myself in a limbo-like mindset; it’s like my whole creative urge is being blunted, by the worry I’m feeling about my psychiatric appointment next week. Pearls are taking forever to find, or, if found, inspiration is lagging behind. It’s a pain, really, and I’ll be glad when that appointment is a thing of the past…. then I can go back into waiting mode, until the federal bureaucracy has finished chewing on my soon-to-be-corpse. I’m not even going to think about how hard THAT will be….

But, my tendency for groundless hope keeps telling me that once that wait is over, all should be well, so I’m buying into that, groundless though it may be…. Meanwhile, I hope these Pearls are not so bad they’re driving ffolkes away…. One of these days, I’ll have internet at home again, and I can take the time to read other ffolke’s blogs, instead of just cruising through and trying to catch up on the reader page…. Ah well, put it all aside, Ned, me lad, and get on with it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Stealing from politicians is not a crime, by definition….

Posted on September 23, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Far into the night, I searched within, only to find….. nada…. No quotes. No ideas. No nothing. So I went to bed, and figured the morning would bring some inspiration…. fat chance! Now I’m stuck, writing off the top of my head, which is already complaining. I may have to retreat back to bed, just to get away from the drama, which I do not enjoy, and refuse to put up with in my life at all anymore. I have even considered putting my No Drama Allowed sign up on my front door, just so it is clear to all and sundry who approach….. I have yet to do that one, but it’s close, it’s close….

For the nonce though, we’ll have to come up with something for today’s Pearl, which is looking a bit thin at this juncture. Aha! I’ve got an idea, and it should work well…. let’s go see….. Yep, I think it will work…. It may be disturbing to know, in this age of digital everything, but today’s quotes are all taken from books…. real, physical books, that I held in my hand and read by turning the pages….. It was fun….. and reassuring to know that even though my database of quotes is gone (until further notice), I still have a place to go to find what I need…. And it is a very fulfilling feeling to pull it out of the pages; I’ve always been a heavy reader, and it’s good to remember that real books are still the best source of, well, everything you want to know….

Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

“Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged few.” — Helen Keller

Being in my current position, it is natural to fall into the trap as described above by Ms. Keller. It reminds me in a way of the same thought from Socrates (I believe) who said, “If every man brought his troubles to a central place, where it was said that all men would bring theirs, and each would take away an equal amount, most would be happy to just take up their own troubles and go home.” I guess it has always been a natural tendency among us humans, to compare our own situation to that of others, and make a judgment about relative worth…. not an admirable trait, but understandable, given our ego-driven natures.

I do know for a fact that I am better off than most of the world; I am still overweight, and much of the world hasn’t enough food to ever get to that state. I also live indoors, with plumbing, and have enough clothing to cover myself in inclement weather. I have a steady, if currently small, source of income, even though retired. I have medical insurance, and even though the co-payments are hard to handle, I have no fear of not receiving medical care if needed. All of this is much more than probably 50% of the people alive on this planet have as resources, so I can hardly consider myself to be entirely poverty-stricken…. I’ve actually been there, or close to it, and this is not the same…..

One time, in my early twenties, I fell into an unemployed state for several months, and during the last month and a half, it got to the point where I was actually hungry a lot of the time. I was living in my truck, on the streets of Berkeley; the truck, fortunately, had a camper, so I did have a place to sleep and stay dry, but couldn’t ever get off the streets for long. I lived one entire month on a jar of peanut butter, some bread given to me by friends, and a jar of excellent multivitamins, which kept my teeth from falling out of my head from scurvy, and the like….. It was not a pleasant experience, at all, and I didn’t particularly enjoy the feelings of depression and despair that went along with it. At the end of the month of PB and vitamins, I was able to find a job, and have not been unemployed for long since then, for the most part.

Having felt at least some of what the folks who are stuck living in such poverty feel, I empathize with their situation completely. I also feel a great deal of disdain for the average American, who has no idea of how fortunate they are to be living in this country, where the opportunities to pull one’s self out of the hole of poverty are so much more available than in much of the rest of the world. I listen to these political pundits, screaming their outrage at how the poor are shiftless, and only want handouts, and to have society provide them with food and shelter, all at the expense of “hard-working Americans who pay taxes”, and I am completely filled with my own sense of outrage. These people have no idea of how lucky they are, or how little part they played in securing the resources they command, and have no idea at all of what it is like to not have those opportunities available to them.

These people are the same ones who spend so much time chasing the Devil, and spouting off about religion. They assume that the poor of the world are poor because God wants them to be that way, or that they are somehow responsible for their own poverty, having offended God. Ms. Keller also had something to say about them, which I believe completely, and share in her wish to see more of it in the world….

” It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.”

Pretty smart lady, that Helen Keller….. the world will never see her like again, and that is a shame, to be sure……
__________________________________

Children’s Rhymes

By what sends
the white kids
I ain’t sent:
I know I can’t
be President.
What don’t bug
them white kids
sure bugs me:
We know everybody
ain’t free.

Lies written down
for white folks
ain’t for us a-tall:
Liberty And Justice–
Huh!–For All?

Langston Hughes

This poem gives voice to and defines the vast distance that still exists in this country between the folks who feel this way, and their opposite numbers on the other side of the issue. Racism is alive and all-too-well in this country, and this election is proof of that pudding. The Republican Party has adopted a platform that just barely avoids outright statement of such bigotry, but not by much. Their inner circle has already made public that the agenda of the GOP is to make Obama a one term President; there is no mention of taxes or the economy, jobs, medical insurance, war, or any other of the possible issues that are under the public eye. Their single goal is to get the black man out of the Oval Office; they don’t care, obviously, how many people they alienate in their efforts, either, as they chose the single most contentious candidate possible.

Yesterday, or the day before, I mentioned that this country is at a crossroads, which elicited some support among commenters, with good reason. This election is going to show exactly how many people are still out there ready to buy into any set of lies in order to maintain their own bigoted outlook. The Romney/Ryan team, and the GOP, has given up any hope of mainstream acceptance, and has sided with the fundamentalists and fanatics who believe that government should be secondary to religion. They have managed to alienate about 75-80% of the American public with their fascist, religion-based platform, while still garnering the support of millions of dim-witted people who are only concerned with their racist agendas. The campaign has already shown how racism has survived intact, and on election day, every bigot, every fanatic, and every religious nut in the country is going to vote to show their support for policies that will be the worst possible thing that could happen to them, all because they believe that a black man should not be President.

I am appalled, not only by the actual people who are voicing these asinine concepts, but by the media, who reports what the GOP candidates say, just as if it made any sense, thereby lending credence to the idiocy they espouse. But, I am also encouraged at the response to all of this, which appears to be swinging in favor of the incumbent President. All the most recent polls show the Democrats to be leading, in every issue, and the GOP campaign is scrambling around in terror, in absolute shock that their policies are being rejected by the majority of Americans. I am growing more hopeful of an outcome that we can live with, instead of one that promises to send society into chaos. It may be a slim hope, but it is a strong one, and I can only hold good thoughts for the ascendancy of reason over ignorance in our society in the years to come…..
__________________________________

I came upon a treasure trove of quotes in one of my copies of the Bathroom Reader’s Institute’s tomes, called Uncle John’s Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader…. If you are unfamiliar with these books, take the time to access their website, where you can get a good idea of what they are like…. fun, interesting, and chock full of both nonsense, and sense…. Here are a series of quotes from some modern and historical figures, all of which pertain to the current campaign for the Presidency in this country…. at least peripherally….. These all have a pointed remark that leads us to some disturbing conclusions about public life in America, but, what else is new?…..

“Fundamentalism isn’t about religion. It’s about power.” — Salman Rushdie

“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“A little learning, indeed, may be a dangerous thing, but the want of learning is a calamity for any people.” — Frederick Douglas

“The universe is an intelligence test.” — Timothy Leary

“There is no place in a fanatics head where reason can enter.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honor.” — Benjamin Disraeli

There, that should lead to the proper level of confusion and glassy eyes…. I’m just glad the polls are showing some progress in the number of folks who have come to realize that the Romney/Ryan ticket would be disastrous, for everyone, not just a few. Perhaps there is still a chance for common sense to assume a place in public life…. one can always hope…..
__________________________________

Another odd Pearl today, ffolkes…. it’s getting to be a habit. I can’t say it wasn’t fun, trying to figure out how to create material out of nothing much, but I think I’d rather try to get back to the old routine one of these days…. This waiting game is getting tedious, to be sure, and I will be very glad when something happens to change my situation….. It is said that having to wait for change leads to patience, but in this case, I wish they would just keep their bloody mouths shut…. I guess I’m getting cranky, which is understandable, if not desirable. So be it……. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

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: Helen Keller

Baklava, balaclava, it’s all Greek to an Armenian….

Growing signs of increasingly bizarre pistachios….

Free speech, with a side order of lies….

Salvation lay in perfecting a peony in fuchsia….

Safely ensconced in warm socks….

Stealing from politicians is not a crime, by definition….

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