You think you have problems! Murphy lives with me!…. Actually, it only seems that way. I found the foregoing in Smart Bee this morning, as I cast about for something to start with, and since it fits so well with many of my previous introductory sections, I threw it out there for consumption. In reality, Murphy is apparently off somewhere, undoubtedly plotting something nasty for me… It’s the only explanation for ignoring me, apparently, for several days. Whenever I’ve had periods like that in the past, he was working on some complicated, and difficult problem to drop in my lap, preferably at a moment when I am least prepared to deal with it, as is his habit and preference….

I often forget that everyone else in the world is as familiar with him as I am; it’s a purely human reaction to do so, though, so I don’t feel bad about it, particularly, because I know that everyone else complains about him, too. Perhaps not in so many words, or so directly, but often, for sure, and with good reason, as he is just about as ubiquitous as he can be, in everyone’s life. I suppose that’s just how it is for an iconic force of nature, especially one that represents one of the primal forces in our universe, the power of entropy. “Things fall apart”….. It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law, and anyone who has a hard time with sudden changes in life, is bound to spend a lot of their time fussing and fighting with reality….

Once we learn, however, that this power of chaos is balanced by an equal degree of order, it becomes possible to acquire some sort of control over, at least, our own little portion of reality, as long as we don’t try to control the rest of the universe as well. That’s where Murphy comes into the picture, you see…. He is our alarm, our mentor, who keeps us aware of the changeable nature of the real world we inhabit, and helps us to either prevent accidents, by thinking ahead, or, at least, learn to minimize the damage they cause. His attentions in the past have served to make us aware of the possibility that things can go wrong at any moment, and repeatedly teaches us to be prepared, mentally, if no other way, for any unexpected events the universe may present, in its inimitable way….

And on the 8th day, God said, “Ok, Murphy, you’re in charge!” — Smart Bee

I’m not at all certain I can bring this to a smooth close; I seem to have performed the literary equivalent of painting myself into a corner; I see no easy way to bring this little walk down Obvious Lane to any sort of dignified ending. I suppose that is an occupational hazard when writing about Murphy and his shenanigans; dignity gets thrown out the window early in the contest. But, at least I didn’t put on my big, red nose, and start honking all over the place, which I have been known to do at the drop of a cliche…. glory be! I have, however, reached a state of silliness that may or may not affect further output today…. we’ll have to see what happens….

Once again, I’ve blathered on about nothing much, for another four or five paragraphs…. I’m not sure if this is what I was shooting for when I decided to write every day, with the intended purpose of improving my ability to write well; I hadn’t known, at the time I made that goal, just what was entailed in reaching it, nor had I taken Reality into account….. At any rate, I can now write a lot, fairly quickly, on just about any subject I choose to write about, but, I’m not sure if I can say it’s any better than what I wrote before…. nor do I much care, at this point. The bottom line is that I managed to get another intro section out of it, so, hey, I’m a happy camper, for the nonce…. (love that word!….)

Shall we Pearl?…..
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Baffled by my own mind’s attempts at coherency this morning, I digress, as usual. But, I do it so well, you wouldn’t even have noticed, if I didn’t point it out for you…. It’s all just part of the service here at ECR. where we try to make every dish as attractive as the one before, which was, if I must say so myself, damned attractive, for a dish.

Until we can actually achieve anything close to that, however, we’ll have to continue to go with old-school pearls, because, well, because…. Besides, it’s much better than listening to me rant, right?….. Whoa, wait a second, let’s not all shout at once…. Okay, I get the picture…. Sniffle….. Here, then…. Smart Bee is being a butt, so here is a pearl from last year….

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human  mind to correlate all its contents.   We live on a placid island of ignorance  in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should  voyage far.  The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little;  but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.” — H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

Sometimes, I think we have already arrived at this point in time….. but, if not, then we are not far away…… with this firmly in mind, please find the following, all of which lead one gently to an idea that may, or may not, make you feel better. Which, of course, is NOT the purpose…. nonetheless, the conclusion framed by these quotes is one you NEED to know……

“It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have  been searching for evidence which could support this.” — Bertrand Russell

“Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.” — Dalai Lama

As a man can drink water from any side of a full tank, so the skilled theologian (politician’s too!) can wrest from any scripture that which will serve his purpose. — Bhagavad Gita

“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you’ve got an audience.” — Diogenes

“Anyone who isn’t confused doesn’t really know what’s going on.” — Edward R. Murrow

“The only real failure in life is the failure to try.” — Smart Bee
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I was looking for something for the last section today, having run out of inspiration, when I found this, tucked away in a post from June of 2012… It is apparently a poem I wrote, while in a strange mood, obviously…. but, it’s pretty good, so here it is again…..

I’m all at sixes and sevens this morning, and don’t have anything to say, other than this…. bleah…. Since that won’t do, even for what passes around here for acceptable, here is an old rant, from mid-2012, on a favorite subject….

“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 gather 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, folks, 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 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 even 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?

Well, 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….
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Okay, so I cheated a lot today…. It couldn’t be helped…. I fell back asleep, halfway through the first section, then found myself with the old empty brain syndrome, so, in order to get done at all, I had to drop back and punt, again…. Oh well…. at least I picked good stuff…. Let’s see if it holds up to scrutiny…. Suffice it to say, it does…. stand up to scrutiny, that is…. So, since I’m done, I’m outta here, until the next time….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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