Tag Archives: Lazarus Long

Here, the exception is held as rule….

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Ffolkes,

As time passes, the traumatizing events of the recent past are slowly beginning to fade, with some reluctance…. I’m still fighting off the bronchitis I picked up on my trip, along with concomitant issues of less than delightful nature; all in all, though, I’m feeling much better than the last four days….. I guess tons of breathing treatments, prednisone, & anti-diarrheal medications, all augmented by heavy antibiotics, will do that, as long as one is not at death’s door to start with…. Not to say it isn’t still a bit of danger at my age, but, everything seems to be under control, if not fully whipped as yet…. I’ll do for this, anyway…. It’s getting so I can do these in my sleep, sort of….

My trip to Ensenada on the Ghetto Princess is going into the memory category in my head that NEVER gets any visits, other than as a reminder to avoid certain things in the future…. This was my fourth cruise this year, as I’ve completely indulged myself in spending most of the back payments that Social Security saved up for me by putting me off for so long…. Of those four trips, this one managed to fall into last place from the outset, never looking back, until it had completely fallen off the charts of any statistics kept on “bad vacations”.

The staff of the ship did their best, for the most part, but they were operating under the handicap of a ship in need of refurbishing, rigid company policies in need of review, and a managerial staff who were obviously less well trained, or experienced, than the standards usually found on Princess ships…. Structural changes in the way the ship was set up were made that made it less comfortable for passengers, by crowding more people into smaller spaces, such as in the buffet, where they removed part of the serving area to make room for more seats… This made it hard to get the food at all, as the newly designed serving area was cramped and crowded at all hours…

The ship itself was in need of repairs in many small ways, and the staff was rushed and obviously overworked. They try to turn over their passengers between these quick 3 and four day cruises so quickly that nothing ever gets all the way done, or done well…. They disembark one group from 0730 to 1000 or 1100 AM, then start loading people back on at about noon, and sail at 4:30 PM, all the while moving luggage and restocking stores for the next cruise…

The room service food, which we used a lot due to my illness, was NOT up to their usual fare, and almost always arrived luke-warm…. which is okay for the lasagna, but not so good for a cheeseburger, or the lobster bisque…. I did meet the Executive Chef in charge of the specialty and main dining rooms (not the buffet, or room service…. that was under the auspices of the Executive Sous Chef….), who was a nice man, and reported all the things I pointed out to him as another chef…. but, there was little he could do beyond that. From speaking with him, I wish I’d been well enough to eat in one of his outlets, as I’m sure it would have been better than what I experienced in the other venues….

Any who, what with other issues on board, my illness, and more problems that showed up in our travel arrangements with shuttle companies, etc., this trip was the worst we’ve ever been on, and we are now determined to remain homebodies for the next few months, to get his trip out of our system, and plan for a better trip next fall, when we’re planning to go to Europe, to the British Isles…. This is the last whine you’ll have to endure on this trip, which I had hoped to make into a better story…. Maybe after I’ve recovered a bit, I’ll be able to see more of the humorous side of what happened, but, just now, while I’m still sick and uncomfortable, it’s a bit hard to see it that way… C’est la vie, eh? I guess, after three great trips, it was my turn for a bad one….

In the meantime, it’s morning, and time to go diving…. Since I’ve been up, answering email, and writing this post, for quite a while, I’ll need to use some archived material today, but, by tomorrow, should be back to all fresh material, once I have built up a bit more energy than I’m currently able to muster….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Go placidly among the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence….” — Desiderata
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As mentioned above, I’m using something from the archives, but for a purpose…. I wanted to point out that, along with Lou, the other blogger to whom I refer in the pearl below, I was trying to let people know about the spying being done on the public by the government, long before the revelations by Eric Snowden that PROVED how much is being lifted from our private data, all by the “most transparent administration” we were promised when we elected Obama ( Yes, I voted for him, twice, as the lesser of two evils…. I’m regretting it, mostly because he has proved to be as bad a liar as the rest of them….)…. Any who, this is from late in 2012, before Mr. Snowden released his information, which makes Lou and I somewhat precognitive, don’t you think?…..

From the Pearl posted on 11/24/2012:

“Just because you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you!” — Smart Bee

Last week, or maybe earlier, another blogger and I were both ID’d as being a bit paranoid, (self-identified, I might add, along with accusations by another blogger….) because we happen to believe at least some of the conspiracy rumors continually floating around the internet. Each of us took comfort from the above sentiment, knowing it to be 100% true, and have mutual agreement in that belief. Lou seems to be pretty tech-savvy, posting a lot of different types of media on his blog, so he must have similar knowledge as I of computers, and the functions of which current technology is capable. This knowledge, along with a deep understanding of human nature, is the root cause for our paranoia, and, it’s justification….

“No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.” — Aristotle

The little laptop computer upon which I type to create these Pearls of Virtual Wisdom is an amazing machine, and fairly representative of what is available to the public these days. It has, quite simply, more computing power in it than was present in the ENTIRE WORLD when the first laptop was on the design boards, when I got my first clunky 386.

What this simple fact(oid) implies is this: the government, and its supporters, the bankers, corporations, and churches, have available for their use, enough computing power to record EVERY piece of communication, of EVERY type, created each day in the ENTIRE WORLD.

Along with that capability, to monitor ALL communications, it has the capability of mining that huge amount of data for significant words, phrases, and patterns that will inform them of anyone, anywhere, who is speaking in a way that is potentially against their interests.

Yep…. every single piece of published communication, via phone, internet, TV, radio, or any other form of media by which humans communicate, is vulnerable to being overheard by those in the beloved ruling class…. Allow me to assure you, the reasons for which they want this information have nothing to do with YOUR rights, or YOUR interests, nor are they going to tell you, either that they are doing it, or how often, or where, or anything about it.  In many public places, with cameras and recording devices, it is possible for them to overhear even the words we speak to each other face to face.

If they wish, they can even concentrate technology on a single spot, (such as your car, your living room, or kitchen….), and listen to every word spoken there, even if they are not within miles of the place. There is, by published report, no place left on Earth where technology cannot penetrate, to listen to what is being spoken, given the opportunity, and the time to employ the needed technology.

So, my friend and I are well aware that what we write and publish here online is perfectly available to those who care about such matters, and they WILL be listening to what EVERYONE is saying, even, or, perhaps especially, us. Since I have a tendency to rant against the very people who are listening, I doubt that my name is missing from several lists of theirs. In fact, I’d be surprised if it was missing from those lists…. if it is, they’re not paying attention….

As I’ve said before ffolkes, be alert; the world needs all the lerts it can get. You are being watched, and listened to, whether you choose to believe it or not, so it would behoove you to, perhaps, take that into account. Please, don’t fall into that, “oh, you’re just being paranoid,” attitude, or the “well, if I don’t say anything wrong, they can’t get me,” fallacy….

One of the primary characteristics of those with the power-mongering gene is a certain irrationality, a characteristic that is inherent in their make-up…. They have an unfortunate tendency to act on belief and faith, not on fact, so their actions, while fairly predictable, are somewhat irrationally chosen, and don’t necessarily make any sense to those of us who use our minds for other things than reclining upon….  Remember, as Lazarus Long advises, “Always cut the cards.”….

I have read and understood the above.   X______________________

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I’m currently without poetic impulse, though I have the feeling there is something in there, growing…. For now, though, to keep from allowing anyone else to share the blame for today’s post, I’ll include what I consider to be one of my better pieces from the past…. Well, I like it, anyway, so, here ’tis….

Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art….

~~ gigoid ~~

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As always at this juncture, I find it necessary to fall into default mode, and come up with what I like to call an “old-school” pearl… So, here it is…. Enjoy!…. Oh, and, ffolkes, remember, don’t fight against wherever the pearl directs your mind…. you could hurt yourself, and my insurance is already maxed out…. Thanks…. Take care with this, and you’ll be fine….. In fact, if it works out the way I want, you’ll not only enjoy it, but your acne will clear up within a few hours….

“The first sign of a nervous breakdown is when you start thinking your work is terribly important.” — Milo Bloom

“It is a secret known to but a few, yet no small use in the conduct of life, that if you fall into a man’s conversation, the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater inclination to hear you, or that you should hear him.” — Steele

“If nothing’s fair, why can’t it ever be unfair in my favor?” — Calvin

“[Freedom is] the power to live as you will.  Who then lives as he wills?” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is:  what are we busy about?” — Henry David Thoreau

“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

“FOOLED you!  Absorb EGO SHATTERING impulse rays, polyester poltroon!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, I will admit…. some days it works better than others…. You’ll have to make your own judgment as to how this one gets rated…. I like it, but, then, I did it, so, mine don’t count…. At least it isn’t sharp enough to cut yourself on…..
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Well, it’s been a long morning, and it isn’t even seven o’clock yet…. Fun, though, for the most part…. I suppose it goes to prove that everything is relative, as the fun part seems to be connected to the fact that I’m NOT feeling shitty in some fashion… That, plus I’m done with this, which is always an uplifting event around here…. Now let’s see how it came out….

Well, damn, Samn, that’s not bad at all… I’ll take it, and run with it, all the way downtown…. or, back to bed, which sounds more attractive at the moment…. I had fun, and so did you, admit it…. Oh well, be that way…. See ya 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

dozer3

Sincerity has never been more welcome…..

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Ffolkes,

I’ve never experienced this before…. Even MY coffee, which has been known to raise the long-time-dead, in a heartbeat, isn’t doing the trick this morning…. I grind French Roast beans, dark and savory, then put twice as much in the drip basket as is recommended, just for starters… then I add a teaspoon or two more, just to make it right…. I promise you, no coffee in the world, including espresso, is stronger, or has more of the life-giving caffeine than does what I make right here at home… It’s part of why I have such a hard time when traveling, as nobody can duplicate it in public, not without destroying their profit margin….

But, today, it ain’t happenin’…. I mean, I made it like usual, and in good time, too, before I tried to type. But, even now, after a good half-cup, I’m still dragging my ass, wondering if it would wake up my partner if I went back to bed, or if I should just lay down on the couch for a while, until my brain is done sleeping, an event that seems NOT to have happened before I got up…. Normally, I’m good to go as soon as I get some coffee in me; it’s rather magical the way it gets me going, so it’s hard to understand this change in my reaction to it….

It’s certainly disconcerting, as I depend heavily on my coffee, to make things all better each morning…. I haven’t a clue as to how ugly life may get without it; it’s not something I thought I’d ever have to cope with, at least, not until some doctor told me to give it up for my health… Not that I would, but, hey, I’d have to at least consider it, for a minimum of four or five seconds…. I’m pretty sure I’d rather die than give up that morning rush of clarity….

There is NOTHING in this life that compares to it, (Well, except, maybe, the last few moments of a certain activity, which shall remain nameless, so I don’t have to worry about censors….. Those last few seconds of physical joy with a loved one ARE quite similar to what happens at that first sip of blood the mornings, even if I’m only allowed to refer to it with euphemisms in a family blog….), and I insist on maintaining a certain standard of quality in my life, lest that life become more of a burden than a joy to me…

Aha!….. I feel a bit of my lethargy starting to break up, like the ice on a river in winter, that starts to thaw in the spring, after the temperatures rise above the frozen tundra level….. The coffee, it seems, rather than deserting me, and having NO effect, was just taking its time, working its way into the crevasses in my mind, soothing and supporting, until finally, it breaks through the pain, the stiffness, and the mental fog, to bring its message of peace, and hope for a new day…. Well, maybe not all that, but it sure does bring clarity, and a sense of well-being that isn’t there to start the day…. I don’t know how many of y’all are morning-coffee-addicts, like me, but, those who are will know what I mean….

Perfect timing, too, I’d say…. I was almost ready to chuck aside all normal bets, and start taking money on the new line, but, once again, Life, and Fate, had other plans for me today…..  I’ll just go with the flow, and head out into today’s diving area, which was scouted out earlier, during a moment of lucidity….. It promises to be a fruitful dive today, with reports of some brilliant beds of oysters, and, no doubt, some superior pearls…. Time will tell, as always…

Shall we Pearl?…..

“All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own importance.” — Smart Bee
_____________________________

Here is a fresh pearl, with a group of pearls chosen in a new way…. I picked out one of them several days ago, knowing it would be a good inclusion for one of these…. Rather than use that as a parameter for choosing the others, I went random, and managed to find just the right six other pearls to make this an unusual, but quite pointed little metaphor….. It contains some good advice, as well as some good answers to questions we all have, all the time…. Of course, you gotta believe!….. Just like in church, see?…..

“Virtue is but heroic bravery, to do the thing thought to be true, in spite of all enemies of flesh or spirit, in despite of all temptations or menaces.” — Albert Pike (1809-1891)

“God Himself has no right to be a tyrant.” — William Godwin (English minister, reformer, philosopher, — “Sketches in History” 1784

“As one gets older, one discovers everything is going to be exactly the same with different hats on.” — Noel Coward

“It’s not denial. I’m just very selective about what I accept as reality.” — Calvin (“Calvin and Hobbes”)

“Almost everything you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” — Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

“Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“I’m pretending I’m pulling in a TROUT!  Am I doing it correctly??” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Looking through some archived material last night, I found this poem, which I wrote in January of 2012, on the anniversary of my first year of blogging the newest version of these Pearls…. The poem came just after, and, as an obvious reaction to, a politirant in the section before the one where I found it…. It’s pretty clear, I think, and not too shabby,

Terror at Constitution Hall

Standing quiet, waiting on hope’s bright wing,
a stranger heralds the gift of Time.
Lyrical, spherical melodies we sing,
yet with silence, as a mime.
If fortune favors the bold and the fool,
truth may be spoken with courage unveiled.
But fortune oft is capricious and cruel,
and truth is naught but cold, with freedom failed.
Humanity has rights, ’tis often said,
if courage and truth can prevail.
If fear and ignorance are the diet we’re fed,
Life without liberty will end to this tale.

~~ gigoid ~~


You get a two-fer today, because I also found this one, along the same lines, but, different enough to offer a bit of contrast…. Hope you enjoy them, such as they are….

Future Shocked:

Weeping, I wake;
waking, I weep, I weep.
I weep for the ages to be lost,
for children never born.

Time comes calling, strident and spare,
nudging us toward the future with bony hands.
No pausing, no waiting, always away,
Frantic hearts unseen, unheard.

Spirits are dark, afraid.
And the Beast hunts, hungry and cruel,
seeking out the weak, and the foolish.

We all weep now….

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

The following religirant is from June of 2012, and remains as cogent as the day it was first written….. thank goodness, as it gives me a reason to use it now…..  My advice is to take it with the usual grain or two of your favorite flavored salt….. Myself, I like a mixture of onion and garlic salt….

“Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

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

“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1972)

There are many folks out there who, when reading my material for the first time, might get the impression that I am an atheist, and an anarchist. The stuff I write would tend to give that impression, I have no doubt. But, it really isn’t the case, and just goes to show that not everything is always as it seems….

I’m not an atheist, at least not in a classical sense. I would more accurately be described as agnostic, as I believe strongly in a spiritual component in the universe. But, the very concept of omnipotence, and omniscience, implies that one cannot define God, or whatever entity one considers to be the ultimate authority. A finite mind cannot comprehend an infinite mind; anything we can imagine cannot, by definition, be accurate or complete, as our minds are not infinite in scope.

It could be said that our imagination IS infinite. We can, at the very least, comprehend the concept of infinity, even if we cannot touch it, or see it, or count that high. But, to actually think that what we imagine about God is the same as reality is not only arrogant, it is foolish. Yet a large percentage of the human race not only believes they know what God looks like (ironically, God always looks like the folks who are claiming Him as their deity….), but that they know what He wants. To my way of thinking, this is sheer self-aggrandizement, and unjustifiably arrogant….

I suppose it helps them in dealing with the everyday stresses of life to think that they are special. To think they are beloved of God, and what they do is important to Him. This sense of belonging is important to a lot of folks, due I think, to their own fears about their ability to deal with reality as it exists. It gives them a sense of entitlement, and justifies their actions, no matter how immoral or unethical they may be. It allows them to act upon their impulses without restraint, to lie, to cheat, to steal, all in the name of the Lord. And, if they should happen to feel a tiny shred of guilt about what they are doing to other folks, why, they just confess their sins to Jesus, and all is forgiven!….

Sorry, ffolkes, but I could never buy into the whole scenario, from my earliest days. All of my experience, and all of my reasoning have led me to a different view of reality than what is described by any religion. I have observed the behavior of most people of a religious bent to be, as a rule, hypocritical, cruel, bigoted, racist, and, for the most part, unrelated to any moral or ethical system of any depth. The most religious in society go so far as to threaten violence toward anyone who disagrees with their beliefs, justified by their own self-proclaimed right to spew their hatred on anyone who differs.

I believe in compassion and kindness. I believe in love. I believe in protecting the vulnerable, and helping the less fortunate. I believe in beauty. And, I believe in reality, whatever that may be; it’s purely subjective for the most part. I DON’T believe in the divinity of Jesus, or Buddha, or Lao Tzu, or Mohammad, or any other religious prophet. I don’t believe there is some white haired, bearded old guy sitting on a throne of gold up in the sky somewhere, looking down and getting his pants in a bunch because I didn’t salute his graven image first thing after I got up.

That whole graven image thing, and the idea that God wants, or needs, our worship has always been a thorn in my side. I mean, can’t these zealots understand the irony of worshiping an image of Christ on the cross? Don’t they know that the cross is a graven image? And why would an omnipotent being need MY worship? It makes no sense. None. I cannot imagine of ANY reason for a God to care at all about such petty bullshit; I don’t care to be worshiped, why should He? Having someone act that way toward me makes me uncomfortable, so I can’t see why a God would even want to go there. What purpose does it serve?

One of my computer alarms just went off, and made me realize I was ranting, which I had not started out to do. I think y’all can get the gist of my arguments by this time, and those who are in disagreement with what I’ve written aren’t going to be persuaded away from their long-held delusions by my words, so further soliloquy would be futile.

I’ll just finish by saying this…. until Mankind grows up enough to be able to put aside the crutch of religion, and learns to stand up to reality as it exists, without the delusional imaginary friend to intercede on their behalf with the universe, then our path to extinction will remain clear…. It’s too bad really, because our species shows a lot of promise…. it’s too bad we will never be allowed to explore our limits as an adult species, because we will have killed ourselves off before we ever got out of childhood….

“There ain’t no devil, there’s just God when he’s drunk.” — Tom Waits, Heartattack and Vine
_____________________________

I’m pretty amazed, and that is hard to do…. I’ve been around a couple of blocks thus far in my life, and have seen a LOT of strange stuff (I DID work with the mentally ill, remember? They came up with some pretty bizarre issues, for sure and for certain….), but, it isn’t often I write an entire Pearl while half-asleep…. As I type this, my eyelids are drooping, and my entire being is yearning to be laying down, with my head pillowed comfortably, sawing the proverbial logs as I pound that pillow to smithereens….. Alas, I still have to proof this, which is tough, given the nature of THAT beast… Well, whining about it won’t get it done….

Y’know, there are times when I begin to think that maybe, just maybe, there is something to be said for unconsciousness…. I seem to do my best work when I’m fighting it off…. No matter, whatever the reason, this one isn’t bad, and will certainly do for today’s posting…. So be it…. gigoid has spoken, right before he falls back asleep…. 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

dozer3

Fatuous remarks can create structural instability….

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Ffolkes,

Dark days are coming, ffolkes, there’s no denying it. Hard as I tried to work WITH the humongous bureaucracy that constitutes my HMO, the intransigence so natural to such a beast has dictated, once again, that we must do battle…. This time, I may even need a lawyer to help me, to find and use the part of the law that will MAKE them pay attention to my humanity, instead of ignoring it in favor of their own corporate greed, and their own corporate cowardice…. But, it’s okay, cuz I’m ready to take them on this time…. This time we’re going down to the wire, where I will find a way to force them into compliance with what is best for ME, not for them…. If it kills me, well, then, so be it, I’ll be a martyr for the cause of freedom in our bodies, as opposed to having our medical needs abrogated and altered according to the whims of bureaucratic avarice, and corporate selfishness….

That all sounds pretty highfalutin’, doesn’t it? I thought so, mainly because that’s how I tried to write it…. Now that I see it on the screen, I see that it says a lot, with a lot of force, without really giving any clue as to what the hell I’m talking about…. and that’s okay, too. I’m not really going into it now, as it concerns matters best kept, to some degree, private… In addition, it’s not the right time, or place, for this rant; a better choice for that process is to wait until it is done, and I know the outcome of the battle, or at least the projected, most likely outcome…. At that point, I’ll have a better idea of exactly what to rant about, and for how long I should rant, given the level of built-up angst that is sure to accompany such an event…..

Suffice it to say, now, that this battle will be a major one, with consequences that are potentially far-reaching, that could conceivably have a ripple effect on other aspects of modern culture, and how healthcare organizations are allowed to operate…. I’m hoping, anyway…. If not, if I am crushed under the heel of the uncaring corporate machine, then nothing will change, and the HMO’s of our world will be able to continue to operate as they wish, without any consideration for anything other than their own profit line… Of course, that’s the way it is now, so, you might not notice any difference, except for the fact of my non-existence….

As is normal for me, I am, of course, blowing this up, somewhat out of proportion; it’s a natural tendency to do that when one is trying to pump up one’s own confidence, trying to build up the necessary courage to take on one of the behemoths of our society. I’ve been tilting at society’s windmills for a long time now, off and on ever since my college years, so I have at least a modicum of experience in these matters….. Corporations are not like other kinds of living creatures, even though the law gives them the same rights…. Actually, corporations have MORE rights than the average Joe, since THEY have been given the right to make a profit, which is NOT one of the rights of any other live, flesh and blood citizen….

In addition, it’s a hard thing to fight a corporation, because they’re so amorphous….. Their shape shifts each time one looks at them, to serve whatever purpose they currently pursue…. This makes them appear shapeless, always changing in aspect; the net result of this is, they don’t offer a lot of target area at which to aim and fire…. Also, since they are not really alive, killing, crushing, or otherwise destroying, or, simply excising one part of it barely draws its attention, as it has a million of those parts, easily sacrificed, that it can give up without suffering any real, lasting damage…. The trick is to get their hold on a certain law to loosen, so that society can wrest back some of the control that is seized by such entities when laws are written in their favor….

Ah well, I’m starting to rant, if I haven’t already done so, and I hadn’t intended to do that today…. I’ve got other stuff to rant about, and now I’ll have to review that, to see if it will hold to another day…. Damn! Sometimes, I wish I could learn to shut myself up…. but, that just causes other difficulties, when the angst and dross sits in my mind and festers…. NOBODY likes what happens then, so, I try to get this stuff out of my head, and on screen, as soon as I can…. For now, though, I think I’ll bring this once again meandering stroll through my early morning brain to a screeching halt, and call it an intro for today…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“It is not so much what you believe in that matters, as the way in which you believe it and proceed to translate that belief into action.” — Lin Yutang
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So, there I was, cruising through the news site I frequent most often, when I saw the first article listed below, regarding a new public surveillance center being constructed in Oakland…. Apparently, the police forces in that city, who have been losing the battle with criminals in that city for many years, due to the complete and utter ignorance of the leaders of the city, and, a factor completely unknown to the police, their own misplaced,  intransigent sense of entitlement, have decided they need to be able to spy on the public much more effectively….

They haven’t a clue as to how to deal with any of the issues that cause the level of discontent in the city, as they are clueless as to their own part in creating those issues, so they figure they’ll just tighten down the screws even tighter…. never realizing that their own actions are the biggest part of the problem….

(Gee, does that sound suspiciously like the foreign policy attitudes displayed by the US federal government?… Why, yes, yes it does…. Why is it so hard for these idiots to understand, when you treat others like dirt, they aren’t going to like you?…..)

So, anyway, the police asked for a center where they could coordinate all the technological data they have been collecting, from publicly placed cameras, license plate readers, gun-shot detectors, radio dispatch calls, car cameras, and whatever else they can figure out to beg, borrow, or steal from the NSA… Apparently, encouraged by the success of the NSA programs at invading the privacy of normal citizens, the embattled officers have asked the city supervisors permission to build this center, so they can increase their data intake, and collaborate to join forces with other police agencies around the bay area, as well as make best use of all the surveillance they are now allowed to use….

It is a chilling story, all in all, not only in its bare tale of truth, but because of the reactions by the city supervisors, who have completely ignored all the public outcry against the new center, completely removing its construction from the public venue, and accepting no public input as to whether it should or should not be instituted as policy for the future… They just DID it, with no public input at all…. THAT, to me, is the most frightening part, and one that should immediately provoke a number of lawsuits against the city, the police, and whomever else will take the suit for consideration…. In addition, if they won’t change anything, then start actions against the courts and legislature themselves…. But, that’s just me, and the way I would deal with such effrontery…. I’m not one to tolerate a fool for long….

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-moves-forward-with-surveillance-center-4995249.php

The revelations from Eric Snowden regarding the extent of the spying being done by the NSA are reaching well beyond our borders now…. A number of countries around the world have registered strong protests regarding the privacy invasions by our government, with a number of European countries demanding changes from President Obama in the wake of the news that they had been targets of the spying…. Australia, which has used the same data produced by our agency, and applied the spying techniques and data found by our agencies for their own clandestine spying, have so insulted their neighboring countries that one of them has severed all diplomatic relations with them, at least temporarily, in response to the reported breaches of privacy….

Below you’ll find a number of articles describing the extent of the hullabaloo around the world, which will give you an idea of how the rest of the world’s outrage matches our own here in ‘Amurrica’…..

http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/nsa-australia-spying-on-indonesian-president/

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/19/world/asia/indonesia-australia-spy-row/index.html

No apologies, no tolerance, no way they’re going to change what they’re doing…. Sound like someone else? Someone, say, from THIS country?….

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/05/world/europe/germany-uk-spy-report/

Oops, caught again…. and still no apology, and no indication of any intent to either stop, or alter what they’re doing…

So, how do our police forces respond to all this talk of spying on the public, and to the huge public outcry AGAINST such spying? Well, apparently, they ask for more ways to invade our privacy….

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/S-F-police-seek-cameras-to-capture-whole-picture-4997404.php

Sick, just plain sick…. To protect their OWN asses, they are going to film ALL public interactions…. Can you say ‘paranoia’? Sure you can…

Oh, and what does our government DO with the data they get from their spying?  Here is an example…..

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/US-drone-kills-5-outside-of-Pakistan-tribal-region-4997699.php

It’s the day before the anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination…. do you know what YOUR government is up to?….
_____________________________

Mining old Pearls is bringing me in touch with a lot of my own old poetry…. Here is another of which I’m fairly proud….

Intelligent Crimes

The value of wit is often said to cause harm,
for those who think, such is its greatest charm.
The new and the bold cannot be fulfilled
if innovation and change is left unwilled.

Society behaves at its base as a mob
conformity and submission its primary job.
Any sign of rebellion against the mob’s rule
is met with resentment, naming such rebel the fool.

Intellect and talent are mostly viewed askance,
expressing artistry stands nary a chance.
To stand out from the rest of mankind
is fraught with danger, for body and mind.

Often I stand to watch in solemn dismay
as beauty and joy are left by the way,
ignored and reviled by the unwashed masses
who prefer darkness, and acting like asses.

With shouts of derision the normals make known
their fear of intelligence, greater than their own.
They hope to stop all semblance of progress;
for thoughts and ideas, they couldn’t care less.

The world struggles on in spite of all opposition,
managing to maintain its advanced position.
Pulling the foolish along in spite of reluctance,
helping each to learn the survival dance.

Hard though it may be to keep up with the future
genius manages its plans to develop and nurture.
In the final analysis, those who live by reason
enjoy life the most, season to season.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

I’ve done my ranting for the day, so now I get to let Smart Bee help me pick out a group of pearls, that will make a statement of some sort, in the old-school style we’ve all come to know and love…. I have a feeling I know what kind of statement it will make today…. but, I’ve been wrong before… in this century, too! Any who, let’s see what happens when I give SB the reins…..

“Annual drug deaths: tobacco: 395,000, alcohol: 125,000, ‘legal’ drugs: 38,000, illegal drug overdoses: 5,200, marijuana: 0.  Considering government subsidies of tobacco, just what is our government protecting us from in the drug war?” — William A. Turnbow

“Political truth is libel; religious truth, blasphemy.” — William Hazlitt (1778-1830)

(The battle, begun long ago, goes on today, does it not?…..)

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is:  what are we busy about?” — Henry David Thoreau

“A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” — Mark Twain

“Soap, Ballot, Jury & Cartridge.” — The Four Boxes of Freedom

“The higher we soar, the smaller we seem to those who cannot fly” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“Let’s all face the facts. This world, in which many, if not most of us live, will never be a better place, until such time as it is occupied by a better class of tenants.” — Smart Bee

This last quote stimulated a thought, which I want to share…. I rant here, a lot, about politics, and religion, and how the people who engage in those particular pastimes are, essentially, sick puppies, and mostly just need to be put out of their misery, before they cause any further harm…. What occurred to me on reading the quote above is this: the real culprit responsible for our problems on this planet is not those who engage in those activities, precisely, though they are the outward manifestation of the problem…. The fatal characteristic that is guiding our downfall is a particular flaw in human nature, one that allows us to pursue those activities, but doesn’t give us, or make us use, the most important quality that makes them viable…

This flaw, which is a lack, (of restraint, a lack of ethics, or morals….) more than an actual flaw, is one that each of us, good and bad, possess, and display, at various times; I identify it as that part of us that can determine that we, as individuals, have the right to work our will on others, to seek and use power and resources to make other people follow what we wish to believe, to manipulate others so as to make what we want to happen the only outcome, to the exclusion of whatever others want, or need, or even think…. This power-hunger is all too prevalent in those who take up politics, as well as those who “are called by God” to enter the church (sorry, but being “called” by supernatural entities is deserving of medication and at best, compassion, not worship, or indulgence…) In the quote below, a wise man gives a short explanation of this flaw, and how it can affect all of us….

“Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.” — Lazarus Long, aka Robert Heinlein

Until our species can manage to root out this particular part of our nature, or at minimum, achieve enough control of it so that those who display it cannot affect the rest of us, we, as a species, will never be able to really get any further down the evolutionary road, since the path we are currently following, thanks to this flaw in our nature, which allows the predators to prey on the the rest of us, will only lead us into extinction… and THAT will be sooner than most ffolkes, or folks, believe it will be….

“A certain monk had a habit of pestering the Grand Tortue (the only one who had ever reached the Enlightenment ‘Yond Enlightenment), by asking whether various objects had Buddha-nature or not.  To such a question Tortue invariably sat silent.  The monk had already asked about a bean, a lake, and a moonlit night.  One day he brought to Tortue a piece of string, and asked the same question.  In reply, the Grand Tortue grasped the loop between his feet and, with a few simple manipulations, created a complex string which he proffered wordlessly to the monk.  At that moment, the monk was enlightened.

From then on, the monk did not bother Tortue.  Instead, he made string after string by Tortue’s method; and he passed the method on to his own disciples, who passed it on to theirs.” — Smart Bee

Sadly, neither Tortue, nor his disciple, ever made a copy of the string, and no one now is alive who remembers what it looked like…. SIGH… If nothing else, it might have kept the predatory among us all so busy, (See, that part’s easy… we’d just tell them there was a treasure for them, if they could make the string correctly assume the shape of enlightenment….), they wouldn’t have time to fuck with anyone else….
_____________________________

Well, that was certainly a Pearl, if the way I’m huffing and puffing, and trying to blow down walls is any indication… Of course, the wall is fine, but I’m definitely huffed and puffed out, so I’d best go see just what I’ve done here….. Have some toast and butter, and I’ll be right back….

Once again I’ve created something that is a little bigger than intended, and, in this case, almost up to snuff, conceptually….. It’s certainly fresh, and real, so, if nothing else, it’s probably healthy for you…. or for me, whichever comes first… Let me guess, ah, that would be……. me, of course…. but, I think, if you consume all of this one, it might just healthy for you, too…. Regardless, it’s done, so it’s good to go…. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes, if my luck holds….

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

dozer3

Soluble items should be sterilized first….

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Ffolkes,

I’m still in a bit of shock, but, it’s understandable…. It’s not every day the President Of The United States addresses one directly in an email…. Actually, logic, and my ever-alert crap detector, says that even if I DID receive an email that purported to have been written by the POTUS himself, with a real White House logo at the top of the page, addressing me by my first name and all,  the real odds are, it probably wasn’t him at all, but one of his staff flunkies, trying to convince me that he actually knows who I am, and gives the tiniest shit about what I might think…. Perhaps that’s why I’m a bit skeptical of the offer to join in on a conference phone call with the POTUS, because, hey, he REALLY WANTS TO KNOW what I think about stuff….

Yep, I got that email yesterday, directly from the White House, and signed (digitally, of course….) by Barack himself…. First, the damn thing addressed me by my first name, as if Barry actually was writing, had been introduced, and was granted the use of my given name, rather than treating me with the respect of using my surname…. Pretty insulting, if you stop to think about it, not to mention presumptuous….

They (or he, as they wanted me to believe….) wanted me to respond by clicking on a link that would include me in whatever propaganda event they have planned for whenever it was…..some kind of group hug over the phone or something…. Sure, I’m going to give them my name again…. they already inundate me with daily emails to try to get me to donate money (begging letters, I call them….), or to involve me in some propaganda spin, or to get me to call Congress (where one may talk to as many answering machines as one wishes….. I know, I’ve tried….)….

To be honest, I only let them continue because I believe in the old adage about knowing one’s enemies, and keeping them close, in order to know what they’re up to….. Originally, back in 2008, when I first emailed the White House, I did it because they advertised that they had set up the email to give them an idea of what the public wanted…. I found out quickly that all they really wanted was a way to gather emails from people who might be supporters, so they could ask them for money and time, to carry out their so-called “grass roots” efforts to “improve the lot of the middle class…..” Since I wrote them ONE TIME, FIVE YEARS AGO, I have been assaulted by ten different organizations who somehow got my name (I wonder where?….), all of whom want me to sign petitions, or start petitions, or join a cause, or mostly, just send some money for them to throw into their black hole….

Move On.org, Greenpeace, the White House, and a host of others now send me emails EVERY DAMN DAY, practically dunning me for contributions, letting me know that, if I don’t personally take the time to support them, the big bad Republicans, or the Tea Party, or some corporate raider, is going to once again make me and the whole rest of the country suffer, just because they are able to raise more money than we are….

Hell, even Al Franken, the former comedian who got himself elected as Senator in Minnesota, sends me begging letters every day, just because they got my email address from Move On (I think….)….. I just delete all of them without reading them all the way through, so I know at least what they’re moaning about now…. If I bothered to click on the “unsubscribe” link in the emails, well, that would just be one more piece of data for them to use, so they could mark me as a known enemy-type to them…. Better to just ignore and delete….

I really hadn’t meant to rant in the intro again, but, as I sat down to write today, it struck me how insulted I was by that email…. For them to think that A) they could manipulate me like that, B) they could get me to join in by making it a personal request by the POTUS, and C) to use my first name, as if I’m some sort of child, or servant…. Well, all three of them are erroneous assumptions, insulting in their familiarity, and in their assumption of my gullibility, as well as being downright asinine in their assumption of my technical ignorance….

In addition it is just plain stupid to think that I would actually believe for even ONE SECOND that the President of the United States would actually address a citizen in such a way, and actually care for even a moment what that citizen thinks…. As if that would alter their own agenda!…. What a crock of bullshit!…. I am tempted, a little, to send back a reply of some sort, just to see if they are paying attention at all to what they receive, other than as a means of mining addresses…. But, I know for a fact that they would just ignore it, as it doesn’t fit into any of the parameters they’ve set up to gather that data….

I guess I’ll just let this one go for the time being, and see if they try to follow up, as they’ve done before, with another invitation to join the call…. Sometimes, they’ll send two or three invitations like this, just to see if I’ll respond…. I don’t generally do anything but delete them, but, it might be time to see if I can trick THEM into some kind of dialogue, until I can pull them in far enough into my game, and deliver to them some of the same kind of CRAP they send me every day….. It’s worth a try, I think, and may keep me amused for a short while…. It also probably won’t affect these Pearls, as nothing else seems to keep me from getting them out, other than my own physical failings….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“..  Should I get locked in the PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE today — or have a VASECTOMY??” — Zippy the Pinhead

Hmm…. Tough choice, there, Zippy…. Having been there, done that, for both, we’ll go on to bigger things…..
_____________________________

I like to think I’ve got a handle on Life, but, as soon as I think that, Life snatches itself out of my grip, so my handle probably isn’t as secure as I’d like to think…. That’s okay, it’s always been a chancy world, with nothing ever guaranteed, but for change….. I like it that way, truth be told.

With that in mind, I’m going to gather together a group of pearls for this old-school version of a daily POVW, as they were created back when I sent them via email to about 200 otherwise bored state employees, who came to view them as their bright spot in the day, whether they opened them when they arrived, or saved them for a quiet moment, as some did….

Since this one was picked out without any particular parameters or paradigms to guide the choices, I can’t predict how it will turn out…. but, that’s Life, right?….

“Virtue consists in avoiding vice, and is the highest wisdom.” — Horace (B.C. 65-8)

“Ten thousand years – a single thought. A single thought – ten thousand years.” — Zen saying

“The first gift of maturity is the ability to look a child straight in the eye.” — John Francis Putnam (1964)

“A God alone can comprehend a God.” — Young

“I’d rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I haven’t.” — Lucille Ball

“Men often believe — or pretend — that the “Law” is something sacred, or at least a science — an unfounded assumption very convenient to governments.” — Lazarus Long

“Life is too short to be taken seriously.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Damn near perfect, I’d say….
_____________________________

Today’s poem is one I’ve used before, though not for some time…. I use it, because I like it, and that’s all there is to it…. I hope you like it, too…..

Pu suan tzu

A fragment moon hangs from the bare tung tree
The water clock runs out, all is still
Who sees the dim figure come and go alone
Misty, indistinct, the shadow of a lone wild goose?

Startled, she gets up, looks back
With longing no one sees
And will not settle on any of the cold branches
Along the chill and lonely beach

~~ Su Tung-po ~~

_____________________________

As I noted yesterday, the new WP function that refers us to older posts has been a real godsend for me…. Here is a wonderful little rant from early this year, that seems quite appropriate today…..

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

From the 2/26/13 POVW, “Don’t bust Your gaiters, boys, it’ll get bigger….”

“We are going to have to find ways of organizing ourselves cooperatively,sanely, scientifically, harmonically and in regenerative spontaneity with the rest of humanity around the earth…. We are not going to be able to operate our spaceship earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common.” — Buckminster Fuller

Bucky said this some time around 1968 or 69; Google would know exactly…. but I remember it well, as part of the argument that first convinced me of the imminence of the danger from overpopulation, pollution, climate change, and all of the other foolish, self-destructive behaviors in which our species has engaged for millennia. The cumulative effects of all of these issues is approaching a flash point, a point that, quite possibly, may already have been reached, and passed, without anyone noticing….

Perhaps the worst example of the entire problem is the movie “An Unpleasant Truth” with former VP Al Gore narrating a summary of these issues, with all the then-currently-available-evidence, all of which, taken together, was rather impressive, as well as fairly well unarguably accurate.  In other words, it told the exact truth, and clearly…. 

I call this the worst example because this perfectly told truth of the matter was ridiculed, reviled, and dismissed, by the governments, and the public, one by ignoring it, and the other by refusing to listen, reacting instead to an unfortunate delivery style. Yet, every word Al spoke in this movie is true, and is being proved today, with the already extreme climate changes we are witnessing on a world-wide scale….

“What are the facts? Again and again and again — what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history” — what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!” — Lazarus Long

But, the stupids keep on decrying any changes have happened, and blithely ignore the warmer, dryer winters, the cooler, wetter summers, the shrinking polar ice (at BOTH poles!…), the instability in the biosphere, the tons of carbon monoxide and particulates being added into the atmosphere every second, along with all of the other evidence that PROVES them wrong. It isn’t a matter of there not being any real evidence, it is a matter of the evidence being ignored, or challenged, that is proving to be the hardest obstacle to be overcome, if we are to survive beyond the next 100 years….

Yep, that’s MY estimate, based on all the different time-scale estimates I’ve read about, the evidence I’ve examined, and my take on how society is dealing with all of it…. I don’t see the changes needed happening, not yet, nor is there much indication that a way to stop the assholes in power from their insane intransigence, or their selfish hoarding of resources for their private use, is even close to being discovered, or implemented.

The atmosphere is almost full, and the balance of the gases and elements that make up the air we breathe is, WITHOUT FAIL, going to begin to change, eventually changing into air that will not support our life form, meaning, we won’t be able to breathe it; we will suffocate…. This process, well understood by science, has already begun, and will happen faster with each passing day, once it reaches a certain critical point…. That point, if not already reached, is not far off….

“Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” — Lazarus Long

Now, I know there is some small hope, and that everyone who reads this will give me positive reasons for that hope…. and I agree with all of them. I don’t want to die, and I don’t want my children, or their children, to have to face the same issues in order to save themselves. I’d much rather just shoot the motherfuckers who are causing all of it right now, and be done with it….

Sadly, that won’t work, (they’ve already proven that, by using that method over the last three or four millennia…), so we’ll have to figure out something else to do…. I am not enough of a genius to be able to figure out exactly what that might be, though I have some ideas that would help, I’m sure…. But, I’m not in a position now to have those ideas instituted, so they are moot, unless I somehow find myself in such a position….

Hope is, therefore, just about ALL I have left….
_____________________________

I must be restless again…. I booked another cruise yesterday, just a short 4 day affair to Ensenada and back, out of L.A., and now am trying desperately to find stuff to distract me from getting all worked up about it, packing two weeks early, and generally driving Pat crazy with my enthusiasm to get out of Dodge…. Now, I’m trying to post this before actually getting it done…. Settle down, there, big fella, there’s still a good 13 days before you get to go, so, you’d best get a grip…. Let’s see how today’s Pearl came out, shall we?….

Not too bad, considering…. It’s good enough to let if fly without any more help, or editing that I can see… I guess that means I have to go now….. Ta then, until tomorrow….

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

dozer3

Honor is never for sale…..

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Ffolkes,

It isn’t every day one can start off with live Dead before breakfast, or even coffee, and, for many, it might not be exactly their cup of tea, ( I know, mixing my beverages, if not my metaphors….) but, I find it to be a fine way to begin the day, especially when the tune being enjoyed is from a live concert, with a lively, jiving boogie beat, complete with extremely hot licks by one of rock’s greatest improvisational guitarists, one of the earliest virtuosos in that category…. the inimitable, and, sadly, now deceased, Jerry Garcia…. Ah, sublime!….

I guess I just pulled my covers again, as an aging, now aged, hippie, first indoctrinated in the philosophy of free love in 1968 in Berkeley, CA, and a multi-concert attendee at Dead shows….. I never went on the road with the Dead, following after them all over the country, as so many did, but, I’ve made my share of whoopee at their gatherings of the tribes, and don’t regret a single moment of the experience…..

It was a time of great hope in our country….. The passions of the day, and the concepts of liberty and personal freedom that were engendered among the young of our nation back then have been carried forth, and preserved, over time, until, today, the same people who protested the war in Vietnam are now out on the streets, protesting the most recent draconian actions of the government, which, in spite of our efforts, have grown over time to include the latest outrage, wherein they are spying on their own citizens, looking under every rock they can find, in their paranoid search for terrorists….

Of course, the spying began even before the Vietnam conflict; they were putting together files on us at the FBI in 1968, and before that, from 1960 to 1964, during the Free Speech Movement, that preceded the advent of the hippies, and free love…. The government, apparently during WWII sometime, decided that keeping secrets from the public was necessary, whereupon they began to consider themselves as above the law, not subject to the same requirements as the rest of us….. Troops began to go to Southeast Asia, to protect “American interests” there, which, when examined more closely, turned out to be our interests in the heroin trade, a trade that has flourished there for centuries…. About that time, the FBI began to spy on American citizens, looking to root out the “commies” amongst us….

That particular insight, first brought to light in the mid-1960’s, and made very public by the movie, Air America, in the 1970’s, was the beginning of the end of my blind, willing support of the government….. The idea that our elected officials were involved in protecting that industry was completely repugnant to me then, and remains so today, especially since it turned out that such involvement was only the surface of how much corruption, theft, and outright lying our politicians were engaging in, among other revelations, all of which convinced me of their complete lack of virtue, or honor…. They were hiding behind the flag of liberty and justice, using its precepts to engage in destructive, illegal acts that threatened their own people, and didn’t seem to care at all that what they were doing was diametrically opposed to all we have been taught to expect of our leaders….

Hmm…. I seem to have slipped into another early rant, brought on by nostalgia…. Well, that should pass, now that the Dead song is over…. I’ve switched over to the classical station’s stream online, and am now being soothed by J.S. Bach’s “Little Suite”, a familiar piece that never fails to please…. Dum ditty dum, dum ditty doo….. lovely!

Oops, I seem to have pulled another cover here…. Yep, I’m a longhair, and that includes my choices in music; I love classical music, especially that of Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach (all of them…. several of the Bach family wrote good stuff, not just Papa…. PDQ Bach wrote some pretty amazing pieces himself, as did J.S., Junior….) Any who, it’s nice to have a variety to listen to….

I started listening to the genre about 15 years ago, when I got tired of what was passing for rock and roll then, and found that I had discovered an entirely new universe of music to explore, most of which I’d never heard…. What a treasure trove that turned out to be….. Like any field of human endeavor, 90% of it is crap, (Sturgeon’s Law covers ALL human activity….), but, over time, the crap has been winnowed out, for the most part; what is left is some excellent music, and offers me uncounted hours of bliss…..

Well, now that I’ve blathered, and ranted, and just plain babbled about next to nothing, I think we should get on with the day’s dive, saving any further chattiness for any public contact I have to make today….. Yeah, that’s the ticket….

Shall we Pearl?…..

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe

— _Jabberwocky_, by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson)
_____________________________

In this section today, you will find an old-school pearl, fresh as SB and I can make it….. I had intended to discuss a more sober, perhaps even significant subject, with every intention of allowing myself to rant thereon….. but, I’m feeling a bit under the weather, rant-wise, which means, basically that I’m not outraged enough at the moment to carry it off successfully…. So, I’ll go with my default in such instances, and let SB figure out something appropriate to the day, and the moment…. It should all be okay, and, if nothing else, you may congratulate yourselves on having dodged another bullet, metaphorically speaking, of course….

“Tip O’Neill is just like Congress; old, fat and out of control.” — J. LeBoutillier

“You can always get the truth from an American statesman after he has turned seventy, or given up all hope of the presidency.” — Wendell Phillips

“As a general rule, the freedom of any people can be judged by the volume of their laughter.” — Smart Bee

(Even the Google algorithm can’t find attribution for this, other than “Anonymous”…. hence, the attribution is given to SB, per ECR policy….)

“I believe I have no prejudices whatsoever.  All I need to know is that a man is a member of the human race.  That’s bad enough for me.” — Mark Twain

“The effectiveness of a politician varies in inverse proportion to his commitment to principle.” — Sam Shaffer

“Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part to us, do they?” — George Carlin

“The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 4/19/24

Okay, so it turned into a rantish pearl in spite of all my precautions…. oh, well…. So, sue me…. or, if you’d care to just ignore it, we can go on to other things, and just chalk it up to experience…. Let’s do that, shall we? If nothing else, and like nothing else does, it will piss off the lawyers, which is ALWAYS a good thing….

“Great things can be reduced to small things, and small things can be reduced to nothing.” — Chinese Proverb
_____________________________

Since I don’t wish for anyone else to catch the blame for any of this, here is one of my older poems to fill up the necessary space, and time….

Off the proverbial cuff….

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

How did y’all get so lucky? Here I am, already in section three, and still no rantable passions available to get me going…. One might gather the erroneous impression that I’m a wimp today…. I prefer to think of it as a temporary disinclination toward emotional excess, and let it go at that…. I mean, one can’t rant all the damn time, or one takes the chance of becoming entrenched in the same set of attitudes so common to that type of thinking epitomized by the dreaded Limbaugh, that bastion of all that is most ignorant and ugly about America….

I do try to save my outrage for things that have some social significance, hopefully of greater significance than my own prejudices; he doesn’t even bother to try to decide if anything that comes out of his mouth is significant; he only cares that someone listen to his drivel…. Ah well, let’s go in a totally different direction from that fool, and find some thoughts on Life from some of history’s more elegant thinkers….

“The meaning of life is that it stops.” — Franz Kafka

“Where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valor to dare to live.” — Thomas Browne

No man is an Island, entire of it self; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” — John Donne (c.1571-1631) — Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624) “Meditation XVII”

“It is always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is absolutely fatal.” — Oscar Wilde

“[…] For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner […] on an unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies. […] That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to understand that.” — Carl Sagan

“Don’t try to have the last word. You might get it.” — Lazarus Long

I would like to have it noted that I took great care in the construction of this Pearl, editing the inclusions numerous times before coming up with this seven-star grouping…. which, I believe, is one of the best pearls ever…. Really, it’s damn fine stuff, ffolkes, so, please, pay heed…. Then, when you’ve finished that, remember this ……

“Never underestimate the importance of a cheap laugh.” — Plucky Duck

Okay, so I could have said that more elegantly…. how’s this?…..

“A little nonsense, now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” — Willie Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl
_____________________________

It’s been a long road to this juncture, and I feel every step it has taken to get here….. Let’s see what we picked up along the way….. I am compelled by honesty to admit that it isn’t bad…. at least, not so’s you’d notice, anyway…. It’s certainly long enough for a Pearl; I guess, given my feelings about out versus in, we’ll leave it as it is, and just pretend that I know what I’m about….. If you bought ANY of that, well, thanks…..

😆

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

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

gigoid

dozer3

Would a bit of irony be of assistance?….

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Ffolkes,

Many days, when I wake up to begin writing this blog, I’m struck by how egotistical it must appear, from the other side. Day after day of relating what goes on in my head, all for what? Many would think that it is to stroke that ego, making it stronger and even bigger than it was….. which was plenty big, believe me…. I’ve never felt that denying reality was of any help to anyone, so I’ve never bothered to try to be too humble about my own abilities….. I’m smarter than the average bear, and have a lot of physical skills that many don’t ever acquire….. However, I have always tried to be patient with those who don’t quite understand as much as I do, and have never taken advantage of anyone less skilled, or less of anything… That would be dishonorable, and I was raised to put honor before need, or desire, always….

Also, let us not confuse that strength of ego with conceit, or with lack of humility; I don’t believe I make the grade in being conceited, as I’ve never let my own abilities keep me from appreciating those abilities that others possess, and I don’t….. There are a LOT of these skills and/or abilities I don’t possess, that others have; this is NOT a problem for me, as I am content with all I have.  I also don’t believe that my own  somewhat extensive talents make me any better, or worse, than anyone else; I believe as the Dalai Lama has expressed, that what makes a person valuable is how much compassion for others they feel, and express…. Unfortunately, this effort to keep from allowing myself to take advantage of others doesn’t keep me from showing my abilities, and that often brings censure from people who automatically assume that such displays are ego-driven, never thinking, or understanding, that it can also be motivated by altruism….

Hell, sometimes it’s hard for ME to believe in altruism, but, there it is, and there isn’t anything I can do about it at this point. My father drilled into me a code of ethics that leaves no room for any actions that can cause dishonor, and I believe, firmly, that those ethical mores are what make me different from many others, others who DO use their abilities for their own benefit, to the exclusion of others. That sort of amoral folk are rife in the fields of politics, religion, law, and the paramilitary; I’m not sure just what the attraction is, other than the ultimate freedom that comes with not giving a shit about other people…. I suppose, to that sort of mind, or emotional makeup, such debauchery is attractive as a lifestyle….

Myself, I can’t handle it; when I think about how much the pundits and preachers take advantage of their positions, it makes me ill, and I want to go out to buy a gun…. which would then put me into the same category as them, as I’d be forced by my own sanity to use it on them, forgoing all my father’s teaching…. It’s a conundrum to be sure…. Fortunately for me, though not necessarily for all of you, I have this blog, to sublimate the urge to kill that passes through me almost every day, when I read about the latest lies and chicanery they’ve been up to out in the BBR….. It’s almost enough to put one off reading the news…..

So, I’ll continue to rant, and write my pearls of virtual wisdom, in my own little attempt to bring some reason and stability to the world, if only for the time spent here reading…. Whether or not that is approved of by others is moot, as it makes me feel better, and that is all any of us are really concerned with…. If we have anything left over when we feel good, then we might share it, but, mostly, we are all looking out for ourselves, and doing our best not to sink under the waves…. and that’s okay….

Me, I gotta write, and get some of this stuff out of my head, before it sits in there and turns into something that could drive me to go buy a gun…. If that ever happens, look for a lot of politicians, preachers, bankers, and otherwise useless people to die, one after another, until they catch me…. That IS a joke, you know…. I’d never do any of that, in reality; too much work, and I’m retired from working… Besides, I haven’t let myself give in like that, for 63 years now, and I’m tougher now than when I started this journey….

On that pleasant note, Shall we Pearl?….

“Live a life worthy of the things that will be said of you when you’re dead.” — Ambidextrous Rex
_____________________________

Today’s intro section turned a bit stodgy on me; it’s a good discussion, but, feels a bit like wearing a suit and tie…. a bit stiff and constricting, no doubt pinching in the tight spots….. So, I’m going immediately to a harlequin old-school pearl, to loosen things up a bit, and hopefully, lighten the mood at the same time…. I’m hoping that Smart Bee’s natural sense of whimsy will come through to bring that about…. let’s see what it’s got for us, shall we?…..

“To sing the same tune, as the saying is, is in everything cloying and offensive; but men are generally pleased with variety.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of the Training of Children

“The present is the only thing that has no end.” — Erwin Schrödinger

“I readily relapse into my reflections on the uselessness of our education. Its aim has been to make us not good and wise, but learned; and in this it has succeeded. It has not taught us to follow and embrace virtue and wisdom, but has imprinted their derivations and etymologies on our minds. We are able
to decline ‘virtue’ even if we are unable to love it; if we do not know what wisdom is in fact and by experience, we are familiar with it as a jargon learned by heart.  — Michel de Montaigne, Essays

“Bow to no patron’s insolence. Rely on no frail hopes; in freedom live and die.” — Seneca

“A man is average when he can see the other man’s faults; he becomes above average only when he can also see his own.” — Smart Bee

“Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

“Always store beer in a dark place.” — Lazarus Long

Yep…. I think that should do it….
_____________________________

Today’s Pearl is all fresh so far…. in keeping with that theme, albeit with older material, here are two of my own poems, for better or for worse….

Haiku XII

 I called an old friend
a few days ago, or so.
Old friends are the best.

~~ gigoid ~~

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

“Without God, everything is possible.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

When first observed, this little aphorism seems contradictory, but, I’m sure that is only because it stands in stark contrast to all we’ve been told since we first began to hear about the concept of God…. If one stops to actually THINK about what it implies, the contrast disappears, to be subsumed by the sheer elegance of the reasoning that prompts such a statement…..

I am not sure, however, that my current state of mind is capable of doing justice to such a discussion just now; one must be in touch with all of one’s reasoning powers to live up to such a topic of such complexity, and to sustain the effort through enough time to overcome the natural resistance that is thrown up whenever such blasphemous concepts come under scrutiny…. Considering the cold I’ve been fighting all week, the hour (it’s not even 0530 yet…. & I’ve been up for almost two hours already….), and the overall state of my psyche, I’d rather save any such discussion until I can respond with a bit more vigor than is currently on tap….

That being said, I think that a small reminder of what John Lennon proposed in his song “Imagine” is appropriate as a sublimation for the absent discussion; the song can be viewed as an almost perfect statement of how it might feel to consider a universe without the constricting concept of an overbearing God watching over us, judging all we do…. sort of like Mrs. Grundy, the ever-present nosy neighbor, or your disapproving maiden aunt, who has nothing better to do than to sit in judgment of others, even though their own experience of life is confined to their own sad existence, based on what they read in ONE book, of dubious authorage….

Along with the lyrics of the song, I’ll also substitute an old-school pearl at this point, saving the rant itself for another day…. That is, if SB will cooperate…. worth a shot, don’t you think?…. And, I don’t think God will mind, as He doesn’t really exist in the way most folks think….

“Always make allowances for the “duh” factor.” — Smart Bee

“Some things don’t need the thought people give them.” — Calvin

If you want to sing out, sing out,
and if you want to be free, be free,
’cause there’s a million ways to be,
you know that there are…

— Cat Stevens, from a song lyric

“Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.” — Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband

“If I had a large amount of money I should found a hospital for those whose grip upon the world is so tenuous that they can be severely offended by words and phrases yet remain all unoffended by the injustice, violence and oppression that howls daily about our ears.” — Stephen Fry

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

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

On a normal day, at 0542 in the AM, I’d prefer to be sleeping, but, that event, having NOT happened in many a year, thus takes on the shape and desirability of a dream quest, a chimera, beckoning me to chase it down the halls of Time…. like a fool. Since the day isn’t normal, and neither am I, I suppose it shouldn’t shock me to be done already with today’s Pearl. I DID get up at 0330 or so….. Any who, let’s see how it turned out….

Well, it’s a Pearl…. More than this, deponent sayeth naught, with good cause…. Which is, I’ve probably said enough, and more than….. 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

dozer3

Patterns of dark, and darker…..

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Ffolkes,

As you all (or even just both of you….  😆  )  may have noted, I did not post yesterday, with good reason…. Due to the cold that has kicked my ass all week, and my increasing frailty in a physical sense overall, I had to take a full day of rest, at the end of my trip south, to rest enough to drive home…. I found a comfortable motel about 50 miles north of where I had the meetings with my old classmates, the 50 miles being the sum total of miles I had it in me to drive on Friday.  I posted Saturday morning, as the motel had a very fast internet connection, then spent the rest of the entire day sleeping like the dead. At 0300 on Sunday morning, I arose to drive home, as that time of day, between 0300 and 0800 or so, seems to be my most active, and I figured I could make the 140 miles without too much problem…..

This was a foolish notion, as it turned out… I had to really push myself to make it, and still had to stop for a short nap halfway home, at a gas station by a closed McCafe, somewhere north of San Jose. I made it, but it was no cinch, fighting pain, fatigue, and restlessness all at once while trying to drive…. Then, after a couple hours of sleep, I got up again, to drive to Sonoma, where I visited with my grandson for an hour, (all the court allows) then drove home and crashed again…. It’s now almost 0430 AM, and I’m up, unable to sleep any more, despite still feeling exhausted…. too much pain, between the back spasms, and the ripping headache centered between my eyes, which dutifully threatens to blow off the top of my head when I cough….

I don’t mean to whine, but this is getting old, ffolkes…. I really am getting tired of the pain, and wish there was something that would cut through all of it long enough for me to sleep for oh, say, just four hours straight? That would be lovely, and so welcome….. But, ’tis not to be, at least not today, so I may as well try to push through it to get something done here…. Since times like these are all I have left to convince myself I’m still a tough old coot, I will, as far as I can….

My visits with my mates were wonderful…. I got to SEE four of my classmates, whom I hadn’t seen in a very long time, one of them since graduation in 1968 (hmm… that’s way too long… 45 years….) Chuck looks grand, and in great shape, (possibly the best of all of us, since he was the baby of the class…. he’s still only 62…. for a couple of days more….) Vicki looks practically the same as she did in high school, only better, and Carolyn and Laura were much the same as with Vicki, at least compared to me, and the degree to which I’ve changed shapes…. All three of them became even more beautiful as women than they were as teenage girls, and that is saying a lot, as I was fortunate to be in a class that was full of ‘foxes’, (as we used to say, back in the days before political correctness….)… Even back then, I felt that there wasn’t a single girl in our class that could be described as less than average looking, and the grown-up versions are even more beautiful, at least to my old eyes….

The only thing about all of the visits I regret is that there wasn’t more time, to hang out, to just talk, but, what we had was wonderful…. plus, now that we’ve established contact, and obtained promises to stay in touch, there will be time to say all the things that we didn’t get to relate in person…. All three of the ladies I saw are now joining the ranks of the Pearly Gates, and will, no doubt, eventually have to say SOMETHING about my ramblings…. they’ve known me long enough not to be shocked by most of it, but, some of it will no doubt prompt reactions, and that will be grand…. I live for dialogue… Chuck has been getting them for a year or two, and is probably immune by now….   😉

Of course, as is made patently obvious from this blog, I live for monologue, as well…. and that is about enough of that for one morning…. I could ramble a long time about our visits, but, it’s probably best to get on with today’s dive for pearls, since I’m not sure how long I can last before crapping out again…. Thankfully, being retired, I have nothing so urgent on my plate that it can’t be tossed without harm to my schedule…. The absolute BEST part of retirement is that my schedule is all my own, even more so than when I was a kid, with no responsibilities other than to family; I am the only one who gets to make my plans, and THAT is a powerful tool, indeed…. Any who….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Neither do the ignorant seek after wisdom.  For herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself; he has no desire for that of which he feels no want.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)
_____________________________

“Only great masters of style can succeed in being obtuse.” — Oscar Wilde

“At once it struck me what quality went to form a man of achievement, especially in literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously — I mean negative capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” — John Keats (1795-1821)

As I have said before, there is more to Keats than meets the eye at first glance…. and this is proof positive my assertion is correct. For several years now, I have included the occasional pearl that spoke of Shakespeare, and how I believe him to be one of the most over-rated, over-quoted, and over-publicized authors of all time. Oh, he was prolific, indeed, and in all that stuff he produced, there was bound to be a winner or two…. But, for the main part, most of what he wrote was just plain bad, and, moreover, I think he knew it, deliberately couching a lot of his creative impulse in language so impenetrable, people just gave up on it, saying aloud how wonderful it was, just so everyone else wouldn’t know they hadn’t actually finished reading all of it….

I don’t expect y’all, or anyone, to accept such a premise without some proof, so, I offer the following, which are a number of examples of Will at his most dense and unknowable, so convoluted in concept and delivery that most folks just say, “oh, how pretty!” and let it go at that…. Whereas, I say, “Bullshit! This doesn’t MEAN anything, and, moreover, is so convoluted, it is impenetrable to the intellect”…. As further indication of how much of his work is of this nature, I must report that there are over a thousand quotes in SB from Will, and only about twelve of them are what I’d consider good literature…. the rest is just crap, that his publicists have made people believe is so good, they don’t understand it…. I call BS, and offer the following as proof…. As usual, my comments are parenthesized….

About some act
That has no relish of salvation in ‘t. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act iii, Sc. 3

(Huh? What?…. Sorry, couldn’t catch any meaning, before the play’s action took us somewhere else….)

And let me wring your heart; for so I shall,
If it be made of penetrable stuff. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act iii, Sc. 4

(Again, huh? What the hell is he talking about? And don’t tell me there is a cultural meaning that is only clear to those who lived in his time…. I’d bet NOBODY understood it, even back then….)

The weakest goes to the wall. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Romeo and Juliet — Act i, Sc. 1

(Really? Why is that?…)

Potations pottle-deep. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Othello — Act ii, Sc. 3

(This one is particularly dense, even considering the language changes over the intervening 400 years…)

Adversity’s sweet milk, philosophy. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Romeo and Juliet — Act iii, Sc. 3

(Eeuuuw! Disgusting image….)

But in the gross and scope of my opinion,
This bodes some strange eruption to our state. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act i, Sc. 1

(Maybe politics was different back then, but, still, what does this MEAN?….)

That he is mad, ‘t is true: ‘t is true ‘t is pity;
And pity ‘t is ‘t is true.  — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act ii, Sc. 2

All I can say is, ‘t is indeed a pity…. the pity is we spend so much time lionizing this man as a writer, when all he was, in reality, was his time’s most prolific hack, but with a really good publicist…. In today’s world, he would have been the highest paid writer at the National Enquirer…..
_____________________________

Since I used Keats as the lead for the above Shakespeare mini-rant, here is something to bolster my opinion of him, and his work, which is, needless to say, much better appreciated around here than Will….

 

An Extempore

 

When they were come into Faery’s Court
They rang — no one at home — all gone to sport
And dance and kiss and love as faerys do
For Faries be as human lovers true —
Amid the woods they were so lone and wild
Where even the Robin feels himself exil’d
And where the very books as if affraid
Hurry along to some less magic shade.
‘No one at home’! the fretful princess cry’d
‘And all for nothing such a dre[a]ry ride
And all for nothing my new diamond cross
No one to see my persian feathers toss
No one to see my Ape, my Dwarf, my Fool
Or how I pace my Otaheitan mule.
Ape, Dwarf and Fool why stand you gaping there
Burst the door open, quick — or I declare
I’ll switch you soundly and in pieces tear.’
The Dwarf began to tremble and the Ape
Star’d at the Fool, the Fool was all agape
The Princess grasp’d her switch but just in time
The Dwarf with piteous face began to rhyme.
‘O mighty Princess did you ne’er hear tell
What your poor servants know but too too well
Know you the three great crimes in faery land
The first alas! poor Dwarf I understand
I made a whipstock of a faery’s wand
The next is snoring in their company
The next the last the direst of the three
Is making free when they are not at home.
I was a Prince — a baby prince — my doom
You see, I made a whipstock of a wand
My top has henceforth slept in faery land.
He was a Prince the Fool, a grown up Prince
But he has never been a King’s son since
He fell a snoring at a faery Ball
Your poor Ape was a Prince and he poor thing
But ape — so pray your highness stay awhile
‘Tis sooth indeed we know it to our sorrow —
Persist and you may be an ape tomorrow —
While the Dwarf spake the Princess all for spite
Peal’d the brown hazel twig to lilly white
Clench’d her small teeth, and held her lips apart
Try’d to look unconcerned with beating heart.
They saw her highness had made up her mind
And quaver’d like the reeds before the wind
And they had had it, but O happy chance
The Ape for very fear began to dance
And grin’d as all his uglyness did ache–
She staid her vixen fingers for his sake
He was so very ugly: then she took
Her pocket mirror and began to look
First at herself and [then] at him and then
She smil’d at her own beauteous face again.
Yet for all this — for all her pretty face
She took it in her head to see the place.
Women gain little from experience
Either in Lovers, husbands or expense.
The more their beauty the more fortune too
Beauty before the wide world never knew.
So each fair reasons — tho’ it oft miscarries.
She thought her pretty face would please the fa[e]ries.
‘My darling Ape I wont whip you today
Give me the Picklock sirrah and go play.’
They all three wept but counsel was as vain
As crying cup biddy to drops of rain.
Yet lingeringly did the sad Ape forth draw
The Picklock from the Pocket in his Jaw.
The Princess took it and dismounting straight
Trip’d in blue silver’d slippers to the gate
And touch’d the wards, the Door full courteously
Opened — she enter’d with her servants three.
Again it clos’d and there was nothing seen
But the Mule grasing on the herbage green.
End of Canto xii.

Canto the xiii.
The Mule no sooner saw himself alone
Than he prick’d up his Ears — and said ‘well done!
At least unhappy Prince I may be free —
No more a Princess shall side saddle me
O King of Othaiete — tho’ a Mule
‘Aye every inch a King’ — tho’ ‘Fortune’s fool.’
Well done — for by what Mr. Dwarfy said
I would not give a sixpence for her head.’
Even as he spake he trotted in high glee
To the knotty side of an old Pollard tree
And rub’d his sides against the mossed bark
Till his Girths burst and left him naked stark
Except his Bridle — how get rid of that
Buckled and tied with many a twist and plait.
At last it struck him to pretend to sleep
And then the thievish Monkies down would creep
And filch the unpleasant trammels quite away.
No sooner thought of than adown he lay
Sham’d a good snore — the Monkey-men descended
And whom they thought to injure they befriended.
They hung his Bridle on a topmost bough
And of[f] he went run, trot, or anyhow–

~~ John Keats ~~


A bit long, I’ll admit, but, oh, so much better, in imagery, in feeling, in CLARITY of thought…. Yay, Keats….
_____________________________

So far, what has happened is pretty amazing…. not for its brilliance, which is obviously less than blinding, but for the fact it is done at all… My head is still pounding behind my right eye (maybe it’s a tumor! Oh, no!….), my back is still spasming, if a bit less dramatically, and I’m still awake, sadly…. But, the coffee is good, and so is the poetry, so, I’m content…. Content enough to go for an old-school pearl, if Smart Bee will cooperate…. If nothing else, it will get us through another day here at ECR without any major catastrophes of a real-time nature….. Let’s see what’s in there today for us to find….

“Get a shot off FAST! This upsets him long enough to let you make your second shot perfect.” — Lazarus Long

“It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.” — Mohandas K. Gandhi

“It matters not how long you live, but how well.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 829

Much water goeth by the mill
That the miller knoweth not of. — John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part ii, Chap. v

” “. . . Eye of Newt, toe of frog . . .”, believed to be the first recipe for an explosive mixture — …the forerunner of gunpowder”– Smart Bee

“Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms … but a *dying* culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Loss of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.”  — Friday’s boss, Dr. Richard “Two-sticks” Baldwin, in Robert Heinlein’s “Friday”

“Hey! You’ve been taking drugs again, haven’t you?”– Smart Bee

Okay, I give up…. Smart Bee is in a mood, and doesn’t want to play nice, so we’re going to go now, and leave you to your own ruminations, which could be no more confusing than any of the forgoing…..
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No matter how weird this one turns out to be, it’s still getting posted, if for no other reason than to verify my own stubbornness and lack of any sort of pride….. Let’s see just how strange it turned out, shall we?…..

I like to consider myself a well-read, well-rounded person, with a very good vocabulary at hand for my immediate use, but, I’m struck speechless by this…. you wish….  🙂   No, really, given the handicaps under which it was created, it’s pretty, well, not bad…. Definitely meets all the parameters for your average Daily Pearl, so, off it will go, to be sent via the cloud to about 50 or so private recipients, followed by posting to the internet, for the thirteen other regular readers I have remaining….  Such as it is, it’s the best I’ve got…. I hope y’all enjoy it…. Me, I’m going back to bed, hopefully, to sleep for a couple of hours to get me through the day…. I’ll be back tomorrow, and if you receive no other threats like that today, consider yourself lucky…..

😈

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

dozer3

 

It’s no more than they deserve, you know….

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​

Ffolkes,

It has become apparent to me that I am now a piece of well-done toast…. I’m done, stick a fork in me….. It’s 0615 in the AM…. I’m up, albeit reluctantly, and only because I was coughing too hard to sleep any more. Since I’d crashed again last night at about 7 PM, I was done with laying down, so, my body decided to wake up and goad me into action. Given that all there is to consume, without getting up and leaving, is motel coffee (shudder….), you may guess, I’m NOT a happy camper….

So unhappy, in fact, I’m making another executive decision…. I’m going off line for a day or two, so this will be the last Pearl, probably until Monday, or perhaps, Tuesday, depending on how quickly I recover once I wind my way home on Saturday…. I’ll be leaving the area where I’ve been visiting this afternoon, after a final couple of visits, combined with a short wake for Carole at the graveside in Templeton. I plan to drive until I am about to give out, then stay overnight somewhere, until Saturday, when I’ll make it home, probably in two jumps, with a long rest in between…

This cold is kicking my ass…. Yesterday, I managed only one visit, with my friend Chuck, and that visit, which involved a 30 mile drive, round trip, almost did me in… By the time I got back to the motel, I was done for the day, though I didn’t know it… I talked to one other classmate, then fell out for a two hour nap, followed by a quick, small dinner in the room, and then bed, at 7, as I mentioned….. I’ve deliberately put off calling a number of other friends, just because I’m too tired to even make small talk, or summon any enthusiasm at all… I am NOT used to being so damned weak and old, and, dammit, it’s a pain in the proverbial ass, to be sure….

Even these three paragraphs are more than I expected to be able to write today, as I am just not with it at all… So, I’m going to try to put together a very short pearl or two today, then give up for a couple days, returning when I have the energy to do it right…. or, as right as it ever gets around here…. Hopefully, I’ll still HAVE a reader or two by then….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Dying is a very dull, dreary affair.   And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.” — W. Somerset Maugham
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“Under current law, it is a crime for a private citizen to lie to a government official, but not for the government official to lie to the people.” — Donald M. Fraser

Boy, if THAT isn’t truth, I don’t know what is!….. Since I don’t have the energy to rant, below you will find three links, two of which, the cartoon by Mark Fiore, and the report on the comments by the House of Representative’s chief idiot, should suffice to provide you with enough to know what might have been ranted on…. The third is an example of the kind of nonsense that the media uses to distract us from more relevant material, keeping the public’s attention focused on crap that really has no bearing on much of anything…. Any who, this is all you get, so, please use it wisely….

http://blog.sfgate.com/fiore/2013/11/06/lil-nsa-spy-kit/

(Always spot on, and a good summation of the issue, all in all…)

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2013/11/07/boehners-dismissal-of-gay-rights-bill-frivolous-litigation/

(What amazes me is that these people, these Republicans, still don’t have ANY idea of what they’re doing wrong, or why people are so upset with them….)

http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/News-of-the-Day-From-Across-the-Nation-November-8-4966046.php

(Money, money, paranoia, paranoia, paranoia, police killing with more paranoia…. pretty distracting, isn’t it?….)

“Lust of power is the most flagrant of all the passions.” — Tacitus (55?-120?)
____________________________

Just a little bit of Emily to start the day….

A Day! Help! Help! Another Day!
Your prayers, oh Passer by!
From such a common ball as this
Might date a Victory!
From marshallings as simple
The flags of nations swang.
Steady — my soul: What issues
Upon thine arrow hang!

    ~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

____________________________

Here, then, is a final pearl, put together as quickly as possible, as I’m nearing the absolute limit to my morning energy, and still have a lot to do today…. Enjoy!

“I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” — Socrates

“Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.” — Charlie McCarthy

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

“Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.” — Lazarus Long

“A lady lost her cat, and took the cat in a little casket up to a big church and said, “I want you to bury my cat.” And they run her off. She went to another church, and they run her off. She took the cat to a Baptist church on the edge of town, and told the preacher she couldn’t find nobody to hold a service for her dead cat. And the man talked to her bad. “How dare you think that we bury cats?” She said, “Well, I’m frustrated and I’m prepared to give two thousand dollars to whoever gives a service for my cat.” And the preacher said, “Lady, why didn’t you tell me your cat was a Baptist?” — Jerry Clower

“To err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics.” — Hubert H. Humphrey

“Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.” — Aristotle (384-322BC)

Not bad at all for an eight-minute, seven-star pearl….
____________________________

Okay, so there you have it….  If you don’t see any post here tomorrow, or the next day, you’ll already know why…. I’ve done all the damage I can do, so, I’m outta here…. See ya, provided I survive this cold…. I will survive, I’m sure, I just may not enjoy it….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole,
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

dozer3

Dancing away our cares in muffin colored shoes….

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Ffolkes,

Foul!  Foul! The convicted creatures of the night cried out in fear and hope, bleeding from a thousand wounds… Drifting, without pace, or price, no vector described, filling out the spaces between with animated visions of bright, colorful clouds, all with familiar faces. Barely alive, hovering over the warmth, of five distinct sources of valiant bravery, of arguable finality, those arguments fail in basic logical structure, thereby pinning their hopes on the last bus from town. We don’t know if they’ll have exact change, so the extensively fashionable wiper blades were turned on for a while to compensate. All will be copacetic, as long as no one tries to comprehend…

If you have, well, good luck with the headache you probably have by now…. Hell, I’ve got one, so, you should, too; it’s only fair…. Sorry for that one, folks….. The above paragraph is a leftover bad habit from my teens and early twenties, a form of what I like to call jabberwock, nonsense that makes sense, almost, just like the bandersnatch, a manner of wielding the vorpal blade of intellect and wit with style and elegance. It consists of words, phrases, and concepts in language that tends to confuse rather than illuminate. It is intended to stimulate cogitation of some form, as well as emotional disturbance of some degree, preferably up to the level of aggravation, without spilling over into violent objection of a physical nature (the latter has been threatened a time or two, when we got a little out of hand with it in public….)….

During my college years, a few friends and I would go into late-night diners to have coffee, and begin to talk in jabberwock, improvising as we went along… sort of improvisational philosophy for the mildly insane. We, of course, thought it hilarious that other people, the “normals” who were in the diner, listening to this, would often get up and leave, obviously in a huff, because they didn’t understand what they were hearing, and were too embarrassed, or perhaps too angry, to ask us to stop, or even ask what we were doing….

At our age, we didn’t care, and the more who left, the better…. until the owner objected because of losing customers…. Usually we went to those diners that catered to college kids, and understood the hi-jinx they perpetrate in the throes of their intellectual growth, but, sometimes, the local Denny’s was our targeted spot, to see how many folks we could get to leave quickly, jamming their food down as fast as possible, in order to get away from the crazies in the next booth…. SIGH…. those were the days!…..

There, now, don’t y’all feel better? I’ve managed to introduce today’s Pearl of Virtual Wisdom without resorting to any tricks…. This was pretty straightforward, with a flash of jabberwock to start, with a polite, if specious and of little real value, explanation of the opening, using some rather poignant memories from my youth…. I’d say this one is quite the little foray into normalcy for me, so, I hope you hate it, because it just about drove me crazy, trying to be that way…. Normal, I mean…

Ah hell, you know what I mean…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage amongst his books.  For to you Kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned by the flicking of a finger.” — Chinese proverb
_____________________________

This section has been growing on me, so I’ve decided to leave all previous formats behind, to engage in some sheer mental indulgence…. I’ll stop writing when I see a chance to do so gracefully, how’s that?….. First significant change to note is that this section has a title,  which indicates the precise subject under discussion, to wit:

“A prosperous fool is a grievous burden.” — Aeschylus (525-456 BC) — Frag. 383

Yes, ffolkes, I’ve had time to peruse the news, (Hey, a rhyme! A good sign this early on…), and have seen a bit of what transpired while I was off ignoring the world at large, in favor of the world at hand. At this juncture, I can only say that it’s hard to be right so often…. That’s a joke, by the way…. What I mean is, I expected SOME sort of further evidence of how the Beloved Ruling Class continues to screw the public at every opportunity to present itself, at one point or another while I wasn’t watching…. and, I was right…. Sometime yesterday afternoon, after reading some stuff on the internet, I started this section, collecting the information I’ll discuss…. The collection of that information prompted the following, thanks to SB, and the FIRST beginning of this epic pearl-to-be….

“Just because you’re STUPID ain’t no excuse.” — Smart Bee

“Progress doesn’t enlighten people – it just makes them stupid in new ways.”– Smart Bee

“You’ve little to fear, brave knight…unless the dragon stops purring.” — Smart Bee

I’ve begun this section with a three-star pearl, an obvious set of matching earrings, with a ponderous pendant, which seemed to put just the right tone to the subject we are about to cover… Well, I’ll cover it, and you can read, or not, as suits you…. It’d be cool if y’all stuck around & hung in with it… I worked hard on this one, with research, quotes, extra time in SB, and the whole nine yards, not to mention the ranting that should ensue as a part of it….

I hope y’all enjoy today’s journey into the madness of Reality, as I fight my way back from the illusionary world of luxury travel…. As is obvious, it didn’t take long for me to catch up to what’s been going on while I ignored the rest of the world, so let’s get to it…. For starters, please peruse this article from yesterdays news on SFGATE…. several quotes, from the article will follow, with my comments, surrounded by nothing… ( quotes from the article are surrounded by this indicator: “~~” , two squiggly lines together,, then quotation marks around the text… I chose it because I like to write the word “squiggly”, thus making people think more squiggly, always a good thing….)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/NSA-spying-threatens-to-hamper-US-foreign-policy-4928089.php

~~ “To Henry Farrell and Martha Finnemore at George Washington University, damage from the NSA disclosures could “undermine Washington’s ability to act hypocritically and get away with it.” ~~

My immediate reaction to this was, “Oh, those poor babies!”…..  😆 To think that a government official would have to go through a day without being able to resort to a lie…. boy, what cruelty!  It amazes me that this line didn’t faze the public’s credibility,  as I haven’t heard of very much backlash about what is essentially old news… By that I refer to the “acting hypocritically” by the government… It’s almost as if the public EXPECTS to be treated that way, and, like a horse that has been beaten too long, no longer flinches at the feel of the whip…

~~ “Madeleine Albright, secretary of state during the Clinton administration, recalled being at the United Nations and having the French ambassador ask her why she said something in a private conversation apparently intercepted by the French.

Albright says Snowden’s disclosures have hurt U.S. policymakers. “A lot of the things that have come out, I think are specifically damaging because they are negotiating positions and a variety of ways that we have to go about business,” Albright said at a conference hosted by the Center for American Progress in Washington. “I think it has made life very difficult for Secretary Kerry. … There has to be a set of private talks that, in fact, precede negotiations and I think it makes it very, very hard. The broad nature of NSA surveillance goes against the Obama administration’s claim that much of U.S. espionage is carried out to combat terrorism, she said.

The administration asserts that the U.S. is amassing intelligence of the type gathered by all nations and that it’s necessary to protect the U.S. and its allies against security threats.” ~~

Again, oh my goodness! These poor, abused diplomats and former pundits! To think that being responsible for their lies makes their job harder is the height of arrogance, for it assumes that the lies are not the issue, but rather, being caught in the lies…. The issue of most primary significance is, and always has been, the simple FACT that they lie to begin with….. They do this because, hey, we were elected, weren’t we?…. Thus, they believe they have the right to do so, no matter what the public may think…. After all, the public doesn’t know what’s good for them, do they?…. That’s why they elected us, isn’t it?…. So, see, nothing to see here, never mind, just go put the whistleblower in jail for the rest of his life for having the bad grace to tell the truth….

“The true, unacknowledged purpose of capital punishment (or life imprisonment for telling the truth — gigoid) is to inspire fear and awe–fear and awe of the State.” — Edward Abbey

~~ “The French government protested revelations this past week that the NSA had collected 70.3 million French-based telephone and electronic message records in a 30-day period.

Germany and France are demanding that the administration agree by year’s end to new rules that could mean an end to reported American eavesdropping on foreign leaders, companies and innocent citizens.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff canceled her official state visit to the White House. She ordered measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and security after learning that the NSA intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company’s network and spied on Brazilians.

Brazil says it is working with other countries to draft a U.N. General Assembly resolution that would guarantee people’s privacy in electronic communications.

A European Parliament committee approved rules that would strengthen online privacy and outlaw the kind of data transfers the U.S. is using for its spying program.

European lawmakers have called for the suspension of an agreement that grants U.S. authorities access to bank data needed for terrorism-related investigations.

“We need trust among allies and partners,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose cellphone was allegedly tapped by the NSA. “Such trust now has to be built anew.” ~~

Aha! Somebody says the key word, at last…. Trust…. A simple word, yet one of the most powerful concepts in the human lexicon of ideas that affect reality most strongly. This one is a basic part of ANY and ALL human interactions, with other humans, with animals, with the universe, wherever… As humans, we rely on certain concepts to be true, and when they are not, our ability to retain our honor, and our sanity, are affected strongly…. Whether we are affected in a way that strengthens, or weakens, is immaterial…. It makes each interaction more stressful, because the trust must be there to deal with it efficiently, without precautions, extra effort, or rejection….

I know, that’s a bit esoteric for morning conversation…. But, it all affects what is happening in the world, and the BRC still refuses to acknowledge their own responsibility in making trust a scarce commodity…. They believe the problem is that the secrets were told, when the real problem is that the secrets exist, and are expected to be hidden without consequence…. The government does not EVER question the rightness of their own actions; it is a foregone conclusion, proven throughout our history, that to act on ANY assumption of that nature is a sure path to self-destruction… In this case, that path will not merely lead them, but will pull all of us with them…. Apparently, with our full permission…

Thomas Jefferson, along with others of the Founding Fathers of this country warned future generations to be mindful of corporate special interests, i.e. “bankers”…. Money, and more importantly, the desire for it, and for the power over others it brings, has long been recognized as the root of most of our problems as a society, and as individuals in that society…. It affects human behavior in a personal way, creating avarice, hatred, and mistrust between the best of friends; it also affects human behavior on a societal level, as those same characteristics come to play on the public stage….

The following article, by one of my favorite voices of reason, Jon Carroll, is an excellent discussion, and an excellent indictment of those people among us who act as wolves, viewing others as prey, in the pursuit of their own ambitions….

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/An-upright-salute-to-government-today-4920756.php

As any sage knows, enough is enough…. I may not be a sage, but, I know that…. Besides, if you haven’t gotten the picture by this time, it’s probably not working, anyway, so, ‘twould be best to exit now, with what grace can be summoned…. They’re not good people, ffolkes, though they would have you believe they are…. and, I don’t think I need to explain, at this point, who “they” are…. Take care of each other, as best you can, and try not to harm anyone without good reason…. At this point in the game, that’s about the best we can do….

“To date, there is only one animal in the Galaxy dangerous to man- man himself. He must supply his own indispensable competition. He has no enemy to help him.” — Lazarus Long
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I’ve never been able to completely explain why I enjoy the poetry of this woman…. Though she is acknowledged as one of the most creative and powerful poets in history, her work is an acquired taste…. But, with her, as with little girls and butterflies, no explanation is really needed… I speak, of course, of Miss Emily D….

Perhaps the most significant thing I like about her work is that she left the title of each poem up to the reader…. They may supply one, in their own mind, or not…. She doesn’t seem to care, or perhaps didn’t want to influence them with pre-conceived notions of the meaning of the poem to follow…. I like that, for some perverse reason….

Death sets a thing significant
The eye had hurried by,
Except a perished creature
Entreat us tenderly

To ponder little workmanships
In crayon or in wool,
With “This was last her fingers did,”
Industrious until

The thimble weighed too heavy,
The stitches stopped themselves,
And then ‘t was put among the dust
Upon the closet shelves.

A book I have, a friend gave,
Whose pencil, here and there,
Had notched the place that pleased him,–
At rest his fingers are.

Now, when I read, I read not,
For interrupting tears
Obliterate the etchings
Too costly for repairs.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

_____________________________

Without even having to look, I know this is already nearing the point of the largest Pearl ever created on this blog; I must have buried more material in my brain while I was off cruising than I had imagined, because it’s all spilling out now… Ah well, it’s all been quite cathartic, so I’ll just make a last, quick, old-school group of pearls to make up the last pearl for today…. Enjoy, as we see what comes up on the Wheel of Philosophy, as interpreted by gigoid’s complex set of non-rules….

“No man is happy who does not think himself so.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 584

“Humans hardly ever learn from the experience of others. They learn – when they do, which isn’t often – on their own, the hard way.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“Heisenberg may have slept here.” — Smart Bee

“War loves to seek its victims in the young.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Scyrii, Frag. 507

“Beginnings and endings are, for the most part, artificial constructs. You say you begin when you are born, but what of those months spent growing in the womb? Endings are hazier still, for further things may occur that extend and enlarge the earlier story. And that is my final sentence on the subject. Or perhaps this one is the final sentence. No, most assuredly what I write now is the final word on the matter. But now that I think upon it, perhaps this….” — The Teachings of Ebenezum, Vol. LVII (Abridged)

20. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. — Instructions for life

“I know things about TROY DONAHUE that can’t even be PRINTED!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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As noted above, this turned into a REAL epic Pearl…. Let’s go see just how epic…. If there ever was a more appropriate time to say, “Whew!”, I can’t imagine when it might occur…. So much so, I’m done, I’m gone, I’m outta here…. Whew!….

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

dozer3

 

In politics, the cost of doing business is always integrity….

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Ffolkes,

As I watch, entranced, the cranes dance…. formal, elegant, feathers spread to show off color, they dance around, spinning and cavorting with glee, mirroring each other with intense concentration and focus, in complex patterns of incredible beauty, never meeting eyes, yet completely in sync. No other creature is near, to witness their amazing dance of love, and lust for life, but for me….  To honor that life, to honor being allowed to witness such treasure, I concentrate on feeling every nuance of what I’m seeing, and experiencing, to save the beauty, if only in memory….

Okay, that’s enough of that…. Nice as it is, it doesn’t really suit my mood right now…. which is, sad to say, a bit rough and curmudgeonly…. It’s bound to happen when I awake at a few minutes before 3 AM, knowing I’m not going back to sleep…. So, here I am, at 3:13, dutifully pounding away at the keyboard, hoping to find it within me to write well enough to warrant being up now. Living with PTSD is so much fun….

I say “dutifully” because I can’t think of any other reason why I would put myself through this, other than my sense of duty; nothing else could convince me that it isn’t one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. I mean, how much inspiration am I going to find at this hour, I ask you? Not much, that’s for sure and for certain, unless by some outlandish chance, I turn a corner and find the corpse of Murphy lying on my floor…. that would be inspiring, fer shure, man….

Since it’s not likely I’ll be coming across any dead forces of nature anytime soon, I suppose I’ll need to turn my head toward something a bit more mundane, like a rant, or something…. I’m not sure at all how that is going over, though in the last week, my output has jumped again…. I’ve been ranting so hard, my daily word average has jumped up into the 2750/words/day range, which may, or may not, have something to do with the reduction in the number of readers again….

I try not to pay much attention to the stats, but, it’s frustrating to think that I’ve been putting out so much effort to tell people of the danger they are in from their Beloved Rulers, and nobody is seeing it…. Yesterday, only one person, as far as I can tell, came by, and this person is perhaps my most faithful reader, in terms of visiting daily; I love seeing his icon, but know I’m again preaching only to the choir…. I guess it’s frustrating because I feel as if I’ve been doing some of my best ranting….. logical, yet not stiflingly so, with some biting humor, and bitter indictments, with evidential supportive proof, of the outrageous BS perpetrated every day by those assholes who lie to us for their living…… Jefferson, and Mason, and Paine, all warned us about “professional politicians”, but did we listen? No, we didn’t….

I often wonder about the wives of the politicians we see on TV…. I mean, it’s no secret that most women are smarter than their husbands; that is a statistical FACT, established many years ago by repetitive, and conclusive evidence, provided by scientific research…. So, how does it make them feel, to be married to, and thus give the impression that they approve of, the world’s most obvious, and most accomplished liars…. How frustrated THEY must feel, to be connected to such men, men with no basic integrity…. Yet, to say so would be to admit they made a mistake, (to marry them….), and making that admission is one thing a fundamentalist, a preacher, a politician, or a politician’s wife will never do….

I see that I’ve again fallen into a mini-sized sort-of-a-rant in the intro, when I had promised myself I wouldn’t…. So much for plans at this hour of the day, eh? It’s still shy of 4 AM, and I’ve about finished an intro; what comes next will be up to chance as much as planning on my part, I think…. It’s just the way of things around here when I start doing this before my brain has really engaged completely….. Of course, that isn’t a guarantee of success, either, but, chances are better, anyway…. I am starting to get the feeling that, at this point, I’d better just say….

Shall we Pearl?

“All the magick of creation exists within a single, tiny seed.” — Magi

“The difference between tragedy and humor is whether it is happening to you.” — Smart Bee
_____________________________

I just spent about 20 minutes online, looking for a news item about which to rant…. I found a couple that might do, but, it would have been a stretch to make them work, as it was a matter of beating on an equine in very poor health, to wit: the government shutdown. That subject is getting a bit shopworn, since the politicos themselves are now going out to the public and drumming up support for their own particular viewpoints, thereby tainting perfectly good public displays of public protest with their lies and silly attempts to court favor….

I saw where a couple of organizations got together in protest marches, and forced open one of the National Parks in Washington D.C., the WWII Memorial…. Then, at some point, they were joined by Ted Cruz, the young Republican hotshot, that party’s last best hope for relevance, who is a Senator from a western state or something, where the populace is severely confused by a Latino Republican, mostly voting for him out of surprise, or, of course, out of ignorance…. Sarah Palin, that paragon of fundamentalist ignorance, and one of the Tea Party’s darlings, (apparently because she isn’t afraid to be seen as “bat-shit-crazy” for the idiotic statements she makes, which are generally so ridiculous, even her own state ignores her….), also dropped by the protests to mouth some outlandish comments, per her usual public display of ignorance…..

Both pundits, usually seen as talking heads on TV, were pounding the pavement in person, taking photo ops and doling out their talking points heavily, even though they, and their cohorts, are the very people responsible for the mess we are seeing…. Ballsy, to say the least…. Their appearance at the protest tells me that most of the politicos are now in spin-mode, full-time, trying to find things to put before the public that will shore up the bad press they’re all getting right now….

In the process of doing so, they are completely ignoring the fact that they are NOT doing their jobs, and every day this shutdown continues will erode public sympathy even more… The part I like the most about all this is that it has become clear, even to those who don’t want to see it, that ALL OF THEM, Democrats, Republicans, and ALL of their supporters and co-conspirators, (lobbyists, bankers, corporate puppeteers, judges, police, military, religious leaders, all of them….) are guilty in this matter, and the trust they had is now less than it was…. thank goodness!….

But, none of what I saw in the news is worth a full-scale rant today, so, I’ll take the easy route, and go old-school…. Here is a pearl with some basic parameters, to find statements, or quotes, that will show the BRC and/or all their supporters in their true colors…..

“I love Saturday morning cartoons, what classic humour!   This is what entertainment is all about … Idiots, explosives and falling anvils.” — Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson

“The writers who have nothing to say are the ones you can buy; the others have too high a price.” — Walter Lippmann, “Preface to Politics”

Foul deeds will rise,
Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes.

— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act i, Sc. 2

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

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Letter to Gay, Oct, 6, 1727

“A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires sooner or later always leads to bitter disappointment.” — Albert Einstein

Quemadmoeum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est. – [A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killers hands.] — Lucius Annaeus Seneca “the younger” ca. 4 BC – 65 AD
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Often, such as today, poetry needs no adornment…..

Apologia

Is it thy will that I should wax and wane,
Barter my cloth of gold for hodden grey,
And at thy pleasure weave that web of pain
Whose brightest threads are each a wasted day?

Is it thy will–Love that I love so well–
That my Soul’s House should be a tortured spot
Wherein, like evil paramours, must dwell
The quenchless flame, the worm that dieth not?

Nay, if it be thy will I shall endure,
And sell ambition at the common mart,
And let dull failure be my vestiture,
And sorrow dig its grave within my heart.

Perchance it may be better so–at least
I have not made my heart a heart of stone,
Nor starved my boyhood of its goodly feast,
Nor walked where Beauty is a thing unknown.

Many a man hath done so; sought to fence
In straitened bonds the soul that should be free,
Trodden the dusty road of common sense,
While all the forest sang of liberty,

Not marking how the spotted hawk in flight
Passed on wide pinion through the lofty air,
To where the steep untrodden mountain height
Caught the last tresses of the Sun God’s hair.

Or how the little flower he trod upon,
The daisy, that white-feathered shield of gold,
Followed with wistful eyes the wandering sun
Content if once its leaves were aureoled.

But surely it is something to have been
The best belovèd for a little while,
To have walked hand in hand with Love, and seen
His purple wings flit once across thy smile.

Ay! though the gorgèd asp of passion feed
On my boy’s heart, yet have I burst the bars,
Stood face to face with Beauty, known indeed
The Love which moves the Sun and all the stars!

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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“…the greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. It is the one thing that cannot be learned from others; and it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilars.” — Aristotle, _Poetics_, 22, 1459a 5-7

Yet another piece of proof of the value, and validity, of these Pearls of Virtual Wisdom…. Here at ECR, we are well aware of the power of metaphor (May the Metaphorse be With You….), though I prefer to speak more plainly when targeting the talking heads, preachers, and myrmidons…. It’s easier, and causes fewer misunderstandings if I just call them spades, rather than trying to be cute, or erudite, by calling them by the name they choose to hide behind, i.e., spades….

At this point, you may be saying to yourself, “Huh? What the devil does THAT mean?”, but, really, you should know by now that if you don’t keep up, well, too bad, you’re on your own, because this train won’t stop to fix those kinds of disillusionments without falling completely off schedule, which eats into the profits…. Well, it would, if we made any profit from this…. Since we neither charge, nor collect, any kind of fees, it’s moot, anyway…. The point is, it’s all just a metaphor for life, which, if you stop to think about it, is pretty much what blogging is all about…. A large, amorphous metaphor for existence, spread willy-nilly across the far-flung reaches of the world wide net,  providing not merely metaphor, but, also, some damn fine prose….

All of which tells you nothing important, or even compelling; it’s all just a lead in, anyway, to another old-school pearl, picked this time at random, with no parameters other than what seemed appropriate at the moment in time… This kind of pearl is probably my favorite kind to put together, and seems most often to produce the the finest, shiniest, metaphorical pearls of virtual wisdom….

I’m required by law to remind y’all at this point that these are pearls of “virtual wisdom”, and should not ever be used as if they are true wisdom…. If they are, we are not responsible for the ensuing consequences, up to and including the use of nuclear weaponry…. Enjoy!….

“Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other?” — George Eliot

“An improper mind is a perpetual feast.” — Smart Bee

“Don’t look back — something might be gaining on you.” — Satchel Paige

“If your advance is going well, you’re walking into an ambush.” — Sun Tzu

“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient.  It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“The one unforgivable sin, the offense against one’s own integrity, is to accept anything at all simply on authority.” — Maureen Johnson Long (Lazarus Long’s mother….)

“How to paint a perfect painting — make yourself perfect and then just  paint naturally” — Robert M. Pirsig
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Well, ffolkes, there you have it; one more trip down the pike on gigoid’s dime. Such as it is….. Let’s see what happened here….. Considering the state of my mind at this point, I’m going to let this go without a struggle, or even a qualm…. Never did like giving up qualms, anyway…. Damn! It’s really early still… 6:01 AM and all done, except for posting… which I will proceed to do now…. See ya tomorrow….

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

dozer3