Hajime…. Elements of style & grace notwithstanding, there is a lot to be said for virtuous industry, even if the root cause remains an anomaly. In the larger sense, this implies a certain responsibility, to find purpose wherever it may hide itself, allowing no stray miscreants opportunity to fail, hirsute as they may be. Untidy, as a descriptive adjective, falls consistently short of successful parody, while an old, broken pantheon of forgotten gods sits, weeping silent tears, in memory of faded glory. All remains dark on the horizon, where the sun has forgotten to rise, again….
There. That, I think, is a sufficiently strange opening paragraph, which demonstrates both my erudition, and my insanity. The latter, in particular, holds me at ransom this morning, in spite of waking in a relatively common manner. The oddity of my own mind’s path often washes me up on the shore like this, leaving me high & dry with nothing but what passes for thinking to consume. As you may guess, it can be somewhat tricky to deal with reality, &, as the opening paragraph clearly shows, that’s no small feat. Since the only way to get past all of it is to let it flow out of my head as quickly, & ruthlessly as possible, such displays of perversion become the norm.
Ah, well, one can’t have everything, can one? No, of course not. Where would one put it all? Moreover, one remains responsible for one’s own words, no matter how oddly they strike the psyche of the world. My own manner of coping, as you can plainly see, is to take it to the limit, where the boundaries of sanity are stretched past their own belief; only there can I find my own balance, teetering in jeopardy, but, safely insane…. So be it….
I did manage to put this Pearl together, though without the new poem, which continues to dribble out, rather than gushing. Since all the proper elements are in place, and, we have sufficient blather accumulation here in the intro, why don’t we just cut our losses, & get on with it, so we can all move on to bigger, or better things…. It should be easy today; I’ve already softened the edges of reality, right in front of your eyes, so, the transition should be pretty seamless…. Watch and learn….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.”
~~ Roy Goodman ~~
***************************************
I had a hard time deciding on music today; eventually, I went with my own preferences, which is why y’all are being treated to one of the finest musicians alive today, who has been entertaining millions of people for several decades. Fine, fine blues & slide guitar, a voice like an angel, a red-haired beauty…. what’s not to love about her? Here she is, ffolkes, live in Oakland in 1989, it’s Bonnie….
***************************************
Bonnie Raitt Live in concert 1989
***************************************
***************************************
***************************************
Neurons/Parade Rest
Forlorn, he thought, but, then,
no, not really so.
Old, sad, strong; polluted by time’s red pen.
Nowhere left, to be, nor to go.
Tricks, not treats, forever remote,
strike fear into hearts fettered in fog.
Biting deep, stinging, we simper by common rote,
mired eternally in such bilious bog.
Torturous vision, bloody, capitulates in duplicate;
don’t ask for whom the spell trolls.
Ambiguity is real, impossible to extricate,
that’s how it rocks, then rolls.
Spiteful instruments offer no respite, patently.
Filigree lacks properly significant doubt.
Alternative answers formulate motivation, elegantly,
portraying reality as a vulgar lout.
Poltroons, there’s a good word,
for idiotic farmers, enthusiasts who borrow
time, filled with the blood of a bird;
solitary, the trickster cannot follow.
Affable moments trip the light, fantastic;
salacious intimacies fill a shimmering bower.
Night falls, eventually, monastic;
eternity calls with irresistible power.
~~ gigoid ~~
8/11 – 8/15/2016
***************************************
Naked Pearls
Living & dying in 3/4 time….
*******
“Dum vivimus, vivamus.”
(While we live, let us live…)
~~ Latin proverb ~~
*******
“You see things, and you say “WHY?”
But I dream things that never were,
and I say “WHY NOT?”
~~ George Bernard Shaw, “Back to Methuselah” ~~
*******
“In the bigger scheme of things,
the universe is not asking us to do something,
the universe is asking us to be something.
And that’s a whole different thing.”
~~ Lucille Clifton ~~
*******
“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
~~ Bertrand Russell ~~
*******
“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else,
you will have succeeded.”
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
*******
“I feel better about world problems now!”
~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~
*******
“Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me.
That means nothing.
People like us, who believe in physics,
know that the distinction between past, present, and future
is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
~~ Albert Einstein ~~
*******
***************************************
I am not too sure what happened today, but, it happened, so, I’ll be content with that. And, so will you. By the power vested in me as a human in good standing, I declare this version of the Daily Pearl to be complete. I’ll even forgo the usual nonsense, & merely say, see y’all soon. I’m going walkabout….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“When something irritates you, think of this:
How else would we get pearls?”
~~ Ancient Human Wisdom ~~
Iconic view of SF from the Ferry….
Hajime…. Of the muses imagined by the Greeks, Calliope is considered by most to be the foremost of the nine sisters. She is the muse of epic poetry, which, given human nature, represents, essentially, the written word, as a manifestation of human thought. Her sister Euterpe, mentioned below, has always, for me, been the muse to whom we connect most often, as the music of life, and dance, and lyric poetry flows through us like water through a channel. The times in my life when I have felt closest to Universal Truth have come most often while playing music, or singing, or dancing; at those moments, the music IS me… and the sense of completeness is ecstatic, a feeling of being more alive than any other time, lasting well after the music stops….
Channeling Calliope, while more cerebral, can nonetheless produce the same effect, if far less often. There can be moments, when a truth comes clear, or we write a phrase that rings with truth, flowing from mind to paper/screen, which can produce a quite similar effect, less dramatic, but, just as satisfying…. When a poem leaks out, the sense of release, and the sense of joy, vie for ascendancy with absolute good humor; we can only wish it would last longer…..
All that being said, we now move to today’s Pearl. It’s a good one, I think, though the poem which I’ve been leaking for two weeks now doesn’t seem to want to end itself; to balance the disappointment, the music for today is one of my personal favorites. Additionally, the final section’s old-school pearl is a classic set of gems, which you will see exceeds all standards of excellence…. metaphorically, of course. I’ve included one of my older poems, another favorite, so as to keep anyone else from garnering any of the potential blame. All in all, it’s rather iconic, as Pearls go, & I’m more than content to post it forthwith. In fact, why don’t we end this relatively useless diatribe, & get on with it? Since I have no coherent answer for that, we shall do so, here, and now….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Good for the body is the work of the body,
and good for the soul is the work of the soul,
and good for either
is the work of the other.”
~~ Henry David Thoreau ~~
***************************************
In ancient Greece, Euterpe was the muse of music, songs, and lyric poetry. In our own age, if ever a woman lived who personified Her, Bonnie Raitt must surely be considered as a primary candidate. Ageless beauty, a voice capable of evoking every emotion, including jaw-dropping amazement, a virtuoso guitar player, famous for her smooth blues and slide riffs, all contribute to the image, and reality, of a woman who lives for, and is a part of, the musical essence of Life… It’s hard NOT to gush enthusiastically, so, to refrain from any further fawning adoration, I give you Ms. Bonnie Raitt, live, at her best….
***************************************
Bonnie Raitt Live in Germany 1992
***************************************
***************************************
***************************************
Dead Hands,Typing…
Puzzled anew by anomalous blocks of pain
caught, bemused, chained to routine, insane.
Stilled within breathless beauty
Engaging epiphany, insistent, called to duty.
Knees bent in lieu of a faithful rendition
suffuses, confuses, locked into stale perdition.
Clearing corrosion with hands encased in stone
Singular frozen follicles, masked by bone.
Partial focus brings unfiltered flavors to light
coloring each particle in simple delight.
Forlorn, novel conceptual artists singing in tune
nine notes in harmony, soft as the moon.
Honed blades of carbon steel flash in rhyme,
filling sensual receptors well past closing time.
Borrowed from neighbors in a week-old game
still bloody, without a proper name.
No flooded memories can justify such cost
no simple stationery, bilious, afraid, lost.
Ten times ten will never be enough
To fill so empty a stolen trough.
Bartering simplicity takes well into the night
solidly temporary pillars turned bright.
Unknown to all the pretty children who came
none were called, none had any remaining flame.
~~ gigoid ~~
2/25/2016
***************************************
Naked Pearls
Life is a Metaphor for Death….
*******
“Dear friend, all theory is gray,
And green the golden tree of life.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Faust”
*******
A wise man once said …”I don’t know.”
~~ Subtle Bee ~~
*******
“Inside myself is a place where I live all alone,
and that’s where you renew your springs that never dry up.”
~~ Pearl S. Buck ~~
*******
“I remember my grandfather telling me how each of us must live
with a full measure of loneliness that is inescapable,
and we must not destroy ourselves with our passion to escape this aloneness.”
~~ Jim Harrison, “Dalua” ~~
*******
“After you have exhausted what there is
in business, politics, conviviality, and so on
– have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear
– what remains?
Nature remains.”
~~ Walt Whitman ~~
*******
“Some things cannot be spoken or discovered until we have been stuck,
incapacitated, or blown off course for awhile.
Plain sailing is pleasant,
buy you are not going to explore many unknown realms that way.”
~~ David Whyte ~~
*******
“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person,
“Always do what you are afraid to do.””
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
*******
“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else,
you will have succeeded.”
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
*******
“Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.”
~~ Amelia Burr ~~
*******
***************************************
Having, in a sense, filled in all the spaces, I shall pronounce this Pearl complete, so as to bring it to a fitting close. Of course, classifying it as ‘fitting’ may be premature, or, at minimum, optimistic, but, hey, it’s all good, cuz nobody’s paying me for this. In fact, having thus proclaimed this process to be, in essence, futility on parade, I shall, with rather more aplomb than is called for, cease and desist for another day. Y’all stay strange; me, I have no choice in the matter…. See y’all, maybe even tomorrow….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
~~ Carl Sagan ~~
The bar at White’s Tavern, Belfast, Ireland ~ Est. 1630
Hajime…. Some of y’all may have noticed, a few years ago, when the world went totally insane. Mostly, people either chose to ignore the clear signs, or, actively & passionately celebrated the general loss of rationality, both of which, naturally, contributed heavily to the original problem, now in the critical stages. In the larger sense, it doesn’t much matter whether we acknowledge the insanity; what will be, will be. But, in the smaller sense, it promises to be a rather difficult time for individuals, especially those without the wit to understand why it all seems so crazy. In short, time is now NOT on our side, and the shit, stinky as it is, is about to hit the fan….
But, as they are wont to say downtown, oh, well. All you can do is all you can do, & I, personally, have done pretty much all I can do. So, I sit, and watch, as the world steadily marches to the end game. As T. S. wrote, “This is how the world ends; with a whimper, not a bang.” I am not sure if it makes me sad, glad, or just as confused as ever; since none of them matter, or can have any lasting effect, I’ll just be all three, & continue to observe, shaking my head every now & again, as things get weirder, & weirder out in the Big Blue Room.
For now, though, I suppose I should quit lamenting the state of the world, which I can’t control, and move on to something I can. If nothing else, I still have this, right? Right. Not that it’s fair compensation for extinction, but, it will do for this morning’s purpose, which is merely to reach the point where I may say, it’s done. To further that purpose, I’m dumping the rest of this intro, in favor of a quick flight to the rest of what I’ve managed to put together. I can’t say it’s the best ever, but, it does have that incredibly satisfying characteristic, to wit, it’s done. Or, it will be, as soon as I do this….
Shall we Pearl?
“God, to me, it seems
is a verb
not a noun
proper or improper.”
~~ R. Buckminster Fuller ~~
***************************************
I’m feeling both lazy and in need of elegance; this should do nicely to cover both needs/desires…. Enjoy!…..
***************************************
Chopin Piano Concertos #’s 1 & 2
***************************************
***************************************
***************************************
A Failure to Germinate
Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.
Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.
Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.
I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.
My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.
Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
of which reality boasted proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.
~~ gigoid ~~
9/27/2012
***************************************
Naked Pearls
Elements of Illumination….
*******
“Courage is the greatest of all the virtues.
You cannot consistently practice any other virtues
without being courageous.”
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
*******
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
~~ Hanlon’s Razor ~~
*******
“It is in changing that things find repose”
~~ ~~ Heraclitus
*******
“Anywhere is walking distance, if you’ve got the time.”
~~ Steven Wright ~~
*******
“In this world there is always danger
for those who are afraid of it.”
~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~
*******
“However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act on upon them?”
~~ Buddha ~~
*******
“Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.”
~~ J. R. “Bob” Dobbs ~~
*******
***************************************
Once more, having displayed the idiosyncratic nature of what we do here, I can say my self-appointed duties are complete. I’ll skip any comments on quality, or even quantity, & stay on the course set in the intro, which seems to have worked well to get us this far. We’re going to make that assumption, anyway, even at the risk of being right. I suppose that’s getting a little smarmy, so, why don’t I end this here, & see what I can do about trying to put one together for tomorrow? Yeah, that’s what we’ll do; besides, I can’t think of anything else to say. So, I’ll say, see ya, ffolkes, & be done with it….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.”
~~ Lao-Tzu ~~
I ate the mouse….
Hajime…. Usually, when my nose gets red, round, and begins to run, I am merely being a Bozo, a very large clan of humans. Today, however, my bozoid tendencies are merely the root cause of said runny redness. Though I know a natural method of avoiding the worst effects of a cold, I neglected to apply it when the symptoms began to appear, thus ensuring I would feel the full effect of my folly for at least a week, if not more, rather than a mild misery for a couple days. I can hear the loud honking, even in my sleep; well, I can when I’m not sneezing, anyway….
Oh, well; I’m the one who blew the technique off, so, I can’t complain about the consequences. I could, of course, but, what would be the point? Mere self-indulgence, from which I am attempting to refrain, as much as possible. It doesn’t work well with mindfulness, &, in fact, makes such a state damn near impossible to attain. Since I am not going to give in to such weakness, having already given in too far, I’ll just leave this where we find it, & go on to more productive, if less co-dependently soothing malapropisms. Shoot! Who’d a thunk we’d have to resort to such despicable indulgence so early in the day? Not me, but, then, thinking, at this time of the morning, isn’t always my strongest suit, a statement I think we may assume applies to most of us humans.
Gosh, that’s chatty, & informative, as far as it goes, I suppose, but, I’m not sure it’s exactly what I had in mind when I envisioned today’s opening section. Ah, well, so be it; it’s not as if I ever have a clue as regards the content that will end up here; it’s pretty much a random event, as such events go. Rather than challenge the way it came out, why don’t we employ a bit of ruthless efficiency, & be done with it. I have the feeling this Pearl will be better for it, & that’s all I really care about at this point. I’ll even use our most efficient method for getting down the page, which works like this….
Shall we Pearl?
“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth,
more than ruin, more even than death….
Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible,
thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit.
Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid.
Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world,
and the chief glory of man.”
~~ Bertrand Russell (1872-1967), “Selected Papers” ~~
***********************************
Playing For Change
I’m running a bit late, so, we’re going with one of our default musical selections. The video you see is one of many by the Playing For Change organization, of which I am a proud member…. In my less than humble opinion, the music you hear from these artists is the freshest, most original you can find, anywhere…. We’ll begin your exploration today with a classic tune of Bob Marley’s, played & sung by artists from around the world…. Enjoy!…..
********************************
Playing For Change One Love
********************************
********************************
********************************
Rainbow Connection
Why are there so many songs about rainbows
and what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions
rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we’ve been told and some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong, wait and see.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thoughta’ that and someone believed it —
look what it’s done so far.
What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing
and what do we think we might see?
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.
All of us under its spell
we know that it’s probably magic.
Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I hear them calling my name.
Could it be the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice may be one and the same.
Well I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it
it’s somethin’ that I’m s’posed to be.
And someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.”
~~ Kermit the Frog ~~
********************************
Naked Pearls
Reminders….
*******
“All life is an experiment.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
*******
“History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.”
~~ Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning” ~~
*******
“There is nothing with which every man is so afraid
as getting to know how enormously much
he is capable of doing and becoming.”
~~ Soren Kierkegaard ~~
*******
“Whose undertakings are all devoid of desires and purpose,
and whose actions have been burnt by fire-of-knowledge,
him the wise call a sage.”
~~ Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 19 ~~
*******
“If you never assume importance you never lose it.”
~~ Lao-tzu ~~
*******
“A person needs a little madness,
or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.”
~~ Nikos Kazantzakis ~~
*******
“Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.”
~~ Things We Can Learn From Dogs ~~
*******
********************************
I shan’t trouble you further; I’ve probably done all the damage available to be done. I’ll even forgo my usual nonsense, & just say, see y’all tomorrow, hopefully. This cold may make that problematic, but, such is life, eh? See ya, ffolkes….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
Hajime…. A foul wind blew, bringing the temptation of nausea; forgotten, the pale shadows of burgeoning night stole softly past time’s patient milieu. Sultry, the hours pass, until the ripeness of entropic salvation assumes precedence over preference. Still, there is no pattern exclusive to such mundane proliferation, save that which strikes fancy. The silly simians have held their sway, only to find a more attractive degree of oblivion. So be it….
Good morning…. Hmm? Oh, that. Nothing much; merely some random thoughts to warm up the somnolent grey cells, in the interest of aiding the caffeine I’ve already taken aboard. Didn’t seem to work as well as I’d hoped, but, since I’m rather late getting this done, it will have to do. I do have all the elements for a Pearl in place; that isn’t to say it’s good, or even great. It merely means it’s ready for consumption, if not appreciation. I guess, all things considered, that’s about as good as I can expect on such a morning as this one promises to be. No, I’m not being obscure (not deliberately, anyway), I’m being overly honest. And, given the implications, I think I’ll just leave that right there….
I could, if I felt so inclined, wander around my head a little longer, trying to find something worthwhile to put into this intro; that, however, would be mere indulgence on my part, so, instead, I’ll break out yet another literary trick, & dazzle y’all with the brilliance it reveals, in all its tawdry glory. I’ll even go so far as to neglect any attempt to explain, or justify such an assumptive attitude, & show you how it works, first-hand. That hand, if you will, or, if you won’t, is quick, too…. How quick? This quick….
Shall we Pearl?
“I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read.
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
~~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias” (1819) ~~
***********************************
I’ve managed to make myself late getting posted, so, we will go with one of our default music selections. This collection of Nocturnes by F. Chopin is touted as excellent for reading or studying, so, let’s see it it’s true, shall we? Enjoy!….
********************************
Frédéric Chopin Nocturnes
********************************
********************************
********************************
A Failure to Germinate
Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.
Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.
Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.
I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.
My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.
Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
of which reality boasted proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.
~~ gigoid ~~
9/27/2012
********************************
Naked Pearls
Curves ahead; watch your step….
********
“All things are to be examined and called into question.
There are no limits set on thought.”
~~ Edith Hamilton ~~
*******
“You did then what you knew how to do.
When you knew better, you did better.
You are spirit who did what you had to do,
but you are not that thing.”
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
********
“Eternity has nothing to do with the hereafter… This is it…
If you don’t get it here, you won’t get it anywhere.
The experience of eternity right here and now is the function of life.
Heaven is not the place to have the experience;
here’s the place to have the experience.”
~~ Joseph Campbell ~~
********
“It is never too early or too late to care for the well-being of the soul.”
~~ Epicurus ~~
********
“Keep the juices going by jangling around gently as you move.”
~~ Satchel Paige ~~
********
“I don’t pretend to have all the answers.
I don’t pretend to even know what the questions are.
Hey, where am I?”
~~ Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey ~~
********
“I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!!”
~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~
********
********************************
I shall offer no apology for today’s Pearl; I won’t even offer sympathy. I will, however, leave you to nurse your wounded psyche in peace, as I probably should have done at the beginning. Let’s try again, tomorrow, shall we? Well, I will; I can only hope you’ll show some forgetfulness, and forgiveness, enough to send you back tomorrow, to see if we can do any better. Until then, be well, and happy as you may; I’m going back to bed, I think. That promises to be the safest bet I can make…. See ya….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are for.”
~~ John A. Shedd ~~
Kirk windows, Greenock, Scotland….
Hajime…. In the last two or three days, between bouts of business out in the BBR, and the inconvenience of an inconsistently gurgling gut, I managed to put together a rather extensive Pearl. There is old stuff, new stuff, and some middle-of-the-proverbial-road stuff, all of which, while often obscure or allegorically impure, is nonetheless cogent for all that. Since that sentence, alone, is quite murky enough to suit the censors, I’ve decided to just let it fly, & take whatever consequences reality may bring. Scary, but, that’s life, right?….
In case it isn’t clear yet, this is what I call an ‘off-the-cuff’ intro, meaning all of it has been made up, on the spot, by allowing my overburdened head let out what it has to release, willy nilly. Such arrogance on my part is, I’m afraid, natural; I am human, after all. But, it is tempered somewhat by my reluctance to speak ill, whether of the dead, or the living. Well, okay, so, it’s not, really. I just couldn’t figure out any other way to get this going, having found the usual vast empty spaces facing my astonished gaze this morning, as I took my first peek inside, searching for inspiration, or, at the very least, reason to live….
Facing conundrums so early in the day is de rigeur for this process, so, rather than dwell upon that which cannot be altered, I’ll go on, to things not bigger, or better, but, in the final analysis, different. At this point, such an attitude comprises the proof of our pudding, to wit: all we can do is all we can do. Moreover, we’ve done it, and, thankfully, we are allowed to use that as excuse, if not justification. The law is very strange, is it not?
Okay, I’ve lost my way, & haven’t enough coffee on board to offer any possibility of finding it. I can’t think of anything else, so why don’t we just do this?….
Shall we Pearl?
“History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.’
~~ Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning” ~~
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Old friends….
I’ve decided to make use of some older material, written before I began blogging on WordPress. I’d been creating Pearls for several years, but, mostly published via email to my list of subscribers… long story. The material I found is several months of Pearls from the SFGATE website, where I posted them for a few months… For the next period of time, until I run out, or get tired of it, I’ll be including some of them here in the first section,, where many of my rants used to appear; some of the older Pearls fit that description, anyway, so, it works for me. Y’all can let me know what you think in the comments, if you wish. I’m gonna do it anyway, but, feel free…. *grin* Abondanza!…
From 8/20/2011:
Ffolkes,
And so it begins again. It’s enough to make you just want to rant sometimes. The news every day bombards us with the craziness going on in the world, providing us with the mental equivalent of dried dung in such quantities the Berbers could make a fire lasting all night. Politicians speak out every day, spewing tons of the most amazing crap, proving with every word just how insane they are, and people keep lapping it up like ice cream. The media that reports all this possibly plays the worst part in the charade, as they continue to report on the most trivial BS they can find. They don’t seem to care whether it is dignified, or if it makes any sense; they just want to increase ratings, and bad news does that better than good.
Oh well, I could rant on this forever, and it’s not going to make any difference. It’s unfortunate, because I’m beginning to believe that it is too late for us humans; we passed the turnoff to sanity a while back, and nobody noticed. Our beloved ruling class has decided that they are not going to buy into the idea that we are killing ourselves, and will hold that opinion all the way to the graveyard.
I’m also of the opinion that we little people only have one choice left, and that is revolution. The conditions which produced the first American Revolutionary War are fully present today; government is NOT responsive to the will of the people. Hell, they could care less about the people; to them it’s all about what they can get before getting caught, and even then they don’t get prosecuted. How many bankers and Wall Streeters were put in jail for stealing all that money a few years ago? None…instead we gave them bailout money.
Ah hell, that’s enough for one morning; if I continue I’ll end up with indigestion, and I’ve only been up for a half hour. F….. ’em, they’re not going to ruin my day….today’s Pearls were picked out when I had this on my mind, so they may reflect that…..they’re still a pretty good group….
“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” — Francis Bacon
“When forced to resort to arms for redress, an appeal to the tribunal of the world was deemed proper for our justification. This was the object of the Declaration of Independence.” — Thomas Jefferson
“I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary notices I have read with pleasure.” — Clarence Darrow
(How long is YOUR list?…..mine runs to three or four pages….and the first two are just the politicians (most of whom began as lawyers) and preachers).
“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. I don’t like them myself. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings.” — Humphrey Bogart to Lauren Bacall, in The Big Sleep
Existing order thrives upon ignorance and lies. Objective truth and individual reason are feared above all.
“The seeker after truth must, once in the course of his life, doubt everything, as far as is possible. What is doubtful should even be considered as false. This doubt should not, meanwhile, be applied to ordinary life.” — R. Descartes, “1-3rd Principles of Human Knowledge”
Well, I feel a little better…..reading pearls always helps me regain my equilibrium. Hopefully, they do the same for you….. y’all take care out there…..
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Albert & Stevie
I feel like the blues today; not my mood, just my wants…. Since it doesn’t get any better than these two, we’ll go with their finest session…. Enjoy!….
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Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan In Session
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Platitudes for Attitudes
Platitudes shake us, attitudes break us.
Life can be a real pain, y’know?
Still, if we don’t fight where it takes us,
it’s a pretty straight row to hoe..
A lot of what we see and hear
isn’t always in the best of taste.
Life at large can be one long frisson of fear.
Making an effort often seems a huge waste.
Pundits, dogma dogs, myrmidons, oligarchs & pimps;
assholes and predators every one.
Twisted, sick, anti-humans; anomalous, ignorant wimps.
Logic says, every time, lobotomize ’em, & be done.
Illusions, delusions, confusions, a dedicated data dump,
bilious, divisive, spicy with hatred and fears.
Inflation, immigration, promises from the clownish Trump
Leaving even our basest survival heavy with tears.
Ancient sages left signs on the path to peace,
for those with wit to see.
No need for undue effort, no quest for golden fleece.
All we ever need to do, is be.
~~ gigoid ~~
8/29/2015
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Naked Pearls
“But soft, what light breaks….”
*******
“Nothing can bring lasting peace,
but you have it already
if you just stop disturbing it.
It is there always.”
~~ Sri Swami Satchidananda ~~
*******
“I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze
than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor,
every atom of me in magnificent glow,
than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.”
~~ Jack London, Jack London’s Tales of Adventure ~~
*******
“You cannot do a kindness too soon,
for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
*******
All truly wise thoughts have been thought already
thousands of times;
but to make them truly ours,
we must think them over again honestly,
till they take root in our personal experience.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
*******
“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.
Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.
We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
*******
“Be your own reason.”
~~ Levis ~~
*******
“Being human is a complicated gig”
So give that ol’ dark night of the soul a hug.
Howl the eternal yes.”
~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~
*******
********************************
It’s done, though I can’t claim to fully comprehend exactly how it happened. Since it’s dead, we won’t beat it any more; instead, I’ll use this opportunity to take our leave until the next time. I am hoping that will be tomorrow, but, given the instability we are witnessing on all levels of society, I’d rather not make any promises I might not be able to keep. I can promise to try, and, I shall. For now, I’ll merely say, see y’all later, ffolkes. Seize the day before it slips away….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night.”
~~ Kahlil Gibran ~~
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Tiananmen Square with the OYA Posse
Hajime…. Observe, then, the bent, grizzled old man, sitting stiffly in front of a computer, perched painfully on the front edge of a chair, typing quickly in his haste to get down what must be said, while moderating the speed to minimize any errors requiring a stop to repair the damage. Grimacing, with a low grunt, as he shifts in the chair, he leans back, stiffly stretching, then leans on the table for support once more, & begins to type…
For very nearly five years, since beginning to blog here on WP, the only extended absence I’ve had was a few days when the cruise ship I was on didn’t offer adequate internet speed to make it worth the time. Even then, I didn’t always miss posting, as I just left out any pictures to decrease the upload/download time; text doesn’t take up much space, http-wise. When this Pearl gets posted, I’ll have missed, at least, four or five days, with the last freshly created work over a week ago, just when I seemed to be hitting some sort of stride. Since the creation of the daily Pearl has been, for all that time, and, remains my form of personal therapy, you can imagine just how much internal stress/angst has accumulated. Well, perhaps you can’t, but, I, sadly, don’t have to imagine, as I’ve lived through it.
I’m working at this now simply as a distraction, taken for a short time to think of something other than the sharp pain in my lower back and right hip, a song of lamentation, sung in concert with the usual pantheon of irritated nerve endings which live to complain at the top of their inner vocal range. Mostly I can tune them out, or sing accompaniment louder to drown them out, at least long enough to get some thoughts down on screen. When the main melody becomes stridently piercing, like an alto soprano in full flight through an aria in the high C, glass-shattering range, it becomes too much to think, much less, hold still long enough in a position that exacerbates the tune’s volume, to get much done in the way of coherent composition.
Here I am anyway, for the nonce, to release some of the pressure, while simultaneously continuing the major effort involved in fixing what is wrong with my physical persona, which, in spite of any thoughts we might entertain to the contrary, cannot be separated from the psychic/mental persona, at any junction or point. They are one and the same; trying to act otherwise is generally how we go wrong in the first place, so, it’s well to begin the correction process with a reminder of that, so our efforts can address the complete picture/issue, & not forget any part of what is needed.
With all that said, we’ll now return to relatively normal space/time, to rejoin today’s exploration of consensual reality where I had originally begun, several days ago. What follows has been patched together in five to ten minute increments over the past week or so; since it’s all a wash, whatever happens, no matter how long, or short, or cogent, or silly, will have to do, for it’s what there is, & I ain’t a gonna do it again. First time damn near killed me, as is…. Let’s see now, where did I put that? Oh, right… Okay, let’s go….
“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that balances are correct.”
~~ from “Manual of Maud’Dib” by the Princess Irulan ~~
This Pearl has been a difficult one to work on, for a number of reasons. First, as reported, I’m fighting my demons almost full time. In the process, I made some attempts to reconnect with reality, part of which involved going out to be social, at a bar. Friday last, the 29th of July, in fact, I walked to a nearby establishment, actually having a decent time, then cutting myself off at a decent level, (well pre-inebriation to excess, a good sign), to take the walk home. ‘Twas a fine night, and the walk was pleasant, as it naturally would have to be, with half-a-snoot-full of prime bourbon on board….
“The Law of Unintended Consequences carries it own penalties…”
~~ Smart Bee ~~
Does anyone else see the problem here? No? Well, allow me to continue, then….
For a couple weeks, since first walking by the route taken to the bar, (though, those times, to somewhere else), I had noticed a small puppy, quite good looking, and friendly, if excitable, in a small enclosure overlooking the sidewalk, not situated in a good spot for a pet, right in the sun, with no shade. There was water, and food, but, nobody was ever around, at any of the various times I went by; the dog was, naturally, starved for attention. He was there on Friday, still in good cheer, though not as happy as usual. I told him if nobody was around when I came back, I’d say hello again, & went on my way….
Got it now? No? Okay, full confession, then…. On the way home from the bar, I stopped to greet the dog, who was happy to have the attention. Since my judgment was gone, into the bottle, I decided to ‘rescue’ the dog, if possible. I went to the door & offered the people $20 for the dog. They turned him over without a whimper of protest, telling me I’d done the right thing. I took the food, and tied one of my ropes to the pup’s collar, & off we went home…. where we were greeted by a very unhappy cat. I got the dog & cat separated, & quieted down enough for all of us to get to sleep….
For the next day and a half, I tried to find a place for the dog, unsuccessfully, while acting as simultaneous animal trainer, referee, and apologist to a cat for subjecting her to such an outrage. She was NOT pleased, to be sure, thought the pup was ecstatic… and therefore boisterous. This, it seems where the law of unintended consequence steps in, you see….
I was a responsible dog owner while he was with us, meaning I walked him at least twice, or three times a day…. As it turns out, walking a boisterous puppy, with no training of how to behave on a leash, is a physical strain on the parts of my body that are not capable of such wear and tear any longer…. By Monday morning, I was in sheer agony, with my lower back and hip on fire, causing spasms and anguish in the other muscles, to the point I could not get out of bed, at all. To my undying embarrassment, I had to call my daughter to come rescue me. and the dog & cat….
I’ve dragged this out about as far as possible, with not much more to go, so, I’ll merely say at this point, this was an act of compassion, for which I am paying a heavy price, with some rather intimidating implications for the future, given my reaction to the strain. I have been unable to write, or sit, or stand, or even lie down for long, without pain interrupting with sharp complaints. It will pass, with rest and the right approach, but, it’s slow, and, damn, it hurts. But, I did the right thing, and the dog, now with a pet rescue organization who will find him a good home, will be a much happier dog. So be it. I’ll take the pain as part of the duty, and be fine with it….
Since that’s probably the longest intro to a Pearl, ever, let’s get to the rest of it, which I’ve been working on for over a week. It’s all fresh, complete with a new poem, and I hope y’all enjoy the output…. Let’s do this, before I forget how….
Shall we pearl?….
“Few, if any, children survive to their teens.
Most surrender to the vague but murderous pressure of adult conformity.”
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
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Go figure, eh?…. It’s both a great performance of a iconic piece of music, and, a pearl of virtual wisdom, with a message….
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Mozart Requiem
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“The disappearance of a sense of responsibility
is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to authority.”
~~ Stanley Milgram ~~
“Collective responsibility brings a lowering of moral standards.”
~~ Freeman Dyson ~~
“No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.”
~~ Stanislaw Lem ~~
The three quotes you see above are an example of why I pearl, at all. Each of them is a statement which essentially says the same thing, yet each is distilled, and presented, in such a way the wisdom contained is made clear by its simplicity. Together, they bring to the reader a concept I hold to be the single most critical failure of the American people, and the primary reason they have become willing, if unwitting, slaves….
When beginning this Pearl, I’d intended to produce a considerable rant, if only to show myself I still can do so. The physical constraints I’m currently experiencing has prevented such an event, as I am still in considerable pain when sitting before the computer. So, I’m going to do us all a small favor, and leave today’s lesson at that. I’ll add two more pearls. The first, from our old friend Albert, is echoed by my own feelings on the matter of government sponsored killing, which is made possible by the above clearly cowardly abrogation of honor by most of the American public. Albert states what ought to be a common feeling, and, is not….
“He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.” — Albert Einstein
Lastly, I give you Emily, for, in spite of how bad things are, or how bad they get, for some reason, I cannot seem to give up hoping we can pull it off, and survive the consequences of our own idiocy… Maybe we will, maybe we won’t; the hope doesn’t seem to want to die….
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.
~~ Emily Dickenson ~~
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Bulletin
Patterns exist to bring sanity, if illusory, at best;
follicular, reality seems to slip and slide.
Still, formal insanity consistently fails the ultimate test,
why place faith in answers. from which truth can hide?
Following the music brings us back in good time;
forever seemingly retreats from relevance.
Crazy, time stands still with yet another innovative rhyme,
no burgeoning intentions for sale, to shimmy. or dance.
Folly sits easily upon this brow;
fateful and afraid, entropy bows in shame.
Into the river of time, slowly, forgetful of how
courage gives strength, no matter the game.
Capricious, the muse demands obedient attention
at risk of exhibiting true durance vile.
Bereft, single copies sit unused, despite all intention;
while singular examples of fate pass at the stile.
Seminal events bring their own weight;
no scale necessary, no guessing by eye, or hand.
Only one lesson to learn, just pay the freight;
the music is playing, and you’re part of the band.
~~ gigoid ~~
8/6/2016
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Naked Pearls
Life at Large
*********
“From hence, ye beauties, undeceived
Know one false step is ne’er retrieved
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wandering eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize,
Not all that glisters gold.”
~~ Thomas Gray ~~
~~ Elegy To A Favourite Cat Drowned In A Bowl Of Goldfishes ~~
*********
“Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.”
~~ Scott Adams, maybe ~~
*********
“Everything has two handles,
–one by which it may be borne;
another by which it cannot.”
~~ Epictetus — Enchiridion, xliii ~~
*********
“Be entirely tolerant or not at all;
follow the good path or the evil one.
To stand at the crossroads requires more strength than you possess.”
~~ Heinrich Heine ~~
*********
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
~~ Hanlon’s Razor ~~
*********
“Do not speak of what men deserve.
For we each of us deserve everything,
every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead Kings,
and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger.
Have we not eaten while another starved?
Will you punish us for that?
Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate?
No man earns punishment, no man earns reward.
Free your mind of the idea of *deserving*, of *earning*,
and you will begin to be able to think.”
~~ Odo, The Prison Letters ~~
~~ Ursula LeGuin, “The Dispossessed” ~~
*********
“Do not settle for less than the best your own excellence can command.”
~~ Anne McCaffrey ~~
*********
“It ain’t over until it’s over.”
~~ Casey Stengel ~~
*********
“When the way comes to an end, then change
– having changed, you pass through.”
~~ I Ching ~~
*********
********************************
In spite of all the handicaps faced, it’s done. I’m going to post it, so I can say I’m still blogging…. sort of. I’ll be back again, though, with my back in the state it’s in, it’s hard to say when that may happen. I can’t promise it will, but, the odds are as good as they ever were, so, we’ll all have to live with the ambiguity for a time. See y’all then, mes amis, with more expulsion of angst, I’m sure…. You may count on that…..
“Don’t embarrass us.”
“Have I ever?”
~~ Buckaroo Banzai and Perfect Tommy ~~
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
Hajime…. I did not post anything yesterday, for the first time in a couple of blue moons. To make up for it, here is today’s effort, put together while traveling and coping with reality. I shan’t try to predict how it may come out, but, it’s done, and will soothe my sense of guilt at missing my own deadlines…. Moreover, this will be all the intro you get, as I’m still coping with that reality. Watch how easy it is when we don’t fool around with it…..
Shall we Pearl?….
“Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. . Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an end in itself; and courage consists in the readiness to sacrifice happiness for an intenser quality of life.” — George Bernard Shaw, Letter, Dec. 1900,
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Image from youtube.com via Google Images
Today’s selection is a rock and roll legendary jam session from 1970, with the two best guitarists playing at the time. It’s simply outstanding, a long, incredible melding of the talent of two of the geniuses of the instrument. Almost completely improvisational, and, damn, if ain’t just plain fucking good…. Enjoy, ffolkes; it doesn’t get any better than this….
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Duane Allman & Eric Clapton Live Studio Jams 1-6 1970
I was going to include some comments on this thought from George, but, time, circumstance, and, reality have precluded any such addition. However I would venture to say, given the state of the world today, y’all can easily imagine what I might have said. So, please, do so, and, I’ll try for a rant in a few days, when I return home from my trip….. See, I can be nice….
********************************
Pensive early and late…
Endings aren’t always a new beginning
I’m sad to say.
Sometimes it’s just an ending
there’s always a price to pay.
Still, it’s only money, he said
watching it piss away
Did everything ‘cept meet Fred
‘n had a good time the whole way.
Even the bad stuff turned out well,
life lessons are just that way.
Knowing what’s right, you can’t always tell,
we don’t always know the right things to say.
I’ll take all the hard times, without complaint,
learning isn’t always easy to take.
Kindness, patience, and compassion without restraint,
are still the best decisions we can make.
~~ gigoid ~~
5/26/2913
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Naked Pearls
Winning Ways
*******
“There is no road or ready way to virtue.”
~~ Sir Thomas Browne ~~
~~ Religio Medici, Part i, Sect. lv ~~
*******
“The true”value of a human being is determined
by the measure and the sense
in which he has attained liberation from self.”
~~ Albert Einstein~~
*******
“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.
Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.
We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
*******
“It is dangerous to make man see too clearly
his equality with the brutes without showing him his greatness.
It is also dangerous to make him see his greatness too clearly,
apart for his vileness.
Is still more dangerous to leave him in ignorance of both.
But it is very advantageous to show him both.
Man must not think that he is on a level either with the brutes
or with the angels, nor must he be ignorant of both sides of his nature;
but he must know both.”
~~ Pascal, Pensees, n. 418 ~~
*******
“We are not rich by what we possess but rather by what we can do without.”
~~ Immanuel Kant ~~
*******
“One lives but once in the world.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
*******
“I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years,
and I’m happy, Doctor, I finally won out over it.”
~~ Jimmy Stewart in Harvey, 1950. ~~
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Well, that will do it, I think. I’m still coping, and have little to say, other than, thanks for dropping by, and, we’ll be back to our usual schedule by Sunday, or Monday, latest. In the meantime, I’ll post if I can, or re-blog if I am pressed for time. Either way, I’ll be back eventually, so, please bear with me until then…..
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Remember this,–that very little is needed to make a happy life.”
~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, vii, 67 ~~
Choosing the next species of prey….
Hajime…. I shan’t apologize for today’s mess, but, I will say this; it’s a mess. Oh, from an objective standpoint, it probably will seem to be fairly normal, for a Pearl of Virtual Wisdom. But, don’t let that fool you; it’s not normal. But, then, I suppose one could say that about this blog in general, without fear of contradiction, so, we’ll just pretend none of it makes any difference, (which it doesn’t, really…) and be done with it, for the nonce. A nonce, by the way, is middle English for ‘don’t ask’….
Perhaps that was a bit brusque. Yes? Well, so be it; neither we, nor the gods, can change the past, even with a software editor. If you couldn’t tell, my muse is still missing in action; I’m sort of wandering around here in the intro, looking for something to say, or, alternately, to not say, which might make the difference, pulling this pathetic attempt at coherence back from the edge, into the realm of literature worth reading. What? Oh, I think that’s a little harsh, don’t you? Yeah? Wanna step outside & say that?….
Whoa…. Sorry, I didn’t realize we had a hothead in the group today. I’ll have to be more careful from here on. In fact, since that sort of used up all I had to put here, perhaps we’ll just be on our way down the page, to see what sort of other trouble we can get into. Hmm…. I think, even THAT may be more than we’re capable of today, but, what the hell? The insurance is currently paid up, for a change, so, we’ll take a chance. If y’all would kindly resume your seats, and place your adult beverages in the holders provided, we can get this slow on the toad…. Ready or not, here we go…..
Shall we Pearl?….
“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.”
~~ John Berry ~~
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It’s been a week or so since I last played any of this organization’s music. Since it is all music from some of the finest ‘unknown’ street artists in the world, playing together, sometimes in a studio, sometimes out of doors, and always with more musicians doing the same song, elsewhere in the world. Some of the best cuts of covered songs I’ve heard in my life have been produced, with more old, and new material coming all the time. Here is one of their most excellent Live Outside series; the rest may be found on You Tube, by checking the choices offered at the end of this video…. Enjoy!…. Then go donate some cash; they’re doing good work, at all the schools for music they’ve opened around the world, and operate solely by donation and sales of music.
One might think since I had a day off, there would be a fresh rant. So much for expectations, eh? I do have one I am working on, but, it’s not done, and I’m not done with it. To fill in today, here is a pretty decent, fairly short little indictment of the Asininnies and Mundanes from the second day of 2014…. I hope you enjoy it….
From 1/2/2014:
Above, in the intro section, I referred to an idea that occurred to me while I sat in the morning air, engaging in my favorite pastime, random thinking about Stuff…. This idea is a delicate one, and needs to be explored a bit more deeply on my part before I bring it out into the light of day…. I’ll just say this: it has to do with the Internet, the Asininnies, and You/Me(Us)…. and it’s a bit disturbing….. In case you don’t recall, Asininnies are those humans on planet Earth who live by the code of Me First, regardless of what other people or animals may have to say about it…
They are the Beloved Ruling Class, those professional politicians (parasites) who claim to lead, but more accurately, crave power; the Shadowy Corporate Masters, those bankers and old money warmongers who buy and sell the world at their whim, including the loyalty of the BRC, and those others who are also Asinine by nature…. There are more… The entitled Police and Military Goons, The Athlete Rock Stupid Role Models, The Media Cowards, who unconsciously help the Asininnies accomplish their manipulations by parroting their lies without complaint, or exposure….
Most heinously, which adjective I use deliberately, these Asininnies are all supported by the efforts of the last group in the category…. the Priestly Hierarchies, those deliberately delusional fanatics who live by faith rather than reason (though they would claim the opposite….) By encouraging their constituencies to follow their lead, and accept all that the worldly authorities tell them to do in their lives, they teach the people how to obey, both by example, and by designed application of guilt over original sin….
What a scam! Convince people they are bad because of what some original member of the tribe did, which may or may not have happened in truth, then, use the ensuing manufactured sense of guilt to cause behavioral changes at direction…. Willing mental slaves, all for the price of a good story line…. gotta love those early Christians and Muslims, eh? They knew human nature, with its susceptibility to the lie, and its gullibility to the apparent truth….. What ticks me off is that it continues unabated after thousands of years…. It goes a long way toward proving Robert Heinlein’s statement on the subject, to wit: “Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”
That, then, is the current scenario we have in the world today, as I pointed out above…. Internet, Asininnies, and Us…. In the near future, I’ll expand on the idea that occurred to me, but, I’ve taken enough time and energy this morning to make sure all the players are known, and clearly…. I don’t want any confusion about any of that after I begin my rant, whenever that may be…..
For now, I’ll just put together a short five-star pearl, which, hopefully, will give y’all a preview of the rant that is to be…. Let’s see what SB can do about that…..
“I do not distinguish by the eye, but by the mind, which is the proper judge of the man.” — Seneca (8 BC) — On a Happy Life, 2, (L’Estrange’s Abstract, Chap, i.)
“Now that the government is going to balance the budget, it is up to the rest of us to budget the balance. Some folks think we are getting too much government these days. They should be very happy that we are not getting all of the stuff we are paying for.” — Smart Bee
“The devil knew not what he did when he made man politic.” — William Shakespeare
“We are locked into a system of “fouling our own nest,” so long as we behave as independent, rational free-enterprisers.” — Garrett Hardin
“Know yourself. Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” — Ann Landers
Perfect…. Good enough to go on, for sure…..
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Stray Cats
The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.
Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.
Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.
Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone….
yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept…..
~~gigoid~~
4/12/2013
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Yep. It’s another random, harlequin pearl that speaks about Life at Large; this one mostly talks about how to live it with some boldness and style….Or, maybe that’s just me; y’all can decide for yourselves….
“Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with a sudden danger; the child will turn instinctively for more assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance.” — H. H. Munro
“Keep your fears to yourself; share your courage with others.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
“I am the shadow my words cast.” — Octavio Paz
“Arouse the mind without resting it on anything.” — Diamond Sutra
“Courage is the greatest of all the virtues. You cannot consistently practice any other virtues without being courageous.” — Maya Angelou
“Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.” — Subtle Bee
“It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.” — ee cummings
“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula, the big answers don’t remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith a dictum. I am my own God.
We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” — Charles Bukowski
“Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light”
~~ Dylan Thomas ~~
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Well, it’s done. As noted in the intro, it’s a mess, but, it’s my mess, so, back off. Just kidding, of course. I do that sort of thing when I’m trying to distract y’all from thinking about the relative quality of our output…. Is it working? Oh. Okay, then, we’ll just go, and try again tomorrow. Provided I am still alive, (good odds on that), and still crazy, (even better odds there….) I’ll be here, with new stuff to throw at y’all…. See y’all then, for sure and for certain….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
” The road to truth is long, and lined the entire way with annoying bastards”
~~ Alexander Jablokov, “The Place of No Shadows” ~~
Natural Symmetry/Balance
Hajime….. All of us, during our lives, must learn to live with disappointment; it’s one of our most important tasks. For example, yesterday, I said I would have a new Pearl ready, one worth reading. Well, that isn’t happening…. Oh, I’ve created a Pearl, but, as to its worth, I cannot be certain enough to say it is worth reading. I did, of course, and I’m still standing, so, we know it’s not toxic; whether it reaches the level of literature we’ve come to expect is another matter, one you may take up with your legal team, if you have one. My team says, bring it on….
Hah! I don’t have a legal team, and neither do you, since none of y’all are corporate snakeheads, to the best of my knowledge. But, it was fun to say it, so, let it be, will ya? Good. Now I can use this little device the Doctor recommended for today’s use. It’s a bit hard on the Space/Time Continuum, but, that’s getting so ragged, nobody should notice until its too late…. Hmm…. Kinda sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Oh, gosh, look at the time!…. We’re outta here, ffolkes, or the Time Lords will revoke my certificate of usage for the Tardis…. Hang on, this one is a bit bumpy in spots….
Shall we Pearl?….
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
~~ Plato, The Republic. Book II. 377B ~~
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We are going with classical, simply to save time…. It’s what I listen to, anyway, most of the time, so, it provides a similar ambiance for reading as it does for when I write…. Enjoy!….
Time constraints, and a recalcitrant database, kept me from having a fresh rant; here is a piece from the archives to fill in the gap thus created…. Enjoy!….
From 3/24/2013:
“And here, poor fool, with all my lore
I stand no wiser than before.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
“This instant is thine; the next is in the womb of futurity, and thou knowest not what it may bring forth; maturity of the unborn is in the keeping of the Law. Each future state is that thou has created in the present.” — Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375)
“The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.” — Joan Borysenko
Living life well is a subjective goal, and, as such, whether or not it we are successful in reaching the goal is purely a subjective judgment. This kind of judgment requires introspection, which makes it somewhat of a conundrum for many people, as their skills at that particular activity are severely limited from disuse. Very few people today spend much time in self-examination, from what I can see. If they did, they sure wouldn’t act the way they do, or dress the way they are, or carry on such a foolish, self-destructive course of living….
“The study of the errors into which great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be uninstructive. . . No man is so wise but that he may learn some wisdom from his past errors, either of thought or action, and no society has made such advances as to be capable of no improvement from the retrospect of its past folly and credulity.” — Charles Mackay
Introspection, however, requires both honesty and ruthlessness, in being able to recognize those things within us that are not of value, and to remove them from our persona. As such, it is what most folks would term as “hard” or “difficult”, and they will avoid it at all cost, laziness being a rather common human trait. It is much simpler, and easier, to just take what all the powers that be, (otherwise known as either the beloved ruling class, or those most heinous of criminal manipulators, preachers/priests), are selling as moral standards, and use them, regardless of whether or not they are truly moral or not…. and I assure you, mostly, they are not….
“Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.” — Arthur Schopenhauer
I often feel like Goethe, in what he stated above, as I believe myself to be one of the few who actually do use introspection on a regular basis. I believe this because, if other folks were using this process, the world would look a lot different. Women would feel safe walking the streets; old folks would feel cared for; gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals would not suffer discrimination for their orientation; racism would be dead, and religion would join mythology as a piece of mankind’s past, rather than its current status as our jailer/executioner…..
“Being good at being stupid doesn’t count.” — Smart Bee
All of these societal problems (bigotry, racism, discrimination, slavery, entitlement, misogyny, etc. )arise from the attitude of elitism held by those individuals among us who never look within, to see just how ugly their inner selves have become, from using the sick, twisted elitism as preached by the modern religious and political leaders. We, as a species, cannot afford to listen any more to the Judeo-Christian (note: add Talmudic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, etc…. gigoid, 3/24/13) ethic as propounded by the beloved ruling class; this kind of entitlement and aggrandizement has led us to the very brink of extinction, as we continue to treat the planet as our toy, instead of as our home. We cannot keep pouring millions of tons of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere and expect nothing to happen, because what WILL happen is already happening…. our weather is changing, and not in a good way…. the planet is warming up, and when it is warm enough, the ice at the poles will melt, and everything on Earth will feel the effects….
“The faith in which I was brought up assured me that I was better than other people: I was saved, they were damned … Our hymns were loaded with arrogance–self-congratulation on how cozy we were with the Almighty and what a high opinion he had of us, what hell everybody else would catch come judgment day.” — Robert A. Heinlein
As Akhenaton pointed out over 3000 years ago, what we do in the present will determine how the future will be. What our species is doing now will guarantee that most of us won’t be around to see what happens in that future, because we will be dead within a hundred years, or less, if things don’t begin to change TODAY…. Since it is unlikely that will happen, well, we may as well take the advice given to many school children in the 50’s, in learning to deal with an atomic blast…. to wit: bend over and kiss your ass goodbye…. I hate to be so cynical, but, introspection requires honesty, so….
“You were s’posed to laugh!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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I know I’m in the now, if only…..
Oh, there it is again, fiddle faddle;
Begone, I said, vamoose, skedaddle!
It looked at me as if I were insane:
Scoffed, it did, filled me with pain.
Where does it come from?
Where does it live?
I’d stick out my thumb,
if I had more to give.
If only, should, would, could it be?
It went away again, this time free.
It will be back again, this I know;
or I’m wrong, and it won’t show.
Who cares?
Who hears?
Such goings on wobble the sphere,
I wish it wouldn’t do that here.
I’ve been wrong before…..
~~ gigoid ~~
4/19/2013
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Our final pearl today is a simple, seven-star old-school pearl, which speaks of a life lived well….
“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)
“Because of our routines we often forget that life is an ongoing adventure.” — Maya Angelou
“Failure to understand reality is not reality’s fault.” — Bill Henneman
“It is our choices … that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” — Albus Dumbledore — J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets”
“Courage is the ladder on which all other virtues mount.” — Clare Booth Luce
“To him who is in fear, everything rustles.” Sophocles
“Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.” — Buddha
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Okay. I have fulfilled my duty. So be it…. I shall not burden y’all with any further nonsense, or sense, but, shall take my leave forthwith, until tomorrow, when we’ll try again…. We now return to our regularly scheduled cat-pampering…..
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
gigoid 