“If a man insisted always on being serious,
and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation,
he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.”
~~ Herodotus ~~
Spring morning ~ Ketchikan, Alaska….
Hajime…. According to all I’ve been told most of my life, there are limits to what we may expect from Life. I don’t remember ever quite believing it, since all I could observe around me failed to support such a thesis. (Yes, I was precocious….) So, I’ve always tended to go beyond what others might feel is prudent, which was fine with me, but, tended to make my young life a bit more, shall we say, ‘interesting’? But, then, nobody ever learned much from never being challenged, did they?
Y’all might, at this point, wonder just what the hell I’m getting at, but, that would show your own self-absorption. If you thought about it a moment, you also might remember you shouldn’t expect what you expect around here, and it wouldn’t surprise you to find out I’m not getting at anything. Well, nothing particularly meaningful, or, for that matter, relevant. I was just sort of wandering around in my head, and that’s what I found. I do that a lot, which, if you’ve been here any number of times, you’d already know, and have skipped down to the music.
For any Gentle Readers who remain at this point, it probably won’t cause any further feather-ruffling to announce we’re done here, and will be moving on, as soon as I figure out a reasonably intelligent way to get myself out of this cul-de-sac of reasoning in which I’ve inadvertently placed myself. I’m afraid I’m going to have to resort to an old, tried-and-true method, we used to call #4….. Actually, it’s pretty cool, not to mention efficient. How does it work. Easy. Just like this….
Shall we pearl?….
“A reverence for life does not require one to respect nature’s obvious mistakes.”
~~ Robert A. Heinlein ~~
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Norah Jones
Image from desktopimages.com via Google Images
A friend reminded me to include music, which I do using his own stated preference, with great pleasure. Especially for the opportunity to include the music of this daughter of an icon, sister of another, as well as an iconic talent herself. In today’s world of hype and illusion, her music stands out, as real. Here’s a live concert from a few years back, purported to have good sound quality…. Let’s go see if that holds true, shall we?…. Enjoy, ffolkes….
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Stray Cats
The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.
Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.
Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.
Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone….
yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept…..
~~gigoid~~
4/12/2013
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Naked Pearls
Justifiably Inane….
*******
“Words must be weighed, not counted.”
~~ Polish Proverb ~~
*******
“The truth is always the strongest argument.”
~ Sophocles — Phaedra, Frag. 737 ~~
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“Hypotheses are not to be multiplied without necessity.”
~~ Occam’s Razor ~~
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“The shortest distance between two people is laughter.”
~~Victor Borge ~~
*******
“My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool;
it gives me all the world and exiles me from it.”
~~ Ursula K. Le Guin ~~
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“If you are out to describe the truth,
leave elegance to the tailor.”
~~ Albert Einstein ~~
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“Appearance must not foil, nor shifted sphere confuse thy brain.
Ample are time and space–ample the fields of nature.”
~~ Walt Whitman, CONTINUITIES ~~
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It may be premature of me to make any judgments, so, I won’t. What I will do is continue the efficiency so bravely provided in the intro by using the old #4. In the closing section, that looks like this…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. Just try to stop me…. Hah!….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Believe nothing,
no matter where you read it, or who said it–
even if I have said it–
unless it agrees with your own reason
and your own common sense.”
~~ The Buddha ~~
Great Famine Victim’s Memorial, Galway, Ireland
Hajime…. It’s been said, with some elegance by Mr. Pope, hope springs eternally in the human breast. At this moment, I can tell you, that is NOT a consistent event, by any means. In fact, in my breast this morning, hope is non-existent; moreover, it seems completely out of the realm of possibility. Yesterday, about half-way through the day, I dropped into a hole I didn’t see, and have been ‘in the dumps’ ever since, mostly, with short periods of distraction, never lasting long enough to establish any sort of direction pointing out of the hole…..
In order to get this done at all today will require a bit of cheating; in and of itself, that’s nothing out of the ordinary. The only real bad part of that is the guilt I feel for failing to create something fresh, since there is certainly no lack of material in the real world upon which to focus my attention. Hell, what with the post-Brexit mess over in Europe, the email scrum going on over here, and the general state of chaos all over the world, there is a plethora of issues to examine with a critical eye. None of it interests me in the least today, as my sole task for today has narrowed down to keeping myself from committing homicide….
It helped to speak with my friend in Europe; she always brightens my day, if only to know there is at least one person out there who is on the same page; that’s a powerful motivator for those of us who limit our intake of other humans. So, I’ll quit whining about stuff I can’t currently change, and get on with trying to put this Pearl together into a consumable format, with something worthwhile to consume. I guess we’ll just have to trust the process, and see how it turns out. Since I can’t think of any more blather, or nonsense, or sense to put here, I guess we’ll just go do the best we can…. After all, all you can do is all you can do…. You may have heard that before….
Shall we pearl?….
“It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself.
Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving,
it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe.”
Todays musical selection needs little introduction; her fame in today’s world is secure. Here is a live concert, from not too long ago…. Enjoy!….
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Norah Jones Live in New Orleans
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There is no point in waiting.
The train stopped running years ago.
All the schedules, the brochures,
The bright-colored posters full of lies,
Promise rides to a distant country
That no longer exists.
~~ Linux Songs Poems no. 570 ~~
Since I’m not in a ranting mood, here is an archived pearl from a day on which it seems I was in the mood…. Enjoy!….
From 4/18/2014:
As noted above, I am in the mood to rant…. However, the depth of my anger today is beyond all reason; I’m feeling extremely homicidal…. It will take ALL of my will power to NOT become proactive…. Think about that, and you’ll see I’m not in a very good mood at all; in fact, it’s been hard to keep myself from casually booting the cat through the window, or some other powerful release of what is bubbling and churning in my head and gut…. To go there, in a real sense, I would have to have already purchased the weaponry that is part of my ultimate plan, which, sadly, I haven’t completed yet…. It’s harder than it seems to find just the “right” weapon(s) for the purposes to which I plan to put it/them….
“Frankly,” he said, “I’m just trying to get to the end of my life without becoming an asshole again.” The Buddha couldn’t have said it better. — Slomo, aka John Kitchin, San Diego, last lines of the Mark Morford column, 4/16/14…. ( http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/04/15/the-saddest-job-in-the-world/)
“Me, too”, he said…. The above article is a good one; it kept me from killing anyone for three whole days, before I had to replace the old restraining thought patterns that keep me from breaking down, & carrying out one of the many fantasies that parade through my head whenever I start thinking about the BRC, the Asininnies in general, or the state of the world at large…. It makes me positively homicidal….
Every time I look at the big picture, extrapolating what I perceive out into the future, I see our species ending its short stay on Earth in the all-too-near future, ignominiously choking out our last painful breaths of a now toxic atmosphere, dying in sheer agony, in a world gone mad, broken and sad, from trying to contain our common insanity….. I see the real world, full of uncaring, selfish, avaricious thieves who prey upon the rest of mankind, to the detriment of all, knowing, but not caring how much pain and misery they cause others….
When I look at these images in my mind this morning, I am enraged…. so much so, I must go take a short break…. When I return, I’ll put together an old-school pearl…. Maybe that will allow me to calm down enough to make them fit just the way I like…. I’ll be right back, ffolkes, after I calm down a bit…. God! I HATE adrenalin….. I spent way too much of my life under its influence, and it just pisses me off when it rears its ugly head again…. Ah well, I’ll be back….
“… And yet the true creator is necessity, which is the mother of invention.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”, Book II. 369C
There! I feel better already…. finding a good pearl, that describes reality so closely in our current state, is always a good thing, in my book…. For the remainder of this group, let’s see what rant-like material regarding my favorite targets we can find today…. Enjoy…. and you can thank me later for not ranting….
“Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.” — P. J. O’Rourke, Parliament of Whores (1991)
“Democracy can learn some things from Communism: for example, when a Communist politician is through, he is through.” — Jacoby Smirnoff
“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.” — George Bernard Shaw
“Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin; the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” — Robert A. Heinlein — Lazarus Long
“The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
“Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage.” — John Updike, Couples
“I am Porky of Borg. You will be assim…bdeh…assim…I’m takin’ over!”– Smart Bee
This is, perhaps, the strangest pearl I’ve ever composed….. I like it….
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Visible life
Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,
leave marks of salvation, often in pain.
Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse
fight heavily to keep a straight course.
Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense
Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.
Still the night comes soft and eternally dear
to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.
Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest
lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,
Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain
Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.
Now come brave signs of chapter and verse
Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.
Gravid portions of in-between retaliation
leave only pale marks of initial gestation
With hope even pallid warriors grow brave
Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.
Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace
Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.
Cheerful faces yet shine out of time
for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.
Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort
life is ever visible, if only as last resort.
~~ gigoid ~~
6/6/2015
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Naked Pearls
Fun
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“Dreams have wings,
And other things
That smile like butterflies.”
~~ Bobby Matherne ~~
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“The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green earth
in the present moment,
to appreciate the peace and beauty
that are available now.”
~~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~~
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“There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.”
~~ Han Suyin, “A Many Splendored Thing” ~~
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“A merry heart lives long.”
~~ William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Act II, Sc. 5 ~~
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“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals.
The struggles within yourself —
the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us —
that’s where it’s at.”
~~ Jesse Owens ~~
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“I haven’t a clue as to how my story will end.
But that’s all right.
When you set out on a journey and night covers the road,
you don’t conclude that the road has vanished.
And how else could we discover the stars?”
~~ Nancy Willard ~~
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“YOW!!! I am having fun!!!”
~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~
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It came as something of a surprise to find myself here at the end, yet, when I went back to look, there it was, a complete Pearl. Not too shabby, either, if I’m any judge. I’ll go post it, and we’ll see what Consensual Reality has to say about that….. For now, it means we’re outta here, as I’ve certainly caused enough damage for one day. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; who knows? Maybe there will be something new and fresh…. never can tell….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“In a cat’s eyes, all things belong to cats.” — English Proverb —
The picture came from Space.com, sent to them by a reader after taking the photo in Alaska during the auroras caused by the recent solar storm…. Gorgeous, eh? Too bad I don’t feel up to talking about it, or, for that matter, at all… In fact, I feel like crap, and will be going back to bed as soon as I can get this done…. which won’t take long, as I intend to be ruthless… I know, it’s hard to believe, but, watch me….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it…. Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 29
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“You can’t legislate morality. We tried to outlaw consumption of alcoholic beverages. We found that violation of the law led to bigger crimes and bred disrespect for the law.” — Jimmy Carter, 1976
I am almost completely certain the four words you see first in the above quote constitute the FIRST time in history an American President, or, for that matter, almost any other elected official in any country in the last 200 years (since they started holding elections relatively universally in the world’s cultures….), has EVER uttered them, unless they were referring TO the words themselves…. none before Jimmy ever said it, and claimed it as their own belief…. Never….
Hell, even Jimmy couldn’t get it across to anyone, even from his lofty perch atop the world’s hierarchy of alleged leaders, the greatest portion of which are merely shills, pimping society at the behest of their corporate masters…. This simple, WRONG idea, that people will become moral if a law is passed indicating that morality, threatening punishment for all who will not conform…. thus adding to the problem, not the solution….
Such legislation is the very WORST sort of behavior modification, scientifically speaking, in that, no matter what the behavior, the law will tend to make things worse; people formerly functioning, productive members of society, just by being a part of a group that believes differently, becomes a criminal in the government’s eyes…. all for a point of morality, which, frankly, is none of their fucking business… They only believe it is, because they are professionals, and, obviously (to them…) they know what is best for all…. making them a very dangerous creature, i.e., a busybody with a mandate….
Having started this rant yesterday, it will have to do, as is…. I’m not well this morning…. So, rather than a politirant, here is a sublimated old-school pearl that is masquerading as a religirant, from SB….
This old-school pearl is one Smart Bee pretty much picked out by itself, over the course of a couple days…. I’m not sure what stimulated it, but, it seems to have been something somebody said about our old friend, and frequent victim target valued visitor subject of discussion, religion….. Go figure….
“For every new foolproof invention there is a new and improved fool.” — Smart Bee
“If we are not stupid or insincere when we say that the good or ill of man lies within his own will, and that all beside is nothing to us, why are we still troubled?” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxv
“Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.” — Arthur Schopenhauer
“It is an old habit with theologians to beat the living with the bones of the dead.” — Robert G. Ingersoll
“There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. But there is no evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough you will know. So why fret about it?” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”
“Any religious system which has in it anything that will shock the mind of a child cannot be true.” — Thomas Paine
“Nothing can be produced out of nothing.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes of Apollonia, ii
Gee, one would think Smart Bee was a bit miffed…. but, I suppose, given the tendency of religious dogmatists & zealots to become a bit overbearing in their fervor to share their good news, it isn’t particularly surprising…. frustrated, determined fanatics can be tiresome, to say the least….
fanatic: One who, having forgotten their purpose, redoubles their efforts….. I forget who said it, but, Smart Bee would know….
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Here’s some fantastic music, from a woman with whom I’ve been in love from afar for 35-40 years…. A voice like an angel, red hair and a beautiful smile, and the best blues slide player around… Ms. Bonnie Raitt….
At 50:22 of the first video, Bonnie sings, “I Need You At The Dimming of the Day”…. I cried, and so will you, if your emotional range would fill more than a teaspoon….
At 53:13 Bonnie is joined by Jackson Browne for a duet; amazing harmony & feeling of love from both; agape love, not eros, as the Greeks differentiated them…. in this case, the love of a brother and sister, though not of the same mother or father….
I’ve included the links today; going to the page on You Tube will give you a number of suggestions for videos by other artists in the same genre as Bonnie…. to wit: Norah Jones, Box Scaggs, Buddy Guy, etc., along with more of her own concerts and albums…. Enjoy your day with her…..
I feel so crappy, you’ll have to make do with one of mine….
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, it muffles 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 ~~
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Here’s an old school pearl… I have no idea what any of it means….
“It is almost impossible systematically to constitute a natural moral law. Nature has no principles. She furnishes us with no reason to believe that human life is to be respected. Nature, in her indifference makes no distinction between good and evil.”
“Once he saw a youth blushing, and addressed him, “Courage, my boy! that is the complexion of virtue.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD)
“Curse on all laws but those which love has made!” — Alexander Pope
“Having the loftiest of goals and sincerest of aims does not excuse you from knowing what in the hell you’re talking about.” — Smart Bee
“Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.” — W. Edwards Deming
“We never reflect how pleasant it is to ask for nothing.” — Seneca
“Better clean death than dirty life.’ — Frank Herbert
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Ffolkes, I am unwell… I’m done, so I’m gone… bye, bye…..
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
gigoid 