A small dose of sweet sorrow….

Posted on January 24, 2019 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Grain grows best in shit.”

~~ Ursula K. LeGuin ~~

The market on Portobello Road, London, England, April 2013…

All the various parts of today’s Pearl have been present for nearly a week, without having been posted, thanks to my latest uncomfortable realization, to wit; I am becoming unable to write, no matter how willing I may or may not be. This is for two primary reasons, each of which has brought its’ own realizations of a need to make changes in my lifestyle. Since I may not have many more opportunities to do so, I’ll try to relate these epiphanies accurately, and as completely as I can….

The first reason I am becoming unable to write is a quite simple one; I am growing increasingly blind. Though not yet nearly disabled, the macular degeneration taking place in both my retinas is growing increasingly more extensive, & the vision in both eyes, especially the left one (oculus sinister), is becoming blurrier by the day. The difference between them affects my entire visual acumen, making both reading and driving problematic, if not entirely impossible. The blurriness causes me to have to squint hard just to make out normal type and/or fonts, and reading street signs & traffic signs very difficult, as well as visually tiring…. SIGH…. I know I should be getting used to age-related conditions and changes made necessary by physical degeneration, but, it still manages to cause a bit of self-pity, to go along with the eye-twitching & headaches….

Second, I finally realized why I’ve had an unbearably painful stiff neck for more than a full month, affecting both my waking physical comfort, and my ability to sleep, at all, not merely comfortably. Essentially, I find the more time I spend at the computer, the worse it gets, often shooting knife-like sharp shooting pains from neck to mid-back, merely on the act of typing for a few moments. As I am now typing this introduction, I can feel my shoulder stiffening against the pain, and spasms starting to ripple up & down the right side of my back, indicating I need to go walk it off, which, yesterday, took me about three miles before the muscles started to relax, probably because they got tired…. That would warrant another ‘SIGH’, but, I hate repeating myself too often….

The realization I’ve been compelled to come to, & begin to accept, is this…. I can’t do this any more. I cannot read fast enough, or long enough, to gather an adequate number of pearls to fulfill my own requirements; hell, I can’t even read for pleasure as much as I like, as I get tired & frustrated after struggling to read only a few pages. Typing this intro, though not too long for one of my outbursts, has left me gasping against the pain, & I still need to get it posted, after adding an ending section…. Before that becomes impossible, & this gets put off another day, I’m going to deliver my sorrowful apologies now, & warn y’all I may not be back very often, as it will take some extraordinarily compelling thoughts & feelings to get me to sit through this process…. Heck, a couple of haiku is the best I’ve been able to do in weeks.

I will miss being here, and miss all of my Gentle Readers, especially those who have demonstrated such loyal readership for many years…. Willow, chuq, Ashi Akira, Lou, Nadia, the jazz gang at swo8, with love dot I/O, PD, Katiemia (Fred & Katrina), maggiemae, Marie, megaeggs, Soochie, Carolyn the Light Worker, Wolfie of Europa, and numerous others I am sure I am forgetting to mention. They all have maintained their place in my heart, even when I had to stop going by & commenting almost a year ago, for they’ve continued to show up here to let me know they appreciate my work…. and that is a treasure I shall miss experiencing as often, to be sure….

My eyes are about done for the week, I think; this has been hard. I will miss y’all, severely, but, shall try to post now & again, as the impulse occurs, in what little time I can afford to spend at the computer. I cannot do so until I get this posted, so, let’s do that, with some of the most excellent dispatch I have learned of late, to wit:

Shall we Pearl?

“If folks don’t want to do it, it’s hard to keep them from it.”

~~ Yogi Berra ~~

*************************************

In keeping with my newly realized need for shortcuts, I’ve chosen a collection of classical music, a default position for me. Here is someone’s idea of some of the greatest works by famous composers, beginning with Beethoven, & moving on to various others, all of which have stood the test of time. I hope you enjoy it as I do, for the perfect background music to go with study, work, or mere listening pleasure…. Abondanza!….

*************************************

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

12/6/2013

*************************************

Naked Pearls

Known and Unknown….

*******

“H=R-E
Happiness equals Reality minus Expectations”

~~ unknown Smart Bee ~~

********

“What use is magic if it can’t save a unicorn?”

~~ Peter S. Beagle, “The Last Unicorn” ~~

********

“I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it
by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect….
I do not want to belong to any organization of a spiritual kind; please understand this …
If an organization be created for this purpose,
it becomes a crutch, a weakness, a bondage,
and must cripple the individual,
and prevent him from growing, from establishing his uniqueness,
which lies in the discovery for himself of that absolute, unconditioned Truth….”

~~ J. Krishnamurti ~~

********

“My friend Data, you see things with the wonder of a child.
And that makes you more human than any of us.”

~~ Yar, “Skin of Evil”, stardate 41601.3 ~~

********

“Once we truly know that life is difficult –
once we truly understand and accept it –
then life is no longer difficult.
Because once it is accepted, it no longer matters.”

~~ M. Scott Peck, “The Road Less Traveled” ~~

********

“A lizard ran out on a rock and looked up, listening
no doubt to the sounding of the spheres.
And what a dandy fellow! the right toss of a chin for you
and swirl of a tail!
If men were as much men as lizards are lizards
they’d be worth looking at”
.
~~ D. H. Lawrence (1928) ~~

********

“Art thou an artist, or art thou art?”

~~ unknown Smart Bee ~~

********

*************************************

Th…th…th…. that’s all, ffolkes. My eyes are done, as is my neck & shoulder. I’m gonna go walkabout for a while, until it all eases off…. I can’t say when I shall see y’all again; it won’t be forever, but, it probably won’t be real soon. In the meantime, be well, be happy as you may be, and maintain a level of strangeness with which you can be content…. I love you all….

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….

Significantly trivial….

Posted on September 20, 2018 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A handful of sand is an anthology of the universe.”

~~ David McCord ~~

Ancient Pepper Tree….

As may have been noted, I was absent yesterday, but, I can’t seem to work up any particular regrets for having been so. You see, I’ve come to realize I just don’t have the same investment in writing I once had. My inner serenity seems to be free of the compulsion to spend so much time in getting what it is IN my head OUT of it, & while I do miss some of the sense of satisfaction writing well can engender, there is no longer any sense of pressure or necessity. I have to say that’s a gift, but, one of those two-sided kind, because it also feels like a loss. At this moment, neither seems as important as they once were, but, the discussion of it at least gave us an opening paragraph upon which to build….

However, to build anything worth reading on top of such a mundane, less-than-exciting introduction might prove to be more than my rustic, and rusty skills can achieve. Rather than embarrass myself in the attempt, I believe we’ll take a different route, & try for a bit of nonsense & blather, which comes rather naturally to me. Of course, you already knew that, but, sometimes, one needs to restate the obvious, if only to ensure it’s appreciated…. The obvious can become rather fractious when ignored, with a tendency to sneak up & twist your ear, hard, should it be ignored too long. Trust me on this; you don’t want to go there….

Now, some might think I’m being overly paranoid about reality; they’d be forgetting Murphy, & I can attest to the foolishness of ignoring that particularly obvious, and obnoxious force of nature/reality. I won’t even bother to point out the disadvantages, for the experience of them teaches the lesson much better than I ever can. In fact, I believe I’ve come to another realization of something obvious, to wit: this is getting pretty deep, & it would probably be best to just get on with the rest of today’s mess…. I’ll take my own advice, & save us all some time, as well as, in my own case, some embarrassment I don’t need any more of….

Shall we Pearl?

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving,
and tolerant of the weak and strong.
Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”

~~ George Washington Carver ~~

*****************************************

Wolfie Mozart

On those occasions when I don’t wish to either spend a lot of time, or energy, to decide what sort of music to include in one of these Pearls, I generally go with some sort of classical music. Today I feel like the best, so, naturally, it’s Mozart; I also feel like violins, so, here is an album uploaded to YT which contains ALL his violin concertos…. Y’all can decide for yourselves which one is best…. Enjoy!

*****************************************

Lamenting Empathy, No Grace

Strange, strong, passions burn from within
Selling nothing short, nor out
Consumed, loudly, failing to mark the spin
Sad, resigned, in singular redoubt.

Fallow grounds for twisted seed
Become fated, grow, and die.
Experience never fills critical need
Save perhaps once, in ages gone by.

Shouting in severe, dulcet tone
Brittle, flaking, destiny floats away
Making noise, rattling the bone
Simply ageless fears held at bay.

We mask our illusions in faux belief
Tied to reality by matter of rote,
Send them postcards, without relief
Consecrated time, forever remote.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/19/2014

*****************************************

Naked Pearls

Steps on the Path….

*******

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions;
nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion.
An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.”

~~ J. Krishnamuti ~~

*******

“Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen.”

~~ Samuel Paterson ~~

*******

“Man is what he believes.”

~~ Anton Chekhov ~~

*******

“If the end does not justify the means – what can?”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

*******

“Ignorance is a voluntary misfortune.”

~~ Nicholas Ling ~~

*******

‘A man never so beautifully shows his own strength,
as when he respects another’s weakness.”

~~ Rules of a Gentleman ~~

*******

“With virtue you cannot be entirely poor…
Without it you cannot be really rich.”

~~ Chinese Proverb ~~

*******

*****************************************

Having made it this far, it only makes sense to finish it off before it begins to stink any worse. Ah, well, they can’t all be good; I just wish it weren’t so easy to be bad. In today’s case, I think it came out a draw, which, I also think is good enough, & I’ll take it. I’ll see y’all in a day or two, depending on which part of my head takes control…. of course. Be well, & happy,& strange; all are preferable to the alternatives….

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….

Yet another feast for fools….

Posted on April 1, 2018 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“After you have exhausted what there is
in business, politics, conviviality, and so on
– have found that none of these finally satisfy,
or permanently wear – what remains?
Nature remains.”

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

A dreary day at the marina….

Hajime…. It is perhaps apropos this fresh Pearl is appearing on the Feast of All Fools, aka April Fool’s Day. Far be it from this writer to ever challenge Murphy’s right to his own day; I’d rather give him/her/it a sober nod of acknowledgment & let it go at that…. Anything more might justs draw attention, which would defeat the entire exercise, yes? I see you see what I mean, so, good; we can go on to something with a bit more panache, or, at the very least, more inherent interest. I’d advise you to duck….

The process i employ to create fresh Pearls isn’t working quite the way it has in the past; I suppose the degree of angst I formerly felt much of the time had a lot to do with that, driving me to write, in order to experience some sort of sanity thereby. Since my angst now seems to run at a lower level, that compulsion is no longer so compelling. In short, my new paradigm doesn’t fit with the old process. SIGH… yet another paradigm change, I’m afraid…. So be it….

As it is written, so shall it be. It’s getting late in the day, & this still needs to be posted, so, I’ll cut short any further impulses to be cute, or clever, or even coherent, moving to another letter for the proper adjective, to wit: efficient. Or, as close as we ever come to it…. See y’all down the page a ways….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The word “dog” does not bite.”

~~ William James ~~

***************************************

Due to the breakdown of the process, we’re going with a default selection for today’s music. I went so far as to choose my favorite pieces from my favorite composer of all time…. Yep, Wolfie strikes again, so, gird your grids for a long period of mental and spiritual stimulation…. It’s also good to read by, in my humble opinion… Abondanza!….

***************************************

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concertos

***************************************

Absently Gestalt

After the echoes of silence are faded away
Comes the cacophony which accompanies dismay.
Apocalyptic thoughts and emotions run free
Spreading fear enough to fill the holy see.

Speak softly to the beloved ruling class
Deathly darts sunk deep are painful, and crass
Sloth and ignorance are commonly shared
By those who would rule, alone or au paired.

Images and opinions are sullenly forlorn
Yet hope shines bright wherever ’tis borne.
Feeble strengths hide many objective flaws
For reality bites, with hard, vicious jaws.

Can you stand up and state your own name?
Will you hide in a handle, behind a great flame?
No hole and no mind is so deep and so wide
As to furnish safe haven in which to hide.

Bring out the weapons of your reluctant choice
Bring them to bear on the sound of their voice.
Silence the ignorant, and muzzle the fear
Make reason the only message you hear…..

~~ gigoid ~~

9/5/2016

***************************************

Naked Pearls

Curve balls, all in the strike zone….

*******

“A man is a very small thing,
and the night is very large and full of wonders.”

~~ Lord Dunsany, “The Laughter of the Gods” ~~

*******

“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.
That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand-in-hand.”

~~ Emily Kimbrough ~~

*******

“If you understand, things are as they are.
If you do not understand, things are as they are.”

~~ Gensha, Zen Master ~~

*******

“Nothing determines who we will become
so much as those things we choose to ignore.”

~~ Sandor McNab ~~

*******

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied
with explanations, with conclusions;
nor is it a mind that believes,
because belief is again another form of conclusion.
An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind,
a mind that is watching, learning, studying.”

~~ J. Krishnamuti ~~

*******

“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds.
Things either are what they appear to be;
or they neither are, nor appear to be;
or they are, and do not appear to be;
or they are not, and yet appear to be.
Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.”

~~ Epictetus, Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvii ~~

*******

“I am what I am and that’s all that I am.”

~~ Popeye ~~

*******

***************************************

Never let it be said I did not fulfill my word. It’s done, & a damn good thing, too, as I’m about done sitting for the day. Hopefully, so are y’all; go forth, into the day, and seize all the joy you can find, or create. Me, I’m goin’ walkabout…. See y’all in a day or two, or possibly three. No foolin’….

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….

Unfortunate innuendo, unleashed….

Posted on September 6, 2017 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The one who tells the stories rules the world.”

~~ Hopi proverb ~~

Leaving Galway on the Dublin Train…

Hajime…. Okay, so, if y’all can hang on a moment, I’ll find my stash of witty repartee, & we can get this slow on the toad. Have a seat, grab yourself something from the bar, & try to be patient; there’s no telling where I hid the silly stuff, as the last time I had a good grip on it, it turned on me, saddling me with several paragraphs of blather & relative nonsense. I suppose, in truth, that’s nothing out of the ordinary for around here, but, in our less coherent moments, we like to think so. On that completely insane note, we’ll go on….

Of course, doing so may make it worse, but, we’ll take the chance; otherwise, we’d be stuck here in the intro until the cows came home… which promises to be a LONG time, as we don’t own any cows, or even any naughas, from which we obtain that fabulous fashion couch covering so well-known to us here in the States. I mean, it goes so well with any sort of plastic, especially pink. Now, some of you may ask, what the hell does that do to get us further into today’s mess? Well, not much, but, it did give us one more paragraph to add to the mix, even if it makes nothing resembling sense. Go figure, eh?….

Yes, I know, I’m cheating unmercifully. That’s because, despite getting sufficient rest, and awakening at a reasonable hour, I’m still at a complete loss for any sort of mental acuity. Don’t know where I left it, & too confused to go look for it, so, I’m doing what most of us do in such instances, & falling back on our one remaining strength, to wit; a talent for blather (often called bullshit, especially when it smells this bad….), combined with a complete lack of shame or guilt. In short, this is what I’ve got, so this is what you get. C’est la vie, as we say downtown….

Not only do we say that, we often mean it. Today, we’ll ignore it, just as we are ignoring all the rules. Instead, I’ll use my executive authority to declare this introduction complete, whether it’s legal, or not. I simply haven’t any interest in the legality of any of this; there’s no point in it. What’s more, there’s less of a point in continuing, so, watch this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Become what you are.”

~~ Buddha ~~

***************************************

Today’s musical selection could be considered a default choice, if not for the simple fact I had plenty of time to pick it, and, I’m not under any self-induced pressure to post soon. No, I simply want to listen to this man’s work today, as is my habit when I am working. It’s the perfect selection for reading, or writing, or simply sitting & listening; it ticks off all the boxes, for me, at least; I’d wager anyone with their humanity intact will appreciate it. The converse may also be true, but, I’m in too good a mood to go there. All I can suggest is, turn it on, & forget it’s playing; it will soothe your spirit any old way you choose to hear it…. Enjoy, if you will….

***************************************

Camille Saint-Saënz
Violin Concertos

***************************************

A word is dead
When it is said
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

Savory

Blown across steppes of imagination, a spore
finds a niche, takes root,
tries to live longer than now, before
chaos/peace descends, and desire is moot.

Feathered into fecundity, another possibility
builds a nest, hatches kin,
aims at immortality, sans responsibility,
chance manifests, as it does, again.

Leading toward peril, entropy saves creativity,
making tools, and lazy time;
solid signs imply such simple nativity,
as another snitch drops his dime.

Subtle compassion billows, passion to unfold,
covering hearts bloodied by time,
burning flesh made valid, unwaveringly bold,
turning love to brilliant rhyme.

Years weigh lightly, supported by youth,
gaining weight with each year,
only the old men know the actual truth,
peace comes only when we lose our fear.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/9/2013

***************************************

Naked Pearls

More Notes on Process & Program….

*******

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied
with explanations,with conclusions;
nor is it a mind that believes,
because belief is again another form of conclusion.
An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind,
a mind that is watching, learning, studying.”

~~ J. Krishnamurti ~~

*******

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

~~ Anais Nin ~~

*******

“Life is the sum of all your choices.”

~~ Albert Camus ~~

*******

“He should not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.”

~~ Elrond ~~

*******

“Where pain predominates, agony can be a valued teacher.”

~~ Frank Herbert ~~

*******

“What you leave behind
is not what is engraved in stone monuments,
but what is woven into the lives of others.”

~~ Pericles ~~

*******

“Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.”

~~ Henry David Thoreau ~~

*******

***************************************

Such as it is, there ’tis. To avoid any of the unpleasantness engendered so copiously in the intro section, I’ll bring this to a rapid close, sans any foolish attempts to clean it up. In keeping with that sentiment, I’ll add, see y’all tomorrow, & let this die a natural death. Be strange, ffolkes; it’s one of the few rights you retain….

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….

Eggs & onions, in any order….

Posted on July 24, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Warning: Do not attempt this at home.”

~~ Advisory Bee ~~

Whatchya doin’?….

Hajime…. Rather than attempt to explain what I don’t understand myself, I’ll pass completely over my absence yesterday, ignoring altogether the mild rudeness I managed to impart, by not posting at all, at all, even to explain the interlude. Since I couldn’t give any reason, I’ll give none, and y’all will just have to make do with that; we all must live with occasional disappointment. This one, as such things go, isn’t all that hard to handle, I should think, for it involved NOT being asked to read & think, rather than the inverse. In fact, it could be said I did y’all a favor, but, let’s not get crazy.

While such meandering discussions are legally acceptable for this sort of literature, I can’t say it’s the most compelling opening I’ve ever typed, or penned, or whatever it is we do now…. and, who cares? It’s got me this far, so it’s not as if I’m going to throw it all back in the stew. Perhaps it would be best for us to just move on, before I get any weird ideas about a tricky twist, or, worse, a pun. Last time I tried that….. well, let’s not talk about it; it’s stil too fresh in my memory for comfort. Instead, I’ll use the preferred method, which utilizes the newly developed sense of ruthlessness, which has proved its merit quite well already… It’s particularly handy for situations such as this one; all we have to do is this….

Shall we pearl?….

“Morality is moral only if it is voluntary.”

~~ Lincoln Steffens ~~

********************************

Stevie Ray Vaughan

I’ve got the urge for some hot blues; what better choice than this man’s music? None, I’d say…. Enjoy!….

********************************

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Live at Montreux 1985

********************************

“I’d like some JUNK FOOD… and then I want to be ALONE”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

I’d planned a rant, but, it didn’t gel for me, so, this one will have to do for today…. Let’s see what was going on in this old head a couple years ago, shall we?….

From 6/14/2014:

In this section, we have been running a new style pearl, (there’s that royal ‘we’ again….), with pictures to go along with whatever quotes and/or comments I come up with…. The latest incarnation involves a new subject of interest, the Wise Old Pine Cone, who has been kind enough to allow me to photograph his wanderings around town, to record his interactions with people, and the environment, as he wends his way around the town….. Yesterday, I posted the photos of when I accompanied him to the local ball team’s night game, which came out fairly well….

Sadly, the Wise Old Pine Cone, by the time we left the ball park, had consumed WAY too many brewskis, and has yet to get out of bed…. He’s pretty small, and a few beers really do a number on him; I’ve seen him stay in bed for three days after a bad session with wine, and beer isn’t any better for him…. He’ll be alright, but, he’ll be out of action for a day or two, so, we’ll have to find something else for this section….. Let me think….

Okay, you’ve convinced me…. I’ll rant….

“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

Well, perhaps I won’t rant today; it doesn’t mean I’m giving up, but…. I just went to look for a rantable headline from the news…. Of the eleven headlines on the world news page, eight were about various bombings, battles, or other war activities, mostly in the middle east, where the Islamic sects are all fighting to see who will become the sole arbiter of the Muslim future….. never realizing how silly and counter-productive they are being, in terms of survival…. But, then, most people engaged in war are not in a very intelligent frame of mind, anyway….

(And, how can a Muslim extremist group name themselves after an Egyptian goddess over seven thousand years old {Isis}? I thought they hated ANY other religion…. Ah well, stupid is as stupid does…)

The point is, I couldn’t decide WHICH subject to rant about…. There are plenty of wars being fought, none of which make any sense…. There are governments still robbing the people, or oppressing them unmercifully; the churches are still butting into everything, as is their habit…. I see where the Pope is trying to be a mediator between Israel & Palestine (good luck with that!….), and now, the Presbyterian Church is doing SOMETHING over in Iraq, or Iran, to get involved with that whole mess…. what a bunch of idiots!…

Cars and factories are still streaming carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide into the air by the hundreds of millions of tons, every day, so pollution continues unabated, and climate change keeps changing, so, we can kiss our asses goodbye, once we figure out how long we have…. Religious fanatics and fundies of all varieties continue to wage their holy wars, blaming all that is wrong in the world on anything but their own actions…. Bankers and politicians continue to work together to steal everything that isn’t nailed down from the public, all enforced by paramilitary police forces, blindly obedient myrmidons with guns, and really bad attitudes, due to their completely unwarranted sense of entitlement regarding their psycho/sociopathic need to be seen as authority figures….

All of the insanity I’ve previously commented upon here continues, relatively unabated, as the world skips merrily down what it BELIEVES is the garden path, completely oblivious, calmly seated in a handbasket, never even wondering why it is getting so bloody hot…. And people wonder why I rant….

I found no particular headline to get me started, but, as can be seen by the above, none are really necessary for me to find my anger about the state of the world…. My anger is based in the realization that NONE of it is necessary; if people would take responsibility for themselves, and stand up to the assholes who are oppressing everyone who puts up with it, we could fix this broken puppy….

I’m a realist, though, and, as far as I can see, realistically, it ain’t gonna happen…. so, I’ll pick a few pearls, to make how I feel about it clear, and be done with it for today…. I’m mad, but, so mad, I don’t even want to talk about it any more….. Here, take these…. No worries, you’ll live; there are only five of them….

“I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.” — John Locke

“All I know is just what I read in the Congressional Record. They have had some awful funny articles in there lately. As our government deteriorates, our humor increases.” — Will Rogers

“I have never found, in a long experience of politics, that criticism is ever inhibited by ignorance.” — Harold MacMillan

“Look for a tough wedge for a tough log.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 723

“You know how dumb the average guy is? Well, by definition, half of them are even dumber than THAT.” — J.R. “Bob” Dobbs, ripping off George Carlin, who made that point YEARS before Bob finished puberty….

There you go, ffolkes…. a pointed, bitchy, but accurate, five-star pearl….. Let’s go on, shall we?….

********************************

Off the proverbial cuff….

I never meant to kill that period of time,
it didn’t give me any choice.
It tried to hem me in without reason, or rhyme,
refused me any vote, or any voice.

You have to admit, I buried it deep and fast,
just as if I cared.
I knew, though, it would never last,
or ever be fully repaired.

No news, no pictures can bring it back,
once is all we get.
No pleas of public good, or even public lack;
in stone the past is set.

Futuristic visions now occupy my dreams,
I’m ready to go on.
Look! It fills up the screen, and it gleams!
Where’s the moment I’m sitting on?

Now, I remembered, at long, long last,
is all we really can hold.
Every moment goes by so bloody fast,
we’d best fill them all with beauty, warm and bold.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/30/2013

********************************

Naked Pearls

Many Paths, One Destination….

*******

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight,
and his punishment
is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

*******

“I maintain that Truth is a pathless land,
and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever,
by any religion, by any sect….
I do not want to belong to any organization of a spiritual kind;
please understand this …
If an organization be created for this purpose,
it becomes a crutch, a weakness, a bondage,
and must cripple the individual,
and prevent him from growing,
from establishing his uniqueness,
which lies in the discovery for himself
of that absolute, unconditioned Truth….”

~~ J. Krishnamurti ~~

*******

“The education of the will is the object of our existence.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

*******

“Truth is the highest thing that man may keep.”

~~ Geoffrey Chaucer ~~

~~ The Frankeleines Tale, Line 11789 ~~

*******

“Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.”

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~

*******

“Keep the golden mean”

~~ Publius Syrus — Maxim 1072 ~~

*******

“Enjoy the present hour,
Be thankful for the past,
And neither fear nor wish
Th’ approaches of the last.”

~~ Abraham Cowley ~~

*******

********************************

Having thus fulfilled the basic requirements, I’m gonna call it done, & go post it. I’ll be back, probably tomorrow, & you may rest assured I’ll try a bit harder. Gotta live with myself, right? Right. Until then, stay low, stay alert, and stay strange…. It’s getting a little cool out there….. See y’all….

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….

Perfectly shaped trapezoids….

Posted on June 25, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“We are not endeavoring to chain the future but to free the present. …
We are the advocates of inquiry, investigation, and thought. …
It is grander to think and investigate for yourself than to repeat a creed.
… I look for the day when *reason*, throned upon the world’s brains,
shall be the King of Kings and the God of Gods.

~~ Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) ~~

Natural Symmetry

Hajime…. Should this Pearl get posted today, ’twill be a triumph of will. About an hour after posting yesterday’s piece, I crashed headlong into a deep, black hole. The remainder of the day was spent laboriously climbing back out of it, mostly by forcing myself out of the house, to the library, where I spent some time in the place where I feel the most serenity in the world. It’s always been so, for books have been my closest companions for my entire life, since the age of five. I haunted the libraries in many towns and army bases, and every one felt the same to me, like home. So, I spent some time at home, and it helped….

That related, I will add some apologies, to some of the commenters here, and to those blogs I regularly visit, and leave a word or two. I faded out yesterday before I got much of anywhere, and just gave up trying after a time. I’ll try to catch up in the next few days, but, we’ll see how that goes, as I am, as yet, unsure how the day will go; I’ll be lucky to get posted. Nonetheless, I am sorry for not responding; it is not my habit to ignore any comments, or to not communicate. If I don’t, please be sure it is not anything to do with y’all; it’s just my own need to curl up in a ball & ignore the world, until I can deal with it again.

Now I’ve bared my soul, perhaps we should get on with the rest of today’s mess. I’ll do so efficaciously, by ending this wandering blather right here, right now. All we need to do is skip the rest of the nonsense that’s begging to get typed, and get on down the page. How, you may ask, will we do that? Like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”

~~ Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Return of the Jedi” ~~

********************************

Dolly Parton

Image from http://www.timeout.com via Google Images

This artist may seem like an unusual inclusion for us, but, she happens to be one of my favorite country artists, for several reasons. Her voice is a laser-like instrument; when she starts to hit the high notes, it will send shivers up your spine, guaranteed. She has always been an original, living exactly as she chose, which scores big points with me. And, she writes almost all of her songs, making her a lot more talented than many would think. She’s definitely a modern icon, and continues to thrill audiences world-wide…. Enjoy, ffolkes; I don’t think she’s ever done a bad song, when you get down to it….

********************************

Dolly Parton

********************************

https://youtu.be/h7I_9MMcWvk?list=PLE40BA45092971353

********************************

I found this meme yesterday on Facebook; it’s one of my favorite aphorisms from Lao Tzu, with an excellent photo to make its point. This is a gift, for there will be no other rant today…. Enjoy!…. In truth, with this, one really doesn’t need much else….

********************************

Fine and Good, Good and Fine

A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,
cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.
This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around
cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.

Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,
I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.
Every damn time, it all went to crap,
Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.

‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;
why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….
Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,
’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.

Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,
life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..
T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,
is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.

My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,
each one colored with trust, which ain’t always smart.
Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,
I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.

It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,
and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all
Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;
Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.

‘Nuff said….

~~ gigoid, tongue firmly in cheek….

3/23/2013

********************************

Naked Pearls

Observations on Life at Large

*******

“Is this the way?”

~~ Seeker Bee ~~

*******

“If you think you’re free, there’s no escape possible.”

~~ Baba Ram Dass ~~

*******

“For a true master
Sitting on a throne
Is no different than
Sitting on dirt.”

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

*******

“True power is when we have every justification to kill, and don’t.”

~~ Oscar Schindler ~~

*******

“I maintain that Truth is a pathless land,
and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever,
by any religion, by any sect….
I do not want to belong to any organization of a spiritual kind;
please understand this …
If an organization be created for this purpose,
it becomes a crutch, a weakness, a bondage,
and must cripple the individual,
and prevent him from growing,
from establishing his uniqueness,
which lies in the discovery for himself
of that absolute, unconditioned Truth….”

~~ J. Krishnamurti ~~

*******

“…take your own thoughts seriously, for they will shape you.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

*******

“Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.”

~~ Things We Can Learn From Dogs ~~

*******

********************************

It’s done; other than that, I shan’t inquire too closely. Since it is done, I’m outta here, asap. I will make another attempt at this tomorrow, most likely. Given my past record in that regard, the odds remain good…. See ya, ffolkes, if you don’t see me first….

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….

The politics of chicanery….

Posted on April 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

This space left blankish.

Faux Spring in February

Considering the state of affairs out in the Big Blue Room these days, it’s a wonder I can even think of writing. All my instincts are telling me to head for the hills, taking all that is important with me, to find a place to hole up until the events we are witnessing have reached a more stable configuration, one which won’t be such a danger to those of us who refuse to be slaves. No doubt, it will come sooner than we expect; that is the nature of such catastrophes…. If humans were smart enough to see such things coming, history would have looked much different, and we’d already have settled the entire solar system by now….

But, our own nature is not only holding us back from achieving our true potential, it is ensuring we will never make it off the planet, not before making it our only hope of survival…. But, as is plain, this is beginning to resemble a rant, which was NOT my intention; in fact, I’d hoped to make this a shorter intro than usual. That plan, of course, is now defunct, as I’ve already blathered and meandered twice as long as I’d thought to when I began…. It’s a gift….

However, today we will reject the gift, in favor of moving on. In fact, I’m applying good old #4 right now, without any planning, or warning…. This means we’ll need to supply y’all with some clothes to get home, but, we keep those on hand, so, no worries…. Don’t fret, you won’t LOSE them; we’ll just launder them for you, and you can pick them up tomorrow…. For now, I’d suggest you hold on to something, as we’re going in, hard and fast…. Luigi, take it away!…..

Shall we Pearl?

“All the troubles of man come from his not knowing how to sit still.” — Pascal

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

No need to introduce this artist; I don’t believe there is anyone in this country, or most others, for that matter, who doesn’t know who he is…. And, with good reason; this album, in my mind, is his best of his work…. Y’all may think otherwise, and that’s cool; he’s written enough to go around….

***********************

Bob Dylan
Blood On The Tracks

***********************

https://youtu.be/YwSZvHqf9qM?list=PLknidvzcLCRECQa02iFlqRGYeh2OgHOXK

***********************

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

Written 12/23/2011, published on Socyberty, via Triond:

Hope for Sale, as is….

Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens.

[Against stupidity the very gods fight in vain.]

~~Friedrich Schiller, The Maid of Orleans ~~

St. Thomas Aquinas is commonly accepted as being a pretty smart fella by those who know and care about such things….He was the Catholic priest of the Dominican Order (died 1274 A.D.) who is credited with the famous aphorism, “Beware the man of one book…” Indeed…..our society is ill, suffering horribly from D.I.S., Deliberate Ignorance Syndrome, and no cure is in sight….

It is a very sad commentary on the overall health of our society when the political scene, as charmingly reported in the world media, so obviously and consistently devolves into guerrilla tactics (surprise attacks & divisive propaganda). Ubiquitous, these tactics are perpetrated by one segment of the political scene upon another with the sole intent of obstructing the current administration’s activities and policies, with no regard given to whether the targeted concept or activity is beneficial in any respect. The daily headlines seem to proclaim the world’s events as a scene of unrelenting, sinister internecine warfare amongst the diverse segments of political society.

The forefathers of this country, from all indications, had a different view of how the political process should unfold, one where the parties that lost in each election would assume the role of “loyal opposition” rather than the current evolution of the model, which is mostly reminiscent of how children react when denied a wish; otherwise known as “playground politics.” From the moment the newly elected President takes the oath of office, the opposing party’s pundits begin their campaign of derision, sly inferences, and outright lies intended to besmirch the Presidential (or Senator, Representative, or other opposition Joe Bloe) reputation and position, attempting to stop any and all attempts to make any changes not in their own narrow, biased platform.

Both modern incarnations of the Republican and Democratic Parties (along with every other less influential but power hungry organization sending forth combatants into the public arena) seem to share this hateful agenda, though the tactical parameters seem to be somewhat less bloody on the left, if only physically. Those on the right of the political spectrum seem to have less of a sense of restraint, and consistently carry out a non-stop campaign after each lost election to find fault with every word the President (or the First Lady) utters, crying “shame!” at every small piece of dirt they can dig up. However, pundits of all these persuasions, pressed to justify their picayunity, will reluctantly admit to the faith-based nature of the platform upon which they stand. Men of one book, indeed!

In truth, it’s more than sad, it’s tragic. Democracy, as originally conceived by the men who began this country, is a concept that, applied fairly and rationally, offers some chance for all of society to achieve a dignified existence, free of hate and persecution. But the reality is that any real chance of achieving true democracy is being eradicated by human avarice and deliberate ignorance.

It doesn’t appear upon examination that there is any evidence at all that our species at large is going to make any of the physical, mental, and spiritual changes that just might prevent our planet from sending us down the path to extinction. Maybe, that isn’t so tragic after all…..

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

Off the proverbial cuff….

I never meant to kill that period of time,
it didn’t give me any choice.
It tried to hem me in without reason, or rhyme,
refused me any vote, or any voice.

You have to admit, I buried it deep and fast,
just as if I cared.
I knew, though, it would never last,
or ever be fully repaired.

No news, no pictures can bring it back,
once is all we get.
No pleas of public good, or even public lack;
in stone the past is set.

Futuristic visions now occupy my dreams,
I’m ready to go on.
Look! It fills up the screen, and it gleams!
Where’s the moment I’m sitting on?

Now, I remembered, at long, long last,
is all we really can hold.
Every moment goes by so bloody fast,
we’d best fill them all with beauty, warm and bold.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

A classic old-school pearl…..

“The truth is always the strongest argument.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Phaedra, Frag. 737

“One who is plenteously provided for from within needs but little from without.” — Goethe

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.” — J. Krishnamuti

“You cannot believe in honor unless you have achieved it. Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” — George Bernard Shaw

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

“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” — Buddha

Happily may I walk.
May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.

~~ Navaho Night Chant ~~

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

Well…. I don’t know exactly how, but, it’s done, and I’m not going to fuss with it. In fact, I’m bailing, before anyone can catch me…. 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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

We’ll bathe it in linseed oil and mint….

Posted on November 10, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“When the fox gnaws — smile.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

~~ Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love ~~

The picture, one I took a few days ago at the bus stop down the street, is a perfect metaphor for the lies told to us by our beloved ruling class, and by the perpetrators of public slavery, perpetually the BRC’s most ardent supporters, the preachers, imams, and dogma dogs who spout off about religion, to whomever will listen….

In a quite beautiful setting, we are reminded of how ‘they’ offer us ONE choice to salvation, but, god forbid you should be able to park while making your choice…. Perfect alignment, don’t you think? One Way/No Parking…. What better metaphor/euphemism for how the mass of humanity is treated by those who would control their very lives….

Oh, good grief, stop shouting!…. Control yourselves…. Put down that stick, you’ll hurt yourself with it…. For goodness’ sake, did you think I was going to rant at you in the first paragraph? Shoot, not even I am that cruel, though, if anyone has any comments to the contrary, with evidence, of course, I’d welcome them, as it’s been a long time since I found anyone willing to challenge my conclusions…. It must come from basing them on evidence, instead of faith…. Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to take another shot, this one aimed at those who buy into the delusions they’re offered at every turn….

Okay, you’re right, I’m busted…. Yes, I did mean it…. The people to whom I refer, those who embrace the dark side of human nature, quite simply, are assholes…. As I see them, they deserve every vile curse, every vituperative description, every fucking expletive we can think of to apply to them, in recognition of the thousands of years of deliberate theft, deliberate lies, and deliberate cruelty, to those whom they claim to love, or whom they claim mandate to lead, for their own good…. What a crock of shit THAT is!….

Sorry, I guess I did start ranting, didn’t I? It’s just so damn easy, when every frigging word out of the mouths, of preachers, or politicians, or business moguls, or police chiefs, or any of the other societal “leaders” who purport to work FOR the people, is a bald-faced lie…. In truth, they are busily at work doing every fucking thing they possibly can think of to screw the people over, in a myriad of ways…. Or, even scarier, they are as stupid as those they purport to lead, being brainwashed themselves into believing their own lies….

Every where I turn, every time I turn, I’m presented with new evidence of how often, and how deeply they screw those who trust them, and it just pisses me off anew, each and every time, making me wish I wasn’t so damn ethical/moral myself, and could feel less conflict over treating them the same way they treat us….

If I did that, I’m afraid they’d start dying at a much more rapid pace, which would be just about the length of time it takes me to re-load, then, focus in on another target…. With a well-concealed stand, and a crowd where I can acquire targets quickly, I could make some significant headway in a relatively short amount of time before having to become smoke…

However, those who engage in preying on others, for religious reasons, for political reasons, or whatever their personal justification may be, all believe the same tired old lie, which claims the end justifies the means…. I reject that notion categorically; to abrogate honor and responsibility for the sake of expediency, no matter how compelling the reason, removes any positive moral value such acts may otherwise be due. To do right, for the wrong reason, is to do wrong, in my world. To do wrong, for ANY reason, no matter how well rationalized, deserves nothing from me but disdain, and active resistance….

Well…. where did THAT come from? As I’m not sure just now, I think we’ll just take this opportunity to go on, and see what else may pop up today…..

Shall we Pearl?

“We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success; We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.” — Samuel Smiles

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

Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, like all fields of human endeavor, are subject to Sturgeon’s Law, which states: “90% of everything is crap.” This physical law has been tested repeatedly by scientists, sociologists, and psychologists, with the same results every time…. It is the absolute truth…. Hence, my reluctance to committing perjury, or displaying undue arrogance, by calling the Pearls I create anything but what they are, to wit: occasionally brilliant, but, mostly just acceptable, as entertainment for the strong of stomach…. If they were in the newspaper, they’d be suitable to line birdcages, for sure….

But, as I said, some can be pretty good, because I, too, with due diligence, and a bit of work, can jump into that 10% of human output that actually helps improve life by its presence…. The same is true of all fields in which humans put forth effort, so, naturally, it’s true of TV shows, and literary works…. I guess I’m just saying, some stuff is better than other stuff….. This Sherlock Holmes story, to me, falls into the latter category of stuff….

Sherlock Holmes – Season 5 – The Problem Of Thor Bridge

http://youtu.be/17lht_Ke-1g

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

You may have noted my initial outburst, up in the intro section…. It was a rant, a sharp stick to the eye of religion, mostly, though there was quite a bit of angst left over to take some pokes at the rest of the Asininnies, too, such as politicians, police myrmidons, corporate snakeheads, human traffickers, and any of those ilk, who prey upon their own species, with the full support and tacit approval of those dogma dogs who keep the general populace under control, softening their minds with bilge water, so they are easier to corrupt and manipulate….

It has been a while since I took aim at those delusional buttheads, a group for whom I hold absolutely no respect whatsoever….. They take the words of one of the world’s greatest social reformers, and twist them until they are practically unrecognizable, but, mold the minds of the people who buy into those twists into shapes more amenable to control by others….

‘Tis a natural result of putting one’s faith in ideas that have no visible proof in reality, but are based on blind faith; it leaves the one holding the belief in a vulnerable state of mind, ready to believe all kinds of nonsense, as long as it’s told to them by one of those they have learned to believe, without the benefit of examination for truth….

But, that is what they all count on… all those preachers, and priests, and the others mentioned above…. They all count on the gullibility of the average person to believe what they’re told by authority figures…. And, they are justified in that, as my compatriots around the world seem to fall for their bloody bullshit every time….. SIGH…. I sometimes wonder how mankind even developed the idea of their own mental superiority, when they continuously act as if they haven’t two spare neurons to rub together at all….

However…. Today, I am feeling generous, or, at least, sympathetic to your pain…. So, I shall cease ranting about those assholes, and compose a seven-, or nine-star pearl, which will serve the same purpose, but, with a bit less sobriety, and a lot more tongue-in-cheek fun…. Let’s see what SB can come up with for us, to jab some sharp sticks in the eyes of a few dogma dogs….

“Ignorance is the soil in which belief in miracles grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.” — Lazarus Long, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, by Robert A. Heinlein

“The territory behind rhetoric is too often mined with equivocation.”– Dunne’s Law

“It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.” — Margaret Mead

“A Sunday school is a prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience of their parents.” — H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

“The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.” — Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

“Death, the most dreaded of evils, is therefore of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist.” — Epicurus

“Religions change; beer and wine remain.” — Harvey Allen

“O imitators, you slavish herd!” — Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) (65-8 B.C.)

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

Okay, so, it kept growing; Smart Bee is on a roll today…. To use Winnie Churchill’s method of making a point, I’ll give it a good whack with my sledge hammer, with one final piece of proof, of how the dogma dogs attempt to establish their mind-control, with entries such as the following, in that book they use as their most effective manipulative tool….

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5,6

Sure, do that…. put your faith in what you cannot see, or touch, or hear, or otherwise prove exists…. That’s a good idea…. NOT!

So be it.

gigoid has spoken…. a lot…..

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

There is so much of my stuff today, with some deep help from SB, I’d best go with my own poetry, to avoid getting any of this on anyone else…. I know, we’ll go with an old favorite….

Rejection

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Today’s final pearl is a perfect adjunct to the ranting section…. This group gives us some pretty good observations about being human, at the other end of the scale from those who are unable to find the means to USE the intelligence with which they are endowed…. Reflect upon these, and you’ll find them a map to a rich, fulfilling life….

“Over my mask is your mask of me.” — Mitsuye Yamada

“Once when Bion was at sea in the company of some wicked men, he fell into the hands of pirates; and when the rest said, “We are undone if we are known,”–“But I,” said he, “am undone if we are not known.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Bion, iii

“A child is a person who can’t understand why someone would give away a perfectly good kitten.” — Doug Larson

“If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.” — Chuang Tzu

“I believe that part of what propels science is the thirst for wonder. It’s a very powerful emotion. All children feel it. In a first grade classroom everybody feels it; in a twelfth grade classroom almost nobody feels it, or at least acknowledges it. Something happens between first and twelfth grade, and it’s not just puberty. Not only do the schools and the media not teach much skepticism, there is also little encouragement of this stirring sense of wonder. Science and pseudoscience both arouse that feeling. Poor popularizations of science establish an ecological niche for pseudoscience.” — Carl Sagan, The Burden Of Skepticism, The Skeptical Inquirer, — Vol. 12, Fall 87

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive–to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love….” — Marcus Aurelius

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.” — J. Krishnamuti

“There are many things worth living for, few things worth dying for, nothing worth killing for.” — from Tom Robbins’ “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues”

“Now my own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we *can* suppose. I have read and heard many attempts at a systematic account of it, from materialism and theosophy to the Christian systems or that of Kant, and I have always felt that they were too simple. I suspect that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of, or can be dreamed of, in any philosophy. That is the reason why I have no philosophy myself, and must be my excuse for dreaming.” — J. B. S. Haldane, British geneticist (1856-1928) — from “Possible Worlds”, in “Possible Worlds and other essays”, — Chatto & Windus, London, 1927. p286

Smart Bee was in a very generous mood today, eh, what?…..

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

‘Tis a good thing much of this was begun yesterday…. I’m up a bit late, but, it’s all good, as it’s done, and in good time…. If the proofing isn’t too horrendously complicated, I may even get another hour’s sleep before the day can begin out in the BBR, where I’ve several tasks to complete…. Since I do, we’ll leave it at that, and be on our way, royal ‘we’ syndrome notwithstanding…. See y’all tomorrow, 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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Officer, that rhinoceros is winking at me!….

Posted on October 23, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Earth has it’s boundaries, but human stupidity is limitless.”

~~ Flaubert ~~

I’m thinking Mssr. Flaubert was in a bit of a stinky mood when he wrote the above aphorism…. It does have the advantage of being fairly well true, if a bit lacking in scientific approach…. Yes, human stupidity is unlimited in scope; however the Earth is a finite object; as such it has actual limits. But, given the incredible beauty our world can display, there is no limit to how much it can stimulate our imagination, which IS infinite in scope as well… We are creatures of duality; our nature, our perception, and our emotional makeup all reflect that duality, which, by the fact of it’s nature, provides the universe with balance, and permanence….

It’s amazing, isn’t it? To look at a picture such as this one, of a plant thriving in the midst of urban blight, providing a source of beauty even the depressive nature of its surroundings cannot dim, and know how beautiful the world is, if it only gets a chance…. In the midst of sorrow, and pain, and the depression of poverty, one may always find beauty, which, by its mere existence, gives people hope, and the strength to live on, to keep struggling toward the light, using what is at hand…. just as this plant has done….

Enough early morning philosophy for one day; when I started I didn’t plan on going into that; it evolved as I began to type, pretty much writing itself…. Given the history of introductory sections on this blog, I find that to be a good thing. It’s given us a decent set of opening lines, and thoughts, with the bonus of not falling into a rant, right out of the box. I’m sure y’all can appreciate such restraint; I know this blog can get to be a heavy read, but, I really do try to think ahead in that respect…..

My tendency toward bozoid behavior, though, often causes me to forget my good intentions, and ranting becomes the order of the day. Today, however, you’ll note we are almost far enough down the page to make our escape…. In fact, we’re going to bail out by the end of this particular paragraph, as I see the opening coming up ahead, there at the side of the worm hole…. Again, I have to ask y’all to fasten your seat belts securely, as the cabin may experience some turbulence while the pilot is unconscious; no worries, it’s only a temporal effect, passing in seconds, and we’ll come out the other side without a problem…. Trust me….

Shall we Pearl?….

“We are more sensible of what is done against custom than against Nature.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Eating of Flesh, Tract 1

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

I’m in the mood for some soothing, cerebral music today…. In this particular group of musical pieces, I suggest you skip past the first one that plays; it’s a bit slow for a morning piece…. but, it gets better, believe me…. Enjoy, ffolkes!

The Best in Classical Music: Part 1:

http://youtu.be/wLkjMLdLf3s

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

“When you are sure you’re right, you have a moral duty to impose your will upon anyone who disagrees with you.” — Robert W. Mayer

Think about that for a moment….

When I think about this, beyond my initial gut reaction, which involves severe disdain, not to mention disgust, for such unwarranted arrogance, I am struck with two thoughts, each more depressing the the other….. First, I want to say that it is my firm belief that any time someone, anyone, uses the words, “it is your moral duty”, you can be sure they are speaking about THEIR morals, not anyone else’s….

This kind of discriminatory bigotry is damn near invisible to anyone who suffers from it, as it arises out of what can only be faith-based assumptions, thus ensuring that NO argument will be entertained…. In other words, no matter HOW ignorant, or bigoted, or INSANE their beliefs, if they think they are right (and, they will never entertain any other thought), it guarantees their fanaticism, and rejection of ANY evidence to the contrary….

That being said, it depresses me that, most of the people in this country, ESPECIALLY those who end up in politics, would, if asked, express their belief in this sentiment, right down to the bone, no matter how insane it truly is…. It is also a de rigeur position for anyone who buys into ANY of the religions out there, for they all operate with this sort of illogic as their primary method of exposition and thought…. You see, it doesn’t actually require any thought to believe this stuff; it’s all laid out for them, so all that is needed is to say, “ditto”, position the blinders comfortably, and resume their clueless existence….

“As one reads history… one is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted.” — Oscar Wilde

This attitude is the reason the government, and all the assholes who do their clandestine bidding, are able to continue to do whatever they wish to do, no matter how the public feels about it…..

Secondly, when I see that statement, (above, by R. Mayer) claiming moral infallibility by right of belief, I get depressed because, not only do most people believe it in the case of this issue, they also tend to carry the self-same attitude over into every area of their life, until every original thought is quashed before it ever formulates in their minds…. They become the nightmare of any honestly ethical man, as an entitled hedonist, believing they have the right to anything they desire, whether filling that desire affects, or even harms, anyone else, or not. With the mandate of faith, they are invulnerable to reason, and to criticism of any sort…

This attitude, of entitlement, becomes the societal norm after a while, until our culture resembles nothing so much as a jungle, where everyone believes in the theory of ‘dog eat dog’, with the eventual result we see now, where no one is able to trust anyone else…. All because lying, cheating, and stealing have become the norm, the primary way everyone turns to in order to get what they want…. and, nobody cares, because that kind of behavior is mirrored at all levels of society, right up to the very top….. This all-too human trait has been recognized for a long time, but, has resisted all attempts to root it out of human interaction; hence, we see war, after war, after war, since the beginning of historical memory….

Below, you will find the evidence I found, straight from the horse’s mouth, that shows exactly how we humans REALLY view life…. Real life, that is, not the ideal life everyone talks about…. These nine statements/aphorisms/quotes tell it like it is…. and how humans, especially our Beloved Ruling Class, looks at reality…. Please note, this is all RECORDED evidence, with attribution, so, it’s not like I made any of this part up on my own…. It’s all down in black and white, on paper, somewhere…. so, this is all stuff people really do, and believe….. or, want us all to believe….

“Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.” — B.F. Skinner

“Necessity has no law.” — Francis Rabelais (1495-1553) — Works, Book v, Chap. xv

“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” — Exodus 15:3

“The only very marked difference between the average civilized man and the average savage is that the one is gilded and the other is painted.” — Mark Twain

“A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.” — Saul Bellow

“Democracy is the name we give the people whenever we need them.” — Arman de Caillavet

“Even though Federal health officials are promoting less tobacco use, the tobacco industry should continue to expand in foreign markets.” — Vice President Dan Quayle

“People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.” — Otto von Bismarck

“If you can’t drink a lobbyist’s whiskey, take his money, sleep with his women and still vote against him in the morning, you don’t belong in politics.” — Speaker of the California Assembly Jesse Unruh

In a manner of speaking, I rest my case; they are hoist on their own petard, condemned by their own words…. I’ll leave you with one final thought on the matter, to wit:

“A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.” — P.J. O’Rourke

So be it…..

gigoid has spoken.

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

I’m in the mood for Yeats….

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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

Today’s old school pearl is relatively fresh; it does, however, seem to lack a certain degree of intensity…. Oh, it’s all true, and good stuff, but, there just isn’t a lot of OOMPH to it…. Oh well, I guess they can ALL be compelling…. It’s a good pearl, anyway, so, just allow it to lead your mind to where it’s headed, and you’ll be fine…. maybe a small bit wiser, too…. maybe…

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.” — J. Krishnamuti

“If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives.” — Robert South

“Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as food to the body.” — Cicero

“Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.), [quoting Plato]

“Of all the strange “crimes” that human beings have legislated out of nothing, “blasphemy” is the most amazing–with “obscenity” and “indecent exposure” fighting it out for second and third place.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“Kindness gives birth to kindness.” — Sophocles

“Gentleman: A man who knows how to play bagpipes — and refrains.” — Fred Tart

A bit general, but, tidy enough…. I’ll take it….

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

I have done my duty, and that’s all I can say…. Since, however, duty remains my core belief, that’s good enough…. Today is a day with a lot of possibilities…. as Gilda Radner once said of life, “delicious ambiguity!”….. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, 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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Remnants of patent leather madrigals….

Posted on June 29, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
I’ve started to write several times this morning, but each time was forced to begin again, having spewed pure garbage onto the page. Even this honest statement of dismay seems to me to be stilted and stupid; it seems doubtful, at this point, that anything worthwhile is going to be coming forth from the depths of my mind to grace our presence with wit and style. I’d give up, but, I’m stubborn….

Having thus disposed of at least the first paragraph, perhaps I can distract Murphy with my fuzzy brain….. If he thinks I’m already in a state of confusion, he will, sometimes, let me be, allowing me to fuck with myself, which, though no less destructive, is often less bloody, and takes less clean-up….. Funny, isn’t it, what we can learn to live with?…. Besides, even Murphy will have a hard time putting me in a depressed state today…. In a bit under eight hours, I’ll be getting into a limo, which will deliver me, and milady Patricia, to the cruise terminal to embark on our ten day trip to Alaska…. Very little in the universe could make me unhappy at this point….

The only hard part now is getting through these eight hours…. creating this Pearl will eat up some of it, and I’ve got some ideas of how to pass the time quickly…. but, nothing will make the clock move fast enough to suit us. Everything is done, and all we need to do is carry our bags to the curb to be on our way….. I’m so jazzed and excited, even coming up with the BS I can normally spew out on demand is a bit more than I feel easy with….. Oh well, such is life, as they say….

Shall we Pearl?…..
_____________________________

You knew it would happen today…. and, if you didn’t, you should have…. I had intended to make this a fresh pearl, old-school variety, and rant in the third section, provided I can find a rantable subject….. However, Smart Bee has gone over to Murphy’s side for the time being, and won’t cooperate with the plan…. so, I’m retreating to the archives for a short, pithy rant on religion, or religious philosophy, whatever that might mean…. This was originally posted in December of 2011…

“That which leads us to the performance of duty by offering pleasure as its reward, is not virtue, but a deceptive copy and imitation of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ffolkes,

Just so it’s clear…..I’m not an atheist, per se, at least, not in the classical sense of the word. I do hold beliefs regarding the subject of divinity and spirituality, but they bear no great resemblance to those espoused by any organized faith, and I don’t discuss them with anyone. It just causes arguments. I am not a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Unitarian, or a Buddhist, or any other of the virtually countless ‘isms’ people have come up with to try to understand those parts of the universe that we do not comprehend.

I’ve read the holy books of most of the major faiths; Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, the Bibles of several different Christian sects , the Tao Teh Ching, the I Ching, and any other related material I could find. Not that I made a complete heavy study of each, but I learned enough to be able to draw comparisons, and judge the validity of each (which I admit, is purely subjective. But then, isn’t any religious belief purely subjective? Why yes, I do believe it is…..).

It occurred to me, just now, that, maybe, for all these centuries we (that’s the human “we”…. meaning all of us as a group….) have sought to explain what we do not understand, we have been looking at things from the wrong perspective, at least in terms of intelligence, with its defined value to us being such that man considers himself greater than “lower” forms of life. The attitude that we are the pinnacle of creation is a given in almost every approach taken by philosophers and scientists in any explanation of why things are as they are. Since we have not the ability to create worlds (yet), or stars (yet), or universes (yet?), we attribute the state of things as we know them to creatures of vast wisdom and power, as “far above us as we are above bacteria or amoeba.” How often have you heard the last part? Isn’t that part of any definition of a god, or even God, by whatever name one calls him/her/them/it?

But what if the amoeba IS God? Amoeba are the most ancient form of life we know of, utilizing the simplest means of reproduction available (as far as WE know anyway…), and are an essential step in the formation of other life. Perhaps the entire bacterial level is God’s nervous system, and the amoeba are the thoughts of God. And as other forms of life evolved, maybe each entered another part of the symbiotic whole that is life, non-life, energy, matter, and non-matter, all of which must be present in order for our universe to manifest itself.

All of which makes our viewpoint completely backwards; we are the bottom of creation, not the top. Every other part of the universe, and almost every animal and creature on our planet we know of, except ourselves and our vaunted intelligence, are functioning, and functioning well, according to their place in Nature because they have no need to do anything else. Our intelligence is generally accepted to be that which makes us ‘better’ than the rest of creation, a convenient word to describe something that may not have been created at all, but might just happen to be the way it is, because it wants to be…..at least most of it does….so far we haven’t done too well at learning how to be at one with the rest of creation; quite the opposite, as a general rule…..

Hmmm…..well, I guess that’s one way to look at it…… at least with this credo, there’s no guilt, no shame, no incentives, and no rewards….. other than self-respect……

— How many amoebas does it take to change a light bulb? One. No, 2. No, 4. No, 8. No, 16. No, 32……. — Smart Bee
_____________________________

Some years ago, on the occasion of her mother’s passing, Patricia, my lady love, wrote a memorial tribute, in which she put a poem that she wrote for her mother…. I think it is very touching, as well as quite beautiful, and include it here, not to depress anyone, but to celebrate the life of her mother by sharing what Patricia felt when she wrote the poem….. Enjoy!….

She sits quietly,
Eyes in a wrinkled face,
Watching nothing,
Seeing everything.
A kaleidoscope of memories
flickers past.

Laughter mingles with tears,
Fear and sorrow melt into contentment.
A lifetime of joy and passion,
sorrow and doubt pass by.
Don’t hurry so, take your time.
Stop and listen
and she will tell you tales.

Tales of far away lands, great adventures,
great passion and greater trials.

She takes out the memories, one at a time,
Views them re-lives them,
brings them to life for her listeners.

Then tenderly, reverently, she wraps them again,
and places them, one at a time,
into fragile bubbles.

If you look closely, you can see them.

Tiny little flashes in her eyes……
Look close,
See them?

Individual memories encased in fragile bubbles.

In loving memory of June. T. Miller
1919-1998
by
Patricia Miller Larsen

_____________________________

Okay, it’s time to drop any pretense I have assumed…. Smart Bee isn’t cooperating, and my head just isn’t ready to be creative…. so, once again, I’ll have to dip into the past for the material to complete this Pearl…. So be it…. Here is a rather long, involved pearl from late in 2012… I think it’s one of my best, so, it will do for the moment’s need….. Enjoy!….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is the mind? Where is it, exactly? And how does it work?….. These are questions that have been asked throughout time, without ever finding answers on which all can agree…. Oh, there are many ideas, and every sage and his brother’s cousin’s friend’s uncle has a theory about it…. Finding pearls that discuss the matter was pretty simple, actually, as they just kept popping up in front of me…. for example, here are four that I found, all of which have an important part of the idea to discuss…..

“Whether time is long or short, and whether space is broad or narrow, depend upon the mind. Those whose minds are at leisure can feel one day as a millennium, and those whose thoughts are expansive can perceive a small house to be as spacious as the universe.” — Hung Tzu-ch’eng (1593-1665)

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.” — J. Krishnamurti

“Hypotheses are not to be multiplied without necessity.” — Occam’s Razor (aka, the K.I.S.S. axiom….) (see Hanlon’s Razor, aka Heinlein’s Corollary to Occam’s Razor) (See logic) (See Dick and Jane run….) (Just wanted to make sure you’re paying attention….)

“To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve the problems of life not only theoretically, but practically.” — Henry David Thoreau, American Philosopher (1817-1862) in Walden

You probably noted that one of these four was not like the others (Sesame Street teaches critical thinking well, does it not?….). Occam’s Razor has done more to advance science and philosophy than any unified field theorem, or any other wide ranging thought that mankind has come up with over the years. It cuts through the bullshit, and reminds us to concentrate on what is important, to not to go off on tangents that detract from the final outcome. It’s a way of approaching science and the fields of knowledge, and even Life, that offers the superiority of having been proven true over and over, in every experiment, in every field of science since it’s publication, sometime around the Renaissance period. William of Occam was, reportedly, a mathematician, and no doubt a very good one, as his assertion regarding hypotheses implies a certain impatience with bullshit; he likely wasn’t one to put up with foolishness for long….

Of course, there are always a few who don’t have the intelligence, or the courage, to stand up to Life, and they too have had their two cents worth put in for consideration….

“Do not learn more than you absolutely need to get through life.” — Karl Kraus (Seconded, I’m sure, by Homer Simpson….)

An obvious proponent of the entitlement crowd, this guy has expressed clearly the lack of courage that it takes to really retreat from life as can be done. These are the Republicans, the non-thinkers, the men and women who prefer to hide their heads in sand rather than meet reality with any dignity or bravery. Ignorance is their status of choice, as they don’t have to bother themselves to ever check things for truth, or even make up their own thoughts…. they just accept whatever the pundits, religious or political, tell them, because those pundits are the ones who are immoral and unethical enough to take advantage of their ignorance, and will tell them anything they want to hear, in order to soothe their bigoted fears, and, as a happy side effect, take all their money…. which they willingly give away, proving the old saw about fools and money…

I didn’t mean to get into a political rant, but I suppose it isn’t an ill-conceived idea at this point. Tonight will be the first of the Presidential debates between Obama and Romney, and a discussion of mind vs. no-mind seems appropriate somehow. We will get a pretty good picture drawn for us tonight, as one of the greatest speakers of our time, the POTUS, faces off in debate with one of the worst speakers I’ve ever seen, Mitt the Twitt, who has a proclivity for dropping bombs, and speaking without evidence of giving any thought at all to what he has just said to some group. This is an occupational hazard for someone who relies on lies and misrepresentations for the major portion of their message; it’s hard to sound true when one is obviously false…. No matter how much it gets dressed up and taught to sing and dance, a pig isn’t going to win any music contests with its squealing…..

“I’m not imaginary–I’m ontologically challenged” — Smart Bee

As might be guessed, the above is a joke, intended to poke fun at those who choose to live their lives without the benefit of using their minds…. to live one’s life in ignorance to me would seem to be the actions of a fool, by definition as well as practice. One may as well BE imaginary, if one is going to retreat from reality to the extent of turning off all curiosity, all doubt, and never using the mind for that which it was designed (if one believes in design….), or happened to evolve into…. The mind is our best, and possibly our only, ally against the harshness of reality, and it would behoove all of us to keep it in good working order, as befits a tool of such high quality…… T’is marginally better than treating it as a red-headed step-child, leaving it out to starve in the cold, harsh light of reality…..
_____________________________

Without even looking this over, I know it will do…. but, I’m anal about typos, so let’s see how it reads….. Given the handicaps under which I am operating today, it isn’t at all bad…. not terribly fresh, but still stimulating… and, it’s done…. Yay! Now I can get ready to rumble….. Next time I post will be from the road, so I can’t predict exactly when, but, it will be soon…. count on it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

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

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Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: J. Krishnamurti

A small dose of sweet sorrow….

Significantly trivial….

Yet another feast for fools….

Unfortunate innuendo, unleashed….

Officer, that rhinoceros is winking at me!….

Remnants of patent leather madrigals….

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