Tag Archives: Mack McGinnis

Oliver twisted reality until it screamed….

Posted on by
Reply

Ffolkes,

As I approach the creation of yet another day’s Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, I find myself, once again, torn completely into mental shreds, by my self-inflected, arguably insane adherence to this chosen duty…. I’ve been sitting here in front of the computer screen, staring blankly at the vast whiteness, hoping beyond hope to find some small bit of inspiration, or some fantastic, interesting direction to take that will possibly stimulate what little creative talent I possess, for close to 55 minutes now, and this bit of whiny confession is the best I’ve been able to come up with…. Pathetic….

It almost makes me want to go back to bed, and try again later…. That would probably be a mistake, though, as I find myself reluctant to get any further away from the routine I’ve established in the past three years or so; my experience is, if I don’t get this done as my first task of the day, the rest of it is all broken up, confused, and susceptible to all sorts of Murphyish intervention….. more so even than the customary number of pokes he takes at me. Since I don’t feel like dealing with any of his shenanigans just now, we’ll keep plugging away at this, and hope for the best…..

That being said, it might be best to jump into the rest of today’s effort right away; that might throw Murphy off, and certainly couldn’t hurt what is happening here, as there’s NOTHING happening in this section, at least, not so far. Other than a bit of minor whining, and some off-the-wall discussion of mundane matters of routine, with some, no doubt, shaky speculation about reality thrown in, we haven’t managed to create anything at all…. well, three paragraphs of inanity, but, that, I believe, won’t even register on any sensors, much less count toward any available prizes….

Thus, therefore, and hence, we’ll just abandon ship again, to head off into the hinterlands of the pearl beds with our usual panache; the pearl beds are to be found, of course, somewhere out there in the massive ocean of knowledge that is the world wide web…. which I’m trying to enjoy, as the deadline approaches for the takeover of the Net by corporate interests, who want to use it as their own cash cow….. Face it, ffolkes, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and the other communication giants aren’t going to rest until they have us all under the gun, with the internet as their hostage…. Have you called or emailed the FCC yet to register your opposition to that?…. If not, please do so…. and call your Congressman, too….

There, you’ve also been treated to an impromptu mini-rant; that makes this intro more than merely complete. It makes it legal, as you well know, freeing us to get on with the rest of this mess…. By mess, of course, I refer to the entire process, AND the end result, which, as always, remains somewhat amorphously unpredictable to either describe or contain in one small area…. That’s why we have three sections, after all…. Bet that one slipped by you, didn’t it? I knew it…. This isn’t as easy, or as disorganized as it may seem to the casual observer, so, take heed, and remember to stand back when I throw this switch, right here….

Shall we Pearl?….

“I drank WHAT???????” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)

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

“A group of the unwilling, composed of the unfit, to do the unnecessary for the unaware in an untidy manner at an untimely moment employing unseemly tactics for the uninformed. Ah, give me a chance at that committee and we can really go nowhere fast and get there before most people even know that we left. This is nothing more than the formula for good government, or it seems that way from what I have been able to observe so far in this life.” — Smart bee

I tried to find out who first said this, but, the one place Google found it listed it several times as a related quote to others, with no attribution given on any of those occasions…. so, Smart Bee gets the credit, for the time being…. It’s here, as you can probably guess, to act as a prelude to a rant….. a phrase which sounds like a fairly good title for a book, or an essay, or, I’ve got it!…. a movie…. ( See Ava Gardner and Cary Grant, starring in the classic epic, “Prelude to a Rant”….) Well, okay, maybe not…. but, it certainly works for one of our protracted discussions about our Beloved Ruling Class, and all they do to, er, for us….

However, I’m not in the mood for one of MY rants; what I’m in the mood for is a Carlinesque rant, a stand-up routine like the ones George used to go through on stage, when he would spend about five minutes straight, talking really fast, New York style, poking sharp, pointed concepts at the leaders of society, barbs so sharp, you could see the fat cats, politicians, preachers, and pundits of every variety, blushing, wincing and bleeding…. Now, if I only had his talent, I’d be set…. I can be funny, on occasion, when I stumble into it; sadly, my skill at that is still a bit underdeveloped for my standards. But, approaching Carlin’s level of genius is out of the question, at least, at this point….

So, we’ll go old-school, using parameters for choosing our pearls that show some teeth, and have the distinct possibility of causing blood loss…. Don’t fret, they can afford to bleed off some; they’re all vampires anyway, and don’t really NEED the blood…. Oh wait, that’s backwards, isn’t it? Okay, so fuck it, I don’t care anyway…. let ’em bleed out, I say, the assholes…. Let’s see if I can make my disgust with government, and those who engage in any form of it, any plainer than that….

“Artificial hearts are nothing new. Politicians have had them for years.” — Mack McGinnis

Voter’s Block: The attempt, however futile, to register dissent with the current political system by simply not voting. — Douglas Coupland, Generation X

“I feel like I am sharing a “CORN-DOG” with NIKITA KHRUSCHEV..” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Every actual State is corrupt.  Good men must not obey laws too well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Politics”

“What would this country be without this great land of ours?” — Ronald W. Reagan, philosopher

“If an ass goes traveling he will not come home a horse.” — Thomas Fuller

This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang but with a whimper.

 — T. S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”


Okay, so, it’s a bit esoteric, if not completely abstract, but, I like the way it chortles, gleefully, in anticipation of causing offense to some poor sap in elected office….

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

Here is a poem I wrote in September of 2012, when I was in the throes of depression, engendered in major part by the grinding of the wheels of bureaucracy…. I’m not entirely sure why, but, it seems to feel like the right poem for today…. I hope you enjoy it….

A Failure to Germinate

Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.

Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.

Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.

I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.

My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.

Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
that reality has boasted of proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

“Waste not the remnant of thy life in those imaginations touching other folk, whereby thou contributest not to the common weal.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iii, 4

I end up using a lot of quotes from Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, all of which seem, to me, to be pretty well-reasoned, as well as insightful re: human nature, and ethical/moral behavior….. In fact, I find there are as many, or more, insightful, reasoned philosophers who lived before Christ was born, (not that I care that much, but, it’s the point in time our society has agreed upon to use as the basis for our calendar, thus making it the obvious, most convenient, and expedient, choice as a marker, in order to organize people into their time periods for reference and identification), as there are who have lived in the time since then…. Mathematics says there HAS to be more of them in modern society, because there are more people alive, but, somehow, the percentages don’t seem to fit that preconception….

Marcus Aurelius, Socrates, Plato, Plutarch, Aristotle, Cato, the Elder and the Younger, Gautama Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, and a  veritable host of others, from all cultures in the world, passed their wisdom to us throughout the ages, and have always seemed to me to be superior in their reasoning to any of the more modern philosophers to whom I’ve been exposed….. an opinion you will see reflected in the quotes you see here…. I have no apology for that, and don’t plan to change it, so, I hope y’all enjoy them, because they’re not going away…. In fact, I’m going to put together a pearl with parameters limiting it to quotes over 1500 years old…. I would suggest you enjoy it, but, it’s not necessary with such classical wisdom to offer….

“Before enlightenment, one carries water and chops wood. After enlightenment, one carries water and chops wood.” — Zen Proverb

“Whatever you can lose, you should reckon of no account.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 191

“…for the most part happiness consists in being willing to be what you are.” — Erasmus

“As surgeons keep their instruments and knives always at hand for cases requiring immediate treatment, so shouldst thou have thy thoughts ready to understand things divine and human, remembering in thy every act, even the smallest, how close is the bond that unites the two.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iii, 13

“Nothing made the horse so fat as the king’s eye.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of the Training of Children

“He is a fool who lets slip a bird in the hand for a bird in the bush.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Garrulity

“The trouble with Nixon is that he’s a serious politics junkie. He’s totally hooked… and like any other junkie, he’s a bummer to have around: especially as President.” — Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939), journalist — The Great Shark Hunt, Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1979)

(Oops! Sorry, that slipped in there due to appending to the clipboard, rather than overwriting…. but, it’s kinda cool, I think, so, it can stay…. just ignore it after reading, and go on to the final pearl, which you see in its designated place, right down there on the line below this….)

“It behooves a prudent person to make trial of everything before arms.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Act iv, Sc. 7, 19, (789.)

Since we were so rudely interrupted by Hunter’s oh-so-poignant observation of reality, I’ll add one more, to show that the ancients possessed as subtle a sense of humor as any modern pundit, for sure and for certain….

“Anaximander used to assert that the primary cause of all things was the Infinite,–not defining exactly whether he meant air or water or anything else.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Anaximander, ii

Well, a bit disjointed, but, it works for me…. So be it…. gigoid has spoken

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

Well, I don’t know about y’all, but, I needed that…. or, more accurately, I needed to get that out of my head…. Since it is, I think it would be prudent of me to just take my leave now, to avoid any potential unpleasantness from Murphy, or folks out there who might take offense at one of my little shots at politics, or, more commonly, religion, such as it is…. Nevertheless, I will be back tomorrow, unless the Sun goes dark…. See ya, ffolkes…. Oh, and, I promise, the Wise Old Pine Cone will return soon….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Featured Image -- 2780

Forays into alternate unreality….

Posted on by
2

Ffolkes,
It is now the Ides of November, and the news is reverting to its pre-election year format, which includes, of course, a great deal of stuff that means nothing, other than to draw the attention of the folks who watch it to wherever there is something new to sell. The kind of reports that tend to stimulate my outrage, supplying the fuel to rant, will be buried on page three and four, rather than right up there for all to see, which makes it hard for those of us limited in our access to the Net news outlets.

For the rest of this month, it will be hard for me to send out the daily email via gmail, as I’ll be posting most often from the library, and my gmail still refuses to function there. So, for those who receive this daily Pearl via email as your primary source for my drivel, please be aware that each will be posted online, at http://www.gigoid.me  (provided I get my domain name renewed in time…. gonna be close….) If you don’t get one in your inbox by about 2 PM or so, then go look online, and you should find it there….. If not, then I’ve missed a day, and am probably at home, curled up in bed, with enough pain to prevent a trip to the library. SIGH…. So far, so good, and I’m doing my best to see that doesn’t happen….

Now that the housekeeping is out of the way, I would guess it would be a good thing to go for a dive. I never know what Smart Bee will be like on a daily basis; it’s frustrating, but it’s reality, so whattya gonna do?…… This copy of SB is pretty new, only installed last weekend, and has been polite and helpful thus far, but, with all the Zippy and Pooh quotes in there, it tends to corrupt itself periodically, so I have to keep a sharp eye on it in that respect. When it gets a wild hair, it can frustrate me for hours before I tip to what it is doing…. Ah well, y’all probably don’t care what foibles are involved in the actual formation of one of these pieces, so, rather than continue to bore you senseless (not good to have insensible readers lying about…..) we’ll be off into the wilds of my inner mind…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re missing the joke.” ~~ Smart Bee
__________________________________

“Timing is everything. In everything.” ~~ gigoid, paraphrasing many different authors, all of whom agree that, well, timing, in everything, is everything. Not to belabor the point or anything….

In the instances of cooking, fighting, any sport I’ve ever played, learning, and love, I can personally vouch for the absolute truth of this assertion. (Actually, almost anything works here as example, but even I have to limit how many points I try to make at once…..) Timing is the difference between rubber, shoe leather, and heaven, when it comes to things such as scallops, or any seafood. And the difference between a 3-minute egg, and a five minute egg, can be startling. I won’t mention at all that, without timing, such dishes as souffle’s would be completely impossible…. In fighting, obviously, timing  can mean the difference between a trophy and a stay in the hospital, or worse. There is a vast and important difference between being fast enough to block a punch, and missing it, a difference that registers itself firmly, usually on some delicate part of our physique….

Anyone who has played baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, handball, racquetball, ping pong, tennis, cricket, golf, hockey, rugby, or any other sort of sport knows how important timing is in the playing and the outcome of a game. (Don’t forget poker, or Parcheesi, either…..) To anchor that thought, just think about “balls”…. their shape, their size, how they bounce, or fly, all play a part in how we end up chasing them around. The physical skills, and the timing, for catching a football out of the air are much different than how one tries to catch a baseball. And the skills of ping pong differ hugely from those involved in golf, even though the two balls are of the same approximate size.

In learning, one must be where the information is, and be open to receiving it, before it can be acquired, in certain instances, and timing can be a crucial factor in achieving that end. Arriving late to a lecture means lost effort, as does not arriving at all…. timing is everything….

I don’t think I need to enumerate the number of ways that timing can have an affect on love; we all have had our own personal experiences that, no doubt, taught us that lesson already. You can thank that assumption on my part for saving you from what could have conceivably become a never-ending tale….. Whew! Lucky you!…..

Achieving mastery of the skills involved in any of the above mentioned pastimes requires experience over time, and the learning of all the separate ways that timing is important to each separate activity within the sphere of the craft. It is not a simple task, nor should it be. It requires attention, and concentration, and a willingness to admit one’s own inabilities, in order to acquire the skills necessary to mastery. Once these skills, and the sense of timing necessary to their implementation, are learned, then one can accomplish things that would otherwise be impossible, or merely mundane…..

“It has long been known that one horse can run faster than another – but which one?  Differences are crucial.” — Lazarus Long

Lazarus gives us here an adjunctive concept to that of timing; to know the proper time for each act, learning and knowing the differences between things involved can be critical. Think, for example, of the difference in the two balls used above, ping pong and golf; merely dropping one on a hard surface will demonstrate the vast difference in the behavior of each type. The sound, the bounce, the capture in the hand, all are completely diverse, in spite of the close resemblance of the two in size and shape…..

For this type of knowledge to be obtained, it must first be admitted that one does not know; only then is the mind open to receiving the instruction needed to add such skills to our tool bag. In addition, one learns that close attention to details is important in any field; as Lazarus so aptly  points out, the answer to the question of WHICH horse is faster can affect our lives heavily, if one is betting on them. Noting that one is limping, or carrying a heavier load, can mean the difference between celebration and sorrow, not to mention a lighter wallet…..

Life on this planet is wondrous indeed, and our part in that wonder is one of great diversity. We can live in such a way as to make ourselves, and everything around us, stronger, smarter, and more content with life…. or, we can live such that every step is uphill, and every act brings us pain or misery. Learning how timing, and attention to detail, can be of service to us are important lessons to be learned, whether we know it or not…. Me, I prefer knowing stuff like this, because it sure makes life easier, and more pleasant, overall…. and it’s much better than the misery that accompanies the fact of NOT knowing such skills…..

“One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs — but it is amazing how many eggs one can break without making a decent omelette.” — Professor Charles P. Issawi
__________________________________

Remembrance

To what can our life on earth be likened?
To a flock of geese,
alighting on the snow.
Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.

Su Tung-po
__________________________________

Today’s search for appropriate pearls has been somewhat idiosyncratic….. By that I mean Smart Bee has apparently been pursuing its own private agenda regarding what is offered up for review. There have been a number of good ones, but, none were quite right for today, in my gestalt vision. I’ve saved several to future days in my own Doctorish way (I don’t have a sonic screwdriver, but I know my way around temporal anomalies…..), and came to a decision, a welcome, if somewhat unusual event. I’ve collected a number of random pearls that gave me a quick smile when I read them this morning, or a quick spurt of recognition of truth, as the case may have been. You’ll find them below…. As well, you will find, if you read them all straight through, just letting them wash over your awareness, you will end up feeling a little lighter of heart…. and if not, well, you still can…. Just loosen your metaphoric shoelaces…..

“Eek!” — Smart Bee

What do you call a potato that commits a crime? A perpetater.
(I have not offered attribution for this wonderful pun, as I felt anyone who contributed this wouldn’t want their name published…..except, maybe, me…..Alas, I didn’t do it….)

“Being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.”
“It isn’t,” said the Caterpillar.
“Well, perhaps you haven’t found it so yet,” said Alice;
“but when you have to turn into a chrysalis —
you will some day, you know —
and then after that into a butterfly,
I should think you’ll feel it a little queer, won’t you?”
“Not a bit,” said the Caterpillar.”

— Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter V

“Art is anything you can get away with.” — Marshall McLuhan.

“Yesterday I saw a chicken crossing the road.  I asked it why.  It told me it  was none of my business.” — Steven Wright

“Artificial hearts are nothing new. Politicians have had them for years.” — Mack McGinnis

Fifty flippant frogs
Walked by on flippered feet
And with their slime they made the time
Unnaturally fleet.

~~ Smart Bee

“While my BRAINPAN is being refused service in BURGER KING, Jesuit priests are DATING CAREER DIPLOMATS!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, then…… kick those shoes off, and relax. The sun came up, and is likely to keep on doing so….. No worries!

🙂
__________________________________

It occurs to me that today’s effort is a pretty good reflection of reality…. and if I have to explain THAT impression now, we might never get out of here…. so, I’ll just leave it at that. This Pearl does have the inimitable characteristic common to all of my best, and worst, Pearls, that is to say, it is done. Done to death, some might say, but done, nonetheless, and as such, according to my ongoing policy, it is also finished, and will be submitted to the Gentle Readership for their perusal, and any entertainment they may find in it….. I, such as I am, shall go post it at the library, and be done with it, which, as I say, is the best part…. Timing, remember, is everything….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

Dozer

Kowabunga!