Ffolkes,
“Man has made his bedlam; let him lie in it.”
~~ Fred Allen ~~
Variations on a Theme: Blue Marble – Earth from 1 Million Miles
NASA Image from nasa.gov
Good morning…. Today’s effort turned out pretty strange, due in part to the manner of its construction. I shan’t bore y’all with the details, but, suffice it to say the process was a bit choppy. In fact, I had considered using my newest opening, which I dearly love…. It merely consists of a,
[dignified silence]
However, that seemed a bit egocentric, since much of today’s post is by others; my only contributions were an old school pearl of dubious condition, and an epic archived rant. The rest just sort of evolved…. Ah, well, such is Life in the Big City, whatever THAT means…. I think, today, I’ll get in some target practice, on live targets…. Yeah, that’s the ticket…. Meanwhile….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” — Lao-Tzu
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I am not sure why, but, my mind refuses to do this part…. I can’t seem to make a decision. My user name is gigoid, thus, the only possible solution is to resort to our default position…. It’s okay, I’ve got over 500 years of music to choose from, so, it’s easy to vary the content…. Today’s selection advertises itself as the Best Classical Music to be found; it was one of 38 such claims, so, you will have to decide for yourself…. Enjoy!
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Today’s contribution to the daily mess is a test…. However, it’s not your usual, sit down, think hard, sweat, & stress; no, no, not here. It’s merely a test. What it’s measuring is really none of your concern, but, since you have to take it, I’ll tell you…. This may be the longest single rant I ever did…. I didn’t actually check, but, after reading it through, it’s close enough to say so without more than a 3% measure of guilt if I’m wrong. It’s also still relevant; each of the articles I used as a springboard for discussion could easily have been pulled from the same stories I saw just today, earlier, when I perused the RSS news feeder I use…. seriously.
The only difference is, all, or most of these articles came from the same mainstream news source; any others were also mainstream. My feeder pulls headlines & links to articles across the internet, from hundreds of sources… So, I’m confident none of the issues spoken of below has come to any final resolution; in fact, they’re all pretty much worse now…. SIGH…. Ah well, so much for ranting to the choir, eh?…. Hey, listen up, ffolkes, it IS all true stuff, so, anyone who needs to hear or read it would be a good one to share it with….
I didn’t know it when posting it, but, the title of the Pearl on the date this was first shown was a perfect title for the rant, should it ever get published…. I’d call it:
From 8/13/2014:
Look,Honey! It’s the official White House Pornographer!
Ffolkes, you will probably need to gird your grid for a big one….. The pearl below has been evolving for a full day, growing beyond my ability to restrict its size, due to the relatively verdant field of subject matter with which I chose to work, the scope of the discussion, and the critical nature of the issue on which I am trying to focus, to wit: all of the available evidence at hand indicates that the human race has entered a stage of civilization that, in every historical case, has led directly to its demise, and disappearance. Moreover. because of the technological advances we have made, as a species, this time, that demise will be world-wide, and will preclude any possibility of ever rising again…
Now, I know that sounds rather pessimistic, as well as cynical; I can’t help that. The evidence is too ubiquitous, and too convincing to me, to ignore, or to minimize. Below, I am going to provide links to articles from only ONE source of news. The breadth of the problems described in those articles are connected to the worst characteristics of human nature, and are symptomatic of the culture’s deterioration we are facing. Each one shows humanity at its worst, and the worst part of it is, all of the protagonists in the stories, on both sides of whatever issue is being discussed, all demonstrate those qualities that continue to cause the problems to be insoluble by any known means…
I’ve got a lot to say about this, so, we’ll start with some art…. It’s just a picture of me, and one of the guys I’ve talked all this over with…. though in the case of this gentleman, our conversation was completely non-verbal…. Now that I stop to think about it, it made it all much less susceptible to misunderstanding…. Below the picture, we’ll begin our assault on the Asininnies latest shenanigans, and our discussion of how it all connects to create another link…. showing the path to extinction we are all following so blindly….
“At once it struck me what quality went to form a man of achievement, especially in literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously — I mean negative capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” — John Keats (1795-1821)
Trust a poet to come up with exquisitely crafted, delicately balanced, subtly nuanced, completely negative statement (otherwise known as an insult….), about someone mostly everyone in the world admires, and make it almost sound as if he is administering praise, when, in fact, he just poked Willie S. with a very sharp stick in the reputation…. Of course, it is also obscure enough that you may question exactly how it applies to blogging here in section one, which is generally reserved for rants, or rant-like facsimiles…. and, it would be a good question, as the connection IS rather tenuous, at best…. However, I’ll try to make it clear….
I speak often about how the world is screwed up, an assessment of existence for which I lay much of the blame on several aspects of human nature, and the way those characteristics affect our society and culture…. I think it can all be boiled down to one particular area of examination, which is the way we, as human beings, deal with the matter of Truth…. There is, of course, more than just this issue involved, but, how we handle clear, correct expressions of Reality, in our dealings with the world, and each other, is one that has far reaching side effects on every area of human discourse, which is a long winded way of saying, on our history….
“Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.” — Midori Koto
In today’s complex world of the Future, it can easily be shown how Truth is considered to be something that is susceptible to human alteration, according to whatever whim or reason they may have for doing so, whether honorable, or otherwise, whether selfish, or otherwise…. I’ve shown many, many instances of how the government of this country, and many of its other official entities, such as the courts, the police, the churches, and ALL of the bankers, continuously, and purposefully lie to the public…. Not only that, but, they spy on us, and keep their own secrets about doing so….
Then, when confronted, they create a huge hullabaloo, all starting with denial, fading into reluctant admission, then justification, then distraction, then…. time passes, and the public is given some other catastrophic event to put fear into them, such as a mass shooting, or an alleged terrorist threat….. It always follows the same basic pattern, with the intent, and result, of nothing changing at all….
Below you’ll find a number of links, to articles that show how the White House, the Congress, the Federal Courts, the police, and, even the public attitudes toward Truth, are shown in the light in which they use them, to wit: they all regard Truth as more of a myth than a reality…. The article on how resumes for work contain falsifications is particularly disturbing, for it shows just how far the corruption has spread to the general public…. Well over HALF the public saw fit to include lies on their resumes… The companies doing the hiring reinforced the corruption by, to some extent, rewarding almost half of the resumes with lies, by considering other factors other than the lies in the hiring process…. In other words, about half of the lies were accepted as OKAY….
SIGH…. The last article is different from the rest, though it touches on the general issue quite nicely…. Mr. Carroll offers another viewpoint than mine, with some similarities, and some differences…. As always, his thoughts on the matter are quite insightful, making an excellent addendum, and ending note, for what would otherwise be completely depressing material….
I’ll let you get to the articles now, with this bit of housekeeping… I tried to help a bit, to indicate the point being made by the inclusion of each article, by including the excerpts I pulled out below each link…. They show the most disturbing points in each article, to my way of seeing them…. Good luck, I know it’s a lot, but, this is turning out to be something of a manifesto of my world-view, & I think it will be worth the effort to cover all of it…..
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Judge-won-t-force-U-S-to-release-spying-program-5681970.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea
“Michael Rumold, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the lawsuit has been successful but the ruling was disappointing….”It’s troubling to see courts sign off on government secrecy arguments when the general public knows the truth,” he said.” — excerpted closing lines from the article, summing it up nicely….
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Vandalism-looting-after-vigil-for-Missouri-man-5680580.php
“Witnesses have said that Brown had his hands raised when the unnamed officer approached with his weapon drawn and fired repeatedly. ” — excerpted from the article
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Chief-Police-killed-California-robbery-hostage-5681892.php
“….. results of a preliminary ballistics report show that police in the city of Stockton fired the 10 bullets that struck Misty Holt-Singh, 41, and all her wounds likely came during a final burst of gunfire,….”
“33 officers fired at the vehicle, most of them during the final shootout. Officers were under constant fire and were concerned the suspects would kidnap other hostages, take over businesses or even a school.”….
“We believe July 16, 2014, brought dynamics never before seen in law enforcement,” he said, adding that the suspects attempted to kill officers, fired more than 100 bullets and had about 200 rounds remaining when the gunfire ended.” — excerpted from the article
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-Supreme-Court-yanks-Citizens-United-measure-5682420.php
“If approved by the voters, it would have asked Congress to submit a constitutional amendment to the states that would authorize federal lawmakers to limit campaign spending and would specify that only people, not corporations, have the right of political free speech.”
“In the 2010 Citizens United ruling, a 5-4 majority of the nation’s high court said federal laws that limit spending by corporations or labor unions on political causes violated freedom of speech….. ” — excerpted from the article
http://blog.sfgate.com/gettowork/2014/08/12/most-memorable-resume-lies/#25719101=0
“58 percent of hiring managers in a recent CareerBuilder survey saying they have caught a resume lie.”….. “Fifty-one percent of respondents said they would automatically throw out a resume containing a lie, 41 percent would base their decision on the type of lie, and 7 percent would overlook a lie if they liked the job candidate.” — excerpted from the article
http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/08/06/what-would-the-founders-say-cagop-barring-media-from-qa-with-party-chair/
“…. a response from GOP state vice chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon…. “There are open press and closed press events at every convention (Brulte) has run. There will be open press events and press conferences at this convention. Closed press is to allow delegates to ask him sensitive questions about strategy and finances that the public and our opponents are not entitled to know. … And neither does John Burton (the Democratic state chairman) invite the Chronicle to every meeting of delegates to his party.”
“We asked Tenoch Flores, spokesman for the California Democratic Party, about its rules regarding press coverage of convention events. His response: “It is our policy that any delegation meeting taking place at convention is open to press.”– excerpted from the article
and, finally, a voice of reason….
http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/Notice-your-urges-when-I-say-you-can-5682102.php
“I favor considered opinion over uninformed opinion. It’s a liberal bias…..”
“Experts are not always right. Scientists are not always right. But most of the time they are. We built a very fine country on the basis of Enlightenment rationality. Thomas Jefferson and those folks very much favored knowledge over ignorance, reason over superstition.”– excerpted from the article
Truth. Lies. Human nature….. What a mess, eh? I can only hope that, somehow, the strength and beauty of human nature, the incredible creativity and passionate imagination our spirits have the potential to express, just as much as it does our flaws, will gain ascendancy in the coming years, becoming the rule of human behavior, rather than the exception, and that we can overcome the reckless, selfish, violent spirits among us to reach for that potential…. Being a curmudgeon, and somewhat of a cynic, at least in regard to human nature, I find myself reluctant to hope…. but, it’s like Emily always said….
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
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A couple months ago, I was introduced to a new blog site. I don’t remember how I found it, but, I’m sure glad I did, for. on this site writes an incredible poetess….. Her work is powerfully personal, revealing, painful. and joyous, all at once. Simple, clean lines come together to place the reader right inside her soul…. She’s fought a hard battle in Life, to get to the point she now observes it from, and I, for one, am very glad she uses her poetry to help herself find the Light inside her soul…. She is indeed, a souldier girl…. You’ll be seeing more of her here, but, the link above will take you to her site, where you can sign up to be notified when she posts…. Enjoy!….
Twilight of Intrigue
Do you see
The amigos of three
Brushing upon the twilight of intrigue
The starry night
Gazing in our eyes
Comprised of moments
Later whispered as memories
Carried on the tail end of time
“Remember when it was you and I
In the silence of life”
Love, solace and a hopeful gleam
Brushing upon
The twilight of intrigue
~~ Souldiergirl ~~
Posted at above link on 7/29/2015..
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Kokopelli graces the top of this section today, simply because his nature comes closest to the nature of this pearl…. This means, naturally, it would behoove y’all to WATCH OUT. You see, it’s a trick pearl, beginning and ending with a variation on a theme from Life, with a group of clear instructions on how to go about calculating that particular algorithm…. You’ll enjoy it, if you can find the key….
“What I ought to do, I can; if I can, why don’t I?” — Smart Bee
“Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, utters another.” — Homer (c. 700 B.C.)
“If you understand, things are as they are. If you do not understand, things are as they are.” — Gensha, Zen Master
“Count your age by friends not years, and count your life by smiles, not tears.” — John Lennon
“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.” — Kahlil Gibran
“To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice.” — Confucius
“It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” — Buddha
“Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.” — Aristotle
“What I can do, I ought to; if I ought to, why don’t I? — Smart Bee
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It was close, there, Ma, but, I whipped ’em! There was some doubt there, for a time, this would make it through to the end…. I am currently unable, not mention unwilling, to go into the reasons, but, since we’re done anyway, it doesn’t matter at all, does it? Nope. Hence, my exit, stage virtual…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the Space/Time Continuum holds together….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
gigoid, the dubious
The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.
PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.
“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch
À bientôt, mon cherí….
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