Tag Archives: Mitt Romney

Scratching at the nadir of indifference….

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Ffolkes,
I’ve always known that Murphy was an asshole, but this month he has gone to new, extreme lengths to mess with my head, and I really don’t appreciate it.  As a non-corporeal entity, he no doubt feels safe from any retribution on my part, but I swear, I will figure out how to have a negative effect on an iconic force of nature, and he will pay, and pay, and pay for all the crap he puts me through….. and if not, well, it’s fun to think about it…..

I suspect that he really doesn’t have to extend himself very far to get cooperation from the USPS; they’re set up to aid his kind of purpose by the very nature of their business. They are responsible for carrying dreams and hopes to people who are desperately waiting for them to arrive, and it only takes a minimum of effort to slow that process down, thus putting the people waiting through a world of pain and anguish, merely by the act of being later than expected, or reasonably desired. And, the work is so mindlessly boring, once the routines are learned, that the people who move the mail generally end up slowing things down just to amuse themselves, not caring who is being screwed over by their lack of integrity….. SIGH…. I HATE Murphy, with a passion as great as any I’ve ever felt, and I WILL figure out a way to hurt him….

That being said, we may as well get on with the business at hand, which, while it may not be as important as what is coming in the mail, it is at least as interesting, in its way…. it’s too bad it has to wait until I can get online to get finished, but, I’m just not finding what I need without the resources there…. for the nonce, interest will have to be enough…. Shall we Pearl?……
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George Carlin was the most accurate, the most loved, and the most honest social and political philosopher of the twentieth century, without peer, and may well hold the same distinction for the twenty-first century. He pulled no punches, spared no feelings, and was as honest as the day is long. Nothing he ever said, in any of his monologues, or in what he wrote, was ever inaccurate; he spoke only of what had actually occurred, and what everyone could see around them in society. He was pitiless in his condemnation of stupidity and ignorance, and all of its proponents, who, as we know, are legion. Nobody in the public eye was spared the sharpness of his wit, or ignored and thereby enabled because they were too powerful; he speared them all, just as he does in the above statement……

Mitt Romney is one of the people (and I use the term advisedly…) who is in The Big Club…. He’s a relatively new member, but is well-liked by the others in the club, because he doesn’t seem to be bothered by people thinking this kind of stuff of him; he almost seems to enjoy being put into the elitist category, and almost smiles when he is vilified by the poor or vulnerable. Proof positive lies in the off-the-cuff statements he made last week at the fund-raising dinner, where he thought he was among friends, and could say what he really believes; it is obvious that it is not just that 47% of Americans about whom he was talking that he disrespects. It is ALL Americans who don’t make more than $100 million a year who have his disdain….. and that includes about 99% of the available people…. He doesn’t really care about ANY of them, even his own family…. they are just props for him to make him appear like the rest of America; they don’t really mean anything to him, beyond their images….

Romney and his cronies want to consolidate the power they already have, bringing their greed and total lack of compassion to new heights of calumny. They want to lower taxes for the rich, and raise them for the poor and middle classes; they want to take back the money I, and millions like me, have put into Social Security, and, like George says, put it back in the pockets of Wall Street’s denizens, thereby casting the most vulnerable part of the population, senior citizens, into poverty. They want to turn back the clock to the days when women, and people of color, and immigrants, were second-class citizens; they want to marginalize well over half of the population of this country, all in the name of the almighty dollar. They want to make being gay, lesbian, or transgender a crime; Paul Ryan has stated that he supports a law making it a crime for a woman to become pregnant without being married. They want to impose the religious beliefs of what is now a minority of citizens on all 330 million of us, no matter what our religious beliefs might be; their only concern is to maintain their own ascendancy…..

All of the statements I just made in the above paragraph are absolute truth; you can check out the veracity quite simply, by reading the Official Platform of the Republican Party for the 2012 election. It’s all there is black and white…. and yet, there are millions of STUPID, STUPID people who are going to vote for him, just because he isn’t black. It totally amazes me how these people, with the evidence right in front of them, will give their support to a man who will proceed to fuck them over royally as soon as he is in office. He holds as much, or more, disdain for them as he does for the rest of America, because he knows that they are so ignorant and bigoted they will let their fears of a “black President” overcome their common sense, and give their vote to him, merely because he is white…. and you thought racism was a thing of the past!…….

This country is, whether it realizes it or not, is at a crossroads, a nexus in time, where the fate of not just this country, but humanity at large is riding in the balance. If the election goes to the Republicans (who are making every attempt to control the vote in their favor, by passing illegal voter suppression laws that are continuously being struck down in court….) the overall effects on society will be felt over the entire world. This country will become even more isolated and at odds with the rest of the world than it is now, and the possibility of a world-wide conflagration is not entirely impossible….

So, as an American, each of us needs to make a decision…. Are we going to give in to the elitists who want to completely control the rest of us to their advantage, and take the chance of an end-of-time scenario, or will we make the choice to take back the controls they have usurped, and return the power to the people, where it properly resides? I can only hope that there are enough of us shouting out the truth to get the attention of all those who think they can let it go, that things will get better on their own…. otherwise, we are ALL up shit creek, and no paddles in sight……

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Abigail Adams, Paris, Feb. 22, 1787
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Fatal Supplication

But what becomes of our deepest dangerous dreams?
Does fantasy rescue any part of life’s imperiled favor?
Reality becomes but silvery pairs of mismatched teams,
Dining with affable elegance, such diffident waste to savor.

Who decides what sorrows to carry bravely to term?
Will fragrant moments of sanity make hasty manifestation?
Only Time’s patient mutability sends messages so firm,
Yet salient impersonal vexation lends credence to ripe imagination.

Can folly bring out sadness and rampant visions of beauty?
What kindness can be found in distant open relations?
With countless faces the dead disturb with dire impunity,
From separate caches of wisdom come simple stylish privations.

Shall shallow emotion serve to provide such explanations?
When does avaricious intensity assume primary focus?
Plain answers slide softly through with multiple mitigations,
While conceptually indignant bigots engage a fatally personal locus.

~~ gigoid

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Due to the unfortunate demise of Smart Bee, I am forced to search through my older Pearls for material…. I came across these gems, two consecutive  Pearls from sometime around April of 2008, while I was working at the state hospital…. they kind of fit in with today’s earlier themes, so I’ve included both below…. pearls were shorter then, but, hopefully, no less compellingly true…. enjoy!…..

Babbling brook

Ffolkes,
Generally I refrain from picking on politicians; it’s too easy. But, the American political arena has consistently made a hobby of attempting to legislate morality (to impress the great mass of religious sheep who habitually vote), and this hobby has created an unfortunate cultural phenomenon, what I like to call “warped honesty”.

I was listening this morning to a commercial (for a car which shall remain unnamed, for fairness’ sake). (the heck with it, it was rude….Subaru Forester). The announcer gleefully touted about 8 features of the car that demonstrated its’ superiority over other vehicles, speaking for about 38 seconds. The remaining 22 seconds in a full minute were taken up by one of those announcers who can speak 500 words a minute who gave the legal disclaimer, which consisted of a disclaimer for all 8 talking points in the advertisement. Amazing! Nothing in the commercial was true, but because of the disclaimers, they could say it anyway. It boggles the mind. Obviously, none of these people (the ad folks, the car sellers, or the politicians) have ever heard of axiom #4, or worse yet, #7. (#4: Excellence is its’ own reward. #7: Do your Duty. Honor the Truth. Respect Life.  Share your Love.) The sad part is, most folks haven’t heard of them. Sigh……

“In the mountains the shortest way is from peak to peak: but for that one must have long legs. Aphorisms should be peaks.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

Be alert folks……Y’all take care out there…..

yesterday, continued

Ffolkes,
There were some good responses to yesterday’s offering, and today I just want to finish up the line of reasoning begun. The two quotes below explain a lot about human nature, which is, without a doubt, our greatest handicap as well as our salvation. Enjoy!

“Morality is the best of devices for leading Mankind by the nose.”–Friederich Nietsche

“If stupidity got us into this mess, why can’t it get us out?”–Will Rogers

And never forget…

“Those who are clever, who have a brain, never understand anything.”–Winnie the Pooh

Y’all take care out there….

Not too bad for a flash from the past…..
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Such as it is, it is what it is, and cannot be more…. So be it…. It’s another Pearl fashioned on the run, and posted in haste…. hopefully, this will not detract from its relevance and veracity…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

This absinthe is perfectly unacceptable….

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Ffolkes,
First, the strings….. violins, violas, cellos, basses, all start to softly play a slow melody, gently persuading the ear and mind to follow. For a moment the soft sound is all you hear, then, very insidiously, the woodwinds begin to softly play the counterpoint melody with the strings, so that together they are slowly and gently playing a mellow, but happy tune….. After a couple of bars of this, the horns start to add in their pointed notes to the rhythmic tune of the other instruments….

Now we have a lively tune, starting to fill up the area with sound.  As the woodwinds gather speed and urgency, the percussion section begins to keep the beat, with deep bass notes filling the bottom bass line, and the snare drums, and the tom toms adding their syncopation and fast, randomly spaced riffs to the spaces between the notes of the rest of the orchestra.  More and more instruments join in, guitars, mandolins, piano, harps, until the entire thrilling sound of an orchestra in full flight grabs hold of the soul, and lifts the listener up to the heights of feeling, into higher realms of thought, into pure feeling….. until, with unbound joy, the author quietly begins to weep…..

Wow…. I had no idea that was in there. I started to write the above paragraph, with the intent of trying to emulate the feeling one gets listening to a live orchestra as it begins to wind its way through a symphony….. and had no idea that it would be so real that I would burst into tears at the climax….. I don’t know if it is just me, or if what I wrote is that powerful….. Perhaps you could let me know if it has the same effect on y’all?….. Every time I go back to read it, so far, it gets me, and I start to leak….. It’s probably just me, with my softened emotional status, and feelings that are always close to the surface….. but, it could be the paragraph, too, so if it has that effect on anyone else, I’ll know I’m on the right track with what is written there….. thanks in advance to anyone who comments….

Well, that was an unusual start to a day…… it’s been a long while since I burst into tears of joy like that…. The last time I can remember that happening was about 5 years ago, during a morning commute…. I was driving, and came up over a hill between Sonoma and Napa, where I worked…. as I broke over the hill, and came from behind the hill that was blocking the morning sun, I burst into a scene of such imposing dramatic beauty that I literally burst into tears of joy at the sight.

The sun was just rising across the lower end of the Napa Valley, and as it broke over the opposite hills to the east, it lit up the sky and clouds with an unearthly bright light, with the clouds assuming a golden, shining hue, outlining each cloud, making the grey appear like noble pewter and silver, surrounded by gold, patterned across the electric blue of the sky.  The incredible beauty of the scene just tore through all my thoughts and  emotional callouses, and brought up a burst of joyful tears…. It was an incredible sight, and an incredible feeling, one I’ll never forget….

I don’t think I’ll be able to top that feeling this morning, but we may as well give it a try. Tears of joy, here we come……. Shall we Pearl?…..
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Okay, so here’s the deal…. I started this Pearl, and this pearl, some time ago this morning, and everything since the beginning has undergone some sort of morphology, or sinuous, serious lack of stability, and everything changes….. again. This started out as a rant, morphed into a ramble, then changed again…. now, it is an old school pearl, with several quotes all pointing at the same idea, though some are pointing with a finger, and some with a sausage… but, I like sausage, so that works for me…. in any case, the idea being pointed out can take the heat…. enjoy!

“As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity.  I collected some of their Proverbs.” — William Blake (1757-1827), The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-1793)

“Governments which suppress freedom of speech… act like children who shut their eyes in order not to be seen.” — Ludwig Boerne, _Die Freiheit der Presse in Baiern_, 1818

“Bigotry dwarfs the soul by shutting out the truth.” — Edwin Hubbel Chapin

“What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967), “Sceptical Essays”, 1928

“Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I’m rich.” — Daffy Duck, from Looney Tunes Ali Baba Bunny (1957, Chuck Jones) (Also stated by Mitt Romney, 1997)

“We start this life alone and we end this life alone, it is what we do in between with the people and the world around us that matters.” — Larry G. Smith

“Oh dear, now I’ve made a terrible mess of things.  And all I wanted to do was rule the universe.” — Dr. Zachary Smith
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We may not know much, but one thing’s fo’ sho’:
There’s things in the cosmos that we cannot know.
Shine light on electrons — you’ll cause them to swerve.
The act of observing disturbs the observed.

Which ruins your test.     But then if there’s no testing
To see if a particle’s moving or resting
Why try to conjecture?        Pure useless endeavor!
We know probability — certainty never.

— Smart Bee

That’s right, Smart Bee…. there was no attribution with this delightful little poem, so it must have been some random hacker who donated it to the database I use ( to wit: Smart Bee….) It is a perfectly logical presentation of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, one of the touchstones of modern physics, and one with which all hackers are familiar, since they need the math that is involved in expressing Heisenberg’s principle to write their programs, to create their “hacks”, as it were….. I love it! Perfectly cadenced and rhymed, it says what is true, and does it in an entertaining way…. I’m jealous…..   🙂   Hmm…. I’m jealous, but I feel a poem coming on……

Parenthood

Alternative questions always get in the way,
figuratively speaking, rudely barging around.
Still, no question is stupid, no matter what they say
An answer shall be given, a penny for a pound.

How else can our little ones learn to think,
than by asking direction, to show them the way?
They ask us to answer, with a smile and a wink,
To give them our wisdom, with all that we say.

No question too little, nor too large for them to ask,
and no given answer ever thought out of line.
Knowledge is their legacy, and their given task,
to pull wisdom’s nuggets from that eternal mine.

~~ gigoid

Okay, not the best, but not bad…. I think there is more of it still in my head, percolating, so it might reappear some day, in a slightly expanded form….. meanwhile, I hope you enjoy my little rhymes….

“If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?” — Thomas Henry Huxley

Wouldn’t you know it? Just when I finish a pearl, more appropriate quotes keep popping up on the same subject I thought I was done with….. here’s a bit more basic wisdom on poetry, and knowledge, and education….

“No one can go very far in the discerning enjoyment of poetry who is incapable of enjoying any poetry other than that of his own time and place. It is in fact a part of the function of education to help us to escape – not from our own time, for we are bound by that – but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our own time. ” — T.S. Eliot
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In life’s small things be resolute and great
To keep thy muscle trained: know’st thou when Fate
Thy measure takes, or when she ‘ll say to thee,
“I find thee worthy; do this deed for me”?

— James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) — Epigram

Yes, yes, this pleases cute owl!….. *see photo, below…. It pleases me, also, dear Readers. This is old fashioned wisdom, but only to those to whom Duty remains a primary motivating factor in all their actions; or, if naught else, serves as a touchstone for determining the relative importance of differing choices of action. I especially like the metaphor of the muscle for the power of reason and will, and how it must be used, and used thoroughly, in order to remain in prime condition for action when needed. Which is to say, hopefully, always….
Aye, this pleases cute owl, completely…. remember axiom # 7 of Peruaosophy, which says, “Do your Duty.  Respect Life.  Share Your Love.  Honor the Truth.”   That’s all you really need……
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“Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overawes our little anxieties and doubts: The sight of the deep-blue sky, and the clustering stars above, seems to impart a quiet to the mind.” — Edwards

Well…. I have no idea what to say….. It is my custom, and habit, to go back over each day’s pearls/Pearl and read it straight through once, to get the overall effect that a reader would/will get by doing so. Today, I can report that I have done so, and I remain speechless, hard as that is to believe. I have no idea how this all came about. I don’t even remember half of it, and I wrote it….. But, speechless or not, it is done, and all I can say is, “So be it”……  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

How about them platypae?….

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Ffolkes,
Since this may or may not get published at a reasonable time today, I’ll make this a relatively short intro…. I can no longer afford to go to get coffee at the Wi-fi node down the hill; I’m totally out of moola for the month, unless I can sell something. I’ve enough food to get through, so there’s no need to panic; it will just complicate the process of posting the Pearls as I complete them…. I’ll need to figure out the process at the library, so it may take some time…. Fortunately, time is one thing I’ve got plenty of; retirement does have SOME advantages….

I suppose this means I’ll have to settle down and actually get to some of the writing I’ve promised myself to do…. I need to finish the story about Natomas and Findarel, the talking tiger, and a story about a little girl and a magic sunflower that I said I’d write, too. Who knew that time would contract to be filled by such a short list of to-do’s?….. Okay, okay, I’ll get to it, eventually….

Since I do have stuff to do, and will need to organize my head to do them, I’d best get this process completed as far as I can….. which is a long-winded way of saying…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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Be not a baker if your head be of butter. — Timeless English Proverb

It used to be that in this country, the men who became involved in politics were not politicians. Most of them were farmers, or more accurately, rich farmers, who had the time and money to take off to debate how the country should be run. For the most part, they were righteous, honest men who were sincerely concerned with injustice and throwing off the yoke of tyranny as practiced by the English throne. What these men were NOT was politicians, i.e., men who made their living by seeking power over their fellow men, which is the case in today’s world, with just about every elected official from the local level up to the national and international being what I’d call professional thieves, or politicians ….. All of the men, and now some women, involved in government today, believe themselves to be qualified to do their job, just because they wanted it, and were eloquent enough to get  elected to do it…. in short, they had a better line to sell than their opponents, who are often incumbents who have already proven their lack of honesty and level of corruption.

Now we have two men running for the highest political office in the country, Romney and Ryan, both of whom have spent their entire lives as political pundits, and have been busily looting the public treasury while they were at it. Both of them could be considered as having heads made of butter, if their performance so far is any indication of their intelligence, and now, they are trying to bake a cake…… A cake they can sell to the public as being the only cake that will make everything taste the way it should, according to their narrow, selfish view of how the world should be. These are men who have never, in their entire lives, held what could be called a “job”; since graduating from college (paid for by their daddies….); both of them have sought public office, each time rising higher in the governmental hierarchy, and gaining the keys to more rooms in the treasury……

They’ve been so successful at lying and cheating the public as they’ve advanced through the ranks, that they believe they can now lie with total impunity…. They both seem to believe that if they say something enough times, people will believe it, even though others are shouting them down with the actual truth. It’s as if they have no idea at all how their lack of honesty is coming across on the national stage; they can’t believe they are being challenged at all, and assume an air of injured dignity, or else retreat into calling names, or making such inane, insane statements as “we aren’t going to let facts dictate our campaign….”

“The truth is incontrovertible.  Malice may attack it.  Ignorance may deride it.  But in the end, there it is.” — Winston Churchill

In the end, there is the truth, still staring them in the face. No matter how many contortions they go through, or how much they refuse to actually talk to reporters, there are a lot of folks out there who keep pointing out all the lies they are spreading, and they keep losing more and more of their supporters in the process. And yet, some polls show them as almost even with the President and Vice President, who have been picked by the incumbent party as their opponents in the big race for the gold….. Of course, those polls are taken by people who are interested in the outcome, so they’re a bit hard to believe…. polls from independent researchers show the incumbents solidly in the lead, IF the same voters come out in 2012 who voted in 2008…. But, that still means there are literally millions of people who are supporting these two elitists, believing they will save them from the big, bad, black man who is now President….

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” — Albert Einstein

Any fool can know, that all the candidates, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, and Odd Men Out, are liars, and who, by their very desire to be in the offices they seek, show themselves to be insane power mongers, who I wouldn’t trust to shine my shoes, unless I was watching to make sure they didn’t steal them…. And, that is the point that I understand, to go by Albert’s advice…… We are making a choice to put into office whomever we believe to be the lesser of two evils, and it is wise to remember that though we may end up with just that, the lesser of the two, whichever we choose is still evil, and not to be trusted any further than they can be thrown….. And, that’s the Truth!…..
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Keats
or Yeats,
or Emily D.,
or Pablo Neruda,
or Maya Angelou,
or Frost…..

Who wins? Today, it is…..

A little road not made of man,
Enabled of the eye,
Accessible to thill of bee,
Or cart of butterfly.

If town it have, beyond itself,
‘T is that I cannot say;
I only sigh,–no vehicle
Bears me along that way.

Emily Dickinson
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This is an old school pearl for your reading pleasure, or nearest approximation of same…. a bit different, with some internal comments from yours truly (in parentheses for your convenience….), to give directional hints that may or may not lead you to the point being developed…. but, funny, at least, as much as I can make them….

“… But when he [the people’s champion] has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”

(When I read this, or sentiments like it, I always get a picture in my head of the two Bushes…. GW and GHW, otherwise known as the Senior Shrub and the Junior Shrub, or vice versa…. The national mourning that took place yesterday is the best example of their work in this arena….)

“My first American ancestor, gentlemen, was an Indian-an early Indian.  Your ancestors skinned him alive, and I am an orphan.  All those Salem witches were ancestors of mine.  Your people made it tropical for them…. The first slave brought into New England out of Africa was an ancestor of mine-for I am a mixed breed, an infinitely shaded and exquisite Mongrel.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

(Me too! I loved this when I first saw it, back in High School, a VERY LONG time ago… so long ago, it was hot off the press…… The best part is, every one of those folks who believe themselves to be blue-blooded Americans are exactly the same make-up… There are very few real pure-bloods left anywhere in the world, and certainly not in a country with the diverse population we have….. we’re all, technically speaking, close to being “mutts”, every one of us…..)

“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.” — Galbraith’s Law

(I am reminded of those folks who are busy trying to convince everyone that they aren’t against Obama because he’s black, and then turn around and support R&R, who have all but guaranteed to return racism and bigotry to government….. Hell, just look at one of their primary talking point slogans, the key part of which is, and I quote, “…we’ll take America back….” Take it back? From whom? From other Americans? Does this mean the current government aren’t real Americans? That sounds suspiciously of both racism, AND treason, to me…..)

“The clinching proof of my reasoning is that I will cut anyone who argues further into dog meat.” — Sir Geoffery de Tourneville (ca. 1350)

(Ah, the good old days…. sometimes, I wish we would see someone in the House, or the Senate, say this at the end of a speech, just to see if anyone is paying attention…)

“Somewhere in suburban Honolulu, an unemployed bellhop is whipping up a batch of illegal psilocybin chop suey!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Okay, I admit it… this one isn’t part of the message inherent in the other quotes…. I just like it….. Though, now that I think about it, the fact that it is entirely possible this is true, does say something about the subject at hand, to wit: society and government thereof…. What it says could be paraphrased as “If God is in charge here, I am angry; if He is not, I am frightened….” — Smart Bee)

No one ever made laws keeping people from making fools of themselves. — Smart Bee

(This is a wonderful end point for this discussion, or at least, it is such  an ending for the discussion going on in my head….. I think this is very, very true, sadly…. Moreover, I believe that the laws we do pass actually are the proof of the pudding, in terms of people making fools of themselves…. especially when we try to legislate morality…..)

That’s enough mental torture for one day….. I hope the conclusion these quotes led to is clear…. if not, well, that’s okay, because I never hold quizzes…. and hopefully, you got a chuckle or two from reading it…. and if not, well, console yourself with the fact that it is done…..
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Not too bad for a fractured process, hampered by stiffness, and made problematic by domestic near-disaster (coffee spilled near the computer…..Phew! Dodged a bullet there… none touched the laptop…); It’s fairy coherent, given all that…. Now all I need to do is figure out where to go to hook up to a network with www access, and post it….. I think the library gets the nod today…. in the meantime….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Just sittin’ around….

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Ffolkes,
“Living here in limbo”….. I know just how that feels, even if I can’t remember the song that line came from; I’ve only heard it in snatches on the radio, and may never have known…. but, I still know how it feels. It feels cruddy…. Now, there’s a word you don’t see too often. Short, precise, and descriptive, a perfect little adjective; gotta love that. Where would we be without our adjectives, eh?  Instead of knowing exactly, we’d only be able to tell in a general way… e.g. “up a creek without a paddle” instead of “up s___t creek without a paddle”.  The second just tells you more, doesn’t it? This works especially well to describe our emotional states, and “cruddy” is a scientifically acceptable term for such expressions…. I know, I’m a scientist…. really, I am…. No, really…..

Is this schizoid paranoia or just existential blues? — Smart Bee

I’m going to make a command decision here; this is existential blues, not schizoid paranoia. Though outwardly the difference may be difficult to ascertain, I’m convinced it’s the blues, if only because I don’t feel persecuted, just bluesy….. which may or may not be a word….. spell checker likes it, which makes me think I’ve used it before….. Any who, yesterday was a tough day, (which you will be able to see clearly in the second, poetry section below…), and I’m glad it’s a new day.

I can forget all about the massive pity party given in my head for me to wallow in, as well as the breakthrough pain I felt for much of the day. The pain is better this morning, and the rest of whatever it was my subconscious was chewing on is now just a memory. I don’t know if my subconscious resolved anything, but at least it’s not forefront in my brain, and I feel as if I can get through the day without bursting into tears periodically, as happened yesterday, for no apparent reason…. Damn this PTSD!….

Ah well, as I said, it seems to have passed on for now, so we’ll take small favors, and run with them…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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When I consider life, ‘t is all a cheat.
Yet fool’d with hope, men favour the deceit;
Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay.
To-morrow ‘s falser than the former day;
Lies worse, and while it says we shall be blest
With some new joys, cuts off what we possest.
Strange cozenage! none would live past years again,
Yet all hope pleasure in what yet remain;
And from the dregs of life think to receive
What the first sprightly running could not give.

— John Dryden (1631-1700) — Aurengzebe, Act iv, Sc. 1

Strangely, as I read this, my immediate reaction was to comment to myself how much the first half of it reminded me of the political scene here in America, 59 or so days ahead of the Presidential election in November…. probably has to do with all the talk about lies, and men favoring deceit…. It fits right in with the Republican approach, which seems to center around picking something the President has done, or not done, and then making up a lie about it (like the whole “716 billion dollars” supposedly taken from Medicare by President Obama; this was pointed out as a lie the first time it was proposed….). It amazes me that even after being told that they are lying, they continue to repeat it, as if repetition will make it change from false to true. It’s almost shark-like in the lack of learning ability it displays…..

This isn’t to say the Democrats are totally absolved from the truth stretching behaviors; they just don’t need to do so right now, since the other party seems to be shooting itself in the foot with every statement either of the candidates releases. It’s almost as if both Romney and Ryan have this picture in their heads of how they’d like to run things, and assume that constant repetition of false information will make that vision come true.

It is true that they have fooled a lot of ignorant folks into believing that what they say has better chances than a snowball in Hell, but no matter how many times they repeat their nonsense, reality continues to refuse to change for them…. In a way, it is rather pathetic, as they try and try to convince enough people they are viable candidates, and fail miserably at every turn….

Ah well, it should be an interesting two months, to be sure…… Just be sure to pick a side and vote, ffolkes…. otherwise, you have no right to complain….  and, please, vote from your reasoning center, not your prejudice center…. if you know the difference….
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Gauges of Pain

Consciousness devolves in pools of gripping fears
holding hostage any hope of serenity,
sharp stabbing motions and greedy tears,
nary a moment passes without common calamity.

Always a surprise, nothing soothing ever found,
leaving only breathless clinging pain,
salvation seemingly absent, muffling all sound,
bringing ever more sadness and rain.

Solitude is ever present to claim my time,
lonely hours and relentlessly long days,
no radio plays such music in secular rhyme
happy, vibrant voices belong to elder ways.

Life can be justified it seems to say,
by hopeful favored moments of pleasure,
seemingly friendly, pointing out the only way,
to bring back happiness in minimal measure.

Days of horror and embarrassing tears
serve ever to drive wretched hours to withhold
promising naught but sorrow in coming years,
black, bitter memories that never grow old.

Cold, cold, the days fly by,
can it really be our only token?
Never to say, or know just why
the pain never stops, even when spoken…

~~ gigoid

(No, yesterday was NOT a good day…. why do you ask? Does it show?…..)
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“The superior man is the providence of the inferior. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, and a shield for the defenseless. He stands erect by bending above the fallen. He rises by lifting others.” — Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

I like this statement…. Even though I might use another descriptive adjective than the word “superior”, this gives one the correct idea about what I would term a righteous man, or a gentleman, or, most correctly, an ethical man. “He rises by lifting others”  What a beautiful sentiment, and one that has its roots firmly embedded in truth. Every philosophy and religious system of morals I’ve seen agrees with this; men are made better by giving of themselves to those less fortunate. Giving one’s own time and resources over to helping others is an action that not only improves our standing in the eyes of men and gods, but allows us to have a good enough opinion of ourselves to be able to sleep well at night, untroubled by regrets or fears.

Unfortunately, there are many men, and women, who only give lip service to this concept. Though they will parrot the words, they really have no intention of giving anything away without a price; not help, nor food, nor money, nor any other resource, and certainly not on their own time. In fact, these kinds of folks are part of the reason that so many people need help; the actions of selfish people against their peers becomes one of life’s worst dangers, as it mimics and mirrors all the harm that the indifferent universe gives everyone who lives. These people make it harder for others to deal with those moments in life, as everything they do sucks positive energy from the weak and helpless; enough bad things happen naturally, but these people make those events even worse, because they have the ability to help, and do not…..

One might ask why I bother to rant about these folks, as they are merely expressing one side of human nature, and one cannot change that nature from the outside. In that sense, I cannot really say why I continue to do so; I know there is little chance of what I’m saying will have a tangible positive effect on reality. I suppose it is my way of trying to counteract the negative impact of those people. They aren’t going to be reading this stuff anyway; most folks who act that way are NOT big readers, if you catch my drift.

But, I look at it like this…. other than verbally, there isn’t much I can do to help a lot of people having trouble. My current level of resources is severely limited…. but, I can write about it, and try to make other people aware, and maybe, just maybe, they will take a moment to help someone, or they will goad someone else into helping…. Anything positive helps the universe, if in no other way than acting as a counter-balance to the negativity of those who go through life taking from others, rather than giving of themselves…. All you can do is all you can do, so get going and do it!…..  🙂
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I just realized that today is supposed to be a big day in this country, as the anniversary of the terrorist attacks back in ’01… However, I don’t believe in giving any of my terror to terrorists, and only view that day as another example of the power of human cupidity, one more in a long series of such egregiously ignorant and selfish human acts of violence upon their fellow man. Paying it special attention is, to me, giving them more importance than they are due, so, I don’t….

Today’s effort isn’t one of my best, perhaps…. maybe it WAS schizoid paranoia, and not just the blues? Ah well, too late now; I’m not doing it over…. It will have to fly, ready or not…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Rejecting all palliative measures…..

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Ffolkes,
Today’s post will be a strange one, for both sides of this coin. I’m very late getting to where I can hook up to the internet, so I’ll be rushing through the pearling process. That’s my strange… your strange is whatever comes out the other end, the finished product (if it can be so labeled….). And I don’t even have time to discuss it very much here in the intro, or I won’t get to the rest of the pearls…. SIGH… amazing how many things I can find to whine about, eh?

Sorry, got distracted… today I’m sitting in the room at the coffee place that looks outdoors, and a gorgeous young woman just walked by…. Being male, I couldn’t help but look…. sadly, that is all I’m capable of doing these days, especially when my back is so painful, like today. It took me 15 minutes to walk down the hill, a matter of four blocks…. pathetic…..

But, last night, I found the following, which just goes to show that the idea of pearling is not as new to Art as I had thought…. though I can’t say that I find Fellini to be anyone I would consider an expert on Art. The assertion he makes here, that art is autobiographical, is HIS OWN feeling about it; for him, I’m sure it is a personal process into which he pours himself. But, a lot of artists are not as egotistical as he… of course, as a director of movies, he would HAVE to show more ego than his actors, and that is going a ways, for sure….

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

Enough about me…. shall we Pearl?
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A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: “Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.” When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, “The one I feed the most.” — George Bernard Shaw

This is a wonderful anecdote, and one I feel very firmly about, as it is one of the clearest lessons in self-awareness I have ever seen. This one is so simple an idea, that even the ignorant asses who make up the political cadre in this country would be able to understand it. They probably couldn’t do it, as they never, ever think about themselves other than as an important person, who doesn’t need to make changes in himself. Anyone who does think of themselves would never, ever consent to be put into a public office…. the two things (introspection vs. public office) just don’t mix…. That is because of the following, from a pretty smart fella, who live quite some time ago, but seemed to have a good head on his shoulders….

“Neither do the ignorant seek after wisdom.  For herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself; he has no desire for that of which he feels no want.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

“…he who is neither good nor wise” is a perfect description of anyone who wants to be President of this country. I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again, because it bears repetition, that anyone, anyone at all, who actually WANTS to be President can be classified as clinically insane, usually a paranoid schizophrenic, with grandiose delusions of adequacy…. NOBODY is adequate for that job… nobody. And anyone who thinks they are is simply not all there…..

And it’s just a box of rain
I don’t know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it’s just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there

— Box of Rain by Phil Lesh & Robert Hunter

Ah me…. politics and politicians are such an easy target. If it wasn’t so much fun, I might call it a naughty habit, and leave them to their devices, which surely are many….. Since we’re pressed for time today, we’ll leave them be, and just caution y’all to watch out, because their antics can be dangerous, if they are left without supervision for long….
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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 uncle.
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 happiness
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

Serendipity strikes again, even twice… I’ve used this poem previously, but decided to go with it today, just because it fits the theme for today, by poking at the 1%, who can use all the pokes they can get…..  Enjoy!
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Thou shalt not kill?  What about Exodus 22:18-20? — Smart Bee

Sorcerers, sexual perverts with animals, and anyone who doesn’t follow the Bible’s laws, are apparently not subject to the same laws as the rest of the Church’s followers. According to the Bible, it is not only okay to kill them, but it is the law. Of course, no one could ever accuse Christianity of consistency of thought or action, could they?….. I”m not going to get into this heavily today, but couldn’t resist one shot at the Church, to go along with the short rant on politicians, and the poem taking shots at the bankers….. We have to think about this kind of stuff, because they never will…..
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Not bad for 45 minutes work, I’d say. I’d like to take a moment to thank my regular readers, and any new followers I haven’t acknowledged. I’ve not had time to get to all the comments, as the restaurant kicks me out after a couple hours (or my guilt at taking up their space for my access to the internet sends me packing….), and I’ve barely been able to keep up with posting these Pearls, and answering email.

Thank you, thank you, for stopping in to read my musings, and I hope they bring you a smile, or at least a random thought you can use in your own head….. I’ll be back online at home, hopefully in the coming week, but eventually for sure; I merely have to humble myself to deal with Comcast, the truly evil leader of the cable guy system. As soon as I can make kissy face with them, they’ll hook me up…. until then, I’m stuck eating croissants and bagels with my coffee…. I’ll be glad to stay home, as I’m starting to balloon up with all the extra carbs….

Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Moments of regrettable histrionics…..

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Ffolkes,
Morning again brings itself to the forefront of consciousness, as it tends to do about this time every day. Not that I have a problem with that, but I wasn’t quite done sawing logs when the phone rang, and reality came rushing back in…. Hence, I am now up, staring once again at the keyboard, with an empty head…. I should most likely sit and let the coffee work its magic for a bit……

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that balances are correct.” — from “Manual of Maud’Dib” by the Princess Irulan

I can testify that delicacy is hard when one’s blood sugar is out of balance; my own reaction to being bothered before having consumed sufficient quantities of caffeine and sugar is to bite, or at least bark loudly, at whomever has the audacity to approach before I’m fully charged. Even though I know it isn’t their fault, they pay the price, if only to allow them to learn the correct lesson. Survival of the fittest, right? Right…..

“I don’t think you’re ready for what I think.” — Fox Mulder

Maybe that’s why I live alone now…. though I try to make an effort to accommodate anyone I live with to a degree, it probably gets old after a while; I know I certainly did. Get old, that is…. I can feel it now, as I sit here, struggling to remain fairly straight upright, as typing is tough when one has to lean on one elbow. Someday, I’d really like to speak to the person responsible for printing and distributing the manual we are issued at birth. You know, our Life Manual, that tells us how to do stuff with our bodies, and gives maintenance directions for upkeep. Most folks lose theirs, before they ever get to an age where they would pay attention, but I can say for sure that there isn’t a word in it that gives any warning about how to deal with the aging process, and all of the challenges that getting old provides…. if it did, folks might even keep track of it better….

“Age does not make us childish, as some say; it finds us true children.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Ah well, pain is life, for some of us, and our days are measured by how much we can keep it from getting to the point of needing to whine about it. Suffering is supposed to teach character, and strength in the face of adversity; somehow, one who suffers is supposed to be noble…. but, I say, piss on it, I’m in pain, so stand back, while I try to drug myself insensible…. I take enough medication to knock most folks right out, and still manage to keep my head in the game, so, I figure I’m doing okay…. If nothing else, it keeps me off the streets….  after a fashion…..

Ah, the hell with it…. let’s go dive in and look around a while, eh? Shall we Pearl?…..
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It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf.  But the gulf lies elsewhere.  It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought. — Smart Bee

Yet more proof of Murphy’s presence in Life…. or, in my life, anyway….. Yesterday I wrote about this subject, expounding as I am wont to do, with no little enthusiasm, trying to bring some clarity to a naturally murky subject (it’s hard to pin down anything solidly when the subject under discussion is a matter of conjecture, not physically present to be examined….). Then, later in the day, I come across this one short paragraph, that summarizes my 3-400 words succinctly in three lines, and very clearly, for all its brevity. SIGH….. So much for originality, eh? Though I don’t know who said it, I salute them….

“In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.” — Edward P. Tryon

Once more, I have to agree with the author, especially as it gives a sort of pat on the shoulder to the paragraph above, as if sharing an obvious point. Serendipity, I say, and well met….

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” — Bernard Bailey

This one, when viewed in light of the previous two quotes, made me smile, big….. now, why is that? Because when he says a lot, he means, A LOT OF PEOPLE!…..

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Funny how people under stress always get so close to the truth; it makes the one who hears it more nervous and upset than he who said it…. or it that just me? Of course it is…. Why shouldn’t it be me? What’s the matter with me? Don’t you like me?….. Sorry…. any who, let’s see what else the magic can find….

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?…

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

— T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

I’m not sure why, but this excerpt from T.S. Eliot seems to be the perfect finishing line for the above meandering treatise…. and it is as close to a verifiable point as we’re going to get today, I can tell…. so, best leave it be for now, and go on to something else…. Or, in this case, to something the same….
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Portrait of a Lady

Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself–as it will seem to do–
With “I have saved this afternoon for you”;
And four wax candles in the darkened room,
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet’s tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid.
We have been, let us say, to hear the latest Pole
Transmit the Preludes, though his hair and fingertips.
“So intimate, this Chopin, that I think his soul
Should be resurrected only among friends
Some two or three, who will not touch the bloom
That is rubbed and questioned in the concert room.”
–And so the conversation slips
Among velleities and carefully caught regrets
Through attenuated tones of violins
Mingled with remote cornets
And begins.
“You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends,
And how, how rare and strange it is, to find
In a life composed so much, so much of odds and ends,
[For indeed I do not love it . . . you knew? you are not blind!
How keen you are!]
To find a friend who has these qualities,
Who has, and gives
Those qualities upon which friendship lives.
How much it means that I say this to you–
Without these friendships–life, what cauchemar!”

Among the windings of the violins
And the ariettes
Of cracked cornets
Inside my brain a dull tom-tom begins
Absurdly hammering a prelude of its own,
Capricious monotone
That is at least one definite “false note.”
–Let us take the air, in a tobacco trance,
Admire the monuments,
Discuss the late events,
Correct our watches by the public clocks.
Then sit for half and hour and drink our bocks.

T. S. Eliot

I don’t care what anyone says…. this is some good stuff….. a worthy goal to shoot for, wouldn’t you agree?…… Not in hope of exceeding, but merely to equal the power of this man’s work is worthy of any effort…..
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A candidate is a person who gets money from the rich and votes from the poor to protect them from each other. — Smart Bee

I guess the political scene is taking a short break, gathering its momentum for the big two-month push to the election… Both parties have officially branded their candidates, and the Party Platforms have been printed up and sent out…. It is significant to me that, of the two major parties, one’s platform talks of reform, and rebuilding, and celebrating diversity, whereas the other talks about defensiveness, and divisiveness, about negatives, and the return to old values that have already proven themselves as destructive. I don’t even have to say which is which, and you will know; that is how clearly divided the two are this time….

I don’t fully trust any of them, but at least the Dems are trying to help out the little man, rather than aggrandizing the rich. Every Republican platform plank serves to secure the strangle-hold the rich have over the poor; it amazes me how many poor folks are following him, just because he promises to bring Whiteness back to government, even though it means stepping all over the weak and vulnerable. As long as the scary Black man isn’t elected, they think they’ll be happy, not realizing that the scary Black man has already improved their lot, and will make it even better if allowed to actually pass some legislation designed to aid the middle class instead of the 1%.

These closet racists are so incensed that they have to listen to, and even admire, a black family in the Presidency, they are willing to cut off their own noses to get a white man back in the White House. They grab onto the most egregious lies, and repeat them endlessly, as if the repetition will make it true. When they are corrected, with irrefutable proof of the lies, they switch to attack mode, and call the fact-checkers communists, or socialists, or bring up the tired old “birther” conspiracy. One Republican actually said, after being corrected about a lie told during the Republican convention, “We aren’t going to let ‘fact checkers’ dictate our candidacy!” Honest, it’s on video….

“The fantasy which serves as a support for the figure of the Stalinist Communist (sub: Republican Party Platform for 2012….) is therefore exactly the same as the fantasy which is at work in the Tom and Jerry cartoons.” — Slavoj Zizek

At this point, I actually am feeling somewhat lucky not to have a TV, since that will prevent me from having to watch all the loaded political ads, from both sides of the election process. I won’t have to experience the repeated disgust at the nasty, underhanded tactics being used by the conservatives, or worry about over-dosing on sugar from the ads from the Dems. I still get to see the public’s reaction to the ads, by reading about them online; if I really WANT to see one (for some unknown, and unfathomable reason….) I can check it out on You Tube, where everything ends up anyway…. it’s the best way I’ve found yet to get through an election without all the emotional drama that plays out over the mainstream TV airways….

The internet is also playing a new part in this election, one that has so far been under-reported, or just ignored… The stories one reads on the Net are a good way to measure the reaction of the public to the various claims by both sides of the contest; in addition, it serves as a dispassionate fact-checking service, as many, many sites now publish the truth or lies that each side is stating, usually within minutes of the first report. This has turned out to be a thorn in the side of the Republicans, as they are relying almost totally on lies and made up statements for their rhetoric. They don’t really have anything they can show as being an improvement in the way things are going; only their wild claims of, ‘feed the rich’ and wait for the money and jobs to trickle down from heaven, like manna….

Very few folks are buying that, as the economic policies they espouse have been refuted repeatedly by independent researchers and experts, and the results of eight years of that sort of policy are painfully obvious. I imagine that by the time the election actually takes place, there will be very few actual voters left who haven’t been driven away by one of their lies and/or fables….. and a landslide election will be the result…. I certainly hope so, as then maybe we can actually make some headway at dealing with the issues that are important to people, instead of focusing on the conservative right’s need to soothe their racism…. instead of having to deal with their unfounded, and cowardly, fears…..

The sage manages affairs without action
And spreads doctrines without words.
All things arise, and he does not turn away from them.
He produces them, but does not take possession of them.
He acts, but does not rely on his own ability.
He accomplishes his task, but does not claim credit for it.
It is precisely because he does not claim credit, that his accomplishment remains with him.
— Lao-Tzu
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All things considered, this hasn’t gone too badly…. a bit of old/new school meandering, some mild ranting, and a good poem. What better way to start one’s day? I’ll take it…. please wrap it to go, and I’ll be on my way….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

It’s the sordid truth for you, boyo….

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3

Ffolkes,
Say what you will about it, moving from one house to another is upsetting to the psyche. Maybe it’s just me, but I am, to say the least, discombobulated. (And isn’t THAT a great word?….) Plus, I’m really tired of being poor. I sure wish there was a way to stimulate the federal bureaucracy in such a way that one specific part of it would stop acting as if it is doing us a favor by doing their job in a timely fashion. I applied for my SS last year some time, and keep getting told stuff like “the department responsible for those forms is 148 days behind in their work,” which translates into “nothing is being done, and won’t start being done until we feel like it, 6 fucking months from now.”

Okay, enough whining. Lots of folks have it much worse than I, so I’m the one who ends up sounding the twerp here. Any who, I’m alive, and that’s all that really matters…..

“I’m having an emotional outburst!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

There, I think that is enough drivel for one morning; any more and it will be piled so high I won’t be able to see the keyboard….. Shall we Pearl?….

— “Bother!” said Pooh, as he ripped the fabric of Time and Space. — Smart Bee
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“There is a higher law than the Constitution.” — William H. Seward (1801-1872) — Speech, March 11, 1850

After searching awhile, I was getting the feeling there wasn’t anything worth ranting over this morning. Then I saw this….. Have you ever encountered this? I call it “mouthing platitudes”, and see it most often in the speech of faith-based individuals, especially those of a political bent. Candidates for public office make many speeches filled to the brim with this type of insidious lying, couched in language that makes it sound as if it should be true. I regard this practice as completely reprehensible, fit only for the criminal mind to consider using in real life……

Paul Ryan’s speech at the recent RNC was a perfect example of this type of statement, along with just about every other type of lie he could come up with; lying by omission, lying by generalization of a specific, lying by making it up, lying by taking out of context, and just plain old lying through his teeth, he hit them all. It was masterful, in a way; one seldom witnesses such complete lack of truth in one convention, much less in one speech.

In THIS country, there is no higher law than the Constitution. Our forefathers made sure of that when they deliberately kept Church and State as two separate entities; they had the experience of kind of trouble that is found when the two are conjoined. That is why they came to these shores in the first place….

Mouthing such untruths as above, in the mistaken assumption that saying it as an assertion proves its truth, the speakers are trying to undo the separation of the two institutions, as they, the bankers, the priests, and the beloved ruling class, have tried to undo the Constitution’s precepts since the moment they became law.

That attempt to return the populace to slavery continues today, with the advent of two individuals who are under the complete influence of their religious beliefs, and are determined in their efforts to take over the government, effectively sending us back to the middle ages.

What they have brought forth as their platform resembles very much the same kind of law that was in place in the years prior to Christ’s birth two thousand years ago; it’s quite Old Testament flavored. One can only hope that there are enough citizens who are immune to this type of persuasion, and will hopefully come out to vote in record numbers, to show the rest of the world that not all Americans are idiots, trying to live with their heads so far up their ass, they taste their coffee twice….

If not, well, it’s a big world out there, and there must be a few places left where a man can live without having to constantly be on guard against fools…. there MUST be! And if there is, I’ll find it, as will many others, I would assume.

Ah well, I suppose by now I should be used to this; it’s been going on a long time, and the folks who spend their lives trying to avoid personal responsibility for everything are everywhere. All my life I’ve had to watch the show in the public arena as it goes through the contortions and reconfigurations every four to eight years. In a way, I suppose it just goes to show the accuracy of that old saw, “For every new foolproof invention there is a new and improved fool.” Or something like that…. it all boils down to “Stay alert out there, ffolkes”, and be sure to vote this November, whether you are voting to return to the 1700’s, or to find our way further into the 21st century…..

And never, ever forget….. Jesus was killed by a Moral Majority……
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Piraeus calls me, silently

Sizzle, sizzle, crash, bang, boom.
Intellect burning with subsequent doom.
Lingering long over decisive style,
Whistling up chaos all the while.

Such frozen thoughts may shatter,
Should we infer, but, no matter.
Firing blanks is children at play
Blooded sages all gasp in dismay.

Nonsense is good sense at times
Mundane idols trip lightly in rhymes.
Fallen angels dance on a pin
Until each sinner enters within.

Fast moments with natural rain
Bring ashes, yet still must remain.
Final thoughts clamor for more
Find them only on a far distant shore.

~~ gigoid

Hmm….. weird. Subtle, and well-rhymed, but weird, nonetheless. I’ll take it….. wrap it to go, please…..
___________________________________

Old school, old school, just follow the bouncing thought…..

“Christ believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.” — Bertrand Russell

“Facts are stubborn things.” — Alain Rene Le Sage (1668-1747) — Gil Blas, Book x, Chap. i

Faith:  not wanting to know what is true.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Hail holy light! offspring of heav’n first-born. — John Milton (1608-1674) — Paradise Lost, Book iii, Line 1

“If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, I’d sell the plantation and go home.” — Eugene P. Gallagher

“Half a bubble off plumb.” — attributed to Mark Twain
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If this material is offensive to you, and admittedly it will be offensive to someone, than you should take time out to contemplate this truth. Seriousness is the refuge of the truly shallow! — Smart Bee

I’m pretty certain I can do more damage, so I’m cutting it off here. It’s been real, if nothing else, eh? Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Entropy is easy; it’s Chaos that’s tough….

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5

Ffolkes,
I’m still deep in moving mode today, at least theoretically. The help I was told I was getting from my landlord seems to be morphing into no help, so I’ve had to,  so far, do it all myself. I’ve been lucky, and careful, and haven’t hurt my back yet, but much more, and I’m pushing the odds. Hopefully, he will come through today…..

I’m finding myself completely justified in my previously stated dislike for moving. One full day of it, and I’m emotionally, and physically exhausted. I remembered the worst part…. after one has finished getting stuff out of the old house, and taken it over to the new, then the work begins. All that stuff I’ve just moved has to find a new home in the new place, and I have no idea at this point what is going where, beyond knowing whether it’s kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, or other stuff. Plus, I’ll be moving it into a smaller total space, so it has to be ruthlessly organized, or it’s not going to fit…. Wouldn’t that be fun? Get everything over there and find out some of it has to go, because it won’t fit. Looking forward to that….. not!….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“The only real failure in life is the failure to try.” — Smart Bee
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Buddha in Glory

Center of all centers, core of cores,
almond self-enclosed, and growing sweet–
all this universe, to the furthest stars
all beyond them, is your flesh, your fruit.

Now you feel how nothing clings to you;
your vast shell reaches into endless space,
and there the rich, thick fluids rise and flow.
Illuminated in your infinite peace,

a billion stars go spinning through the night,
blazing high above your head.
But in you is the presence that
will be, when all the stars are dead.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke is a poet fairly new to me; I first read one of his pieces a couple of years ago. I like most of what I’ve read; it seems very accessible, very personal, and quite insightful in places…. all of which make him a good poet, in my mind….. Enjoy!
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[A small difference of opinion on the U.S. Supreme Court in ‘Texas v. Johnson’ 491 U.S. 397 (1989)

“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” — Justice William J. Brennan, writing for the majority

“Surely one of the purposes of a democratic society is to legislate against conduct that is regarded as evil and profoundly offensive to the majority of people; whether it be murder, embezzlement, pollution or flag burning.” — Chief Justice William Rehnquist, dissenting

Yeah, that’s a bit of a difference in those positions, for sure. The second one, by Justice Rehnquist, is somewhat disturbing, in that it attempts to justify the Mrs. Grundys of the world, and gives the sense that the majority does not have to accommodate any minority. It is just another way of trying to legislate morality, a practice that has proven, through thousands of years of history, to be a futile pastime. Laws, and the threat of punishment for breaking them, have NEVER been effective in getting folks to act right, and they never will.

The dichotomy described by these two opinions on the Court reflects pretty well how society is breaking down in the upcoming election. The Democrats are trying to spend another four years cleaning up the mess left by the last Republican president, possibly the worst president we’ve ever had, in terms of both foreign policy and economics.

The incumbent president, Barack Obama, has spent four years trying to get us out of two wars, and trying to return some of the social aid for the poor and vulnerable, along with having to deal with economic policies from his predecessor that put a stranglehold on the middle class. He’s done fairly well, considering the Republican party has thrown up every obstacle they could to keep him from doing anything at all. They have not even come close to fitting the label of “loyal opposition” but have insisted on turning the issues into a social battleground at every turn.

The election in November will, I hope, sustain my image of my country’s basic intelligence. I am hoping that all the apathetic middle class voters who generally don’t vote, due to their feeling that it doesn’t matter who is elected, will pull their heads out of the sand (or their ass, wherever it resides when they are hiding from reality….) and come out and vote the liberal ticket…..

The Republican ticket wants to turn back the clock, and go back to giving all the perks and tax breaks to the rich, while reducing the services that are now available to seniors and the poor. This doesn’t even mention the all-out war they’ve declared on women’s rights regarding healthcare, and their right to vote. If they have their way, the only thing they want a woman to be is a brainwashed, barefoot, baby-making machine.

There are other issues. of course, but these are the main ones I see as being decided by the two separate poles of voters, and I would really like to see a good turnout, to let the conservative idiots see just how much of a minority they are. If they somehow manipulate matters so that the Romney/Ryan two headed beast is elected, they will work to consolidate and strengthen their hold over the rest of us, destroying the middle class, until all that is left is the 1% rich, powerful beloved ruling class, and the 99% poor, vulnerable, and disenfranchised in this country.

If that happens, there is no telling what may occur next….. We could easily see a period of assassinations, coups, and civil skirmishes, as the true patriots in this country are liable to take up arms against such deep encroachment on their rights. I know I am tempted to buy myself a rifle, and a scope, and go hunting….. and I wouldn’t be hunting squirrels, let me assure you…… Oh, and  forget trying to make me believe that violence never solves anything, because that is just delusional…. ask Alexander the Great, or Ghengis Khan whether violence worked for them….

Stay alert ffolkes, there are strange times ahead….. things are going to get interesting, in every sense of the word…..
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Not a very uplifting Pearl, needless to say. I’m glad I put the poem re: Buddha in the middle…. kind of lessens the sting of the last political pearl. I guess it all reflects my own state, one of, shall we say, less than complete satisfaction with the world at large….. SIGH….. such is life….. Wish me luck getting a Pearl out tomorrow; it may not happen, if all does not go well today…… Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Platitudes are shown in red, not plaid….

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2

Ffolkes,
I am speaking to you now from deep within the moving mode…. The move is going swimmingly, aside from that one incident with the car alarm…. and I still say it wasn’t my fault….. As might be guessed, I’m a little pressed for time, so this Pearl will probably suck…. If not, well, we can chalk it up to some good luck, which is generally in short supply around here…. But, we do know what it looks like, theoretically, so that’s something…. Well, I gotta get going, so I’ll cut this short, as I had originally intended, before I got off into whatever tangent this is…. Shall we Pearl?…..

Age doesn’t always bring wisdom.  Sometimes age comes alone. — Smart Bee
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“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”

Mr. Russell has touched on one of my most firmly held beliefs, and shared some valuable insight into the common human experience. A great many issues that currently are causing mankind to continue to suffer can be directly attributed to this failure of human nature. People in general are lazy, and would rather choose to believe an obvious lie than to use their own mental acuity to examine an issue.

I see examples of this every day in the news, items that tell of women who are so afraid of themselves and their own sexuality, that they parrot the vile, misogynistic views espoused by the new Republican platform for the 2012 election. I have a hard time rationalizing how these women can even consider supporting men who obviously hate and fear women, as is plainly the case with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan……

O Lord, grant that we may always be right, for Thou knowest we will never change our minds. — Old Scottish Prayer

This is a pretty accurate take on the two Republican candidates; they’re official now, having received the benediction at the Republican National Convention, after some initial delays due to Hurricane Isaac, which is currently pounding the Gulf Coast with high winds and torrential rains. Those Gulf states should be getting used to this by now, and if nothing else, it will prepare them for a life under a Republican administration, should that particular nightmare of mine come true.

I can’t see how it would, as long as all the people out there who ARE aware of how much these two lie bother to go vote. If they do, it should be a landslide, which is what I see as necessary, so as to show all the fundies supporting the congenital liars on the political right that there are more people in this country who think than there are that don’t…..

At my age, I should be accustomed to the extent to which human stupidity permeates society. But, I am continually amazed at the crap that normally intelligent folks will buy into, just to soothe their own unrealistic fears. As I perused Facebook for a few minutes yesterday, I was struck by how many posts there were from this one particular “Friend”, ALL of which were based on lies told by Romney or Ryan.

About 75% were criticisms aimed at the current President, each of which has been a talking point for the right for weeks now; each and every one of those criticisms were based on a lie told by the Republicans, lies that are readily shown to be untrue, by the very statistics they think they are quoting. They never do any fact checking, it seems, as one minute taken to check the truth reveals the lies…. But, they don’t seem to care….. as long as the black man gets defeated, they don’t care at all how many lies they have to tell to get it done…..

Ah well, hopefully there are enough of us on the other side of the issues to keep these two from ever getting within shouting distance to the Oval Office…. if not, well, the civil war that judge from Texas is afraid of might not be such a far-fetched idea after all…. though it wouldn’t be the United Nations invading Texas, it would the Oregonians…. along with the Californians, the Idahoans, and the residents of several other states that are not caught up in the web of lies that constitutes the Republican platform…. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it remains an option, even if only one of last resort…..

“Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.” — H.L. Mencken
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“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, ‘O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless–of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.’ That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”  — John Keating, Dead Poet’s Society

Here is my verse….. one of them, at least….

Destiny’s Vote

It was a special day, written on tablets of stone
with fanfare, and crepe paper, a symphony of lies,
played with verve, but discordant, and alone,
never more the grand parade, no more apple pies.

Heated dialog full of prejudice, hatred, and fears,
fills up the airwaves, a cacophony of callow untruth,
playing up to ignorance, bringing anguish, and fearful tears,
while Nero’s fiddler sits down, in the only open booth.

Watchful and afraid, I see the coming conflict
clouds of ignorance and intellect, preparing to fight,
one to fight with darkness, and abject fear to depict
opposed at the base, banishing fear with truth, and light.

Seeds of anger and bigotry are planted very deep,
growing best in darkness, hiding in shame and fear,
waiting for moments of trouble, its destiny to keep,
looking for weakness, seeking to draw its victim near.

Sing not yet a funeral dirge for tolerance,
that particular die is not yet cast,
there still remains a very good and honest chance,
our common dream of freedom may yet hold fast…..

~~ gigoid

History usually clarifies stupidity. — Smart Bee
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So, the boxes are calling me, and I am out of time…. gotta go get started moving. I am out of material, as such, so below I have put several of Will Shakespeare’s most obscure little sayings, that so many idiots use to sound like they are educated…. When I hear stuff like this, educated is not the term that comes to mind…. I’ll be nice, and not tell you what does come to mind…. Besides, these pretty much speak for themselves, and what they say is  “NOTHING!”…

A joint of mutton, and any pretty little tiny kick-shaws, tell William cook.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act v, Sc. 1

Except I be by Sylvia in the night,
There is no music in the nightingale.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Two Gentlemen of Verona — Act iii, Sc. 1

Thank me no thanks, nor proud me no prouds.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Romeo and Juliet — Act iii, Sc. 5

I am all the daughters of my father’s house,
And all the brothers too.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Twelfth Night — Act ii, Sc. 4

I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), As You Like It — Act iv, Sc.1

The very staff of my age, my very prop.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Merchant of Venice — Act ii, Sc. 2

I think that should get the point across…. if anyone can tell me just what was meant by any of this, please do. Otherwise, you can do like I tend to do, and try your best to ignore it when it comes up….. SIGH…. people are so strange sometimes….. and Will proves that very well….
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Such as it is, it is done…. I kinna do no more! So be it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Promises make siblings irritable….

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7

Ffolkes,
To the fading, faint echoes of the soft morning dew forming on the leaves, the sun shyly peeked over the Eastern hills, unsure at first, then gaining strength with each passing moment. Drawing in the beauty all around with the last breath of the morning ritual, Natomas gazed over the valley below, just waking; a cock crowed below his vantage point, bravely heralding the onrushing morning light. As he started down the path, he thought to himself that such beauty was indeed a gift from the universe, and he held the warmth of that thought inside as he strode into the day, vibrant and joyfully alive….

As he rounded a turn in the path twisting down the hillside, a large, soft weight hit him between his shoulders, causing him to stumble forward clumsily for  three dangerous steps before catching his balance. He whirled in place, and froze, looking with some instant spurt of fear at a large, snow-white tiger, sitting on his haunches, with what looked suspiciously like a grin on his face…..

Natomas straightened from his crouch, set his hands on his hips, tilted his head, and said, “Don’t you have anything more exciting to jump on this fine morning? For what arcane reason should I be the unlucky recipient of your boisterousness?” The tiger, without losing the grin at all, replied, “I guess you’re just lucky!”….. Natomas broke into his own grin, turned, and set forth, with the tiger striding at his side…..

“Why are you here, Findarel, walking with me this fine spring morning, instead of laying peacefully at my mother’s feet?” “She sent me to find you,” he growled. “She has had a vision….” Natomas’ countenance instantly grew grim, and he quickened his pace. “The same as the last?”, he queried anxiously. “She would not discuss it with me when she had it last week.” “She wishes to discuss it now….” the tiger answered, and leaped ahead, as the house among the trees came into view, knowing Natomas would not delay in following…..

Okay, so I like it too, and it’s too good a story line to ignore, so, I’ll be saving it, and expanding it as soon as I can; it promises to be interesting…. It will have to wait a week or two, as this coming week I will be heavily involved in the moving process, little baby steps at a time, so I don’t end up unable to do it at all…. This weekend has gone pretty well, all in all, and I’ve got about 85% of my stuff packed and ready to move… Most of what is left won’t be packed until the last minute, as it’s the stuff I use daily… no big deal, and I’ve already got boxes…. Piece o’cake…..

All things being the same, I could guarantee this blog’s daily appearance. However, since they are NOT the same, I may have to miss a day or two to deal with the transition from one ISP to another. So, if you don’t see a post here on Friday, or Saturday next, fear not, I shall return. New vistas are opening up…. I hope my vertigo doesn’t kick in…. That all said, it must be time to get started on today’s dive…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

In a perfect demonstration of the accuracy of Herr Nietzche’s assertion, I give you Senator Dan Quayle, a veritable paragon of Christianity, speaking, with absolute faith, and insane illogic, the rigid and hateful prejudices as obsessed over by the Church of the Brain Dead….. one of many such cults common to the not-so-outer-fringes of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and other religions, all of which are prone to creation of pockets of entirely too vocal enclaves of zealous fundamentalists, who spew their strident hatred and bigotry all over the innocent, and the different…. Dan said, and this is a quote….

“You’re a very strong woman… Though this would be a traumatic experience that you would never forget, I think that you would be very successful in life.” — Senator Dan Quayle telling an 11-year-old girl — why he would want her to have the baby if she were raped — by her father, 10/18/88 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)

After you have recovered from the shock of encountering (again) such abject inhumanity, racism, bigotry, you name it and they are doing it (‘they’ being anyone who even listens to this tripe without gagging, and including any other religious zealotry as practiced in other religions beside the Christian cults) (cults is the correct word, trust me….), I’d like to scare you even further, so take a deep breath….

“If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircles us today like the coil of a snake from which one cannot get out, no matter how much one tries. I wish therefore to wrestle with the snake.” — Mahatma Gandhi

The just released, official platform of the Republican Party for the 2012 election, lays out in clear detail the very spirit of what Mr. Quayle is quoted as saying above. Their stances on women’s healthcare, and the basic rights women to decide for themselves how to live, LGBT rights and marriage (in)equality, immigration, tax cuts for the rich, tax raises for the middle and lower classes, continued reliance on the same failed economic policies that killed the economy (trickle-down theory, supply side economics), cuts to and actual elimination of Social Security and Medicare for seniors, voter suppression techniques reminiscent of the post-Civil War era….all are designed to turn back the clock to the middle of the last century, and further, in the case of women’s rights, and voter’s rights for minorities (which are no longer minorities….).

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” — H. L. Mencken

The frightened white, rich bankers and politicos are starting to realize that they are no longer actually in the majority…. close, but not enough to matter, since many, many of us honkies are technically on the other side of the fence, having more faith in humanity and basic human rights, than in perpetrating religious zealotry, or spreading lies and fear under the guise of politics.

“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleges, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” — Tolstoy

This is so true….. It is insight like this, into the very nature of man, that frightens the beloved ruling class, and has since the time of Tolstoy, and before. The complacent culture that has derived from the young, energetic society of our forebears has lost the will to suffer change. They cannot imagine life different from what they know, and don’t wish to know.

Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for the rest of us here in the real world, there are now more of us than there are of them….. provided all of us who know, and care, get out there to vote in November. It is a matter of making the, to me, obvious choice, to take a path that leads to a future for all of us, instead taking us back to a time that no longer exists, and is meant only for a few….. It’s a no-brainer, to my way of thinking….

“Is a tattoo real, like a curb or a battleship?  Or are we suffering in Safeway?” — Zippy the Pinhead

Take care ffolkes, we don’t want to end up suffering in Safeway…… really, you don’t want to do that…..  I can testify…..

A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was eating his morning meal.  “I would like to give you this personality test”, said the outsider, “because I want you to be happy.” Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into the toaster- “I wish the toaster to be happy too”. — AI koan
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Kubla Khan

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:
And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;
And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ’twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

What can be said, but, wow….. Wow…. Forgot how good this was/is…. Hope you enjoyed it, too…..
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Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art…..

~~ gigoid

And there you have it…. such as it is. I hope you can appreciate just how bloody a process this is for me… but, if not, I hope you at least enjoy the poem for its brave journey into madness…   🙂
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In the interests of honesty and full disclosure, most, if not all of this Pearl was composed yesterday afternoon, when I fell into a semi-trance-like state, during which I ripped out the rant in the first section, found, read, copied, pasted,and formatted Kubla Khan, and then opened up a vein and poured myself into the poem…. I’m not sure what I’ll do with all this extra time this morning, but I’m sure I’ll think of something…. Maybe I’ll change the dressing on my open vein….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!