The world is my oyster, I shall not whine….

Posted on December 20, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Don’t store garlic near other victuals.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

Leelu, platting her next move….

Hajime…. Today, our opening line from Lazarus Long has more meaning than usual, as well as more than is immediately obvious upon first reading it. To understand Lazarus’ point, one must put in some heavy, yet subtle thought on the matter, before the light dawns….. Some see it right away, but, for those who do not, & may mistrust me on this, let me assure you, it isn’t talking just about garlic….

For us, today, it has more meaning because it fits in with the day I had yesterday… at least, up until writing this, of course. Who can say what may happen after? Not me, nor will I even attempt such foolishness. I AM old enough to know better; moreover, I’m old enough to listen when I tell myself that.

I was awakened at 0722 by Leelu, who was annoyed a bit when I rolled over & ignored her for another twenty minutes of sack time…. Once up, coffee brewing, we played for a few minutes, then I distracted her with food while I drank my first cup, & tried to complete yesterdays’ Pearl; some of that episode was related there.

Today, I have managed, in between our mutual training sessions, to complete this Pearl, a full 17.5 hours ahead of the time I usually post, at 0600, or as close as I can get. AND, Leelu now will jump up almost anywhere I ask her to, on command…. Bonus!

Yay! Now, I can even try to work a day, or two, ahead…. To complete this Pearl, tomorrow morning, I’ll just need to write is the closing section, which I like to compose on the day I post…. That way, nobody knows if the Tardis was involved, or not…. Plus, it’s good practice for evading cyber-security paranoiacs…. such as our own government. Ya gotta do what ya can to confuse your metadata; then they can’t predict you as well…. and, they certainly don’t need to know when I use the blue box…. if you get my drift.

Ahem…. Anyway, this one’s done, complete with a new poem, freshly written yesterday, and two, yes, two sections with old-school pearls jammed with metaphor, as well as a touch of smarm and innuendo…. What’s a pearl without a little innuendo, eh? Not much to write home about, that’s for sure. To ensure this introductory section doesn’t even come close to that particular standard of quality, I think we’ll get on with the course of business for today, and get this slow on the toad…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“The present is only a mathematical line which divides that part of eternal duration which we call the future, from that which we call the past.” — H. P. Blavatsky

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Image from youtube.com via Google Images

Today’s video selection s a band to which I was introduced by a friend, a couple months ago, via Twitter… I’m not sure, exactly, why this seems appropriate, but, since I’ve listened to it, I have to say, it fits. I guess I feel like being raucous…. Enjoy, ffolkes; everyone else in this video did….

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Dropkick Murphys
Live: St. Patrick’s Day 2002

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https://youtu.be/jQVaH8pC2Kw

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“War would end if the dead could return.”

~~ Stanley Baldwin ~~

As is probably becoming obvious by now, to me, if to no one else, ranting is becoming more of a chore than a joy. This doesn’t mean it’s over, or, there will be no more of them; it just means, now, I have to think of something else to do to sublimate the anger, and disillusionment I experience every damn day, not only reading the news, which never seems to change for the better, but, by walking on the damn streets, where all the bullshit the Asininnies have been, and, are up to, is becoming annoyingly ubiquitous.

That said, anyone who’s been here before already knows what is coming; any newbies will just have to figure out what happened later. For now, just read the following pearls, let them run around playing in your head, and you’ll have an idea of why I rant so fucking often….. I hope. If not, well, there’s always tomorrow……

Naked pearls

How’s the water in there?

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“Water really has no value…. until the well runs dry.” — Subtle Bee

“Government, today, is growing too strong to be safe. There are no longer any citizens in the world; there are only subjects. They work day in and day out for their masters; they are bound to die for their masters at call. Out of this working and dying they tend to get less and less.” — H.L. Mencken

” — Bother! said Pooh,as he joined Black September.” — Twisted Bee

“How do you like the new America? We’ve cut the fat out of the government, and more recently the heart and brain (the backbone was gone some time ago). All we seem to have left now is muscle. We’ll be lucky to escape with our skins!”– Carlinesque Bee

“Monotheism is a gift from the gods!” — Sardonic Bee

“It seldom happens that a man changes his life through his habitual reasoning. No matter how fully he may sense the new plans and aims revealed to him by reason, he continues to plod along in old paths until his life becomes frustrating and unbearable – he finally makes the change only when his usual life can no longer be tolerated.” — Tolstoy

“Huh?” — Joe Average, Anywhere, Amurrica

“God Himself has no right to be a tyrant.” — William Godwin — “Sketches in History” 1784

Onwards Christian Soldiers,
Onwards Buddhist Priests.
Onward, Fruits of Islam,
Fight till you’re deceased.Fight your little battles.
Join in thickest fray;
For the Greater Glory,
of Dis-cord-i-a.Yah, yah, yah,
Yah, yah, yah, yah.
Blfffffffffffft!

~~ An Erisian Hymn~~~~ by Rev. Dr. Mungojerry Grindlebone ~~~~ KOB Episkopos, THE RAYVILLE APPLE PANTHERS ~~

The last line of the hymn, perhaps, says it all best….. Most days, I feel a Bronx cheer is the best response one might have to everything outside one’s own space…. which is about all we have any sort of control over…. Ah, well, Life goes on, doesn’t it? So far, so good…..

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Sir I admit your general rule
That every Poet is a Fool
But you yourself may serve to show it
That every Fool is not a Poet

~~ rendered from the French by Pope ~~

Manifesto, sotto voce

In retrospect, I’ve gotta say,
it’s all been rather a muddle.
Life’s tough, ‘they’ say, it’s just that way.
Lots of misery, not much cuddle.

Me, I’ve found life a bit different
than ‘they’ seem to have done.
It’s all been rather excellent;
I’ve had loads & loads of fun.

Sure, there’s been some bad shit.
Who can’t say that?
All of that pales, all of it
when one hugs a dog, a child, or a cat.

I’ve seen, fought, and felt, more than my share,
the presence of evil in life.
The pain that remains often seems unfair;
I ask why I chose to deal with such strife.

I can always find the answer in the same place,
right where it has ever resided.
All we need to do is embrace
the joy we’ve given, and been provided.

Simple is good.

Balance is good.

Life can be both.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/19/2015

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Naked Pearls

Life to Death

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“Nowhere is now here.”~~ Nakagawa Soen Roshi ~~

“It is past all controversy that what costs dearest is, and ought to be, most valued.” Miguel de Cervantes — Don Quixote, Part i, Book iv, Chap xi

(Comment, sotto voce: Is this not an excellent definition of Life? — gigoid)

“Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.” — Adolph Monod

“When an idea is wanting a word can always be found to take its place.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“When Alexander asked Diogenes whether he wanted anything, “Yes,” said he, “I would have you stand from between me and the sun.” — Plutarch — Life of Alexander

“At the bottom no one in life can help anyone else in life; this one experiences over and over in every conflict and every perplexity: that one is alone. That isn’t as bad as it may first appear; and again it is the best thing in life that each should have everything in himself; his fate, his future, his whole expanse and world.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

“The world is no nursery.” — Sigmund Freud

“Be obscure clearly.” — E.B. White

“When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.” — Chinese Proverb

“When the first living thing existed, I was there waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I’ll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights, and lock the universe behind me when I leave.” — Death

Knowledge by suffering entereth,

And life is perfected by death.

~~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning ~~

~~ A Vision of Poets, Conclusion ~~

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Done; not only done, but, done before I got up. Good thing, too; it’s taken me damn near an hour to wake up enough to write this. Ah well, planning solves many problems, if the plan works. Since it did, we’ll get on with the business of leaving, and, leave. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as my computer stays up, and the angst stays down…. I know crazy optimism, again…. Deal with it, until tomorrow….

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….

Fifty-seven shades of brown….

Posted on December 11, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If I had my life to live over again, I’d be a plumber.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

The Innocent, Earnestly Sincere Face

Hajime…. Today, in section 2 or 3 (I get confused, because this is the intro, so I never know whether or not to count it… Wishy-washy, I know…. Let it be, or we’ll never get anywhere today.), we’ll begin a new direction for ECR. It may or may not end up as a permanent fixture; if it works well enough, maybe I’ll just start another blog page for it. I DO own the domain, and I can have as many as I want, I believe, so, we’ll see…. I think you’ll enjoy it, mainly because I have to think that, or I couldn’t post it…. Duh.

But, who doesn’t like Leelu? How could you not like such a face? But, that’s enough about her. Let’s get back to talking about me, er, uh, blogging.

Okay, busted. But, if I go too far, it won’t work, and Leelu, I know, wouldn’t like that. Since she’s in charge, now, (or, so she believes, anyway….), I try to keep her happy. So, you’ll just have to wait…. We all must learn, at some point, to accept disappointment in life; you may as well get used to it…. No, I’m not going off on a tangential rant, I’m speaking generally, and pontifically, to distract you from the fact I’m not really saying anything either important, or prophetic…. Thank something for that….

Where now? Hmm…. Should I use some literary sleight-of-hand? Perhaps the old…. no, I’ve used that too much. Maybe the…. no, just did that two days ago. How about that….. maybe. I think though,what might work best would be for me to just stop asking myself, and y’all, these silly questions, to which only I know the answers, anyway. If I just clear my head for a moment, I think the proper method will present itself….. Just too much Sturgeon’s Law in my head today, so far, anyway…. Okay, OOOOOMMM MAANNE PAAADME HUUUUUUM!…

Ah, got it! I knew that would do it. It was quick, mainly because it was right there in front of me the whole time. Plus, it’s simple, sustainable (a new PC catch-word), and, no tools or special items needed. Here’s how it works…. watch closely, now….

Shall we Pearl?….

“He was once asked what a friend is, and his answer was, “One soul abiding in two bodies.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

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Image from jambase.com via Google Images

I’ve never listened to Phish; I only know the bassist sat in for an acoustic session with one of the best guitarists alive, (Eric Clapton, or Leo Kottke, or somebody of their level of expertise…. I forget just now, and I’m too lazy to go look…), so, they must be pretty good. (SIGH…. I looked. It was the bass player, Mike Gordon, sitting in with Leo Kottke…. See my memory isn’t so bad…. and, Gordon is an outstanding bassist, for sure….) If the first cut is any indication, I’ve found a new modern band I can actually enjoy. I hope you do, as well; a lot of folks apparently like their music, so, hey, why not, eh?….. Let’s have a listen, shall we?…..

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Phish Live
Austin, Texas 7/28/2015

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https://youtu.be/no9alXlStts

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Addendum to the above: I checked this out last night…. This be some good shit, ffolkes…. These guys know how to rock…. and boogie…. and blue notes, too….

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The Astounding Adventures of Leelu and gigoid on Earth

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Welcome, fellow travelers…. Leelu wanted me to begin today by giving you the background behind these…. Well, there’s just no other word for them but adventures. You see, it started like this…..

As the voice announced the delayed arrival of the next flight to Paris at SFO airport, Leelu Magicat materialized quietly in an unobtrusive corner of the room of private phone booths. Knowing instinctively where she had arrived, she temporarily became transparent to other minds/eyes on this plane of existence, allowing her the freedom to move about without hindrance from any of the numerous humans blundering around the airport facility.

Walking through the crowds, her intuitive vision picked out a human who was going where she knew she needed to be, so she simply followed him, as he walked through the terminal to the BART station, boarding the first train going to Richmond from SFO. She had picked a good time to arrive, late at night/early morning, which thinned the crowds once the train passed San Francisco, allowing her to relax at the proximity to so many minds, intruding rudely and loudly on her own, as their confusion and illusions cried out in gibberish…. It got to be uncomfortable after a time, unless she chose to listen with mindfulness to only one, which was more effort than it was usually worth.

Once leaving the train, the human boarded a bus, to a town called Vallejo, situated on the northeast shore of the Bay, behind an island which had formerly been a US Naval Base, until the Cold War supposedly ended in the latter half of the twentieth century. As the bus came off the freeway, to head toward the central part of town, she had the urge to depart the bus, so, got off before arriving downtown….

As soon as the bus pulled away, she walked in the direction intuited, about two blocks, & saw her destination. As she approached, she assumed the shape she intended to use to train her companion to understand her, to learn from her what he would need in the coming events, and, most important, to her, to him, and to the Universe, to love her….

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

What you have read above is what I have realized, reasoning from perceptions received below my level of consciousness; the information was found in my mind, though I have no idea from whence or where it came to be there…. I figure Leelu has been practicing her telepathy; it’s the only thing that makes sense, given how we met, and how our learning to live together became not merely an obligation from the Universe, but, a chosen duty, making it, for me, impossible to ignore, or abrogate….. I’m funny that way; my father would be appalled if I’d made any other choice…. I’d hate to even think of what my mother might have said, had I chosen to chase her away….

That said, here is what occurred: I arose one morning, to find myself out of milk/half& half for my coffee. This is, for me, a minor disaster, not to mention a pain in the nether regions; nevertheless, I sucked it up, dressed, and took off on the four blocks to the store…. As I returned home, climbing the first couple steps of the stairs leading up to my door, I heard a soft mewling, like a cat calling a kitten…. When I got to the fourth step, the sound clarified into what was obviously a kitten, not a full grown cat, which I could now see sitting on the rug before my door….

The wee beastie, small but sturdy and, cat clean, heard my steps, immediately striding toward me, mewling madly, as I were late. I topped the stairs, whereupon she began winding in and out between my feet, putting both of us in danger of tumbling down the 14 feet into the yard. I asked her to calm down, so I could get the door open. She sat, looked at me, and waited as I unlocked the screen, then, opened the door for her to enter…. She strode in, as if she had always lived there, politely turning to wait for me to shut the door. When shut, she put her paws as high on my ankle as she could reach, and mewled piteously to be picked up….

What was I to do? I picked her up, whereupon she began purring loudly, snuggling into my hold, and gazing with a direct, clear expression of confidence, trust, and, obvious love shining from them like a beacon, making it perfectly obvious I had been adopted by one of the descendants of Bastet, with whom our species has had an agreement since the dawn of time….

We are now companions; I don’t own her. She is, most likely, what would have been known, in elder days, as my familiar…. To me, she is partner, best bud, and teacher/student…. She has already given me more love, compassion, and lessons about LIFE, just by showing me again how to approach it with passion, verve, style, and gusto…. “Fortune favors the bold”, is one I’ve seen attributed to many sages/kings/warriors throughout history; she is living proof of that ancient adage.

Only Noah, my old heeler/shepherd buddy, who died at age 18 in 2012, taught me as Leelu has begun to show me…. It’s kind of funny, in an ironic way, because, here I am, a 65 year-old self-professed philosopher/scholar/warrior, who is, most happily, back in school, with a teacher who is, as far as I can tell, about five months old…. Go figure, eh?

By observation, confirmed by the veterinarian I had check her out, and give her the necessary inoculations to protect her, she is half Siamese, half Tortoiseshell Calico, a truly magical combination…. As the pictures I’ve included thus far show, she is, and will be, a gorgeous cat, strong, fast, smart as a whip, and, with mental and metaphysical powers we humans not only do not possess, but, often cannot even comprehend…. I’ve counted, and at this age, she already has 40 whiskers, many more than usual even for an older cat…. When she stares at things, alive or inanimate, they KNOW it…. I can feel it through the bathroom door sometimes, if I’m in there too long…

Needless to say, new magical things happen every day; I’ve already related how she saved the Universe once already. She has planted in my mind that she wishes to accompany me when I leave, and wants a halter and leash, so we can practice walking together…. She also wants a carrier she can see out of, so she can travel with me when I feel the wanderlust with which I am blessed/cursed….. It seems she refuses to consider being left alone for very long. If I have to walk four blocks to the store, I always find her, sitting right in front of it when I return, staring holes through it….. and looking at me with disappointment in her eyes…. which she always drops to run forward to greet me….

It’s going to be interesting, in much more than just the Oriental meaning. Life has become more interesting, more challenging, more…. well, just more…. And, I’m pretty sure it’s only going to get more interesting, as Leelu continues to reveal her powers, and tell me more of our actual work here on Earth…. You see, she is on a mission, and we have things we will need to do in the coming years to prepare to take up that challenge…. I can’t wait….

gigoid, the dubious

Leelu’s companion…..

12/11/2015

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Justifiable Insanity

An incredibly insane, vivid abhorrence fills me up today,
because of a thought which occurred to me.
I was merely thinking about what all the headlines have to say,
when I was pushed onto a train of thought, you see.

I began to ride the train, resigned to wherever I went, as it willed.
I was directed by imagination, to consider for a moment or two,
to seek how many reasons a Man has given for when he killed,
count them, count them, curiosity demanded, or, suffer, you…..

So, I tried to count the words I’d seen, or read, or heard,
in the reports we see all over the news and TV’s.
I had to grab a dictionary, to check off each word,
my memory is good, but, not for such numbers as these.

It seemed so simple, when I began my chosen task,
how many could there possibly be?
I probably should have known better than to ask,
for every page had an example; look for yourself, and see.

How many did I come up with, many might ask?
Too many to count, as it turns out,
at least, for anyone of flesh and bone to complete the task.
Even a computer would simply freak out.

If you think I’m being funny, well, you are dead wrong.
Just like all the people who die each day, for ideas, principles, or religion,
or any of the tens of thousands who die each hour, because of delusion so strong,
Mankind’s entire history consists of little more than perverted contagion.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/10/2015

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This may seem like an odd assortment of pearls; it doesn’t SEEM to have any direction, or purpose, or much of a message, other than, perhaps, “huh?”…. ‘S okay, we’ve been here before; trust the process, ffolkes. Just let your mind drift through with each quote as it presents itself; when you reach the end, it will all be clear…. And, if not, you can have every penny you paid for it refunded…. Not a bad deal, all in all…..

“Be ruled by time, the wisest counselor of all.”

~~ Plutarch ~~

~~ Life of Pericles (B.C. 495-429) ~~

“It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.” — Henry David Thoreau

“It was the saying of Bion, that though the boys throw stones at frogs in sport, yet the frogs do not die in sport but in earnest.” — Plutarch — Which are the most crafty, Water or Land Animals?

“He alone is an acute observer who can observe minutely without being observed.” — Lavater

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” — Johann Wolfgan von Goethe

“An ass is but an ass, though laden with gold.” — Romanian Proverb

“Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 22

“Baby, after considerable thought I’ve reached the conclusion that the only conceivable legitimate answer to the Universe as constituted is a peal of hysterical laughter.” — Keith Laumer, _Night of Delusions_

“Would I lie?”

~~ gigoid, the dubious ~~

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Okay, I did it. Leelu seems to approve, as she is sitting calmly, watching me type this closing paragraph. Since other duty calls, and she now wants to play, I’d best be about the rest of today…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; who knows? Maybe there’ll be another chapter, or another new poem…. Never can tell around here….. As a blogger friend is fond of signing off…. I love you! Sappy, I know, but, hey, true enough, so, deal…. Ta, then….

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….

Pollinated twisty bread, nicely packaged….

Posted on December 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

Laser-eye Leelu

Hajime…. ‘Tis indeed unusual for me to feel energetic, or, for that matter, less than homicidal, at this time of day. That’s a simple, obvious direct result of the severe insomnia I experienced for about 3-4 months. Now, after a night of 10 solid hours, again, I find myself feeling almost normal in the mornings, if with a bit more pain than in previous times in life. Hey, I accept, now, I’m 65, not 25; for a long time, like, I think, all of us, we try to deny the passage of time; that feeling of immortality we maintain for much of our youth carries over into middle and elder stages, unfortunately…. Then, something brings us up short, realizing, hey, that hurts! And, it’s something that never hurt before…. and, we realize, our life will never be quite the same….

THAT is, I believe, a moment which must come to us all, like it or not. Oh, we can continue to deny the effects of the passage of time on our bodies and minds; in my opinion, there’s a word for folks who try that…. corpses. Yep, that’s one of those really STUPID things we humans tend to do, and, every time, it will kill us, because, hey, the Universe just doesn’t give a shit about how we feel, about anything, much less a force of nature like aging, and dying…. After all, the process IS merely another example of how our lives are so connected to reality, for all of reality experiences the same aging process…. The Universe, however, doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as we seem to do….

Ah well, maybe if we’d try, as a species, to understand a bit more about death, perhaps we would handle living with a bit more style and elegance. As it is, much of humanity dies hard, and afraid; it’s considered a lucky man or woman who dies at an old age, in bed, with friends and family at their side. The major portion of life is spent trying to arrange a comfortable death, with the greater part of us failing miserably at that…. Or, at least, that’s the way I see it. I guess maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, for I see the ever-present battle in Reality being won by Chaos and Entropy, while the Order and Reason attempted by Man, falls into disuse and ill repute.

At this point in this narrative, I see it has already fallen into ranting mode, which is always dangerous here….. Y’know what else. I’m tired of all the doom and gloom I see all over the fucking world, including right here where I live, where every day I see falsely-entitled police forces hassling homeless and poor people, just because they can. I’m tired of the assholes who run this world thinking they can lie, cheat, and steal from everyone else, and get away with it. And, I’m tired of being lied to…. especially that. The so-called leaders of this country, and of every country in the world I read about, in their own words, suffers the same issue; the world is being raped, and pillaged, by just a small percentage, while the rest of us try to get by in a world gone mad….

Fuck it, let’s go find some pearls, to help get rid of some of this angst, and, maybe, in the process, find a bit of humor, and maybe even some hope….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Life is the childhood of our immortality.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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The Grateful Dead

Images from an email from Dead.net

Last night I was listening to some of the music I’ve downloaded from You Tube. Specifically, I was checking out some of the bands who played covers of Dead music for the Dead Covers Project in 2014. The Project started in 2013, I believe, and has produced some of the finest home-grown, home-made music one can find anywhere. I listened to the one I’ve included, and can tell you, you HAVE to see, and hear the lead guitar solo in this song. About three or four minutes in, the band breaks into some solo breaks. The lead guitar player, like most of the band, is an obvious O.O.F., apparently about 70-75 years old….

I swear, the old fart NAILS the solo; not only does he nail it, he kills it! Fast, clean, and rockin’, he, and the other old farts in this particular band, rocked the house where they played, back East sometime in 2014…. It’s well worth seeing, as are any number of the other covers that amateurs sent in each year…. Check them out; there are a lot of surprises. Some are really bad, but, some, like this one, will amaze you at the musicianship of the players…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a blast from the past, right here in the future….

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BEGGARS TOMB
New Minglewood Blues
Dead Covers Project 2014

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https://youtu.be/KoALTQNFL7Y

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“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad, “Under Western Eyes”

What a wonderful beginning for a rant! Too bad I’m not up to writing one… Plus, I’m in too good a mood to go there, so, instead, we’ll go with this discussion from a very good early Pearl, about a year after coming to WP. I hope you enjoy it; I did…. and, hell, I wrote it, and I’m a harsh self-critic….

From 10/21/2012:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.~~ Rudyard Kipling ~~

~~ Just So Stories (1902) “The Elephant’s Child” ~~

I first read the phrase “feeding the Elephant’s Child” in a Robert Heinlein novel, many years ago, and enjoyed it as a metaphor for reading/learning, before I knew from whence it originally came. Once I did know (a moment of illumination whose exact placement in time is hazy….), I liked it even more, from an aesthetic standpoint. The above little ditty is brilliant doggerel, astute observation, and deep insight, all presented in a simple, straightforward style, with a powerful, basic lesson for any would-be philosopher, or any one who wishes to encompass reason as their modus operandi, so to speak. Besides which, I find that another piece of Bob’s advice fits well with this one, to wit: “Life tastes better in big bites….”

“Never wear anything that panics the cat.” — P. J. O’Rourke

I like this, a lot. It summarizes perhaps one of the most elemental rules of getting along in the Universe, in essence saying, “You can learn a lot by watching what happens around you…” It is the perfect companion to the concept of learning as presented above, as it contrives to speak to both sides of Reality, i.e., how you approach reality (the clothing you choose to show to the cat….) and how reality will change to react to your approach (the cat’s opinion of your clothing….) It also gives one a subtle warning about how the wrong clothing can produce unwanted consequences, and we all know how an offended cat is likely to respond…. as Mark Twain once remarked…. “A man who carries a cat by the tail is learning valuable things. He will never again be dim or doubtful. Chances are he’ll not carry the cat that way again, but, I say, if he wants to, let him!” You can’t say fairer than that….

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

One can always trust the Buddha to state the most profound thoughts in the simplest way…. I often wonder how he came to such a complete understanding of Murphy, whose presence is acknowledged in all of what the Buddha stated, but whose ministrations seem to have passed by the Buddha’s existence…. either that, or Murphy shows him a lot more respect than he does anyone else alive. At times, it seems that what the Buddha states, such as in this statement, is, in at least one respect, an answer to a question that is raised when Murphy intervenes in our lives…. in simpler words, he explains why Murphy is able to affect us as he does, by cutting through the bullshite we perceive to the truth of what is real….. SIGH…. one of these days, enlightenment will slap me upside the head, and I’ll be able to see Murphy coming…. I hope…

There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan

Often I feel as if not only is life a joke, but it is our duty and purpose on this plane of existence to codify that joke, to put it down on paper, or on screen/disc, to free ourselves from the prison of sobriety, achieving an understanding that everything in this silly universe is here for our amusement, and we have been taking it, and ourselves, seriously for entirely too long….. So seriously, we have begun to offend those parts of the universe that just want us to relax and enjoy ourselves, and the time is growing nearer when we will have to admit that the joke is on us, for not being able to change our inner selves enough to be able to handle the humor of our situation…. See, the universe thinks death is funny…. not because it is cruel, but because death is just another part of life, and it doesn’t care about one more than the other…. See, now, isn’t it funny how you never noticed that?…..

I once read a science fiction novel, whose title and author escape me completely; in all it was very poorly written, with prose that did not live up to the good ideas contained in the plot line. However, it was a great plot line, in all….Specifically, there was one chapter I liked, which had a super-genius taking on the task of finding the solution to a mathematical treatise, an equation so complex and advanced that no civilization in the galaxy had ever been able to completely solve it.

The genius/hero of the book shut himself up in his room for three weeks, working on the problem. At the end, he was thinking so hard he entered a trance-like state, computing while nearly dead…. after a week of this, he suddenly opened his eyes, gave a look of astonishment, and burst into uncontrollable laughter for approximately 25 minutes. When he could finally control himself, he simply said, “It’s a joke….” and would never discuss it again….

In a pearl such as this one has grown to be, there comes a time when I have to decide whether to continue on, to try to reach the conclusion that was nebulously hovering somewhere in my mind as I began, or to admit that I have once again wandered into uncharted territory, and might find it a bit tricky to find my way back to clarity. This is that time…. and I’m leaving it up to Smart Bee, as always…. If I don’t find a proper pearl to carry on the tenuous chain of thought I’ve created, then we’ll take the first one that will appropriately wrap it up as a lost cause….. all within a specified number of attempts…. so, here we go… You’ll know in a moment what will happen….

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

There, see?…. That didn’t take long at all…. and I managed to find the perfect pearl to cover both bases…. In this case, we will use it as an ending quote, since it sort of summarizes a lot of the discussion, after a fashion. It could conceivably also be used as a springboard for further discussion, but this has gone on long enough, and I wouldn’t want to lose anybody due to an injudicious application of excess verbiage, culminating in tedium…. Of course, we may have reached that point some time ago, but, hey, who’s counting?…. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into not very much….

🙂

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Today’s poetry choice is here simply for the final line; it fits perfectly with my mood, and, tells us everything we need to know to have life just the way we want it, if we are smart enough to take it….

Dreaming of Calliope

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

12/13/2012

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

Naked Pearls III

“To know and to act are one and the same.”

~~ Samurai Proverb ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Happiness follows sorrow,
sorrow follows happiness,
but when one no longer discriminates
between happiness and sorrow,
a good deal and a bad deed,
one is able to realize freedom.”

~~ Buddha ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Do not eat your heart.”

~~ Pythagoras ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Truth is the summit of being,
justice is the application of it to affairs.”

~~ Emerson ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Learn or die.”

~~ Reality ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”

~~ Salvor Hardin, in Foundation by Isaac Asimov ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Adversity is the first path to truth.”

~~ Lord Byron ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.”

~~ Josh Billings ~~

~~~~~~~~~

‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the word.’
Already I stick, and who shall help afford?
The ‘word’ at such high rate I may not tender;
The passage I must elsewhere render,
If rightly by the Spirit I am taught,
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the Thought.’ By the first line a moment tarry,
Let not thine eager pen itself o’er-hurry!
Does ‘thought’ work all and fashion outright?
It should stand: ‘In the beginning was the Might.’
Yet even as my pen the sentence traces,
A warning hint the half-writ word effaces.

The Spirit helps me – from all doubting freed,
Thus write I: ‘In the beginning was the Deed.’

~~ Dr. Faustus, Wolfgang Goethe, “Faust” ~~

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

Well, gosh. It’s done, and I’m NOT exhausted. What a nice way to start the day! Without my usual mistrust of such good feelings, I’m going to take the money and run. Should be easy, as the money doesn’t exist. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’m afraid there’s just no way to avoid it; it seems to be written in stone…..

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….

No arguing, or it’s okra for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner…

Posted on December 7, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Follow it and you will not see its back.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

Mountainous ice shoreline on Pluto

Image by NASA via the New Horizons Spacecraft

Hajime…. Today, I’d like to begin with a paean. Don’t worry, context will let you figure it out, if’n you don’t already know. It’s a paean to people, of course, because, hey, people here, myownself. And, I don’t even care if my, or your, spellchecker hates that word. It’s not very many people, so it’s not a very big paean, but, it IS sincere, so, I have to do it. I’m funny like that, I guess….

I LOVE these people. Quite simply, and, quite truly. I’ve never met any of them in the flesh, yet I know of them, and their lives, their ideas, their families, just as they know mine, by having read their blog for more than four years, minimum; the reverse, naturally is true. There are about forty or fifty people I still see regularly, perhaps more, and, always some newbies.

These ffolkes, on the other hand, have been here every day they were healthy enough to be at a computer, or were otherwise prevented by simple non-access to the Net. They, of course know who they are, so I don’t have to say it; all I want to say is, I love you, and thanks for being. I’m old enough now to know there are never any wrong times to tell those you love that you do; how many times have you passed up the chance?

I try not to pass them up when I think of it, and, this paean of gratitude, and sappy emotional stuff that DOES count in the final Quiz, is for them, the people I consider my WordPress family….. May whatever light is left in the world shine on all of us, for as long as we can hold the darkness at bay…..

Now, you may wonder what prompted today’s emotional outburst, other than the PTSD I live with each day? Well, easy. I wrote a Haiku. That’s all. It’s a damn good one, and, it’s placed where it happened when it leaked out of whatever part of my brain had been holding it. You’ll see, if you’re strong enough; it’s not really hidden, just put where it has to be. It was prompted by two things, yesterday’s Pearl title, and, the sight of one of the aforementioned family friends icon appearance, from where I know he lives, across the world…. I had to smile, and, there it was, right in front of me… Trust me, it’s a good haiku….

So, how’m I doing with the new, mysterious intro technique? Is it holding your interest? No? Ah. Oh, well. ‘S okay, we’re done here anyway. Even if YOU aren’t dazed and confused, I certainly am, so, we’re good to go. Luigi has been practicing, because he heard what a good job Guido did while he was off on his vacay…. Let’s see if it takes…. Luigi! Let’s do it!…. Hang on, ffolkes; I’m a little nervous myself, if the first paragraphs didn’t clue you….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.”

~~ Robert Heinlein ~~

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

Wolfie

Image from sumwear.com via Google Images

Whenever I experience my deepest moments of personal darkness, I turn to the music of this man, and, in particular, this piece. Some consider it the finest music anyone in our species ever created; I am not judge enough to say. All I can say is, listen, and enjoy…. If you don’t, well, you might consider joining another species….

I’ve included only one video version, but, two links. The second is to a longer version, written and recorded on a separate You Tube page. Enjoy either, or both, your choice…..

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

Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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

https://youtu.be/o1FSN8_pp_o

~~~~~~

https://youtu.be/Hp3SKP2fji4

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

Le Penseur ~ The Thinker ~~ August Rodin

“Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth.” — H.L. Mencken

I knew there was a reason I liked Henry’s work; it appears his mind and mine traveled on some very familiar paths in our personal journey in search of the Truth. This statement is one I could have easily made myself, if he hadn’t already said it over a hundred years ago. But, I will happily agree with every point he makes in it, without reservation, and with absolutely no regret….. Should anyone, anyone at all, take umbrage thereby, well, all I can say to them would be, tough shit. It’s the plain and simple truth, so, deal with it. Or, shut up….. Oh, sorry, forgot one part…. Put up, or, shut up….

Sorry, don’t mean to be rude; I do get tired of fundies, who can shout anything except an actual thought of their own, and, it seems they all have some sort of religion. I know, strange, huh? To think, in this day and age, people still fall for that stuff…. I’m sure glad I don’t have to put up with it too often any more….. Okay, I’ll stop, I know it’s getting deep. But, I think y’all know of whom I speak, and if not, well, I can point you to a human representation, not even a religious figure, but, one who has utilized and perfected ALL of the same sort of sleight of hand language and outright lying to fool people into believing what they say…. Any politician would do as an example, especially in this year’s GOP crop, but, of them all, the Trumpette is probably the absolute worst example I can think of, showing what a dildo a human being can become, by living their lives completely on illusion.

SIGH…. I remarked recently to a fairly intelligent doctor I met, “You know, reason is losing the battle.” He just smiled & said, “I know what you mean….”

‘Ere you go. You know, that’s probably enough of a rant for one day. If I get any takers to my challenge, I can make it a piece for this section at a later date. Hmm…. not much, is it? Oh, okay, maybe a few pearls, just to fill up the space…. We’ll see what we can find on the BRC, or one of the categories of Asininny we use…. Ooh, ooh, I know! I found an old pearl, from the early days here on ECR, and it’s perfect as an accompaniment for today’s rantless rant….. It’s one of my finest older pearls, and I hope you enjoy it. It takes some nasty shots at the BRC…. Most of it is from our old friend, SB, since he’s a pretty Smart Bee….

From 9/4/2012:

So there I am, cruising along in the database, and all these little pieces of observational excellence from Smart Bee keep popping up in my face. I figure that he (Smart Bee) must have something he wants to get across to the readership out there, and who am I to argue. If I don’t do this, I could spend years trying to find a new quote there…. Smart Bee is very insistent when he gets a wild hair like this…. So, just follow the bouncing thought ball to the conclusion that is most obvious….

Sex! Lies! Drugs! Money! Power! Corruption! Man, I love Congress! — Smart Bee

Gun Control – the belief that government, with its great wisdom and moral superiority, can be trusted with a monopoly on deadly force. — Smart Bee

It has been determined that most teenage girls lose their virginity during the summer months. This stands to reason, since congress is recessed at that time. — Smart Bee

Vote Democrat. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee

Vote Republican. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee (honest, both are in there….)

Congressional National Bank. Ours bounce higher and farther! — Smart Bee

“Crime does not pay … as well as politics.” — Alfred E. Newman

That should get the proper point across…. you may now smash face on keyboard to continue……

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

Comedy_Tragedy

Today’s poem was written only recently, but, fits in so well with the apparent theme for today (which is never obvious until I’m nearly done), I couldn’t resist using it again. It’s a lamentation of current reality, thus, perfectly complements the rest of the Pearl…. Enjoy!….

Adjectives of Quality ~~ Bloody Friday

A baleful lump of ironic introspection
sits upon my shoulder today
leaving traces of fey reflection
with a smattering of true dismay.

Resistance may be futile, many have said,
belief didn’t necessarily follow.
Abnegation of fear marks all bills paid,
leaving such empty threats hollow.

Symbolic courage never sleeps so deeply
as when delusion holds sway.
Bartered virtue, sold far too cheaply,
stands in shame, until honor fades away.

Too many culprits exist to count just one;
all of us bear obvious blame.
Evil is as evil does, only, when it’s done,
it begins again, all same-same.

Nobody seems to care enough to deny the lies.
Ignorant fear rules humanity’s masses.
When evil passes unremarked, innocence dies;
silence equals guilt, leaving only hope’s ashes.

Reality screams; tales of terror unfold,
flames fanned with purposeful malice,
insidious dangers hide beneath atrocity untold
as Gaia weeps into an empty chalice.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/3/2015

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

Our final pear for today is old-school, as always. This one came out a little strange; it wanders around through a number of currently problematic issues in society, while still managing to describe reality as it is, and should be….. proving the ultimate lesson to be learned about reality, to wit: it is what it is, and that’s all it is….. Enjoy!…..

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

~~ Picasso ~~

“Humor is the best antidote to reality.” — Funny Bee

“There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year’s course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” — Carl Jung

“You must be either the master or the servant, the hammer or the anvil.” — Goethe

“It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.” — Voltaire

“That God is not other than the universe…does not diminish God but rather elevates the universe….those who choose to make an attempt to overcome their egoism find their efforts aided by forces outside their conscious control….the movement toward self-realization is inherent to the structure of the universe….The Mayhayana Dharmakaya radiates love and compassion to all, impersonally like the sun.” — David Loy

“I … reject the argument put forth by many fundamentalists that science has nothing to do with religion because God is not among the things making up the universe in which we live. Surely if a necessity for a god-concept in the universe ever turns up, that necessity will become evident to the scientist. “– physicist Ralph Alpher, Theology of the Big Bang, Religious Humanism, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Winter 1983), pg. 12

“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv

Mind Food

Lies can taste very
good sometimes. But the truth can
fill you up, always.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/6/2015

(for Ashi-san)

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

It’s a little bit of a bother lately; it seems my routine must alter itself, to become accustomed, again, to sleeping on a regular basis. Who knew one could completely destroy, or at least, ignore, our circadian rhythms so strongly? I had apparently become used to being up 24/7, and am finding it a bit of a struggle to fit sleep into the picture…. Oh, well, I guess I’ll get back to normal, some day…. Or, as close as I’ve ever been to normal, anyway, which, to be honest, isn’t terribly close…. In fact, I’ve never even been in the same room with normal, so, it should be a new experience….

See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I’d call it a promise, but, some might take it as a threat, so, we’ll just leave it alone, and say, see ya!…

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Elegant displays of massive indifference….

Posted on November 22, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Beauty as we feel it is something indescribable;

what it is or what it means can never be said.

~~ George Santayana ~~

Psychedelic Pluto

Filtered NASA Image from New Horizons Spaccraft via Space.com

Hajime…. This intro is being written under severe conditions of stress and danger; the only thing missing is the live fire. To go any further would require both a lack of tact, and, the proper certification of security clearances, so, we’ll just avoid any problems by not…. We will however, go directly to the oyster beds, as it’s a better defensive position from which to organize our resistance…. ‘Nuff said….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

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

Blues Traveler

Image from leoweekly.com via Google Images

These guys are SICK! I mean that in a good way, of course. When they get to rockin’, which is generally from the first crashing note of their performances, all four musicians are focused and intense on making their music the way only they can. John Popper, lead singer and harmonica, is a virtuoso on his instrument, and sings with over-the-top emotional intensity that is gripping as well as compelling….. Fasten your belts, ffolkes, this is a great ride….

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

Blues Traveler
Ottowa Folk Festival 9/10/2014

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

https://youtu.be/PAe5Jla0xyI

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

Due to the previously aforementioned conditions under which we are writing today, I’m going to the archives for a relatively short discussion of Reality…. Let’s see what I had to say back then…..

From 8/19/2012:

“It is now some years since I detected how many were the false beliefs that I had believed to be true since my earliest youth. And since that time, I have been convinced that I must once and for all seriously try to rid myself of all the opinions which I had formerly accepted, and begin to build anew, if I wanted to establish any firm and permanent structure for my beliefs.” — Rene Descartes, Meditations.

For some, reality is an illusion. — Smart Bee

Or, as I’ve said before, reality can be, and usually is, a slippery slope…. Philip K. Dick’s statement is still the best all-around attempt to describe the indescribable; he said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” Perfect, as far as I can see; I’m near-sighted physically, but I can see a very long way when I close my eyes…..

At the same time, Mssr. Descartes most famous declaration on the subject, “Cogito, ergo sum,” (I think, therefore, I am) remains the most eloquent and complete logical proof that Dittoheads do not exist, at least not in the reality of anyone who reasons. ‘Tis unfortunate indeed that such folk occupy actual space in consensual reality, but, then, I’m not in charge of anything outside my own mind, technically…..

“Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.” — Buddha

Trust Buddha to find the heart of the matter, and point the way to an answer of how to keep reality in perspective, thus allowing ourselves the greatest amount of space and time to adjust ourselves accordingly, since adjusting ourselves is all we can really do to reality. A sure path to insanity is to believe that anything other than ourselves can be changed by our own power. We can only “hold fast to Truth” and accept the rest with as much serenity as we can muster…..

“The real in us is silent; the acquired is talkative.” — Kahlil Gibran

On that note, we will bring this to a close…. it’s probably as close as we can get to a true mutual understanding of reality, so any further discussion would border on superfluousness. (I can’t believe it! Spellchecker says that I spelled that right!…. Now I KNOW it’s time to close this….) Stay real, my friends…..

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

Unheralded Sagacity…

To many, who will not see beyond their nose
the world becomes a dangerous place,
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,
no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.

Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years,
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.

Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt
Strength is found in an unfettered mind,
Cry “freedom” with a great shout.

No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 4/17/2013.

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

Nice icons, eh? I thought a bit of new would go well for an old-school seven-star pearl that just meanders along, talking of life, and stuff…. I like it, and, it’s done, so, there….

Do everything with a mind that lets go.
If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.
If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom.
Your struggles with the world will have come to an end.

~~ Achaan Chah ~~

“Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.” — David Grayson

“Being generous is inborn; being altruistic is a learned perversity. No resemblance …” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“I would far rather be ignorant than wise in the foreboding of evil.” — Aeschylus — Suppliants, 453

There is no limit to stupidity. Space itself is said to be bounded by its own curvature, but stupidity continues beyond infinity.” — Gene Wolfe

“Live dangerously and you live right.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust (1806)

“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” — Francis Bacon

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

Well, it got done; I won’t say, ‘I did it’, because I’m not completely certain I should claim it. I’ll decide that later, I suppose. For now, I’m going to count my chickens, and steal away into my tents…. or, something like that. I’m also going now, but, I’ll be back tomorrow, to try again to get this right….

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….

Don’t flatter the sycophants, Eddie; they’ll start preening….

Posted on November 19, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Don’t take life too serious. It ain’t no ways permanent.”

~~ Pogo, by Walt Kelly ~~

Subtle colors on an abandoned church ~~ Galway

Hajime…. I’m beginning to like the martial opening we’ve been using lately; my life, for the past nearly thirteen months, in retrospect, seems to have been one long battle with my own body, simply for the sake of expediency on the part of a corporate slave, mistakenly labeled a doctor. I have hopes the battle is nearing an end, but, in the meantime, I remain in a position of being an insomniac for days at a time, in spite of all I have tried to do to hasten or mitigate the process of surviving this external assault upon my health. Tonight is looking as if I’ll be up again until dawn, at which time I’ll either collapse, or find a pocket of energy to pass a semi-normal day. Ah well, at least the pain relief part is working; that’s a big plus….

There. The whine has been served; sorry there aren’t any crackers to go with it. We’ll have to make do with a bit of cheesy humor to cut the acidity a trifle. Hmm, how ’bout this?

What did the chicken say when she laid a square egg?….

“Ouch!”

If that isn’t cheesy enough for y’all, I’ll just have to consider myself a failure, because it’s the best, or, in this case, the worst I can do. Hey, it made a young pitcher smile during a game, many years ago, when I told it to him to calm him down after two straight walks. If it got a smile out of a stressed-out young athlete in the middle of a game, y’all can certainly give it at least a raised eyebrow, or maybe a snicker. Snickers are good; I sure wish I could still eat them. Sadly, the nuts would cause way more trouble than a few moments of bliss is worth.

Okay, so, let’s see how we’re doing…. A bit of complaining disguised as introspection, check. A strong touch of silly, check. Cool childhood memory, check. Surreal non-sequitor following a VERY odd segue from smarm to candy in one and a half sentences, double check. Not bad for somebody who’s been up for, hmm, let’s see now…. oh, right. About 64-plus hours, and counting. Let’s see YOU be funny that far into the throes of clinical insanity! Hah!

I see now, it’s time to get on with this. If I don’t, I’m liable to do, or say something I’ll regret, and, like Lazarus said, “When the ship lifts, all bills are paid. No regrets, ever.” I’m not sure what he means by that (yes, I am….), but, it sounds pretty intelligent, and right now, it’s also the best I can come up with. Rather than try again, I’ll merely say this: Luigi! Get us the hell out of here, now!

Shall we Pearl?….

“I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.” — Samuel Johnson

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

Asleep At The Wheel

Image from amarillo.com via Google Images

I remember growing up on the music style epitomized by this band, later learning to play quite a bit of it myself, when my friend Tommy and I would get together to play guitar. The style is called western swing; this group has epitomized the sound for as long as I can remember…. which is getting to be a pretty long time now…. Enjoy, ffolkes; it’s called easy listening….

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

Asleep At The Wheel

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https://youtu.be/CziPAbs3ROY

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Rocky Outcrop on Mars

Image by NASA’s Curiosity Rover, November 2015, from Space.com

You may well wonder why an image from Mars adorns the top of today’s ranting section. Since I’m the one who put it there, I suppose that makes me responsible to tell y’all WHY I would rant about some random piece of rather unattractive real estate on another planet. SIGH….

Well, if I MUST explain something so obvious, I’d best be about doing it, hadn’t I? Okay, it’s like this. The article on Space.com mentioned the picture was causing some excitement among scientists, as it seems a great many of the rocky soil you see is just jam-packed with all sorts of useful minerals, metals, and other substances of industrial use to Earthly technology. In other words, Mars is an untapped treasure chest of materials which are growing scarce on our planet…. Is it becoming any clearer? Does that suggest anything rantable to anyone?

I hope so, for it certainly does to me. Our species has almost turned this planet into one large desert; give us a century or two, and there won’t be a growing thing left on Earth, but for in greenhouses, possibly underground, using solar power to run the machines, since, without plants, the climate and landscape would not be somewhere anyone would wish to live. The resources on Mars means we have an entire NEW planet to rape, and pillage, and turn into another vast series of skyscrapers, freeways, and parking lots.

Oh, joy….. Get it now? When you or I look at such a picture, we see the endless vista as a chance for exploration, and the possibility of increasing our understanding. There are many in our world who will look on it as land to be developed. And, if, as the report mentions, the rock on this hill is a treasure mine of a group of valuable substances, you can bet there is some oligarch or speculator type out there in the banking world who is already looking into securing the mineral rights, and the right to build McDonald’s signs all the way to the horizon….

“Well, they paved Paradise, put up a parking lot, with a pink hotel and a swinging hot spot….” — Joni Mitchell

While I wish I could finish this rant, circumstances have intervened to preclude further diatribe. I know, you’re disappointed. So am I. But, it’s now a bit after 3 AM, and my brain is officially off-duty at 3. Anything I tried to logic from here could turn ugly, so, we’ll leave it for another thyme. It’s nice having access to a Tardis, I’ll admit; even when I fall asleep at the wheel, it takes me where I need to go, which is not Mars. Not today, anyway. I may end up there, should my presence be required, but, that’s a pretty long shot, I’d say.

Basta. Let’s go see what happens down below, before we get silly, and spoil the whole tenor of the section….. Ranting in soprano, or baritone, for that matter, isn’t as easy as it may sound…. Especially in the thin atmosphere on Mars….

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

I’m not certain, but, I’m pretty sure this one was written on a day much like today has been/will be, may the memory of it fade quickly from my ken…. again. It’ll do, for now, again….

Dead Hands,Typing…

Puzzled anew by anomalous blocks of pain
caught, bemused, chained to routine, insane.
Stilled within breathless beauty
Engaging epiphany, insistent, called to duty.

Knees bent in lieu of a faithful rendition
suffuses, confuses, locked into stale perdition.
Clearing corrosion with hands encased in stone
Singular frozen follicles, masked by bone.

Partial focus brings unfiltered flavors to light
coloring each particle in simple delight.
Forlorn, novel conceptual artists singing in tune
nine notes in harmony, soft as the moon.

Honed blades of carbon steel flash in rhyme,
filling sensual receptors well past closing time.
Borrowed from neighbors in a week-old game
still bloody, without a proper name.

No flooded memories can justify such cost
no simple stationery, bilious, afraid, lost.
Ten times ten will never be enough
To fill so empty a stolen trough.

Bartering simplicity takes well into the night
solidly temporary pillars turned bright.
Unknown to all the pretty children who came
none were called, none had any remaining flame.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 2/25/2015

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

This one is a classic pearl; short, pithy statements, deep, wide, and clear. Of course, you have to follow the bouncing idea ball, but, hey, I can’t do everything! Don’t worry, you’ll see; this one’s easy…..

How admirable, he who thinks not,
Life is fleeting,
When he sees the lightning!

~~ Basho ~~

“Wonders never cease, as long as you never cease to wonder.” — Reflective Bee

“If you do not wish a thing heard, do not say it.” — Klingon proverb

“Except for our thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.” — Descartes

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“Ignorance of one’s misfortunes is clear gain.” — Euripides

“There is no God. But it does not matter. Man is enough.” — Edna St. Vincent Milay, Conversation at Midnight

“Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion.” — Edward Abbey

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

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

Though I have little recollection of doing so, it seems to be done. I’ll take it, as it’s getting hard to stay focused. I think I’ll go pace a while. Y’all can go do whatever you like; me, I’m going to pace, and dream of sleep….. See y’all tomorrow, unless I AM sleeping….

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….

Pugilists do it with padded gloves….

Posted on November 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Why doesn’t everybody leave everybody else the hell alone?”

~~ Jimmy Durante ~~

Abbey Court B&B, London

Hajime…. ‘Hajime’, (Hah gee may) is the Japanese word for “begin”, used at the start of all martial arts matches…. I figured, since I have to go through a fairly brutal fight to get most of these done, it’s appropriate. And, if not, well, it gave us something to put at the top, right? Right. Now we can go on to even bigger, and, no doubt, better things…. I’m a natural optimist, you see….

I’m also a natural Bozo, though, so, it balances out, as all things must in the end. One must, after all, take such matters into account when deciding how to approach our Life at Large; otherwise, it all seems too complex to bother with. Trying to make sense of what we see, especially when it concerns the behavior of our own species, is usually more effort than the result is worth; that’s probably why we end up with all these religions, and governments, and other forms of unnatural bullshit. If nothing else, it’s a grand distraction from what we SHOULD be doing with ourselves….

Everyone, of course, has their own idea of what that SHOULD entails, which is why is gets so complex. Ah well, I guess we’re not going to make any sense out of it here in the intro; if ten thousand years of history hasn’t brought us any order out of the chaos, it’s certainly not going to happen in three or four paragraphs, especially paragraphs such as these seem to be, or, at least, were meant to be. Whatever THAT may mean….

Yep…. It’s pretty clear, isn’t it? I’ve lost it, completely. This means I’ll have to take a short break here, after wrapping up this section, to go find what’s left of my mind before continuing on…. For now, we’d probably just let Luigi have his head again; it sure is saving us a lot of time, and, around here, that’s a good thing…. Let’s do this, okay?….

Shall we Pearl?….

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

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

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

We’re having a bit of trouble today, which isn’t unusual…. Rather than fight it, we’ll just fall back on several centuries of classical music to find a bit of listening pleasure….. Enjoy!….

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

Classical Music

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

https://youtu.be/n_0Qix6qf5g

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

Today’s rant is from the archives, written during the period before the 2012 election here in the US. I like it, but, then I wrote it, which is more than I’m capable of today…. Enjoy!…

From 4/19/2012:

“Ignorance can be compounded, made denser, until the light of our spirits is smothered.” — Deng Ming-Dao

As I read this pearl, my immediate thought was that it is a very clear, very accurate take on the 2012 election process that is currently unfolding before us in the daily news. The end of the political scale that is represented so raggedly by what is left of the Republican Party, and the mislabeled liberal end of the scale who claim to be Democrats, are both engaging in ongoing battles to see who can display the deepest ignorance.

The leading candidate for the “loyal opposition” to the party in power, Mr. Romney, seems to have a proclivity for alienating the very people from whom he is trying to win votes; women, immigrants and Hispanics, animal lovers, seniors, teachers and students, all have been told, in no uncertain terms, that they matter not at all to him. His plan? We’ll stop taxing the rich altogether, and that will fix everything…. Sometimes I wonder if he is getting all of his information on voter wants and issues of importance from old newspapers from the 1980’s, because he certainly hasn’t a clue as to what is happening out in America in this decade….

The other party, led by our first Black President, is busy hiding what the left hand is doing by distracting everyone with the tax and healthcare issues, to keep them unaware of how few of the Bill of Rights are left to us. “Executive Orders” signed by the POTUS this year, beginning on New Year’s Eve, while the voters were all busy celebrating the advent of the new year, include provisions that allow police to stop, search, and arrest any citizen of this country whom they suspect of any form of terrorism, or even of protest against the provisions of those orders.

These same police are not required to tell ANYONE that they have arrested and imprisoned a citizen, nor are they ever required to provide any evidence of their suspicions in a court of law. Even though there may be no evidence, they can subject these CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY to torture to obtain a confession, or whatever it is they are after. There is no oversight to these orders; they don’t go before Congress to be approved, nor are they reviewed by the courts. Both of those particular checks on the power of the Executive Branch are completely out of the loop on this…. and they aren’t even complaining about it!

Does it physically hurt to be that stupid? — Smart Bee

My guess at the answer to this is, No. It can’t hurt very much to be that stupid, as we continue to go out each time there is an election and vote these same lying, cheating, avaricious assholes back into the same positions from which they have been oppressing the American people for oh, a hundred or so years now. I’d say that around the time of the Depression was when the first real strangle-hold on the national throat was first achieved…. the pure bullshit the government was spewing back then can be seen to have been the first real time that the government’s outrageous lies were swallowed whole by a reluctant public, who had nothing else to eat, and thus nothing else to risk…

“He was born stupid, and greatly increased his birthright.” — Samuel Butler

So, how does it feel? Does it physically hurt to be so stupid as to be part of the crowd that continues to buy into all the bullshit lies that our own government heaps upon us every day? To keep going to the polls, just as if it really matters who gets elected? Get real, folks. You will not find a name on the ballot that belongs to someone who is not a willing tool of the powers of oppression, the money-changers who are the power behind the scenes of every government in the world. Not going to happen; they’ve been the real power in the world for centuries, and they’re not about to give up all they have, just to be nice, or because they’ve all of a sudden grown a heart.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty fucking tired of being lied to, and cheated, and looked at as just another idiot for them to shit on….. and I’m not going to put up with it for much longer, without some kind of return fire….. believe it…. I don’t think I am alone in this, either…. No way to tell for sure, but I find it hard to believe that EVERYONE is falling for all of it…. but, even if I’m alone in this, I refuse to knuckle under any further, and can only say that I will do all I can to see things turn in a direction that will return my Rights, and those of the rest of the American people…. or at least those not stupid enough to hand them over without a fight….

“He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

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

Gently Came a Wounded Child

But you shall not escape my iambics.

Soft, sinuous patterns of unearthly beauty
blithely commune with sinking stars,
as pale shadows of former virtue hover
near, ever clean, ever tolerant.
These unbidden habits are worn with age and care,
ready now for dissolution,
welcoming gladly the kiss of Death’s handmaiden.

Unknown to all, the child stands aside,
weeping for the lost days of youth,
days that now shall never be,
nor yearned for ever after.
Only darkness shall lay upon the landscape,
cold, hard, eternal.

Such then are the signs and portents
as we enter into the unknown future,
they are grave indeed.

Uncertainty will be our sole companion,
as the search for hope yields no result.
The lamentations of the gods
shall sound the elegy for Man,
who never learned to see the gift that was made,
so many echoes ago, in the hopeful past;
thus will we pass this plane of existence
as we came, baffled and afraid….

~~ gigoid ~~

written 2/2/2012.

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

Today’s final old-school pearl is what I’d call an Emily pearl; quiet, plain, unassuming, but, powerful and elegant, in its way. Oh, I do hope you like it!….

“All the knowledge in the world is not wisdom.” — Albert Einstein

“Men show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they think laughable.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Words are the physicians of a mind diseased.” — Aeschylus (525-456 BC) — Prometheus, 378

“Virtue knowing no base repulse, shines with untarnished honour; nor does she assume or resign her emblems of honour by the will of some popular breeze.” — Horace (B.C. 65-8)

“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.” — Marcus Aurelius

“Action should culminate in wisdom.” — Bhagavad Gita

“…life is long enough if it is well-spent.” — Erasmus

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

Done. As such, nothing further needs be said, or done, beyond this final outburst. Which, today, will be brief. How brief? This brief. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Positively charged pinnipeds on parade….

Posted on November 1, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”

~~ Robert A. Heinlein ~~

The Warrior at Rest

Bon soir, monsieurs. et madames…. Today I celebrate (if that is the correct word…. perhaps ‘acknowledge’ comes closer to the truth…) my 65th birthday. And, that, you may be sure, is the last you’ll hear of it from me. I’ve got too much on my plate, and mind, to spend much time considering, or spending time on, an event which happens every damn year, and no longer warrants much enthusiasm as a new experience…. It’s like Ronald Raygun said, back in the 60’s (if I remember it right…. tough call for some of the memories from that time….), “if you’ve seen one tree, you’ve seen ’em all.” Familiarity, in many cases, CAN breed contempt….

End of story…. Of course, now I’m tasked with finding and employing some other snappy trick with which to open up today’s mess. Over the past four years, I’ve tried a number of methods: nonsense, fiction, ranting, even subletting to a robot. None of it seems to last long, however, so, the daily battle to make this introduction interesting, or, at least enough so to get y’all down the page far enough it’s too late to turn back…. well, it continues to rage unabated, with no logical end in sight. Damn! It’s a good thing we don’t depend on logic, isn’t it?

That’s probably enough fun for one section, even if it only approximates actual fun. We’ve got bigger fish to fry today, even if half the post is from archived material. I figured out it makes little sense to spend too much time on this one, with only a couple days left until I won’t have to jump through so many hoops to get it posted, a five or six step operation that is much less conveniently performed away from home, without even factoring the travel involved, or the added stress on my budget. I’ll be glad when I don’t have to do that any longer, for damn sure… For now,

Shall we Pearl?….

“Whatever you’re doing, it’s not as important as petting the cat.”

~~ Leelu ~~

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

All the choices today are mine, by default; today’s musical choice meets that requirement, with my all-time favorite piece of classical music…. Enjoy!

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

Vivaldi
The Four Seasons

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

https://youtu.be/GRxofEmo3HA

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

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

gigoid’s rule of law

Back in early 2013, I received a blogging award from a fellow blogger (if you visit the archives on the date below, you’ll find a link to elliebloo’s site, one of my earliest follows, and followers….) The information I included on moi, if not particularly intimately informative, or complete enough to give up a lot of private stuff, turned out, altogether, quite amusingly accurate. So, to pat my own back for once, here’s what I wrote for receiving the award, whose name I forget at the moment….

From 4/12/2013:

Seven things about gigoid you probably didn’t need, or want to know, but rules are rules…..

1) I am a true curmudgeon (I hate everybody, and everything they do…. equal opportunity cynicism, at your service….), with a large streak of closet romantic in me….. so be it….

2) If you took all of the moments in my life I’ve been truly happy, it would make quite a good 10 minute video…. Just kidding…. Actually, it would have to be considered an epic film, because I’ve been happy, mostly, for much of my life…. I discovered, a long time ago, if we are just happy with the way things are now, then things will work out for the best, most of the time…. In other words, a man who knows he has enough, is rich beyond measure….

3) Apparently, I don’t like to talk about myself, at least not intimately, because I’m stuck here on #3, with no idea of what to say….. Hmm, how’s this?…. I’m giving up Boston Baked Beans for good…. what they do to my guts shouldn’t be allowed in polite society, so we’re parting ways, with no hard feelings, only odoriferous remnants of past repasts…..

4) I am not a Vegan…. in fact, I’d rather eat a Vegan than talk to one…. No, really, just kidding, but, I’ve never understood the impulse toward such ideas…. First, why fight several hundred thousand years of evolution? My body LIKES meat, and processes it as well, or better, than many other foods in that category I like to call rabbit food…..

Sure, I believe in the connection between all life forms, but, given the chance, there are many members of the animal kingdom who would have no objection, philosophical, or otherwise, to eating me, should the opportunity arise…. Sharks, any big cat, wolves, bears, komodo dragons, monitor lizards, any of them would be happy to consume my carcass, cooked or not….. I feel no need to avoid eating them, as long as I appreciate the sacrifice, and grok their spirit….

5) As I grow older, I am finding myself appreciating my years of experience more each day. Tasks I found onerous throughout my life become simpler with the inside knowledge of how things work in the real world, and though I cannot lift as much as I used to, and I walk pretty slowly now, I THINK a lot faster, and there isn’t much I can’t do now than I could as much as twenty years ago…. If I do have to move quickly, or apply some strength to accomplish something, I may pay a higher price, in pain, for doing so, but, in general, I find most stuff easier, because it is familiar, and thereby made simple….

6) What is the mind? This question has fascinated me all of my life, and has provided me, because of the breadth and width and depth of the query, and the implications of whatever speculative answers one may find. It makes the study of people, myself included, a topic of endless fertility, as I try to understand my own mind, and how it works, and how it perceives the universe, as well as watching other people to try to ascertain the answers to the same questions that I see in their behavior, or in their words.

This question has been the central driving force behind all of my curiosity, and hopefully, will continue to stimulate my interest in Life right up to the day the Grim Reaper comes for me….. whereupon he will need to use all his skills and tricks, for I will not go quietly from this plane of existence, even though I do not fear what is next…. I’m just having too good of a time to go when HE wants me to go…. If I’m not done, I’ll be kicking and fighting every step of the way to Hell, or wherever my next stop might be…..

7) Damn! Isn’t that enough?…. Okay, okay, here….. I’m a sucker for a good hat. When I received the money from SS for all the months they had delayed in awarding the benefits, my second purchase was a new hat, followed by the third, a beautiful black homburg with grey trim around the brim…. very classy and dignified…. Hell, it might even get me in to see the Queen when I’m in London, you think?…..

Alright, that’s seven…. Whew! I thought that would NEVER end….

Okay, now I have to notify all the folks in my list of blogs, above, so I’ll be off to do that…. Thanks again to elliebloo for nominating me for this award, which I don’t deserve, but appreciate a lot….

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

Writing haiku has always come naturally to me; the numerical requirements seem to fit right in with the way my mind works. I’ve been a bit slack about writing a poem each day for this month’s challenge, choosing instead to pick from my archive. Today, I will force whatever is in there to come out, even if only as haiku…. Let’s hope it’s more than just one of those….. As every day this month, this is for the April National Poetry Writing Month Challenge, with the updates to be found here: http://www.napowrimo.net/ (I still don’t know if I’m doing this right, but, oh well….)

Haiku II

An inner light glows
shining out of open eyes;
madness or wisdom?

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

Early Observations

Until I knew there was more,
I wanted to know God.
They said he was a nice guy,
and would let me live forever.

All I had to do, they said,
was live my life for Him,
always living by scripture
cleaving only to his Way.

But, everyone I saw in church,
acted different at home.
Living wild, cussin’ and fussin’,
nobody lived like they said.

Still, I tried to be like Jesus,
he was sort of cool.
He never hurt nobody
and walked on the right path.

‘Course they killed him for that,
they couldn’t stand his example.
Turned him into a martyr,
hid his real words among their own.

Then I found the Buddha,
and met Lao Tzu at the gate.
They saw things real different,
showed me how to see straight.

Right thought, and right action
replace blind obedience and faith.
Reality becomes manageable,
fear retreats, the universe expands.

Brother John said it pretty well,
“Imagine there’s no heaven,
it’s easy if you try.”
Sounds like he knew why.

Day to day, life is grand,
we walk in eternal beauty.
Open your eyes and hearts,
find yourself already immortal.

~~ gigoid ~~

Well….. that just popped out, in near-record time…. It doesn’t rhyme, except at a couple points, but, I like it, so, here it is, for better or worse….

So be it.

gigoid has spoken…

_________________________________

Written & posted 4/12/2013.

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

I like this one. SB struggled a lot in giving it up; you’ll note more than one pearl you’ve seen before, if you’ve come here often. But, with a few ideas added, expressed in new ways, the message is slightly altered, thus offering yet another opportunity to find that one key thought to lead you onward, into realms unexplored, where enlightenment waits for us to find. If it doesn’t happen this time, well, perhaps the next…..

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

“At birth we woke to dream in this world between.”

~~ Kan’ami Kiyotsugu ~~

“As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”

~~ Seneca ~~

“In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don’t wobble.”

~~ Yun-Men ~~

“If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are.
For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained.
Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing.”

~~ Saint Augustine ~~

“We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

“Men are born with two eyes, but only one tongue,
in order that they should see twice as much as they say.”

~~ Charles Caleb Colton ~~

“If happiness changes hands, that’s no catastrophe.”

~~ Simone de Beauvoir, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter~~

“Not all who wander are lost.”

~~ J. R. R. Tolkien ~~

“Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.”

~~ Buddha ~~

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

The Colonel’s right; ya gotta love it when a plan comes together; it feels great, even when there was no plan. As I said somewhere above, and meant with all my being, so be it. gigoid has spoken…. and, probably, quite enough for one day. Let’s try it again tomorrow, shall we? As long as the revolution holds of a while, ffolkes, we’re good to go, & I’ll see you mañana…. Well, not SEE you, but, well, you know what I meant…. I hope.

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….

If only it were visible….

Posted on October 28, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“While it is true that you are free to say what you think in this great land,

it should be said that it is helpful to think what you are going to say

before you do it.”

~~ Sardonic Bee ~~

Backyard Springing

Good morrow…. Somehow, it hardly seems worthwhile worrying too much about an introductory section; not knowing when, or, at this point, IF this will get posted precludes any sort of relevance, or, any solid connection to real-time in reality. So, I won’t. Worry much, that is, a state made patently obvious by the tenor of what you’ve thus far seen. So be it. If I don’t need to care, then, I won’t care…. Wowie! That means I can go right off the edge, and nobody can say anything!….

Okay, so, maybe I’ll save that for later; there’s always time to go insane in my world. That, however, being the case, perhaps we’d best not push our luck, taking this, instead, as an indicator of some rather unusual politeness by the Universe, reminding us just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should do it. I’ve probably made a bad habit of choosing poorly in that respect, a number of times, so, maybe it’s time to admit I’m getting older, and make the choice to be sane, rather than heading out for the fringes immediately upon noting the open door…..

Damn! Sounds really boring…. But, what the hell? It can’t hurt to try it this once. Luigi, fire it up, but, take it nice and easy, okay? We’re gonna do it right for a change…. maybe. The rest of you, look busy, or, at least, interested….

Shall we Pearl?

“Science is a way of talking about the universe in words that bind it to a common reality. Magic is a method of talking to the universe in words that it cannot ignore. The two are rarely compatible.” — The Phantom Stranger, “The Books of Magic”, by Neil Gaiman

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

Image from jacksonville.com via Google Images

Here is a nice little piece to listen to while enjoying today’s Pearl; Emmylou is one of my favorites, and I think it’s a perfect start to the day…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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

Emmylou Harris

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

https://youtu.be/NsyI1dpL7s8

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

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

I had thought to rant; however, being without internet service causes a dearth of fresh headlines; finding new events about which to rant is a bit problematic, as is patently obvious. But, the first quote below, which had been destined for a discussion, will instead be used to head a nine-star group of thoughts on our BRC, or, as they are known in the mainstream media, our “leaders”, as well as some more general thoughts on democracy, government as a whole, and some of the reasons things have gotten as ugly as they appear…. You’ll see, and, if any of it strikes a chord, well, feel free to comment, to which I will eventually respond…. Enjoy!….

“When I see a congressman giving his opinion on something, I always wonder if it represents his *real* opinion or if it represents an opinion that he’s designed in order to be elected. It seems to be a central problem for politicians. So I often wonder: what is the relation of integrity to working in the government?” — Richard Phillips Feynman (1918-1988), “What Do You Care What Other People Think?”

“The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.” — Albert Einstein

“To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice.” — Cervantes

“Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a congressperson can.” — Ridiculously Observant Bee, mimicking Mark Twain

“All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.” — Noam Chomsky

“Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on “I am not too sure.” — H.L. Mencken

“The devil is the father of lies, but he neglected to patent the idea, and the business now suffers from competition.” — Josh Billings

“Terrorism: deadly violence against humans and other living things, usually conducted by government against its own people.” — Edward Abbey

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” — Dwight Eisenhower, April 16, 1953

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

Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused or disabused;
Created half to rise, and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled,–
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 13 ~~

Above, in the ranting section, we spoke of political man; in his famous epic poem, Alexander Pope speaks of the whole man, and, as far as I’m concerned, nailed it with every last verse. It’s a very long work, so, to save space and time, I’ve only included the above excerpt to read here; the rest of it can be found at the link below. It’s worth reading, and thinking about, no matter how long it takes….

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/essay-on-man/

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

Seven stars, birth to death…. what more would a pearl need? Nothing…. Enjoy!….

“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” — Ursula K. LeGuin

“Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.” — W. Edwards Deming

“We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it – and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.” — Mark Twain

“The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them… Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne,1580

“Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.” — Voltaire

“Our virtues and vices spring from one root.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Dharma: What is the greatest mystery of all?

Yudishthira: That each day, death walks the earth, and we continue to live as though we were immortal.

~~ The Bhagvad Gita ~~

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

By the time anyone sees this online, it will probably be tomorrow, relative to when it is actually being written; thank goodness for the Tardis, eh? We’ll carry over the discovery made in the intro, re: “don’t worry, it don’t matter”, and let this little spew serve as our closing thoughts. Hmm… risky, but, probably okay, given the state of entropy today. If the Space/Time Continuum can hold together, it’ll all be fine. I’ll see y’all on the other side of that decision, if it goes the way we hope; if not, well, most likely, nobody will notice, anyway….

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….

It’s all starting to wobble….

Posted on October 23, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I live in my own place
have never copied nobody even half,
and at any master who lacks the grace
to laugh at himself — I laugh.”

~~ inscribed over the door to Friedrich Nietzsche’s house ~~

Artist’s rendition of NASA’s Kepler Deep Space Telescope

Image from Space.com

Good morning…. Apparently, stupid is contagious. While playing with the cat, I leaned over the chair’s arm, resting my ribs on the wood of the arm. As I reached further to pick up the cat toy, my ribs slipped, and came down on the wooden arm with a lot of my weight on one rib, whereupon I felt it flex, painfully, as if it had cracked. I shot up, howling, and, after the initial rush of pain subsided, realized I had, if not cracked, badly bruised the rib, with some intercostal tissue damage. Now I have three weeks or so of painful breathing, sleeping, and moving around, to look forward to….

HONK! (For those who don’t know me well, that was my nose, which, at the moment, is large, bulbous, and bright red!…..) Thank goodness for cannabinoids! My magic cream is going to get a long workout, for certain….

Yes, I am a Bozo, of the first degree, and I am constantly giving myself another Life Lesson like this, to be more cautious in performing physical activities, as my now almost 65 year old body isn’t as fast, or as durable as I once considered it to be. SIGH…. Time marches on, doesn’t it? Too bad our humanity is such that we don’t bother to talk to each other about it much, so, a lot of it comes as a surprise to us when it happens. Ah well, makes life interesting, what?

Today’s Pearl, as all of them recently, is being posted late, from a public Wi-fi spot, of unknown location, as yet. In fact, I have yet to pack up to get to one, so, I’ll chop this off (as it probably deserves….) ruthlessly, so as to get us on the road in a timely manner. Luigi, you may fire up and go now…. Y’all should probably hang on; the music and ranting sections today are a rather wild ride….. guaranteed….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Nature has placed nothing so high that virtue can not reach it.” — Curtius-Rufus (fl. 100 A.D.)

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

Image from Dead.net via Google Images

Whenever I, or anyone, for that matter, feels their age, (i.e., old….), this is a great album to pull out of any such self-indulgence…. The title says it all, and, the music, well, speaks for itself…. Enjoy!….

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

Old & In The Way
Garcia & Grisman

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

https://youtu.be/16EYejUic_0

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

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

“Every man’s life, liberty, and property are in danger when the Legislature is in session.”

~~ Gideon J. Tucker ~~

As light-hearted as the above statement may sound to the uninitiated, we here at ECR know it to be all too true for anyone’s comfort. I’ve put both of the usual icons above this rant because I thought it was time to vent; fair warning, as the material I’ve chosen to discuss is liable to a) disturb or anger some readers, b) be of questionable taste, and/or, c) be of negative interest to the paranoids in the NSA, and those of their ilk.

For their benefit, I will say, I mostly speak in a non-real sense, in that I make observations about reality, and those observations are not the thing of which I speak, itself. There, that should confuse the issue well enough, while simultaneously indicating the obvious interest to those Gentle Readers who are NOT of that particular ilk….

In short, if I say a revolution is nigh, it is an observation, a prediction of probabilities, not necessarily a call to action…. Of course, I do believe it’s past time for such an event to occur, from a moral/ethical/honorable sense, and won’t act in any way to prevent any such happenstance. But, I’m a realist, and know I am too old to start any such ruckus myself; if/when it happens, the best I can hope for is to survive, and help those for whom I care do the same. That may take some rather radical steps, but, hey, we all do what we gotta do, right?

One might well ask what has prompted my angst; without too much need for thought, I can point to the latest reason for all of us to build up a bit of ‘rage against the machine’. It stems from a short video, to the presence of which I was informed of by the blog of a friend on WP; Tales from the Conspiratum’s Lou posted the video, and link to the You Tube page where he found it.

In turn, I posted it here, so, many of y’all have seen it; I’m not sure if the full implication of its message has penetrated, either your awareness, or the consciousness of the public at large. When it does, each and every one of the people who “get” the message will feel much as I do. It’s my belief the information in the video touches on a subject that has had a direct effect on the life of every single person in this country, at one time or another…,

In this space on previous occasions, I’ve demonstrated how our BRC lies to us, consistently, solely for their own advantage; news of one more lie might not seem so important. But, I think this one is an indicator, of the depth of the lies we are told, as well as an indicator of the true motives of those who achieve power in this country. Which lie, you say? Is it about spying on us? The environment? Corruption? Is it about guns? Is it about the wealth gap? Is it about health insurance, or Big Pharma, or the whole mess of a medical model? If you picked the last group, you’r warm….

“Can you trust a government that subsidizes tobacco and tries to ban vitamins to make intelligent choices about your health care?” — Pertinent Bee

The video whereof I spoke above was created by the hacking group, We Are Anonymous; in it, they make some rather pointed accusations against the US Government, specifically the office of the Presidency in 1974, when Richard Nixon was in office, and the disaster of the Vietnam War was winding down to its inevitable conclusion. According to the evidence they claim to possess, (and, have apparently posted online, though I’ve yet to find it… no service, hence, no Google….)(I’m also compelled to add, this group has, verifiably, NEVER lied about what they do, or evidence they possess, in all their history, which very few can say….), Nixon was looking for something to distract the public, and wanted to prove marijuana was worse than tobacco for people.

He (Nixon) gave a large research grant to a Virginia university medical school to investigate cannabis for its medical qualities, with the expressed desire they find some evidence to show it caused cancer, or some other nasty disease by its use. Instead, after just a few months, the report was issued, showing, clearly, the cannabinoid components they tested acted to KILL every type of cancer they tried it on, as well as showing remarkable properties in encouraging the body’s other systems to heal themselves!

(These results, btw, have since been verified as true; the National Cancer Institute, in a very recent study, found cannabinoids can completely kill 97 types of cancer cells…. In that study, cancer cells literally exploded when they came in contact with certain components of THC….)

So, what did our beloved traitorous ‘leader’ do, way back in 1974? He shitcanned the report, swearing the researchers to silence with threats of prosecution if they ever told their story, I have no doubt….. Typical elitist behavior, but, in this case, particularly egregious, due to the implications of his act…. Some, at this point, might ask, what implications? To be perfectly clear, I will lay it out for you, clearly and simply….

Cannabis KILLS cancer. With proper research and development, the scourge of our time would no longer be a threat to the public health at large, as a cure would exist, a cure that most likely will lead to other new areas of knowledge regarding the efficacy of using plants in their natural form as our default source for medicine, rather than the chemicals with which Big Pharma and the AMA continue to poison us, in their quest for ever-higher profits, and a sicker population. Hey, can’t sell drugs to people who are well, can you?….

Moreover, think of this: If cannabis had been used since 1975 for treating cancer, how many people would still be alive? How many of YOUR loved ones would NOT have died? Personally, my father, and now, my brother both contracted cancer. My father might have lived past the age of 72, the age he succumbed to the disease, for another twenty years, at least…. Multiply the number of cancer victims each year by 40, and you will have an idea of the enormity of Nixon’s, and our own government’s, selfish act of betrayal.

(Per Google search & use of calculator: Approximate deaths per year in the US; 500,000, times 40 years = 20 MILLION people, in the US alone, have died from cancer, while the government fiddled….)

My brother is now treating his own version of cancer (lymphatic) with cannabis products, and has seen a lot of improvement, so, there is hope…. But, that does NOT mitigate my anger at the death of my father, or make me want to forgive Nixon, or any of the other government officials responsible for hiding this information from the public…. I also believe my anger will be echoed by MILLIONS of people, when they find out their own relatives didn’t have to die, at all…. Moreover, it happened because an asshole of a politician wanted what he wanted, and didn’t give a shit about the people who elected him…. But, then, he lied to get elected, (throughout most of his career; I was there…) just as they ALL lie….

Oh, I am SO angry…. I can’t write anymore, so, here are some closing thoughts, with a small instruction/suggestion to share this information with as many people as you can…. I think it’s important for the people of this country to know just how far the government will go to cover up their lies; nothing will change until enough of us feel the need for a change…..

“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever. I think you’ll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.” — Brian E. Moore

(That is equally as scary as the idea of conspiracy!….. Logical, though….)

“In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.” — Bertrand Russell

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.” — Karl Kraus

“The difference between the Pope and George Bush is that whereas Bush walks on the ground and kisses women,the Pope kisses the ground and…” — Observant Bee

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on the human face– forever . . . And remember that it is forever.” — George Orwell, ‘1984’

“If Congress can determine what constitutes the general welfare and can appropriate money for its advancement, where is the limitation to carrying into execution whatever can be effected by money?” — South Carolina Senator William Draden 1828

“I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.” — Robert Frost

“In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile-and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. We owe that to ourselves and our crippled self-image as something better than a nation of panicked sheep.” — Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939), journalist — The Great Shark Hunt, Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1979)

“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig.
You get dirty, and besides,
the pig likes it.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

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

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 ~~

Written 9/27/2012; modified in 2013.

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

A classic, seven-star pearl, with the obligatory observations on Life at Large, as seen from the oyster beds of gigoid’s mind, and, SB’s database, which, I must confess, was a trifle fractious, unwilling to give up more than seven gems today. Ah, well, such is life with semi-autonomous software, that seems to have moods having nothing to do with my own…. Works for me….

“Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” — Gray

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

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain

“Knowledge is the antidote of fear.” — Emerson

“How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it?” — G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

“Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.” — Thomas Fuller

“As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 1

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

It’s done; I’m not going to even bother trying to judge the quality. I repeat, it’s done, and for us, that’s all that matters. Hopefully, it came together well; otherwise, oh, well…. I will be back, though I can’t say exactly when…. It seems there are very few honest, non-greedy ISP businesses left out there to compete against the big guys, but, I’ll keep looking…. See ya, and, I figure, that’s fair warning…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

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: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Fifty-seven shades of brown….

Elegant displays of massive indifference….

Positively charged pinnipeds on parade….

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