If X, then Y; add lo & phone, & you’ve got music…

Posted on February 28, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I will show you a philtre without potions, without herbs, without any witch’s incantation – if you wish to be loved, love.” — Seneca

One of the reasons I like aphorisms so much is demonstrated perfectly by this one, from our old friend Seneca, whose contributions to historical wisdom frequently grace these pages. Without fuss, without bother, and with great clarity, he delivers one short, pithy statement, that serves to provide the reader with a piece of knowledge that will serve them well their entire life, if they are able to absorb it, meld it into their own beliefs, and use it as a guide for moral, ethical, or merely honorable behavior…. In other words, good advice in a few words…..

It isn’t as simple, or as easy as it appears; I know, I’ve tried…. I’ve come up with a few, but, I’ve noticed that even those are a matter of recycling knowledge that has been part of human lore for generations. There is good reason behind the old adage about “nothing new under the sun”…. I find countless examples of statements from historical figures, like Seneca, or Plutarch, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, or any of their contemporaries, where the same idea has been re-stated, sometimes in a better way, others not so much….

But, no matter who said it, or how well it was said, many of these sages gave us pearls, of Real wisdom, that have proved their worth by their survival into the present, with the same degree of truth and relevance they held when they were first uttered. They also demonstrate another point that comes up here at ECR regularly, which is how little human nature has changed over the centuries since mankind first began making observations about himself as a species….

Each of the names I mentioned above, at one time or another, has given us some statement that describes a problem they faced in their society, usually from the pre-Christian era, which makes it well over 2000 years ago. I find that virtually every kind of issue that was described as being a problem for them remains as troublesome today, for us, as it was for them….

Mostly, those things are involved with how people get along, or not, i.e. the results of how they treat each other…. It seems we’ve always been plagued with a certain percentage of assholes in the demographics of our populations, whether we were living in caves, or in magnificent cities….. The assholes have always been with us, and have always made their presence known in such a way that we still hear about it today….

This is the primary reason for my own skepticism about the future; if we haven’t been able to find any viable, permanent solutions to the actions of those few of us who don’t give a shit about the others in the 5000 years or more we’ve been talking about it, then what makes us think we’ll be able to solve those issues now? Well, nothing, really…. I don’t think we will be able to solve that issue, and I don’t think we’re going to make it, in the long run…. not without making some major changes, and I don’t see any way that will happen….

All of this, I suppose, was a long winded, ranty sort of way to try to find something interesting to write about for an opening…. I didn’t really intend to come to such a moribund, morbid conclusion, at least, not so early, and not without some more lucrative ranting (lucrative in terms of venting more angst than this mild-mannered outburst could ever provide….), but, I suppose logic dictated the outcome more than desire, so, we’ll just have to deal….

I note, however, with some small degree of pride and satisfaction that yes, we DO have enough to call this an intro, even if it really doesn’t resemble one much at all…. For today, it’s the best I’ve got, and it will have to do…. I’ll try to be a bit more optimistic in what comes after, okay?…. More like the original pearl from Seneca….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Those whom true love has held, it will go on holding.” — Seneca
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It’s going to be an “interesting” day…. I can feel it in my bones, which are, this morning, quite sensitive, almost radar-like in their ability to sense the tenor of the near future…. Of course, that may just be a side effect of the spinal degeneration I suffer from, but, hey, I like to think positively…. Well, I like to TELL myself that a lot, anyway, even if it isn’t so…. Regardless of all that, I’ve made another unilateral decision about the structure of today’s effort….. We’re going to go old-school here in section one, saving the final section for whatever today’s designated ranting session may produce….

I DID, unfortunately, possibly blunt any such ranting that may occur, what with the depressive little meander through the intro, down the lane of logic to that maudlin, if all-too-realistic conclusion….. But, we’ll see how it goes…. The mood I’m in, anything could happen…. For now, I’ll let Smart Bee have his head to pick out some likely-looking pearls for you to chew on this morning with your granola, and, hopefully, coffee…. If you’re at all like me, NOTHING happens without coffee, first…. Any who, let’s dive….

“Why, when no honest man will deny in private that every ultimate problem is wrapped in the profoundest mystery, do honest men proclaim in pulpits that unhesitating certainty is the duty of the most foolish and ignorant? Is it not a spectacle to make the angels laugh?We are a company of ignorant beings, feeling our way through mists and darkness, learning only be incessantly repeated blunders, obtaining a glimmering of truth by falling into every conceivable error, dimly discerning light enough for our daily needs, but hopelessly differing whenever we attempt to describe the ultimate origin or end of our paths; and yet, when one of us ventures to declare that we don’t know the map of the universe as well as the map of our infinitesimal parish, he is hooted, reviled, and perhaps told that he will be damned to all eternity for his faithlessness…” — Leslie Stephen (1832-1904), “An agnostic’s Apology”, — Fortnightly Review, 1876

“Death is just the ultimate expression of radical solipsism.” — Smart Bee

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

“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” — Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), Musician, the Greatful Dead — Rolling Stone magazine, (November 30, 1989)

“If you shut up truth, and bury it underground, it will but grow.” — Emile Zola

“Archimedes had stated, that given the force, any given weight might be moved; and even boasted that if there were another earth, by going into it he could remove this.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Marcellus

“Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797) — Reflections on the Revolution in France, — Letter i, On a Regicide Peace, Vol. v, p. 331

“The best measure of a man’s honesty isn’t his income tax return. It’s the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.” — Arthur C. Clarke

“It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive.” — C. W. Leadbeater

See? I told you today would be “interesting”…. This is a very good pearl, all in all, but, as you can see, it took NINE pearls to reach the point it was trying to make….. I knew that if I let SB have his head, it would work out fine, and, well, I was right…. Yay….
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I’m including this poem today for the simple reason that I enjoy this format for poems…. I’ve seen about a half dozen of these ‘trilogy’ poems, with three complete poems in one (Each side, by itself, is one poem, making two; together, they make another complete poem, which completes the trilogy….); each time, I am impressed by the discipline and creativity of the authors….. This one is a bit shorter than others I’ve seen, but, nonetheless, is quite as amusing as any I’ve read…. I hope you find it as interesting as I do….

Against Idleness and Mischief

How doth the little busy bee         How skillfully she builds her cell!
Improve each shining hour,           How neat she spreads the wax!
And gather honey all the day         And labours hard to store it well
From every opening flower!          With the sweet food she makes.

In works of labour or of skill     In books, or work, or healthful play,
I would be busy too;                 Let my first years be passed,
For Satan finds some mischief still    That I may give for every day
For idle hands to do.                Some good account at last.

~~ Isaac Watts (1674-1748) ~~
Divine Songs, Song xx

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My searches through the archives of old Pearls turned up this little discussion of the Tao, which, in the mood I’m in today, will serve to complete the day’s effort, much better than if I tried to use my current state of mind to create something fresher….. If nothing else, it’s less morbid than any ranting I could do, and therefore, fits in with our pledge to try to be more positive today….

Besides, as we all know, I’m lazy, and don’t much feel like working up the energy to rant…. This morning, I’m more in the mood to blow off the day altogether, so, completing this pearl, even WITH the archived material, will allow me to at least SAY that I disciplined myself, as much as I intend to do at all…..

In other words…. Here, read this, and enjoy…. because, it’s what I’ve got, and it will have to do….

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From 12/15/12:

“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right actions arises by itself?” — Lao Tzu

Ever since being first exposed to the precepts of Taoism, back when I was in college in the late 60’s, it has always appealed to my sense of rightness, because, as a philosophy, it makes the closest approach to what I personally believe about the Universe at large.

Not the mystical parts, those that catered to the religious order of the time, when the concept was first was clarified by Lao Tzu, but, rather, the essence of the concept of reality, as being both within our perception, and unknown to us as beyond our understanding. We may not possess the necessary sense to be capable of receiving such information, whether about reality or fantasy, and if we assume the omnipotence of a god, then we would not be able to comprehend their existence, lacking the tools to perceive them with our five or six senses…..

This knowledge, however, is tempered by the deduction that, as a physical part of the universe, we are connected to it, and to every other part, if only by sharing that existence. The connection, intuitively, is deeper than merely the physical; it extends somehow into the spiritual plane, which, though not tangible, is nonetheless a proven part of our mental reality. (What IS the mind?)

It is this very lack of the ability to explain by which we may know the connection exists, as it echoes the nature of reality itself, which cannot be explained in words. Goodness knows why I’m trying, to be sure…. this is getting pretty esoteric, although, so far, it is consistently rational, if not entirely illuminating.

“Since everything in life is but an experience perfect in being what it is, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter.” — Long Chen Pa

What better way to acknowledge, and celebrate, the perfection that we can see, or hear, feel, smell, taste, or imagine?…… Laughter is certainly preferable to a long, dusty discussion of esoteric concepts, and will encourage enlightenment just as efficiently, if not quite so verbally. In some way, I’m always looking for the perfect quote, the ultimate aphorism, that delivers that cosmic truth we are all seeking in one swell foop…. The above line from Long Chen Pa comes very close to it, especially when considered in the light of what we were able to conclude, from considering the answers to the first two questions today. As a Westerner who has learned to appreciate what the East brings us, the following resonates very well….

“Somehow, in the midst of their horrid history, the best among the “gaijin” learned a wonderful lesson. They learned to distrust themselves, to doubt even what they were taught to believe or what their egos make them yearn to see. To know that even truth must be scrutinized, it was a great discovery, almost as great as the treasure we of the East have to offer them in return, the gift of harmony.” — David Brin – Dr. Pak’s Preschool

There’s the key, ffolkes, right there in front of you…. Even Truth must be scrutinized, or the universe will have its way with you, and you may never find the gift of harmony that is also there for the taking….. There, not so esoteric, after all…. not too shabby, eh what?…..

“The ancient Taoist sages were poised…. like ice on the verge of melting.” — Taoist proverb
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Having already been treated to more discussion of my mood than is either healthy or wise, I’ll forgo any further references to that, and just say this in response to all of the above….. Hmm….

That being said, I’m outta here….. See y’all tomorrow, providing fortune continues to smile upon us….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Save that elbow grease for the widow Jones; she uses it for baking…..

Posted on February 21, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

If today’s post gets done at all, ’twill be a miracle of some proportion…. The cat slept late, my back and hips are killing me, Time wobbled, while Space stood and watched…and I haven’t the slightest clue, about anything…. It has taken me 26 miserable minutes to dress, (sans shoes, or brushing of hair, as I didn’t want to bend over, or move around quite so much yet, until the topical pain killer I spread on my lower back takes effect) (it’s quick, good stuff…. new from the MJ Pharmacy I go to….)…. I then booted up, poured a cup of coffee laced with some Elixir of Indica, and proceeded to write a TERRIBLE title for today’s Pearl, which will no doubt go through several incarnations before I settle on one sufficiently weird to pass my filters…..

Finally, when I sit down to try to write this, duty calls me to the throne for the morning worship session….. SIGH…. Nobody bothered to tell me to gird my grid for a big one today, but it looks as if the full set of hip, shoulder, and neck restraints should be fastened before we set out, for sure…. I think, maybe, we’ll even issue helmets today….

Just in case I forget to tell you later, today’s Pearl will be….. what? Shit…. I completely spaced on what I intended to write there, & I have the feeling it was important…. Damn this fog in my head! I can’t seem to pull a coherent thought out of my ass, much less my head…. If this keeps up, we’re going to have to resort to one of our emergency tools to get us out of this morass of mindlessness, that seems to have formed in front of me this morning, necessitating either complete retreat, or a long detour to find ANY rational thought, one that could conceivably be used to create a Pearl….

This new hazard on our trail, in spite of its extreme effect on my mind, will NOT be allowed to affect the Pearl itself, other than the absolute mess it has made of this intro thus far. I swear this upon the name of my father, and y’all KNOW what that means…. Now, there is NOTHING in this world will keep me from completing my duty in this….

NOTHING, caps obviously deliberate, for emphasis. There is no force on this planet that could cause me to swerve from a duty I’ve chosen to assume; the man who taught me about duty wouldn’t have it any other way, thus, my choice is the same, and by evoking his name, I seal the deal so there is no backing out. If I say I’ll do it, then, it will be done; the only possible reason for it not to be done would be my own death. Nothing else is a valid reason to abrogate duty.

That being said, it’s probably best to go immediately into Emergency Closing #4, which is the quickest way out of this conundrum, and on into today’s offering…. Sometimes, with #4, I don’t even have the time to finish whatever it is I’m in the middle of typ…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again.” — Johann von Goethe
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Johann is right in his assertion; in fact, he’s one of our favorites, simply because he consistently sees the world clearly, and describes it, as he did this time, as he sees it, with elegance, charm, and wit….. Plus, this idea COULD be considered as bearing a very strong resemblance to what we do here in ECR, when we create the pearls that stimulate the Gentle Readers to think, to cogitate, to exercise the muscles of the mind, until they’re strong enough to stand up to Reality, and laugh in its face…. Well, maybe not the last part….. Reality doesn’t like to be laughed at, unless it’s funny…. Any whom, before my lack of coherency causes a complete loss of speech from frustration, let’s go for a dive, and see what Smart Bee has for us today….

“Insanity is fun if you do it right.” — Smart Bee (All I can say is, “Whee!”….)

“A brute kills for pleasure. A fool kills from hate.” — Lazarus Long

“…I probably shouldn’t point at the word ‘reptiles’ when I say ‘businessmen.'” — Rajeev Pandey

“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it… Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings — that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” — Buddha

“Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is boring without it.” — Pearl S. Buck

“We have art that we do not die of the truth.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

He not busy being born
Is busy dying.

— Bob Dylan

Now, there are those who would say this is somewhat esoteric, as well as exotically eclectic, if they were ever given the chance….they’d be correct in that, too…. S’okay, we’re used to it around here…. In fact, all it really does is give us an appetite for a poem…. Shall we move on to section two? Good…. After you….
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I’ve been using the poems I’ve been getting in the email lately, because some are classics, and others were from authors I’d never before used, or seen, for that matter…. Today, we’ll go with a classic, because, in the state my mind is in today, I NEED a classic, to help me find some sort of balance, or even just a moment or two of grace and elegance, to set me back on the right path to a more sane, satisfying day….. A lot to expect from a poem, eh?…. Ah well, I’ve always been more optimistic than was good for me…. I particularly enjoy this one, for its whimsical use of his sister’s name to furnish the first letter of each line…. now THAT is talent…. with discipline….

Acrostic : Georgiana Augusta Keats

Give me your patience, sister, while I frame
Exact in capitals your golden name;
Or sue the fair Apollo and he will
Rouse from his heavy slumber and instill
Great love in me for thee and Poesy.
Imagine not that greatest mastery
And kingdom over all the Realms of verse,
Nears more to heaven in aught, than when we nurse
And surety give to love and Brotherhood.

Anthropophagi in Othello’s mood;
Ulysses storm’d and his enchanted belt
Glow with the Muse, but they are never felt
Unbosom’d so and so eternal made,
Such tender incense in their laurel shade
To all the regent sisters of the Nine
As this poor offering to you, sister mine.

Kind sister! aye, this third name says you are;
Enchanted has it been the Lord knows where;
And may it taste to you like good old wine,
Take you to real happiness and give
Sons, daughters and a home like honied hive.

~~ John Keats ~~

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Below this paragraph, you will find a rant…. I wrote it about a month ago, when the article it discusses first hit the news…. I happened to have a reason to go over it again, and saw that, not only is it a good rant, it is on a subject that shouldn’t be dismissed, or ignored, or put on a back burner, just because the people involved aren’t actively talking about it…. In fact, that is all the more reason to keep it in the public eye, as it is information they don’t WANT us to be thinking about, or paying any attention to whatsoever….

This administration has proven, by its very silence, which it has maintained ever since these statements were released by the head manipulator and his lackeys (The potUS, the senator, and the congressman, Barry, Di, and Mikey-boy…., the last being a Republican,Tea Party idiot, er, goon, er, stooge, who is on record as believing global warming to be a matter of debate… In this instance, he is playing a natural straight man to the president’s (almost) comically untruthful outburst, adding his own fabrications in support of his colleague’s blindly obedient lies…), because, hey, they’d rather the public just forget all about this issue….

Hence, we are subjected to this series of charades in front of the press, which is them doing their best to make that happen, followed by complete and utter silence on the subject….. It’s an old technique, long in use by spies to weaken foreign governments…. All it takes is to make outrageous statements, no matter how egregiously false, then shut up entirely, leaving the public only the memory of the lies to chew on, until they begin to believe the planted seeds….

One of the interpretations of the material in the ancient book by Sun Tzu, The Art of War, includes this concept as a viable and much used strategy in war, giving numerous historical examples wherein it was employed successfully…. Think about that for a moment, about what it implies about how the people we elect view us, and about the depths to which they’re willing to sink, in their quest to keep us under their control….

So, to piss them off, and keep my own angst fresh, I’m going to keep throwing this up in their faces, once a month or so, just to keep my hand in…. In the process, hopefully, I can ensure sure my other Readers are made aware, if they’re not already clued in, of how egregiously they are being manipulated by the BRC and their minions….

From January 21, 2014:

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If you would please read this article, the arguments that follow will make a lot more sense; if you don’t, it may take you a bit longer to figure out the gist of it…. 😉 Plus, you’ll know, for sure, I’m not making this stuff up, just so I have something to write about….

http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-help-from-russians-193641893.html

In the time of Pythagoras that proverbial phrase “Ipse dixit” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pythagoras, xxv

Ipse Dixit. [Latin, “He himself said it.”] An unsupported statement whose veracity rests solely on the authority of the individual who makes it.

And so it begins….. All of a sudden, many months AFTER the fact, several high-ranking officials from the administration all come out with the same story-line, IMPLYING that Eric Snowden was influenced and/or helped by Russian spies to do what he did…. This statement by Mikey-boy Rogers, U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman, R-Mich., Senator Feinstein’s cohort (she’s his counterpart in the Senate, who put out her office’s lies about this issue yesterday….), is the newest step in the ongoing attempt by the administration to paint Mr. Snowden’s actions with the brush of treason, when, in fact, they KNOW he is not a traitor, but, rather, a patriotic American, caught in the web of intrigue THEY created with their clandestine, illegal activities….

As soon as I saw this headline today, my highly-trained, delicately-honed, automatic political crap detector SCREAMED at me….. “LIES, LIES, MADE UP LIES!!”, it said, without much doubt implied (accuracy factor of the detection meter said it was 99.9% likely to be lies…. which makes it pretty certain, as I’ve programmed it to never say that it is completely sure; it defaults to that number when it is…)….. This is SO obviously a campaign to smear Snowden, it positively REEKS! They are introducing doubt of his character into the dialogue, which, come to think of it, is only a monologue, because, hey, he’s not here to defend himself, is he?

This, of course, is typical political posturing, reminiscent of any other campaign, such as an election run, when they need to direct the public’s attention toward certain areas, away from others, so they can control the conversation…. In his speech, Obama admitted to responding to a public dialogue called for by the leak of information, while never admitting any wrongdoing for having committed the spying initially. Yet, this conversation, this debate, has only shown them to be more secretive than we knew, and they are pulling out all the stops to stop any further investigation into, or outcry about what is REALLY going on…. Naturally, since they are politicians, they will approach this as a campaign to be won; the first step in any campaign is to decrease the viability, the believability of the opposition…. Hence, unproved, unfounded, and untrue accusations, out of nowhere, to try to demonize Eric Snowden….

They say first, it’s beyond his abilities to have done this…. Well, hell, even the most thick-headed fool can see this is a total fabrication…. If this is true, would it mean that the NSA made a habit of hiring programmers that couldn’t understand what they were being tasked to do? Doesn’t make any sense to me…. This man was part of the program, a programmer, and KNOWS how to read data, as well as write the programs that would do so…. Hell, I’m only a high powered user, and I understand what is being done, and what WAS done…. This statement is an obvious lie, an attempt to demean Snowden, so he looks more like a villain, or, at best, the dupe of master spies….

The second thing to note about this claim, is that it is introduced by a politician, who obviously is NOT capable of judging what a programmer is capable of doing with a computer…. Mikey-boy probably has to ask his admin how to use his smart-phone, which is, arguably, smarter than he is, technically speaking… Yet, this idiot, in his power suit and tie, makes this claim unequivocally, thereby implying that one of the most competent programmers alive (look who hired him to begin with!….) isn’t capable of doing something he was trained to do, but, had to be helped by a foreign power…. A pretty far-fetched stretch, to my way of looking at it….

The one professional spy they quoted, from the CIA, it should be noted, said, in his statement, right off, so he couldn’t be accused later of any prevarications…. “I don’t have any particular evidence”, but, then goes on to agree with the outrageous claims made by a politician, one with NO FUCKING CLUE about the glaringly obvious untruth of what he proposes, or, indeed, of how much truth any of what he said might have contain…. Rogers’ job, which he performed perfectly, was, simply, to put in the minds of the public a single idea, one small but important lie, that Snowden was made to do what he did, by coercion, by trickery, or by duplicity; they don’t say which, nor do they have to…. They merely imply, without directly accusing, so that the lies they intend to bring out later, as seeds for further doubt, will find fertile soil in the simple minds of the public….

None of the truth, or any actual connection to reality of the claims he was making concerned him; he was strictly a talking head, on a major TV show; his mission was to plant in the public awareness the idea that Eric Snowden didn’t act alone, and that the very act of his doing what he did, regardless of ANY evidence to the contrary, should be viewed as proof of his having had help from another country…. The fact that this isn’t remotely true was not an issue; the message was delivered, and supported by the other actors in the play…. Throw in the claim about him being technically unable to do what he did, and you’ve got some juice to keep the story going, even though all of it is a complete fabrication….

Ffolkes, if you can’t see that this is true, that you were deliberately lied to, and manipulated in an attempt to make you think what the government wants you to think, well, I guess I should just use THEIR justification and tell you…. You, too, are an idiot, and the fact is, if you believe any of what this man says about this subject, that, in itself, can be considered as PROOF of your idiocy….. incontrovertible, undeniable PROOF. (After all, that’s the same method of proof they’re offering for THEIR assertions…..) If the timing, and the words themselves, don’t make your crap-detector go off like it was on fire, then I’m afraid there isn’t much hope for you in the real world….

These statements were merely the latest tactic to be applied by the White House political strategists, all without having to bring out their big gun, the president, with his down-home, I’m-so-sincere, boyish face, and, the now-famous, good-ol-boy, aw-shucks grin, both of which are political tools of great value to him, but only if not over-used….. Right now, they’ve got a few of the sidekicks out in the limelight, after his speech over the weekend, making up stuff and carrying on with all the talking points and deliberate manipulations, all orchestrated in Mr. Snowden’s absence….. one I hope he continues to maintain, as it is the ONLY hope he has of surviving the future (….Ironically enough, in a case of Life imitating Life, this is a problem ALL OF US are going to have in the very near future…. that of running out of any hope of surviving the future, when the very air we breathe will be toxic to us….)

After seeing this story, and taking into account the other stories in response to the president’s speech about the nonexistent changes he claims he wants to make to the NSA mission (I mean, look closely at what he said…. He isn’t changing ANYTHING of any significance…..), I think it would be safe to predict that in the next few days and weeks, we will hear more fabrications and implications, with or without any actual evidence, about Mr. Snowden, as the administration continues to distract and defuse, hoping that if they stall long enough, something else will come up to take the public’s awareness from their spying, and put it back in the closet, or sweep it under the rug, where they keep all the other stuff they don’t want us to see or know, about what they are REALLY doing behind our backs….

(Note from February…. I personally think they’re hoping for another idiot to steal a gun and shoot up a mall, or a school somewhere, which always takes all the public’s attention and focuses it on their unreasonable fears for a couple of weeks….But, then, I’m pretty convinced of their complete lack of any human compassion, anyway, so, my concerns reflect my belief in their human nature, and their lack of any sort of virtue that would make them tell the truth, or espouse an agenda that benefits anyone but themselves….)

You can bet on that, ffolkes, for sure…. They’re not going to stop lying, just because they’ve been caught at it…. They’ll only get more bold with it…. It’s the way they’re built, they can’t, and won’t, help it…. There’s no profit in it for them to give up, is there? And, profit is what they are all about, when it comes down to the bottom line…. Profit for their self-interests, which are, to them, more important than the whole rest of the human race…..

As Lily Tomlin’s character, Edith Ann, used to say, when she was done making her brilliantly simple observations of people’s foibles…., “And that’s the Truth! THPPPPT!”

“Plausibility is the morality of fiction.” — Edith Mirrilees

Monthly update: The administration’s silence on the NSA spying issues continues to this date…. I’ve seen only one article in the past month on the subject, and it was merely a rehash of this information, with no real new developments reported…. They’re letting it go as long as they can without bringing any of it up themselves, so as to give the public, which has a notoriously SHORT attention span, a chance to forget all about it….. Naturally, the media is allowing this to continue without comment…. Good luck on having that stay the same, dudes…. Not if I have anything to say about it…..

😉

I’ll be here, and I’ll be reprinting this, or a fresher version, either in a month, or, before that, if and/or when new statements are forthcoming from the potUS, or one of his myrmidons….. (Unless, of course, they decide to stop me…. That would be the ONLY reason I wouldn’t be posting a month from now…. in which case, you’d no doubt read about all the dead feds in the news, if they can count that high…. I don’t intend to go, shall we say, quietly? We shall say it..
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Well, I cheated, I guess, but, if you were here at the beginning, you’ll understand why, and be in perfect agreement that it was the right thing to do, at least for today….. If you weren’t here for the beginning, you certainly aren’t here at the end, so who the hell am I talking to? Hell, I don’t know, nor do I care at this point….. It’s done, again, and I’ve got no more excuses to keep from finishing the process now…. So, see ya…. I love you all…..

(No, I don’t know why that came out just then, but, it’s true…. and I just realized it is the underlying reason I rant about politics and global warming….That may sound pompous, but, hey, y’know what? So I am, pompous, that is, and it’s as true as the first statement, so, we’ll let it all stay….)

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Salting hummus makes it nearly edible….

Posted on February 19, 2014 by gigoid

SPOILER: The following introductory section contains an unusually powerful potential to affect the reader soporifically, without warning; should you find yourself yawning, or your eyelids becoming heavy and hard to blink, go immediately on to the second section, where oxygen will be provided….

Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause in the consumption of today’s Pearl; it was unavoidable, as the intro was done before its strong, almost narcotic, sleep-inducing qualities were noted and recorded…. Fortunately, it was discovered during the proofing, (when I found myself nodding over the keyboard…) which prompted this warning….

I find, if you don’t hold your breath while reading the intro, and just treat it like the preface of a book you are about to read (which nobody ever does read…. the prefaces, that is….), and go on to the meat of today’s offering…. you can make it through without any difficulty, other than a vague, mild nausea…. Best of luck!….

Ffolkes,

And, when I woke up…. I looked around, only to find nothing had changed while I slept. More’s the pity…. Of course, I’m speaking only of the situation outside of my own little corner of reality…. In my corner, I have things nicely arranged, just the way I like them, with Patricia nearby, and nobody else (well, other than my children, and the odd old friend or two….) who has any claim on my time, or my attention…. This means that I can spend my time pursuing my own American Dream, which involves books, excellent coffee, the possibility of love, puppies, kittens, cannabinoids, and no bad food…. With the time I have left on this old ball o’mud, life’s too short to put up with anything else….

Anything beyond those are what I consider a bonus, but,those listed are essential to my personal well-being, items I am unwilling to go without for very long before becoming quite irritable, whereupon I generally find someone to sink my teeth into, for sublimation purposes…. It works for me, though I do have to keep a lawyer on retainer to deal with the occasional bout of antagonistic litigation. It also gets a bit expensive having to keep so much material handy for bandaging, and stopping blood flow; and, don’t ASK about the trash bill!….. Do you know what they charge now for hazardous bio-waste?…. It’s outrageous!….

If I haven’t said so before, let me now say, I really like being retired…. I didn’t think I would, but, as things have worked out, it’s a lot more comfortable than I’d thought, if you don’t count the physical issues that arise from getting older. That’s something we all have to deal with anyway, but, not all of us manage to arrange matters so that we aren’t struggling with poverty when we stop working….

Not having a retirement account is actually a scary, sad idea to consider, as I know several people my age who DON’T have a solid retirement set up, and must continue working in order to live; I was almost caught without a retirement in place, so I know the panicky feeling that comes from not knowing if you will be able to retire, with enough to live on comfortably, or have to keep plugging away at a job in order to eat, and sleep indoors…. As I approached my 55th birthday, I was in that boat; no job, and not enough time in to keep my retirement active with the State, so I was looking at NOT having anything in place when I reached the age to retire….

I guess I’m winding around this issue like this to get to the point where I can say this: I’m a lucky guy…. I managed to get my job with the State back, and reinstated my accumulated time, which reinstated my retirement eligibility, and left me in the position in which I find myself now…. which is a far better position than the majority of the world’s population can look forward to…. I have enough income to live in a warm, dry house, eat well, stay clothed, and have enough left for entertainment and/or travel, if I’m frugal enough to save up…. So, I really have little about which to complain, other than my physical issues, which all of us must bear….

As a man who was raised to be compassionate, and who has learned over the years that service to others is a requirement of maintaining one’s self-respect and honor, I feel like I should give back to society what I can, sharing my knowledge and expertise…. In my lifetime, I’ve learned a lot, and the only way now I have to share what I know is to write…. My physical condition is such that giving of my practical experience, in cooking, organizing, or other skills that are useful, has been curtailed; I can’t work in the kitchen anymore, nor do much that requires standing or sitting for long periods…. So, volunteering at the local senior center, as I’d planned to do, is not an option any longer….

So, I write…. I try to write about subjects that will help us all to survive the upcoming shit-storm…..You know, that impending massive planetary environmental crisis so ignorantly created by our Beloved Ruling Class, in their patently insane search for power and control over others? Yeah, that one…. It ain’t much, but, it’s what I’ve got, so, I’ll keep doing it as long as I can, if only to amuse myself…. If I can amuse someone else in the process, so much the better….

Shall we Pearl?…. With such a mundane, elementally, if elegantly boring intro, I think we need a two-fer to start…..

“He is able who thinks he is able.” — Buddha

“If the Bible proves that God exists then comic books prove the existence of Superman.” — Smart Bee, demonstrating perfectly sound logic
_____________________________

Originally, I had intended to put a rant in this section…. I even had one started, dealing with a plague our society has endured since the beginning of time, but, writing that stiff, boring introduction has put me into a semi-deep depression, for some idiotic reason that my subconscious thinks will be more fun if it hides it from me….

In short, I’ve just been struck by a chemical imbalance in my brain that has created a miasma of karmic blueness, which surrounds my heart and soul, bypassing the brain altogether to make me feel as if the world is covered all in cotton, and nothing feels right…. and I don’t know WHY! It’s just as if a bunch of dementors had been sent to harass me by some perverse, antagonistic Ministry of Magic official…. Really a pisser, actually….

Ah well, it’s fortunate for us I have the perfect solution to this sort of marginally delusional, certainly self-induced emotional abuse…. It’s called an old-school pearl, sans any parameters beyond what pleases the inner eye, dreaming without focus, of peace, and illogical hope for our future…. In other words, potluck…. Enjoy! I intend to… In fact, I may even leave a comment or two, just to show y’all how MUCH I enjoyed it….

“He who receives a good turn should never forget it; he who does one should never remember it.” — Charon

(An obvious corollary to the Golden Rule, and an attitude one could only wish was more common in modern society….)

“It belongs to human nature to hate those you have injured.” — Tacitus (54-119 AD) — Agricola, 42

(Ahem!…. Well!…. I do declare, is it a bit warm in here?…. This certainly goes a long way toward explaining the reason why our Beloved Ruling Class expresses so much hatred and disdain for those who elect them…. as well as how the shadowy corporate slave masters can justify to themselves their insane obsession with money, and power over others….)

“The discipline of desire is the background of character.” — John Locke

“Just remember, when you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed.” — Charles Schulz

“One’s friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human.” — George Santayana

(No comments from me could possibly add anything to the last three pearls….. Let’s see if SB can finish this off with the same sort of style and grace….)

POLITICS, n. “A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

“Thou shalt not get caught.” — The Eleventh Commandment

Hmm…. well, perhaps the ending didn’t quite live up to the rest of it…. But, when looked at in a certain light, one can see how that may well just be the best description of how human life stumbles along the way it does…. Then again, maybe not…. At this point, all of that is moot, and we are now free to go enjoy a poem…. Plus, the quicker we get out of this section, the faster it will fade into memory, yes?….
_____________________________

I don’t know this poet, having never seen his work before…. though for some reason, this poem sounds familiar…. In any case, it’s good, if a bit obscure as to what it wants from the reader; I found it hard to connect to the emotions that so obviously were part of the shock of the ending. Perhaps that’s a sign of a good poem; it made me think about my own reaction to what it had to say….

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
‘Good-morning,’ and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

~~ Edwin Arlington Robinson ~~

_____________________________

As a reward for hanging in there long enough to get this far, I’m not going to rant at all today…. Instead, here’s another fresh old-school pearl…. Let’s see if Smart Bee can come up with anything to lighten my depression, and give y’all a chuckle or two with your morning coffee, tea, or beverage of choice…. Myself, I advise NOT having any morning conversations with either of my old friends, John Daniels, or James Beam…. Nice fellows, but, as breakfast companions, they tend to eliminate any prospect of accomplishing anything worthwhile afterward, for most of the rest of the day, after which, there remains the altogether unpleasant consequences to suffer through, as one recovers from the usual vicious hangover that comes with such foolishness…

As is apparent, I’ve been there, done that, and have no wish to go back, much as I love my old friends…. I’ll confine myself to shorter, more manageable conversations with them late at night, or before dinner, and leave it at that…. In the meantime, I got completely side-tracked…. Let’s see how amusing Smart Bee can be, shall we?….

“If at first you don’t succeed, you’re doing about average.” — Leonard Levinson

— Bother! said Pooh, as his ship failed to jump to light speed.

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.

— Odgen Nash (1902-1971)

“Believing ourselves to be possessors of absolute truth degrades us: we regard every person whose way of thinking is different from ours as a monster and a threat and by so doing turn our own selves into monsters and threats to our fellows.” — Octavio Paz

(How did that slip in there?…. Hmm, sorry, it’s not remotely funny….. It’s also too good to toss away; such insight is rare…. Oh well, just imagine it’s funny, and go on…. I’ll make it right with the gods of consistency….)

“Sits he on ever so high a throne, a man still sits on his bottom.” — Smart Bee

(That’s better…. since we aren’t counting the fourth pearl, we’ll go with a three-fer to finish this off nice and balanced-like, just like the professionals do….)

“I spent 3 weeks childproofing my home. They still get in.” — 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 Ass Bee

“HELLO, everybody, I’m a HUMAN!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(It appears that balance was not going to be an element of note in today’s process…. but, I’m okay with that, especially if you consider the last line as the underlying battle cry for today’s effort…. )
_____________________________

I swear, pulling out a coherent thought today has been like trying to pull a Tea Partier’s head out of his ass…. It’s hard work, and ultimately useless, in terms of improving his chances of reaching average intelligence; in other words, there’s no hope of making them smarter, so, they’re usually better off leaving it there… I figure if somebody is a registered Tea Partier, it’s a pretty sure sign they already lost the evolutionary lottery…. It’s why I’m usually nice to them; they’re to be pitied more than reviled, as being too naive to ever really have stood a chance to learn enough to make themselves anything than the malleable mind-slaves of the BRC they are…..

There, now I’ve ranted…. Are you happy? Good. Me too, and I know why both of us have reason to be so giddy…. We’re done here, and we can afford to let go of our death grip on sanity long enough to relax for a while…. Until tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

All quiet on the western omelet….

Posted on February 15, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I am never sure how one of these Pearls will turn out, due to several factors, the most telling of which is my refusal to plan them out from one day to the next; I’ve always insisted on using either fresh material, or material I created previously, from the archives here on WP, or my own backup copies here on Arthur’s hard drive (my computer’s name is Arthur, after the Dudley Moore character….Yes, it was whimsical….). Today’s Pearl may be the most different yet, as it will have been constructed under the most trying of conditions possible for me to imagine…

Yep, my coffee machine broke today…. This, of course, could have been a major disaster, which is, I’m sure, exactly what Murphy planned when he sabotaged the heating element…. (He tried to hide the fact of his chicanery… when I came out, and pushed the button to start the coffee maker, the light went on, just as if it were going to work…. but, three minutes later, no hot water, and an obviously dead machine….). However, having slept well, again, thanks to my new regime of night time medications that work like a charm, I didn’t panic at all…. I merely reached down, grabbed a sauce pan, heated water, and poured it through myself, then made a note to go by a store for a new machine later today….

It’s amazing how clear one’s head is when one actually sleeps during the night…. It has been so long since I had any consistent sleep, I’ve forgotten how it feels in the morning, which, to put it most simply, is wonderful…. clear-headed, and without unending waves of pain crashing through my awareness, demanding attention as soon as I am up, to begin the daily fight with gravity to remain upright…. What a bonus! There is pain, yes, but it is manageable, and responds well to the morning routine I’ve evolved…..

It is no doubt a mite confusing for y’all here today…. Y’all are probably as unused to my NOT complaining about my pain, or Murphy, or whatever issue has arisen upon my ascendancy from bed ( I’ll bet y’all are especially weary of hearing about my fears of the blank screen….), as I am unused to NOT having anything about which to whine…. It’s actually quite nice…. even fun…. Who the hell am I kidding? I’m boring myself to tears with all this nicey, nicey crap!….

Fuck it, I’m outta here, before I turn into a Pollyanna, and start writing love poems….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Great acts are made up of small deeds.” — Lao Tzu
_____________________________

I’ve got rants in me today; I could easily turn all this goodwill I’m experiencing today into angst. All I’d need to do is go look through some headlines, & voilá! Instant outrage…. But, my precursor mood isn’t quite right to get me there, at least not yet today (It IS only 0430….)…. So, I’m going with the newest format, combined with some random pearls, chosen to replace any long-winded comments from me, for a new effect…. We’ll see how it works, and possibly include it again in future Pearls…. for now, enjoy the craziness that is our society at large, in action….

First, two statements that are the perfect opening pearls for this set of headlines….

“God is an invention of Man. So the nature of God is only a shallow mystery. The deep mystery is the nature of Man.” — Nanrei Kobori, — late Abbot of the Temple of the Shining Dragon, Kyoto, Japan

“Is being an idiot like being high all the time?” — Janeanne Garofolo

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Ex-parks-ranger-sues-CHP-officer-over-use-of-force-5234039.php

“With tooth and nail.” — Du Bartas (1544-1590) — Divine Weekes and Workes, Second Day

Is there any worse temper displayed, (other than the fabled “woman scorned”, of course….) than that of one whose sense of entitlement has been usurped? If so, I’d like to know what it is, as it may be the absolute champion of all such egregiously stupid, and selfish attitudes that anyone can assume…. Yet, here we have, in this country, literally, MILLIONS of idiot assholes, such as the ones in this story, who harassed the officer who upheld the law at the expense of their peer, the speeding asshole…. Yes, there are millions of other, even stupider assholes manning the wheels of innumerable police cars in our cities, counties, and towns, driving around with their attitudes on full display…. When was the last time you observed an officer of the law making a legal turn signal?…. Yep…. I can’t remember, either….

http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/02/13/comcast-net-neutrality/

“Accumulate mannequins now; spare parts will be in short supply on D-Day.” — Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence

This article is here just so I can say I included something about the SCM’s, whom I believe to be the MOST responsible parties when it comes to assigning blame for the condition of our planet…. This story shows just how little the common man has to say in just about anything in society….. Here we have two more faceless corporate entities joining forces, with the end result one of increasing the degree of control each of them has over US…. the Internet is the McGuffin in this picture; it’s what they WANT us to focus on…. Yes, they want to control the Internet, but that is merely because it is a tool that helps US to learn more about what they’re up to…. thus, stealing control of it ensures they maintain the death-grip they have on our slave collars….

Need more evidence? Here:

“Another doctor reports that in a recent issue of the *American Journal of Family Practice* fleas were called “hematophagous arthropod vectors.” — Smart Bee

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Study-says-fracking-releases-more-methane-than-5233422.php

“…it doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are — if it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.” — Richard P. Feynman

“Fracking releases more methane than previously thought”…… Oh? Really? No kidding? Well, there’s a surprise, eh? Another fucking asinine method for ripping resources from the planet’s crust, using previously untested technology, and it’s causing more damage than we realized? Now, who would have guessed that?

If you haven’t realized yet that these are angry, rhetorical questions, then, you may as well go read somewhere else, because you’re just not getting it, or not paying attention, ffolkes…. The assholes who run the world don’t CARE if they fuck up the planet…. They believe they’re immune to the results of what they do…. dying is for the little people, don’t y’know?….. Bah! This one makes me so angry, I can barely speak, and certainly can’t write very well, so I’ll just call them assholes one more time, and let it go at that…. Fucking assholes….

“Where are we going? And why am I in this damn handbasket?” — Smart Bee, at gigoid’s instigation….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Ron-Paul-starts-Snowden-clemency-petition-5235280.php

“I’m all in favor of the democratic principle that one idiot is as good as one genius, but I draw the line when someone takes the next step and concludes that two idiots are better than one genius.” — Leo Szilard

I’d never in my life have ever thought I’d agree on ANYTHING with this guy, but, well, there you go…. The reasoning behind our opinions here are, very likely, completely at odds, but, we seem to have reached the same conclusion, to wit: Eric Snowden is NOT a traitor, but, rather, a hero, and should be brought home in honor, not restraints…. In this particular instance, I don’t really CARE that I’m apparently getting into bed with one of the country’s most insane talking heads, a professional politician who turned his vocation into his legacy, making his son a hereditary politician, as well as a professional one. He got this one right, and he’s the first one to come out in public with this, in the face of the administration, so, in this at least, he has my support….

Yuck…. They were right when they said that politics makes for strange bedfellows…. And, now, I feel a little ill….
_____________________________

One of my email services sent this poem to me a few days ago, so I saved it for just an occasion such as this, when my spirit is in need of something along a classical line….. and, please, no relevance to current events, either….. I just want to get away for a moment or two…. This is a good one for that….. Enjoy!

A Crazed Girl

THAT crazed girl improvising her music.
Her poetry, dancing upon the shore,

Her soul in division from itself
Climbing, falling She knew not where,
Hiding amid the cargo of a steamship,
Her knee-cap broken, that girl I declare
A beautiful lofty thing, or a thing
Heroically lost, heroically found.

No matter what disaster occurred
She stood in desperate music wound,
Wound, wound, and she made in her triumph
Where the bales and the baskets lay
No common intelligible sound
But sang, ‘O sea-starved, hungry sea.’

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

_____________________________

I was going to include an old-school pearl here, but, found this old politirant, from almost exactly a year ago, and thought it would make a good piece to demonstrate some of why it makes me ill to have to agree with Ron Paul, as noted above…. This will explain that delicacy quite well, I should think, and if not, well, you can always read it twice….

From 10/17/13:

First, a word from the Founding Fathers….

“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” — Thomas Jefferson

Now, a bit of insanity, on the identical subject, from a more modern source….

“By all accounts, though, an end seems near for the impasse that has once again exposed a government so divided that it sometimes borders on dysfunction. Though the House failed to muster sufficient support for a conservatives-only bill in the GOP-majority chamber on Tuesday, enough Republicans there seem likely to join House Democrats to approve a bipartisan version if it can be approved by the Senate and sent to them. ”

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Senators-closing-in-on-deal-to-reopen-government-4895884.php

I was reading the news last night, online, and the latest reports from the capitol say that a deal will get done prior to today’s deadline…. as it always does…. The difference in the deals that get done and those that don’t get done are relatively insignificant, in terms of real life; they only make a difference to those involved in whatever struggle is current. Nobody really understands any of it anyway… not the politicians who spout all the platitudes and figures, not the experts who supply the detailed analysis of those figures, and certainly not the public, who don’t even WANT to understand the complexities…. which is something the pundits know well, and, in fact, depend on to assist them in their endeavors…

“Morality is a private and costly luxury.” — Smart Bee

Sadly, this statement, though found without attribution, was made by an observer who knows human nature well, one who has obviously observed our history closely, drawing from those observations the only possible conclusion…. Society, as exemplified by its leaders, in both the secular and clerical arenas, loudly and boldly tout the twin concepts of morality and ethics, laying claim to them as if they were a coat left lying about. The noise they make in making these claims is generally quite noisome, to my ears, but, serves to cover their asses when later accused of impropriety; they can point to their strident statements as being proof of sincerity, though, logically, sincerity and morality have no real connection.

However, sad as the statement is, it is accurate, and never more so when looking at the budget crisis that we are witnessing today. The assholes who inhabit Congress, especially the conservatives in the House of Representatives, ( an oxymoron, if I’ve ever heard one…. ), DO NOT represent the people who elected them, not even close…. They lie to them, they steal from them, they follow their own agendas, but, they DON’T represent them…

How can they? They are not even in the same economic class as most of them, and never have been…. and, please, DON’T try to tell me you don’t think we have economic classes in this society…. Sorry, ffolkes, but American society is NOT classless, and never has been…. It has ALWAYS been separated into classes, based primarily on economic factors, with those who have more money having more influence and, more importantly, more rights, than those with less money…. The most cursory examination of history, of the world, and of this country, will show this as a fact of little possibility of dispute.

The average US income (which doesn’t give a completely accurate picture, but is useful to make the point….) is somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars ($10, 001 to $99,999, somewhere between the two….). This translates into a basic demographic breakdown of being a very few people making more than they need to survive, as contrasted by a very large number of people who are struggling to even eat on a daily basis…. This accounts for 99% of the population, and about 1% of the actual money available to that 99%….

On the other side of that coin, we have a few thousand people, the remaining 1%, who have 99% of the money, all making more than a million dollars a year, on average…. Of this small percentage, we find that ALL of the Senators, about half of the House members, and the President, of course, are all part of that 1% of the population, a part that has never had to worry about where their next meal came from…. I wish that this were not true, but, these are facts, with the supporting evidence available to anyone with a library card, so they can go there to look up the numbers….

Of course, the fact that they are “more successful” in economic terms is only proof, in their minds, of their inherent right to make the decisions for everyone else in the country, even though they have no real grasp of the needs of those people. The fact of their disconnection from reality cannot penetrate their sense of entitlement, and they fully BELIEVE in their own mandate…. “Somehow, it never hurts to step back occasionally and ask yourself “Am I contributing to the solution of the problem or aiding in making a bigger problem?”…. this is a process, and a question, that never occurs to them…

This is why I call them delusional, and can honestly claim that I believe them to be clinically insane; a person so disconnected to what is real cannot be considered sane…. except, perhaps, in an insane society. Making assumptions about having the right to decide about the wants and needs of others is a sure sign that one has an unreasonable belief in their own importance to the universe, an assumption that can only be termed as a delusion. This kind of behavior is one society cannot afford to allow, because, if nothing else, these types of delusions are dangerous to the rest of us. Allowing these “crazies”, for wont of a more accurate term, to act out their fantasies in the real world tends to lead to trouble for more than just themselves…..

“Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying! I grant you I was down and out of breath; and so was he. But we rose both at an instant, and fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act v, Sc. 4

I’m down, and out of breath, from shouting into the wind, at the mountain… A futile task, at best, I know, but, what else can one do at 5 AM? Mountain moving is my specialty, after all…. The truth of the matter is, after two hours by Shrewsbury clock, I’m tired of shouting at the mountain; it’s hard work, to little effect. I suppose it’s all I can do, and that is why I do it…. It’s cheaper, and, in the long run, less troublesome to my spirit and karma, than going out, buying a gun, and making a list of targets…. Less chance of getting shot back at, too…

There comes a time, however, when even I must admit to the futility of this particular task, and grow a bit discouraged…. I’m just not the kind of person who can give up completely, though, so, I’ll be back to rant on this subject another time…. “They” are always out there doing something on which I can comment. For the time being, I’ll leave you with this final lament…

“The world has taken on a thickness of vulgarity that raises a spiritual man’s contempt to the violence of a passion.” — Charles Baudelaire

Notes from 2014, almost precisely four months after being written: How is one ALMOST precise? Hmm…. well, that’s for another time…. for now, all I can say is…. I resemble that remark!…..
_____________________________

I find myself at loose ends…. It is now 0524, and I’ve been up, working on this Pearl for about an hour and a half, minus some time to deal with coffee production and consumption anomalies…. and, I’m done. I’ve done a new-style mini-headline-rant, included an archived rant, and found a great poem…. all that, and an intro, too!

But, it’s way too early…. If I stop now, there’s no telling what kind of mischief I can get into before the rest of the world in this longitude awakens…. Hell, it’s still pitch dark outside! Even in my reduced condition, I could go down the block, setting off car alarms, and be back inside in five minutes, none the worse for wear…. Then, everyone else would be up, and I could go back to bed, satisfied I had done my part to get the world started today…..

Instead, I’m going to take a break (necessary at this point…. No worries, I’ll leave the car alarms alone….), then come back and put together an old-school pearl, just to take up some time….. I’ll make it a good one, to soothe the hurt from having extra to read today….. Let’s go see what SB has been hiding from us, okay?….

“Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.” — St. Augustine

“I have never been so well pleased, as when I could shift power from my own, on the shoulders of others; nor have I ever been able to conceive how any rational being could propose happiness to himself from the exercise of power over others.” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to Monsieur Destutt de Tracy, January 26, 1811, — reprinted in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, XIII, — ed. A. E. Bergh (1853)

— ‘Shit Happens’ according to…

Politician: It’s shit, but it’ll get me elected.
If you elect me, there will never again be shit.
Shit is bad for the economy.

“Mistakes are at the very base of human thought, embedded there, feeding the structure like root nodules. If we were not provided with the knack for being wrong, we could never get anything useful done. We think our way along by choosing between right and wrong alternatives, and the wrong choices have to be made as often as the right ones. We get along in life this way.” — Lewis Thomas, The Medusa and the Snail

“As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.” — William H. Blake (1757-1827)

“They do not understand how that which differs with itself is in agreement: harmony consists of opposing tension, like that of the lyre and the bow.” — Heraclitus

“Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Speaker, 12/15/00

Well, once again, SB proves its merits…. I didn’t pay much attention as I gathered up these pearls, but, I think it came out pretty coherent, don’t you?…. Well, I guess it is if you have my own particular strange way of seeing patterns of thought in collected ideation…. or, whatever it is I’m doing when I go Pearling…. For that matter, who the fuck cares? It works for me, so, I just try to enjoy it, and don’t fret about how it works…..because I can’t always explain it, even to my own satisfaction…. 🙂
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Well…. the Pearls seem to be growing again…. I’ve broken 3000 words several times already this year, and this looks like another one that will go over that count, easily…. Not that I’m counting, or anything…. I just keep track of it as a way of judging how much crap is left in here to get rid of…. The more I can get onto the screen in the morning, the less I have to shovel out during the day, into the BBR, where it can cause real problems, if I’m not careful where I put it…. But, that’s the world’s lookout, not mine…. In the meantime, I think I’m done here, so….. see ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Bump the aardvarks to the second seating….

Posted on January 28, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

So much for planning…. It seems that I will have to wage war with my HMO to be able to live with any dignity; so be it. They’re the ones who are refusing to be flexible, or to make honest decisions based on rational reasons. So, I’ll take them to the court of public opinion over the next few months, and see how THEY like being raked over the coals of societal anger….. If I can get society on my side against them, it might work…. That being said, just as obscurely as I could, we can go on to bigger and better things….

Epiphany is, I find, an experience I’m finding hard to pin down to actual codification. No worries, though, as they don’t disappear, even if not immediately acted upon, as they usually insist upon; they come complete with enthusiasm, and their own sort of energy, created by the sheer exuberance of the manifestation experience. The one I had the other night, when conversing with my old friends, is shifting in outline the more I examine it, with the only clear issue coming to light being what I’m going to call The Search for Innovation….

Normally, I’d start ranting right there, detailing the idea I’m presenting, and taking a few well-earned shots at the Asininnies I hold as responsible for our plight today. Since, however, I’m not normal, I’m going to put that particular piece aside for a time, and let it percolate, because it doesn’t feel as if it’s quite done yet…. needs a few days more to cook in there.

Not only is it unwise to use food before it is well cooked, it is also unwise to use ideas before they are fully developed, lest they turn on us, and become toxic in themselves, just like a slab of meat we leave out too long…. No, I’m going to allow this epiphany to bake at the correct temperature, for a sufficient time to allow it to get done, all the way to the center….. Nobody likes a gooey center, do they?…. Not in a robust, world-saving concept they don’t…. They want it done all the way to the middle…

Now that I’ve completely mixed all the metaphors I could find, just to tell you we’re NOT ranting first off, and NOT yet detailing the inner workings of my recent ideas, but, rather, trundling along with no real direction or purpose, I am authorized to tell you we are nearing the end of today’s intro section, oddly enough, and will be heading off into the wilds of ECR in just a few moments….

Any hopes, dreams, or obsessive desires you may have acquired upon this short journey are completely your responsibility, and the management can not be held liable for any that are not fulfilled. Please leave the 3D glasses in the seat back in front of you, and exit to the rear when we come to a complete stop…. We hope you’ve enjoyed this small detour through the lobby, and hope you enjoy the rest of your day with us….

Shall we pearl?….

“…only here did the human soul in a higher sense acquire depth and become evil – and these are the two basic respects in which man has hitherto been superior to other beasts!” — Friedrich Nietzsche
_____________________________

Unbeknownst to you, or me before I began today, my work space is operating with a handicap. The overhead light has burnt out, and, since I have worn out over half of the keys on my keyboard, to the point where the letters are no longer visible, it’s getting really hard to see which letter I’m hitting…. Now, of course, if I were a typist of classical excellence, it wouldn’t matter, because my hands would always be in the correct position to strike the appropriate keys…. but, I’m not, in the ultimate sense… I do type well, and classically, most of the time, but, when composing, it’s a different matter, as there are pauses to think, or edit, or fix typos, which can break up the smooth flow of the words onto the screen…

So, here we are, a large paragraph later, a hundred words or more, simply to tell you that I’m not going to rant in this section, but will instead fill this one up with an old-school pearl, of unknown, and heretofore unseen, parameters…. Enjoy!….

— Bother! said Pooh, as he kicked Piglet’s ass. — Smart Bee

“Not only is life a bitch, it has puppies.” — Adrienne E. Gusoff

“Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.” — Hermann Hesse

The Eternal is empty (like a bowl),
It may be used but its capacity is never exhausted.
It is bottomless, perhaps the ancestor of all things.
It unties its tangles,
It softens its light.
It becomes one with the dusty world.
Deep and still, it appears to exist forever.
I do not know whose son it is.
It seems to have existed before the Lord.

— Lao-Tzu (fl. B.C. 600)

Chiefs who no more in bloody fights engage,
But wise through time, and narrative with age,
In summer-days like grasshoppers rejoice,–
A bloodless race, that send a feeble voice.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Iliad of Homer, Book iii, Line 199

“Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but habituate yourself to something else.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — How the Semblances of Things are to be combated, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xviii

“God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of his own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players, to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.” — Gaiman and Pratchett, Good Omens
_____________________________

I’m in an odd frame of mind today, all things considered…. There is only one poet to whom I turn, on days such as this….

Delight becomes pictorial
When viewed through pain,–
More fair, because impossible
That any gain.

The mountain at a given distance
In amber lies;
Approached, the amber flits a little,–
And that’s the skies!

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

_____________________________

Below the line under this short paragraph, you will find a relatively ancient Pearl…. from October of 2011, it is in the format I used at the time, which consisted of an introduction section, where any comments, or ranting, I had on tap were placed, followed by a group of pearls forming another pearl, with a short closing…. This structure, in this exact form, is how the Daily Pearls looked back then….. Today, it is saving me the effort of searching out another old-school pearl, since, hey, here’s one right here…. Enjoy!….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From 10/7/11:

Ffolkes,

The nature of Reality is a fascinating subject, due in part, I believe, to that part of its nature that is amorphous, ever-changing and unpredictable. It is also hard, uncompromisingly immutable, and always the same. In these two facets, it is much like us, coexisting on the edge of light/dark, sharp/dull, sweet/sour, pleasure/pain. As we feel, so our view of what is real changes to suit those feelings. But though our view of it will alter to fit our whim, reality itself is immune to such manipulation. Its nature is to provide the truth that our illusions keep us from seeing, not to change at our direction. But it too will change, for entropy is the rule for which exceptions exist (see below), and entropy cannot be denied.

Thus even though our nature is but a mirror of Reality, it is not Reality itself, wish as hard as we might that it would be so. We are left with only our reasoning mind to cope with the dichotomy. And that is fine, for we are also dichotomous by nature; all of our senses obtain their information from the universe by registering presence/absence of substance (touch), molecules (smell), air waves (hearing), more molecules (taste), and photons (sight). So dichotomy is something with which our minds are comfortable.

But, though we can be comfortable with perceiving Reality, we still must be cautious, because danger, by its nature, is duplicitous, and can hide right out in the seemingly open. Our perceptions require us to review their veracity on a regular basis, lest surprises occur. Surprises, while nice coming from one’s boy- or girl-friend, can be rather unwelcome coming from Reality.

Especially those little conundrums that Life always seems to hand us that have their roots in the past; old debts, old friends, old enemies, all have a tendency to show up in our lives just when they are least welcome. Goes to show, I guess, that the old saw about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure makes a lot of sense when considered in that respect. Leading us back to another old saw…..be alert! The world needs more lerts. And so do we…..

“I went in search of my art, often in danger of my life. I have not been ashamed to learn those things which to me have seemed useful — even from vagabonds, barbers, and executioners. For we know how a lover will go a long way to meet the woman that he loves. How much the more, then, will the lover of wisdom be tempted to go in search of his divine mistress!” — Paracelsus

“The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.” — John Vance Cheney

“I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We’ve created life in our own image.” — Stephen Hawking

A mighty pain to love it is,
And ‘t is a pain that pain to miss;
But of all pains, the greatest pain
It is to love, but love in vain.

— Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) — From Anacreon, vii, Gold

“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” — Sun Tzu (fl. c. BC 500)

“If for every rule there is an exception, then we have established that there is an exception to every rule. If we accept “For every rule there is an exception” as a rule, then we must concede that there may not be an exception after all, since the rule states that there is always the possibility of exception, and if we follow it to its logical end we must agree that there can be an exception to the rule that for every rule there is an exception.” — Bill Boquist

Well! I don’t know about y’all, but I feel MUCH better!…… y’all take care out there…..
_____________________________

I’d say, more or less, this Pearl is pretty much typical for the breed…. Why I’d say that, I don’t know for sure, but, it FEELS true, so, we’ll go with it, and pretend it is, even if it isn’t…. Isn’t it amazing, how I can pull so many words out of an insane, completely useless piece of introspective nonsense?…. Well, I think so….

As long as nobody shoots me, or hauls me away to some dingy, freezing, rat-infested back room in some fleabag hotel, to beat me with a rubber hose, in a vain, forlorn attempt to force me to retract my strong words, against the BRC and the churches, bless their little black hearts and souls, well, I’ll be back tomorrow…. Okay, so, MAYBE I’ll get struck by an attack of common sense, or perhaps extreme embarrassment, but, otherwise…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Tiny, torn pieces of once proud menu items….

Posted on January 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

With a last, silent slide down the slippery sky, the nearly-full moon fell behind the mountain to the west, filling the valley below with darkness complete….. Instantly, twelve silent shadows moved as one, filing through the forest, to pass the edge of the clearing where they had lain hidden, near the darker line of trees, swiftly making their way to where the moon was last seen. No curious animals stirred in the now Stygian night, as the line of warriors, weapons in hand, passed through, below the silent nests of sleeping birds; no rasp of scraping leather, or clack of loosely packed arrows escaped the troop, no wheezing breath betrayed their position….. The twelve warriors moved like ghosts through the forest night, making their way to their destined fate.

As they made their silent way toward the mountain, their destination loomed, a darker mass against the bulk of trees…. Massive, with small twinkling lights at the highest corners of the crenelated walls, the castle spread itself higher and higher up the mountain, to where sentries could just be made out, marching past the lights as they worked their way around the castle’s outer walls. At a hand-signal, the troop stopped, looking to the front of the line to where the leader, gazing up at the walls, stood at the edge of trees leading up to the castle’s moat, and bridge gate…. Discipline had them standing silent, waiting for the next step to be ordered…. Before this night was over, the world would change; many innocents would die, and a new world would greet the surviving few….

Fortunately for us, we won’t be around when they get into the castle…. It’s been quite a while since I began a daily Pearl with a fictional story opening… It felt pretty good, actually, and, from the look of it, might be one I should put away to work on later, as it could conceivably work itself into a nice little tale…. So far, I’ve never finished one, but, hey, ya never know, do ya? Even I sometimes manage to do something right, so, hey, why not? In the meantime, here we are, already a good, solid two and bit of paragraphs into this, and it’s all good, and all fresh…. Bonus!

Of course, now we come to the conundrum of this type of opening section…. To wit: Now what? I suppose I could just jump in and start the dive, but, would that satisfy all the legal issues? Don’t know, & don’t want to pay the fines to find out…. Hmm, I could….. no, better not. Last time I tried that, it didn’t work out so well, and took me three days to recover my chutzpah…. Well, we could always…. wait, no, the automatic blender we’d need for that is broken…. Damn, well, shoot, what ARE we going to do? I can’t recall ever being precisely in this particular position before, but, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been here… I mean, even MY excellent memory has a few gaps in it….

Well, I guess there’s no other option; we’ll have to go back to method #4, which, in spite of its stark, ugly nature, remains the most effective choice to get this process unstuck at times like this…. I suppose if Reality weren’t quite so exquisitely diverse, there wouldn’t be as many choices, and making the right one would be easier…. Since it isn’t like that, we’ll have to go on with this, and hope for the best…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Being normal isn’t one of my strengths.” — gigoid
_____________________________

Other than the intro section, whose level of creativity needed for production has never been calculated (thankfully…), most of today’s Pearl is from 2012…. so, I’m creating a fresh pearl here, just so we can say it isn’t ALL old and possibly stale…. I’m not sure exactly what the parameters for this may end up as, so, I’d keep my safety harness hooked, at least loosely, if it were me….

“The farther you go, the less you know.” — Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching”

“Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. . . . the human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

“Antiphanes said merrily, that in a certain city the cold was so intense that words were congealed as soon as spoken, but that after some time they thawed and became audible; so that the words spoken in winter were articulated next summer.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Man’s Progress in Virtue

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” — The Wizard Of Oz

“Man is certainly stark mad; he cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by dozens.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book ii, Chap. xii, Apology for Raimond Sebond

“On with the dance, let joy be unconfined” is my motto, whether there’s any dance to dance or joy to unconfine.” — Mark Twain

“Being about to pitch his camp in a likely place, and hearing there was no hay to be had for the cattle, “What a life,” said he, “is ours, since we must live according to the convenience of asses!” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Philip

This, if you haven’t noticed, is quite possibly a perfect pearl, seven star random style, with a good set of ideas that add up to a pretty formidable lesson, if one has the wit to find it…. If not, it’s all still good advice, or, good thoughts with which to live life, so…. Any who, such perfection requires a finishing quote, one that reflects the useful nature of pearls, while still offering some actually useful information…. In those respects, this is as iterated…. perfect….

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me and turn my inner eye to follow its path. When the fear is gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” — The Litany Against Fear (Frank Herbert, -Dune-, 1965)
_____________________________

To avoid any potential lawsuits, here is one of my own poems, from some time in 2012….

Seeing is Conducive to Belief

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Below this line you will find one of my most well-put together, and well-written pieces of work…. It’s a long rant, covering several issues, from way back in 2012 sometime…. I’m impressed, and so will you be…. I’m also lazy, and there’s just no cure for that…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. long as it is, it’s a pretty good read, I think….

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

It’s not every day I’m compelled to write about religion, politics, philosophy, and the Unified Field Theory, unless in separate pearls…. Taking them all on together might seem a bit egocentric of me, but I’ve never been one to dismiss a challenge, unless it was one that didn’t interest me…. This one definitely hits all the high points of my particular bent, or bents, so, what the hell, let’s see what happens…..

“Each religion, by the help of more or less myth which it takes more or less seriously, proposes some method of fortifying the human soul and enabling it to make its peace with its destiny.” — George Santayana

This idea is one that makes it possible for me to get through a lot of days without becoming homicidal toward a lot of people who bandy their religious beliefs about as if I were at all interested in them. I am aware that there have been a lot of good people throughout history, including current times, who are devout believers in one religion or another; they are sincere in their beliefs, and in their efforts to live their lives according to the precepts of their religions.

Some of them are even preachers, or priests of one sort or another, but the percentage in those categories of sincere belief is most certainly smaller than in the general public…. Let’s face it, most of those who go into the business do it because they aren’t any good at anything else, and the work is pretty easy…. Being a preacher is only hard if it gets taken seriously enough to try to help other folks, but most of the ones I’ve met are more concerned with convincing everyone of their piety than they are with actually helping…. and to most of them, the process of proving their own piety is accomplished by challenging everyone else’s beliefs, and sticking their noses into other people’s business….

One of the most insidious attractions of religion to many people, sad to say, is that it provides such a convenient vehicle for going through life without ever having to come up with an original thought or feeling. Every system of religious dogma, from no matter what cult, or division, or schism, or whatever it maybe called, is designed to give people answers to their questions about life and all the things that happen that they don’t understand, thus creating a sense of dependency. This is very convenient for political pundits, who manage to take advantage every time the preachers pull another scam on the public….

Unfortunately, those answers, comforting as they may be, seldom reflect reality very well, but are based rather on how that particular sect views the issue at hand…. and you can rest assured that those answers are designed to benefit the sect, and the preacher, in rather more ways than they will benefit the person with the questions…. But, I’m sure it is very comforting to know that if you just go along with what they say, you are somehow guaranteed something…. I never could understand that part very well, as there was nobody who could tell me just what was being promised…. other than I’d have to wait until I was dead in order to see it…. (The politicians like this one as well, because it gets people used to being told something, i.e. campaign promises, then having those promises unfulfilled…. )

“There are so many ways that we sabotage our own divinity, our own possibilities. and the mythologies of race and gender may well head the list.” — Callan Williams

Ah yes, the mythologies of race and gender…. Consider this…. each of us who are of the genus homo sapiens is a unique individual, no matter what color our skin, or whether we are male or female. Unique in our own right, beginning with the pattern of DNA that dictates and defines the characteristics of the organism that is each one of us. Unique. This is indisputable scientific fact.

And yet, there are still people who choose to believe that there are characteristics shared by certain groups of homo sapiens that make them somehow superior or inferior to another group. Which of those characteristics they claim as exclusive is always based on articles of faith, and never on any physical evidence. The basis for these articles of faith are outlined in the myths, myths that ignorance breeds, born out of fear of the unknown….

These fears are pretty formless, as the people who have them don’t like to think about them. First, because then they feel uncomfortable, and being comfortable is preferable to thinking, no matter how much it may alleviate the fear. Second, it is also hard to clearly define something that one rejects all evidence of knowing about; the fear is a known factor, and knowledge is not.

These behaviors are a very childish reaction to serious adult issues, but then, a large number of people never learn to deal with life after a certain age; the techniques of denial and avoidance that children rely on are hard for some to give up, especially in matters of emotional or psychological import.

“The ability to accept responsibility is the measure of the man.” — Roy L. Smith

This is very true, and actually would be claimed as their own by many folks who make a habit of refusing to even consider being responsible for anything outside their own little world. The flaw in their world-view is their intractable belief that what THEY perceive is the only true way that the world CAN be perceived; they seem to be constitutionally unable to entertain any idea to the contrary.

This makes compromise with them somewhat of a difficult proposition, as their unfounded, but unshakeable belief in their own rightness gives them a feeling of entitlement, of believing that they can lie to and cheat others without consequence, because the “others” are, as unbelievers, not worthy of honorable treatment. (Hmm, I can’t decide if this sounds more like a fundamentalist Christian, a ruthless business man, or a politician…. since it fits all three, I guess it fits Romney like a second skin….)

“It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true.” — George Santayana

This second quote from Mssr. Santayana points out another flaw in the philosophy held by those who follow many religions, under their own interpretations of the scriptures that are used by them. This flaw is obviously based on the relatively inarguable fact that all of them are faith-based philosophies…. grand, well considered, beautifully constructed philosophies, whose basic premise is an entity whose existence cannot be evidenced in the physical world.

There are innumerable thoughtful and elegant “proofs” of the existence of these entities, all of which, again, are constructed entirely of words and ideas. Some use logic, some history, some use hope, some use delusion, and some use an amorphous idea that cannot be pinned down…. none of them have actual pieces of physical evidence that incontrovertibly points to the existence of such an entity. If anyone knows of one, or two, or more, please let me know of it/them; I would be very interested in the information, and its provenance, to be sure….

I have wandered far afield today, indeed, into the most distant realms of human thought, and I’ll bet you thought I’d forget about the Unified Field Theory…. For those unfamiliar with the phrase, let me explain as succinctly as I can; this has gone on a long time, and I’m sure we all have better stuff to do, but, hey, I’m here, you’re here, so….

Any who, the Unified Field theory is a mathematical model of the universe that, in essence of its yet-to-exist-theory, explains and describes all the different types of energy that we know to exist in the Universe; Gravitational energy, Magnetic energy, Electric energy, Electromagnetic energy, Kinetic energy, Biochemical energy, life energy…. All are known to us; we can identify and measure them all, but we do not understand, even minimally, how they interact, or how they are all inter-related as part of the Universe at large…. hence the need for a unified theory, to connect our understanding of them all. It hasn’t been written yet; it is still just a concept for the future of scientific endeavor, though Stephen Hawking is said to be working on coming up with one before he dies…. if anyone can, then, he is certainly the most promising candidate.

In short, we are trying to discover and codify the one theory that explain how it all works, how everything fits into the larger picture…. There are many, including Mr. Hawking, who believe that knowing this can possibly lead us to a closer idea of the answer to the Why it all works the way it does…. by design, or by chance? Did God lose a bet, or win one? Or is there some as yet unknown reason beyond our current ability to understand? Being able to SEE and KNOW how it all works can only give us clues about the origins of it all. Even if it doesn’t give us all the answers we seek, we will have a better understanding of the Universe, and ourselves, and thus, perhaps, a better idea of our true place in all of what we see….

Whew! If you made it to here, you are indeed worthy…. as well as, most likely, tired, confused, and a bit troubled, with doubts as to my sanity…. It’s okay, I understand…. and I don’t blame you. I should have handed out warning notices at the beginning…. Ah well, ’twas fun for me, and that will do…. Stop me, please, I can’t seem to shut up…. wait, don’t pull that pl….
_____________________________

I’m pretty certain that this one will NOT make it to the Pulitzer short list, but, it’s done, and around here, that’s what we’re shooting for, first of all…. Any issues of quality should be taken up with the literary committee, which meets on alternate leap years in the main library conference room downtown…. Feel free to join them at their next meeting, in January of 2016, I believe…. For the nonce, you’re on your own….. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

One final set of twins to discombobulate….

Posted on January 19, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I’ve still to come to terms with Reality today; this is a particularly trying issue just now, as it hits right at a very critical function…. Our argument began the moment my eyes opened, at about 0430 or so…. It seems Murphy, or some other iconic force of nature with similar asshole tendencies, wanted me to arise earlier, but, in my blissful ignorance, so blessedly bestowed upon me last night by the gods of sleep, with the aid of some beaudacious drugs, I completely blew him off, from about 3:15 until I finally arose….

He was pissed, (a minor piece of enjoyment for me….) but I was only mildly amused by that, since he didn’t fire off any of his usual fireworks upon my upheaval…. (I think that’s a good word to describe my process of getting out of bed these days…. between the stiff hips, back, generally painful movement, and the usual degree of morning lethargy, the act of arising can turn into quite a little ordeal these days…)

Any who, having gone to ground early last night, with some major pain from a minor back tweak, I wouldn’t have minded too much, but, damn, it sure felt good….. Not only to get to sleep easily, but to be able to turn over and go BACK to sleep as I wished…. The latter is a particularly nice bonus, as that is the worst part of being old and in pain, the not being able to sleep comfortably, or consistently, part….. Not sleeping well, or easily, or often, only adds to all the other difficulties involved in aging, sort of like how synergy flows, and builds up with resonant feedback…. Oh, damn! What’s the word I’m looking for? Aha! Heterodyne!…. That’s it…. not sleeping causes a heterodyne effect in other problematic issues, making them bigger, and harder to deal with….

Okay, then!…. Now that the morning medical issues chat is out of the way, and I’m thoroughly embarrassed by my own inadvertent release of TMI, I suppose I should look for some other, less revealing way to get on with today’s business… It is, after all, my purpose in being here at all…. I hadn’t actually thought about how to open up today at all, and this diving right in, though it seems to have produced a sufficient amount of material, also seems a bit too much like the usual method of getting the intro done, i.e., mindless rambling around the back hallways in my head, until we find our way out into the light of the day….. Not that those intro sections aren’t legal, but, they’re still not what I’d prefer to see here every day…. Until I can figure out some sort of feasible method, though, it’ll have to do….

Oh, goodie…. Look! It’s happened again! Four to five completely worthless paragraphs, chock full of stuff that doesn’t mean anything to anybody…. Well, it could POSSIBLY mean something to me, but, I don’t wouldn’t have it with a warranty…. Any who, it’s street legal, obviously, so we’re going to bail on this whole intro thing, and get on with today’s dive and/or rant…. It can’t be any more difficult than this has proven to be, to be sure….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.” — Terry Pratchett.
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Today, the order of events has undergone some alterations, and the old-school pearl will be in this section…. No particular reason, other than I pasted the necessary rantable material in the other section without looking first, and I’m too lazy to move it now….. Here, then, for your delectation and elucidation, a harlequin, randomly chosen pearl of lustrous quality, complete with burgeoning hints of wisdom…. Enjoy!….

Better stop short than fill to the brim.
Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.
Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.
Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow.
Retire when the work is done.
This is the way of heaven.

— Tao Te Ching

“Consider well what your strength is equal to, and what exceeds your ability.” — Horace

“After the battle in Pharsalia, when Pompey was fled, one Nonius said they had seven eagles left still, and advised to try what they would do. “Your advice,” said Cicero, “were good if we were to fight jackdaws.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Cicero

“You take the lies out of him, and he’ll shrink to the size of your hat; you take the malice out of him, and he’ll disappear.” — Mark Twain

“With the neutron bomb, which destroys life but not property, capitalism has found the weapon of its dreams.” — Edward Abbey

“A lot of people voting for Pat Buchanan say they are doing so to send a message. Apparently that message is, Hey, look at me, I’m an idiot.” — Dennis Miller

“While the gentleman cherishes benign rule, the small man cherishes his native land. While the gentleman cherishes a respect for the law, the small man cherishes generous treatment.” — Confucius, Analects, IV.11

Wow…. I guess today’s theme got into Smart Bee’s head, and turned that pearl in a direction that causes it to fit right in with today’s rant, below in section three…. If it isn’t clear, when reading the above pearls, think Beloved Ruling Class, and the antidote for society’s ills, to wit: Reason….
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I love it when serendipity becomes subject to the influence of a good plan… I received this poem via email, from a poetry web site… Though I’ve read quite a few of this man’s poems, this is one I’d missed, or not gotten to yet…. My jaw dropped, and I was struck momentarily dumb as a statue, at the sheer, unadulterated power of metaphor (Metaphorse?) displayed, in this poem, and by the author…. one of a long line of crazy Irishmen…

A Coat

I MADE my song a coat
Covered with embroideries
Out of old mythologies
From heel to throat;
But the fools caught it,
Wore it in the world’s eyes
As though they’d wrought it.
Song, let them take it,
For there’s more enterprise
In walking naked.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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So, below here, you’ll find a bit of art, which I fell would help to show the point I’m going to attempt to make today…. The first photo goes hand in hand with the first link, which is an article that gives us the patina of lies from Senator Feinstein’s office, a statement that fully supports the mealy-mouthed lies and distortions put out by the President yesterday, in his oh-so-highly-anticipated, and oh-so-disappointingly-asinine speech regarding the leak of information by Eric Snowden that exposed the spying being done by the NSA….

The speech itself was a masterful litany of garbage, from all I can tell, a political masterpiece for its obscurity and ability to ignore completely any real sense of being in the wrong…. He never once admitted any wrongdoing, either by the agency, or his administration, and made no concessions toward any clemency for the whistleblower who began the debate, by making this information so distressingly (distressing for the administration, for having been caught, both in the spying, and in the lies they told about it….) public.

The constraints the president (no capital on purpose; remember, he’s got to EARN it….) recommends do not even go as far as his own self-appointed committee recommended, and, in reality, do absolutely NOTHING to put any REAL restraints on the spying that the NSA is doing, nor on what they PLAN on doing, which is to gain access to every computer on the planet…. Mrs. Feinstein (who happens to be the wealthiest Senator on record, with a net worth of about a half a BILLION dollars….), who is the co-chairman (with the other stone-faced pundit in the photo below…) of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, in her own speech, managed to blow off every bit of public opinion her constituency has shown her, and backed the president right down the line…..

Here, read the articles for yourself…..
(Suggested caption: ” Dianne, I’m a power-crazed psychopath – I don’t WANT inner peace!!!!” )

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/01/17/dianne-feinstein-praises-prez-on-nsa/

The photo below is one of the congressional members who sat to listen to the president’s speech yesterday…. Have you ever seen a group of more self-satisfied, sleekly rapacious, avaricious political pundits anywhere? Not to mention how well it points out how the majority of the Beloved Ruling Class is made up of older RICH, MISOGYNISTIC WHITE MALES, who are, by far, the largest demographic represented in Washington, D.C., even though this country no longer reflects that demographic in any way….

What amazes me about the article below, in some ways, is the media’s straight-faced reporting of this speech, as if it really had any meaning…. The title of the article itself implies that some sort of restraints are to be applied, but, if one really looks at what he has proposed, there really aren’t any changes being made…. Oh, they’re making it LOOK as if there are, but, the system in place is not going to be shut down, or altered in any way from its current format…. they’re only making what appears to be a cosmetic change in the way the paperwork gets done, with no mention at all of any of the real concerns the public has, in spite of anything Feinstein, or anyone else said….

They all look pretty happy about all this, don’t they? That’s because they all know that they’re exempt, (as far as they know….) from being treated like one of the public…. These men, and a few misguided, broken women who join them in the BRC, believe they’re different than the public, and are not being spied upon as we are….. HAH! Let them think so…. Do they really believe that these agencies will stop at spying on just the public?….. If so, they’re even stupider than they look….
(Suggested caption: ” Dianne, I’m a power-crazed psychopath – I don’t WANT inner peace!!!!” )

(P.S. Both captions are the same, deliberately…. think about it….)

(Both photos are from the SFGATE website….)

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Obama-tightens-reins-on-surveillance-programs-5151532.php

Once again, as I have at almost every turn for the last six years, I am disappointed in the president’s response to this issue. Every time I build up some hope that just once, someone in the political arena will show some real intelligence, instead of continuing to maintain the standard government policies of entitlement in their attitudes toward the public, ignorance and denial of the actual wishes of the public, and prevarication as their method for communicating with that public…. In essence, I wish the public would WAKE THE FUCK UP, and get on with the business of throwing these idiots back into the gene pool….

Sorry, didn’t mean to shout at y’all…. I get pretty frustrated at times, looking out at the world, and watching it slowly, inexorably exploding…. A study recently showed that those films of buildings that are demolished by explosions are one of mankind’s most fascinating visions, harder to pull away from watching than pornography…. I guess there’s a reason for that, as watching that complete destruction probably gives our unconscious minds the feeling of observing one’s own future….

The asininnies you see in the picture above have already placed the dynamite in all of the points required to bring down the building in which we all live, ffolkes….. you can bet your bottom dollar that is true. Oh, they have no clue as to what they’ve done, or continue to do…. Evil doesn’t think of itself as evil…. They just refuse to listen to, or look at, any sort of evidence that what they think may not be true…. One can only learn when one admits to not knowing, and they’ll never admit they’re wrong at all…

But, their ignorance and denial doesn’t alter the FACT of global warming…. Of the people you see in that picture, most of whom are involved in running this country, approximately half don’t believe it is real; that belief, or lack of belief, still doesn’t alter the FACT that the temperature of the planet continues to rise, and that the planet’s entire supply of permafrost, a naturally occurring substance that lies in the Arctic, and Antarctic, in conjunction with the ice, and under the oceans, on the sea beds, which contains the most lethal gas we know, is rapidly melting, releasing that methane gas into the air at a rate that will kill them, and us, in a shorter time than any of us want to believe….

I’m tired…. This subject is one I’ve been ranting about for what seems like ages, but, in actuality, is only a couple of years, at least, in print…. I’ve been talking about this for many years, to mostly deaf ears…. Nobody WANTS to hear such bad tidings, so, their solution is denial, and/or avoidance…. Well, so be it…. I hate to say it, ffolkes, but, if that particularly human habit, of hiding from reality when it gets unpalatable, continues, well, then, we are all going to die much sooner than anyone thinks…. plain and simple…..

Whereas: Since our primary source of cultural advice and supposedly wise actions is seen by most people to reside in the churches and religions of the world…., and,

Whereas: no church or religion will admit to global warming, or evolution, or any other scientific FACT that questions dogma…., and

Whereas: almost everyone believes the churches….

Whereas: the churches tell people to respect the government’s authority…., and

Whereas: as explained above, governments are worse than the churches when it comes to ignorance, denial, and prevarication…., then

Conclusion: You may as well just bend over, and kiss your sorry ass goodbye…..

“I’m RELIGIOUS!! I love a man with a HAIRPIECE!! Equip me with MISSILES!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Well, ffolkes, this one’s got a bit of it all! Links, art, research, rant, old-school, classic poetry, innuendo, nonsense, and, for a kicker, some down and dirty depression….. What more could one ask for, I ask you? Oh, really…. hmm…. Well, I’ll think about that, and let you know…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

A delicate motif, in gold filigree….

Posted on December 28, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit. : “There is no great genius without a tincture of madness.” — Seneca (8 BC) — De Tranquillitate Animi, 17

This is a truism, in my world, which extends itself to include “all the nicest folks I know”; in this way, it lives up to the same piece of wisdom, first told to me by my own father, who told me while I was still quite young, “Son, all the nicest folks I know are just a little bit tetched….” Though he was from Illinois by birth, he said it in a very Georgian, or Texan, accent, with a big smile, and a twinkle in his eyes….. These, of course, were the non-verbal signals to let me know that, though said in the spirit of fun(ny), he was quite serious, and believed it to be an absolute truth…..

I’ve found this to be true in my own life, for certain; just about all of the nicest, most intelligent, most compassionate people I’ve known were all just a little strange…. or, as in my own particular case, pretty damn strange altogether, by intent….. Meeting, and knowing, these people is different than other folks one meets; it reminds me of the difference between some tap waters in various cities…. Some have more flavor than others, such as the water from my old home town, Templeton, which, because of its situation on the Salinas River, had water with a much higher content of minerals and other substances, not to be duplicated in other areas…. It actually tasted great, compared to most of the other towns and cities we traveled to….

People, like water, it seems, need the same addition of various things to make their personalities more flavorful, and a little bit of strange goes a long way, like a good, strong herb does to the right food dish….. Like basil in tomato soup, it can make a big difference in how that person tastes, personality-wise….. We all know a lot of people who tend to try to avoid most of Life, by hiding, or shyness, or fear of interactions, or whatever other reasons they have…. These folks go through life trying to protect themselves from getting too wet, from getting too hot in the sun, and generally missing out on most of what Life has to offer in the way of joy, because they are trying to avoid the pain that comes with it….

As is patently obvious to most observant of ffolkes, avoiding the pain in Life isn’t possible, and trying to do so often will block us from receiving, or perceiving, any of the very real joy that is very often in the same vicinity. In trying to miss the hard parts, these people seem to shut themselves off from finding any of the easy parts…. It often causes them to be bitter, and, in the typical way of the fearful, gun-shy, afraid to come out of their shell of ignorance….. They never seem able to see that by getting past the fear, there is joy to be found….

Ah well, Life is not fair, I suppose, and even as we try to do what we can to make it a more level field of play for all, the universe is going to crap on us whenever it wishes…. It is our place to deal with that, without get all worked up at how discriminatory it seems…. Life craps on us all; only our personal reaction to that FACT is what makes us different….

Having exposed themselves more often to this process, the people I’ve known in Life who handle this the best are those who embrace the hard parts, who make strangeness their friend; moreover, they use it as a tool, to perceive it all without taking it personally, as the universe is completely indifferent to how we feel about whatever happens…..

Now that I’ve expounded mercilessly upon a very odd point, for the entire purpose of justifying my own oddity, we’ll somewhat hastily, if long-windedly acknowledge the point in question, and get on with other business…..

Today’s introduction has been brought to you by the “Animal” (from Sesame Street) Fan Club, by the letter S, and by the number 13….. Portions of this morning’s outburst were created in a studio, and have no connection with reality; the rest of it is fairly normal in intent if not origin…. We hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip into nonsense and back, and urge you to buckle up, and try enjoy the rest of the ride…. One never knows where we’ll end up around here, or what kind of strange turbulence we’ll encounter along the way….. Good thing, too…. I wouldn’t deal with normal very well…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat.” — Mark Twain
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I’m not sure just now whether to spend some energy on a rant, or just go old-school…. I know, I’ll look at the headlines, then make a decision, when I see if there is something in this morning’s news at which to get some outrage going….. Be right back…..

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Federal-judge-rules-NSA-phone-surveillance-legal-5096126.php

“How come you never see a politician laugh? Because they know what they’re getting away with, and if they started laughing, they’d never stop.” — Smart Bee

Naturally, since this is a left-leaning area of the country, this was buried near the bottom, but, it was there…. I’m a bit disappointed in the reported decision, for the simple reason that it was made, as explained by the judge, according to the idea that expediency is an acceptable reason to abrogate personal liberties, and that his own interpretation of the program and its capabilities, including its intent, is superior to the public’s knowledge, making him entitled to decide for them which of their rights are acceptably abrogated when expediency demands it…. I can only hope the next court to look at the issue finds a bit more intelligence within themselves to avoid basing their rulings on personal beliefs that are based on demonstrably false assumptions….

But, that’s just me…. This one, though egregiously down-played by the media source where I found it, is bound to cause a lot of noise over the next few days, as the country begins to wake up from the holiday brain freeze that seems to invade and disable the minds of the nation this time of year….

Don’t forget, this is the same time of year when our beloved leader, the POTUS, signed the NDAA in 2010, or whenever it was, handily utilizing the absence of Congress to make it an Executive Order, thus bypassing that silly public and congressional approval requirement in the Constitution…. That year, the New Year’s holiday session was over a weekend, so even the TV and news outlets were less active than usual, as they were involved in holiday reporting, while the public could be counted on to remain inebriated and ignorant.for the four day period…. Slick timing, don’t you think?

I’ve noted it in the headlines, and, in the little bit of TV I’ve watched, and on the internet chatter….. The world, at this time of the year, seems to want to NOT think very much…. about anything more important than how much egg nog they have on hand in case the neighbors should drop by, or whether to walk the dog, or take a bath. Which is fine…. I have no objections to anyone taking a day or two off from stuff…. but, weeks? Oh well, I suppose it’s just practicing their skills at turning off their perceptions, to be able to adequately ignore whatever they may need to in the coming year…..

Snideness aside, this doesn’t exactly fill me with sufficient angst or outrage to rant today…. at least, not more than I just did….The mood of the world is contagious, I guess… In fact, I’m feeling so lazy, I’m not even going to give Smart Bee any parameters to follow in the search for this first pearl…. Nope, not me, and don’t you say anything, either…. THAT would really make a mess!….. Oh, don’t fret, I’ve done this before, lots of times; plus, I’m an uncertified professional, so, no worries….

“Indifference is isolation. In difference is texture and wonder.” — Edwin Schlossberg

“There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out.’ — Russian proverb

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

“Where does weight go when you lose it?” — Smart Bee

“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” — Baruch’s Observation

“Because you’re not what I would have you be, I blind myself to who, in truth, you are.” — Madeleine L’Engle

“I’m just here for moral support. Ignore the gun.” — Smart Bee

See? What did I tell you? Not only did no one get hurt, or even splashed, it turned out to be quite an excellent pearl…. go figure…..
_____________________________

As with any of this woman’s poems, no adornment is required…. only your willingness to open yourself to her vision…..

Thereon Rose a Serpent

I dreamt the mists of morning masked the mall
Where silent sentinels stand stolidly.
I wandered lonely in a listless lea,
Where spirits moaned a mantic madrigal.
This scene was like to art by some Chagall
When thereon rose a serpent from the sea,
Who lolled upon that shore complacently,
As there spread ebon darkness over all.

I sought my Sarah in the standing stones
Once raised by people of the Pleistocene.
It’s here a ghostly shaman still intones
Odd chants and runes beyond Death’s thinnest screen.
I know for certain that she is most near,
I wait and hope that she will soon appear.

~~ Sylvia Plath ~~

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As iterated above, I’m not outraged enough at any of the usual subjects, OR suspects, in my pantheon of villains to produce a fresh rant, beyond the mere hints of such furnished in the same ‘above’ as is/was noted at the beginning of this sentence, which, please note, is a veritable gem of punctuational and lexicographical brilliance….

I’m also not going to subject y’all to another random pearl, which not all may appreciate so early in the day…. For some, two can cause over-active imagination to chip in with distracting irony the rest of the day; this has been reported to cause some embarrassing moments in check-out lines full of people with no sense of humor…. Any who, what I’ve dredged up is a fairly small, though patently longer than necessary, discussion of, well, stuff…. I hope you enjoy it, but, if not, remember what it cost in a real sense, not counting your time….

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

From December 1, 2012:

“The sage wears clothes of coarse cloth but carries jewels in his bosom; He knows himself but does not display himself; He loves himself but does not hold himself in high esteem. Thus he rejects the latter and takes the former.” — Lao-Tzu

In spite of how it must appear, there is a small degree of organization to this blog’s contents. Most days I try to make sure that the first and third sections, while possibly related, are essentially about different concepts. The second section is, of course, reserved for whatever poetry strikes my fancy that day, whether classic, humorous, or original (Though it does seem that my recent outpouring of original poems has run dry, I don’t think I’m done with that, yet….). It seems to work for me…. well enough, at least, to keep my internal critics quiet most of the time.

Today, it seems that most of what I’m seeing for pearls are related somehow to what I spoke of peripherally in today’s first section, to wit: the importance of integrity in human life. Integrity…. hmm…. not the precise word, or the characteristic I am thinking of, actually; it’s more than merely integrity. I suppose one could say the concept to which I’m referring is too mystical an idea to be presented clearly, and not be too far off the mark….

However, not being one to ignore a challenge to my vocabulary, I’ll take a few unseen moments here and find the correct word to facilitate further discussion, because, hey, if I can’t, no discussion, right? Right…. Be right back…. instantly, by all you will know and see…. Well, the challenge is a strong one, and I think best answered with more than one word to describe what I’m trying to say. Those words are all contained in Axiom #7 of Peruaosophy, to wit: Do your Duty. Honor the Truth. Respect Life. Share your Love.

I know that it is my own philosophy, and some may think that is cheating, but, not so. All that I hold to be true is in that axiom, and it represents the four cornerstones of my personal foundation. I find that when I am able to live up to all of these concepts, when I am able to use their direction in guiding my actions, my life is much smoother, and my moments of joy are plentiful, to balance the pain that life brings all of us in turn. This, to me, is the best way to advance the human condition, little by little, with the efforts of each man and woman adding its weight to the forward momentum.

Yes, the actions and discoveries that the best of history’s minds bring to us are wonderful, and work to make the lives of every human better…. It is the everyday efforts of each man, though, that takes that wisdom and turns it into reality, by using ideas, and integrity, to add their experience to that of the rest of society. Since there is a large number of folks who do NOT subscribe to this kind of ethical behavior, choosing to make their own self-interest their primary concern, it is the duty of those who do believe in these ideas to carry them out as best they may, so that the world can retain some semblance of harmony. It doesn’t always work, and, in fact, is in constant jeopardy of not working at all, but, it is the only way that will make the changes our society needs to survive…. which is another discussion for another time….

“And now there is merely silence, silence, silence, saying all we did not know.” — William Rose Benet
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It’s been an interesting morning, to say the least…. Without going into details at this late stage, let me just say the last two and a half hours are some I wouldn’t trade for anything at all…. It’s been a peaceful, productive period of time, and those are precious moments indeed, in a reality that often takes us in directions not of our choosing, without notice or concern…. As such, they should be cherished…. From what I can see, this is done; I don’t think I can do any further damage, nor would I wish to, given my already heavy karmic burden….. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

In the domain of the demons of democracy…..

Posted on December 24, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Timing…. is everything….. and mine has been way off lately…. Here ’tis, Xmas Eve, and I’ve been so busy ranting about the upcoming climatological emergency, (an event COMING SOON, TO A PLANETARY UNIT YOU INHABIT), I completely skipped over talking about any of the rampant consumerism that is so “in your face” this time of year, all of which, in my opinion, is based on a delusional system that over a third of this planet has bought into, and fully believes…. I guess that’s what comes from not watching very much TV; the worst of it is on there, what with the massive amounts of money put into directing consumer’s habits and tastes every holiday, particularly Christmas….. Gasp! Epiphany!

Wow! I just realized why Christianity, all throughout history, has been so closely allied with the forces of corporate manipulation of society, i.e. the bankers, and/or whomever are in positions of authority…. And it isn’t because Christians are so “special”…. No, they are merely encouraged to think they are, because when they do, they are the most easily manipulated idiots on the face of the Earth, save perhaps cows, or, maybe, starfish….. and, hey, who’s worried they’ll take over, eh?….

Any who, at this time of year, the mask comes off, to a degree, and the rampant greed and sheer avarice of the very rich is fulfilled by the appetites created for them by the churches, the radios and TVs, and the newspapers, all of whom repeat and trumpet the latest deals into the public consciousness…. I actually saw a car commercial of some sort, in a rare moment when the TV was on, that said something to the effect of “Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy buy… buy” to the tune of some carol or another, complete with subtitles…. I kid you not!…. I had to laugh, to keep from weeping….

There is something good to be said for the spirit of compassion that is so much more common now than at other times of the year (Yet another sign of the morally and ethically juvenile make-up of society at large…..), but, on the whole, other than exchanging gifts with my kids, and a couple friends, I ignore most of what other folks are all excited about…. and that’s okay by me, a hard thing for some to understand, without getting an impression that isn’t wholly accurate….. C’est la vie, friends…. I can’t change the world…. at BEST, I can successfully ignore what it does to, or on, me (Think about it….), and learn to be content with whatever that may be…. or, if not content, resigned….

Aside from that aforementioned higher degree of human compassion that marks many interactions at this time of year, there is little to recommend it to me, as the commercials, the decorations (another area where greed and competitive spirit cause so many to go completely overboard….), the false bonhomie, the distressed parents and over-amped kids, and all of the other “holiday” treats the world has for us…. Well, all of that holiday spirit just tends to piss me off more than anything else….. This is because I realize it is ALL in place solely for the benefit of those who want power and money, and none of the given reasons for the season have any more influence on people than does the weather…. and nobody seems to care!….

Ah well, I’m tired of ranting to no purpose…. since I have a ways to go today to get this done, I’ll end this mini-intro-section-rant here, and get on with today’s dive…. It will serve more purpose than has been garnered by this section, that’s for sure and for certain….

Shall we Pearl?….

“No matter where you go, there you are.” — Buckaroo Banzai, from “Buckaroo Banzai – Across the 8th Dimension”
_____________________________

Of course, since I ranted, to some degree, in the introduction, y’all get the benefit of that, in the shape of an old-school pearl here in section one….. Yesterday, Smart Bee was being rather showy, providing all sorts of great quotes even when not asked for them…. It was a very lucrative day, aphorism-wise, and I’m hoping that attitude will extend into today’s search…. Murphy, bless his tiny little head, has been busy elsewhere during this holiday season, due mostly, I think, to my own lack of Christmas spirit, which doesn’t leave him a lot of leeway to pick at me…. I’m already in curmudgeon mode, so I’m less vulnerable at this time of year…. Yay!….. Any who, here you go….

Not bad for a first find…..

“And now, let the fun begin.” — Smart Bee

“I may RISE today, but I refuse to SHINE !!!” — gigoid, channeling Zippy

“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” — Hawthorne

“Delay is preferable to error.” — Thomas Jefferson

“There is only one commandment: Thou Shalt Not Waste. All the others are superfluous.” — Solomon Short

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering one’s self is true power.” — Lao Tzu

“Ask me about my lobotomy.” — Smart Bee

We always know a pearl will work when Smart Bee provides the bracket quotes…. This one is a good one, all in all, and well balanced, for all its sparsity…. How well balanced? Allow me to demonstrate….

Not bad for a first find…..

“And now, let the fun begin.” — Smart Bee

“I may RISE today, but I refuse to SHINE !!!” — gigoid

“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” — Hawthorne

“Delay is preferable to error.” — Thomas Jefferson

“There is only one commandment: Thou Shalt Not Waste. All the others are superfluous. — Solomon Short

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering one’s self is true power.” — Lao Tzu

“Ask me about my lobotomy.” — Smart Bee

See? Just TRY to knock THAT over!….. Not happening, ffolkes…. You will please note that the outline shape of the text is an exact replica of an Imperial Starship… which, as we all know, were pretty tough to bring down…. and even tougher to de-legitimize….. What? What does that MEAN? Why? Who needs to know? I mean, in the final analysis, it’s all dross and drivel, so, who the hell cares, eh?….

No, really, sorry ’bout that…. a bit of insanity and temper, just ignore me…. It’s kind of like Tourette’s Syndrome…. I need fluids, my electrolytes are imbalanced, or something…. I know, let’s try getting on with this…. maybe it will get back on to some sort of logical track on its own….. Hope springs eternal, you know…..
_____________________________

While cruising some old pearls in the archives, I came across this poem, which I wrote…. some time …. and not in the future, so we know it was in the past. Sorry, I forget when it was, and it’s a long, laborious process to find it again, as my Pearls are not organized, by subject, content, category, or title…. Hence, I can’t find ANYTHING in there, unless I stumble across it while surfing…. Any who, this is one of my favorites of my own, if not exactly my best…. and mine is the only opinion that really bears any meaning for me, because, with me, it’s all about “better out than in”….. Being human yourselves, you will understand my obsessive need to make it all about ME!….. Oh well, try to enjoy it anyway….

Joe Friday’s lament

Life is short, and though I’m odd, they say
it really doesn’t bother me
to realize there is no God, per se.

Though other folks will disagree
and tell me I’m wrong
I won’t believe it, not with naught to see.

Liars, called padre, tell me, ‘have humility,
and do as the authorities say’,
then fondle little boys with facility.

They also tell me to share the wealth
and give them a 10% tithe
so they don’t have get it by stealth.

So spare me the delusions, please
don’t bother with such a tale;
I’m nobody that needs such a tease.

Keep your fantasies under your hat
and out of my face;
I don’t need them, they’ll make me fat….. headed.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Shoot! I lost some pearls…. I had several collected for this space, and inadvertently copied something over the top of them…. Now I must go back and find them again…. thank goodness for control-Z, or in SB’s case, just Z….. I’ll be back, to copy in what I’ve found…..

Okay, well, not bad, found a couple of them…. it will do…. Now I can get on with this, and finish off today’s effort, if I can only stay focused, and pain free for another twenty minutes or so…. Wish me luck, friends….. Oh, bonus prize today….. If you can articulate, exactly, what concept to which this pearl points, you will be absolved of any and all responsibility for what happens in the future….. S’truth! I’ve got an “in” with the gods of justice….

“Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” — American Proverb

“Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.” — P. J. O’Rourke

“Beer commercials are so patriotic: “Made the American Way.” What does that have to do with America? Is that what America stands for? Feeling sluggish and urinating frequently?” — Scott Blakeman

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936), “What’s Wrong with the World”

“They gave me a book of checks. They didn’t ask for any deposits.” — Congressman Joe Early (D-Mass) at a press conference — to answer questions about the House Bank Scandal

“When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘Present’ or ‘Not guilty.'” — Theodore Roosevelt

“Government of the people, by the lawyers, for the conservatives.” — Smart Bee

Bonus prize hint: The answer is included in the above text, about half-way through this group of pearls…..
_____________________________

Yesterday, the day before, and today, I spent a lot of words, and time, speaking of the End Of The World As We Know It, and As We Don’t (which is obviously what we do more of…..) In the ensuing period of time since beginning those posts and pieces, I haven’t seen anything that tells me that the world has taken notice of the urgency that is present in the given statistical analysis, nor any indication that degree of ignorance, deliberate or not, will change…. Realistically, I couldn’t expect that to happen….. However, I’ve always been like Churchill, in this way at least….

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” — Winston Churchill

Then, I find a little piece of wisdom like this one, from a poet extraordinaire….

History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

— Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning” — delivered at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, Jan 21, 1993

At such moments, it’s hard to hang on to the depression that naturally ensues from the consideration of our species’ extinction at its own hands…. but, that issue isn’t going away, and there will be time to lament, and to rant, and to panic, and to watch, as the world goes stark, raving mad in the face of its own demise…. Such a pity, but, what are ya gonna do with them, eh? They just won’t listen….. Ah well, I’ll try again tomorrow….. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

It’s too late for the pilot program; use the spare shuttlecraft….

Posted on December 18, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

So much for consistency…. It’s 0530 in the AM, and I’m up, wondering again how to kill the fear, and begin writing….. I did sleep well, again, but, went to bed at 8 PM, so I’m up early, too, putting myself back on the early morning routine, hopefully…. It’s what I’m used to, and the coffee machine is already set to go off at 5, so, it all works out well, as long as I’ve done my part, and gotten the sleep I need…. Of late, that has been the easy part, now I’ll see how I can do at regulating it…

I’m wondering though, just how much y’all want to hear about my early morning sleeping habits…. I’ve a feeling that may just be the final straw for some, crossing over the line of personal chattiness into intimacy, which is going too far, inarguably….. It’s a conundrum I’ve noted lately, that blogging tends to loosen one’s tongue about personal information, giving away what is probably too much for the internet…. I’m not particularly vulnerable, myself, but, for many, giving up too much can lead to issues with unscrupulous individuals, who have learned how to use the internet to troll for victims, for robbery, theft, sexual crimes, or whatever else the dark side of human nature comes up with to victimize another human….

As I said, I’m not as vulnerable as some might be, since I AM a male, and trained to deal with that sort of people, by experience…. but, there are many who are not so protected by experience, or by being protected by others…. Older women, or men, who cannot think as fast as they used to, can become the victims of fast talking scam artists, who get them to give up their address, then rob them, or use their information to steal their bank accounts, or other types of identity theft…. Young women and/or children can be subject to sexual predators, who find their victims online by pretending to be a safe individual, of their own age…. I often consider answering such trolls, and meeting them, to give THEM a taste of the fear they engender in their victims…..

Sadly, computers have opened up an entire new subset of crimes, ones that are perpetrated online, or are carried out using information obtained online by technically savvy criminals…. and this time, I’m NOT talking about the government, even though I regard their spying to be just as criminal as identity theft, or rape, or any other crime where the victim is harmed by their actions….. No, there are plenty of criminals out there who DON’T wear suits and ties, and who don’t talk on TV…. the one’s on TV are just the legally sanctioned criminals; they’ve been approved by the voters to steal from them as needed….

Is that a rant? Can I count that? If so, I can leave off finding one for a later section…. I’ll check with the umpires…. In the meantime, I think I’ve managed to get enough down to cal this a legal intro, don’t you? Four full paragraphs, full of next to nothing, should qualify…. I got CLOSE to an actual subject, but, never really got fully engaged in discussing it, so it’s good for an intro, and meets all the other ridiculous standards they apply, though even they can’t tell me…. It’s gotten so I don’t much care, as long as they just stamp my stuff as approved, and move on down the line…. which is where we need to get to….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I’ve reached that age when a good day is one when you get up and nothing hurts.” — H. Martin
_____________________________

So far, it’s a good day…. As such, we’ll treat it as if it were a real day, just like any other…. we shall go forth, and gather pearls, to be spread out for the enjoyment of our Gentle Readers, such as they are, with love and generosity our only motivation…. Like the Dalai Lama said, boys and girls, “Our purpose in this life is to help one another, and if we cannot help, at least do no harm.”…. I like that…..

“I find your faith in reality rather amusing.” — gigoid

“In an insane society, the sane man must appear insane.” — Spock

“Advise is seldom welcome, and those who need it the most, like it the least.” — Lord Chesterfield

“One of the sayings of Diogenes was that most men were within a finger’s breadth of being mad; for if a man walked with his middle finger pointing out, folks would think him mad, but not so if it were his forefinger.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes, vi

Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Betty, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned. — Smart Bee sez…

“Guy Fawkes was the sanest man who ever went into the Houses of Parliament – and look what happened to him.” — Smart Bee

“‘But he hasn’t got any clothes on,’ a little boy said.” — from The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen

Some days, this process works better than others, even if the keyboard is getting so old the space bar sticks…. Today, it worked better…. Just so you are aware of it…. this is a very, very good pearl, one that makes a very cogent, and very critical statement of how to approach daily living in a way so as to almost guarantee, if not success, then contentment, or satisfaction, at the very least….. I swear!….. Trust me!….
_____________________________

I am becoming more and more enamored of the poetry of this man…. Everything I’ve seen of what he wrote has that unmistakable feeling of being REAL…. which, to me, is irresistible…..

The Aliens

you may not believe it
but there are people
who go through life with
very little
friction or
distress.
they dress well, eat
well, sleep well.
they are contented with
their family
life.
they have moments of
grief
but all in all
they are undisturbed
and often feel
very good.
and when they die
it is an easy
death, usually in their
sleep.
you may not believe
it
but such people do
exist.
but I am not one of
them.
oh no, I am not one
of them,
I am not even near
to being
one of
them
but they are
there
and I am
here.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

_____________________________

I’m feeling more than just a little lazy, and, at the same time, a bit ambitious…. so, I’ll resort to cheating, and pull a bit of both out of the archives…. Here are TWO rants, one a politirant on the Second Amendment, and a religirant, both written way back in March of 2012, in the same Pearl… Both are pretty good, and both are still valid, in terms of the current world’s status on both these arenas of public concern…. So, enjoy this rather long pair of treats from the past…. I did….

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

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. — Romans 12:1

“Reasonable service” Hmm…. it seems to me that whoever wrote this should probably turn in his divine channeling papers, because all of his sense of proportion and believability just went flying out the window when this got put onto parchment back in the day. I mean, give me a break! “your bodies a living sacrifice” is “reasonable service”. Well, if you have the kind of mind that will accept that at face value, then I am compelled by compassion, fueled only by a deep desire to help my fellow man, to inform you of a special deal, a deal you won’t be able to pass up….

That’s right, folks (note the spelling, please), today only, you too can be the envy of your neighbors, the hero of the housing tract, the cock o’the walk, as it were. Today, and today only (we already have our ticket for the bus to Bakersfield leaving at midnight….) you can join those millions of people have taken advantage of this EXCLUSIVE OFFER! For the next few minutes our operators will be taking orders for this deal of a lifetime, C.O.D only; no checks, no credit, no problem. What, you may ask, could be so wonderful, so glamorous, so blatantly gluttonous that EVERYONE wants one?

Well, I’ll tell you…. how would you feel to know that, thanks to your own good sense, and the wonders of human ingenuity, you were the first in your area to be the proud owner of…. wait for it…. your own, exclusive jar, filled to the brim, with GOD’s OWN ETERNAL LOVE! That’s right, you heard me correctly. For the insanely low price we are asking, you’ll have to agree that we are practically giving away this priceless commodity; you won’t find this deal matched anywhere.

What is this essentially negligible price, you ask? Just how crazy are these guys? We’re pretty cagey, er, crazy, that’s for sure. Today only, we are asking for a mere lifetime, and a mere 75% eternal, commitment of your entire soul, and the mineral and artistic rights to your firstborn child, whether a son or daughter. That’s right! An entire mason jar, filled to the brim with the priceless boon of God’s own eternal love, for the almost unnoticeable price we are seeking, would normally run you not only what we have asked, but also want you to throw in your wife, guarantee the rest of your children’s yearly incomes for life, and toss in a few succeeding generations as well. But today, and today only, you too can join those exclusive few who are privileged to have their very own centerpiece for the family altar, for the bargain price of one soul, and consumer rights on a child.

How can you lose? And how can you afford to pass up this opportunity to advance your standing in the eyes of your peers, as well as the eyes of God? You can’t, so pony up, sucker!…. Hahahahahahahahahaahahahaha!…. Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to splatter….
___________________________________

“By calling attention to ‘a well regulated militia’, the ‘security’ of the nation, and the right of each citizen ‘to keep and bear arms’, our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will always be important.” — April, 1960 (Then) Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963)

Jack Kennedy was a pretty smart guy; after all, he did graduate from Harvard Law. Admittedly, he was not exactly the most ethical bulb in the box, but he had his head screwed on his shoulders fairly solidly, and had the unusual political stance of actually wanting the American people to have a decent chance at what they deserve, and are promised by our form of government, i.e., a shot at “the pursuit of happiness”….. However, in this statement, he makes an unwarranted and dangerous assumption, to wit: “it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation.” Jack was an optimist…. and as is often the case, the pessimists were closer to right on this one….

Our rights are in imminent and clear danger of being abrogated, permanently. This is an indisputable fact. I have pictures, as well as copious documentation, of their own documents of erasure. This kind of fact is also provided with further partial proof of its truth by the reaction of those responsible for this subtle attack on our legacy of freedom, who, when confronted with knowledge of their intent, immediately accuse the confronting entity of “spreading communist (oops, I guess today they would now use the ubiquitous “terrorist”) propaganda”, or “attacking the principles of freedom” or my favorite complete lie, “you’re threatening our national security.”

It would be somewhat amusing, if it weren’t so dangerously disgusting…. I mean, do they really expect the American people to sit around and do NOTHING? I kind of hope they do believe that…. it will be then a bigger surprise to them, when the American people stand up, point their guns at the heads of these idiots, walk back into the voting booths, and take their rights back, from the Democrats AND the Republicans, who are all arguably insane…. call me treasonous if you will; I call it patriotism, of the first water….

“Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third [“Treason!” cried the Speaker] – may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.” — Patrick Henry (1736-1799) — Speech in the Virginia Convention, 1765

(In today’s scenario, substitute, George the Shrub and Shrub II for George III)

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

Well, that’s no doubt enough, for even the most dedicated reader….. If they can’t find something to like in this mess, they won’t be finding it at all, at all…. Let’s see if it flies like a pig, or like a pigeon….

I’ll be damned! (Well, there’s little doubt of that, but, you know what I mean….) It actually flies, but, more like a bumblebee than anything else! By that, I mean, it’s aerodynamically unsound, not fit or designed for flight, but, hey, there it goes, trundling off, wings a-buzzing, wending it’s clumsy but effective path through the sky from place to place, never getting lost, and always coming home drunk, covered with pollen from all the flowers it’s been flirting with…. In short, it’s ugly, it’s a dog, but, it flies…. badly, but, it flies…. and, so, dear Gentle Reader, does this Pearl, because I’m shoving it out of the tree to sink or swim on its own…. Y’all can yell at me tomorrow, okay? See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

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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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Lao Tzu

If X, then Y; add lo & phone, & you’ve got music…

Save that elbow grease for the widow Jones; she uses it for baking…..

Salting hummus makes it nearly edible….

All quiet on the western omelet….

Bump the aardvarks to the second seating….

Tiny, torn pieces of once proud menu items….

One final set of twins to discombobulate….

A delicate motif, in gold filigree….

In the domain of the demons of democracy…..

It’s too late for the pilot program; use the spare shuttlecraft….

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