Alarms, and sirens, and gunshots, oh my!….

Posted on October 18, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

In spite of massive outpourings of attempted distraction, perpetrated by my own unconscious mind, I made it here, only to find myself confronted once again by the specter of a blank mind…. Vague, terrifying echoes of past Pearls, wherein I spent hours, nay, days, it seems, searching and searching, desperate and panicked, yet always managing to, somehow, find enough blather within to fulfill the minimum required standards…. It’s a gift, though not one most ffolkes will acknowledge… I, on the other hand, lost all pride years ago, and realize that there is nothing shameful at all in admitting one’s faults…. In fact, with the right spin, those faults can be turned into assets, of a sort….

Of course, one must never try to profit from using personal faults as tools; that borders not only on the immoral, but on creepy, and I’m not going there, no sir…. Naturally, you will never mention in public that I ever admitted to that, right? I could get in a lot of trouble with the morals police…. not to mention a harsh word or two from Stephen King, the master of creepy…. Tell you what, you keep my confidence, and I’ll do my best to avoid a rant in the intro today, how’s that? Seems like a fair trade to me….

Now we’ve settled that, we can go on… Of course, I have absolutely no idea where we’re going today, as is no doubt crystal clear by now. I started this Pearl without a clue, and haven’t discovered any since beginning, so, it’s looking like one of THOSE days…. a day of pulling rabbits from hats, and flowers from the sleeve…. A day of acting like a politician/preacher, spouting off nonsensical and/or simply untrue grandiosities to distract y’all from what I’m doing with my other hand…. You know, the one with all the hair growing out of the palm….

SIGH…. I hate days like this…. It’s really hard on my honest nature to pull the same tricks as our beloved rulers are accustomed to pulling…. I mean, I can tell a story with the best of them, but, I usually remember to tell ffolkes when they aren’t reality-based, but, rather, come from my imagination…. The pundits will NEVER show that courtesy…. I remember the last time one of them tried to tell the truth in public; it made a compelling video, watching this veteran talking head blushing, blustering, stuttering, fumbling, and basically undergoing a personal meltdown, all because he was cornered into telling the reporter an actual piece of truth…. very satisfying for one of my ilk….

Now that I’ve gone completely bonkers, by trying to pass off this large pile of shit as prosaic prose, or as entertainment, it would probably be a good thing for me to find a way to bring this to a close, and get on with something a bit less, well, pointless…. though, to be truthful, I’m not sure at this point whether or not I’ve got anything remotely truthful in me today….. I’m feeling rather political, and am experiencing a very strong urge to lie to people, just because I can…. Wait, is this a rant?…. Oops…

I’m going to have to exert some real effort today just to keep this from going completely off the rails…. and yet, it sure is attractive to think about letting myself be political for a day….. I mean, it must be really liberating to be able to lie whenever you feel like it. Even more liberating must be the feeling that one is entitled to lie in order to achieve one’s ends….

Ah well, that’s a state of mind that I would NOT be capable of assuming, anyway…. I’m afraid I have a tape in my memory, left there by my father, that would start playing if I ever lied for no justifiable purpose….. For me, it’s a foregone conclusion that, if I ever tried to lie like that, this tape, playing in my father’s voice, would leave me no peace at all until I had given up any such notion….

Now that I’ve completely lost my way…. Shall we Pearl?….

“A person of honor regrets a discreditable act even when it worked.” — Smart Bee

(I rest my case….)
_____________________________

Now that the budget crisis in Washington has reached some kind of near-resolution, and the country’s credit rating remains up in the fantasy level, while the imaginary numbers used for calculating our debt ceiling are once again considered as real numbers, I guess we can assume that things will return to relative normal, for the time being, until the NEXT crisis that develops to take our eyes off the more important stuff they don’t want us to think about….

For example, I found this article yesterday, from Mark Fiore, the Pulitzer-winning video artist and political commentator, whose brilliant political cartoon videos have punched countless politicians right where it hurts the most…. in their non-functioning moral sense…. This one is, as usual, perfectly timed to bring the awareness of new revelations about the spying being done by the NSA, at our POTUS’s insistence….

http://blog.sfgate.com/fiore/2013/10/16/new-from-the-nsa-internal-patriot-discovery/

“To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” — Leonardo da Vinci

The talking heads in Washington don’t want us to know this little piece of wisdom from Leo…. If too many normal folks became aware of this, and started to use their heads for something other than a hat rack, politicians would go the way of the dodo bird, and in short order….. But, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, would it? Well, I don’t think so….. I think we, as a nation, could use a break from these idiots, and their posturing…. It’s been really hard the last few weeks, watching the news as those Tea Party assholes paraded their ignorance for all the world to see….

This time, their rhetoric has backfired on them; public confidence in politicians in general, and Republicans specifically, has NEVER been lower, which makes me happy as a, well, a clam, which, if you stop to think about it, is usually pretty happy, by all the available evidence…. I’ve added a link below to some of the more pointed political cartoons that were published during this mess we’ve just witnessed…. Some of them are pretty sharp, and all of them indicate pretty well how LITTLE respect for politicians remains, in the public’s perception, of the responsible parties specifically, and government as a whole….

http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/editorials/slideshow/Shutdown-madness-Recap-of-cartoons-on-the-fight-71244.php

There…. I feel better, and didn’t have to rant. I’m sure, in the final analysis, you will appreciate that, too….
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Tomorrow begins another cruise for me, meaning this blog will go travelogue, but, one more Pearl will be posted before I take off for the boat…. The reason I note this now is because the anticipation is distracting me somewhat from getting this Pearl done with any dispatch…. I’m gazing off into space too much, thinking about stuff left to do today, and tomorrow, before we leave, at about 1 PM…. Thus, today’s poetry selection is one that you can trust, as I had to concentrate really hard just to get it done, so I went with what I know to be a winner…. I hope you enjoy today’s selections, both by the same author, as well as two of my favorite poems of all time….

A Caution To Everybody

Consider the auk;
Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.
Consider man, who may well become extinct
Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer

This is a song to celebrate banks,
Because they are full of money and you go into them and all
you hear is clinks and clanks,
Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills,
Which is the rustling of the thousand dollar bills.
Most bankers dwell in marble halls,
Which they get to dwell in because they encourage deposits
and discourage withdrawals,
And particularly because they all observe one rule which woe
betides the banker who fails to heed it,
Which is you must never lend any money to anybody unless
they don’t need it.
I know you, you cautious conservative banks!
If people are worried about their rent it is your duty to deny
them the loan of one nickel, yes, even one copper engraving
of the martyred son of the late Nancy Hanks;
Yes, if they request fifty dollars to pay for a baby you must
look at them like Tarzan looking at an uppity ape in the
jungle,
And tell them what do they think a bank is, anyhow, they had
better go get the money from their wife’s aunt or ungle.
But suppose people come in and they have a million and they
want another million to pile on top of it,
Why, you brim with the milk of human kindness and you
urge them to accept every drop of it,
And you lend them the million so then they have two million
and this gives them the idea that they would be better off
with four,
So they already have two million as security so you have no
hesitation in lending them two more,
And all the vice-presidents nod their heads in rhythm,
And the only question asked is do the borrowers want the
money sent or do they want to take it withm.
Because I think they deserve our appreciation and thanks,
the jackasses who go around saying that health and happi-
ness are everything and money isn’t essential,
Because as soon as they have to borrow some unimportant
money to maintain their health and happiness they starve
to death so they can’t go around any more sneering at good
old money, which is nothing short of providential.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

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At last! I’ve finally reached the third section, and, having fulfilled the required degree of thoughtful composition, using rantable material, grade three or higher, I am allowed to stop trying to think, and let Smart Bee pick out some pearls, sans my direction, which, at this point, would be detrimental, anyway…. Best I keep my hands out of it, for now…. Let’s see what kind of mood Smart Bee is in today, shall we?…..

“If you’re a preacher, you talk for a living, so even if you don’t make sense, you learn to make nonsense eloquently.” — Andrew Young
(Unusual candor from one of his species….)

“If a person with multiple personalities threatens suicide…. is that considered a hostage situation?” — Smart Bee

“When an elephant is in trouble even a frog will kick him.” — Hindu Proverb

“It isn’t so astonishing the number of things I can remember, as the number of things I can remember that aren’t so.” — Mark Twain

“I didn’t understand this at first, but YOUR CONVINCING USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS HAS MADE IT ALL CLEAR TO ME.” — J. Nairn

“Wherever I go, there I am, Pooh mused.” — A.A. Milne

Try it, you’ll like it. Trust me.

I have no explanation…. I also have no excuse, but, I don’t think I really need one, do you?…. It’s all just a mirage, you know, and, reality is only that which we all agree on, or, as Phil said, that which, when we stop believing in it, doesn’t go away…. unlike me, who will now do so…. go away, that is….
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Having been there when it was written, I have some serious qualms about having to go back over it to proof for typos and/or grammar; it could cause some serious Windows-like brain-freeze…. Oh well, life is a risk, n’est pas?…

I knew I should have stayed in bed longer…. That was an ordeal of some magnitude, and, I still am not sure that it’s all perfectly sane… I guess that makes it a perfect Pearl, and I should just shut up now, and accept the inevitable…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

A special sale on Dear John letters…..

Posted on October 13, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

In just a couple of weeks, I’ll be celebrating my 63rd birthday….. Perhaps ‘celebrating’ is not the right word; let’s say I’ll acknowledge it, and let it go at that…. In truth, though, I’m not typical in how I look at birthdays; I actually enjoy aging, from an intellectual standpoint. However, I don’t feel old, at this moment, though, physically, I do feel my age frequently….. But, in my mind, I still feel as if I am 25 years old, and can still do anything at all with my body… which, back then, I did so, a lot. That’s why I’m so frail now, according to my doctor, but that’s neither here nor there… In most ways, I don’t feel as if death is near, even though I am aware of entering his neighborhood, so to speak….

I don’t believe that paragraph says what I am trying to say very well. That could be due to the hour of the day, or the insufficient number of ounces of coffee thus far consumed; most likely it’s my normal confusion expressing itself, in its own inimitable way. I suppose I’m trying to say that even though I’m getting older all the time, it only seems to affect my body, and not my mind…. For this I can only be grateful, as there are many, many things the mind can figure out how to do without having the full use of physical attributes. There is very little the body can do to make up for not having one’s mental faculties in full working order….. I mean, any complex math is out, if one has to count higher than 20, or so, and no way I’m trusting my body to write a Pearl…. It’s already hard enough to get them to work in tandem….

Okay, that’s silly, but, you get the drift, I hope…. I’m fresh out of cliches and aphorisms to get it said in any elegant way, so, what has transpired will have to do for the nonce. Since we are already at the cusp of giving up altogether (this is starting to look a bit like one that will go in the trash, and get started over…..), I’d best decide how much further I’ll go in trying to get to my point…. a point, I will add, that is now getting pretty foggy itself, and may have been lost completely by the time I get to the end of this paragraph…. It certainly has retreated well into the background, while I go through all these wordy contortions, trying to find my way back to my original thought….

I see that I’ve reached nearly enough material to call this an intro, even though nothing has been either introduced, or begun well, in any fashion. Maybe THIS is the mental deterioration people often speak of when talking about getting old; it certainly happens often enough to look that way. You COULD say this has been coming on for some time; if I go back over the Pearls from the recent past, I see that this section has undergone some rather odd changes over the course of this year….

I wander from subject to subject much more frequently, usually AWAY from any coherency…. I lose track of my thoughts, as I write them…. I cover that up by being silly, not even caring how it makes me look…. I tend to fall easily into ranting, though without providing as much factual evidence as opinion, which is fine, in and of itself, but, not a good policy over time…. people want proof. And, I’m easily distracted, as the ranting indicates…. Hmm….. all of these are symptomatic of age related issues, so, I guess this means what I’d hoped it didn’t….. Hell, I didn’t even go into how many trips to the bathroom I make, compared to my younger self….

I’m old, and there’s no way around it, so I may as well just go with the flow…. If that flow means verbal diarrhea for up to six complete paragraphs, such as this morning, well, then, I’ll just let it take me away, just as if I were pleased about it all…. I wonder, though, is it going with the flow, or getting flushed? I think…. that I don’t want to think about that one any further…. Instead, I’ll just say this…. Yeah, I’m old, but, so fucking what? I’m tough, too, and stubborn, and full of curmudgeonly passion…. and I’ve still got a lot to say about the people in this world who have it in for everyone else…. So, take it, or leave it, but, that’s the way it is….

Shall we Pearl?….

“I used to wonder about the meaning of life. But I looked it up in the dictionary under L and there it was, the meaning of life. It was less than I expected.” — Dogbert
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Yesterday, I thought my rant was pretty accurate, showing how the BRC, the priestly hierarchies, and all those who manipulate others solely for their own benefit have worked together over centuries to enslave mankind…. I’m not going to claim any conspiracy to do so, even though the act itself, of controlling others, is evidence enough of intent to conspire; the system that exists today in the world has evolved rather than been constructed… Those who have the urge to power have always pursued it, and the rest of us have always suffered for it….

Now, we’ve come to a point in our history where each act of this nature assumes greater importance in the overall scheme of things; the more the shadowy masters of society work to keep their acts secret, the harder people try to uncover them…. and, since the ones who have all the power aren’t technicians, they have to depend on some of the unwashed masses to perform certain tasks…. As they suspected, that was a risk, which has led to the recent revelations in the news about how much our governments spy on us, and not unsurprisingly to some of us, showing how much of what the government does is NOT being honest.

Below I’ve put another link to an article, which, to me, is very good in its intent and delivery, but doesn’t go far enough in its implied criticism…. Eric Snowden, the NSA tech who blew the whistle on the NSA, makes one statement, (included just after the link below…), that outlines very well what I think; it’s a good summary statement of what our POTUS has done during his reign of office….. Not that this POTUS is any worse than any of the Shrubs, or for that matter, any of them…. But, he IS the one who got himself elected mainly by stating he would make changes long overdue…. As far as I can see, NONE of those necessary changes have occurred, at least, not so far….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Snowden-mass-surveillance-making-us-less-safe-4890413.php

“Snowden said the U.S. government was “unwilling to prosecute high officials who lied to Congress and the country on camera, but they’ll stop at nothing to persecute someone who told them the truth.” ”

This is truth, ffolkes….. The Obama administration, according to the article I put here yesterday, has instituted more prosecutions of security leaks against writers, news organizations, and anyone who showed how deeply the spying has been thrust into our lives, than ANY previous administration, which is having a very serious effect on how willing reporters are to exposing those leaks, or to even use them for material…. This is their policy, in spite of the fact that what they are doing is ILLEGAL, even according to the asinine Patriot Act that is at the root of the problem…. This administration has exceeded the limits of that Act ever since it was signed, deliberately; they don’t even bother to conceal it, as the proof has already been published, with documented emails and policy statements that make it clear they KNEW they were exceeding their authority….

“To disarm the people – that was the best and most effective way to enslave them ….” — George Mason ( Framer of the Declaration of Rights, Virginia, 1776, — which became the basis for the U.S. Bill of Rights ) — 3 Elliot, Debate at 380.

George is right in this, but he forgot another method for disarming the people, one that is just as effective in controlling the populace…., the one that is currently being used…. The people’s only and best weapon against depredations by the government is not guns, though they are useful, and essential in any free society… But, guns are only useful for enforcing one’s beliefs. Knowledge, and information about what is being done, is actually the most powerful weapon we have, as well as the most powerful tool the BRC has to keep us under their control… If we don’t KNOW what they’re doing, we can’t stop it. If we don’t KNOW they are fucking us over, we can’t stop them….

In this modern world, aptly called the Age of Information, correct data, or more accurately, the truth, is the most powerful weapon at anyone’s disposal… If the government continues to operate in the way they are now, then we won’t even KNOW that they’ve done something to us, until it’s all done… Our only real protection is the freedom of the press, and of speech, and the freedom to act to find redress for acts of infamy against us…. Those acts are now being perpetrated mostly by our own leaders, and if we don’t have the guts to stop them, well, then they are going to keep on controlling us all right into our graves….

I know this rant sounds a bit disorganized; I did that deliberately, because it is another form of get-back at the BRC…. If they’re going to take the time to look at what I write, to keep track of yet another dissatisfied citizen, who could conceivably cause them problems, should any significant number of people ever start listening to my ideas, well, then, I’m going to make it as long and complex as I can, just to thumb my nose at them…. They’ll have to dig through all this to get at whatever they see as the nuggets of seditious material, so I like to dress it up pretty for them…. and, bury it deep, so they have to sweat a bit to dig it out…

“What you see but can’t see over is as good as infinite.” — Thomas Carlyle

I’m going to end this here, not because I’ve run out of anger, or of material, but because I’m over-amped, and it’s too early for this kind of emotional storm…. It’s getting hard to NOT become angry at what I see in the news each day; though I am not a spring chicken, and don’t expect everything to go my way in the world, it would be nice to be able to count on something, or someone, in the real world to be truthful, or honest, or at least, not completely DIS-honest…. But, I guess that’s expecting a lot of human nature, given its track record….. There isn’t a lot of historical evidence of that kind of behavior, especially at the higher levels of government, or the higher levels of the priesthood….

Stay alert, ffolkes…. As axiom #7 says…. “Do your Duty. Respect Life. Honor the Truth. Share your Love.”,….. and watch your data…. Enough!….

“I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.” — H. L. Mencken

“If you’re facing the richest and most disgusting conspiracy in history, you have to do more than stick up two fingers and say “peace”.” — Ben Elton, Stark
_____________________________

Given the subject matter in today’s rant, I was going to put in another of my poems, with a clear message to the PTB… But, in looking for it, I came across this one, and it feels like a better one for today… With poetry, I tend to go with feelings more consistently than I do with reason, so….

Honorable Request

Days, filled to a brim with fluff and time, pass
dimly into memory, bit by combative bit,
ever mournful, yet loud with life and sass,
only in dream do we meet, and dance, and flit.

Souls, spinning ’round in gleeful wonder, comply
as they must, never given a reason,
somberly proper, yet limber and quite spry,
dancing on to greet each bright new season.

Storms, angered by apathetic care, rage
proceeding into ministerial glare, unknown,
clothed in colors, purified solely with sage,
past an infinite future, already flown.

Life, plumbed to its depths and secrets, keeps
flowing with currents, strong and fairly found,
love stands, asking release, as it slowly weeps,
seeking refuge unasked, to stay honor bound.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Having dutifully, and necessarily, given in to the urge to rant, BEFORE I read the day’s headlines, I am now fully authorized to move on to a more light-hearted duty, to find the perfect string of pearls to make a necklace of virtual wisdom, one that shines with enough beauty to illuminate, and inspire… Or, if nothing else, give us a bit of a chuckle…. The Irish are fond of of saying, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”….

“Any mental functions attempted in this area must be re- evaluated during a subsequent period. It has been discovered that standard logic works sideways in this area due to the influence of the occupant.” — Smart Bee

“That which leads us to the performance of duty by offering pleasure as its reward, is not virtue, but a deceptive copy and imitation of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

“It [the Bible] is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) — Letters from the Earth (1905-1909)

PRESIDENT, n. The leading figure in a small group of men of whom — and of whom only — it is positively known that immense numbers of their countrymen did not want any of them for President.

If that’s an honor surely ’tis a greater
To have been a simple and undamned spectator.
Behold in me a man of mark and note
Whom no elector e’er denied a vote! —
An undiscredited, unhooted gent
Who might, for all we know, be President
By acclimation. Cheer, ye varlets, cheer —
I’m passing with a wide and open ear!
Jonathan Fomry

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“The purpose and function of government is not to preside over change but to prevent change. By political methods when unavoidable, by violence when convenient.” — Edward Abbey

“It is hard to let old beliefs go. They are familiar. We are comfortable with them and have spent years building systems and developing habits that depend on them. Like a man who has worn eyeglasses so long that he forgets he has them on, we forget that the world looks to us the way it does because we have become used to seeing it that way through a particular set of lenses. Today, however, we need new lenses. And we need to throw the old ones away.” — Kenich Ohmae, The Borderless World

“People fashion their God after their own understanding. They make their God first and worship him afterwards.” — Oscar Wilde

“Giving power and money to the government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” — P.J. O’Rourke, former Gulf War correspondent, — summing up what he learned — during two years of research on how our government functions

Well, rather than going for humor, it seems as if Smart Bee was paying attention earlier, and decided to collect a group of pearls that are obviously related to the rant above, if only in the indictment, by several of history’s more rational minds, of both the BRC, and the unholy perpetrators of any of the major religions…. I don’t know about y’all, but, I like it, so, it stays….
_____________________________

Someday, I suppose, I’ll figure this out, and just sit down each day to write, knowing in advance how it will go; today, however, has been typical for me, in that I’ve no clue as to how it got done, really…. but, there it is, so I’d best go proof it, so as not to embarrass myself any further than is absolutely necessary….

I’m shocked, shocked I tell you… This isn’t bad. It isn’t necessarily brilliant, but, it will do until brilliant comes along, for me anyway…. This means that once again, I’m done, and I didn’t even know it… See ya, got stuff to pack for the trip…. 🙂

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

Free speech, with a side order of lies….

Posted on September 26, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Today’s title is a bit more relevant than usual; it’s kind of a mini-rant, in it’s own little way, complete with sarcasm, and outrage, right there for all to perceive, should they so choose. The title was a reaction, in essence, to an email I got yesterday from the White House…. Yes, that’s right, the White House…. There’s no need to be impressed, or to think I’ve got a good line into the administration, or anything like that….. Like millions of other folks, I once clicked on some link that offered me a chance to give my opinion to them, back in the beginning of Barry’s reign….. I sent what was supposed to be a comment on some of what I’d seen, knowing full well I what I was letting myself in for, to wit: spam with a side of grits….

I don’t mean to be racist by that statement; I was being literal, actually. Ever since sending that one email, I have been inundated with multiple daily blurbs from Michelle Obama, from Stephanie Cutter, and a host of other names I don’t recognize, all of whom are perky, enthusiastic, and want me to send them money…. Occasionally, like today, a personal note from the First Lady herself, asking me to send in a comment for them to parade as part of their claim to grassroots connections…. I’m so thrilled to have been personally addressed by the FLOTUS, and will immediately rush out to complete the task she asked of me, to furnish my version of “the number one issue I care about”, so they can use that information to guide them to doing the best thing for me and all the other poor saps out there believing this crap…

What annoys me the most, aside from having to delete several emails a day from these idiots, (and, yes, I include the FLOTUS in that group…. Sorry, I just can’t bring myself to get too enthused about anyone who buys into the whole scene she endorses….). Just because I sent ONE email to them, an email they obviously did NOT read, they assume I am behind them 100%, and address me daily as if I am one of their trusted minions…. This is actually the reason I have not opted out of the email group; it gives me some idea of what they are up to, which is a good thing for my strategic plans. I’m just following the old saw about keeping my friends close, and my enemies closer….

You may wonder how I can call myself a patriot, when I am so dead-set against BOTH sides of the political scene we see today…. Well, it’s simple…. I am patriotic only about the vision of our country, of what I believe framers of the Constitution and Bill of Rights had in mind when they wrote them. They had a vision of a country where men of good virtue and character could pursue their own personal view of what is good and right, in the atmosphere of freedom of thought, and of action, that the laws provide to us. The founders of our nation saw very clearly that what they sought was a fragile state, and would always be in danger from those who envy the freedoms we enjoy, and from those who would take it away, for their own profit and power….

Those people, the ones who have no virtue, save that of self-interest, are now in control of this country, and have been since the mid-19th century, when a corrupt federal judge made a landmark decision that gutted the Constitution, making it relatively useless for the purpose it was created. One legal judgment, deliberately made by a judge who made no secret of his loyalty to those who paid him, took the most basic rights away from the common man, and put them into the hands of corporate entities that don’t exist anywhere but on paper…..The corporate interests that actually control the events of history thus secured their position as the shadowy puppet masters of society, and they did so right in front of the public eye….

SIGH…. I see that once again I’ve ranted before I was really ready to do so…. I just get so outraged when I start to think about what ASSHOLES these people are…. They don’t give a SHIT about anyone but themselves, and could care less that what they do is detrimental to the well-being of others; it’s not something that even crosses their awareness, other than as it affects their travel plans…. It’s tough to have to decide whether to jet off to Chamonix for winter sports, or to Bali for water sports…. I suppose it’s marginally better than having to decide whether to stretch the chicken to one more pot of soup, or break down and buy some beef, which they can’t afford…..

Okay, I’m done for now….. I never really got started strongly, and only used vague references to real events, rather than factual accounts of actual happenings in the world, to make my points…. But, that is only because the urge to rant caught me unaware, again, and I didn’t want to take the time to go research so early…. Besides, I figure once I go look at some news headlines, I’ll find plenty to bring back the outrage, with plenty of evidence, as it is right out there for all to see, every day….. which, actually, is kind of scary, when one stops to think about that…. They don’t even really try very hard anymore to hide what they’re doing from us, which means they know there isn’t anything we can do to stop them, or to make a difference in what they wish to do….

I’m so discouraged, I’m going to end this introductory section here, after a healthy sized rant, and go on with the rest of today’s Pearl… even though my discouragement is preventing me from enjoying it very much…. I just get so angry at what I see in the world, because I know there are solutions…. solutions that will never be tried, because the assholes who run things don’t WANT any changes in the world, not until they have ALL they want from the rest of us…. and their avarice knows no boundaries….

Ah, the hell with it…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“We, the people, are not free. Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” — Helen Keller
_____________________________

Having lost my way completely, by giving in so far as to spit out the above seriousness, I want some funny…. Smart Bee, give me…. humor…..

“Is this where I’m supposed to insert the funny lines?” — Smart Bee

Yes, yes, it is…..

“All I kin say is when you finds yo’self wanderin’ in a peach orchard, ya don’t go lookin’ for rutabagas.” — Kingfish

(Good start!…. Humor and wisdom all rolled into one bubblegum cigar! Hopefully, it’s the exploding kind; a good explosion always raises the ratings….)

“Here I am in the POSTERIOR OLFACTORY LOBULE but I don’t see CARL SAGAN anywhere!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Zippy goes over the top much of the time, I know, but, it’s always amazing to me to look at the things he says, filtered through the light of metaphor; in that light, they take on deeper meaning, every time, and always in a way that can be traced back to reality, sort of….. As we all know, “sort of” is as close to real reality as we can tolerate around here, especially when I’m in a mood like this one…. the risk of explosion right now is, as they are fond of saying in the newspapers, significant…. Zippy is like cold water on a hot fire, in that sense…. )

“Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man. Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established. Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.” — Confucius, _Analects_, Book 20

(Well, it was funny when I read it….. A worthy group of statements, though….)

“The English are not very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.” — George Bernard Shaw

(Doesn’t seem to have worked very well, though, does it?…. I mean, look at them… Now, they are touting this poor new lad born to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge as their symbol of continuity and tradition…. Poor baby, can barely even drool yet, and already an icon, destined to live a life well-insulated from reality…..)

“Well, Darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable,
And Lightness has a call that’s hard to hear.”

— Indigo Girls

(Okay, busted…. not funny, but, it’s powerful, and it’s beautiful, so it stays….)

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” — Dalai Lama

(Actually, it might have been someone else who said this…. but, it’s something he would have said, had he thought of it…)

If on my theme I rightly think,
There are five reasons why men drink,–
Good wine, a friend, because I ‘m dry,
Or lest I should be by and by,
Or any other reason why.

— John Sirmond (c. 1589-1649) — Causae Bibendi

Well, I’m retired, what do you expect?….. It doesn’t HAVE to make sense any more, now, does it? Nope…. so, as is obvious at this point, most days, I don’t even bother trying to police that particular concept…. You get what you pay for, every time, right?….. Of course, I’m not counting the cost to me, but, that’s just the kind of guy I am…..
_____________________________

“What a lumbering poor vehicle prose is for the conveying of a great thought! … Prose wanders around with a lantern & laboriously schedules & verifies the details & particulars of a valley & its frame of crags & peaks, then Poetry comes, & lays bare the whole landscape with a single splendid flash.” — Mark Twain

A drop fell on the apple tree
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.

A few went out to help the brook,
That went to help the sea.
Myself conjectured, Were they pearls,
What necklaces could be!

The dust replaced in hoisted roa
The birds jocoser sung;
The sunshine threw his hat away,
The orchards spangles hung.

The breezes brought dejected
And bathed them in the glee;
The East put out a single flag,
And signed the fete away.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

_____________________________

I’m not sure what my mind is doing…. Some days I keep track, and others, it’s just too much work, so, I don’t…. Today is one of the latter type of days, and it’s probably showing in the structure of this Pearl…. So be it…. I’m not one to argue with what is, and I’m too short on meds to risk getting all bent out of shape about it….

Whenever I fight against reality, it wins, and I hurt for a while… So, I’m going to hearken back to the days of yore, when I was learning Judo, from Sensei Uchida, at UC Berkeley, and let the force of my opponent do the work for me…. a little cosmic judo, don’t y’know?…. Hope you enjoy it…. just relax, and spread the shock of contact with the floor over as much area of your body as you can… It will hurt less, and you can get right back up, where I’ll show you how it was done….. or, give you a couple of aspirin & some water, if you prefer….

“There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you please unless it causes others harm. With it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.” — P.J. O’Rourke

“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

A drill is a tool. A hole is a solution. — Smart Bee

All who joy would win
Must share it, –happiness was born a twin.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Don Juan, Canto ii, Stanza 172

“To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult.” — Plutarch (46 AD-120 AD)

A Scholar asked his Master, “Could you advise me of a proper vocation, Master?” The Master replied, “Some men can earn their keep with the power of their minds. Others must use their strong backs, legs and hands. This is the same in nature as it is with man. Some animals acquire their food easily, such as rabbits, hogs & goats. Other animals must struggle for their food, like beavers, moles & ants. So you see, the nature of the vocation must fit the individual.” “But I have no abilities, desires, or imagination, Master,” the scholar sobbed. “Have you ever thought of becoming a salesman?”. . . the Master queried.– Smart Bee

“In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.” — Hubert H. Humphrey (1911-78)

(The last one is included as contrast to the other six pearls in this group, just because it popped up at a propitious moment…… Mr. Humphrey’s statement, while almost true, is actually a good example of why politicians in this country find it so simple to lie to the public…. This is related with all seriousness, as if it is great wisdom, when, in truth, it is simply not true, unless the person in question wishes it to be true…. Things are only what they seem to be in our perceptions, not in reality, and refusing to acknowledge that distinction is the same as learning to lie about it…. and believing the lie, rather than the truth….. Insidious, isn’t it?….. They get people to buy into the very lies they tell, by making it sound as if it should be true…..)
_____________________________

“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.” — Terry Pratchett.

That’s for damn sure, and exactly how I’m feeling today…. But, I’m okay with it, too, so, no big deal… I wouldn’t go back for anything…. Let’s see what the last three hours of struggle and pain has come up with today….

Well, it’s certainly more than I bargained for when I started…. I do have a tendency to ramble, don’t I? Ah well, so be it… I was up early, this took forever, and I’m too tired to make it all better, if such is possible at this point….. In fact, bye, now, y’all be real, I’ll see you tomorrow, I hope….

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

Salvation lay in perfecting a peony in fuchsia….

Posted on September 25, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Of late, the ranting in which I’ve engaged has become somewhat strident, to my ears…. Some unkind persons might take it upon themselves to say I’ve gone all the way over, into shrill cacophony, but, as yet, I don’t think I’ve quite achieved that particularly annoying attribute, so painful to the inner ear, though not for lack of effort, I’m sure….. The reason for this is merely my own sense of diffuse anxiety and imminent disaster, probably due to my PTSD…. which tends to mark ALL crises as personal, y’know? It doesn’t matter whether the crisis is right here, in my house, or out there, in the Big Blue Room, in Washington D.C., or some other place where history is happening…. Any crisis situation, to which I become attuned, brings out the worst of my all-too-familiar left-over fears and anxieties, forcing me to experience the full onslaught of emotion that accompanies them, whenever they show up…

This is why I’ve fallen into ranting in the intro section; when the rants are fueled by the emotional morass inside me, they pop up in the most inconvenient places they can find, pushing their way into the conversation, no matter where it started….. Kind of like the people they are generally talking about, actually….. Convinced of their own correctness, the usual targets of my ire are those feel no compunction against letting out their innermost thoughts, regardless of what else may be called for by the conversation, by the demands of reality, or by intent of the author, to wit: me…. In other words, I’ve lost control of this blog, completely…. That, or I’ve slipped back into the pit of insanity, and it’s all gone to shit….

Nope, I can’t claim that one… I’m still here, and fairly lucid, most of the time….. Well, lucid by MY standards, which probably aren’t the same as those of normal reality…… Mine are most likely much more stringent, as I have very high standards when it comes to how my own brain works….. It may not appear that way, but, it is true, nonetheless….. Normal Reality is a much less logical, and less highly organized, place to be, compared to being in my head, most of the time…. I can probably never actually convince anyone of the truth of that assertion, but, it is the absolute truth, regardless of how things may appear from the other side….

In fact, a lot of what is visible is illusion, just like out there in the real world….. I don’t show ALL my cards at once, not until the last bet is called, as my daddy taught me so long ago….. Okay, now I’ve really done it….. Here I am, talking about my daddy, and what he taught me, before I even wake up enough to realize I’m even writing…. How did I get here? What in the hell am I talking about? Is there any hope for this Pearl? I’d better take a step back, and look at this from a new viewpoint… Be right back, ffolkes…

Ah, okay, found the primary contributing issue…. I forgot this….

“Avoid running at all times.” — Satchel Paige

Satchel gave what is no doubt the best advice for living that I’ve seen, especially given his lack of education….. But, sometimes, as is obvious here, too much education can be an issue, as well, causing as much trouble for its possessors as it does to solve those troubles…. In my case, it only leads to verbal indigestion, but, that can be uncomfortable enough, believe me…. I also found, during my inner troubleshooting episode, that I had been forgetting the following aphorism, to wit: Hanlon’s Razor…. It becomes clear that I’ve been a bit harsh to the BRC, as well as to the priestly hierarchies, and the fools who inhabit them….

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” — Hanlon’s Razor

In other words, ffolkes, they can’t help being the way they are, so shouting at the top of my lungs to make them change their ways is NOT going to be an effective technique for instituting, or encouraging, any such changes…. But, then, I’ve always known, to some extent, that what I do here is shouting into the wind; I’m just one unknown, inconspicuous guy, with no societal props, or creds, as they say on the street, to make people pay attention to what I have to say….

As noted above, I seem to have lost all sense of direction, if not my sanity as well, so we may as well just get on with this, and try to put this one out of its misery…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.” — Henry David Thoreau
_____________________________

It is now the middle of the week, a segment of time that has little meaning to those of us who no longer work…. One of the more interesting issues I’ve noticed since retiring is how flexible time becomes….. The various little segments of time we use to describe different periods, such as “week”, “day”, “month”, “hour”, etc. have meaning to me only for keeping track of specific events that will occur at specific times… Otherwise, there is no strong reason to pay any attention to those distinctions, as one day, or one hour, is much the same in importance as the next, with little to tell one from another, (especially for those of us to whom Reality is a slippery concept, hard to grasp and/or hold for long, before it morphs into something else entirely…..).

The best part about this new scenario is, one assumes a great deal of control over each of those categories of time, by possessing the right and power to decide whether or not to acknowledge them at all; when we do, what we do with that time, too, is ours to choose, rather than being manipulated and/or controlled by the want and needs of other people….. Our time, after so long, is our own, to do with as we please, and it is a heady experience….

What does this have to do with creating a Pearl, or searching for pearls?….. Well, obviously, nothing much, but, then, it also has EVERYTHING to do with that process…. as it is entirely MY choice as to where we go from here… and, I say, let’s go find some GOOD STUFF…. Of course, I’ll leave the definition of GOOD STUFF up to random chance, but, hey, it sounds good, right?… Well, I think so, and it’s my blog, so there…. Sorry, don’t mean to get silly, or huffy, just having too much fun here…. Let’s go see what SB has today for us to find…..

“Growing old is not for sissies or the faint of heart.” — Smart Bee

“Let us not say, every man is the architect of his own fortune; but let us say, every man is the architect of his own character.” — George Dana Boardman

“A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.” — Chinese Proverb

“I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“For when I was a babe and wept and slept, Time crept. When I was a boy and laughed and talked, Time walked. Then when the years saw me a man, Time ran. But as I older grew, Time flew.” — Guy Pentreath

“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” — Mark Twain

When speaking of aging, and time, who better to finish with?….. I like how this turned out, but, it needs two addenda, making this a nine-star pearl, in order to have the absolutely correct feel….

“Is not old wine wholesomest, old pippins toothsomest, old wood burns brightest, old linen wash whitest? Old soldiers, sweetheart, are surest, and old lovers are soundest.” — John Webster (c. 1580-1625) — Westward Ho, Act ii, Sc. 2

“We all have a face that we hide away forever,
And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone.
Some are satin, some are steel, some are silk and some are leather.
They’re the faces of the stranger and we love to try them on.”

— Billy Joel, The Stranger
_____________________________

Some days, this process is rather a revelation, in terms of what the presence of entropy in the universe can do to how we view reality….. I went to find a poem for the rather odd mood I’m in today, and found a perfect candidate on the first try….. Here is a poem, which I find to be quite complex and intricate in its very simplicity… and quite powerful for all that…. It’s from a poet new to me, who sadly died recently, though not without recognition for his work… His name is Seamus Heaney, an Irish Poet Laureate….

Follower

My father worked with a horse-plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horse strained at his clicking tongue.

An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.

I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.

I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.

I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.

~~ Seamus Heaney ~~

_____________________________

This is what I call a left-over pearl; these kept popping up for consideration while I was looking for the pearls in section one. Since they all were connected, obviously, by subject matter and/or intent, it seemed wasteful not to use them…. so, here is another randomly chosen pearl, but with more of a point to it, critically speaking…. Seven stars should be enough….. Works for me…

“In America, anyone can become president. That’s one of the risks you take.” — Adlai E. Stevenson

“The heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next.” — Helen Keller

“Reason transformed into prejudice is the worst form of prejudice, because reason is the only instrument for liberation from prejudice.” — Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind

“Patriotism is a pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy.” — George Bernard Shaw

CABBAGE, n. “A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head. The cabbage is so called from Cabagius, a prince who on ascending the throne issued a decree appointing a High Council of Empire consisting of the members of his predecessor’s Ministry and the cabbages in the royal garden. When any of his Majesty’s measures of state policy miscarried conspicuously it was gravely announced that several members of the High Council had been beheaded, and his murmuring subjects were appeased.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“As you know, I planned a trip out there for some time, so it fits in very nicely.” — President George Bush, on his trip to LA after the riots

“Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.” — P.J. O’Rourke
_____________________________

“I don’t have a weird sense of humor. Your reality is just weird.” — Smart Bee, speaking for gigoid again…..

As I suspected after writing the intro section, this turned on me, into an epic effort; I haven’t taken this long to put out a Pearl for quite a while…. Let’s see if it was worth all the perseverance and dedication…..

As I noted above, today’s effort has been somewhat of a revelation…. With a few minor tweaks and/or edits, it turned out pretty well, all things considered, so I’ll once again consider myself fortunate, and will post and be done with it, until tomorrow….

Hmm…. maybe, someday, someone will see one of these Pearls, even a strange one like this, and think it worthwhile to bring to the attention of the world at large…. Nah, that’s too much like a fantasy, or a sitcom scenario…. which would, given the nature of this beast, probably result in lasting harm to the space-time continuum, and a huge alteration of history…. Never mind, probably not a good idea….. Until tomorrow, then….

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

Braided sable wigs stimulate abnormally well…

Posted on September 24, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I’m uncertain as to what possessed me to get up even earlier than usual today, but, here I am, at 0457, coffee already in hand, ready to sit down to assault another piece of paper…. No, that isn’t quite accurate, is it? We’re going to have to come up with a whole raft of new clichés to use, since very few of us are using paper anymore, until we are ready to print whatever we have written. It’s kind of sad, really, as I had a very close relationship with pen & paper, for many years. But, life goes on, and we must learn to adjust to whatever the future brings, even if we don’t always like the changes we see….

As I’ve proven already, I can blather with the best of ’em; I don’t think I even need to demonstrate my expertise, other than to point out any of the entries here for the last two-plus years. Just in case you don’t believe me, hang around a little while, you’ll see it again….. I could, of course, jump right into a rant, but, the last few days of that seems to have exhausted what I have to say, if only for the moment; I’m not currently feeling much outrage….. I have yet to look at the headlines this morning, which may explain that lack of curmudgeonly affection (or is it affliction?…. ah well, who knows, or cares?…..), but, for now, I’m clear of any intent to throw insults or epithets, deserved or not…..

What do I intend? Well, that’s classified….I have decided that it is a matter of national security, and needs to be protected from casual use or divulgence. What? You object? So what? Object away, I don’t care….. If the government can refuse to tell us something we believe we have the right to know, and justify it with a “classified” claim, then I can do the same….. I don’t care, any more than they do, if y’all don’t like it; you’ll just have to accept it, because, like the BRC, I’m not giving y’all any choice in the matter…..

The only difference is that I’m not elected, so that isn’t hanging over my head…. but, then, it doesn’t seem to bother them all that much, either, as they know that the fools who put them in office will buy the same old story every time, and put them BACK in office, no matter how many times they lie, or cheat, or even how many times they get caught lying or cheating… It actually drives me nuts, watching the American public keep re-electing the same dishonest assholes every time they vote….. The voting public is like sharks, with absolutely no recent memory at all to keep them from acting on impulse….

I note here that once again, I have begun to rant, before I even get started…. SIGH…. It’s a gift, I guess…. What the hell…. I think we had better get on with it, before things get wonkier than they already are….

Shall we Pearl?…
____________________________

“I’m completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.” — George Carlin

One can always count on George to cut straight to the heart of a matter. His particular genius gave him the vision to see society, and people, in such a way that he was able to express what the common man felt, fearlessly. No subject was verboten, and no public figure escaped his regard; his target was ignorance, and arrogance, and entitlement, and bigotry, and racism, and power-mongering, and every other human vice….If he saw it, no matter who displayed it, it became a target, irrespective of who might become the victim of his scorn…. You’ve gotta love a man who tells the truth, no matter what, especially when he makes it palatable through humor….

As I noted in the intro, sort of, I’m not up to ranting effectively today; the reason for this is not readily apparent, but, since I don’t really care, either, it’s all moot. Like it or not, I’m going old school again, shooting this time for a Carlinesque group of pearls, that will fill the bill in place of a well-deserved, but absent, rant from me…. Let’s see what SB can do for us, shall we?….

“Amazing how mad some people get when someone makes them think.” — Smart Bee

“You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem.” — Eldridge Cleaver, 1968

“You really have to be careful of politicians who have no further ambitions: they may run for the presidency.” — Harry S. Truman

” If you have a weak candidate and a weak platform, wrap yourself up in the American flag and talk about the Constitution.” — Matthew S. Quay

In the beginning, God created the Earth and he said, “Let there be mud.” And there was mud.
And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what we have done.”
And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man.
Mud-as-man alone could speak.
“What is the purpose of all this?” man asked politely.
“Everything must have a purpose?” asked God.
“Certainly,” said man.
“Then I leave it to you to think of one for all of this,” said God.
And He went away.

— Kurt Vonnegut, Between Time and Timbuktu”

“I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of.” — Clarence Darrow

“Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.” — Smart Bee

Okay, it’s a little choppy, but, it got to shore without sinking…. and, it’s all tax-free!…. Unless, of course, one allows it to tax their patience….
____________________________

When I’m feeling as I do today, which involves a lot of confusion, I always turn to a certain poetess…. which Shawna will just have to deal with…. 🙂
A Dying Tiger — moaned for Drink —
I hunted all the Sand —
I caught the Dripping of a Rock
And bore it in my Hand —

His Mighty Balls — in death were thick —
But searching — I could see
A Vision on the Retina
Of Water — and of me —

‘Twas not my blame — who sped too slow —
‘Twas not his blame — who died
While I was reaching him —
But ’twas — the fact that He was dead —

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
____________________________

As it turns out, not ranting is a good thing, today…. I just spent a bit of time perusing the headlines for this morning, where I found the most controversial article to be one registering a complaint by Jack Klugman’s son, stating his belief that the Emmy’s award program was bad/evil, or at least misguided and shallow, for choosing to have a tribute to Cory Monteith (whoever he was…I mean, I know he was a young actor who committed suicide, but, that’s all I know of him…. He had no major films or TV shows, though he did have a few kudos; moreover, he had no Emmy awards in his lifetime…) rather than for his dad, (who won several Emmy’s over his 50 year career in TV and movies….). This is the story with the highest degree of emotional content that was posted today, as far as I could tell….

See what I mean, though, about NOT ranting?…. We are witnessing a singular dearth of heavy news, which, like not getting mail in envelopes with windows, is preferable to the alternative…. a front page full of controversy and danger for the world, in this case…. No matter, though, as we have a default position to which we can retreat, and suffer no loss of quality of life…. Well, no loss capable of measurement, anyway…. Any who, all that aside, here is a random, harlequin pearl, picked by SB, with no parameters to speak of… It’s just the way it is, such as it is….

“Money is the god of our time.” — Heine (1797-1856)

“If you wish to make a man your enemy, tell him simply, You are wrong. This method works every time.” — Henry C. Link

“Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.” — Kin Hubbard

“In certain trying circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity furnishes a relief denied even to prayer.” — Mark Twain

“Every man is as Heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.” — Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) — Don Quixote

“Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases.” — Hippocrates (460-359 BC) — Aphorism i

“Although war is cruel and brutal, it is also dangerous and stupid.” — Yakko Warner

There are times, such as this, when I think I would do well to let ALL of the groups of pearls I post be picked by this method…. Every time I leave out the parameters, I end up with the finest pearls that can be found; they do shine, don’t they?…. Maybe I won’t commit suicide, as my sense of honor demands now and again….
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Don’t worry, ffolkes, nobody, myself included, really has a good grip on my sense of humor; I only know it’s there, and it saves me, daily, from the horrible alternative life I’d lead without it…. Let’s see what it’s been up to today….

Okay, well, somehow, it got done. As noted above, it’s choppy in places, but, hangs together over the course of time, so, it will do for now…. I’m using my newer, travel comp today, so it may take a while before it gets mailed to the email group (data needs to be transferred from one file to another, but, one is on my computer, and one is in the Internet Cloud, and I haven’t been able to figure out an easy way to do it… Later, I will do it the hard way, just to get it done, but, for now, it will be online, at my domain address, gigoid.me….)…

TMI, probably, but, hey, housekeeping must be done before the dust bunnies get too big for the vacuum…. See y’all mañana…..

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

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

Which is Why…

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

gigoid

Baldly factual assertions, drying in the wind….

Posted on September 22, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Yesterday’s outburst, one would think, would have been enough to soothe the urge to rant that comes over me at the reading of these reports on the idiocy prevalent among the elected glitterati in this country. The amount of sheer stupidity, of outright deliberate denial of facts in favor of paranoid delusions, the display of asininity and selfish, avaricious cupidity that has been reported in the news, JUST in the House of Representatives over the last two weeks, is enough to weigh upon anyone with a brain, much less a sensitive, patriotic minded fool such as myself. It is seriously painful to observe the degree of idiocy the Retardican Party has tapped into of late, while trying to justify their racism and bigotry, which they typically try to disguise as concern over what should be non-issues….

Obviously, as indicated by the tone and content of the first paragraph, all of that rant didn’t get put down on screen yesterday, and it continues to burn a hole in the bag I’m holding it in, demanding to be put out into the light of day, where it can scream epithets and derogatory statements about relatives at the idiots who keep assaulting all of us with their intransigent asininity.

I mean, are these fools living in a different world than the rest of us? Can they not see the same evidence that the rest of us see? Can they continue to deny reality in the face of all the opposition that has been generated against them by just about every other demographic category in existence? I often wonder how many of these seemingly obvious questions, so obvious they are really rhetorical in nature, can be answered with a yes, when describing the current crop of Tea Party-supported fools in the Retardican Party…. you know, the idiots causing all the trouble in society right now, with their blind, fascistic insistence on opposing any and all reforms proposed by a black man, whose very existence as POTUS is a fact they are unable to accept….

I ask you this…. How long is the rest of this country, consisting of people like me, who believe in the true American Dream, a group that includes more than merely the White, Christian sub-group as its proponents, a Dream which acknowledges the diversity that actually exists in Reality, of Whites, Blacks, Browns, Greens, Purples, Rainbows, Latinos, Asians, LGBT’s, women, and everyone else the Tea Party would like to believe isn’t entitled to participate in their delusion…. How long are we going to allow these ASSHOLES to continue to try to force their vision on everyone else?

These people, as policy, lie, and cheat, and will resort to almost any act, no matter how egregiously immoral, to keep things as they want them to be, where their desires and entitlements are the only ones allowed. This has been proven by historical fact, and continues now, as they keep attempting to legislate morality, change congressional voting districts to favor themselves, and generally do anything they can to keep the rest of the people in this country from achieving any real societal diversity….

Hmm… I seem to have let this get away from me again, but, it just pisses me off so much when I look at the news each day, and see another example of how the ignorance and bigotry of the right-wing Retardicans is being shoved into the face of American politics, with the concomitant splatters of shit flying everywhere…. Their intransigent stupidity, and arrogance, is getting very old to me, and, I’m sure, to a lot of other people, and I wish to hell they’d just crawl back in their holes, and leave everyone else alone…. Not to mention shutting the hell UP!….

But, they won’t, so we will have to continue to put up with their noise, and the sheer lies and nonsense they throw out on a regular basis, to confuse and distract, if nothing else….. Me, I’m about ready to DO something about it, but, it will have to wait until I finish this Pearl, which, by the looks of it, may not ever get started, if I can’t shut myself up…. Okay, if I can’t stop at the end of this paragraph, I’ll institute emergency procedure #5…. I hope I don’t have to, though…. #5 is a messy one….

Shall we Pearl?…..

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

(The more I let this little statement echo around in my head, the more angles, depths, and meanings float up, into my awareness…. To keep from adding undue length where it is least needed, I will just say this… I wish the BRC wouldn’t spend as much time trying to convince the public that this statement is false, as they currently do. Since the statement is demonstrably and unarguably true, in so many ways, that could be construed as an impossible task… unless, of course, you help them by believing it…..)
_____________________________

Having begun my rant in the intro, I don’t think it would go over well to continue it here…. So, we’ll go old school, which, as you know, is my default position in these instances….. I’m uncertain still if that meets with the approval of my readership, but, hey, I’ve been operating in the dark here for a long time, in that respect, so, it’s nothing new, and nothing to get huffed about…. As long as I can continue to pretend to some sort of relevance, and keep y’all unaware of how little I really know, well, I’ll be doing as well as the average politician, right? Right…. Let’s see what SB has for us today…..

“The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation.” — Oscar Wilde
(Ouch! Now, THAT’S sarcasm!…. At which, of course, Oscar was the master….) (You don’t think he’s…. wait!?…. He’s not talking about ME, is he?…. Nah!…. No way!….)

“I’m continually AMAZED at th’breathtaking effects of WIND EROSION!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“The ruthlessness born of self-seeking is ineffectual compared with the ruthlessness sustained by dedication to a holy cause. “God wishes,” said Calvin, “that one should put aside all humanity when it is a question of striving for His glory.” ” — Eric Hoffer

“The only thing I know for sure is that I know nothing at all, for sure.” — Socrates

“Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth.” — H.L. Mencken

“Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.” — Buffalo Springfield

“If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re missing the joke.” — Smart Bee, with gigoid’s complete agreement….

When this pearl was about halfway done, I had no idea where it was headed, and still don’t know exactly how it got to where it ended up… but, then, I don’t know a lot of stuff about reality, so, we’ll just go on, as we were, no doubt, meant to do anyway…. I don’t encourage the belief that fate is unavoidable, but, when it happens, it’s best not to fight it too hard… One must learn how to “go with the flow”, as it were, or severe mental injuries may occur, even in the best of families….
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Today’s poem chose itself…. I went searching, on the internet, for an appropriate poem for today, but, couldn’t seem to settle on anything I read, from a number of poets I visited…. until this one. It reached out, grabbed me, and said, essentially, “Use me, again….” I should have known it would know it has been here before…. so, here ’tis again….

And Death Shall Have No Dominion

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead man naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan’t crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

~~ Dylan Thomas ~~

_____________________________

Today’s your lucky day…. Nothing in the news this morning has prompted an upsurge of angst or outrage to parallel the rant in the intro section… which means we get to go back to old-school. I know, the law doesn’t say we HAVE to go there, but, around here, it’s what we do…. So, deal…. and, preferably, enjoy! 😆

“He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.” — Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

“Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.” — Mark Twain

“The beauty of a pun is in the “Oy!” of the beholder.” — Smart Bee
“Puns can groan on you” — Yep, where else? Smart Bee
(A true two-fer, that counts as one pearl….)

“Each time Time torments me, I tell myself that one of us must back down, that it is impossible for this cruel confrontation to go on indefinitely.” — E.M. Cioran

Before enlightenment, one carries water and chops wood.
After enlightenment, one carries water and chops wood.

— Zen Proverb

Ooh, ooh, Teacher! Can I answer?…. See, it shoulda used the Buddha quote, then it would all be clearer…. Teacher: “Y, know, you may be right…. but, that would be unethical, now, wouldn’t it? Resorting to Buddha, when Zippy will do?…” Sorry, Teacher…. I’ll pick two more, to fix it….

An American scientist once visited the offices of the great Nobel prize winning physicist, Niels Bohr, in Copenhagen. He was amazed to find that over Bohr’s desk was a horseshoe, securely nailed to the wall, with the open end up in the approved manner (so it would catch the good luck and not let it spill out). The American said with a nervous laugh, “Surely you don’t believe the horseshoe will bring you good luck, do you, Professor Bohr? After all, as a scientist–” Bohr chuckled. “I believe no such thing, my good friend. Not at all. I am scarcely likely to believe in such foolish nonsense. However, I am told that a horseshoe will bring you good luck whether you believe in it or not.” — found in Smart Bee, without attribution

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)
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Please save the above drivel for future reference!

At this point, there is little point in not admitting defeat, and slinking away with head bowed in shame…. or, at the very least, embarrassment for having allowed this to occur, without giving ffolkes the proper warnings…. Let’s see if it has any redeeming qualities..

I’m pretty certain none of the above is toxic, so, we’re going to let it fly, solo…. One can’t always be two places at once, can one?….. Whatever that may mean, and it may or may not mean anything, we are still outta here…. now…..

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

Another confusing day in Paradox….

Posted on September 21, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I often wonder…. a quality which, I believe, in part, is what makes me different than most folks. Oh, I’m not saying I’m special, or better than anyone else… But, it seems to me, many of the people I see in the world today have stopped using their imagination, and never allow themselves to wonder, about anything…… Imagination is humanity’s most powerful weapon in the struggle to deal with reality, as well as our most versatile tool, yet, the world’s demands are so heavy that most people seemingly forget they have a way to deal with them, with less stress and effort than they commonly spend. If they only take the time to learn how to learn, and to use their imagination to foresee the future enough to effectively prepare for it, they would find life less of a chore, and more of a joy….

This, of course, sounds like the beginning of a rant, and, of course, it is…. but, it’s a rant that will be postponed for the moment, as I am really not ready to let out all the stuff Ive been thinking about this subject….. My disappointment in my fellow man has never been deeper than it is today, and I am incensed, and embarrassed, by the stupidity of those who continue to fall for the crap the BRC hands out, along with being enraged, at the sheer effrontery, and selfishness, of those who would have us believe they are our leaders,….. However, I have only had two sips of coffee, and if I begin what I have to say now, I’ll be overly vicious, and someone might just get offended….

Yes, I know that doesn’t matter at all; as well, I don’t give a shit whether they get offended or not…. In truth, if they didn’t, I’d think I was doing it wrong. What good is a rant that nobody gets offended by? Nothing, that’s what; a good rant should piss of at least half the folks who read it, or it just isn’t getting into the right hands, and can only be considered preaching to the choir…. But, I’m still a bit groggy, to be honest, and if I start now, it will degenerate into name-calling, and deliberately provocative statements, designed to either piss off the BRC, or show the public just how much they SHOULD be pissed off at them, thus pissing THEM off at their purported benefactors….. Or, even better, pissing them off at their own cupidity….

I suppose I COULD rant now; it really doesn’t matter…. but, I want to wait a bit, and let the arguments percolate until they’re good and strong, like good coffee must be. Maybe then I can feel like it’s more accurately targeted, and someone who needs to read it will actually come across it, get pissed, and start showing it to their friends…. I keep trying, pointing out to folks, and ffolkes, as well, just how much the assholes we elect lie to us, and how often they steal from us, and how much they actually disdain the people who elect them to office…. Unfortunately, the majority of ffolkes who stop by to read what I say are of the same opinion, and already aware of the depth of the corruption that is present in today’s governments, all over the world….

Any who, I have a specific rant today, so you’ll see it down the page a ways…. In the meantime, I see I’ve wandered around, verbally, sufficiently to make this a legal introduction. I am kind of enjoying this method of starting the Pearls; if nothing else, it gets a lot of blather out of my system, always a good thing for everyone….. I also don’t seem to have as much fear of the blank page with this method, as I seem to know it will get filled up quickly and easily, by just letting my head wander about, and trying to type fast enough to get the blather down correctly…. Of course, I’m trying NOT to be aware of just how silly it all is, but, hey, what’s a little deliberate ignorance among friends, eh?

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If we don’t change our direction we’re likely to end up where we’re headed.” — Chinese Proverb
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In order to allow the rant for today the time to percolate, hopefully to evolve into the shape I envision, I’m going to start with an old-school pearl, to get my mind lubricated, as it were….. By setting some loose, if stringent, parameters for the search through the Smart Bee dB, it brings some focus to my will, while simultaneously freeing up the imagination to interpret what I see outside the boundaries of normality…. I know, it sounds a bit amorphous, but, it works for me….

“If you follow the flock, you step in shit!” — Darkwisdom
(See, what did I tell you?….)

“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

“Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other “sins” are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is NOT a sin–just stupid.)” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“I have always thought in the back of my mind, cheese and onions.” — The Rutles
(I LOVE this!….)

“How pleasant then to be insane.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Alexander [the Great] asked Diogenes if there was anything in the world he wanted. Diogenes, without looking up, replied: `Yes. Get out of my light.'” — Plutarch

“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe. And what do we teach our children in school? We teach them that two and two make four and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are?” — Awfully Smart Bee
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Today’s poetry choice will be picked later…. I have a feeling I’ll need a bit of exposure to poetry when I’m done with the rest of this Pearl….

I was right; that was an epic rant…. (Spoiler alert: it’s a long rant, ffolkes, so be ready when you decide to dive in…. have your smartypants on, put away your guilt, and it will go over better, with less chance of neuronic indigestion……) Now I’m done with it, though, I need a poem to help me to feel a little lighter…. and I know just who to turn to, to find that very thing….. I have used both of these in previous posts; today, they are a perfect addition to the given ambiance…. Enjoy!….

À Bas Ben Adhem

My fellow man I do not care for.
I often ask me, What’s he there for?
The only answer I can find
Is, Reproduction of his kind.
If I’m supposed to swallow that,
Winnetka is my habitat.
Isn’t it time to carve Hic Jacet
Above that Reproduction racket?

To make the matter more succinct:
Suppose my fellow man extinct.
Why, who would not approve the plan
Save possibly my fellow man?
Yet with a politician’s voice
He names himself as Nature’s choice.

The finest of the human race
Are bad in figure, worse in face.
Yet just because they have two legs
And come from storks instead of eggs
They count the spacious firmament
As something to be charged and sent.

Though man created cross-town traffic,
The Daily Mirror, News and Graphic,
The pastoral fight and fighting pastor,
And Queen Marie and Lady Astor,
He hails himself with drum and fife
And bullies lower forms of life.

Not that I think much depends
On how we treat our feathered friends,
Or hold the wrinkled elephant
A nobler creature than my aunt.
It’s simply that I’m sure I can
Get on without my fellow man.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

A Caution To Everybody

Consider the auk;
Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.
Consider man, who may well become extinct
Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

_____________________________

Regarding the nationalization of industry or private property: “Of what importance is all that, if I range men firmly within a discipline they cannot escape? Let them own land or factories as much as they please. The decisive factor is that the State, through the Party, is supreme over them regardless of whether they are owners or workers. All that is unessential; our socialism goes far deeper. It establishes a relationship of the individual to the State, the national community. Why need we trouble to socialize banks and factories? We socialize human beings.” — Adolf Hitler to Herman Rauschning, pre-WWII — “Why Does Socialism Continue to Appeal to Anyone?”, Robert Hessen

This is a perfect lead-in to what I wish to say about the BRC today….. First, for those who are not regulars here, BRC stands for Beloved Ruling Class, a term I borrowed from an author named Joel Rosenberg, who uses it in two of his novels set in a fictional world. It is intended to denote ALL of the elected officials in this country, the hereditary ones who run the countries who are still in the feudal era of history, and those shadowy corporate entities who control them; it also includes their myrmidons, the armed forces, and the paramilitary police forces now so ubiquitous in our cities. All of these people are insane, in my estimation, just for WANTING to take the reins of power over society. Moreover, I believe they are not only susceptible to the principle of power’s corruptive qualities, but actually revel in it….

Hitler’s statement above is included as an example of how that particular group of society reasons; it is indicative to me that there is plainly not a microgram of respect for other people in this statement, an attitude that I believe…. No, an attitude I KNOW, is prevalent among every one of the people in this country who occupy an elected office. I know this because every action they take, and everything that comes out of their mouths, provides me with evidence of that disdain….. How else can one explain how often they lie to the public? How else can one explain their constant denial of what the general public wants, and their insistence that only their own agenda is worthy of being promoted.

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

This mistake, all-too-common among the great unwashed masses of humanity who live from hand to mouth, gratefully consuming everything they can latch onto, as they’ve been taught, and wondering why nothing ever seems to make them feel good, is part of why it is so easy for the BRC to manipulate the rest of humanity.

People get so busy dealing with what they see in their lives (what they’ve been taught to believe is important, whether it actually is so, or not….) they forget that there can be much more to it than just what is in their vicinity, and their sphere of awareness. Because they don’t have, or take, the time to think, or to imagine, they are easy prey for anyone who gains their trust, for those who do can tell them ANYTHING, and nobody will question it, because they can’t imagine being lied to by someone they’ve chosen to trust…..

Then, there is the rampant stupidity that is repeatedly displayed by some members of the BRC, who are also victims of this frame of mind….. Unfortunately, these particular idiots are in a position where their misconceived attempts at reasoning can actually hurt ALL of us… For example, take the recent hullabaloo over the current budget.

The Retardican Party, which holds the numerical advantage in the House of Representatives, is forcing the viewpoint of a minority of the public onto the rest of that body, by threatening to send the government into a shutdown, in order to defund laws they still can’t believe got passed in 2009, known commonly as Obamacare, (the healthcare reform laws that expanded and altered the health insurance landscape, to allow a lot of people, who heretofore were unable to do so, to get care and/or treatment for their illnesses, at a rate they could actually afford).

These laws, which the House Retardicans have tried to vote down 42 times, unsuccessfully, and regarding which they have made numerous appeals to the court system, also unsuccessfully, have actually HELPED the American public…. and these IDIOTS won’t let go of their racism and anger at being irrelevant long enough to admit even that the law is working. So, they threaten and bluster and keep losing voters, who are getting very tired of watching them display their ignorance and selfishness….

These assholes are so focused on their own fears, of a world that includes Blacks, Gays, Latinos, Asians,strong, independent women, children who think, and adults who take responsibility for the actions, they are willing to bring the entire government to a standstill, harming incalculable numbers of people who cannot afford to foot the bill for their foolishness.

“On the other hand, it takes real moral fiber to remain a Republican when there’s no money in it. And things *are* looking grim on the financial front. Even worse for the President, they’re getting confusing.” — A. Whitney Brown

Now, of course, they won’t be able to force their legislation completely onto others, thanks to the veto powers of the Senate, and the White House…. but, the whole issue creates ill will, and further gaps between people, at a point in the history of our planet where the impetus demands we come together, and learn to live together, or we all will surely perish together…. Stupidity, selfishness, greed, the thirst for power, all will eventually lead to our demise as a species, if we don’t make major changes in the way society is structured, and the way it works.

Below you will find two links, to news articles, each of which contributed to the formation of some of the outrage I am experiencing whenever I let myself consider this issue. It’s all such a pathetic pile of crap, an issue that completely demonstrates every wrong thing about the modern American version of democracy, on BOTH sides of the political spectrum…..

The Demobutt Party is no better than the Retardican Party, when it comes to lying to the public; at the current time there happens to be a significant number of them who have seen the profit for them in backing certain ideas that actually help the middle class (look closely, though, and you’ll see the dead giveaway…. nobody admits there is a ‘lower class’…. ), so, they are in favor with the public right now, as their agendas seem to match more closely with what society’s momentum dictates…..

Nonetheless, it is necessary to remember that there are still a LOT of people in this country who actually believe what these people are telling them, without ever questioning whether it is right, wrong, or unreal…. They just nod their heads and send in money… I mean, think about the fact that the subject of the second article, Ron Paul, has the support of a great many….. well, I hesitate to actually call them people, because they exhibit not nearly enough intelligence to warrant that title….

Any who, a lot of folks believe whatever this idiot says…. and the assholes under discussion in the other article aren’t much better, in my view…. They’re more interested in how they look on camera than they are about the people who elected them…. ALL OF THEM, sorry to say, are elected officials in the highest offices in this country, and THIS is their best stuff…. I don’t even need to look for what is wrong in our society, because it shoves itself in my face on a daily basis…..

This is the state of things, ffolkes…. I wish I knew what the hell to do about it, other than write… but, that’s all I have so, there you go….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/Cruz-Lee-plan-on-Obamacare-unnerves-some-in-GOP-4832241.php

http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2013/09/19/ron-paul-more-women-should-sacrifice-career-to-homeschool-kids/

I feel bad…. I don’t want to bum ffolkes out, or depress anyone, or in any way cause anyone’s day to turn dark on my account… So, I’ll leave you with a bit of hope, and advice, at once…. Remember, ffolkes, as long as we can keep our health, and our sense of humor, it will all turn out okay… It’s a load of BS, but, it sounds good, and, the wisdom of the ages really does support me in this, as there are a lot of very wise ffolkes who have said the same…. to wit:

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” — Mark Twain

If nothing else, we could laugh them out of town, couldn’t we?…. Worth a try, I think….
_____________________________

All I can say is, I didn’t have anything better to do, so this is what I did…. so be it. I’d better go proof it, if I’m going to sign it at the end…. Be back in a few…..

Well, it’s long, and involved, and I’m sure I got it all out, for now…. It’s already caused a discussion with someone, so, I’m hopeful for the written version… Think about it, ffolkes, that’s all I ask…. Be real….

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

Forlorn remnants of an exemplary poltroon….

Posted on September 17, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Now that the crisis has passed in the Middle East, if only for the moment, the news seems to be singularly free of rantable material. Oh, there’s been another shooting, this time in a place where it raises even more questions than it does outrage…. The victims weren’t children, they were Naval workers, both those in the service, or civilians working for the Navy, and the shooter was a disgruntled Navy Reservist (though, in reality, even without firm information, I think we can safely say he was a bit beyond mere disgruntlement….) (Is that a word? Disgruntlement? I guess it is, Spell Checker didn’t even blink….), so it’s a little harder to feel the same degree of chagrin when it isn’t some crazy adolescent shooting back at the bullies….

Not that the victims deserved to be shot; that isn’t my point. It’s just harder to create controversy when the participants were all consenting adults, already engaged in activities that are, in at least one way, bound to bring some danger to one’s existence. I don’t know why this idiot nutted up, or what he was trying to accomplish, but a place where their entire purpose for existing is to create articles of war, is one that might conceivably be used as a logical target for anyone wanting to express their outrage, or in this case, probably anger, based on delusions.

It’s rather like someone who wears a gun on their hip, such as the police…. eventually, someone is going to shoot AT them, just because they are carrying…. Anyone who doesn’t acknowledge that truth is begging to get their head blown off for no good reason (I guess it has to be said…. IS there a good reason?…. The jury is still out on that one, ffolkes….). I don’t carry guns, as I believe in using weapons that aren’t so obvious, or so limited in usefulness, but, I was raised around them, and taught how to treat them with the respectful alertness that any dangerous part of life should be given. To ignore the realities of using weapons, of any kind, guns, knives, brains, explosives, whatever, is to invite one’s own demise by those self-same articles, and that is the simple truth.

But, Americans, for some reason, seem to think that passing a law will remove this truth from reality. Every time there is a new shooting, especially when children are involved as victims, or even as perpetrators, there is a huge outcry, and those who want to be protected from reality put out plaintive demands for more restrictive laws to control guns. This, in turn, prompts the survivalists and right-wing paranoids to believe the “guvviment” is going to “take away my guns”, so they too create a huge outcry, of resentment that anyone would challenge their entitlement, and their abject fear of facing life unarmed….

In truth, ANY kind of attempted change in morality in society as a whole is bound to fail in its purpose, because, like it or not, society’s morals are not subject to adjustment by the passage of laws. Trying to make society more moral by creating new laws, to control guns, or to reach ANY moral objective, is doomed to failure from the start.

Strange, isn’t it, how lately I seem to be confining my ranting to the intro section? It’s as if whatever I have to say is pushing its way out before I even get any coffee down… This does provide some rather intense emotional pressure to the ranting, I admit, giving it a good, sharp edge, but, I’m not sure the subjects I choose while still groggy are always going to be the best choice.

Oh well, it’s unproductive to worry about stuff like that before it happens, so, I’ll just take this as a good thing, and roll with it…. Besides, it’s a pretty good rant, even if I don’t offer any solutions…. I’m also not offering any judgments, other than those prompted by observation of facts, so, it all balances out…. If nothing else, it got us this far, right? Right….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“A society without religion is like a crazed psychopath without a loaded .45” — Smart Bee

😆 I can be a funny guy, sometimes, mostly because I laugh hardest whenever I look in a mirror…..
_____________________________

Another advantage to ranting immediately, I find, is that it frees me up to use the old-school technique for at least one of the three sections that make up a Daily Pearl, which always makes me happy… (I’m really a pretty simple guy, all in all; simple things make me happy….) It also, for some unknown, arguably self-serving, reason gives me leave to use the harlequin method, sans parameters to give SB for the search…. The real reason for that is, it seems to work best for SB’s efficiency level; I go through fewer hordes of quotes to find the right group when I give SB its head, so… Off we go…. I’d suggest you either strap in, or hang on….

“Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.” — Buddha

“Admit Nothing. Blame Everyone. Be Bitter.” — Matt Hopkins

“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” — Thomas Paine

“The mind ought sometimes to be amused, that it may the better return to thought, and to itself.” — Phaedrus

“For he who lives more lives than one more deaths than one must die.” — Oscar Wilde

“A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.” — Carl Sagan, Contact

“We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it – and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.” — Mark Twain
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Today’s poetry selection is also at the suggestion of Smart Bee; while searching out the group of pearls in section one, an excerpt from this poem came up, and I was reminded of how long it had been since I read the whole piece. It is a long poem, forty-two stanzas, all the same length as these two, the beginning two of the epic….. Rather than include all of it here, and making y’all scroll down to see the rest of the Pearl, I’ve included a link to the site where I found this copy of the poem, on PoemHunter.com, a very good site for finding good poetry, from all ages…. If you have some time, take some of it to read this entire poem; it is a marvel….

The Eve Of St. Agnes

ST Agnes’ Eve—Ah, bitter chill it was!
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold;
The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass,
And silent was the flock in woolly fold:
Numb were the Beadsman’s fingers, while he told
His rosary, and while his frosted breath,
Like pious incense from a censer old,
Seem’d taking flight for heaven, without a death,
Past the sweet Virgin’s picture, while his prayer he saith.

His prayer he saith, this patient, holy man;
Then takes his lamp, and riseth from his knees,
And back returneth, meagre, barefoot, wan,
Along the chapel aisle by slow degrees:
The sculptur’d dead, on each side, seem to freeze,
Emprison’d in black, purgatorial rails:
Knights, ladies, praying in dumb orat’ries,
He passeth by; and his weak spirit fails
To think how they may ache in icy hoods and mails.

continued…..

~~ John Keats ~~

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-eve-of-st-agnes/
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I’ve looked, and I’ve patiently waited, to see if another rant surfaced in my consciousness, or, more likely, the same rant, back around for another dance, but, nothing is pushing its way into the light, so, I’ll take this opportunity to go build another old-school pearl, this time with some loose parameters for SB, just to mix it up….

I realized just now I’ve been pretty easy of late on churches, and the whole delusional system perpetrated on humanity by the professional shamans who call themselves priests, or preachers, or ministers, or some such pseudonym for what they actually are (which can be most accurately termed “tricksters”, or, “con-men”, or, most simply, “gay deceivers”…) I mean, think about it, logically, and dispassionately, for just a moment; the shadowy lack of substance of what these tricksters propose as reality blows away in the breeze of reason, whereupon it becomes clear…. these are people whose only goal in life is to tell you a story that will convince you to give them your money, by your own choice…. I can’t use the term “by free will” when people who fall for this aren’t using that particular faculty, at least not in the sense of being free of influence…

Any who, let’s see what Smart Bee has to say on the subject of religion, and churches, and the whole supernatural, metaphysical ball o’wax…..

“Doth not the sun harden the clay? Doth it not also soften the wax? As it is one sun that worketh both, even so it is one Soul that willeth contrarieties.” — Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375)

“Anybody who wants religion is welcome to it, as far as I’m concerned — I support your right to enjoy it. However, I would appreciate it if you exhibited more respect for the rights of those people who do not wish to share your dogma, rapture or necrodestination.” — Frank Zappa, “The Real Frank Zappa Book

“It is always dangerous to offend the dignity of the ignorant.” — Rene Caillie, 1827

REDEMPTION, n. Deliverance of sinners from the penalty of their sin, through their murder of the deity against whom they sinned. The doctrine of Redemption is the fundamental mystery of our holy religion, and whoso believeth in it shall not perish, but have everlasting life in which to try to understand it.

We must awake Man’s spirit from his sin,
And take some special measure for redeeming it;
Though hard indeed the task to get it in
Among the angels any way but teaming it,
Or purify it otherwise than steaming it.
I’m awkward at Redemption–a beginner:
My method is to crucify the sinner.

Golgo Brone

~~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

“History records no more gallant struggle than that of humanity against the truth.” — Smart Bee

“knowlege is a polite word for dead but unburied imagination….think twice before thinking.” — e.e. cummings

RELIGION, n. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.

“What is your religion my son?” inquired the Archbishop of Rheims.
“Pardon, monseigneur,” replied Rochebriant; “I am ashamed of it.”
“Then why do you not become an atheist?”
“Impossible! I should be ashamed of atheism.”
“In that case, monsieur, you should join the Protestants.”

~~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

😆
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If I don’t stop too long to think about it, this was fun…. It’s done, in any case, so, after a cursory check of the entire piece for obvious typos or errors of structure (can’t do anything now about the content, ffolkes, just deal with it….), I’ll try to get it posted, before I lose my nerve….. Fat chance of that, but, hey, it sounds good….

Well, I’ve seen better, and I’ve seen worse, so, it will do…. For what they are worth, you have my good wishes for a wonderful day….

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

Don’t forget to pack a sewage pump….

Posted on September 16, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Powerful visions often pass through my mind, generally on their way somewhere else, thus making them merely an annoyance, rather than a joy. Such is life in reality, where we seldom get a proper chance to do just as we would like, even though we adjust and flex both our efforts, and our desires, in the quest to achieve whatever it is we are seeking to accomplish. This is because reality is like an amoeba, always changing shape and character, right before us, with nothing we possess that can affect it one way or another before it changes. All we have is the ability to change our minds, which, to those of us who study reality, is our most valuable tool….

This ability is the one saving grace we have in the face of reality, so it is a good idea to train it well. If not used, and guided, this ability, to be flexible in our thoughts, becomes weak, and can disappear altogether if neglected. The people to whom this has happened are doomed, to a life of misery and ignorance, because there is nothing new to learn for them, once they have abrogated the control of their own mind.

These poor folks are unable to adjust to the rapidity of modern society, and constantly yearn for “the good old days”, which in their minds are golden, but in reality are just gone. It’s sad, but true, that the greater majority of this particular country has done just that, and now allows the pundits on TV to determine for them just what they will think….. It’s much easier than making up their own minds, and easy is what they are all about…

Whoops! I didn’t mean to start ranting, but, it’s just so easy sometimes, when I start thinking…. That right there is the whole problem…. I start thinking, and things just get all intense, and I start taking shots at the parts of society that seem to thrive on stealing from the others with whom they live….. It’s all such a waste, in my mind, to see the potential talent and abilities that even the most average person possesses subverted, and/or deliberately perverted into either disuse, or misuse, all for the sake of keeping the BRC in their positions of power over everyone else.

Those who wish to be in charge of others, who want the power over others that goes along with being an elected official in this country, are, in my mind, clinically insane, and I wish sometimes I was more of a curmudgeon than I am, and that I owned a gun…. But, then, if I did, I’d feel compelled to use it, and my targets would be mostly found in one particular environment, a large city on the East Coast where those who are crazy enough to want that power gather to perform their arcane rituals of theft, misdirection, and aggrandizement.

It might take me a few weeks, and a couple boxes of ammo, but, I could make a serious dent in their numbers, given the time and space…. Too bad I’m disabled now, and can’t work up that much angst…. it might be fun….

Of course, then I’d be falling into the same frame of mind they cultivate in themselves, where they believe they are smart enough to actually make decisions for others….. It has always amazed me to see how much these men and women can delude themselves into thinking this kind of crap; it’s like they have a complete blind spot for other people, and what they might think or feel, and believe that what they want has the right to be paramount over what everyone else wants, or needs….. SIGH….. To make it all not just worse, but stupidly worse, they not only believe this nonsense, they are all-too-successful at getting everyone else to buy into it as well, and will use any persuasion they can think of, no matter how immoral, illegal, or just plain untrue it is, to assert control over the rest of society….

As the perfect example, I give you the attacks of 9/11/01, which the BRC used to perfection. to create fear, and even paranoia, in the public, thereby freeing them to mount their assault on the Bill of Rights. Without even considering the source of the money that paid for the attacks, or who might have had a part in planning it, let us note how the politicos ALL jumped on the security bandwagon, shouting for more restrictive laws to keep the terrorists at bay. They do this, while simultaneously pocketing all the extra money that now pours into the Homeland Security monstrosity of a bureaucracy, where it disappears down the black hole that such behemoths always create, sending piles of money into places where the pundits can more easily transfer it to their pockets…..

Well, I see that I’ve completely lost my way, and fell into a full-fledged rant, before even seeing any headlines, and before consuming sufficient coffee to prevent it….. I’d better take a short time out….

Okay, well, that didn’t help much; I’m still in rant mode, but, now I don’t have the physical acumen remaining to get any more of it out; it’s going to be one of those days, I think, and I might just go back to bed to avoid the worst of it…. Let’s see if I can get a Pearl done first. It should be fairly quick and easy…. I’ve already ranted, so I can go old-school for sections one and two, and I’ll find a good poem for section two…. as long as it all goes smoothly, I should be done, and back in bed within a couple hours…. Yay….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I only touch base with reality on an as-needed basis!” — Royal Floyd Mengot (Klaus)
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As noted above, this will be an old-school pearl. I’ve just about given up on giving Smart Bee a set of parameters to use in choosing the pearls for these groups; it seems to work out better when I let it go random, allowing fate, as it were, to determine the best pearls to include. Besides, that way, I can’t be fully to blame for what happens, and my insurance guys are all over that, so…. here is another set of harlequin pearls for your edification and delectation, hopefully….

“All art is autobiographical. The pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.” — Federico Fellini

“Don’t claim that you know everything- besides not being true, it’s very irritating to those of us who do.” — Smart Bee

“People are the nucleus of great idea that hasn’t come to be yet.” — Richard Pryor, American Comedian

“Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.” — Albert Einstein

“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.” — Dorothy Parker

“Much that passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love for power.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)

“We all carry it within us; supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted and cannot be destroyed. But it is hidden deep, which is what makes life a problem.” — Huston Smith

Though quite nice, this doesn’t quite make the point it is shooting for, so, I’ll look for one more to include that will bring it all home, I hope….

“A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.” — Buddha

Perfect….
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Well, it’s one of those days, alright…. I can’t make up my mind between two poems, so, you get saddled with them both… They’re both mine, and both kind of fit with how I’m feeling today, so, bear with me, ffolkes, it will be over soon enough…

Future Shocked:

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

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

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

We all weep now…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Funny Bones

Dreaming the way home, lost, unseen,
from the dance, where
he felt so free, and clean.
Sorrow couldn’t find him there.

Waiting, filling up the hours, hoping,
some connection can be found
keeping busy as bees, coping.
Love creeps in, without a sound.

Fat days, skinny nights, passionate
visions of semi-conscious entities,
cannot seem to fully illuminate
or hide our innermost frailties.

Resolute, find the perfect sense, codify
simple rules with every breath
never waiting, anxious to modify.
fear nothing in life, not even Death.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Today’s effort is going quickly, and fairly smoothly, for which I’m grateful, as I really don’t feel all too well, and need to do SOMETHING to make that change…. I only wish I knew what the proper SOMETHING might be… Ah well, I can put together an old-school pearl in my sleep, and often have, so, here is another one, with no parameters to get in the way of something really sharp and unusual…. I can hope, can’t I?….

“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single kind act is better than a thousand head-bowings in prayer.” — Saddi

“A worm, with very few exceptions, is not a human being.” — from Young Frankenstein

“Once you’ve tried to change the world you find it’s a whole bunch easier to change your mind.” — Smart Bee

“Corruptissima republica plurimae leges.” [The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.] — Cornelius Tacitus, 56-120 A.D., Annals III 27

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful. Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either. But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain

“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger” — from Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ever eating, never cloying,
All-devouring, all-destroying,
Never finding full repast,
Till I eat the world at last.

— Swift (1667-1745)

All’s well that ends well, yes?….
_____________________________

Life has just entered a flux zone, and the future has become clouded in my vision; foreboding fills me, and I am afraid. But, I am my father’s son, and there is no question of giving in, so, I’m going to take today to try to figure out how to feel better. I’m tired of not….. Let’s see how this truncated version of a real Pearl came out….

Well, somehow, it all came together adequately, so I’m going to take the money and run…. 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

Entirely new aspects of unpardonable sins….

Posted on September 12, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Today’s Pearl will be a typical road-based version, with mostly archived material…. The reason for this today is that the jet-lag caught up with me last night…. I fell out at 8 PM, and didn’t finish sleeping until 8 AM…. It’s a glorious feeling, getting enough sleep, but, it happened just in time to take another plane home today, and reverse the lag again…. I guess Murphy found me…

S’okay, since I’m going home today, I can comfort myself with knowing he will have to get back to California on his own, and won’t have time to mess with me a lot…. I know, probably wishful thinking, but, hey, one must maintain one’s illusions, n’est pas? All I have to do is drive an hour, yell at the rental car company folks for their outrageous hidden charges, and catch my plane home…. That alone will be an ordeal, as we fly to Phoenix first, get off, get on another plane, and then fly to SFO…. I’m glad I decided not to take BART home, as I’d probably end up getting lost at the airport trying to find it….

Any who, chatty bilge aside, today’s Pearl is one from mid-2012, prior to the elections in November of that year, so it has some good shots at Romney in it, along with the normal blather I produce at such an alarming rate. Never fear, tomorrow’s Pearl should be a fresh one, with all new material…. oh, joy…. In the meantime, please enjoy this one, a blast from the past….

Shall we Pearl?….

“I’m glad I did it…partly because it was worth it but mainly because I will never have to do it again.” — Mark Twain
____________________________

Ffolkes,
I’m giving up. Or, more accurately, I’m acknowledging that I’ve given up; the actual giving up part was accomplished some time ago, and I’m just now getting around to letting y’all know…. You may well ask “what are you babbling about now?”, and would be within your rights to do so. I’m talking about giving up some of my angst, just letting it go…. the part that I keep around to worry about whether this blog gets done by a certain time.

My sleeping pattern has achieved true randomness, I think; I can no longer tell when I might get sleepy at night. It seems to alternate between falling out at 6 PM on Monday, then being wide awake at midnight on Tuesday. Then Wednesday, I take a 3 hour nap, until 4 PM, and fall out again at 8. It’s absurd, and I can’t get a handle on it…..

I don’t know if this is a functional result of getting older, or if it is because of the medication I’m taking, (or not taking…. there are at least five things my doctor tells me to take that I can’t afford, so I don’t….), or just my PTSD throwing me mental curves and sliders. Whatever the cause, I can no longer count on being up by a certain time, so it makes no sense to get all worked up when I don’t get this Pearl done before 8 or 9 AM.

So, I won’t…. I may be a Bozo, but once I do figure something out, I’m not shy about implementing changes….. Just because one’s nose is big, red, and honks doesn’t mean one can’t be efficient…. We may all be Bozo’s on this bus, but the bus stops now and again, and one must get off and join the rest of the circus…..

That said, we can get on with the process of finding pearls. They may not get published as early as is usual, but they’ll get there. I’m just not going to sweat over it quite so freely….. Shall we Pearl?…..
___________________________________

“You can’t use tact with a congressman. A congressman is a hog. You must take a stick and hit him on the snout.” — Henry Adams

The political arena has been quiet of late; we are between elections leading up to the main one in November, and waiting for the National Conventions of each Party to take place. The Republican front runner, Mitt Romney, has placed a gag order on himself, having recently acknowledged that thus far in his campaign, his greatest problems have occurred when he opened his mouth to speak. So, he has been watching what he says very carefully, and in the process, is saying nothing at all.

Well, that is, he’s saying nothing if one doesn’t count his normal quota of lies and made up statistics. Why, just two days ago I read where he told a group in the Midwest how Obama’s administration had increased some debt percentage “more than ANY previous administration”. This of course, is completely false, as the numbers show, in fact, that the particular statistical number to which he referred, has DECREASED more than any previous administration had been able to do….. typical.

So, this leaves me little to rant about. I guess I’ll have to go look through the news before writing these pearls, to find something to use as the latest evidence of the ongoing chicanery and yes, illegal activities being acted out on the public stage. Hang in there, I’ll be back….

There, see? Nothing…. no outrageous statements, no news of new idiotic policies. Well, there was one story, about how Romney is now claiming that cutting spending will cause a depression (that’s Democratic cuts, not Republican cuts…. they’re different, you know… sure they are…. trust me….). Of course, he doesn’t bother to explain his reasoning for this claim; he just knows. I guess the information came in via radio, straight into his brain from the Cosmos… Hardly worth picking at, even for me….

Ah well, I’ll just wait. I am certain that it won’t take more than a day or two for the pressure to build up, and Mitt will have to blurt out some new idiotically absurd new statement that demonstrates his complete cluelessness. He’s been in the public eye now for several months, and if they are any indicator, it won’t be long before he opens up and inserts his size 10 alligator loafers…. and I’ll be waiting….

“There are things worse than a public speaker with a three word thought, a three minute vocabulary and a three hour speech, but I have not been able to think of any over the last three days.” — Smart Bee
___________________________________

“He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.” — Rafael Sabatini

A few days ago, I posted a quote from William Yeats, about making our words inevitable…. The above line is the opening line of the novel, “Scaramouche”, and is, in my not-so-humble opinion, one of the best opening lines ever written. With style and wit, and a strong sense of inevitability, it sets the tone for the entire book, and gives a taste of flavor from the feast to follow….. I would recommend the story to anyone who enjoys a well-told historical novel, rich in detail, and with engaging characters living in a time of great change.

The story is set in France, during the same period as Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”, i.e. the period leading up to the Peasant’s Revolt in the 19the century. Love, hatred, political intrigue, revenge, all play their part to paint a beautifully detailed picture of the period, and tell a story that holds one captive to the final page. I won’t bore you with a discussion of how it can be related to current times; you can see for yourself when you read it. But, even without any political overtones, the book remains a great read, and well worth a trip to the library…..
___________________________________

The Day Is Done

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o’er me
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life’s endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

~~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Poetry break…. enjoy!
___________________________________

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

I have previously given my opinion on Shakespeare, and won’t bore you again with more samples of his impenetrable verse; it always gives me a headache anyway…. but it is nice to find evidence that my less than enthusiastic take on Will is shared by others who are not afraid to state an unpopular opinion. The fact that the person who makes this statement is possibly the best poet who ever lived gives me a lot of satisfaction; if anyone is entitled to an opinion about Will’s work, John Keats is certainly one of them.

Keats is acknowledged as probably the most influential poet of all time, not merely during his own life. His work changed the face of the entire genre; one can only lament his early death, and grieve over all the genius that was lost…. And not just genius, but brave genius, to be honest enough to say what he thought about the most revered playwright of all time…. It’s tough to be right, when everyone one else believes you to be wrong…. but it’s well worth it, to my mind…. Especially if it means I don’t have to try to sit through another reading of Will’s nonsensical refuse, trying to find some way to puzzle out what he was trying to say with all the extra verbiage he piled on to his verse….
___________________________________

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” — Buddha

Obviously, this needs no adornment, nor comment from me, other than to say it is my idea of the correct path to a full and complete life, based on right action, compassion, and love…..
___________________________________

I’ve said it before…. All you can do is all you can do…. hopefully, it is enough. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here endeth the lesson…. We’ll not tempt fate by commenting here on any of the various characteristics of this piece, though we will acknowledge its age, if naught else. Such as it is, it deserves some respect, if only for that age…. and, for being right about Romney…. See ya back in California, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why…

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

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Mark Twain

Alarms, and sirens, and gunshots, oh my!….

A special sale on Dear John letters…..

Free speech, with a side order of lies….

Salvation lay in perfecting a peony in fuchsia….

Braided sable wigs stimulate abnormally well…

Baldly factual assertions, drying in the wind….

Another confusing day in Paradox….

Forlorn remnants of an exemplary poltroon….

Don’t forget to pack a sewage pump….

Entirely new aspects of unpardonable sins….

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