Tag Archives: Marcus Aurelius

Old dogs know all the tricks they need….

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Ffolkes,

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius ~~

August 7 2014 003

    Good morning…. It’s been a hard day’s night. I haven’t been, as in the song, working like a dog, though I’ve seen some. And, also NOT as in the song, I haven’t been sleeping like a log, either, whether or not ‘should’ even enters the picture…. SIGH…. Ah well, someday soon, I’ll be all done with modern medicine’s last hold over me, and I’ll get some consistent hours logged in the rack…. Hope springs eternal…

That said, you may have guessed I’m not as sharp as most of the other crayons in the box, and my not achieve much more than I have already, merely by getting up, then, flogging myself until I could consider myself reasonably completely dressed, if not fully groomed. Since getting this far has been a major struggle, it bodes badly for today’s Pearl, unless I cheat…

Oh, hey!…. There’s an original idea…. I believe it was Shaw, or Wilde, who said something about amateur poets stealing lines with guilt, and real poets steal lines with gusto… Well, that was the drift, if you catch my meaning, knuckle-ball though it may be…. You know what, ffolkes? This is becoming dangerously creative…. I think we’d best get on with this, before I start trying to make it sound all elegant, or even witty…. Goodness knows what might happen if I actually tried to be funny…. I think, given the fragile mental health of my insurance dude, we’ll play it safe….

Shall we Pearl?

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

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Peace76

    I don’t need to introduce today’s artist; his music has been familiar to just about everyone in the world for many years…. I chose this particular album because I believe it to be his best work, the culmination of all he had done before…. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t; it’s damn good, regardless…. Enjoy!

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Bob Dylan

Tangled Up In Blue

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We the People...

“As war and government prove, insanity is the most contagious of diseases.” — Edward Abbey

As made clear in the intro today, most of today’s Pearl will be some sort of cheat, if not outright thievery…. In that spirit, here is a short (lucky you!….) old-school indictment of our Beloved Ruling Class, for your morning enjoyment, and, to prepare you for the day’s news with a properly disgusted attitude….

From 2/6/2013:

— Bother! said Pooh, as he found a politician in his honey pot.

Eeeuuwww! Can you imagine the stench? And the waste of honey is appalling, to say the least…. Okay, sorry, but it was just too hard to resist…. I ranted above about religion, after which, Smart Bee presented me with four of the five pearls used in it, one after another, AFTER I had already finished it… The five pearls, you may note, if presented together, alone, would just about cover the same ground as the rant…. with perhaps a bit less verbiage, and, hopefully, equal humor….

Then, the above Poohism shows up, almost flashing by before I saw it, so short it is…. This tells me that Smart Bee has something to say about politicians today, so, old-school it is…. Here are what Smart Bee has autocratically decided to show us about the BRC, in general, and, in particular, the political branch of that entity…. Enjoy! Oh, and don’t fret, none of these will be on the Quiz, unless they are….

“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

“I have short-term memory loss, though I like to think of it as Presidential  eligibility.” — Paula Poundstone

“According to the tax bill signed by President Reagan on December 22, 1987, Don Tyson and his sister-in-law Barbara run a “family farm.” Their “farm” has 25,000 employees and grosses $1.7 billion a year.  But as a “family farm” they get tax breaks that save them $135 million a year.” — Smart Bee

“Laws are only words words written on paper, words that change on society’s whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool.” — John J. Miller, And Hope to Die — (in _Jokertown Shuffle – Wild Cards IX_)

‘We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex–but Congress can.” — Cullen Hightower

Okay, five should be enough to get the point across…. if not, well, there’s always tomorrow…..  🙂

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Comedy_Tragedy

Roses for Noses

I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
 nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
 how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
 too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
 Or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst”….

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
 since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
 The world is full of humor,  but not always easy to find
  so laughing at myself I learned never to mind….

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
 there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
 and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows….

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
 to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
 of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face….

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
 we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
 if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop….

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
 let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
 you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 1/27/2013.

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lao

    Our final pearl today is the freshest of the lot; it’s also a bit amorphous, in that it tends to go all over the map looking for the point it intends to make…. I’m not sure it got there, but, it’s all good stuff to remember as we walk the path to our own destiny…. Well, I think so….

“He bids fair to grow wise who has discovered that he is not so.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 598

“Don’t make a big deal out of everything; just deal with everything.” — Smart Bee

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” — Anais Nin

“During my eighty-seven years I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or for the ability to think.” — Bernard M. Baruch

“The reign of Antoninus is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history, which is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.” — Edward Gibbon — Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776), Chap. iii

“It was a high speech of Seneca (after the manner of the Stoics), that “The good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished, but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired.” — Francis Bacon — Of Adversity

“A hug is a heart to heart talk.” — Bobby Matherne

“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.” — Aristotle

I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘T is better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

~~ Alfred Lord Tennyson ~~

~~ In Memoriam, xxvii, 1850, stanza 4, line 27 ~~


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Well, I took the time to go back & look over what I’d done today; all I can say is, it’s done…. Actually, it’s not bad, all things considered. Since that is well beyond the minimum requirements, we’ll call it a day here at ECR. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; in most circles, that’s considered fair warning…

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
All that hard work & no braised felafel in sight….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.”


~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~


CHIJCRnWQAAYxrG.jpg large


Caribbean Sea from the International Space Station


Image by NASA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti




Good morning…. A glance at the clock instantly sends him into White Rabbit mode….. “I’m late. I’m late….”


Okay, okay, so, I’ll deal with it…. Somehow….


Shall we Pearl?


“Hope is the denial of reality. It is the carrot dangled before the draft horse to keep him plodding along in a vain attempt to reach it. I say we remove the carrot and walk forward with open eyes.” — Raistlin Majere, Dragonlance Chronicles Vol. 1


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




    Being late around here means one thing, if naught else; we go with our defaults whenever possible…. Here, in the video section, it’s possible….






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The Best of Mozart















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Dont keep calm




    No way in hell am I going to be able to produce a fresh rant today, even with the proper inducement. Y’all know what that means, don’t you?….


From 5/5/2013:




The thorns which I have reap’d are of the tree

I planted; they have torn me, and I bleed.

I should have known what fruit would spring from such a seed.


~~ Lord Byron — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iv, Stanza 10 ~~




Here, in a three line verse, Lord Byron has explained the flaw that exists in human nature, a flaw that will one day drive the species to extinction, if we don’t find a way to alter its effect on us, as a species. This flaw doesn’t manifest in every human, only in a certain percentage, not particularly large, but full of the people who affect society the most, i.e., the leaders, the politicians,  the aristocracy (the rich, or as I call them, the bankers….), and the preachers, all of whom are supposed to be ordering society to benefit ALL of its members.


Instead, these individuals, who have this fatal flaw, have ordered events to suit themselves, hoarding the largest part of the available resources, showing absolutely no compassion or willingness to share, and dismissing as unimportant all of the pain and suffering their actions cause to other people…. This selfishness gene will eventually kill us all, because the BRC, or Beloved Ruling Class, are so focused on their goals, and so unwilling to entertain the idea that their actions are wrong, they cannot comprehend the danger they have created by their pathology, to themselves as well as to the rest of us….


That is the unfortunate thing about any mental aberration; it’s very presence tends to limit what the victim can understand, because they are unwilling to look at the evidence….. No one wants to believe they are mentally off; it doesn’t fit in with our self-image as a competent human being. These folks never understand at all that the way they are leading their lives is a threat to the rest of us; they will only accept evidence that supports their unrealistic view of reality.


Unfortunately for the rest of us, these people are also the ones who are the most willing to use violence, and weapons, to enforce their will, and they already have control of more force than the rest of the public can possibly contend with to force a change. It is a very complex, delicate problem, with no solution that I can see as practical, or with any large chance for success….


The time we have to make the necessary changes to society is growing shorter every hour, as more and more millions of tons of CO (carbon monoxide) is pumped into the air, along with other particulate pollutants. This material in our atmosphere has almost completely destroyed the ozone layer, and the amount of heat reaching the planet from the Sun has raised the ambient temperature of the planet a full two degrees…


Two degrees may not seem like much, but, the fact that the change has taken place in less than a hundred years is a clear indicator that it is quite enough, as it continues to change the climate of the planet drastically. The polar ice is melting more rapidly than ever before, and at a geometrically increasing rate. The amount of oxygen in the air is decreasing in relation to other substances; if it changes two percentage points, there won’t be enough of it for our lungs to breathe; we will suffocate ourselves if it continues. The weather is changing all over the world, as the water from the polar ice melts, and changes the chemical balance of the air everywhere…. As plants die, the process will accelerate, and it will be a toss-up to see what will kill us first….


“Whenever I see a photograph of some sportsman grinning over his kill, I am always impressed by the striking moral and aesthetic superiority of the dead animal to the live one.” — Edward Abbey


Not a pretty picture, is it? Unless, of course, you are one of the power elite, the BRC; then, you’re the one with the gun…. I’m sorry to have to bring doom and gloom into the morning, but, this is a subject that won’t go away, so I pound on it whenever I can…. The quote above, from Lord Byron, stimulated my sense of outrage at the sheer selfishness of the 1% (yet another name for those with the flaw of extreme self-interest….), so I ranted, if mildly. What bothers me the most is that what I’m saying here is absolute truth, and the people who read it are NOT the ones who need to change…. Of course, those folks wouldn’t believe it if they did read it, so it’s rather a thankless task, and relatively futile, to boot…..


“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are good.” — Anne Frank


I think Anne was a better person than I am, because I have lost my  belief in what she says here…. I do believe that the majority of mankind is good, or at least tries to be good; I just don’t believe that those ffolkes are the ones that matter to our future, as much as the folks who are NOT basically good, for as long as the innocents allow the harm their leaders continue to cause to the environment in which we all have to live. I don’t know of a solution, other than the obvious one of becoming violent myself, and doing to them what they want to do to me, but doing it first….. But, then I become like them, and I’d have to kill myself, because I’d never be able to look in a mirror again….. I guess there’s only one thing left to do…..




Petition me no petitions, sir, to-day;

Let other hours be set apart for business.

To-day it is our pleasure to be drunk;

And this our queen shall be as drunk as we.


~~ Henry Fielding — Tom Thumb the Great, Act i, Sc. 2 ~~




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Comedy_Tragedy




Penance, Made Simple 


After all the dross is sent away

a celebration can begin,

time will face up to space, to stay

willing, to shine from within.


Anger and confusion come in to share

brushing reason aside,

eager to welcome all that is fair,

alert to danger, eyes wide.


Re-gift the wicked with their own pain

stand with the just;

fail to partake of the ill-gotten gain,

living in honor, the only must.


Standing fast in the face of wrong

is its own prize and reward.

Holding on to truth makes us strong,

well worth working toward.


Little is left to chance by fate

our lessons are never free of cost.

Seldom does reality make us wait

only when alone, are we lost.


~~ gigoid ~~



Written 10/23/2012.


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buddah-out-to-lunch_s




    I’m afraid today’s final pearl for the old-school section isn’t very mysterious, or esoteric, or hard to figure out at all…. Hell, just follow the bouncing thought balls (Hmm… That doesn’t sound quite right, does it?…. Oh, well….), you’ll get the idea, such as it is…. Actually, it’s a pretty good idea, it’s just silly, by nature of its…. well, nature, quite obviously both sublime AND ridiculous….


Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum — “I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“Acquittal of the guilty damns the judge.” — Horace


“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” — Marcus Aurelius


“The wise learn many things from their foes.” — Aristophanes — The Birds (414 B.C.), line 375


“Live before you die.” — Smart Bee


“All cats are NOT gray after midnight. Endless variety …” — Lazarus Long, “Time Enough For Love” by Robert Heinlein


“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” — W. Edwards Deming


“It is a bad plan that admits of no modification.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 469


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


There you go, ffolkes. The best summary of the proper functioning of the human animal I’ve ever seen…. Above all, don’t wobble…..


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Having long since lost all sense of propriety, I’m going to go ahead and post this, sans proofing, of either content or intent… In short, I don’t care today; it’s done, & that’s all that’s important…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, unless this one breaks the camel’s back….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….







		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Flibbertigibbets for sale or lease….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Instead of being born again, why not just grow up?”


~~ Smart Bee ~~


g-ville 018


Emma




Good morning. We meet again…. What? Who is Emma? Oh, just a lovely young cat I met, while off playing in the BBR this last week…. She’s a peach, for sure. But, since we have much to do, we’ll leave Emma to go chasing her lizards, and get on with our business….


Shall we Pearl?


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


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Dave and Jerry




    Today’s video selection is a concert, from 1991, by two string instrument virtuosos, who played for a long time together. Their first album together, called Old And In The Way, which is what they called their two-man group for a while, changing it to Grateful Dawg later on. Together, they gave us some of the finest music of the twentieth century…. Enjoy!….




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Jerry Garcia & David Grisman















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Dont keep calm




“The effects which follow too constant and intense a concentration upon evil are always disastrous.  Those who crusade, not _for_ God in themselves, but _against_ the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better, but leave it either as it was, or sometimes even perceptibly worse than it was, before the crusade began.  By thinking primarily of evil we tend, however excellent our intentions, to create occasions for evil to manifest itself.” — Aldous Huxley — The Devils of Loudun


I’ve seen, and probably used, this quote previously, to act as the centerpiece of a rant…. I’m not quite ready to write any fresh ones, so, again, here is the piece created for the first time this situation occurred here on ECR…. Don’t fret, ffolkes, it’s a short, but, pithy one, not a long, passionate one….. No drama today…. Well, no huge drama, anyway….


From 9/15/2012:


“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations


See? There, now, I’ve been saying this for years, and here’s old Marcus Aurelius, that Roman cogitator extraordinaire, putting it straight out there way back around the time of J.C.’s failed attempt at societal reform. A very cogent, yet poignant description of human nature and the preponderance of Ego that drives most of humanity to act out of their own ignorance, rather than consider the veracity or usefulness of someone else’s ideas. This format for stating this answer to one of the great questions is one that all the best philosophers choose when creating aphorisms; clear, simple language and brutally honest self-examination provide us with true wisdom, like it or not……


What particularly gets me about people at large is the high percentage of folks who fall into the trap that Ego sets; for some reason, people seem to prefer the cozy blindness with which ignorance can cover them to the cold, harsh light of self-knowledge. The very ego that sets them apart from the rest of the animals who inhabit this planet becomes also the greatest threat to survival, when it is allowed to dictate how one views reality.


The state of society in today’s world rests on the brink of total collapse; any number of issues currently in play in the world can lead us to upheaval unseen since the last Ice Age. Pollution, created by mankind, is pumping tons of carbon monoxide into the air every minute, and all those precipitates are eventually bound to cause changes to climate that we will have no power to stop, or reverse.


The economy of the world is constantly on the verge of collapse in these times, due mostly to the unacknowledged crimes of the 1% of mankind who controls 99% of the money and resources. These crimes arise, again, out of Ego, as the elite of the world believe that they are “different” from the rest of humanity, and deserve to make all the decisions, which oddly enough, are only beneficial to themselves….. again, the power of Ego trumps virtue…..


I’m a smart guy, pretty much, but this is a problem for which even I cannot find a solution, other than the age-old, time-worn, and always ineffective war between the classes. That solution has been tried innumerable times throughout history, and each time the same structure of society re-settles into the same old shape, with a few people at the top, making all the important decisions for the rest of humanity. All because we, as individuals, and as a species, cannot learn to control our ego, to persuade it to act for the benefit of all, rather than just looking out for itself….. I figure that whatever happens will be what we deserve, and I can’t say that I think it will be very pretty, for the species….. or for a lot of individuals…..


Maybe there is a solution…. as a matter of fact, there is one that has been around for as long as mankind has been writing stuff down…. and it’s always the same little piece of advice, a little idea that can change one’s entire life and world-view….. but only if it is accepted, and believed, and applied to reality…… Everybody knows this, but, how many actually live it?…..


“Do unto all as you would wish to have done unto you, and reject for others what you would reject for yourself.” — Mohammed


That’s right, the Golden Rule…. a basic tenet of EVERY philosophy that Mankind has ever formulated; even most religions will acknowledge the wisdom of this, though it doesn’t serve their interests as well as they would wish. But, throughout history, we have always known what is the right way to act…. we’ve just always chosen not to apply the principle in interacting with others…. Instead, we allow our ego to dictate how we behave, thus bringing us to the current world, with all of its problems and dangers…..


SIGH….. It’s really quite easy, and it’s the only answer that will work, in the long run. It really is too bad that most of humanity isn’t buying into it, isn’t it?……


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Comedy_Tragedy


Visible life



Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,

leave marks of salvation, often in pain.

Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse

fight heavily to keep a straight course.

Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense

Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.


Still the night comes soft and eternally dear

to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.

Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest

lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,

Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain

Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.


Now come brave signs of chapter and verse

Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.

Gravid portions of in-between retaliation

leave only pale marks of initial gestation

With hope even pallid warriors grow brave

Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.


Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace

Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.

Cheerful faces yet shine out of time

for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.

Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort

life is ever visible, if only as last resort.


~~ gigoid ~~




Written 9/15/2012


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buddah-out-to-lunch_s




    The very first time I failed to post a Pearl, after beginning in August of 2011, was on 9/14/2012. Since I missed a few days here in 2015, (though yesterday was not one of those…), I went back to find the pearl I first created back in the day, on the occasion of my first failure to post…. This is one of the offerings from that day’s Pearl…. It’s a good one, so, you won’t be missing out on anything you might otherwise have seen today…. Got that?…. Good, because I’m totally confused…..


From 9/15/2012:


Here is an old-school pearl, using quotes from fairly famous people….. and some not so famous outside SF fandom. All of the quotes, when co-mingled and mixed up like a smoothie, will give you a really good philosophy of life, and lots of good advice for living with a serene mind….. good luck!….


“He who knows does not speak, He who speaks does not know.” — Lao Tzu


Water wears the rock — Smart Bee


“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” — Buddha


“Human beings do not survive on bread alone … but on the nourishments of liberty.  For what indeed is a man without freedom … naught but a mechanism, trapped in the cogwheels of eternity.” — Harry Mudd, “I, Mudd,” stardate 4513.3.


“Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency.” — Aristotle (B.C. 384-322)


“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.” — Joseph Conrad


“Yeah, but you’re taking the universe out of context.” — Smart Bee


There, see how painless that was? You’ll never even know you’ve been enlightened, until you wake up in the middle of the night, mumbling something about “he who speaks….”….. Onward into the fray!….


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Gosh! Will you look at that? It’s a Pearl….. Moreover, it’s done. Wow, Moms, look what I found….


Okay, I’ll stop. But, it’s all true, so, we’ll fly with it. Besides, what else can I do with a finished Pearl, but, post it? Nothing, that’s what. So, I’ll go do that, and, when you’re done reading all this nonsense, you can do that, too…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should the Universe decide to give me one more break….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Acceding to protocol, he dressed in mufti….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”


~~ Albert Camus ~~




odd group 017




    Good morning….


I have but one thing to tell you today, as we begin our daily journey OUT of madness…. Here, right before your skeptical eyes, pigs will fly, lightning will strike twice, hell will freeze over, and eventually, things will get really interesting…


Shall we Pearl?


“No one loves the man whom he fears.” — Aristotle


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commander cody


Image from allmusic.com via Google Images




It’s not pulling my covers to claim this band as a favorite; I’ve never hidden my history as a Hippie. In Commander Cody’s case, I have more reason than just the artwork, the attitudes, the down & dirty, funky blues, and solid rock the Airmen always played…. During my college years, I managed to hire the band for one of our cooperative residence’s parties, a great success in many respects; Yes! The Commander was in my house!….


For that reason alone they hold a special place in my heart, and my liver…. a long, sad story, involving a large quantity of cheap white rum, a quart of mai tai mix, and an eighteen year old fool…. The smell of Ron Rico white still makes me want to puke….


But, I digress…. Unless I managed to screw up the code somehow, you should be treated to all of their music available on You Tube, one after another…. If not, that’s what the link is for…. Enjoy, ffolkes….




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Commander Cody

 & his Lost Planet Airmen















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Dont keep calm




“We live in the kind of world where courage is the most essential of virtues; without courage, the other virtues are useless.” — Edward Abbey


This is SO true…. Mr. Abbey has, I believe, struck upon what I’d call a universal truth, one true in all of the ages of Mankind…. Hell, I’ve said it before, myself…. Oh, not in those exact, clear words, but, I have posted the following many times, which, essentially, brings out the same point, though it looks at it from the other side of the mirror….





Albert E & true sin




    All of us, at one time in our lives, or another, have been guilty of this; anyone who says differently is, well, they’re lying, whether they believe it or not…. As proof, all I need to do is ask that person the last time they watched a woman walk down the street, and did not punch out the men who whistled at her…. Such public displays of misogyny, though seemingly mild and harmless, (not to mention socially approved), are, in my estimation, a symptom of the problem, stemming from ignorance, and the even greater evil perpetrated by the major religions of the world, who encourage that misogyny in men…. for one single reason, to wit: men’s fear of women, and of their own sexuality….






jimmy sez




    To my way of thinking, it takes a pretty poor excuse for a man to take out his own childish fears on women, when a bit of courage and learning can bring them out of that fear, into a world where both men and women can work together to survive, rather than constantly being at war, instigated by the weaker sex, ie. men…. I would point out that our society’s primary response to any problem is to go to war against it, which is a typically male attitude…. Most women don’t automatically go to war when they want to achieve some end…. Men do, and have proven it for millennia….


Yes, I said men were weaker than women, and I meant it…. If men were so strong, why do women live longer? Why do they give childbirth, instead of us? And, why are they seemingly, according to the evidence given by the behavior of other mammalian species, the natural leaders of each species society? I believe it is because that is the way the species evolved, the way it works best to survive, which is, after all, our primary purpose here on this planet. Our purpose is NOT to rape, pillage, and destroy, all of which seem to be the primary RESULTS of all of the male-dominated societies in history, especially when those societies were driven by Christianity, or any of the other religions whereof the former President speaks…


As far as I can see, the only way to get through to all these assholes, who would rather fight with women than appreciate them, is through shame…. Deserved shame, at that, for using the ONE advantage over women men have, i.e., brute strength, to subjugate the entire other half of our species, all because our our own innate fears, which are easily dismissed when understood…. But, most men, like most humans, even women, are lazy, and would prefer to NOT have to think, or, for that matter, to make the effort to be brave….


Sorry, guys, but. that’s just the way I see it…. So, wake the fuck up, get out of your stupid head, and get with the program here. We need to work together, WITH women, not against them, if all of us are to survive…. The way we are going now, we won’t make it to the next millennium…. Hell, unless we can come up with some pretty fancy scientific footwork here in the next TEN years, we’re all going to be in deep shit…




Believe it.


So be it.


gigoid has spoken




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Comedy_Tragedy




Sublime Indifference


Faces tell such stories


as these, 


we know.


No one saw, 


ever.


No one sees,


ever.


But, we know.


Forgotten,


deliberately bought


with


consistent threats


of Sitcoms, 


Paisley Ties,


yes, and,


Lava Lamps;


proof offered


unbidden


 of Death.


Only


of Death.


~~ gigoid ~~




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buddah-out-to-lunch_s




    Evolution, as it applies the development of this blog, seems to have brought this section to a place where it becomes our lesson for the day, so to speak…. Many of the pearls, and the pearls they form, of late, have told a message that, when applied by anyone to Life, in a dedicated manner, always seems to make it all work better, helping us to find, and keep, our balance, as well as the happiness, always inside us, if we can learn to feel it….


Today is another of such lessons, this time, seemingly, intended to direct us on a path to…. ourselves….


“Knowledge is the antidote of fear.” — Emerson


“Either you think — or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald


“Self-reflection is the school of wisdom.” — Balthasar Gracia


“Morality is moral only if it is voluntary.” — Lincoln Steffens


“A man does not sin by commission only, but often by omission.” — Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) — Meditations, book 9.


“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” — Philo


“Be what you is, ’cause if you is what you ain’t, then you ain’t what you is.” — Satchel Paige


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


Not too shabby, I think…. Of course, it does help the overall quality when I’m up half the bloody night with dyskinesia, which not only keeps me from sleeping, but, keeps my mind awake from the anger at experiencing it at all (the blame for that can be laid directly at the feet of two doctors and an HMO….), thus providing us with a fresh rant, and a new poem, which finally decided to creep out from where it has been hiding…. Don’t know if y’all noticed it, or not… Any who, it’s done, I’m still up, and it’s 3:52 AM…. Now what the hell am I going to do?


Ah well, I’ll work on that offline…. For now, thanks fer listenin’, ffolkes; it’s been real. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, come Hell, or high water….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








Kowabunga!




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
A slight limp is more noticeable….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“With virtue you cannot be entirely poor… 


Without it you cannot be really rich.”


~~ Chinese Proverb ~~


ISS solar array


Solar Array on the International Space Station


Image from NASA.com




    Good morning…. One is allowed to hope, anyway, since it’s a new day. I’m late, again, but, we’ll forgo any discussion of the reasons, as it would only depress us all…. Instead, we’ll just head on down the page, where we might find a solution, or, at worst, a change of scenery…. You could do worse, on a Tuesday in May….


Shall we Pearl?


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


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





Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent




    Some of my Gentle Readers, who aren’t as familiar with my mind as some others, who have been here longer, won’t quite get why the following video is here today, given the general run of stuff you will see. That’s okay, I’m willing to explain this time, if briefly…. The picture is of Aristotle, arguably Mankind’s most influential teacher/polymath/scientist/philosopher, considered by many to be the founder of Western civilization, with only a couple other candidates (Plato, possibly Homer…). Aristotle, a true polymath, was, nonetheless, a man who frequently admitted his ignorance, in order to demonstrate to his students the proper frame of mind with which to approach any new knowledge.


Today’s very short video demonstrates a very simple idea, which merely takes the very old, simple principles involved in lacing one’s shoes, the traditional way, then, performing an even simpler reversal of the idea, in space, and in thinking, to produce a technique for securing footwear securely, more quickly, more cleanly, and more safely than the old method…. Bloody brilliant in its simplicity is what it is, and I commend the person who came up with it…. I can’t wait to change all my shoes with laces….


See, I’m not such an old dog, am I?….







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Ukrainian Lacing











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About Hopi Indian Symbols


And the wind shall say, 


Here were decent, godless people

their only monument the asphalt road

and a thousand lost golf balls.


~~ T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) ~~




Yesterday evening, while waiting for the pain to recede far enough to go to bed, I was struck by an irresistible urge to rant. This is what happened….


My passion has become subsumed in anger; I spend, it seems, the major part of my days battling with physical issues, almost every one of which can be attributed to one medical clusterfuck…. This, I think is why I haven’t been able to collect enough angst built up against the machineries of evil as a whole, other than one specific part of it, to provide enough emotional drive to rant effectively, or, at all, mostly.


That simple fact, the simple inability to fire back at my tormentors, pisses me off, especially, as I can ascribe all of it to the lack of courage, and slavish ignorance of two young people with degrees in medical science, an M.D. and a D.O., both of whom have been brainwashed to believe they are physicians, when they are merely practicing what they’ve been taught to believe is medicine. In reality, it’s a pretty narrow picture of all the medical knowledge available in the world, especially now, in these days when we all have access to the medical information of every culture, in every country in the world.


Losing my passion as a side effect of their clumsy manipulation, apparently, is a tough nut for me to swallow, (not to mention the mixing of metaphors it makes me commit…); I can’t seem to get past the sheer cruelty they have both unwittingly, (mostly… I have to assume that, or I’d have to kill them…), put me through, by their insistence on enforcing a policy of the HMO, which they both know to be ill-advised, due to a) having NO medical justification; b) necessitating a breach of medical ethics; c) ignoring patient rights; and, most egregiously, d) directly causing aggravation of existing conditions, including pain, stress, and, a serious loss of quality of life.


If I were a doctor, or wanted to pretend to be one, I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night, even if I only had to do this to ONE person; I know for a fact I am NOT the only person to whom this is happening. I’ve talked to them. I’ve talked to their lawyers, and the people who have submitted their complaints, all of which are ignored, completely, by the HMO, which has paid many legislators over the course of many years to pass laws ensuring they cannot be stopped from doing what they do, whatever it is, to ensure their bottom line profits…. This includes making the process of even filing a complaint difficult, complicated, and ultimately, completely useless, as, strangely enough, they NEVER find they’ve ever done anything wrong, in any investigated complaint…


Nor have they ever been found to have done anything wrong by any of the agencies who are supposed to oversee them, and protect the rights of patients…. I can tell you, from personal experience, having talked to all of those agencies, the system is rigged to favor the powers that be, and even IF a private citizen had the time, the money, and the energy (remember. these are sick people, who AREN’T getting the treatments they need….) to be able to follow through on the several levels of appeal, each of them is more complicated, and harder to begin, much less finish, than the one before…. In short, it is impossible, and it’s meant to be that way.


(Gee… y’know? This situation all sounds a bit familiar in its general outline, I think…. Does it remind anyone else of the current situation with the misdeeds police are guilty of committing? I seem to recall hearing a recent federal court deciding a case that indicates that no police officer can be held legally responsible for the death of ANYONE while on duty, and probably when not…. Same, same, all same, same, sounds like to me….)


To protect the rights of the patients? I may be skeptical enough to deserve the sobriquet of ‘the dubious one’, but, even the most trusting soul in the world must be able to see what is happening here; the only entity the laws are made to protect is the corporations, who pay the lobbyists, who bribe the politicians…


Of course, now, thanks to having bribed the Supreme Court many years ago, and finally getting a majority of assholes, er, honestly insane judges on the bench, the corporate powers who influence the making of laws can contribute directly to the politicians, cutting out the lobbyist contingent altogether…. Guess whose money gets saved there…. Yep… Not mine, or yours, that’s for sure…. Nope, now the corporate entities can pool their money, and give it directly to whomever will vote their agenda… Sweet, eh?…


So, what does all that mean? Well, who the hell knows… I sure know how I feel about it, and that is most easily, and succinctly stated as consistently enraged. But, rage is pretty useless, as emotions go; the only time it really works for us is to save our asses in the middle of a fight, to wake us up to do whatever we need to do to survive…. channeling the berserker, I call it… Or, in my case, that would be the bozoid berserker…. Basically, though, any other time we feel rage, it is difficult to keep the consequences from being regretful…. dead bodies are SO inconvenient, and so is having to move to another country…. again….


Just kidding…. I hope you knew that, right? Well, if not, that’s okay. I like to keep folks guessing, because all the ffolkes I know would get it without being reminded, or having it pointed out…. I haven’t had to move to another country in many, many years, and, to be honest, have yet to leave any dead bodies behind me, that I know of…. Left a few in a bit less than pristine condition, but, no dead ones, I’m pretty certain….


So, how ’bout them Giants, eh? What, I can’t change the subject? I was done with that one anyway…. That, you know, was NOT a rant…. It was more what I’d call a vent. Having thus removed at least a portion of the bilious crap that collects so quickly, along with all that other noxious shit in my head, (better out than in, I always say….), I suppose I should stop teasing/torturing y’all and get on with whatever comes next…. It can’t be any worse than this, and there is a distinct possibility it could be better…


SIGH…. Okay…. Who am I kidding? We all know it will be…. Ah, well, I’m nothing if not tough…. tough, stubborn, who cares? We all made it this far, didn’t we? What’s to complain about?….


“A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.” — Lazarus Long, The Notebooks


SHHHH! Please, don’t say anything, okay?….. I owe the lawyers enough….


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





Comedy_Tragedy




    Miss Maggie Mae  (maggiemaeijustsaythis.com, aka, mmijst.com) has graced these pages a number of times over the last almost four years; she’s one of my favorite modern poets, whom I found on WordPress many moons ago…. I think she was one of my first ten ‘follows’ after signing up here.


Her poetry is, quite simply, incredible…. Sharp, incisive, powerful, filled with metaphor, exploring the darkest feelings a human can experience…. and, by the power of her words, implying the presence and power of light, that she just can’t keep from shining out from within her….Enjoy!….




To That


inch of time spent over the sea,


dragging your dead body back

from the sharks I fed you to. 


There should be enough salt

to drown in. Now that is something

you don’t hear of!

But, I have heard of Buddha,

and Gandhi,

and what great advice for the

blonde girls in white dresses,

not scratched by hands of

light drinking, or hard gunfire;

the girls untouched by

living a dead life, waking under floorboards

built by their mothers. 


Your heavy photograph burns to

my tongue. I spit. I curse you out

of your newly dried grave.

I am ecstatic for your corpse,

it grows on me like tough leather.


Now for her.

I carry a monsoon to her driveway.

She is lit up. A bright pumpkin

ripened for plummet.

She dresses in honeysuckle,

and flickers like whiskey.

I haven’t thought of her name,

she is black as a canvas; a new galaxy

before energy matters.

If her heart happens to

do that, I will carve it out. 


I will take it back to July in my teeth

where the desert is waiting for me,

it’s Queen.


~~ Maggie Mae ~~


http://maggiemaeijustsaythis.com/2015/05/17/to-that/




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





buddah-out-to-lunch_s




    I’d call these “lesser known” pearls of wisdom; they all give some really strong advice on living life as we choose, but, in ways, and about seemingly small factors, that aren’t common…. Works for me….


“Nature is not benign. Natural laws have no pity.” — Lazarus Long


“It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated… it is finished when it surrenders.” — Ben Stein


“A hug is a heart to heart talk.” — Bobby Matherne (American writer, 1940-)


“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” — Marcus Aurelius


“Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity.” — William Hazlitt


“The little girl expects no declaration of tenderness from her doll. She loves it – and that’s all. It is thus that we should love.” — DeGourmont


“How you do anything is how you do everything.” — Zen proverb


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


Okay, well…. I can see I’m going to have to think very hard about this…. But, we’re done, so, that’s for another day…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as nobody comes up with a good enough reason not to do so….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch






Kowabunga!




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Perilous dreams of safety….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Never take a stone to break an egg when you can use the back of your knife.”


~~ Scottish Proverb ~~


A smiling lens

They’re everywhere! They’re everywhere!


Picture by Hubble Orbital Deep Space Telescope ~ NASA




As is my unfortunately consistent habit, at the sight of this terrifyingly white, empty screen, I find my mind to be completely blank; not only blank, but, seemingly unwilling to even move away even a step from its chosen posture of resistance, to allow even the slightest glimmer of inspiration to shine. Alas, woe is me!….


Whoops! We’ll have none of that, young man!…. Okay, that will be quite enough, I believe; I’m not so cruel, or idiotic, to think I could get away with such a massively mundane expression of angst, even here, at the very beginning, where it could be buried in the general confusion of getting started…. I don’t know what I was thinking, except, perhaps, to say, I wasn’t…. thinking, that is. It may have seemed like thinking, but, let me assure you, no such process was going on in THIS head, not yet….


That being the case, I shall, once again, endeavor to get us out of here before it gets to the point we are trapped in a meandering, ultimately useless pile of blather, searching for some kind of sensible, dignified way out, without ever realizing such are only given to those who remain clear-headed. Naturally, this means y’all will be losing out on the post-intro refreshments, but, I’m sure you won’t mind, since we’ll be back in time for the buffet…. For now, allow me to use good, old #4, which, as you all know, works like this…..


Shall we Pearl?


“Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.” — Henry Ward Beecher


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





showposter


    When I was a kid, Dragnet was the only crime show on TV; if there were others, I don’t remember them…. Even then, as far as I could see, Jack Webb had a stick further up his butt than anyone I ever saw, knew, or heard of…. no shit. But, the show was great fun, especially for those of us who looked on it as unintentionally funny; I’m sorry, NOBODY could be that stupid, or, refuse to allow ANY emotion to show, as Jack Webb played Joe Friday…. I don’t know what police detective he was trying to emulate, but, if it was a real one, I’m betting the cop was playing Webb for a fool, seeing him for the uptight dick he seemed to be, by all accounts…. No matter, it’s all in good fun, now…. Enjoy this blast from the past, ffolkes, then we can go on to bigger things…. Well, we’re hoping….




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DRAGNET: “The Hammer”















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I try to post this once a year, as a minor tribute to Noah, one of the best dogs I’ve ever known….. It looks as if I missed last year, so, here ’tis, early in this year, to compensate…..


Last posted on 8/26/2013:






Noah
R.I.P. Old Friend


Ode to Noah




Noah came to live with our family when he was about 10 months old; we rescued him from taking the long walk at the Humane Society kennel in Santa Rosa. It was my son’s fifteenth birthday; he wanted a dog, swearing up & down that he would take responsibility for its’ care. Pets were always part of family life when I grew up; our last dog had been gone for a bit over a year, so, we decided it was time to expand the family once again.


As Cory and I walked down the aisle between cages at the kennel, a large variety of dogs started a welcoming cacophony of different barks; shrill tiny ones, deep booming ones, polite yips, all blended together in an almost desperate frenzy, as each animal, many of them almost frantic, tried to get our attention. Some pawed at the gate, or, danced around in circles; others jumped up & down. Some looked nervous, or, suspicious; others looked friendly, but, all of them, it seemed, were making noise.


As we drew near the last cage in the aisle, we saw a slender, medium-sized, black and white dog, not barking, not jumping, just sitting down, leaning against the wall by the gate. He was looking me right in the eyes with an expression that arrowed straight into our hearts…. sad, sad eyes, with a long, mournful face cried out silently, “get me out of here, please!”. What could we do? He was obviously our dog; he realized it too, but, seemed afraid to hope. We told him we’d be right back, heading back to the desk in the front to announce our choice, and complete the paperwork.


The attendant brought Noah in to us just as I was handed the receipt. As he was led in by a standard choke-chain leash, he looked a bit nervous, but composed & curiously calm. That is, he was calm until I clasped his new collar around his neck, then snapped on his brand new leash. All of a sudden,  when we stepped outside, he realized he wasn’t going back into the kennel; he immediately became a different dog, wagging his tail furiously, looking at us with his eyes shining, almost dancing and vibrating in his eagerness to go. As we walked back to the van, he walked proudly in front of us, tail and ears up at attention, almost prancing, looking back every few steps to make sure we were still there, a very happy dog…..


Noah settled into the family immediately. He proved to be very well-mannered, both with people, and, in his habits. When out on walks, he would stop to sniff, lifting his leg to leave his mark at every interesting bush and tree, just like any other male dog. But when he had to do his secondary business, he made it clear he preferred to go behind a bush, or somewhere out of the way, preferably out of sight.


If he felt he was not sufficiently hidden from sight, he would assume a very embarrassed expression, turning away as if he felt guilty. A very private, discreet individual, to say the least. On those rare occasions he had been overlong between walks, so much in a hurry he made a mistake on the sidewalk, he would act just like a cat, walking away with head averted, pretending it had never happened. “What mess? Who me? I don’t know what you’re talking about….. C’mon, let’s go!”


Noah was an extremely intelligent dog; I’ve known a great many animals in my time on this old planet, but, he was one of the smartest I’ve ever been around. When he came to live with us, at about 10 months of age, he already knew how to sit on command (both voice and hand), to lie down, and to stay.


Actually, he had a little trouble with the whole concept of ‘stay’; he didn’t like being left alone, and would often follow us after a minute or two; it was as if he just didn’t want to believe we really MEANT for him to stay. He figured he should be with us so he could do his job, to guard and act as scout. As long as he could see us, he’d stay where he was; if he couldn’t, he believed it was his place to find us….. We never came to terms over the matter; on this particular point he was firm.


We also never had to teach Noah any tricks, as he seemed to have figured stuff out on his own, and his way was definitely cool….The first time I ever gave him a treat (a milk bone), I showed it to him and told him to sit. He sat. I told him to speak, and he gave one quick howl. I held out my hand, & he offered his own to shake. I straightened up, then, tossed the treat a couple feet above his head, in the air….


He didn’t just catch it; he made a jump, making the in-air snag like a professional left-fielder. As he touched the rug, he immediately tossed it back up into the air. He timed his move perfectly; as the treat hit the floor, he dove on top of it, rolled over, & started doing a happy dance, by twisting his back and hips as if scratching his back on the floor. I swear, he looked just like Snoopy doing the Dance of Joy.


When he was done celebrating, he rolled over, snatched up his milk bone, to begin chomping with a big twinkle in his eye. I always wanted to video the move for posterity, or, to submit it for Stupid Pet Tricks on the Letterman Show. Sadly, he lived before the age of cell phone cameras,  & I never seemed to have a camera handy when he performed his feat, so, Noah missed his chance for stardom.


Noah’s gotten old now; we just observed his 17th birthday in February of this year; as they say, in dog years, he’s going on 120 or so. He can’t hear anything but very loud noises, & can’t see more than a few feet, which I suspect is confined mostly to shadows and moving light. I’m afraid he will be passing on soon, as he can no longer get up without assistance, and, is having trouble controlling his bodily functions.


I sometimes feel like I should have him put down, to ease his pains, but he doesn’t act as if he is hurting, and I can tell he enjoys just lying around and sleeping, as long as he knows I am near. For his entire life with us, over 16 and a half years, he has been a true and loyal companion. He has observed with honor the pact made between Man and Dog many thousands of generations ago; taking care of him in his declining years is both a privilege, and, an honor. In my entire life, I have never known anyone more loyal, more compassionate, or more courageous in standing up to life. He was, and is, by far, the best friend that any man could hope for, and, also by far, the best person I’ve ever known……




Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, 

To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. 

I’ve read that things inanimate have moved, 

And as with living souls have been inform’d 

By magic numbers and persuasive sound.


~~ William Congreve (1670-1729) ~~


~~ The Mourning Bride, Act i, Sc. 1 ~~




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





Emily-Dickinson


I measure every grief I meet

   With analytic eyes;

I wonder if it weighs like mine,

   Or has an easier size.


I wonder if they bore it long,

   Or did it just begin?

I could not tell the date of mine,

   It feels so old a pain.


I wonder if it hurts to live,

   And if they have to try,

And whether, could they choose between,

   They would not rather die.


I wonder if when years have piled–

   Some thousands–on the cause

Of early hurt, if such a lapse

   Could give them any pause;


Or would they go on aching still

   Through centuries above,

Enlightened to a larger pain

   By contrast with the love.


The grieved are many, I am told;

   The reason deeper lies,–

Death is but one and comes but once

   And only nails the eyes.


There’s grief of want, and grief of cold,–

   A sort they call ‘despair,’

There’s banishment from native eyes,

   In sight of native air.


And though I may not guess the kind

   Correctly yet to me

A piercing comfort it affords

   In passing Calvary,


To note the fashions of the cross

   Of those that stand alone

Still fascinated to presume

That some are like my own.


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~




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


There are days when the making of pearls is justified in mere moments, with the creation of a single seven-star pearl, the most ordinary kind, which, seemingly, says it all… Today is one of those days….


36. Mind your own business. — Instructions for life


“Anyone who has had a bull by the tail knows five or six more things than someone who hasn’t.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)


“Amusement is for the sake of relaxation, and relaxation is of necessity  sweet, for it is the remedy of pain caused by toil; and intellectual enjoyment is universally acknowledged to contain an element not only of the noble but of the pleasant, for happiness is made up of both.” — Aristotle


“A shelf of classics for our young adults: Tolkien, Hesse, Casteneda, Kerouac, Salinger, Tom Robbins, and “The Last Whole Earth Catalog”.” — Edward Abbey


“If attacked by a lion thrust your arm down his throat. This takes some practice.” — Cyril Connolly


“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” — Helen Keller (American Author, 1880-1968) — became blind & deaf at 19 months old


“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” — Marcus Aurelius


I’d say, if all of these can be said to be true of you and your life, if you have learned these lessons, read these books, by them learning to respect the most critical concepts of Honor, Compassion, and Duty, you win…..


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


Ah yes! I love the smell of burnt neurons in the morning!…. Another day’s Pearl has been created, and I am content. Later today, I will, for the first time in my life, or theirs, be able to see BOTH of my grandchildren in the same day…. Of course, the pair of them have only BEEN a pair for four days, but, hey, a first is a first…. It isn’t every day one meets their newest granddaughter, is it?…. See y’all tomorrow ffolkes, probably with pictures of the wee lassie who now has a piece o’ my heart….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch




À bientôt, mon cherí….



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Billy was fired, with enthusiasm….

			
						

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				4			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,




“Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.” 


~~ Udana Varga, c. 500 B. C. ~~


o-HIGH-DEFINITION-EARTH-PICTURE-900


     Having again greeted the day with a groan, I arose from bed, left arm aching, left hand numb, only to find my head swirling like the proverbial spinning top. Fortunately for me, I hadn’t already taken a step, so I didn’t fall very far, just sitting back down on the bed. Ah vertigo! Such a fine way to greet the day. So, here I sit, spinning rapidly through space/time with my eyes spinning like little slot machine cherries, fighting the need to swallow, in case my stomach…. well, you get the picture. If I took that any further, all of us might spew…. I’m not in the mood to have to take the computer apart to clean it…. I can barely see yet!


Okay, complaints done. It’s another day, which is quite enough to say about it. If it’s going to continue in this vein, I might just go back to bed, & wait to try again tomorrow, but, first things first. If I don’t get this done first, I’ll feel like crap all day & night; I’ve become rather addicted to this process, I guess; I can’t seem to get comfortable in my head if I don’t post…. Since this process has kept me sane, if not happy, for going on four years, I have made it part of my persona, so to speak; the day just isn’t complete without it….


Since I have the added complication of a left hand wanting to go numb every other word typed, I’m going to replay the intro from a few days ago, to save some time, and misery. To do so, we’ll resort to an early application of emergency exit technique #4, which works like this….


Shall we Pearl?


“And it came to pass that in the hands of the ignorant, the words of the bible  were used to beat plowshares into swords…” — Alan Watts


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


I’ve mentioned in previous Pearls how I enjoyed the alternative comics that were such a part of the art scene during the 1960’s; perhaps the most well-known of the artists who drew them was the man in the following interview… Robert Crumb, author of the most successful of all the New Age comics that came out at the time, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Phineas, Franklin, and Fat Freddy, all residents of Haight Ashbury during its prime era of hippiedom…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this man was not only THERE, he drew us the pictures we now have in our memories….




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

















The Confessions of Robert Crumb (1987) 















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































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























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




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





Dont keep calm


    Here, then, to soothe my panic for something to put here, is an archived politirant, from sometime after the election in 2012…. actually, quite a bit after…. this one is from April 21, 2013…. not much has changed, in truth, so, it’s all good….


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


“A good indignation brings out all one’s powers.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson


Ah, yes, it does indeed….. This is the principle of human nature I exploit when I rant…. Well, I try, anyway…. It seems as if Ralph Waldo had the inclination to rant strike him on occasion, and, competent observer that he was, he examined how it made him feel, and act when he was in ranting mode. When in full flight, ranting makes one feel ten feet tall, able to leap arguments with a single quote, impervious to sarcasm or belittling remarks, and capable of chewing up the toughest pundit and spitting him out, before breakfast….. Whether or not one could actually do so doesn’t matter in the slightest, for it is what we THINK we can do that determines what we CAN do…. Like the dragons of Pern, who could lift any weight when flying, as long as they thought they could….


“Whenever you eliminate the inedible, whatever remains, however unpalatable, must be food.” — Smart Bee


Now, this is a truism; much as it seems like levity, it is quite serious, being a disguised version of a truth uttered by Sherlock Holmes, about Truth, to wit: “As I have previously stated, Watson, when one has eliminated the impossible, what remains, however unlikely, must be the truth.” (God, I hope I quoted it right… I’m lazy, and used the version in my head, rather than googling it to make sure…. but, I’m 100% positive that my paraphrase, if it be such, is completely accurate, in terms of meaning…..) Ranting is an area where this principle is key; it really doesn’t make sense to rant about something that isn’t true, unless the falsity is the actual subject of the rant…. as the following aphorism implies….


“It is a substantial advantage for any philosophy to be based on the truth.” — George Santayana


Of course, this doesn’t mean that being right will make reality conform to how we wish it to be. Much of the world, if not all, is controlled by a group of people who lie, constantly, without shame, completely indifferent to how it affects others, as long as their own needs are met first. But, they only do so because most of the public believes their lies, for the simple reason that it is too hard to believe otherwise. If they begin to see the truth of how they are controlled, they become frightened, often to the point of violence, because they don’t want to know the truth…. unless it comes from a suit on TV…..


“Given a sufficient number of people and an adequate amount of time, you can create insurmountable opposition to the most inconsequential idea.” — Devyver’s law


This is truth, too, sad as it may seem…. The general public will believe just about anything they are told, usually without any sort of critical thought applied to testing its veracity, if it is presented in a manner to which they are accustomed to being told what to do…. If the guy on the six o’clock news says it will rain money, most folks in this country would start looking for a barrel to catch it in, and wonder if it would rain in bills, or in coins… I kid you not…..


This may seem as if I have a poor opinion of the average intelligence of the average American, and in that estimation you would be absolutely correct…. I can say this with complete confidence, as it is a proven fact that the average American’s IQ is below the average for the human race at large….. fact, ffolkes, not supposition…. Of course, I could be lying, but, if so, you can just chalk it up to their bad influence…. If they can use untrue ‘facts’ to prove their assertions, I can, too….


Besides, I can show you almost 50 MILLION pieces of proof of my assertion, without having to look further than the Presidential election last year…. In that election, almost fifty million people voted for Mitt Romney, proof positive that they would believe ANYTHING…. How else could they decide to vote for a man who was PROVEN to have lied during the campaign (independent fact checking organizations showed that he lied just about 50% of the time, or, put more simply, every other time he spoke, he lied…), and indicated, on tape, his complete disdain for over half the people in the country?


It is such an incredibly huge number, it just isn’t possible to understand how gullible people can be, when one sees this statistic, (50 million votes for an asshole….). It is equally hard to believe that so many of our peers are this incredibly dumb, but, truth will out, as it always does….. It also speaks to the number of truly bigoted, racist people that are still in this country, hiding behind their cowardice, and their misguided, ignorant patriotism…. but, that’s a subject for another rant….. (All stupid people aren’t bigots and racists, but ALL bigots and racists are stupid people…..)


“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” — Lazarus Long


You won’t get a better, more clear warning than that; on that note, I proclaim this rant, such as it was, to be complete…..


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


In 2013, I participated in the National Poetry Writing Month challenge, to write a poem a day…. Here is what I came up with on 4/22/2013…. I hope you enjoy them…. The haiku is particularly appropriate; the poem sorta fits, too….




Haiku XI


Mindfulness is hard

in the early morning light.

Fuzzy eyes and ears.


~~ gigoid ~~


Random Exposure


If I only knew what I was doing here,

I could give others a clue.

Reality gets stranger every year,

and I’m not sure what I should do.


Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,

gives me a lot of pleasure.

I’m only glad I can still make a choice,

to look at life, to take its measure.


Memorable moments keep passing by

gilded, framed in precious emotion.

I never have to ask anyone why,

no need for a stronger potion.


Everything in life is clear, to me

there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.

We’re all good, as you can see,

members of Life, in good standing.


Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;

the right path is there for each of us to take.

That choice is often a difficult one;

pay close attention to the choice you make.


~~ gigoid ~~




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


I just don’t have it today, ffolkes. I’ve already had to go to the archives for a rant, and for a poem…. Now, we’re going to have to go back there for an old school pearl, too…. Oh well next time, I’ll save myself the effort, and just re-blog a good older Pearl. For now, this will do nicely….


From 4/22/2013:


So, there I was, cruising around Smart Bee, looking for pearls, when it occurred to me that I was engaged in a futile pastime, from the standpoint of the Universe…. I mean, what do I hope to accomplish with this stuff I write?…. Nobody’s mind will be changed, nobody will stop the carbon monoxide from getting pumped into the air, nobody is going to get mad enough to throw out all the assholes who are screwing us all…. This makes what I’m doing an exercise in mental masturbation, essentially, with as much hope of changing society as….. well, there is no hope for society, so I can’t think of a metaphor for it…. Nor is there any hope of anybody taking any of this seriously, even if read…


Having thus determined the absolute uselessness of our pastime, I will continue, fully cognizant of how lame it is…. I’m calling this a Pearl of Forlorn Lost Hope…. sort of…. Actually, it’s a subliminal pearl, and will worm its way into your head, where it will work on your attitudes, polishing and brightening them without you ever noticing…. By late this afternoon, you will have done a complete 180 from wherever you were, and will enjoy the rest of the day (that’s a subliminal post-hypnotic suggestion….)  Enjoy…..




But sure the eye of time beholds no name


So blest as thine in all the rolls of fame.


~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~


~~ The Odyssey of Homer, Book xi, Line 591 ~~




“Does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce?   No, that’s too grand, too considered a process.  History just burps, and we taste again that raw-onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago.” — Julian Barnes


“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” — Marcus Aurelius


“But whether there’s some grand design really matters little to me. My only hope was this: to see what might be, to believe that it should be, and then to do all I could to bring it to pass, whatever the cost. When a life spins out as joyfully as mine has done, then the price, once paid so painfully, is now recalled in gladness. I have received full value. Here among the shepherds, my cup is filled with the water of life; it overflows.” — Orson Scott Card, “Treason”


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


“There is no cure for birth and death other than to enjoy the interval.” — George Santayana (1863-1952)




The human heart has hidden treasures,


In secret kept, in silence sealed.


~~ Charlotte Bronte ~~




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


Okay, so, I cheated. A lot. S’okay, ffolkes, it’s done, and I’m not yet at a point where anyone is in danger, unless they come right to my door. Since I’m staying in today, to avoid just that possibility, I’ll finish up, and be out of your hair…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t talk myself out of it…. I don’t try very hard, so, see ya then….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.




“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
A period of swiftly diminishing returns….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” 


~~ Marcus Aurelius ~~


Zack at Christmas 12-28-2012 003


     Gosh…. now that I really look at it, that’s a pretty nice picture, isn’t it? I put it there just because I had it, sort of; I took it a few days ago while on the way to visit with my grandson for Christmas…. a more memorable occasion than it sounds, as it is the first time I’d had the opportunity to see him at Christmas since he was born. I’m glad the picture turned out so nicely…. Now, when I get my printer up & running again, I can print a copy of this, as a reminder of the day….  The short video I shot will also be nice to have to look at when I think of him, or of my son, and our first holiday together as a family with three generations…. That’s a nice piece of serendipity….


Such a nice surprise helps; I’m still a bit unsteady, but, after a good talk with a friend, and a semi-successful battle yesterday, I feel somewhat more centered today…. There is more turbulence to come though, so, I’m not making any promises as to how much longer I’ll feel like doing this…. At the moment, I can see there is still too much inside me that will do better out than in (as almost everything is….), so, we’ll complete this Pearl before we make any binding decisions…. 


I can’t say for sure if that is good news, or bad news for y’all…. I suppose you’ll have to take Hobson’s choice, and be happy with it, won’t you? Besides, you’re stuck now…. We’ve already left the terminal, and are now 11,000 feet in the air…. Not a good time to head back to the ticket stand…


I won’t even bother to make any predictive statements as to whether or not I can pull this off…. I’m no politico, who will lie to you, straight-faced, without ever having any intention of doing what I say. Nor am I a bozo, (at the moment…. that may change at any time….), who will try to distract you with humor, or a mess, or a snack. I am, however, a realist, and a gentleman, so, that’s something, I suppose…. You can call me a fool, you can call me a radical, you can call me a cab, and that’s okay…. just don’t call me late for dinner….


“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” — Willie Wonka


It is an established fact that nonsense has saved my sanity on a number of occasions, too, so, we’re rather fond of it around here…. Not that we depend on it very often, but, it serves us well, and is always welcome…. In this particular case, it has saved us from the ignominious display of maudlin reminiscence, or otherwise mildly embarrassing emotionally-charged crap that might otherwise have ensued…. Whew! It may not be apparent, ffolkes, but, we just dodged a big bullet, I think…. So big, I think we’d best get on with this, if we have any hope of ever getting done…..


Shall we Pearl?


“He who knows does not speak, He who speaks does not know.” — Lao Tzu


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


In an attempt to maintain some balance, let’s go with a bit more nonsense, okay?…. Okay!…. This is just about as much nonsense as can be found; these fools need no introduction, I should think…








The Three Stooges — Three Little Pirates (1946)


































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


“The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.” — Oscar Wilde, _Intentions_, “The Critic as Artist.”


I would bet that 99% of Americans alive today are completely unaware that they are at war, not with any foreign powers that wish to destroy our way of life, but, with various branches of their own government, which has been treating them as adversaries since the end of WWII, when the NSA first began its ongoing campaign to monitor ALL communications between ALL people in the ENTIRE world….


At this point, they have been approximately, (from what I can surmise from what information is available…) 75% effective in learning methods to intercept and utilize the information that is exchanged between people, via telephone, snail mail, email, internet data transfers, even private conversations, face to face, in almost any place, anywhere in the world, if they so desire…. It takes extreme measures to communicate with anyone without them having access to the information that is sent and received; a very few encrypted systems, and a very few physical places on the planet which are safe from their eyes, ears, and electronic surveillance technology….


Be afraid…. be very afraid..


Still not convinced?…. Try reading this, and some of what has come before in this saga….


http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/26/aclu-nsa-documents-christmas-eve-lessens-impact


Well, duh! Of course they did…. After the article, there is a group of good articles summarizing timeline events in the ongoing saga of the NSA, and its ongoing war against the American public…. as well as the people of the entire world…. Nobody is safe from their prying, at all, and they continue to distract, hide, and fight any attempts to either rein them in, or shut them down…. But, then, what did we expect? Moral, ethical behavior? From the same people who have been doing this for over 65 years?…. I think it’s more than a bit naive to expect any such thing….


I wish I could come up with a solution that didn’t involve killing them all; that only plays into their strengths, and puts me at their level, karmically speaking…. Not going there, yet…. The day may come, but, for now, I’ll keep on shouting out whenever I see their chicanery, and encourage any and all trouble we can give them in return, without abrogating my own standards…. a tough row to hoe, but, been there, done that, so, oh well….


I had thought to let this go at this point, but, the following article caught my eye, as more proof of the lies, and the disregard for our rights that has been the hallmark of this “transparent” administration, under which we have lost more of our freedoms, than under any previous president…. and that, sadly, includes BOTH of the Shrubs…. This article describes how little they care anymore; they aren’t even bothering to pretend not to be hiding information….


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/the-nsas-ongoing-effort-to-hide-its-lawbreaking/384079/?single_page=true


Excerpted from the article:


“These actions do not represent mere violations of NSA policies… but willful violations of the law… If you, citizen, were caught illegally using an NSA database to check up on that girl you met on OkCupid, what do you think would happen?


Do you reckon that you’d get a cease-and-desist letter — or that you’d be scooped up by a team of thick-necked men with very short haircuts and dumped in the darkest oubliette Uncle Sam has available? …This is an inversion of the right order. In a sane society, people entrusted with state power — from NSA agents down to traffic cops — would be held to a higher standard rather than a lower one, and sanctioned more severely for wrongdoing rather than less.”


“The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.” — Daniel Webster


Unfortunately, ffolkes, it’s too late; this happened a few years ago, when the Supreme Court sided with Wall Street, and approved the formation of Super PAC’s as legitimate organizations, with full sanction to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence the election process…. The Supremes, you see, were one of the first branches to fall under the influence of corporate money, back in the 1800’s when they first approved the laws that made corporations “people”, ensuring that corporate rights would be preserved over those of humans….


Oh well…. Since there’s nothing to be done now, unless I want to buy a gun, I guess I’ll just go have a whiskey, or twelve, and try to forget it for a while…. Well, that, or I’ll find more articles, and be back again to rail against the assholes who are killing us all, and don’t care, as long as they can get theirs….


“How many Kennedys does it take to change a light bulb? None, at least until we get some corroborating witnesses.”– Smart Bee


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


This is another of my own poems, recently rediscovered, so to speak…. I thought at first this was a different poem, but, the title is a metaphor, which I’d forgotten…. It refers to Asininnies, and their shenanigans on the public stage, not the weather….


From 9/18/2012:






November Dreams of Spring


Crass and cold, the beggar finds me swollen, so frail and fat 

with painful stepping motions, running, like a Republicrat.

Building with straw and spittle, should artists come aground,

we all pay heavily, a billion for a bloody pound.


Too desperate, too ashamed to play such a part

We ask for belief, and sweet liberty, dressing up so smart.

It falls between the simple cracks, always in a hurry

To find a shrunken ego, ashen, swift, and full of worry.


Never there was a more penitent group, such a sterling way

To fast in luxury, making sure the guilty enter, but do not stay.

Forgotten gods can find their diffident suitors tonight

With dream-fitted convention, and a natural sense of delight.


For all the silken babies cried, to see the broken dreams of power

forgiven moments of certitude serve, filling up the maiden’s bower.

All the patient, loving veterans of ancient foreign time,

give up their first impressions, dying, dying for a rhyme.


~~ gigoid ~~




Odd, isn’t it, how we sometimes fall into a trance to write…. or, maybe that’s just me…. ah well, regardless, enjoy!….


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


The pearl you see below is one of the special ones… I know because it picked itself, so to speak…. It’s a bit hard to describe, sometimes, exactly how that works, but, the point to this one is pretty much made clear, if nowhere else, at the ending…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s all pretty good food for thought…. Personally, I like number five, too….


“Fear is strange soil. Mainly it grows obedience like corn, which grows in rows and makes weeding easy. But sometimes it  grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.” — Terry Pratchett, _Small Gods_


“Freedom is found in no form of government; it is in the heart of the free man. He takes it with him everywhere. — Smart Bee


“Alienation without must be accompanied by alienation within; that is the law for every social level, even individuals. To harm one’s fellows, even one’s enemies, harms you, takes away some essential element from your self-respect and self-image.” — Greg Bear


“We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery


“How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise!” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xiii, Line 375


“Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit.” — Edward Abbey


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


It’s done, and, while it remains a surprise, I’m going to take my leave, post haste, stage left, taking my sanity, such as it is, with me…. Not that it is of much use out here in the Big Blue Room, but, at least it’s safe in my pocket…. If things continue to look up, I’ll see y’all 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, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Damn fine socks, mister….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

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Ffolkes,




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


~~ Socrates ~~


Animal Pictures of the Week London Daily Telegraph 
Animal Pictures of the Week
London Daily Telegraph




     “I am especially grateful to Saint-Expury for bringing out a paradoxical truth which seems to me of great psychological import: that man’s happiness lies not in freedom but in his acceptance of a duty.” — Andre Gidet, 1931, in the preface to Saint-Expury’s “Night Flight”, called “Flight to Arras” in the English version.


Serendipity can be of great help when one is floundering, if one is able to put aside any confusion to notice its presence…. I am in a deep funk, one brought on by a resurgence of PTSD symptoms, in reaction to some stressful issues with which I’ve been dealing over the last few weeks…. The details are not important; nor is any real discussion of my own neurotic/psychotic tendencies of any help that I can see…. 


However, the process of finding one’s center, and the inner balance to maintain one’s position there, is often helpful to discuss, if only to point out those ideas that may bring some relief, to myself, or anyone else, from the issues at hand…. In this case, the above quote from Mssr. Gide reminded me of something I already knew, but, lost track of in my floundering around in my head…. Easy to do, methinks, especially for those of us who dwell in our inner spaces a lot….


How does all this relate to a Pearl? Well, the fact is, I’m seriously considering NOT Pearling for a while…. The duty I have in life now is not one of my own choosing, in one sense, though there is, of course, another sense which always knows that ALL of what we do, and all of what happens TO US, is all our choice…. But, right now, I’m dealing with more pain and misery, for reasons found in the state of my own physique, than I ever imagined, much less thought to feel; having been healthy all my life, I didn’t imagine ever having my own body betray me…. I suppose that goes to show how little we actually know, and how much we need to learn to pay closer attention….


In any case, it seems to me that I’ve become too sedentary; my whole life these days revolves around the process of creating these Pearls…. The routines I’ve built up all are centered on the early morning period when I write; the rest of my day is generally taken up by methods of passing the time without increasing my pain…. In fact, my entire existence, including the writing of Pearls, is designed to keep my pain at a level that can be managed…. By pain, I am referring to both the physical pains I feel, from arthritis, diverticulosis, and the aftereffects of a life spent in hard labor (so to speak….), and the internal, mental pain that plagues me when my PTSD flares up….


It’s hard to say which is more debilitating; the physical pain is tough, especially when it all kicks in together, but, I can usually push past it to do stuff…. The mental pain is, perhaps, a bit harder to deal with, as when it strikes, I don’t want to do ANYTHING, not even think…. The chemical means I use to manage both types of pain are helpful, but, there are times when the pain pretty much IGNORES anything I take, and will push through all chemical barriers to make itself known…. Those times, while illuminating in terms of what one learns about one’s self, are NOT pleasant…. a word which, in this case, may be termed as reverse hyperbole….


As can be seen, today, my hands and joints are better; I’m typing without a need for long breaks, and the magic cream is working fine. Hence, this long, wordy, wandering intro section, all just to say that this may be the last Pearl you see for a time…. I am not sure. but, the statement above, re; duty, has caused some deep resonance in my spirit, and I feel I may be taking a hiatus from writing to go find my duty…. It’s that simple for me, you see…. I’ve always known that I am duty-driven, as any man worth his salt is…. Whether we like it or not, it’s the way we’re built, and we don’t do well without a purpose, one we have chosen to fulfill….


So, bear with me, ffolkes…. This could get maudlin, or it could get brilliant (less likely, I’m sure, in my current frame of mind….); what it WILL get is DONE, one last time, if it kills me….


Shall we Pearl?


“A hug is a heart to heart talk.” — Bobby Matherne (American writer, 1940-)


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


In order to keep with the theme today, here is some gorgeous music from a brilliant artist, playing music designed for the instrument he plays…. Enjoy!….







 


Yo Yo Ma… The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach 











































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


I definitely don’t have a rant in me today, other than one against reality, which is totally useless…. So, here is a discussion from the archives, that takes life down to a pretty simple level….


From 9/15/2012:


“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations


See? There, now, I’ve been saying this for years, and here’s old Marcus Aurelius, that Roman cogitator extraordinaire, putting it straight out there, way back around the time of J.C.’s failed attempt at societal reform. A very cogent, yet poignant description of human nature and the preponderance of Ego that drives most of humanity to act out of their own ignorance, rather than consider the veracity or usefulness of someone else’s ideas. This format for stating this answer to one of the great questions is one that all the best philosophers choose when creating aphorisms; clear, simple language and brutally honest self-examination provide us with true wisdom, like it or not……


What particularly gets me about people at large is the high percentage of folks who fall into the trap that Ego sets; for some reason, people seem to prefer the cozy blindness with which ignorance can cover them to the cold, harsh light of self-knowledge. The very ego that sets them apart from the rest of the animals who inhabit this planet becomes also the greatest threat to survival, when it is allowed to dictate how one views reality.


The state of society in today’s world rests on the brink of total collapse; any number of issues currently in play in the world can lead us to upheaval unseen since the last Ice Age. Pollution, created by mankind, is pumping tons of carbon monoxide into the air every minute, and all those precipitates are eventually bound to cause changes to climate that we will have no power to stop, or reverse.


The economy of the world is constantly on the verge of collapse in these times, due mostly to the unacknowledged crimes of the 1% of mankind who controls 99% of the money and resources. These crimes arise, again, out of Ego, as the elite of the world believe that they are “different” from the rest of humanity, and deserve to make all the decisions, which oddly enough, are only beneficial to themselves….. again, the power of Ego trumps virtue…..


I’m a smart guy, pretty much, but this is a problem for which even I cannot find a solution, other than the age-old, time-worn, and always ineffective war between the classes. That solution has been tried innumerable times throughout history, and each time the same structure of society re-settles into the same old shape, with a few people at the top, making all the important decisions for the rest of humanity. All because we, as individuals, and as a species, cannot learn to control our ego, to persuade it to act for the benefit of all, rather than just looking out for itself….. I figure that whatever happens will be what we deserve, and I can’t say that I think it will be very pretty, for the species….. or for a lot of individuals…..


Maybe there is a solution…. as a matter of fact, there is one that has been around for as long as mankind has been writing stuff down…. and it’s always the same little piece of advice, a little idea that can change one’s entire life and world-view….. but only if it is accepted, and believed, and applied to reality…… Everybody knows this, but, how many actually live it?…..


“Do unto all as you would wish to have done unto you, and reject for others what you would reject for yourself.” — Mohammed


That’s right, the Golden Rule…. a basic tenet of EVERY philosophy that Mankind has ever formulated; even most religions will acknowledge the wisdom of this, though it doesn’t serve their interests as well as they would wish. But, throughout history, we have always known what is the right way to act…. we’ve just always chosen not to apply the principle in interacting with others…. Instead, we allow our ego to dictate how we behave, thus bringing us to the current world, with all of its problems and dangers…..


SIGH….. It’s really quite easy, and it’s the only answer that will work, in the long run. It really is too bad that most of humanity isn’t buying into it, isn’t it?……


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I’ve been inundating y’all with my own poetry, so, here is one we all have seen before, at one time or another, from a poet who needs no introduction from me….




The Arrow and the Song


I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight

Could not follow it in its flight. 


I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flight of song? 


Long, long afterward, in an oak

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend. 


~~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~~




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Above, I stated I don’t have a rant in me…. but, that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything about which I want to rant. It only means I don’t believe I’ve got the mental acuity to do it right…. Smart Bee, however, seems to be in fine fettle, now that it has gotten over whatever snit it was pursuing there for a while….


This pearl speaks about modern society, in this country specifically, but with relevance to the entire gamut of human culture today…. Follow the bouncing idea ball to the perfect resolution to the issues brought forth by this most excellent indictment…. I couldn’t have done better if I’d tried….


“Existing order thrives upon ignorance and lies. Objective truth and individual reason are feared above all.” — Smart Bee


“Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. In democracy, what you get generally is bad government by a bully, tempered by the pen of several newspaper editors.” — George Bernard Shaw — Man and Superman (1903) Maxims for Revolutionists: Democracy


“But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.” — Frederic Bastiat, The Law


“It doesn’t require any particular bravery to stand on the floor of the Senate and urge our boys in Vietnam to fight harder, and if this war mushrooms into a major conflict and a hundred thousand young Americans are killed, it won’t be U. S. Senators who die. It will be American soldiers who are too young to qualify for the senate.” — George McGovern


“The history of most countries has been that of majorities – mounted majorities, clad in iron, armed with death, treading down the tenfold more numerous minorities.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes poet, novelist, physician 1809-1894


“Capitalism did not arise because capitalists stole the land, but because it was more efficient than feudalism. It will perish because it is not merely less efficient than socialism, but actually self-destructive.” — J. B. S. Haldane


“We’ve got to end this foolishness.” — Smart Bee


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“So as this only point among the rest remaineth sure and certain, namely, that nothing is certain. . .” — Pliny The Elder


Pliny the Elder, in many of his works, tended to lean a bit toward the fantastic, especially when it came to biology, a science of which he knew very little, but said much… The above, however, is perfectly true, and is a good place to end today’s missive, as it fits right in with my mood…. Most days, at this point, I would say, see y’all tomorrow…. Today, all I will say is, be real, and wish me luck, in finding some peace of mind…. 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, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
No job for a gentleman….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“I count religion but a childish toy … there is no sin but ignorance.”


~~ Machiavel, from The Jew of Malta ~~


~~ Christopher Marlowe ~~


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    Mei stumbled under the load she carried, as she climbed the path to her parent’s cottage, set upon a small hill just outside the town where they lived…. The town sat on the road leading to the great city of Peking, where the Emperor held court with the great nobles and beautiful ladies Mei saw each day, passing by on the Great Road leading into the city from the south. Mei liked to watch them pass by, seated in their swaying palanquins, distant and aloof, as they stared indolently out at the gaping crowds along the roads, wishing she could see the court, where the bright clothes and sparking jewels of the courtesans were said to outshine the sun…. She just knew it would be the most beautiful sight she would ever see….


Bah, humbug…. I’m already bored with little Mei; I’m pretty sure she’ll end up as another fashion maven, or courtesan, doomed to a short life full of the misery so common to the lower classes in ancient China…. or, at least, if the Emperors back then were of the same ilk as today’s ruling classes, it would be so. I don’t think human nature has undergone any particularly startling changes over the last couple thousand years…. No, the depths of human stupidity are boundless, and I don’t think there are enough of us who can see what is happening to be able to change the direction we’ve taken, one sure to lead us to places we do NOT want to end up….


But, sadly, the Asininnies who run the planet are no smarter than the rest of us….. They refuse to see beyond the needs of their own avarice and lust for power, blithely assuming their invulnerability…. So, I rant, and make my peace with karma, so as to remain ready for the imminent extinction I see as the only remaining outcome to our current state of affairs…. I hate to be pessimistic, as humans do have the potential to make the necessary changes; I just haven’t seen any evidence that would show there are enough ffolkes willing to make those changes, compared to those who prefer to ignore any and all warnings from reality that their actions are not merely unproductive, but, frankly suicidal….


There I go again…. Damn, I sure wish that wouldn’t happen, but, I suppose if it didn’t, this blog wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has…. There is something to be said for stubbornness…. I’m not certain just what that may be, but, hey, I don’t know everything….. That has been made perfectly clear in the past three-plus years, hasn’t it? I do however, have a small degree of control over this vessel, so, I can utilize whatever exit strategies we may need to get us where we need to go…. Well, I’m authorized to do so, even if it isn’t always physically possible…. we do try, though, honest.


Not only do we make a concerted effort to maintain control, we don’t charge any extra fees for doing it, so, I guess that makes us a bunch of bloody altruists, now, doesn’t it? Not a bad reputation for one old, fat fart with flat feet, and a tendency for his nose to grow red and round…. In fact, I think I’ll take this opportunity to rest firmly upon my laurels, insofar as it applies to the task at hand, which, of course, may be seen to be of the category “not at all”….. In point of further fact, I’m now fully in the process of cheating, which hopefully will take us out of this mess, one rapidly losing all hope of ever being rescued…..


In fact, I’m so officially and completely lost, we’re leaving…. NOW….


Shall we Pearl?




Come away, O human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.


~~ William Butler Yeats, “The Stolen Child” ~~




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After such a strangely apt opening, I think a bit of music to soothe our now-troubled minds would be in order….




Music for reading – Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Debussy, Lizst, Schumann








































 


 




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“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” — From The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, by Robert A. Heinlein


Cognitive Synthesis of Perception. Precognitive Forecasting. Looking At The Big Picture. Multi-tiered thought. There are many phrases/words used to try to describe the process of prognostication of future events in human culture, a pastime obviously fraught with the danger of being wrong more often than not. The future has a past history of surprising us with its unpredictability, almost without fail, as we are not as smart as we would like to believe, IN RELATION TO THE BIG PICTURE.


That last part, you see, is a fatal flaw in all of us; by using our intellect, by removing our minds and thoughts from the plane on which we exist with everything else, spending time in our imagination, we tend to lose the connection we have to what is REAL, thereby failing to account for that source of information/perceptions, and/or its influence on what may come to pass.


In short, we forget to calculate OUR OWN effect on events, which, as is patently obvious, is completely predictable, in its insistence on sticking to a pattern of deliberate stupidity in the face of reality. We humans, as a matter of course, will use all our will to deny reality if it doesn’t fit in with our preconceived notions of what we would LIKE reality to be….


Most of the time, our unwillingness to think puts us, according to those who would have us believe without examination, under the control of supernatural being, who will forever relieve us of any responsibility for our actions, and will never, ever make us try to think for ourselves again, once they have surrendered our will to this delusional entity…. This delusion is particularly powerful in its reliance on “ipse dixit” reasoning, which allows the proponents of the blindness the permission to completely ignore any and all contradictory evidence they may be presented with, whether real, or reasoned…. Nothing will penetrate, because they won’t allow it….


If you think I’m exaggerating, then I offer the following as a relatively strong set of proof, of an ilk even the most ignorant could conceivably find acceptable, in that it’s all direct reporting by other humans, all of whom suffer from the same core set of delusions…. even those who seem to be reporting contradictory evidence…. Very few of them actually express any awareness of THEIR OWN prejudices…. but, one must read SOMETHING in order to find ANY kind of thought stimulus….


Below are a large number of links to articles I read on the Net yesterday…. Most express outrage at the bozoid activities they describe, so, at least those authors have some clue as to what is going on, so, what they report assumes a slightly more acceptable level of what might be held as truth…. My point can be found not by reading and studying each and every article, end to end, (as I MOSTLY did…. sigh, I’m tired, too…), but, rather, by looking at the total picture, the gestalt, as it were, that is suggested by considering them ALL as single pieces of evidence of the problem that exists in humanity’s nature…. Some seem to be good news, some are obviously NOT so encouraging, but, all point to the same conclusion, my friends, using any sort of reasoning method you may choose to apply…


In short, looking at the Big Picture will convince you that THE ENTIRE WORLD HAS GONE INSANE, AND THERE IS NO CURE!


Sorry, ffolkes, but, as far as I can see, all the evidence available points to that conclusion, and I do try to be realistic, if somewhat optimistic at times…. Okay, hell, busted; I’m a cynical old curmudgeon…. Nevertheless, I still don’t see much that convinces me people are going to change, not enough to make enough difference against the inertia created by the mass of STUPIDITY and DELIBERATE IGNORANCE I see surrounding me on this planet…. Meanwhile, well, here I am, stuck on this sorry old ball of mud without my space ship, and no other way to get away before it all goes south….. No hills to head out for, so to speak….


Here, read as many as you like…. There are lots more where these came from, and each one is rant-worthy by itself….. Afterwards, I’ll include a few pearls to  help illustrate the point….


http://observer.com/2014/11/breaking-doj-moves-to-disqualify-all-defense-attorneys-who-know-of-govt-misconduct/


http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/19/3593628/how-did-this-unarmed-schizophrenic-woman-get-killed-by-cleveland-police/


http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/18/3593645/house-epa-science-advisory-board-bill/


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345795/-Gov-Mike-Pence-says-not-giving-food-to-the-unemployed-will-ennoble-them?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29



http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/11/18/3593389/congress-postal-service/


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345753/-About-these-pundits-and-their-fetish-for-bipartisanship-Can-t-they-just-find-a-toe-to-suck-instead?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345751/-McConnell-Boehner-struggle-to-find-a-way-around-another-government-shutdown?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29



http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/19/hillsborough-inquest-police-story-forced-gate-liverpool-supporters


http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/19/nsa-reform-surveillance-usa-freedom-act-section-215



http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/19/man-allegedly-tortured-us-ulk-troops-wins-right-sue-damages


http://time.com/3594482/holiday-shopping-black-friday-thanksgiving-christmas-gifts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29


I would like to point out the sheer avarice our culture encourages as implied by the last article, as well as to have you note that this is an article about buying ‘stuff’ for Christmas, in November, while we are still over a week away from Thanksgiving…. SIGH….


“I never could see why people were so happy about Dickens’ `A Christmas Carol’ because I never had any confidence that Scrooge was going to be any different the next day.” — Dr. Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist (1893-1990), — on the transience of the Christmas spirit.


“There live not three good men unhanged in England; and one of them is fat and grows old.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act ii, Sc. 4


“We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it.” — Dwight D Eisenhower


“The distinction between Freedom and Liberty is not accurately known; naturalists have been unable to find a living specimen of either.” — Ambrose Bierce “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.” — Robert Louis Stevenson


“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations


“I think as long as you suffer for your sins, they don’t count.” — Calvin


“I don’t think we should punish the criminal [a rapist] by killing his child.” — Dr. John Wilke, President, National Right to Life Committee, — Search for Common Ground, taped for television 4/89, as quoted in — The Far Right, Speaking For Themselves, a Planned Parenthood pamphlet


To summarize, once more, with feeling, loud enough for those in the rear of the hall to hear…. say it with me now!…..


“Stupidity is much the same all the world over.” — John Stuart Mill


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Today’s ending quote in the intro section was a bit of a tease, so, here is another bit of doggerel from our old friend, Willie B…..






When You Are Old


When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.


~~ William Butler Yeats ~~




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In an attempt to counter-balance the large load of deliberate mendacity described in section two above, here is an old school pearl with advice, comments, and observations about some of humanity’s more sterling qualities, few as they may be….




Know then this truth (enough for man to know),–


“Virtue alone is happiness below.”


~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~


~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 309 ~~




“My own life has been spent chronicling the rise and fall of human systems, and I am convinced that we are terribly vulnerable…. We should be reluctant to turn back upon the frontier of this epoch. Space is indifferent to what we do; it has no feeling, no design, no interest in whether or not we grapple with it. But we cannot be indifferent to space, because the grand, slow march of intelligence has brought us, in our generation, to a point from which we can explore and understand and utilize it. To turn back now would be to deny our history, our capabilities.” — James A Michener


“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.” — Thomas Jefferson




And it’s just a box of rain

I don’t know who put it there

Believe it if you need it

Or leave it if you dare

And it’s just a box of rain

Or a ribbon for your hair

Such a long, long time to be gone

And a short time to be there


~~ Box of Rain by Lesh, Hunter ~~




“Have no respect whatsoever for authority; forget who said it and instead look at what he starts with, where he ends up, and ask yourself, “Is it reasonable?” — Richard Feyman’s father


“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Freewill.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)




The thought manifests as the word;

The word manifests as the deed;

The deed develops into habit;

And habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its ways with care,

And let it spring from love

Born out of concern for all beings.


~~ The Buddha ~~


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Today’s Pearl came together rather quickly, given the fact the ranting section was completed yesterday as I perused the news…. There were so many egregious examples of just how crazy the world has gone, it put itself together…. So, here I am, at 0545, mostly done, and no idea what to do next…. The rest of the world won’t be up for a couple hours, mostly, so, I may as well just go back to bed…. I could, I suppose, try to find something constructive to do, but, what fun would THAT be, eh? I think I’ll go find a bureaucrat to torment, if I can find one out of bed this early…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….