Tag Archives: Jean Anouilh

Hard lessons….

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Ffolkes,

“Appearances often are deceiving.”

~~ Aesop (620-560 B.C.) ~~

Ensenada plus 035

Southern view from La Bufadora, Ensenada, Baja Mexico…

Hajime…. Well, here we are, ffolkes, sitting, once again, to compose an opening statement for the latest version of sane craziness we call Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, aka, gigoid’s Folly. For nearly six years, up to about six months ago, I posted an average of 1500 words/day, with the specific purpose of ridding my own inner self of the dross and drivel that tends to build up over time, during my personal dream quest, otherwise known as living large in the real world, or, more commonly, life as we know it….

Approximately six months ago, physical issues related to aging (gracefully is a word not yet applicable to the process, sadly…), caused a change in both the paradigm, and the process, all of which is a complicated way to say I stopped posting as much, and stopped feeling guilty for having done so. The events I’ve experienced while re-encountering the Big Blue Room have been, quite simply, compellingly interesting enough to have completely shattered my consistency at posting, without even giving me a single quiver of angst. I suppose, were I to try to analyze the why’s & wherefore’s, I’d go back to being relatively insane, which, while not necessarily an unfamiliar hardship, still is not my preferred state of mind. Hmm… Gee, is that too complicated? Probably… But, it’s relatively accurate, and, did take up an entire paragraph, so, we’ll let it stand, and not worry about any sort of relevance….

That isn’t to say I don’t try to be relevant; it’s just not a habit I care to let solidify. Reality is far too fluid to expect it to fit into any of my, (or anyone’s, for that matter…), preconceived notions of how it should go. And, that is as it should be. If we knew too much of the future, we’d probably end up even crazier than we already are, and I don’t think Reality would hold up very well. Well, in truth, WE are what probably wouldn’t hold up, not that we ever have done so. I guess that’s as good a statement of how it all works as anything else I’ve encountered, so, perhaps we’ll just leave this train of thought right here in the station, and go walkabout instead….

Having thus arrived at a logical jumping off point, I shall leave this where it has collapsed, & just get on with what I’ve managed to cobble together in the past eight days, since my last fresh post…. The next time I return, I promise to have a NEW poem; the one that’s been leaking out for the past two months is finally beginning to gel, so, I’ll do my best to get it done for a couple days from now. For the nonce, let’s see what there is below to help us get on with this, before we start sliding down the slippery slope….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Dreaming permits each and everyone of us
to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.”

~~ Charles William Dement ~~

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clapton

I have been listening to the music played by this man for virtually my entire life. Beginning in 1963, with the original Yardbirds, his virtuosity with the guitar has been the benchmark for any and all aspiring guitarists to reach. The video I’ve included today is his latest work, from January of this year, and shows exactly why he has always been, and continues to be the best of the best…. Enjoy!….

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Eric Clapton Live
2018

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Comedy_Tragedy

Augmentation: Inner Aye

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

3/2/2016

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

Strangely congruent….

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“One does what one is;
one becomes what one does.”

~~ Robert Musil, c. 1930 ~~

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“Men are used as they use others.”

~~ Pilpay (or Bidpai), “The King who became Just’, Chap. ii, Fable ix ~~

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“The most important thing
that parents can teach their children
is how to get along without them.”

~~ Frank A. Clark ~~

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“I like reality. It tastes of bread.”

~~ Jean Anouilh ~~

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“It matters not how long you live, but how well.”

~~ Publius Syrus, Maxim 829 ~~

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“To fear love is to fear life,
and those who fear life are already three parts dead.”

~~ Bertrand Russell,” Marriage and Morals” ~~

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“It is good to live and learn.”

~~ Miguel de Cervantes, “Don Quixote”, Part ii, Book iii, Chap. xxxii ~~

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As he read over the words produced, the old man shook his head, slowly, with a small, sardonic smile. “Pathetic drabble”, he muttered. “But, it’ll have to do….” With some reluctance, but, a sense of renewed purpose, he slowly typed the last few lines, vowing to himself the next time would be different. With that small victory clutched tightly to his chest, he waves, and shouts, “See y’all in a day or two!”…. Be well, and happy as you may, 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

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Kowabunga!

À bientôt, mon cherí….



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Ffolkes,


“I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.”


~~ William Butler Yeats, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”~~


gull gang


Gang of young Irish Seagulls, Galway….


Hajime…. When one makes the decision to battle internal demons, one takes on an opponent with special knowledge, of all one’s weak points, and avenues of attack. It also means one’s own skills and talents can be used against one; I can attest, it makes any battle sure to achieve epic proportion. I’m not complaining; the alternative is to live in Hell, & that just isn’t going to happen, not while I live. But, it also means any clear victory comes at a heavy cost, at a time my bank account is at a low ebb. SIGH….. It’s a good thing I’ve learned to accept that nothing worth doing is going to be easy….


As I have often related, I do this to stay sane; whether or not it works is probably an area of judgment I would rather not enter, lest the answer be too much to bear. So far, I have lived, and loved, for a long time, and have yet to break my vow to refrain from killing; in some circles, that can be enough. For me, it’s never enough; if I was satisfied with my own state, it would never change. So, I struggle on, to find the center, where change is welcome, for we are balanced enough there to adapt to any change.


Now I’ve thoroughly confused everyone who stumbles in today, with a healthy dose of obscurity, I think it’s best to get the rest of this mess done, & get on with another day in Paradise, or, wherever this is. I can’t say, with any degree of confidence, I can predict how it will go, but, that’s probably a good thing. Too much too easily becomes too much, indeed. Rather than tempt Murphy’s kind attentions, let us adjourn to the meat of the matter, where we may find another piece of the puzzle. If not, well, so much for another day; we can always try again tomorrow, right? Right. For now, let’s do this….


Shall we Pearl?


“Forget about likes and dislikes.

They are of no consequence.

Just do what must be done.

This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.”


~~ George Bernard Shaw~~


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celtic design


When I went to look for inspiration for music today, this is what I found…. Given our opening lines, and the photo I chose, go figure, eh?. I guess you can take the boy out of the shamrock, but….


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Irish Folk Music






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Comedy_Tragedy


Illusory Time


Viewed from askance, the river is long;

deep, uncompromisingly intent, swift and strong.

In duality, perception creates our only reality;

such faux metaphoric paradox enforces mutability.


By two we perceive, both zero, and one;

digital, binary, on or off, such fun.

Separate, melded, we exist, knowing not what we know

ego, striving to be solitary, looking above, seeing below.


Furiously asleep, cultural anomaly claims a victim of choice;

validly unconscious, nobody speaks, nary a voice.

Potential escapees stir in dreams, fighting to wake,

until taking the wheel, for their own bloody sake.


Pots boil in due time, when the fire’s hot,

time exists to our advantage; or, not.

The solitary warrior, head bent in pain,

fights on, with, or without gain.


Night fell, day after day it persisted;

of those who knew, none showed any care, or resisted

Angels, ministers, none had any defense, nor grace;

all that remains is a face.


~~ gigoid ~~


10/22/2016


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pearls_3




Naked Pearls


Pieces of the whole….


*******


“To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves

and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows.

It’s easy to say no, even if it means dying.”


~~ Jean Anouilh ~~


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“Nothing matters very much,

and very few things matter at all.”


~~ Lord Balfour’s Contention ~~


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“Brains first and then Hard Work.”


~~ Eeyore, Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne~~


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“Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: “I’m with you kid. Let’s go.””


~~ Maya Angelou ~~


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“In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth,

while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped

to deal with a world that no longer exists.”


~~ Al Rogers, Global SchoolHouse Network, at CUE ~~


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“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”


~~ Bertrand Russell ~~


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“Truckin’, like the do-dah man

Once told me “Gotta play your hand.

Sometimes your cards ain’t worth a dime

If you don’t lay’em down.”

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me;

Other times I can barely see.

Lately it occurs to me

What a long, strange trip it’s been.”


~~ “Truckin'” by Garcia, Weir, Lesh, Hunter ~~


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Well, Ollie; this is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into. Fortunately, it’s done, so we can just ignore any warning signs we may have encountered, & be on our way with a smile and a whistle. Well, we could, if I could whistle any more…. I guess I’ll just say, see ya, & let it go at that for today…..


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.


dozer3


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
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Ffolkes,


“So then, these are the foundations, as they call them,

of all mixt bodies, and of all wonderful operations:

and whatsoever experiments they proved,

the causes hereof rested (as they supposed) and were to be found

in the Elements and their qualities.”


~~ Giambattista Della Porta – Natural Magick ~~


ignoring-it-all


Ignoring it all, as only a magicat can….


Hajime…. Rather than search through what I’ve already found to be an empty well, I believe it’s time to reiterate one of the most important, if not critical elements of these Pearls, which we are compelled to label as Virtual Wisdom, in order to maintain the proper frame of reference. Maintaining that frame is the responsibility, of course, of the Gentle Reader, aided as well as possible, when possible, by yours truly, in what I write, and what I try to provide, in the way of validly useful information to give shape, color, and tenor to the frame. The title, then, assumes an important place in the process, since it’s the first thing seen by each reader. That’s why it never has anything to do with the actual Pearl itself; you see, if we tried to do that, you’d come into this with an image, and an idea, that came from your interpretation of whatever the title may say…. To avoid any predisposition, the title, as far as I can make it so, means nothing, and has no relation to what passes below.


This may seem a bit, well, odd, but, it’s what I have found will work the best to prevent the reader from heading off into areas which will prejudice their flow of thought. Instead, knowing it means nothing relevant, each Gentle Reader learns to leave their mind open, free to hare off in whatever direction my insanity takes us; insane, yes, but, on the road to enlightenment. Crazy people aren’t necessarily stupid, you know; crazy isn’t always a handicap for humans. If you’ve ever been there, you’d know…. Besides, if the reader doesn’t know what to expect, it makes for better entertainment, if only for me.


That being said, to as little purpose as I could manage, I can now relate the bad news. Well, maybe it isn’t bad; like most of the news we see nowadays, it’s just news. Attach too much importance to it, and it can take over your life, leaving you in a state of continuous depression, as wave after wave of downright crazy shit bombards your sensibilities, as the world wends its wobbly path toward its destiny, whatever that may be. Since most of humanity has no clue, about where they’re going, or even where they’ve been, you can see the potential for disaster, I’m sure.


Oh, right, the news. The news is, I’ve got a Pearl finished. It’s not bad, even without a rant to stimulate and balance our angst; I kind of gave up ranting here on ECR, to spend the angst and energy commenting on other blogs & Twitter. I’ve also taken to dropping little rant bombs on Facebook, which amuses me no end, as well as providing valuable cathartic elements for my therapeutic relief. All that aside, this Pearl, while fairly standard, has some decent stuff included, which I find to be comforting, for unknown reasons. But, since the whole point of this process is to find my own balance and sanity, even comfort found without attribution is welcome….


I guess four paragraphs of rambling, introspective blather is enough for any intro, so, without any further waffling, I now declare this Pearl open for business….


Shall we Pearl?


“The worst deluded are the self-deluded.”


~~ Christian Nevell Bovee ~~


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mckennitt1


Loreena McKennitt


Image from innerviews.org via Google Images


I’ve heard this artist’s name a number of times, without ever taking time to explore her work. Like much in my experience, I’ve heard some of it, enough to make what I now hear familiar… It doesn’t detract from the purity of her voice, or the connection her music creates within the listener; it appeals to ancient rhythms that live already in our consciousness, though not perhaps, consciously. I hope you enjoy learning about yourself while you listen, as I do….


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Loreena McKennitt Live





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Comedy_Tragedy


Blithely Untitled


A poem came to me today, willy, nilly,

along with a sharp blow to the head.

Since it left me feeling just a bit silly,

anything that rhymes should lessen the dread.


Manifesting destiny into a small, insidious group

we push on toward sanity, concentrating hard.

Full engaging moments spent navigating the loop

shall ever make a difference to victims found in the yard.


Still corpses of creatures, straight out of nightmare

fill up the corners of our tortured minds.

While ever saddened, the iconic male, most debonair,

gazes softly, ironically, at all the mutual interest he finds.


Moronic public statutes compel outbreaks of sanity,

responding to momentary impulses toward inducing peace.

Still, the motions get completed, in fertile stages of inanity

while the bulk of our inmates can find no surcease.


Reluctant motivation to continue is unbound,

striving to ascertain how far there yet remains to go.

No precognitive guesswork will make any less of a sound

to soften the final strains, or teach us to truly know.


~~ gigoid ~~


2/7/2014


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pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Esoterica….


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“How admirable, he who thinks not,

Life is fleeting,

When he sees the lightning!”


~~ Basho ~~


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“The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.”


~~ Aristotle ~~


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“It’s exhilarating to be alive in a time of awakening consciousness;

it can also be confusing, disorienting, and painful.”


~~ Adrienne Rich ~~


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“I like reality. It tastes of bread.”


~~ Jean Anouilh ~~


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“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.”


~~ Sartre ~~


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“Because it’s there.”


~~Sir Edmund Hillary ~~


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“Education never ends…

It is a series of lessons with the greatest for the last.”


~~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ~~


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Having developed the process for creating Daily Pearls of Virtual Wisdom over more than five years now, on WordPress alone, I have come to trust it implicitly, for just the reason demonstrated today. It’s done, and done well, in spite of my own mental fog, and a conscious will still only half-awake. Not bad for 0455 am on a winter’s morn, eh? I think so, and, that’s what counts here. Besides, it’s done, and now I can go find something more realistically productive to do. (Fat chance of that…. shhh, he’ll hear me…) Let’s get started on that, shall we? See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; on that you may rely….


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


Featured Image -- 2780


À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
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Ffolkes,




“Cat philosophy: When in doubt, cop an attitude.” 


~~ Smart Bee ~~


OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA


Your will is my will….




Good morning…. For someone such as myself, deeply connected to the power of the Metaphorse, the feeling with which I awoke today is terrifying…. I can’t seem to find any understanding of metaphor anywhere; my mind sits and stares blankly, just trying to make some sense of the simple, uncomplicated expressions with which I am presented, such as the fine statement of confusion, below, from our old pal Zippy…. Anyone with the most simple understanding of such matters would realize Zippy was just looking for condiments; he was probably holding a Polish Dog, so he was temporarily overcome by the olfactory stimuli…. He has such a sensitive proboscis, after all…


Nonetheless, we have a job to do…. It’s a tough job, cleaning out a mind like gigoid’s every day, but, it has to be done, or the Space/Time Continuum would take a severe beating, and nobody wants that…. So, rather than whine any more, let’s just get on with it, hoping against all hope that Smart Bee isn’t in the mood for bullshit…. I’m afraid, if that’s the case, it could get a little messy before we’re done…. Oh, well, no choice, so, let’s get on with it….


Shall we Pearl?


“Is a tattoo real, like a curb or a battleship? Or are we suffering in Safeway?” — Zippy the Pinhead


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groucho and carmen


Groucho & Carmen



 Image from Pinterest.com via Google Images




Since we began the day with silly, it behooves us to continue in the vein…. What could be sillier than Groucho?….




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le penseur-rodin




    In February of this year, I created a pearl of good quality, which I ended up giving a title, an extremely unusual event, to be sure. It seems to be the right choice for today’s ranting section, simply to avoid any conflict with the tone of the rest of today’s effort…. In short, it seemed like the right thing to do, so, deal with it…. Really, it’ll be fine….


From 2/12/2014:


I’ve never gone for titling Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, or pearls, either, for that matter. For this one, though, if I were asked to give it a title, it would have to be:




The Rise and Fall of Homo Erectus


We shall never cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.


~~ T. S. Eliot ~~




“Life is pleasant.  Death is peaceful.  It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” — Isaac Asimov


“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.” — Goethe


“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” — Demosthenes


“Expedients are for the hour; principles for the ages.” — Henry Ward Beecher


“If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had been there, and if he found that flower in his hand when he awoke – Aye, and what then?” — Coleridge, “Anima Poetae”




Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,–

Now green in youth, now withering on the ground;

Another race the following spring supplies:

They fall successive, and successive rise.


~~ Alexander Pope ~~


~~ The Iliad of Homer, Book vi, Line 181 ~~




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Comedy_Tragedy




Unbidden, treasure unfolded…


Taken by surprise, Psyche sits numb

   Amidst tall phrases worn of elder time

Seeking a not-new place from which to come

   No shiny new horizon, nor altered paradigm.


Sudden regrets shape dreams as times maintain

   Shades of memories bring poignant clear sight

Visions of duty, each chosen wild campaign

   Shouts echoing clamors to enfold the night.


Arisen from less than eternal havens of sleep

   Facing moments created in torment and pain

Destiny weighs upon those chosen to keep

   As the sparrow flies now to sever the twain.


Faded pathways lead away, hazy and long

   Burned out verges, so long unknown

Images of yesterday, clear and strong

   Bleed into today, though t’is but my own……


~~ gigoid ~~




“Poetry–even bad poetry–may be our final hope.” — Edward Abbey


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A-laughing-girl-and-her-camel




    Okay, that does it…. This is the last time I give SB, or anyone, for that matter, free rein to pick out their own pearls…. The following nine-star group of gems (for lack of a better word) has to be the strangest damn pearl I’ve ever seen…. But, it all hangs together, and, damn it all if it doesn’t make a weird kind of sense…. You tell me….


“You can lead a yak to water but you can’t teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig in a poke.” — Opus


“Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.” — Henry Van Dyke


“To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It’s easy to say no, even if it means dying.” — Jean Anouilh


“While all things have their opposites, it is also true that in each the spirit of the opposite exists. — Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi writer


“I reject that philosophy. The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.” — Douglas Adams through Dirk Gently


“Clay is moulded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing. … Thus, taking advantage of what is, we recognize the utility of what is not.” — Lao Tzu


“If a camel flies, no one laughs if it doesn’t get very far.” — Paul White


“So, this doesn’t mean anything, but at least it’s not obvious nonsense.” — Hugh Young


“‘Scuze me while I kiss the sky…” — Jimi Hendrix, Purple Haze


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I think, maybe, tomorrow, I will take a bit more interest in what takes place here…. Today’s effort, such as it is, was brought to you by the number 13, and through the kind auspices of that fine old philanthropic institution, Bones For Bozos; fortunately, for them AND us, they didn’t know anything about it. I’ll be back tomorrow, to see if some sort of amends can be made to all who were offended by today’s nonsense…. We’ve got a slush fund that may be able to help any who suffered DNA damage…. As long as I’m not incarcerated at some undisclosed location, 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,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….