Admirably turgid, for a first try, sir….

Ffolkes,

“And, as in uffish thought he stood
The Jabberwork, with eyes of flame
Came wiffling through the tulgey wood
And burbled as it came”

~~ “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll ~~

white cat

Random suspicious white cat….

Hajime…. For good reason, which shall remain sub rosa, today’s Pearl is both late, and, odder than even I had hoped. Not that ‘odd’ is anything we try to avoid; generally, in fact, we court it. But, due to the afore(not)mentioned reason, the degree of oddity damn near went off the scale. But, it’s all good, for our purposes, anyway, so, rather than dwell on the past, let’s move on… Hey, who’s driving this bus? That’s right….

Okay, so, no worries. I took off the hat I was wearing, & put on a more conservative model, so, things might straighten out from this point. Hope springs eternal, right? Now, where was I? Oh, right. We’re in the intro section, frantically attempting to turn the bus into a driveway four feet too narrow to fit into, while simultaneously ignoring the growing noise from the frightened passengers. I guess if I could find the brakes, it would help, but, we couldn’t afford a bus with brakes, so, everyone will need to adjust their monitors accordingly. The tools for doing so are located under the seat, in case this is your first trip with us.

How’s that? Better? No? Hmm… I’m losing it, aren’t I? I’d hoped to find some rationality down this aisle, but, there doesn’t seem to be much here but more smarm & idiocy. Well, we’ll just go check out, then, & be done with it. Often, the act of abandoning ship is cathartic enough to shock me back into correct alignment, but, by the sounds of this one, it could take a good while to get anywhere near that state. I know, here’s what we’ll do, instead….

Shall we Pearl?

“The tree of deepest root is found
Least willing still to quit the ground:
‘T was therefore said by ancient sages,
That love of life increased with years
So much, that in our latter stages,
When pain grows sharp and sickness rages,
The greatest love of life appears.”

~~ Mrs. Thrale (1739-1821) — Three Warnings ~~

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

As is our standard habit on such days, we’ll be going with a default selection for our video. Go figure, eh? Try to enjoy it anyway, ‘kay?….

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Classical Music

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Comedy_Tragedy

Confidentially Paranoid

Only when the bright sunlight of dreams draws nigh
can the dark glass of reality factor true value..
Destiny’s horses run in fear as time goes dry,
for grappling with fate in such traitorous venue.

In pallid costumes made of graven cast-off tales,
fallen angels and demons show the measure of faith.
No sad transactions should escape these well-marked trails,
no angry relatives cast insults to a sedentary wraith.

Meaning can always hide in literal cold intent,
yet show mere facets of honor to perishable youth.
Sincere contentions leave with sorrowful bent,
while bastardly arguments fill in poorly for the truth.

Gone are moments filled with florid blasts of rhyme
left to molder on the shoulders of unreasonable hope.
Only courage can save these measures of unspoken time
to gather new issues, powerfully broad, painful in scope.

~~ gigoid ~~

2/25/2015

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

What? What?….

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“Few people have the imagination for reality.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”
“Is there something wrong with the one I have?”

~~ — Gillian & Spock, “The Voyage Home,” stardate 8390 ~~

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“Nothing in human affairs is worth any great anxiety.”

~~ Plato ~~

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“People are strange.”

~~ The Doors ~~

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“It’s that moment of dawning comprehension I live for.”

~~ Hobbes ~~

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“It is good for a man to eat thistles and to remember that he is an ass.”

~~ E. S. Dallas ~~

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“If you don’t understand what I just said, don’t worry. Neither do I.”

~~ gigoid, the dubious, regularly ~~

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Tomorrow, for those who may notice, I may, or may not, be here. Today, I prep for the event scheduled for early afternoon tomorrow, a process not unlike that of descending into the depths of hell for 3 hours, after first starving oneself for the day. I am tasked to do it again in the morning, submit to a period of unconsciousness, & finally, make the return to relative normality, all in hope of improving my health. As is patently clear, I am neither sanguine, nor particularly happy about it; I’m afraid my confidence in the modern medical model is somewhat frayed.

However, the die is cast, & needs must, as always, Mr. & Mrs. Wyndigate. The upshot is, getting a Pearl done may take a while, as I am not as young as I was, & recovery takes longer…. Odds are running about even, but, fluctuating over time, so, hedge all your bets. Me, I’m going into my cocoon for a while, to protect what little sanity I possess…. 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

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Featured image

À bientôt, mon cherí….

The gods of irony are laughing….

Ffolkes,

“The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.”

~~ Mohandas K., ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi ~~

where is it

I know I left it in here….

Hajime…. To say so may engender comments, or, at least, the general impression, that my curmudgeon status is in full force, but, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort and chagrin for much of yesterday, as I observed a large portion of humanity celebrating their particular form of madness, in the form of a paroxysm of common delusion, sharing the apparent unconscious joy of surrendering their rationality for a promise of supernatural intervention after they die. I suppose it is only fitting to also observe a world on the brink of a nuclear holocaust, as those most lacking in rationality lead the mass of their unwitting accomplices to extinction….

But, nonetheless, that’s the way I see it, & it wouldn’t be honest to not say so. Regardless of anyone’s beliefs, reality has come to a cusp for our species, & I can’t see much, or, for that matter, any evidence we will alter our rush to our own demise, for there are not nearly enough of us who can see the problem we face, or help the rest realize their failure to reason. Moreover, though it is difficult to accept, there is little reason to think reality will allow us to deny our own nature any longer, but, will assert its prerogatives in a way we will have no choice but to accede. In short, we’re pretty well up the creek, and there’s no paddle in sight.

Rather than dwell on that which I cannot personally change, I think I’ll just put together a Pearl, with some of what I see, and can guess, as some of the elements; this, while not likely to cause anyone to turn activist, or reformer, or any other possibly helpful state of mind, will have the simple effect of keeping me from hurrying anyone along the path we are already treading; I have to keep reminding myself it isn’t my job, or, my destiny, to fix anything; it’s only my task to observe, and report. So be it. It may not be the most ethical path, but, ’tis the one I can choose without abandoning all I know to be true….

That’s a bit cryptic, & possibly depressing, as well, but, such is life, sometimes. Wait a minute! What’s this?

A gray, bent old man just appeared; he’s wandering about the room, touching my stuff, & giggling to himself, somewhat madly….. Suddenly, he says, “Don’t you have something you’re supposed to be doing?”…. SIGH…. He’s right, so, we’ll go ahead, now, & just do it…..

Shall we Pearl?

“You can’t get wet from the word ‘water’.”

~~ Alan Watts ~~

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JANIS_JOPLIN_pearl_album_cover__

I’m in the mood for some old-time rock & roll, & for a blog that posts Pearls, what better music to turn to than that of this lady? She was, after all, known for a time as ‘Pearl’….. The video I’ve included is part of a collection of most of her live concert videos…. Enjoy, ffolkes; Janis had a voice that arrowed straight into the bones, & made itself felt….

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Janis Joplin Live

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Comedy_Tragedy

Augmentation: Inner Aye

Distant, peals of thunder, vividly.
Closer, a patter of rain, falling gravidly.
Between the light and the darkness of fear
find merely the remnants of one lonely tear.

Do not hate us, though we have not sinned;
eager for courage, upon whom all hope is pinned.
Tales of insolence, hatred, or fallen virtue
fill us up, not down, in such pristine foreign venue.

Capable hands severed, able hands tied;
the future is angry, all but now denied.
Multiple times, warnings sounded across the pale
nobody heard, nobody came to tell the tale.

Gifted by time, salience fails in epic rhyme;
watchmakers watching, each a separate crime.
Logical solutions refuse to emulsify
forever pretending to cruelly crucify.

Blood will fly alongside pertinent composure,
never seeking, never finding tea, or closure.
Falsely laid trails on mountains of gold
imply no happy endings, no fortunes told.

Ages past have no time for repetition;
further chances only lead to perdition.
Destiny feels a shameful portion of guilt,
for a thousand sand castles, never built.

~~ gigoid ~~

3/2/2016

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

Notes on Transcendence….

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“It’s that moment of dawning comprehension I live for.”

~~ Hobbes ~~

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“In order to make an apple pie from scratch,
you must first create the universe.”

~~ Carl Sagan, “Cosmos” ~~

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“Never let the future disturb you.
You will meet it, if you have to,
with the same weapons of reason
which today arm you against the present.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ~~

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“I say love, it is a flower; and you, it’s only seed.”

~~ Bette Midler. “The Rose” ~~

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“Education is an admirable thing,
but it is well to remember from time to time
that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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“Time present and time past
are both perhaps present in time future.
What might have been and what is
all point to the same end,
that which is always present.”

~~ T.S. Eliot, “Burnt Norton” ~~

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“You only live twice:
Once when you’re born,
Once when you look death in the face.”

~~ Ian Fleming ~~

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Well, it’s done, in spite of having to resort to literary trickery, just to free ourselves from the burgeoning rant in the intro section. All the elements are present, so, we’ll go ahead & post this, just as if it were worthy. I’ll make it a point to try again, perhaps tomorrow…. Until then, y’all be careful out there, & stay alert. Things are becoming even more strange than we can imagine….. Imagine what THAT is going to be like, if you dare….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Is that an igloo?….

Ffolkes,

“Where there is much light there is also much shadow.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

posing-leelu

A moment of peaceful contemplation…

Hajime…. Below, y’all will find a Pearl. It’s a good Pearl. It’s been created in the past couple days, bit by bit, as the opportunity to sit arose, or was noted as necessary, if not exactly condoned. Suffice it to say, it’s done, and will do for the nonce. I don’t have anything else to say, really, so, I’ll forgo the usual amount of nonsense, & limit myself to this lone paragraph. Y’all can tell me sometime later whether you think it works, or, not. Of course, that makes the assumption, perhaps without warrant, that I’ll actually pay attention. But, life is full of uncertainty, isn’t it? Why, yes. Yes, it is. For now, what is certain is, I am done with this, and we can now get this slow on the toad…. Watch closely, or, it will shoot right past, without anyone noticing….

Shall we Pearl?

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside, dreams.
Who looks inside, awakens.”

~~ Carl Jung ~~

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pinterest-edie-b

Edie Brickell

Image from Pinterest via Google Images

Though I’ve heard this lady’s music on the radio, I never pursued any of it beyond that; I see now that was a mistake, for she’s done some rather fine work. In addition, she seems to find a lot of rather excellent musicians to play with her, as well as being married to Paul Simon, not a bad performer himself…. Ah, well, we can’t listen to it all, but, I’ll be listening to her more, for sure…. Enjoy!….

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Edie Brickell & Friends

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Comedy_Tragedy

Dreaming of Calliope

La belle dame sans merci speaks aloud through endless night,
torturing dreams, with powerful words and stentorian phrases.
Manifest visions bathed in unbearable grace and light,
destroying all direction, standing lost, in unfathomable mazes.

Fate plays a part, one that will never face denial,
as fear and courage eternally vie for ascendancy.
Conflict becomes valid, gifting strength in open trial,
but honest emotion wears no costume so fancy.

Blood, sweat, and tears stroll on avenues of gold,
unlikely heroines heralding as in ancient lore;
Sharp, competent knives cut through tales untold,
eternally shifting reality past the naked shore.

Drifting toward origin, bereft of mandate or cause,
finished, nay, abandoned, tied with a figurative bow.
No simple gift from muses to give comfort or pause,
save that all we need to know, we already know…..

~~ gigoid ~~

12/13/2012

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

Subtle notes on process & program….

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“First things first, but not necessarily in that order.”

~~ Doctor Who, MEGLOS ~~

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

~~ Albert Einstein

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“We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.”

~~ Robert Frost “The Secret Sits” 1936 ~~

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“Always store beer in a dark place.”

~~ Lazarus Long

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“Are all your stars shining?”

~~ JD Salinger ~~

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“I think it’s good that everyone becomes food.”

~~ Hobbes, the Tiger ~~

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“It’s a fool’s life,
a rogue’s life,
and a good life
if you keep laughing all the way to the grave.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

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Today’s Pearl is, in at least one respect, a most efficient, and iconic example of the genre. Moreover, I’ll not detract from that pristine nature by waxing overly philosophic, or extensively, here at the end. Instead, I’ll merely say, I hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll do it again, soon as I can. Meantime, y’all be alert, stay as happy as you may, & all will be well. How else can it be, but what it is?…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3

À bientôt, mon cherí….

The thirteenth of always….

Ffolkes,

“If we find what is unique to each day,
we will have freshness
and the greatest fulfillment possible.”

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

lap look

Where’s my lap?….


Hajime…. There are days here at ECR when we have to trust the process; today is such a day. The Pearl is done, such as it is. It’s been a tough night, and morning, due to the night; ’nuff said on that, so, we’ll leave it in the past. Moving on, we have an archived politirant from 2013, unproofed, so it may be a bit pedantic, as I’ve learned a bit about writing since then. There’s a decent poem, and a decent old-school pearl. The music is a nod to the weather being suffered this winter by our friends in the Eastern US & Canada…. Thus, as you see, done, but for the blurb here, and at the end….

So be it. We’re gonna let it fly, as is….. This is how that looks….

Shall we Pearl?….

“There is nothing a man can do to guarantee success,
but there is nothing that can defeat him if he won’t give up.”

~~ Greg Praino ~~


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jimmy_buffett

The Original Parrot Head


Today’s music is for those Gentle Readers locked into their homes by the snow this winter…. Changes in latitudes, as this man knows, results in changes in attitudes…. Hopefully, this will warm y’all up a bit…. Enjoy your trip to the tropics….


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Jimmy Buffet
Live in Anguilla

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We the People...

    Running late again, so, here is a politirant from the archives…. I have not re-proofed it, so it’s liable to be a trifle pedantic; it’s a gift….It’s also just a filler, ffolkes; if you decide to skip it, I won’t be hurt….. Disappointed, as, in the process of moving what I’ve been working on, I lost all of it…. C’est la fucking vie…. Try to enjoy this one, if you can, while I weep in the background….

From 3/7/2013:

“It is useless for sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion.” — William Ralph Inge, D. D.  1860 – 1954

I’ve seen this little statement before, and like it a lot, for its honesty in describing our Beloved Ruling Class in relation to the flock of sheep that comprises most of mankind. And, yes, this is the beginning of another politirant….. This one is prompted by the most recent activities that our leaders, if such word applies, have been shown to be engaged in by the news outlets I watch…. to wit: the legislation under review and up for vote in the House of Reps that is concerned with the economy, to wit: the “sequester”, and the recent comments by the POTUS re: global warming and climate change…. Let’s see what we can note about these issues, shall we?….

I have noticed that the Congress, and the POTUS, are currently at odds, as usual, over the economy, and arguing over how to address an issue over which they have absolutely no control…. I just don’t get it, actually…. There is no evidence whatsoever that anything the government does, or has ever done, about the economy has any effect at all on it…. none. Zero. Zilch. Nada damn thing…. The economy of the world, or even just this nation, is not subject to any manipulation by us; it’s too big, too amorphous…. It’s like trying to herd cats…. a lot of effort for small results, and you end up with a bunch of pissed off felines… If you know anything about cats, you will realize that this is never a good thing….

Yet, because the public demands that something be done, the politicians start their idiotic posturing, pontificating, and, otherwise polluting the airwaves with nonsensical suggestions as to what should be done to fix the problems. NONE of those ever work, nor will they ever work; the economy does not move according to any rules that we can control, or even know, and any action we take is just as liable to have a bad effect as a good one….. But, the public wants the government to fix it, so they try to make noises as if they actually could do something helpful, when in fact, anything they do is as liable to hurt as to help….. Sad, but, true as the day is long….

It’s actually kind of fun watching the contortions they go through for issues such as this; since I know for a fact that none of it will have any real effect on the issue, I can enjoy the parade without worrying about whether it will actually do anything useful…. It is a bit depressing to watch, since I am aware of just how little can be done, but, the show can be entertaining, and it does pass the time… The depressing part is knowing that the public is actually buying all of what they are saying, and really do expect something to change for the better… But, then, I am always amazed at the depth of human stupidity. I don’t know why, as I KNOW how dumb people can be… I am one, you know…. but, it always is a surprise to see just how deeply that stupidity is ingrained in the human condition…

Of course, this stupidity is part and parcel of why we are experiencing the second issue I mentioned above… global warming and overpopulation. I will be very interested to see exactly how the POTUS intends to address the issue, as he has promised to do, several times now since his inauguration. Since the issue is well advanced beyond the point that most people think it is, it will be a telling factor in deciding how seriously the issue is being taken, and whether or not it will have any chance at all of being either enough, or soon enough… Both of these are critical factors, as the point of no-return for the ecological balance of this planet is so near, it may have already been passed some months ago…..

I’m not sure how scientifically minded many of y’all are, but, I am… scientifically minded, that is, and I can tell you without fear of contradiction (from anyone with any reliable scientific knowledge, anyway….) that the atmosphere of this planet is, without doubt, and without evidence to the contrary, on the very edge of becoming unbreathable for humans…. The millions of tons of carbon monoxide and other toxic substances that are being pumped into the air EVERY SECOND, and that has been pumped in now for over a hundred years, has reached the point where it will begin a process of leaching oxygen from the air, and the balance of gases we need to survive will change, hell, IS changing, and fairly rapidly, until it is no longer of a balance that we can safely breathe… This is scientific FACT, not speculation, not a guess.. the process has already begun, the only question remaining is, how quickly will it happen?

“In the game of life you get to choose where you keep your brain – heads you win, tails you lose.” — Smart Bee

So, we’ll see where the POTUS keeps his brain, as he speaks in the next few days about this issue… Whatever he decides to do, you can bet that it won’t be enough, and it won’t make a damn bit of difference, other than in a few Presidential approval polls, perhaps. After all, even though he is a fairly reform oriented politician, he is still a politician, and you can lay good money, without fear of losing, on the fact that whatever he does is designed to benefit him and his Presidency, and any benefit for the public is a secondary concern….

He IS a politician, after all, and his primary concern is for his own success; it’s NOT the welfare of the people… He has merely discovered that being the “People’s Champion” is currently a good political stance to take…. if it ever becomes too itchy a coat to wear, he will take it off in a heartbeat…. Count on it…. You don’t get to that level of the game without being a complete asshole in some respects, and I don’t think anyone who WANTS to be President can be accused of not being ambitious, and, in the process, sociopathic….

“No people in the world ever did achieve their freedom by goody-goody talk and moral suasion: it being immutable law that all revolutions that will succeed, must begin in blood, whatever the answer afterward. If history teaches anything, it teaches that.” — Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)

In this case, we aren’t talking about freedom, unless by that one means, freedom to stay alive…. and the BRC isn’t going to do anything about it, I don’t believe…. Or, rather, I’ll believe it when I see it, and, so far, no dice in that respect. I’m enough of a cynic to believe, sadly, that it isn’t GOING to happen, either… because I don’t believe that the POTUS, or the rest of the BRC, gives a damn about the rest of us, as long as they have their own….. This much is obvious from history, but, when did mankind at large ever pay any attention to history?….

If you have some evidence that contradicts that belief, I would dearly love to see it…. Truly, I would, because, quite frankly, my own intelligence, and the evidence I have now, forces me to conclude that we humans are shortly about to come to a bad end…. not with a bang, not with a whimper, but, choking to death in our own planet’s toxic air, victims to our own stupidity, and cupidity….

Daniel: “We’re damned if we do, we’re damned if we don’t; we need other options…” — from Stargate

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Comedy_Tragedy

Serendipity Morning

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

4/1/2013


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ankh (2)

Naked Pearls

Lesser Known Stuff re: Life at Large

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“No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

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“I think it’s good that everyone becomes food.”

~~ Hobbes ~~

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“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe,
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest,
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
 This delusion is a kind of prison,
restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures
and the whole nature in its beauty.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

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“I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years,
and I’m happy, Doctor, I finally won out over it.”

~~ Elwood P. Dowd ~~
~~ played by Jimmy Stewart in Harvey, 1950. ~~

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“A man makes no noise over a good deed,
but passes on to another
as a vine to bear grapes again in season.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations, v, 6 ~~

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“In handling a stinging insect, move very slowly.”

~~ Lazurus Long ~~

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“Character is that which can do without success.”

~~ Emerson ~~

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“An infinite universe presents infinite examples of unreasoned acts,
often capricious and threatening,
godlike in their mystery.
Without god-powers, conscious reasoning
cannot explore and make this universe absolutely known;
there must remain mysteries beyond what is explained.
The only reason in this universe is that which you,
in your ungodlike hubris, project onto the universe.
In this, you retain kinship with your most primitive ancestors.”

~~ Raja Flattery, “The Jesus Incident”, Frank Herbert ~~

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“The worst fear is the fear of living.”

~~ Theodore Rosevelt ~~

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“Entropy requires no maintenance.”

~~ Amanda Walker ~~

***********

“Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.”

~~ Ancient Human Wisdom ~~


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As noted in the intro, we’re trusting the process today; this means I’ll be out of touch a while, to forgo any unpleasantness, should this prove to be less acceptable than we calculated. Ah, well; so be it. My Gentle Readers can take anything; they do, after all, hang out here…. As for me, well, we’ll try this again tomorrow, to see if we can’t find some elegance or actual literature in there somewhere…. Until then, y’all try to stay strange, because it’s cool out there…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Our annual pre-apocalypse sale….

Ffolkes,

“It is impossible to get anywhere without sinning against reason.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

mars_gallery_habitat_1

Artist’s rendition of Mars One Habitat: Image from Space.com


Pleasant morning distractions finished, I sit to write, after a two-day hiatus…. The lay-off, while necessary, and fairly successful in terms of meeting goals set, was, nonetheless, too long for my sanity. But I’ll not regale y’all with any of the internal indications which complicate matters; instead, I’ll just say, it’s done for now, and we can go on…. It’s no doubt for the best, anyway…. Y’all wouldn’t be either thrilled, or particularly enchanted, by what I’ve put myself through, so, we’ll leave it all where it belongs, in the past….

Since I shan’t be talking about my time off, what can I find to say to get us started? Well, your guess, in this case, as in many in the past, is as good as mine. I suppose I AM in charge, nominally, but, I think it’s obvious that has never made much of a dent in Reality’s attention; if it had, you’d see a lot less dithering and angst displayed here. I wonder what might happen if I…. no, better not. Last time I tried that, I fell into the royal “we” mode, babbling about our opinions, our clothing, and our royal prerogatives until everyone was doubtlessly sick of it. It took me three days to clean it out of my style….

Ah well, I suppose none of it matters now. We’re here, in a new Pearl, with a full tank of gas, and several new oyster beds to explore…. Since I can’t think of anything else to bore you with here, I guess we can bring this to a halting stop, counting our blessings to have made it this far without any explosions…. Tough to do with the pressure gauge running so high, so, we’ll be thankful, while we’re diving, okay?…. Okay….

Shall we Pearl?

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

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carlos_santana_fond_ecran

Image from ravepad.com via Google stock images


Whenever I think of the world’s best music, ALL of this man’s work must be included…. I listened to this concert, to make sure it was good enough to put here…. I won’t ever forget again just how much genius he displays when playing; he is, truly, one of the finest musicians ever to share his inner vision with the world….. I give you, the One, the Only, Carlos….

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Carlos Santana

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https://youtu.be/48z01HxVtjA

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le penseur-rodin

Le Penseur ~~ The Thinker

Auguste Rodin ~~ Image from The Rodin Museum Website


A small discourse from a couple years ago, since I didn’t write ANYTHING while gone…. I’ll get to it…. For now, this will do….

From 2/25/2013:

“I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair.  Then I thought, wouldn’t it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?  So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.”– Marcus, Babylon 5

Marcus brings up an interesting point here, when he talks of the general hostility of the universe. I don’t think he quite has a handle on the actual shape of Reality, though; in his desire to avoid responsibility for his own cupidity, he casts the universe as the villain in his play. Our universe isn’t hostile to us, as he would like to think. Unfair? Yes. Hostile? No…. The universe really doesn’t give a crap about us, one way or another. Things seem unfair, not because they are stacked against us, but, rather, because they are not stacked in our favor, a slight but distinct difference…..

Reality plays no favorites, beyond a tendency to allow itself to be adjusted by those who have an understanding of how it works, without granting them any dispensation, but rather rewarding their cleverness and wit. Those who believe the universe is out to get them are defenseless against the trials and tribulations that are a natural part of living, because they begin from an attitude of helplessness. Those who at least have the confidence to act in their own behalf, to stand up against the demands of Fate, are much more able to achieve their goals, than anyone who allows Reality to push them wherever they end up, without any direction made by choice…..

Thus, it becomes clear, courage, as well as knowledge, is necessary to the ability to confront Reality on its own terms. Not only is it necessary to pay attention to the way the universe works, seeking to learn how it interacts among all its parts, but, ’tis necessary to have the courage to act on what is known, according to what the person believes to be right, in a moral sense. Of course, the universe doesn’t care one way or another if we are moral; it rewards those who act out of immorality as well, if they are bold enough to act. We just feel better about ourselves if we act from right thought, making it easier for others to do the same. Acting immorally only benefits the one who is doing the acting…..

It should be noted, cowardice is also rewarded by the universe; the rewards aren’t very palatable, seeing our every wish denied, our every act dismissed, as incompetent, illegal, or just plain dumb….. Lack of courage, along with lack of knowledge thus become their own rewards, thereby allowing the person’s misguided views about reality lead them into issue after issue of conflict with the rest of reality. In this way, they continually reinforce their own misapprehensions, and  the universe is out to get them, and everyone else…. This, in spite of the fact that they are looking at, and dealing with, the same Reality as everyone else, who don’t all seem to have the same problem…. Instead of giving them a clue that maybe they should do things differently, they merely assume that the other people have cheated them somehow…. because that is what they would do….

It’s really too bad in some ways, that so large a percentage of humanity is so lacking in courage and wit as to find the view stated above to be congruent with their own view of the way the universe operates; it’s part of what makes it so easy for those in the BRC and the 1% to control them, and to pull the wool over their eyes. These folks are so convinced of their own helplessness in the face of all they don’t understand, they will latch onto almost anything someone tells them, if it soothes their fears, and gives them someone or something other than themselves to blame for their misfortunes…. Sad, but true, and a perfect description of what has transpired in society for several thousand years now, as the BRC keeps the majority of humanity in the proverbial dark about what is true, and what is real….. They’ve had a lot of practice, and they’re very good at it….

But, then, it isn’t hard to control someone who is brainwashed to believe that it is the way reality is, so I can’t say it is due to any particularly large degree of wit or talent that allows them to do so…. It is more that the folks who they control are so stupid, they ask to be controlled, because they can’t, and more importantly, won’t, trust themselves to do it….. Sad, but true….

At his point in this narrative, I am becoming a bit enraged, a not uncommon reaction to a rant about the BRC and the 1%…. Heck, this time, I didn’t even have to mention the papists or preachers who are their shock troops, on the front lines of the brainwashing process, in order to get upset and angry over their machinations…. until now. My rage is growing, as it always tends to do when I start to rant on this subject, and I’m not ready to deal with the consequences of letting it get any bigger right now…. too much other stuff to get to today. But, just let me say this…..

Those in our society who deliberately control others for their own benefit are my enemies. I believe them to be responsible for virtually ALL of the social ills we have, as well as the global and environmental issues that are threatening our very survival as a species. They are, for their own personal benefit, hoarding the resources of the planet, and refusing to share them with the remainder of humanity, all because they can, and they want to. The welfare of others is of no concern to them, so they automatically become my foes, in my battle to try to make a world my children, and grandchild, can have the opportunity to live a full and complete life of their own, without being oppressed and controlled by assholes who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves….. As my old martial arts instructor used to say…. “Fuck ’em….. hard.”…..

— “Bother!”, said Pooh, as he dropped his bombs.

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lao

   

This one just seems to fit here….

Seeing is Conducive to Belief

Folly sits so comfortably upon my fevered brow
one would easily believe that I would know how
to look at Life with a jaded, weary eye
seeing enough, and more, to know Why.

Such seems the case, as I will it to be,
an open book of a face, it looks so like me;
what’s known to be so, needs no close attention
familiar sights require no minding, nor mention.

The eye is drawn at once to the stark and new,
and sent back to sleep by successful review.
Once we find evidence we feel we understand,
curiosity languishes, dismissed at command.

Ancient sages knew the insidious value of illusion,
preachers and pundits know the power of confusion.
Each pair of eyes contains its own point of reference,
each mind sets its own standards of preference.

Seeing is believing, for those who live in thrall,
accepting what is perceive is all they ever recall.
Unknown to them, reality follows another set of rules,
Deeper, more dangerous, and no place for fools.

~~ gigoid ~~


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Scottish eve- Irish morn

    Today’s final, old-school pearl is as fresh, and as classical a pearl you’ll ever see. Well, fresh when created, anyway. Let it be enough to know, it’s all new, to me, and y’all, so, y’all should likely pay close attention. This one’s about life, but, not exactly from the viewpoint to which we’re all accustomed. I can’t say exactly what my subconscious mind was up to, but, it seems to work just fine…. I’ll let it percolate, as should you, to let it bring whatever piece/peace there may be to perceive into focus….

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

“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.” — Leonardo da Vinci

“I like a bit of a mongrel myself, whether it’s a man or a dog; they’re the best for every day.” — George Bernard Shaw  1856-1950, Misalliance [1910], episode I

“Like jug, like lid” — Ingrained Serbian Proverb

“He who dies with the most FRIENDS wins.” — Smart Bee

“The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” — Charles DuBois

“What I like is when you’re looking and thinking and looking and thinking…  and suddenly you wake up.” — Hobbes

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” — Philip K. Dick

“How could the drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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It feels pretty good to be back; I hope the results justify the process, and the break taken. If not, well, we do get another chance tomorrow, don’t we? Or, rather, don’t I? I suppose, in this case, “we” isn’t all that inappropriate, as I continue to drag y’all along with me while I pursue my personal folly…. Ah well, it could be worse, I suppose…. I could have left out all the artwork…. think how boring THAT would be….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. fair warning….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Featured image


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Truth, in today’s world, is a commodity…..

Ffolkes,

“Bend the powers of your spirit, and the force of your mind . . .”

~~ Anonymous — (1576) ~~

2-16-2015 002
Beauty, Laughing at the Cage


Don’t worry too much about the title today, ffolkes. Remember, it has nothing, or little, to do with today’s Pearl. It merely reflects the difficulty of the search for something different up there; there are no plans to settle into a depressive mood right off the bat. Of course, I discovered long ago, plans also have little to do with what happens here; I stopped making them a while back. It seemed a bit futile to keep making them, only to toss them out after the first paragraph or two…

This will, no doubt, give my regular readers a clue as to the state of my mind thus far today…. Yes, you’re correct. I’m burnt. Fried to crisp. Done, medium well. Left too long in the sun. In short, I’m tired, and I just got out of bed, having slept an honest six hours, in three pleasant bursts of two, and no TD to deal with…. bonus. It seems I am finally getting adjusted, to a small degree, to the further reduction in the meds I’m being deprived of by my HMO, which apparently feels it is its function to punish anyone who feels they have any rights….

Dodged a bullet there, ffolkes. I damn near fell right into a rant, right in front of y’all…. Thankfully, I noticed, right away, when I typed the word “rights”…. Dead giveaway I’m about to go off on something, or somebody…. In this case, it’s too damn early, and though I’m in the proper mood to rant, my left arm is useless, and my hands are not up to anything remotely resembling long-distance typing, as is required to rant properly. I have the distinct feeling you’ll not see a fresh rant today, but, something from the archives; lucky you….

And, lucky me, apparently, because the mere mention of an archived rant made my arm feel better…. I suppose this means my own body is starting to manipulate me, just like the BRC tries to do to me daily, with their sly, unobtrusive forays into people’s minds, with commercials, news videos, and TV shows, all running 24 hour mind-control blurbs to keep the public conditioned to believe whatever they hear on a radio, or a TV set, or, even in their own computers….

I don’t believe I’ve ever shared one of the emails I get each day, from one of our society’s master manipulators, to wit, Barry the Obama, and his crew of young, brainwashed geeks, molding the behavior and opinions of the public via the email route, sending us videos, and more videos, of various political personages doing things to make us all believe they’re working for us, when, in fact, they are so far into the banker’s pockets, we can’t see their feet….

Yep, every day, the White House sends me several emails, often with a scripted video, just for the email audience, showing the latest lie they want us to believe, whether about their newest fake reforms, or explaining their Constitutionally illegal activities (of which there are legion….) by telling the most outrageous fibs I think I’ve ever heard, even from politicians! Sometimes they even want us to reassure them we are listening, by responding to their email in some way…. They don’t realize some of us know this is just another attempt to ascertain whether their shaping is working; those on whom it works, no doubt, reply every time they press that button…

I kind of enjoy getting them; the little thrill I get, deep down in my gut, is quite pleasant, each time I press the delete button, laughing maniacally as I watch it disappear into cyber-oblivion…. Like a little orgasm…. I like it, and it keeps me aware of what they’re trying to put over on everybody…. Of course, it also lets them know I’m not biting, because I never respond to any of their insistent demands to share the videos they send us, or respond to any of their requests to reply…. I probably should, to keep them in the dark, but. it’s too much fun to have them keep asking me why I never send any money…

Okay, that’s it… I fell into a rant anyway… Sorry ’bout that. Good thing my left hand went numb, reminding me I was typing too long…. Quick break, then we’ll get this slow on the road…. Okay, I’m good, and, I promise, I’ll confine any more ranting to the proper section…. Oh, look, there is a convenient path down to the oyster beds…. Let’s take advantage of it, and get the hell out of this intro…. If we don’t, this could go on forever, and, none of us wants that….

Shall we Pearl?

Unfortunately, we have a new requirement, placed upon us by the gods of blogging. Before going on today, each of our Gentle Readers must sing the following, then proceed to the next section…. No, “sing” is not a typo. You CAN’T sign it, it’s on MY screen, so, you have to sing it. It’s a required field., so you won’t be able to scroll down until you do…. Pretend I’m a talking head, from Nike Corp….. Just do it…. and, no cheating.

I have read and understood the above. X_________________

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George Carlin(Picture from Google Images)

    In my opinion, one can never get enough George. Today’s video selection is one I’ve used before, and will use again. This man taught me much of what I know about ranting; he taught us all to rant over the years. From his first time on stage, to the last, he was a fearless critic of his society, never once failing to put the responsibility for whatever took place on the public stage on the exact culprit, whether religious, political, corporate, police, military…. and, never forgetting to tell us all how our own lack of awareness and honor has allowed it all to happen….

Ruthless, fearless, and smart as a whip, he was the perfect gadfly for today’s world, as Socrates was for his…. No shit….

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The Best of George Carlin: Exposing our government and fall of humanity one joke at a time

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Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land?

All fear, none aid you, and few understand.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 261 ~~

Dont keep calm

    As noted in the intro, a fresh rant is out of the question. But, I found a pretty good one, not too long, to sublimate the urge…. Enjoy, ffolkes; this one is a reminder that we’ve all been lazy for too long; it addresses the same problems we continue to face today, but, from a vantage point more than three years in the past….

From 7/23/2012:

“Eternal Vigilance Is The Price of Liberty” used to mean we watched the government – not the other way around.” — Bill Stewart

I don’t know who this Bill Stewart is, but he sure nailed this one…. but then, the American public lost its will to vigilance some years back, the results of which, the loss of attention to what is important, we are now reaping. The PTB, (Powers That Be) comprised of the beloved ruling class and their myrmidons, the priestly hierarchies, have been brainwashing the American public now for oh, I’d say about a hundred and fifty years or so. Ever since the political confusion generated by the Civil War in the mid-1850’s, the PTB have relentlessly waged war on each of the freedoms that are guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

First, a corrupt Federal judge made a landmark decision regarding businesses, and the rights thereof, giving “corporate personhood” to any corporation, but most specifically to those who paid him for that decision. This, in its essence, makes profit a right for these corporations; just about any kind of process they may use to make that profit is made legal by this law. In other words, the law guarantees them a profit, no matter how much they may lie about their products, setting no limits to the lengths they may go to obtain a profit….

Since the beginning of the 20th century, this country has been involved in at least four major conflicts, taking place throughout the century, continuing into the latter half…. WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam shoved the nation into war time culture, exactly as Field Marshall Goering, of the the Third Reich, explained when he was tried at Nuremberg for his war crimes. The PTB convinced the  public that our nation was under attack by the forces of evil…. Evil that was given a different face for each war. Each war found the rights of the average citizen curtailed just a little bit more….

In the latter half of the century, the country was not forced into battle until our oil supplies became problematic. The PTB were having a harder time coming up with an evil face to put on the ones who are reportedly attacking us, until Saddam came along. Since the first intervention in Vietnam in the 50’s and 60’s, to the intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts in the 1990’s, to now in 2012, all of our wars have been illegal, in my mind, according to our Constitution. Ostensibly, Congress, (thus, by design, the people) is the only entity who is authorized to declare war. But, time after time, beginning in Vietnam, the President of this country has used his Executive powers as the Commander in Chief to engage in wars in Kuwait, Irag, Afghanistan, and probably a few places that haven’t been published.

Each time we are dragged into another conflict, using the same old tired story of being under attack, the PTB manage to place more restrictions on the unsuspecting public, until today, where we find many of the rights we were given in the Bill of Rights have been eliminated. We can no longer gather to protest the government’s actions; if we do, we are “disturbing the public peace” or we are “serving the interests of our enemies”, thereby turning ordinary American citizens into criminals for actions that used to be protected by the Constitution. It is no longer considered legal to criticize the PTB; it’s unAmerican, unpatriotic, and a threat to National Security….

Our public vigilance has been spotty at best, and the PTB are very well versed in the scientific methods of controlling large numbers of people, having practiced their skills for thousands of years. They know exactly how to phrase their words to inflame the public, to make them afraid, thus setting themselves up as the saviors of society. As well, they know exactly who to target with their rhetoric…..

Their primary targets are the same people who look at Mitt Romney as a man of character, cheering him on as he makes his bid to get into the highest seat of power in the land, never realizing they will be counted as his very first victims…. This man has NO interest in making things better for the average American. His words and actions clearly show he is one of the elite, the super rich, who are not subject to the laws the rest of us must follow. If elected, he will waste no time in making life a living hell for anybody making less than $250,000 a year….

I’ve been watching the government now for about 60 years; every word of what I’ve written above is based upon what I’ve seen and heard from them in that time. None of it is made up. The PTB in this country, and in every country in the world, live only for their own aggrandizement; they have no interest in making life better for the average man or woman. They are only interested in maintain the power that they have, seeking only to solidify their stranglehold on the remainder of society.

If you think otherwise, I challenge you to offer some kind of evidence for that. All the evidence that I have gathered, and witnessed, tells me that I am not wrong to mistrust the politicians and priests, and the police who serve THEM, not us, because everything they do is designed to keep me , and you, and the rest of society in the role of victim. They’re good at it, they’ve practiced a lot….

Obviously, this is a subject I can rant about for days, which only makes sense, as I have a lot of years of experience at watching the ruling class in action. But, the rest of the day calls me, and my butt is getting tired of this chair….. so, I’ll leave this here, and merely say this…. The situation in the world today is a result of NOT being vigilant, of not paying attention to the PTB, assuming they are looking out for our interests. Well, we were wrong, weren’t we? Now, we are paying the price, in the loss of those freedoms that made this country an example of liberty to the entire world. Now we are merely another example of how the wicked and corrupt wolves in society completely dominate the law-abiding masses, who assume the role of sheep, without ever emitting a single bleat of protest….. SIGH, and we showed such promise!…..

“When you stay on the tracks, ignoring the facts, you can’t blame the wreck on the train”. — from the song, “You Can’t Blame . . ”

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I’m not certain why, as the impulse struck me from nowhere, (meaning it came from my unconscious…), but, this one just seems like the right poem for today…. It’s one of the first I wrote after a 35 year hiatus from writing poetry, so, it’s one of my favorites…. It let me know I still had some words in me to share…. Enjoy, please…

A Failure to Germinate

Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.

Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.

Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.

I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.

My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.

Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
of which reality boasted proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.

~~ gigoid ~~


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Astounding. It’s the only word I can think of, and, trust me, I know a lot of words. The following pearl, of enormous length, is composed of a group of pearls SB put out in two consecutive sessions, each time, as you see them, all in a row, one after the other, as if they’d been queued up for a print job, or something…. Magic, is all I can think of, unless I’ve used SB so hard and long, I broke the Laws of Chance and Randomness, whereupon, the program became sentient, and is now reading my mind…. Whatever it is, I’ll take it…. Here, then, are more pearls than I know what to do with, all of which are pretty good comments on Life at Large…. Go figure…

“There has never yet been a human society worthy of the name of civilization. Civilization remains a remote ideal.” — Edward Abbey

“You deserve the gods you worship.” — Solomon Short

“Go to Hell!” or other insult direct is all the answer a snoopy question deserves.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

Okay, that was the first group. When I came back to it from a break, I thought to myself, “SB’s on a roll: let’s see what’s up…”, & started punching up the next random quote… These came up without a pause, bing, bing, bing, dropping my mouth further open with each new one…. I finally took a break to allow the feeling to come back in my hands, after the following came up, just as you see them….

“There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people. I hope when you know the worst you will at once leap into the river and swim through handsomely, and not, weather-beaten by the divers blasts of irresolution, stand shivering on the bank.” — Suckling

“What golden hour of life, what glittering moment will ever equal the pain its loss can cause?” — Valery, “Mauvaises pensees et autres”

“True patriotism doesn’t exclude an understanding’of the patriotism of the others.” — Queen Elizabeth

“Among mankind money is far more persuasive than logical argument.” — Euripides

“Ensign Expendable, step on that rock” — Kirk

“My past is my own.’ — The Shadow (DC Comics)

“It’s that moment of dawning comprehension I live for.” — Hobbes

‘What luck for the rulers that men do not think.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

44. Remember that your character is your destiny. — Instructions for life

“There is the risk that you can not afford to take, and there is the  risk that you can not afford not to take.” — Peter Drucker

“Find the seeds of your own excellence.” — Callan Williams

“And die with decency.” — Thomas Otway (1651-1685) — Venice Preserved, Act v, Sc. 3

Well, there you go. I couldn’t have done it better… but, then, I don’t have to, cuz I already did good…. So there. Not bad for the world’s first fifteen star pearl….

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I have to say; doing what one considers one’s duty is a GOOD feeling. Even though I cannot speak to the quality of today’s effort, yet, I will say it was a grand effort. Whether it lives up to that promise will depend on y’all, to a degree, so, I’ll stop now, so I can get this posted, & let y’all get to it…. To whomever drops in, thanks, and feel free to leave a comment; we love dialogue, even if it’s just me, not we…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

How DOES it feel Tehachipi?….

Ffolkes,

Our subjectivity

Is a mirrored,

Spiked casket.

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

2-13-2015 011
Redwood in the City


Boy! Deng Ming sure can be harsh sometimes, eh? I usually enjoy his take on Taoist philosophy in the modern world, but, some of his quotes seem to have suffered in the translation, whether he performed it, or someone else. This one just seems to be a bit more of a “written in stone” sort of approach to a concept which seems to me to call for more flexibility, more fluidity, as does any idea used to express some part of the Tao in a way that helps others understand.

Oh, well. I suppose they can’t ALL be great aphorisms. Much like the picture today, one of my own, taken while waiting for a bus. I’m not sure whether the light patches are normal, due to light reflecting off morning mist, or, just another indication my camera is going to die soon. It’s given me other clues to warn me I’ll soon need a new one, if I wish to continue to take pictures to share. These days, that isn’t such a budget breaker as it formerly was; a good digital camera today will go on sale for under $200, with all the features an amateur such as myself can use…. I already have a tripod, and a USB cable which is industry standard, so, all I need is the camera….

Now, the trick is to find one on sale for the best price… Oh, right. Duh. Like a friend keeps pounding into my recalcitrant memory, AMAZON. Or, some other online store selling at discount prices, like E-Bay, and the ilk. Okay. I guess now I’ll have to actually do it, or suffer the embarrassment of having somebody bring it up a week from now, asking me where all the new pictures are? Oh, joy.

Now I get to go shop. Even shopping online, the whole process exhausts me; there are just too many choices, and not enough time to see them all. Since I always have a good idea of what I want, and what I want to pay, I tend to go for the first example I run across around that price, snapping it up like somebody else was going to steal it from me…. which, these days, means I probably missed a deal somewhere else for half price, of which I’ll be notified by a rapid inundation of email notices, all with free shipping, a week after getting the one I bought, at double the price, and full shipping…..

SIGH…. Now do you see why I am in the habit of saying, in full agreement with Arthur C. Clarke, there is no concrete evidence available to prove intelligence has any value as a survival tool? Even though I possess all the tools and knowledge to obtain a new camera in short order, at a good price, my own bozoid nature prevents me from utilizing those tools, or knowledge, to their best effect. At the point in time when I have the right amount of money available, I forget to go to one of the sites where I can get what I need; as soon as the money is used elsewhere, an email arrives with a good deal, or I see a picture I like, reminding me of the shortcomings of the deal I made in haste…

Ah well, at least it got me through another intro section, without having to actually strain so hard, my forehead bleeds. I hate when that happens; it runs all over my mustache. Blood is hard to clean from hair without yanking on it. Not that I’m a wimp, or anything like that, but, hey, yank on YOUR upper lip a few times, & see how YOU like it, eh?

So, do I sound Canadian? I’m thinking of visiting…. It’s getting to be the right time of year, for us warm-weather birds; I hear the spring, summer, and fall is nice up there, as long as one stays within a few hundred miles of the US border. Beyond there, it’s anybody’s ballgame when it comes to weather and cold. I’m a California boy, born and bred, (well, actually, I never asked, but, I think I’d have heard if the family was out of state a certain number of months before I was born…. but, to be honest, that part I can’t swear to…. I WAS born here, for sure, if my birth certificate is telling the truth….), in my world, cold, for long periods, or with accompanying semi-frozen water, is NOT my friend, nor anyone I enjoy spending time with…. at all.

Okay. I think eight full paragraphs of not a damn thing worth writing home about is enough for one day…. I’m outta here, before I find something else to babble about….

Shall we Pearl?

“. . is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood. It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness. It cannot be.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

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This lady has been one of my favorite comediennes since I first saw her, probably on Ed Sullivan, sometime in the 60’s. (Yes, some of us were there, and still remember it!) She’s fearless…. If you can’t find a smile watching her perform, I’m sorry, but, you are one of the seriously humor-impaired…. Enjoy, ffolkes, there’s nobody like Lily Tomlin….

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Lily Tomlin as Ernestine the Telephone Operator

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“Love withers under constraint: its very essence is liberty:

it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear.”

~~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~~

Dont keep calm

    Day before yesterday’s Pearl had the customary three suggested Pearls at the bottom of the page; I sometimes read them to look for appropriate pieces for those times I’m not up to ranting, as much of what I rant about are ongoing issues, still relevant in today’s world. This is one of them, from about a year ago… Since I am not particularly up for ranting today, I offer this in lieu of anything fresh, as a worthy substitute… I mean, after all, I AM the one making the judgment, right? S’okay, it’s allowed, it’s my blog…. I hope you enjoy it, depressing as it may be for those who continue to hold out hope the world will make any necessary changes, in time to save our sorry butts…

From 2/25/2014; Introduction section:

Terrible things could happen now…. they could, you know. And, we’ll deserve every second we experience of mind-numbing, soul-chilling, petrifying terror, because, hey, we’re the ones who left the door wide open, inviting it to enter our domain, bringing with it our ultimate doom…. Yes, it’s our own damn fault, and we will know the truth of the matter, because we have been warned, having previously been given wisdom such as this….

Albert E & true sin

    This is not new wisdom, that we’ve never before seen or suspected; history has provided us with innumerable instances proving the truth of this aphorism….. Time after time throughout our short span of existence on this world, we find examples of men or women who had prior knowledge of an issue, and, by their silence, allowed it to take place, to the detriment of all…. It doesn’t make it right, but, it is certainly not an uncommon issue for mankind…. Such issues are not, perhaps, of all those we are given by Reality, our favorite gifts, …. In fact, many don’t look on this, or any knowledge, as gifts, at all; THAT is a big part of the entire problem….

Our problem is a failure of spirit, one which has to do with a basic virtue, one that has been claimed as the basis for all other virtues; without this characteristic, none of our finer qualities are ever seen in the light of day…. That pillar upon which all other virtue rests, then, is Courage…. Yes, plain and simple, courage….

I have found, in my fairly long life, most of mankind, I’m afraid, are cowards…. I’m not an exception, though it IS something I’ve tried hard to mitigate…. Fear is a hard thing for most of us to admit, even though it isn’t considered abnormal; it’s strength, and the way it causes us to lose control frightens us… However, that power is also its saving grace; the guilt one feels, for having given in to fear, stimulates us to greater effort, whereupon we find that courage within ourselves, the next time we are in danger of giving in…. This is how almost everything we do, of an ethical nature, ever gets done…. because someone discovers they DO have the courage to act when there is danger to themselves, or to those for whom they care…..

That is what it takes, you see…. No virtuous act can ever take place, unless good people have the courage to act in the face of the Evil that exists, in spite of the fear they feel in the presence of that Evil. If they don’t summon, or find somewhere with themselves, the courage to act ethically, or morally, then, Evil has free rein to let itself out to play in human affairs, to the detriment of us all….

Each of us has to find our own courage, often deep within ourselves; the courage to put aside our fear, to carry on with what we know to be right, even though expediency and comfort are left behind in…. Living with honor and integrity is never the easiest path we can take; it is always fraught with danger, simply because it doesn’t avoid evil, claiming it’s too hard, but, rather, confronts it, endeavoring to deal with it in a straightforward, upright fashion…. thus, preserving one’s own honor, when one is forced to have truck with what always leaves us feeling a bit dirty….

All I have written above is true and complete, to the best of my knowledge. It constitutes a fairly accurate assessment of today’s situation here on planet Earth, as I perceive it…. Evil is out there, ffolkes; if we… that’s you, and I…. fail to stand up to it, look it in the eye, and tell it to “fuck off, you bloody sod!”, it will continue to manifest its existence, at will, causing untold pain and suffering for us all…. So, be brave, ffolkes….  Don’t let Evil have its way, without at least a token resistance, ‘kay?…. “Kay!…..

“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, “To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

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Ah well, what’s a Bozo to do, but, pull up his pants, pull down his shades, and smile, smile, smile? Why, he should use an old sort-of-love poem, only a day late for Valentine’s Day…. Well, that or bend over & kiss his own butt, which, at his age, is anatomically impossible…. thank goodness. Just read the poem, ffolkes, & don’t make me talk any more, okay? I’m losing it, fast…. But, I do hope you like the poem….

Time, and again….

Life, and/or love, will seldom fit
into any box we keep for them to sit.
Loose and limber, without any reason,
always somewhat out of season.

Surprise, surprise, they seem to say,
we can’t help it, it’s just our way.
If only you would learn, instead of know,
maybe you’d find yourself with one to show.

Deal, just the way it is, now and here,
follow the path, on the other side of fear.
Finding the future isn’t all blood, sweat, and pain,
far, far more than mere joy we stand to gain.

The sages all say not to try, just do,
sounds as simple as putting on a shoe.
I’d say we could really go places,
if we could but learn, to tie up the laces….

~~ gigoid ~~


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Below you will find a quite nice pearl, of the standard variety, stretched into a nine-star configuration…. Smart Bee has continued to perform its duty with excellent dedication, so, there is no lack of good stuff to include…. You might wish to take notes on this pearl; ALL of these little gems could conceivably be on the Final Quiz we all must take one day…. If not, they’ll be of good use getting you by, in Life, until it’s time to sharpen your pencils….

“Well begun is half done.” — Aristotle

“Many things do not happen as they ought. Most things do not happen at all.” — Smart Bee

“The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it. Death is a commingling of eternity with time; in the death of a good man, eternity is seen looking through time.” — Goethe

“All stressed out, and no one to choke.” — gigoid, the dubious, via Smart Bee

“The world is not to be put in order, the world is order incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order.” — Henry Miller

“I am only a rat in a maze, like you — only the dead go free.” — Smart Bee

“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi

“Death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.” — Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

“What I like is when you’re looking and thinking and looking and thinking…  and suddenly you wake up.” — Hobbes

See? Pretty good, eh? I keep telling you; it’s all in the wrist….

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I’m not entirely sure what may have taken place here today. I’ve been up for over two hours, having somehow regressed into a strong episode of tardive dyskinesia, which I had hoped to be done with until the next med cut…. An hour in a chair, trembling oneself awake every few minutes, jumpy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs is NOT fun, let me assure you…. Fortunately, I’d done a lot of this yesterday, so, it went smoothly enough; I’m merely unsure of how my brain is functioning. I can’t seem to feel it….

Oh, well. More proof we don’t really need our brains to get by, I guess. For now, I think I’ll just toss in the towel, and try to go back to bed, once the sun comes up…. Hmm… that’s completely ass backwards, isn’t it?…. Fuck it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t talk myself out of it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3

À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

NOTHING begins until AFTER coffee….

Ffolkes,

As a matter of both policy and custom, the title of these Pearls each day has nothing to do with what is inside; that is a deliberate act on my part, from the early days of Pearling, when I made the decision to not connect the title and text. This decision, of course, gave me license to make up titles out of my head, willy-nilly, without being constrained by the subject matter…. If you watch my titles closely, you will have noted this quality, I’m sure, as they are ALWAYS a bit strange, and (almost) never have anything to do, directly, with the text of the blog…. Oh, once in a Blue Moon, the title will reflect some part of the body subject, but, 99.99% of them are not connected, at all, at all…

Today, of course, is one of the exceptions, at least in the sense that the title makes sense, AND is connected to the material inside… indirectly, but, connected…. Any who, I just wanted to clear that up, as it sometimes will confuse the Gentle Reader, especially the newbies, who are not yet accustomed to the idiosyncrasies that abound on this site… Well, there was that…. plus, it got me this far down the page, without ever suffering any angst, or upset at not having anything to put here…. Bonus!….

Of course, NOW I’m stuck with it, at this painfully awkward point, where I again try to come up with something more than just nonsense to get this started…. Now, I know that nonsense is useful, and is well-used around here, for sure…. but, somehow, it just doesn’t seem appropriate this morning…. I haven’t a clue as to why that may be; it’s not as if nonsense isn’t well-known in this venue. Maybe I’m being too stringent this morning; that has been known to happen, especially before I’ve sucked down enough coffee…. If that were actually the case, though, I probably would have found a body or two on the way to my chair….

I don’t know, ffolkes…. it all seems so futile some mornings…. I write, and write, and spout off about stuff that should be important to many people, yet, nothing changes out in the BBR, not in any significant way…. If I weren’t so damn concerned about the state of the world, and about how long that world is going to last, I wouldn’t be writing at all… I’d be traveling, and making sure I see all those places on this beautiful old planet I’ve always wished to see, before it is all sent down the proverbial tubes by our common stupidity, inflicting upon us the near-certain species extinction we have courted with our ignorance, an event that is now all-but-unavoidable, according to all the evidence….

Well, that was fun…. NOT!

Having thus put myself into a semi-deep depressive state with that mild diatribe, I think I’d better get on with today’s Pearl…. I’m not certain exactly how I got myself to this point so quickly…. I didn’t start out to be so depressive, or feel such a depth of futility…. but, within five paragraphs, I managed to kill any good mood I had going, from having slept fairly well for the third day in a row…. I think, in fact, I’m going to forgo any further attempts to rant, or be serious…. I feel more like having fun today, so, from this point forward, there will be no further ranting allowed…. Instead, we’ll go seek out some fun….. gigoid-style……

That means, of course, that y’all will need to make sure your seat belts are well-secured, and that all of the provided safety devices are deployed (that includes the Kevlar vests, and the emergency stash of Valium included in the first aid kits…. In fact, if I were you, I’d just swallow the Valium now….); we’ve been known to use ALL of them on such days as this… and THAT includes the transgender disguises….

Oh, stop worrying; usually we only need to use about half the included protective devices; it’s not as if we seek out those carnivorous predators…. It’s just that they live nearby, and have learned the signs that we are going to be there, thus giving them ample warning to plan surprises for us….

But, not to worry, nobody has ever died on one of our nonsensical quests for a lightened spirit; it’s come close a few times, but, those were the times we had a replacement pilot, who didn’t know all the ropes…. Also, this is all a load of crap, so, all you really need is your earplugs, to be able to ignore the tour guides spiel when it gets tiring, or actively boring… a state of affairs that this intro is approaching rapidly…. Hmm, maybe we should go for a dive…. In fact, I believe that is becoming imperative….

Shall we Pearl?….

If you want to get the plain truth,
Be not concerned with right and wrong.
The conflict between right and wrong
Is the sickness of the mind.

 — Seng-T’san


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Since this Pearl, and these pearls, are dedicated to fun stuff, here is something I found yesterday on a random mouse-click, an interactive web site that is really neat…. and that phrase just gave everyone a big clue as to my age, I’m sure…. Any who, here  is a link to the site, so, check it out, and enjoy… then we’ll go into an old-school pearl with parameters set to nonsense, or, funny, or whatever SB thinks might fit in with those concepts….

Really cool website and picture from a project completed by NASA, with the help of the people of the world…. …..    http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/155294

“I resolved no to be offended easily by human nature, but I think I blew it.” — Hobbes

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.”– George Bernard Shaw

“Puritanism — The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” — H. L. Mencken

(Well, I think it’s funny….)

“Although war is cruel and brutal, it is also dangerous and stupid.” — Yakko Warner

(I know, marginally funny…. but, it stays, because it’s all-too-true…)

Brutha: “What could I say?”
Om: “Believe in the Great God Om.”
Brutha: “And then what?”
Om: “What do you mean, and then what?”
Brutha: “…Believe in the Great God Om or be stricken with thunderbolts.”
Om: “Sounds good to me.”

— How to be a prophet (Terry Pratchett, “Small Gods”)

AND NOW ANOTHER WORD FROM THE PENTAGON: “Oh, and by the way… about those 45,000 body-bags we had shipped to Saudi Arabia. They’re actually going to be used to smuggle booze in to our troops; otherwise we couldn’t get it to them. Honest. We’re not really sure what we’ll carry back in them though. Any ideas?” — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA.

Lister: Love is what separates us from animals.

Rimmer: No, Lister — what separates us from animals is that we don’t use our tongues to clean our own genitals.

— Red Dwarf – ‘Confidence and Paranoia’

Okay, well, that was…. well, that was…. okay, I have no idea what that was…. I thought it was funny, though, so, it will have to do for now…. Let’s go on, & see what happens…..

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When one wishes for light hearted poetry, Ogden Nash, or Shel Silverstein will always come through for you…. But, I’m going to go with one of my own today, just because I can…. I’ll try to make it as light-hearted as I can…. In fact, I’ll try twice, as one is really short….

Striking Gold

Madness comes and goes, it’s true,
whenever it chooses to do so.
Living’s much like wearing a shoe,
when all you are is a toe.
~~ gigoid ~~

Roses for Noses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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I found this the other day, and put it here…. without any clue it would be perfectly appropriate for the day’s theme… (which is because I don’t generally have a theme….)…. Any who, it fits right in, so, it can stay, too…. By the date, this was written just before leaving on our trip to Alaska, so, I must have been in a pretty good mood, if a bit hyper…. not an unusual state for me, at least, not in my head….

From 6/28/2013:

I confess to feeling too hyped to write…. I have a lot in there that wants to come out, but, a bigger part of me just wants to dance, or fall asleep to pass the time until we leave, tomorrow in the early afternoon….. So, I’ll cheat again, and dip into the archives…. This is a short little piece I wrote the day before Halloween in 2011, as part of a pearl created using a really old format, one that encouraged ranting a bit too much…. History aside, I like this one, just because, and it’s a good one to finish with on a day like today…..

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“His philosophy was a mixture of three famous schools:  the Cynics, the Stoics and the Epicureans – and summed up all three of them in his famous phrase, ‘You can’t trust any bugger further than you can throw him, and there’s nothing you can do about it, so let’s have a drink.'” — Terry Pratchett, ‘Small Gods’

Laughter is probably my favorite part of Life; I can’t think of a single time in my life when laughter was unwelcome. Conversely, I can think of any number of times when it was not only welcome, but life-saving, or at the very least life-preserving. In its way, it also affirms life; it lets you know that you are alive, and that life is good.

The sound of a child’s laughter can bring a smile to the grimmest curmudgeon, and the laughter of a beautiful woman can be either joyous, or cruel. Laughing is our best defense against the tyranny of repressive thought; it can bring a tyrant to his knees, for tyranny lives in fear of ridicule. Laughter cannot cure pain, but can ease it, and make it more bearable.

In its way, laughter prolongs life, actually reversing many of the effects of time. When laughter is in our lives, everything is more colorful; vision, hearing, touch, smell, all are more acute when under its influence. And, when it is long absent, the world turns dreary, washed of all color. Without laughter, our lives become drudgery, merely a time to survive, in silence and despair.

The Universe is one huge joke, and the punch line has yet to come. We can spend our lives in black and white, trudging along the dusty road of Time with head hanging down and steps heavy as sorrow. Or, we can look for the brighter side of Life, and laugh at ourselves and everything around us, marching ahead with eyes up and seeking new vistas, hopeful for the dawn of each new day.

Your choice…..

“Excuse me, but didn’t I tell you there’s NO HOPE for the survival of OFFSET PRINTING?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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I’m not sure what to think about this one; it FEELS as if it got away from me, but, it LOOKS okay…. Maybe I’ll read it, to see how it came through the ordeal…. Be back in a few….

Okay, so, it must be okay, because I’ve read it, and STILL don’t have a clue as to its value, or even its nature…. which makes it completely typical…. That, of course, means I’m outta here, having done all the damage I can do for one day…. 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

Featured Image -- 2780

Painfully shy, the marmoset left the lobby…

Ffolkes,

In life, there are a number of events that occur that cause a great deal of stress to the human psyche. The death of a loved one, major surgery, divorce, losing a job, foreclosure, being falsely arrested, seminal events of many types….. all are guaranteed to put pressure on the mind and spirit…. There  is one I didn’t mention yet, but, is just as hard on people as those mentioned…. I refer, of course, to moving…. whether by choice, or force, having to transplant one’s self and property in a new place puts a great deal of negative pressure on us….

Packing, address change notifications, money worries, all contribute to making a move between two houses one of the more difficult propositions to accomplish with any degree of ease. In about two and a half hours from this moment, I have four professional movers coming here, to make the move from this studio to the new one-bedroom duplex a lot easier on Patricia and I, and I am not regretting a single penny of what it will cost, as it removes almost all of the stress from our part of the move…..

They will pack us up, move everything to the new place, and put it in for us…. All we have to do is stay out of their way, then, unpack and figure out where to put everything….. I’m hoping for a stress-reduced day, if not completely stress-free, because, quite frankly, I don’t have it in me anymore….. This also means this Pearl needs to get done in a timely fashion, so I can gear my head up for the big event…. Even though I don’t have to do the actual work, I still have to oversee all of it, and I have absolutely no doubt Murphy is hanging about somewhere, just waiting for his chance to fuck with me with some insidious, insane-making foul-up…..

Ah well, as I’ve said before, ain’t life grand? I’m going to go get this done, so….. Shall we Pearl?…..

“I’m EMOTIONAL now because I have MERCHANDISING CLOUT!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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No harm, no foul, right? That’s what I always thought was the rule….What do you do, though, when the foul is vicious, the harm is real, and the referee is corrupt? Such is the case we have here in Amurrica, land of the fee…. and that’s not a typo…. I have a lot to do today, and, thus, have not enough time to rant, but, I have some thoughts on the developing problems in Syria, one of a long line of Middle Eastern situations rife with potentially disastrous consequences for all of us…. Not just the military, or the government, or them, or us….. I mean ALL of us…. If this one gets out of hand, the whole ball of wax could melt in the ensuing fracas….

Jon Carroll has been one of my favorite columnists for a long time now….. He is erudite, intelligent, compassionate, and generally seems to have the same view of events that I do, in the sense that we tend to disapprove of the same habits shown by the BRC….. His take on things often points out parts of the issue that other people may gloss over, or miss completely; he is able to pinpoint those issues with great accuracy, and excellent common sense…. This article meets all those standards…. enjoy this, if you will, in place of my rant on this subject, which will come in a few days, after I’ve gotten settled in the new place, and further developments have occurred overseas…

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/The-upcoming-unfortunate-war-with-Syria-4772410.php
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Today’s poem has no meaning, beyond the fact that I liked it… it isn’t here because of any deeper meaning, or because it fits in…. I just like it….

An Old Man’s Winter Night

All out of doors looked darkly in at him
Through the thin frost, almost in separate stars,
That gathers on the pane in empty rooms.
What kept his eyes from giving back the gaze
Was the lamp tilted near them in his hand.
What kept him from remembering what it was
That brought him to that creaking room was age.
He stood with barrels round him — at a loss.
And having scared the cellar under him
In clomping there, he scared it once again
In clomping off; — and scared the outer night,
Which has its sounds, familiar, like the roar
Of trees and crack of branches, common things,
But nothing so like beating on a box.
A light he was to no one but himself
Where now he sat, concerned with he knew what,
A quiet light, and then not even that.
He consigned to the moon, such as she was,
So late-arising, to the broken moon
As better than the sun in any case
For such a charge, his snow upon the roof,
His icicles along the wall to keep;
And slept. The log that shifted with a jolt
Once in the stove, disturbed him and he shifted,
And eased his heavy breathing, but still slept.
One aged man — one man — can’t keep a house,
A farm, a countryside, or if he can,
It’s thus he does it of a winter night.

~~ Robert Frost ~~

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As time is of the essence, I have to go into the archives today, to pull out something appropriate for this section… I found a good pearl, from early this year, and it will do just fine…. enjoy!….
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“Can I leave now?  My brain is full.” — Smart Bee

I’m not sure exactly why, but this appeals to me; I’ve felt this way often, and can empathize strongly with whoever wrote it….. In its quiet little way, it also points at my own current state of mind, in that I seem to be out of outrage…. There are so many examples in my perception, of the evil being done every day, by the government, by churches, by random assholes with more testosterone than brains, I’m finding it hard to pick out just one or two to rant about…. For me, that is a disastrous state to be caught in, since much of what I do here involves ranting about stuff that tickles my outrage….

I suppose y’all might just be laughing at me just now, as this may seem like a minor complaint…. and, in a cosmic sense, it really is. But, lest we forget, MY cosmos is the one being affected, which will affect what I write about, and when, and how much, and y’all will be the ones that have to deal with the fallout….. You’ll be singing a different song, then, I’ll wager…. Ripples in the pond, don’t’cha know?….

This isn’t to say that’s what I WANT to happen; I’ve given my opinion previously on how much I dislike being unable to write something, whether it’s a rant, or an old-school pearl, or a poem…. Writing has become for me as important as reading, and I’ll consider writing ANYTHING, if it seems even the slightest bit intriguing, just like I’ll read just about ANYTHING, including milk cartons and cereal boxes, if that’s all there is to read…. Now, writing has assumed an equal importance in my scheme, and any glitches in the process can stimulate worry…. mankind’s true nemesis….

“More people have died of worry, than ever bled to death.” — Lazarus Long…..

Rather than spending any significant amount of time worrying, I decided to seize on what I had, and just jump in & start writing…. So far, it isn’t too shabby, but needs…. something…. aha! A hook…. I need a hook…. okay, let’s see what we have laying about….. Nope, nada damn thing to be seen anywhere in the vicinity, which kicks the worrying up a notch or two, for sure…. Calliope has deserted me for other parts, the headlines are too bland to get worked up about, and the Westboro Baptist Church of Fools has been strangely silent of late…. All I have here, as I gaze around the room in pathetic hope, are the same old items I’ve been looking at for seven months now, since moving here…. most of which has either been already explored, or isn’t worth mentioning….

I see now I should have perhaps prepared for this a bit better; research is always useful, and it would be nice to not have to get all antsy just because my imagination is coming up empty. Whining about it isn’t going to help, or solve the issue, so we’ll skip right by that, and go into strategic planning mode, followed by a dip into tactical operations mode, and we’re home free…. Let’s see now, first, a small diversion… I can do that…. Look, over there! It’s a pearl!….

“Why can’t we ever attempt to solve a problem in this country without having a ‘War’ on it?” — Rich Thomson

Now, THERE’s a question for the BRC, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t get as much response as we’d like…. Good strategy demands, after a diversion, a foray out into enemy territory, to gather intelligence…. so….

“All power rests on hierarchy: An army is nothing but a well-organized lynch mob.” — Edward Abbey

Okay, that’s intelligent…. now, we shoot back…..

“If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” — Anatole France

Yep, that had to hurt…. Okay, so now, all we have to do to have achieved our strategic goal is to finish them off with unassailable logic, combined with a bit of humor…. no worries…

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

“It’s not the pace of life that bothers me, it’s the sudden stop at the end.” — Hobbes

See? It’s all in the wrist…. Using two pearls for the last thought was deliberate, though it helped that both of them came up one after the other, as if pre-ordained…. But it just fit, as the first supplies the unassailable logic, and the second the humor…. and, as we all know by now, timing is everything……
_____________________________

This has gone more smoothly than I hoped, so, rather than press my luck, I’ll confess to my duck, and leave it at that…. No, I have no idea what that means… do you? Oh well, no time to worry about it now, gotta go start packing what little there is for my part of today’s effort…. there’s always a few things one MUST handle personally, y’know?…. No way I’m going to trust my collection of prized paper clips to anyone else!…. So, I’ll just go find the velvet-lined manila folder, and get on with it…. This, while not completely cool, or even radical, is, nonetheless, done…. See ya tomorrow, I hope, from a new perspective point…..

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

dozer3