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Hurling epithets at myrmidons seems insufficient….

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Ffolkes,

“Doing it the hard way is always easier.”

~~ Murphy’s Paradox ~~

11-15-2015 004

    My routine seems to have altered itself to some degree; I find myself up a bit late again, having slept about an hour beyond my ordinary time to arise. This, of course, isn’t anything particularly new, or exciting, but, hey, something has to come first, right? Besides, for our purposes today, the opening quote from Murphy, which is a truism hard for many to accept, when taken together with the oh-so-poignant picture of the dancing bears of Grateful Dead fame, forms a most pleasant aspect, of deep wisdom, and snarky humor, that just gets me right in the old brisket….

But, that’s just me, and we all know I’m a bit odd, if not off, so, we’ll let that go by the wayside, where it will do the most good, and get on with the creation of today’s mess…. As usual in these cases, you may find some replacement text in some of the sections below, as I harvest from the archives to fulfill the tasks of today with the efforts of yesterday…. It works for me, and it’s all been tested for relevance and truth, so, you have no reason to worry that you won’t get your money’s worth….. and I don’t want to hear anything about having to pay at all….

The price you’re being charged, to wit: zero, has been scientifically determined to represent the EXACT worth of these Pearls, and is certified by the National Curmudgeons Bureau as a necessary part of your morning intellectual diet…. Plus, where else will you find all this, PLUS a toy in every box? Nowhere, that’s where….

On that note, I think I’ll use some of my new-found skills at ruthless decision-making, to take us on down to the first section, where you’ll find today’s video link and player, hopefully (Sometimes, and I wish I knew why, it doesn’t work as it should…. SIGH, I hate being ignorant of ANYTHING….)…. This should make the transition to the rant and poetry a bit smoother, if not any more savory. We’re working on that, in our research labs, but, not much progress so far…. Time will tell… At any rate, our insertion point is approaching rapidly, and a darn good thing, as my hands are getting more numb with each letter typed…. Watch your heads, ffolkes, this looks like a sharp turn…..

Shall we Pearl?

“You’re all insane and trying to steal my magic bag.” — Smart Bee

Really, ffolkes, I found it in SB…. it isn’t mine. I know better, because nobody can steal a magic bag. Everybody knows that…. It’s magic, right?  Nobody but the owner can see it….

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

Today’s video selection link leads to Part 1 of a most excellent adaptation of a book, a murder mystery written by Dorothy L. Sayers during the first half of the twentieth century…. This version is in five parts, each of which makes an excellent hour (approximately) of superior entertainment, with Ian Carmichael in the role of Lord Peter Wimsey, the aristocrat detective, in a plot where Lord Peter’s brother, the Duke of Denver, stands accused of murdering their sister’s fiancé…. The last part, number 5, is a masterwork of the genre, with all the plot’s questions answered in elegant, satisfying fashion…. Enjoy!…

Lord Peter Wimsey – Clouds of Witness

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Since I’m late, and not really in ranting mode, here is an alternative set of short discussions, all semi-connected to each other, from the archives….

From 12/27/2011:

Ffolkes,

In my wildest, most disturbing dreams, I never thought the world would come to this juncture. We stand once again at a fork in the road ahead. Down one road lies extinction; it’s actually the road we are on now, but we have come to the last possible exit, onto a road that continues on into the future, bright with promise. On this road, humanity has new forms of transport, sustainable and clean. The air is clear, the ocean is blue, and all the creatures who share this planet have been welcomed into the circle of Life, wherein we now reside. Everyone is treated the same, and there are no more distinctions drawn between one man and the next. Resources are husbanded and shared equally, and economic manipulation is a dim memory.

Sounds pretty nice, eh? I think so too. I’m just not terribly convinced that the rest of humanity is going to come down that road with those of us who take it. I’d much rather we all went together, but I refuse to choose to continue on the road we have been traveling, just as I refuse to consider killing myself.    It’s all so clear to me, I have a hard time understanding why others cannot see what I am seeing. If we don’t stop what we’re doing, we’re going to pay the consequences; that’s not a guess, not a theory. It’s truth. I hope y’all can deal with it….

I think I lost my mind.  Please watch where you step.

——————

“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.” — Josh Billings

“I’m a man of my word. In the end, that’s all there is really….” — Avon

Tough to argue with these; they both are basic elements of my own philosophy. It’s a shame, really, that society in general doesn’t buy into this more. Strong, silent men are in short supply in today’s world, and the twin pillars that hold up our culture, Duty and Honor, have fallen into sporadic use at best. Not enough children are being raised under the moral aegis these concepts provide, and the results are as predictable as they are ugly.

Too many young men and women are reaching the age of reason with no inner strength, no strong morals to guide their way; rather than cloaking themselves in honor and duty, they are approaching life armed only with an imagination whose scope has been severely limited by their moral shortcomings. It can be a tough world out there, and it’s only going to get tougher at time goes on, unless society can find a way to shore up the shaky underpinnings of our culture, before it’s too late to try…..

“Cowardice” and “self-respect” have largely disappeared from public discourse. In their place we are offered “self-esteem” as the bellwether of success and a proxy for dignity. “Self-respect” implies that one recognizes standards, and judges oneself worthy by the degree to which one lives up to them. “Self-esteem” simply means that one feels good about oneself. “Dignity” used to refer to the self-mastery and fortitude with which a person conducted himself in the face of life’s vicissitudes and the boorish behavior of others. Now, judging by campus speech codes, dignity requires that we never encounter a discouraging word and that others be coerced into acting respectfully, evidently on the assumption that we are powerless to prevent our degradation if exposed to the demeaning behavior of others. These are signposts proclaiming the insubstantiality (sic) of our character, proclaiming the hollowness of our souls.” — Jeffrey R. Snyder, Fall 1993 _The Public Interest

——————–

“The very emphasis of the commandment: Thou shalt not kill, makes it certain that we are descended from an endlessly long chain of generations of murderers, whose love of murder was in their blood as it is perhaps also in ours.” — Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Siggy had his moments of clarity amid the nonsense of a lot of his assertions exhibit. This is one of them. Part of what makes a man civilized is to be able to accept this part of his nature, and deal with it in the only honorable fashion; each morning a man must awake and make a conscious decision that, “Today, I will not kill.”, and then abide by it as best he can. Nothing else will work as well, and though it takes no small amount of courage to keep his word, a man of honor will do so, no matter the cost.

I think one of the most disheartening aspects of today’s culture is the lack of honor most people exhibit. When I was brought up, in the 1950’s, it seems like everyone believed in the concept of Honor; it was assumed one could expect others to behave in light of that. As time has passed, I have seen the concept fall further and further out of the public consciousness with each passing year, and selfishness and avarice have assumed the central position in most folk’s attitudes. SIGH……I really do miss it……

———————

“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” — Bertrand Russell, Autobiography

These are wonderful sentiments, and I can only hope that when I die, I can have put on my headstone some indication that I had fulfilled all three of these passions. The ability to share love, the passion for learning, and compassion for the weak and troubled are the highest expressions of the human spirit, and pursuit of them is an honorable task to take up as one’s Duty.

No man could ever hope for a more fulfilling existence, acting in service to those he loves, which includes all living creatures. One can only wish that this attitude was more prevalent in society at large; we might have avoided some of the troubles we’re having. No sense crying over spilled dairy products though…..you just have to hang on to your hope…..

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

From March of 2012, one of my better efforts…..

After the odyssey….

Portraits of iconic symbols, crashing, singing, forgotten;
evolving into mature innovation, as yet pale, and rotten.
Still water justly breeds, impenetrable primal verses resound;
unholy moments tarry, emotion swirls in passion unbound

Spiritual ovulation precedes each pregnant pause;
gravid, time moves on, following destiny’s cause.
Cast adrift on waves of confusion, to a final, damp landing;
salvation beckons sweetly, fed well on understanding.

Dreams directly fall, in night’s grey bower, unbidden;
lingering flavors in simple taste, lovingly, cleverly hidden.
Childish laughter sounds, joyful, bright, and clear;
no need ever to hide, no more monsters to fear.

Temper most foul arrives under unregistered mail;
forgotten taunts live on, lashed by an ancient flail.
Plain dealing delivers such lasting specks of honest hate;
savage in retrospect, never hasty, always running late.

Forever, cries an ambient lover of the pending night;
his pale, weak issue forms its own failing light.
Still, fortune favors such as those who apprehend;
Sweet love of Gaia, let it never end.

~~ gigoid ~~


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

Well. Smart Bee seems to have something up its butt; it gave me the first six pearls for this section, quite nicely, and reasonably quickly…. It then decided to play nasty, refusing to cough up the final entry (not final in order of placement, but, in finally found…) in spite of three re-boots…. But, I killed that little rebellion with a bit of harsh decision making, and a bit of applied guilt, always a fan favorite…. Anyway, here ’tis, such as ’tis…. a good pearl for introspection, I’d say….

“Dreams are real while they last. Can we say more of life?” — Havelock Ellis

“We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting.” — Kahlil Gibran

“Don’t need to be born again – Did it right the 1st time.” — gigoid, Wednesday 1969

“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.” — Lao Tzu

“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” — Buddha

“Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger and we will make not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free.” — Lennon & McCartney

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Aside from a bit of pique from Smart Bee, this went fairly well…. In fact, it went well enough, I’m going to go with it, as is, trusting to luck, and the gods of grammar, to see me through without too many errors…. Fat chance, of course, but, I’ve always been a bit more optimistic than not…. Besides, now it’s done, and I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Last train to Paducah.boarding now on track 13….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




The ruling passion, be it what it will,

The ruling passion conquers reason still.


 ~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~ 


~~ Moral Essays, Epistle iii, Line 153 ~~


11-15-2015 002


     Well…. Don’t worry, my next words won’t be “and, that’s a deep subject”….. Why not? Simply because I’m feeling more dignified than that; it’s too early to give in for the day already…. Of course, dignity is something all of us are able to do without to survive, but, survival sure feels better when we have it…. I suppose we could say that is true of a lot of things we humans feel, to wit: we feel a lot of things that don’t necessarily help us in our most important task as humans…. But, then, ask any two humans what their most important task may be, and you’ll get at least two answers, if not more….. We’re an odd species, to be sure….


That said, and since I am a member of said fickle, yet charming simian phylum, I think I may also say, we are a sorry bunch of naked apes, and will, no doubt, come to an ignominious end, most likely before most of us have a clue as to the time, let alone the ending time…. It’s a natural state when we spend most of our time in this plane of existence struggling AGAINST the basic rules of the universe, trying to overcome our inner confusion by imposing our own sense of order upon the world…. Since that NEVER works, we spend a lot of time, scratching our heads, wondering what went wrong….


Like this morning, for example…. Here I am, once more typing away madly, trying to fill in this space so we can get to the meat of the matter, but, obviously, I haven’t a clue as to how to proceed with any degree of certainty as to my final destination…. Hell, I can barely remember my name this early, but, here I am, making like a writer, just as it I were one…. And, in point of fact, I am enough of one to realize I should have gone with my initial impulse, to comment on the lions in the picture I took, above….


I mean, look how easy it would have been to talk about it, as the two guardians of the steps react to the presence of the leaf blowing across the yard…. See how they both are focused on it, with paw raised in warning, to tell it to stay away…. But, no, I had to go with my second, more dignified, but less interesting discussion of human nature, and it’s all-too-apparent flaws…. Go figure….


Nonetheless, here we are, down the page far enough to declare victory over the forces of obstruction, aka, Murphy and his myrmidons, at least for the day…. Often, if I can beat him off this early, he’ll go find someone else to fuss with; we’ll see how that goes…. In the meantime, I’m going to get started on getting the rest of this mess done, so, hang on while I use some of my vaunted skills at piloting this weird craft, and take us out of here, into the world of Virtual Wisdom, or a reasonable facsimile….


Shall we Pearl?


“I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)


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


It’s a classical day today…..




Four Seasons ~ Vivaldi






































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


In place of today’s rant, which isn’t happening, here is what I collected to give it a start, along with the pearls I found to represent the point I’m making by including the articles…. My original intent was to show how the government of this, and every country in the world, mostly, is actively engaged in oppressing the citizens of their own countries…. But, it began to appear like a subject too big for one little pearl, so, instead, I’ve put the appropriate comment from SB, or whomever it delegates, above each link….


After the links, you’ll find an old-school pearl, with some rather pointed remarks regarding those who engage in the public orgy of masturbation as displayed on a daily basis in the halls of Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court, all of which are in varying stages of corporate enslavement, or are otherwise showing the signs of insanity common to all sociopathic personalities….


“No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the Legislature is in session.” — Lysander Spooner


http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/press-freedom-new-censorship


“A free press can of course be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom it will never be anything but bad… . Freedom is nothing else but a chance to bet better, whereas enslavement is a certainty of the worse.” — Albert Camus, Resistance, Rebellion and Death (1960)


 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2472148,00.asp


I could have added a number of other headlines, with the concomitant pearl to highlight its point, but, I’ll show some restraint, and confine myself to finding a balanced number of pearls of virtual wisdom, all of which will further expose the assholes for what they are, or, at minimum, take a shot at a vital spot with our barbed missiles…. The first pearl kind of sets the proper tone, with the rest adding in their own melodies, all of which will form a charming little tune, to show the fuckheads for what they are, in the space of a nine-star pearl….




The Three Stooges, the sinking ship, and the lone lifeboat:


Ronald Reagan: “Maybe we should save the women and children.”

Richard Nixon: “F**k the women and children!”

Bob Packwood: “Gee, do you really think we have time?”


~~ the Stilt Man ~~




“Keeping freedom safe from democracy” — Vision statement of the GOP, 2016


“Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.” — Tom Robbins


“A government solution to a problem is always followed by the creation of at least two additional problems, either of which was worse than the original problem which the government set out to solve.” — Smart Bee


“A leader leads from in front, by the power of example. A ruler pushes from behind, by means of the club, the whip, the power of fear.” — Edward Abbey


“Men who allow their love of power to give them a distorted view of the world are to be found in every asylum: one man will think he is the governor of the Bank of England, another will think he is the king, and yet another will think he is God.  Highly similar delusions, if expressed by educated men in obscure language, lead to professorships of philosophy, and if expressed by emotional men in eloquent language, lead to dictatorships.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)


“It is more than a crime; it is a political fault,” — Joseph Fouche (1763-1820) — Memoirs of Fouche


“In a democracy you can be respected though poor, but don’t count on it.” — Charles Merrill Smith




Till their own dreams at length deceive ’em,

And oft repeating, they believe ’em.


 — Matthew Prior (1664-1721) — Alma, Canto iii, Line 13




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




“Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.”


~~ Kahlil Gibran ~~


Fine and Good, Good and Fine


A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,

cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.

This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around

cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.


Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,

I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.

Every damn time, it all went to crap,

Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.


‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;

why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….

Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,

’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.


Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,

life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..

T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,

is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.


My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,

each one colored with trust, which ain’t always smart.

Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,

I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.


It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,

and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all

Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;

Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.


‘Nuff said….


~~ gigoid, tongue firmly in cheek ~~




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As I searched for the pearls found in section two today, these little gems kept popping up at random intervals… Since they all pertain to one particular subject, all having to do, at least peripherally, with an aspect of religion, or those who play with them; I like to call them “dogma dogs”, a term I coined because it gives the proper feel to how I think they should be viewed…. preferably with gloves and mask in place, to prevent any possible inhalation of their spew….. In other words, all of these take a shot at some portion of the dogs’ anatomy…. Enjoy! I did….




ARCHBISHOP, n.  An ecclesiastical dignitary one point holier than a bishop.


    If I were a jolly archbishop,

    On Fridays I’d eat all the fish up —

    Salmon and flounders and smelts;

    On other days everything else.

                                                              Jodo Rem


 ~~ Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary” ~~




“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, “To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi


“Accurate reckoning — the entrance into the knowledge of all existing things and all obscure secrets.” — Ahmes the Scribe (17th cent. B.C.)


“– How many PRESBYTERIANS does it take to change a light bulb?  None. Lights will go on and off at predestined times.” — Smart Bee


“What is a church? Our honest sexton tells, ‘Tis a tall building, with a tower and bells.” — Crabbe




God’s plan made a hopeful beginning

But man spoiled his chances by sinning.

We trust that the story

Will end in God’s glory,

But at present the other side’s winning.


~~ Smart Bee ~~




“There is not enough love and kindness in the world to permit us to give any of it to imaginary beings.” — Nietzsche


“Writing science fiction for about a penny a word is no way to make a living, If you really want to make a million, the quickest way is to start your own religion.” — L. Ron Hubbard


“Concentrate on th’cute, li’l CARTOON GUYS! Remember the SERIAL NUMBERS!!  Follow the WHIPPLE AVE EXIT!! Have a FREE PEPSI!!  Turn LEFT at th’HOLIDAY INN!! JOIN the CREDIT WORLD!!  MAKE me an OFFER!!!” — Zippy the Pinhead


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Well…. What? Did you really believe that of me? That I would end this the same way it began? Okay, busted…. But, having caught myself in time, I’m able to plead not guilty, and use the opportunity to make my escape…. Besides, it’s done, or, as done as it is going to be, so, there’s little point in dragging this out any further…. On that note…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Stay alert, the world needs all the lerts we can find….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….







		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Twice as many diphthongs as needed, or desired….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Diogenes said once to a person who was showing him a dial, 


“It is a very useful thing to save a man from being too late for supper.” 


~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Menedemus, iii ~~


day2 London 001


     Time moves on, day by day, whether we pay much attention to its passage, or not; though we seem to be the only creatures we know who bother to formalize its presence, by counting each tick of a second on the Cosmic Clock that rules this Universe…. In fact, I believe we are the only creatures who have bothered to name it, or count each time the clock moves its hands…. For us, it offers us the opportunity to supply meaning to our perceptions, to separate them from all the others our over-active sensory receptors react to at the same time…. In short, we use Time as a convenient way to organize the way we look at the world, thus fulfilling the old saw, common to most cultures, that says Time was invented so everything didn’t happen all at once….


Okay, I know, that was a long, windy method of telling a really old joke, but, hey, what do you expect at 5 AM? Especially on a day when I awake at 4 AM & spend an hour trying to convince myself it’s worthwhile to get up, be cold, grumpy, & half-asleep for the first ten minutes, until some coffee and the heater have some little effect, giving me a chance to slather on some magic cream to the points that hurt the most when I get up…. I suppose it’s getting to the point where the time in bed is more attractive than getting up, which has NOT been the case for a long time….


Yet, I keep arising, and though I seem to get slower each day getting to the point where words I can trust to be coherent flow out of my head, and can begin the process of making a Pearl of Virtual Wisdom…. I suppose this task, though only a self-chosen duty, as opposed to one chosen for a reason other than selfish needs, has assumed an importance greater than my need for sleep, which grows smaller each day, it seems…. Whether I get 8 hours, or 4, I still wake up between 4 and 5, and must arise to consume caffeine, which leads inevitably to typing….


Ah well, though I always enjoy my moments of introspection, it isn’t getting this done, beyond helping to move down the page a bit further than we began…. I can vouch, however, for the quality or ability to draw readers in for the full monty, or in many cases, the lack, or absence of same…. I mean, y’all know as well as I do how often we end up spouting sheer nonsense in this section; it can be a trying time, I’m sure, for those looking for a bit of quiet morning thinking…. but, it saves my ass (figuratively, of course…) quite often, so, deal with it, won’t you?


Me, I’m going to go into Sandbag mode, and drop you right over there, at that convenient, if a bit malodorous space on the verge of the town dump…. Sorry about the odor, it’s the only spot we could find this morning….. they got a new load of some OLD crap dumped there yesterday, and it is beginning to get really ripe…. We won’t be there long though, and, naturally, you’ll find a mouth and nose covering in the seat back in front of you, should you choose to use it…. We aim to serve…. we don’t often hit that target, but, we do aim to….


On that note, I see our opening coming up, so hold on tight to those stanchions, ffolkes, it could get bumpy….


Shall we Pearl?


” …and remember you’re a Man, not just god, and for you there aren’t  and never will be any easy answers, only questions, and no reasons, only causes, and no meaning, only intelligence, and no destination and no kindly magic smiling down from above, and no fires to goad you from below, only Yourself and the Universe and what you make out of the interface between the two equals.” — Keith Laumer, Night of Delusions


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


Well, okay, so I’m lazy; this is NOT breaking news…. But, because I am, y’all benefit in this case…. Here is a most excellent, if a bit overacted, classic Sherlock tale, a well-adapted classic tale from the files of Dr. Watson…..




The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Three Gables































 


 




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“Our Constitution … gives to bigotry no sanction.” — George Washington



http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/11/us-observe-armistice-day-more-comfortable-war-than-peace


The quote from our Founding Father above the link was, I am afraid, not just optimistic, but, probably, overly so, given that the attempts to suborn that very principle began within moments of the signing of the Declaration, and the passage of the Constitution…. All of the good intentions of the men who wrote those documents were condemned to memory very soon after the ink was dry on the signed copy, as the corrupt bankers, and the equally corrupt preachers began their campaign to nullify the reforms those documents represented….


Thomas Jefferson knew the dangers, and voiced his fear of the loss of liberty many times over the years, while he witnessed the abrogation of civil rights that each new court decision brought, due to the money to corrupt the federal judges began to flow as soon as the court system was in place…. By the mid-nineteenth century, the federal court system was primed to make any decision desired by those bankers and priests, thus securing the control over the government they had sought since before the actual signing of the Declaration…. 


That period in the middle of the century was when the now infamous decision was made, to classify corporations as “people”, forever surrendering any hope of liberty or justice that might otherwise have been our legacy….. Proof of Jefferson’s fears? He wrote many letters to friends and colleagues, all of which stated the opinion described by the following….


“…when all government… in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1821


Jefferson, like Thomas Paine, like Ben Franklin, George Mason, and many others of the Founding Fathers of this country, was mistrustful of the powers that be, not trusting them to keep from attempting to remove all the reforms they espoused with their revolution. They feared the professional politician, the bankers, and the priest/preachers, who care nothing for the people, beyond what they can steal from them, or use to control them; letters we have today illustrate those fears, which, I may add, have certainly been proven to be justified….


Our government is now run by oligarchs, old, rich, white Christian bigots, who attempt, all too successfully, to railroad their misogynistic, racist, divisive agenda into law…. and, if their latest efforts are as successful, they may be able to alter the laws until ONLY they, and those they are able to manipulate, are allowed to vote, their dream come true….


“In our society, the Republicans set out to prove that the Democrats can not be trusted to run the government. And the Democrats set out to prove that the Republicans can not be trusted to run our government. The real problem here is that both the Democrats and the Republicans have come up with something which is absolutely true and perfectly correct. This means that the people get to pull some sort of horrible trick on themselves and live with their choice for four years.”


The link above. and the quotes I’ve added here between the short diatribes against the Asininnies, will have to serve today as my rant…. I’ve already typed too much, and the pain now enveloping my hands is astounding in its intensity…. Damn this hurts!  Ah well, I’ll have to finish up with a few more pearls, and be done with it…. Besides, by now, y’all MUST know how I feel about the corruption and loss of liberty we must suffer to observe, in this country we so love…. If I had my druthers, I’d start picking them off, one by one…. but, sadly, I’m afraid there are too many of them to be of much use acting alone….


Maybe, just maybe, my dearest dream will come true…. One bright morning, very soon, the rest of humanity will wake the fuck up, and begin the process necessary to take back our country, kicking the assholes who have tried to take it all away into the deepest, darkest hole we can dig for them, until we can finally be done with all the bullshit they’ve caused…. Ah well, we all can dream, can’t we?….. Here’s a few well-aimed shots at the assholes now, all perfectly phrased to highlight those we call pundits and preachers…. or, as the FF’s named them, the bankers, priests, and professional politicians….


“There ought to be one day — just one — where there is open season on senators.” — Will Rogers


“People are idiots.” — The Dilbert Principle — Scott Adams, Dilbert creator, author, re-engineering sage, 1996


“Any country with “democratic” in the title isn’t.” — Murray’s Rule


“Liberty is so much latitude as the powerful choose to accord the weak.” — Judge Learned Hand


“Abuse of power isn’t limited to bad guys in other nations.”It happens in our own country if we’re not vigilant.” — Clint Eastwood


(Clint, I hate to be the one to tell you…. we weren’t….)


“[E]lections amount to little more than choosing between the scum that floats to the top of the barrel and the dregs that settle to the bottom.” — L. Neil Smith


“When I’m in office I always keep Members of Parliament talking. If they stopped they might start thinking.” — Winston Churchill (1874-1965)


Well…. there you go…. I might add, these pearls were chosen from an almost unlimited field of appropriate quotes, all in the same vein as these….. which leaves me no choice but to add a final comment from our old friend, Zippy….


“Uh-oh —  WHY am I suddenly thinking of a VENERABLE religious leader frolicking on a FORT LAUDERDALE weekend?” — Zippy the Pinhead


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


I was up a bit late, and my hands have slowed down the process a bit, so, I’ll once again need to subject you to one of my own poems…. I’ll try to pick a good one, if such exists in my collection….






Unheralded Sagacity…


To many, who will not see beyond their nose

the world becomes a dangerous place,

a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,

no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.


Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,

men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.

No chains needed, held in thrall for years,

lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.


Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;

Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt

Strength is found in an unfettered mind, 

Cry “freedom” with a great shout.


No help from any gods can hinder so much

as our own lack of confidence;

finding the light within, knowing it as such

confirms us, becoming consequence.


Illumination…..


~~ gigoid ~~




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


I am now so late, I will have to resort to posting an older pearl, from the archives…. Ah well, it’ll be a good one, I promise….


From 7/23/2013, a pearl with message that complements today’s rant/old school pearl in section two…. Enjoy!:


Baffled by my own mind’s attempts at coherency this morning, I digress, as usual. But, I do it so well, you wouldn’t even have noticed, if I didn’t point it out for you…. It’s all just part of the service here at ECR. where we try to make every dish as attractive as the one before, which was, if I must say so myself, damned attractive, for a dish.


Until we can actually achieve anything close to that, however, we’ll have to continue to go with old-school pearls, because, well, because…. Besides, it’s much better than listening to me rant, right?….. Whoa, wait a second, let’s not all shout at once…. Okay, I get the picture…. Sniffle….. Here, then…. Smart Bee is being a butt, so here is a pearl from last year….


“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


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


I have fulfilled my duty, and, shall proceed now to take my leave of you, sans any further to-do…. a turn of phrase, no doubt, several hundred years old, with a meaning that has probably gone through a number of changes, according to current usage on the street…. But, it still works to describe this situation, quite well, actually, so, you’ll just have to accept it the way it is, and not worry about what it may or may not mean…. I see that my tendency to grow pompous at the drop of a cliche has reached new heights of idiocy, so, I shall take my leave before I pull my covers off any further…. I’ll see y’all tomorrow…. well, I will, as long as I continue to be unable to talk myself out of it….. See y’all then….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Blood? No. Sweat? No. Tears. Maybe….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


 


“Freedom = Responsibility” — Smart Bee600801_388558564581781_493680709_n




     Ooh, I’m late again. You know what that means, don’t you? No? Oh, good, then I can lie with impunity, just like a politician, and we might end up posting this on time…. just as if we were professionals, and had a deadline…. Of course, nobody would believe it, anyway, but, we do like to keep up appearances, even if those appearances are a total fabrication…. When I make it up like that, I’m practicing, for the next time I decide to run for a local office…. God forbid I ever lose my mind so far…


No, it isn’t hypocrisy for me to ask favors of God…. Since I figure He’s an illusion, when not an obvious delusion, there’s really no harm in it, and it often provides just the right phrase, or lament, or other form of communicative effort that is helped by the very fictional nature that generally assumes the focus as our target of disdain…. But, here at ECR, we’re all about equal-opportunity ranting, and are careful in our choice of targets, making sure they are worthy of our vitriol, as well as not real enough to bring suit, or hire a shyster…. The shotgun on display at the entrance probably helps, too….


If you couldn’t tell, I’m in a pretty good mood, if not exactly a frigging ray of sunshine…. I’ve got pain, I’ve got misery, but, I’m damn happy with the world at large anyway, thanks to BBR events that went well, and continue to progress with at a nice rate of advancement…. Who knows? At this rate, I could actually say something nice about somebody, before I caught myself ignoring the rules of curmudgeonry…. Not that I will, naturally, but, I could….


I think I’m going to ignore ALL the rules today…. It might just be our only hope, and I’ve never been one to deliberately take away people’s hopes…. Well, okay, there was that one time, but, I stopped before it made them cry, and did give them a rational option to try; I wasn’t a total butthead… Well, not by the same standards to which we hold our Asininnies, anyway…. I will admit, I’ve shown more ethics in the past, so, my suggestion is, we leave the subject alone, and get on with the Pearl for today….


Won’t that be nice? An actual Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, all for y’all…. I think so…. In honor of the occasion, I’ll even stop blathering now, and simply tell you I found the great picture above. with its message of “Duh!” for all to see, on Facebook somewhere. without any attribution, so, if you want any, you’ll have to find it yourself…. Me, I think it’s a PERFECTLY intelligent observation, if nothing else…. Plus, it got us to this point before any of our random right-wingers could so much as draw a breath to scream their complaints about the term “GAY MARRIAGE”…. Bonus!…. The bloody idiots….


Shall we Pearl?


“When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.” — Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching: verse 72


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


By the time this Pearl is posted, the probe from the satellite chasing the Rosetta Comet will be on the surface of the comet (which is about the size of central London, for a scale of reference…). On landing, if it does so successfully, it will begin its programmed series of research experiments and sensory exploration of the material the comet is made of; if it doesn’t make it safely, it will still have been a successful mission, over 10 years long, a veritable epic adventure, to chase, find, catch up to, and orbit the moving object, far away in the Solar System, then land the probe on the surface, the last stage in which we find ourselves today….


Here is a video representation of the landing process, and some links to other places you can see more about this mission; hopefully, by tomorrow, I’ll have another video, of pictures beamed directly from the surface of the asteroidal wanderer…. Late word on that…. No  more videos available at this time; at last report, the scientists were still trying to figure out if they will be able to secure the probe to the comet’s surface, after the failure of the landing harpoons to fire correctly, thus making the landing site not as stable and secure as planned…. But, even if the mission fails at this point, it has been a huge success, teaching us a lot about the needed technology for such missions…


 


Comet-Chasing Rosetta Spacecraft Releases Probe for Epic Landing Attempt

    
























 


 


 


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


I could rant, but, my hands aren’t in the greatest of shape today….. plus, I found this old Pearl that just seemed to cry out to be re-posted…. I’m a sucker for a Pearl with a pretty face, or a decent opening, so, I will do as it asks, thus sparing y’all a fresher rant, that may not digest as well…. This one, truncated as it is, will probably go down better, as it is cut into smaller pieces than is now the norm….


from 1/5/2012:


Ffolkes,

Back in the good old days…..well, they weren’t all that good, after all, were they? That phrase has always bothered me anyway. Harking back to better times is a fool’s game; who says they were better? You mean we should go back to having the toilet outside? Or, maybe, dying at age 40 from lack of dental care. Or, dying in childbirth, perhaps. Yeah, they were the good old days, alright. No electricity, no computers, no refrigerators, no indoor plumbing.


Wanting to go backwards is just another way of complaining about one’s lot; happiness isn’t wanting more, happiness is being happy with what you have. But, people will be people, and common sense has never been common. Better I think, to just take things the way they are, and not worry about more, or better. Try harder to NOT be a trained consumer, always wanting something newer and shinier….. you just might find something entirely new to you……self-respect…..

___________________________________


“I am free, no matter what rules surround me.   If I find them tolerable,  I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them.  I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” — Professor Bernardo de la Paz


This is the truest freedom we have. The concept of duty fulfilled is the hallmark of the free man, it is the only badge he will wear. Everything else assumes secondary importance to whatever task a man sets for himself, for the truly free man chooses his duty, and once chosen, it assumes the central point of his focus, and any other task or request becomes subordinate to the chosen duty.


I find it to be an extremely rare quality in most men these days; boys are not being raised with honor, and so cannot become such, without some kind of guidance from older men. But somehow, the twin concepts of honor and duty have fallen out of favor in modern society. Instead we are encouraged to believe the nonsensical claptrap spouted by self-proclaimed patriots, who haven’t the slightest intention of acting with honor, men who have made self-interest their guiding principle, and spend their days finding new ways to manipulate and degrade their fellow man.


What we need now is for those who still believe in honor and duty to realize that their newest, and most critical duty, is to put a stop to the evil that has crept into our society, and is happily sending us on a suicidal path. It’s time for free men to stand up, time to take back the rights that have been stolen from us, and return society to a path leading to harmony, and survival……


 


Where are the prophets ?

Where are the visionaries ?

Where are the poets to preach the dawn of the sentimental mercenary?~~ Smart Bee ~~




___________________________________


“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” — Aristotle


Aristotle makes an insightful observation here, one that many in the modern world are completely unaware of, due to a relatively new phenomenon. This part of the human experience, the ability to think with great scope and precision, is being driven out of commonly accepted practice, because for the first time in history, an entire generation has been brought up with television and computers.


From the time they were small, these people have been conditioned to accept as truth anything that is put to them by a “talking head”, no matter how fantastically improbable, or how close to truth it may be. (Usually pretty far removed from any such condition….) Kids grow up with the culture of TV land shaping their thought patterns and beliefs, every day from the time they could first understand what was said to them.


First it was Ernie and Big Bird, then Mr. Rogers, then their teachers (who now include televised lectures as part of the educational process, further cementing their dependence on pre-packaged knowledge), and finally, the Six O’Clock News on channel whatever. When people stop thinking for themselves, they become much easier to manipulate.


Our Beloved Ruling Class now is able to just tell the public whatever they want them to believe, while being recorded, sitting behind a desk, with just the shoulders and head appearing, calmly relating a complete report consisting entirely of outright lies. But, most folks will never even know they are being manipulated, because they are unable to hold more than one thought in their head at one time….


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


Very well…. I’m busted…. I’m lazy, and don’t feel like finding a poem, so, here is another of my older poems for today’s offering….


 


Penance, Made Simple 




 


 


After all the dross is sent away

a celebration can begin,

time will face up to space, to stay

willing, to shine from within.


Anger and confusion come in to share

brushing reason aside,

eager to welcome all that is fair,

alert to danger, eyes wide.


Re-gift the wicked with their own pain

stand with the just;

fail to partake of the ill-gotten gain,

living in honor, the only must.


Standing fast in the face of wrong

is its own prize and reward.

Holding on to truth makes us strong,

well worth working toward.


Little is left to chance by fate

our lessons are never free of cost.

Seldom does reality make us wait

only when alone, are we lost.


~~ gigoid ~~






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


Smart Bee has been pretty cooperative, not to mention generous, of late…. So, here is another group of pearls picked out without benefit of any direction from me, only editing power… It’s another good collection of observations and advice for a Life Well Lived….


 


“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. 

Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. 

Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench.

Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. 

Do your work, then step back. 

The only path to serenity.” — Tao Te Ching






“There are two kinds of truth, small truth and great truth. You can recognize a small truth because its opposite is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is another truth.” — Niels Bohr (1885-1962)


“It was the saying of Bion, that though the boys throw stones at frogs in sport, yet the frogs do not die in sport but in earnest.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Which are the most crafty, Water or Land Animals? 7


“Courage begins when we can admit that there is no life without some pain, some frustration; that there is no tragic accident from which we are immune; and that beyond the normal exercise of prudence we can do nothing about it.” — Victoria Lincoln


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


“To be truly conscious of your stupidity is one of the greatest steps you can make toward wisdom. If you know others, you are learned. If you know yourself, you are indeed wise. It isn’t the things that you don’t know that get you into trouble. What gets you into trouble are those things you know for sure that ain’t so.” — Artemus Ward (1834-1867), aka Charles Farrar Brown


 


But the tender grace of a day that is dead

  Will never come back to me. ~~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) ~~






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


I am unable to come to a conclusion regarding the quality of any of the above; I guess the act of writing it took all my resident conscious intelligence. There doesn’t seem to be any left over for the ending…. Ah well, it isn’t as if that hasn’t happened before, now, is it? Nope…. and, since that is the case, I am authorized to say this: We’re done. Go away…. No, just kidding…. We are done, and you may go when you’re ready… There isn’t anything left here to read, anyway…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..


 


Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Sheboygan’s best chance to chlorinate itself….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




From childhood’s hour I have not been

 As others were — I have not seen

 As others saw — I could not bring

 My passions from a common spring.


~~ Edgar Allan Poe, “Alone” ~~


potd-rainbow_3088571k


     Today, for an unknown reason, I’ve got nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada damn thing. My brain is fried, it seems, and is refusing categorically to function beyond the point needed to put condiments in coffee; anything more complex will have to wait until much later….


That being the case, I am going to try a completely new intro technique, called the Sandbag…. I’m starting out just as if we were going to ramble and blather in our normal fashion… In truth, however, we are going to drop you here like a hot potato, and just get on with it… Kinda cool, and a big surprise, I know, but, hey, deal with it, because it’s too late to change your mind…. You’re credit card has already been charged, so you may as well sit down, shut up, and pray…. because this is all the intro you’re getting today…. Bonus! It rhymes…. and, you don’t have to listen to any more of my blather….


Oh, the picture is from another Day in Pictures on the London Daily Yell (Telegraph), about a week ago. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? A woman took the picture from an airplane, looking down through the clouds to the reflection on the ocean, of the rainbow produced by the conditions…. More convincing proof of my old assertion, that ‘timing is everything’, eh what?…. Okay, that’s it, we’re outta here…. Hang on….


Shall we Pearl?


“He said that there was one only good, namely, knowledge; and one only evil, namely, ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xiv


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


Today, we’ll have a bit of classic rock…. From 12/8/1983, The A.R.M.S. Concert in New York City…. with a cast of thousands of old rockers, who were then in their prime….. Enjoy!….









Eric Clapton,Jeff Beck,Jimmy Page,Ron Wood,Bill Wyman,Jan Hammer,Charlie Watts @ Madison Square Garden 












































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


I am, as stated, fried to a crisp, apparently. Not only do I NOT have a rant in me, I think I’m going to hide today, in general, & reschedule anything I had planned…. so I can stay home and stay invisible to the world…. Just don’t feel like dealing with what is out there for me today, I guess… We are all allowed a day off from our bravery now and then, to coddle ourselves…. and, even if we aren’t so privileged, I’m gonna do it anyway….


For y’all this means you don’t need to put up with a fresh rant from me; instead, here is an older pearl, re-posted in 2013, but, coming from the dark ages of Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, way back in 2011…. Back then, what you see in this section comprised one entire Pearl for the day…. I was nicer then….


From 6/2/11:


Ffolkes;


According to Princess Irulan, beginnings are delicate times, a phrase neatly turned to tell us all something we already know in the deeper parts of our souls. Time is gravid, huge and vital with might be’s and maybe’s and what if’s. It is well at these times to act with extreme caution, knowing the slightest misstep can bring catastrophe; it is also well to use caution in choosing when to act, for prematurity can be as deadly as sloth. Inaction is moot, a null choice, though choice it be; not choosing is choosing as well.


Once chosen, we are once again witness, hopeful that our choice is meet, and the birth of new events will see us still standing, afraid but unbowed. Thus the cycle of life turns, and we can only hope that we have once again the chance to choose, to act correctly at the proper moment, and reap the benefits of karma….


“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” — Agatha Christie


“A man who carries a cat by the tail is gainin’ valuable experience. He will never be dim, or doubtful. Chances are he won’t carry the cat that way again, but I say, if he wants to, let him!”– Mark Twain


“Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding  into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy.” — Albert Einstein


“Purity engenders Wisdom, Passion (engenders) avarice, and Ignorance (engenders) folly, infatuation and darkness.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)


“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” — Oscar Wilde


Further than this, deponent saith naught….  y’all take care out there….


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


As noted, I’m in lazy mode… more from the past…..


From 7/21/2013:


“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




Early Observations


Until I knew there was more,

I wanted to know God.

They said he was a nice guy,

and would let me live forever.


All I had to do, they said,

was live my life for Him,

always living by scripture

cleaving only to his Way.


But, everyone I saw in church,

acted different at home.

Living wild, cussin’ and fussin’,

nobody lived like they said.


Still, I tried to be like Jesus,

he was sort of cool.

He never hurt nobody

and walked on the right path.


‘Course they killed him for that,

they couldn’t stand his example.

Turned him into a martyr,

 hid his real words among their own.


Then I found the Buddha,

and met Lao Tzu at the gate.

They saw things real different,

showed me how to see straight.


Right thought, and right action

replace blind obedience and faith.

Reality becomes manageable,

fear retreats, the universe expands.


Brother John said it pretty well,

“Imagine there’s no heaven,

it’s easy if you try.”

Sounds like he knew why.


Day to day, life is grand,

we walk in eternal beauty.

Open your eyes and hearts,

find yourself already immortal.


~~ gigoid ~~


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


Don’t ask…. Sometimes, it’s just the way it is….




Because my name is Daffy,

They think that I’m insane

 Please pass the ketchup,

 I think it’s going to rain!


 Oh, you can’t bounce a meatball,

Try with all your might.

Turn on the radio,

I want to fly a kite!


~~ D. Duck (daffy@wb.com) ~~




“On n’est jamais si heureux ni si malheureux qu’on s’imagine.” (One is never so happy or so unhappy as one thinks.) — Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld


“And on the 8th day, God said, “Ok, Murphy, you’re in charge!”” — Smart Bee


“Excess on occasion is exhilarating.  It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.” — W. Somerset Maugham


HIPPOGRIFF, n.  An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin.  The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. The hippogriff was actually, therefore, a one-quarter eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold.  The study of zoology is full of surprises.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“If chocolate is the answer, the question is irrelevant.” — Smart Bee


“I feel a random Act of Violence coming on.” — gigoid, on frequent occasions


I will offer no claim to blame, nor to any excuse for any of the forgoing…. Only mild embarrassment, and it will pass…


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


Well, that went…. I won’t make a value judgment as to HOW it went, thus saving myself from perjury, or hypocrisy…. That probably won’t last long, so, I’d best be on my way out into the BBR, or, at minimum, stick my head out the window, & check the weather…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Soft reasons for hard times…

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“As empty vessels make the loudest sound, 


so they that have the least wit are the greatest blabbers.” 


~~ Plato (428-348? B.C.) ~~


scorpion





I am indeed a sucker for beauty, especially dangerous beauty, as this little piece of photographic art shows quite well…. Part of the London Daily Telegraph photo section feature, the Animal Pictures of the Week, from a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help saving it for my own files, so I could see it flash by now and again on my background, or screen saver, both of which use my photos as a slide show…. Such a tiny bundle of powerful destiny will always make a compelling subject for such a study, and serves to remind me of how dangerous life can be, both for those who seek out such beauty, and for the object of such beauty itself….


Since it is a bit early for such a deep subject, we’ll refrain from going any further in our exploration; damn good thing too, as I felt a huge rant there under the surface of those statements, just dying to come out to play…. Oops, time anomaly…. Duck!


Well, that was fun…. NOT! During a wrinkle in time that just happened here, I left the house to go attempt to persuade the Kaiser 24 hour pharmacy to give me my ordered medication and some diabetic test supplies. I spent over $20 and an hour and a half of my most productive time of day, for nothing but aggravation…. They refused to acknowledge any responsibility for their policies, and would NOT take the time to help me, though the evidence of their responsibility in the matter lay in the computer…


I am so angry, and frustrated, I can no longer contemplate writing today’s Pearl, beyond what is already done…. I’ve been working ahead a bit of late, so, most of it is done, but, it will just have to do as is, because I don’t have it in me to push past his anger right now…. So, if the rest of this mess looks a bit incomplete, or somewhat light relative to our usual product, well, sorry ’bout that, but, oh, well….


In fact, since there is an opening right there in front of us, we’re taking it…. I’ll try to at least proof what I’ve done so far, but, no promises…. Hold on a moment, ffolkes, we’re going in, so we can get done….


Shall we Pearl?


“According to my calculations, the problem doesn’t exist.” — Bumper Sticker


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


Today’s video choice will have to take the place of both section one’s usual video offering, and section two’s usual rant…. I’d write more on this subject, and will do so eventually, but, right now, this is what you get…. It’s actually good news, and actually gives me hope for a reasonable outcome from the FCC…. They’re under a lot of public pressure to get it right, and not cave in to big business…. Having the White House come out so strongly behind the people’s case will add a powerful voice to the cacophony…. I’ve included an article from the UK Guardian, which gives a decent rundown of the pertinent issues….







After receiving more than 4m comments from the general public, the FCC had reportedly been discussing a “hybrid” solution that would have allowed tiered services but imposed stricter rules to protect customers. The proposal met with stiff opposition from net neutrality supporters, who now have the backing of Obama.




President Obama’s Statement on Keeping the Internet Open and Free

































 




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


You got it…. since I don’t want to take any time to search, it’s one of mine again…. deal with it….




Future Shocked:


Weeping, I wake; 

waking, I weep, I weep. 

I weep for the ages to be lost, 

for the children never to be born. 


Time comes calling, strident and spare, 

nudging us toward the future with bony hands. 

No pausing, no waiting, always away,

Frantic hearts unseen, unheard.


Spirits are dark, afraid. 

And the Beast hunts, hungry and cruel, 

seeking out the weak, and the foolish. 


We all weep now…..


~~ gigoid ~~




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


THIS is a very odd pearl, with parameters unknown to me…. Smart Bee picked these out all by itself, and I haven’t a clue as to what it means….


“Philosophy, means, first, doubt; and afterwards the consciousness of what knowledge means, the consciousness of uncertainty and of ignorance, the consciousness of limit, shade, degree, possibility. The ordinary man doubts nothing and suspects nothing.” — Henri Frederick Amiel


“Juliet’s so happy and in love, but at the same time so sad and lonely. She’s totally neurotic. I could really relate.” — Alicia Silverstone, Actress, on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1995


“Perfection is a minor virtue.” — Edward Abbey


“A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind…” — Gibran


“If there is happiness on earth, it must be sought in the abode where we live.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) French Philosopher


“True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written; in writing what deserves to be read; and in so living as to make the world happier and better for our living in it.” — Pliny the Elder


“And so the little freighter sat upon the sea, and, though Africa came closer day by day, the freighter never moved. She was old and weather-weary, and she had learned to let the world come round to her.” — Beryl Markham, West With the Night


Hmm… Well. There you go…..


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


That’s all ffolkes… That’s all I’ve got in me, other than a shitload of anger, which y’all don’t need, don’t want, and won’t be burdened with, beyond this slight bit of whine here at the end…. I’m sure tomorrow will be, if naught else, different…. See ya…. I’m gonna do this before I lose my nerve….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
We’ll bathe it in linseed oil and mint….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“When the fox gnaws — smile.” 


~~ Lazarus Long ~~ 


~~ Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love ~~


11-8-2014 001 (2)


     The picture, one I took a few days ago at the bus stop down the street, is a perfect metaphor for the lies told to us by our beloved ruling class, and by the perpetrators of public slavery, perpetually the BRC’s most ardent supporters, the preachers, imams, and dogma dogs who spout off about religion, to whomever will listen…. 


In a quite beautiful setting, we are reminded of how ‘they’ offer us ONE choice to salvation, but, god forbid you should be able to park while making your choice…. Perfect alignment, don’t you think? One Way/No Parking…. What better metaphor/euphemism for how the mass of humanity is treated by those who would control their very lives….


Oh, good grief, stop shouting!…. Control yourselves…. Put down that stick, you’ll hurt yourself with it…. For goodness’ sake, did you think I was going to rant at you in the first paragraph? Shoot, not even I am that cruel, though, if anyone has any comments to the contrary, with evidence, of course, I’d welcome them, as it’s been a long time since I found anyone willing to challenge my conclusions…. It must come from basing them on evidence, instead of faith…. Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to take another shot, this one aimed at those who buy into the delusions they’re offered at every turn….


Okay, you’re right, I’m busted…. Yes, I did mean it…. The people to whom I refer, those who embrace the dark side of human nature, quite simply, are assholes…. As I see them, they deserve every vile curse, every vituperative description, every fucking expletive we can think of to apply to them, in recognition of the thousands of years of deliberate theft, deliberate lies, and deliberate cruelty, to those whom they claim to love, or whom they claim mandate to lead, for their own good…. What a crock of shit THAT is!….


Sorry, I guess I did start ranting, didn’t I? It’s just so damn easy, when every frigging word out of the mouths, of preachers, or politicians, or business moguls, or police chiefs, or any of the other societal “leaders” who purport to work FOR the people, is a bald-faced lie…. In truth, they are busily at work doing every fucking thing they possibly can think of to screw the people over, in a myriad of ways…. Or, even scarier, they are as stupid as those they purport to lead, being brainwashed themselves into believing their own lies….


Every where I turn, every time I turn, I’m presented with new evidence of how often, and how deeply they screw those who trust them, and it just pisses me off anew, each and every time, making me wish I wasn’t so damn ethical/moral myself, and could feel less conflict over treating them the same way they treat us….


If I did that, I’m afraid they’d start dying at a much more rapid pace, which would be just about the length of time it takes me to re-load, then, focus in on another target…. With a well-concealed stand, and a crowd where I can acquire targets quickly, I could make some significant headway in a relatively short amount of time before having to become smoke…


However, those who engage in preying on others, for religious reasons, for political reasons, or whatever their personal justification may be, all believe the same tired old lie, which claims the end justifies the means…. I reject that notion categorically; to abrogate honor and responsibility for the sake of expediency, no matter how compelling the reason, removes any positive moral value such acts may otherwise be due. To do right, for the wrong reason, is to do wrong, in my world. To do wrong, for ANY reason, no matter how well rationalized, deserves nothing from me but disdain, and active resistance….


Well…. where did THAT come from? As I’m not sure just now, I think we’ll just take this opportunity to go on, and see what else may pop up today…..


Shall we Pearl?


“We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success; We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.” — Samuel Smiles


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


Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, like all fields of human endeavor, are subject to Sturgeon’s Law, which states: “90% of everything is crap.” This physical law has been tested repeatedly by scientists, sociologists, and psychologists, with the same results every time…. It is the absolute truth…. Hence, my reluctance to committing perjury, or displaying undue arrogance, by calling the Pearls I create anything but what they are, to wit: occasionally brilliant, but, mostly just acceptable, as entertainment for the strong of stomach…. If they were in the newspaper, they’d be suitable to line birdcages, for sure….


But, as I said, some can be pretty good, because I, too, with due diligence, and a bit of work, can jump into that 10% of human output that actually helps improve life by its presence…. The same is true of all fields in which humans put forth effort, so, naturally, it’s true of TV shows, and literary works…. I guess I’m just saying, some stuff is better than other stuff…..  This Sherlock Holmes story, to me, falls into the latter category of stuff….




Sherlock Holmes – Season 5 – The Problem Of Thor Bridge



































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


You may have noted my initial outburst, up in the intro section…. It was a rant, a sharp stick to the eye of religion, mostly, though there was quite a bit of angst left over to take some pokes at the rest of the Asininnies, too, such as politicians, police myrmidons, corporate snakeheads, human traffickers, and any of those ilk, who prey upon their own species, with the full support and tacit approval of those dogma dogs who keep the general populace under control, softening their minds with bilge water, so they are easier to corrupt and manipulate….


It has been a while since I took aim at those delusional buttheads, a group for whom I hold absolutely no respect whatsoever….. They take the words of one of the world’s greatest social reformers, and twist them until they are practically unrecognizable, but, mold the minds of the people who buy into those twists into shapes more amenable to control by others…. 


‘Tis a natural result of putting one’s faith in ideas that have no visible proof in reality, but are based on blind faith; it leaves the one holding the belief in a vulnerable state of mind, ready to believe all kinds of nonsense, as long as it’s told to them by one of those they have learned to believe, without the benefit of examination for truth….


But, that is what they all count on… all those preachers, and priests, and the others mentioned above…. They all count on the gullibility of the average person to believe what they’re told by authority figures…. And, they are justified in that, as my compatriots around the world seem to fall for their bloody bullshit every time….. SIGH…. I sometimes wonder how mankind even developed the idea of their own mental superiority, when they continuously act as if they haven’t two spare neurons to rub together at all….


However…. Today, I am feeling generous, or, at least, sympathetic to your pain…. So, I shall cease ranting about those assholes, and compose a seven-, or nine-star pearl, which will serve the same purpose, but, with a bit less sobriety, and a lot more tongue-in-cheek fun…. Let’s see what SB can come up with for us, to jab some sharp sticks in the eyes of a few dogma dogs….


“Ignorance is the soil in which belief in miracles grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)


“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.” — Lazarus Long, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, by Robert A. Heinlein


“The territory behind rhetoric is too often mined with equivocation.”– Dunne’s Law


“It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.” — Margaret Mead


“A Sunday school is a prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience of their parents.” — H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)


“The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye.  The more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.” — Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)


“Death, the most dreaded of evils, is therefore of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist.” — Epicurus


“Religions change; beer and wine remain.” — Harvey Allen


“O imitators, you slavish herd!” — Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) (65-8 B.C.)


“There is no sin but ignorance.” — Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)


Okay, so, it kept growing; Smart Bee is on a roll today…. To use Winnie Churchill’s method of making a point, I’ll give it a good whack with my sledge hammer, with one final piece of proof, of how the dogma dogs attempt to establish their mind-control, with entries such as the following, in that book they use as their most effective manipulative tool….


“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5,6


Sure, do that…. put your faith in what you cannot see, or touch, or hear, or otherwise prove exists…. That’s a good idea…. NOT!


So be it.


gigoid has spoken…. a lot…..


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


There is so much of my stuff today, with some deep help from SB, I’d best go with my own poetry, to avoid getting any of this on anyone else…. I know, we’ll go with an old favorite….






Rejection


“Jesus loves me, this I know,

For the Bible tells me so…”

I’d be crying a river, I thought

if ever such crap I bought.


Sorry if it hurts your sense of style,

but, hypocrisy always gives me bile.

Being lied to accidentally is okay,

but, deliberate lies make me angry, and fey.


Oh, God, hear what I pray!

Keep me from your followers today.

Having to listen to so much that is wrong

makes me puke, before it makes me strong.


I don’t know why it isn’t clear to other folks,

which is alright, you know, different strokes.

But, why should that mean that they must

force me to believe, or fail in trust?


Spare me the lies, and the make-believe,

fairy tales are easier to hear, and to weave.

They give us a lesson which we can feel

but don’t pretend at all to be real.


Reality can scare us, that’s a given fact,

still, met with care it will leave us mostly intact.

Met without fear, standing tall and alone

Life will allow us to make it our own.


Folly beckons, and so many follow

mass delusions seem to me most hollow.

I’ll have to stick to my own chosen way

while so many go so sadly astray.


It’s lonely at times, it may seem sad,

but really isn’t, and I’m quite glad,

that knowledge is always stronger than fear,

year after year, tear after tear…..


~~ gigoid ~~




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


Today’s final pearl is a perfect adjunct to the ranting section…. This group gives us some pretty good observations about being human, at the other end of the scale from those who are unable to find the means to USE the intelligence with which they are endowed…. Reflect upon these, and you’ll find them a map to a rich, fulfilling life….


“Over my mask is your mask of me.” — Mitsuye Yamada


“Once when Bion was at sea in the company of some wicked men, he fell into the hands of pirates; and when the rest said, “We are undone if we are known,”–“But I,” said he, “am undone if we are not known.”  — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Bion, iii


“A child is a person who can’t understand why someone would give away a perfectly good kitten.” — Doug Larson


“If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind!  The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.” — Chuang Tzu


“I believe that part of what propels science is the thirst for wonder.  It’s a very powerful emotion.  All children feel it.  In a first grade classroom everybody feels it; in a twelfth grade classroom almost nobody feels it, or at least acknowledges it.  Something happens between first and twelfth grade, and it’s not just puberty.  Not only do the schools and the media not teach much skepticism, there is also little encouragement of this stirring sense of wonder.  Science and pseudoscience both arouse that feeling.  Poor popularizations of science establish an ecological niche for pseudoscience.” — Carl Sagan, The Burden Of Skepticism, The Skeptical Inquirer, — Vol. 12, Fall 87


“When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive–to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love….” — Marcus Aurelius


“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.” — J. Krishnamuti


“There are many things worth living for, few things worth dying for, nothing worth killing for.” — from Tom Robbins’ “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues”


“Now my own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we *can* suppose. I have read and heard many attempts at a systematic account of it, from materialism and theosophy to the Christian systems or that of Kant, and I have always felt that they were too simple. I suspect that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of, or can be dreamed of, in any philosophy. That is the reason why I have no philosophy myself, and must be my excuse for dreaming.” — J. B. S. Haldane, British geneticist (1856-1928) — from “Possible Worlds”, in “Possible Worlds and other essays”, — Chatto & Windus, London, 1927. p286


Smart Bee was in a very generous mood today, eh, what?…..


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


‘Tis a good thing much of this was begun yesterday…. I’m up a bit late, but, it’s all good, as it’s done, and in good time…. If the proofing isn’t too horrendously complicated, I may even get another hour’s sleep before the day can begin out in the BBR, where I’ve several tasks to complete…. Since I do, we’ll leave it at that, and be on our way, royal ‘we’ syndrome notwithstanding…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Twelve reasons to spit, rather than swallow….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.” 


~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vi, 3 ~~


11-8-2014 002 (2)


     To look at this piece of furniture, you wouldn’t believe it to have any particularly extraordinary qualities, beyond a simple functionality and inoffensive appearance…. By using Marcus Aurelius’ advice, however, we find a peculiar aspect of its existence which may not be explainable by any normal means…. I got the chair at a thrift store, as part of my thus-far-never-ending quest to find a chair that is suitable to sit in for the time I need to be in front of this computer, to compose, to read, and to otherwise multi-task, in short bursts when I can sit for a while without having to squirm, or get stiff… In trying it out in the store, it seemed to be a bit low, but, otherwise might work well for a time….


Well, as it turns out, it IS too low to type comfortably, but, is quite comfortable for watching a video, such as one of my Sherlock Holmes stories, or for reading the news, if no great amount of mouse work is needed…. Unfortunately, the chair also seems to be so comfortable, whenever I’ve sat in it for more than 5 minutes, I start falling asleep, sitting up, which will always give me a stiff neck, from dropping my head forward when I drowse…. This has happened five times now, without fail…. It’s getting to the point I’m beginning to believe the chair has been infused with some kind of magic cannabis cream, or just plain magic, to cause it to turn into a sleep chair, rather than an office chair…


It’s okay, though, I don’t mind having one spot where I know I can get drowsy; the way my sleep pattern goes, I can use all the spots like that I can find…. It’s also given me another intro section, without the need to go off on anyone’s religion, or take a side trip to the land of Odd, (which isn’t far away, in my head…), or even find some actual introductory remarks of a literary nature…. All I had to do is engage in some minor hyperbole, with a dash of stretching the truth of its effect on me, and there we were, two paragraphs down, and running strong….


Of course, right about HERE, we will start to see it fall apart, as my imagination begins to tire, having not yet consumed sufficient coffee, or sugar, to fuel such a complicated, stressful task as this has turned out to be…. I also suspect, if I want to be able to finish this out, without resorting to marginally legal acrobatics, I’m going to have to end it now, before it grows any hair…. The fuzz is already too thick for scissors, and my lopping shears are all dull from using them on my cacti….


It is, no doubt, a good thing the opening to the real world is right over there; we seem to have made good time…. This is what happens when we are lucky enough to start with a decent run at the wall; it doesn’t draw any blood, and we get where we need to go with less fuss, and less chance of litigation, which always pleases my lawyers….. Oops, sorry, got to talking and almost missed the turn…. Hold on ffolkes…. today’s missive could be a bit of a tough roe to hoe…. not to mention the possibility of cloning that is always a risk on Sundays…. (bet you didn’t expect me to remember, did ya?….)


For now, though, it is enough to know, we’re on our way, and nothing the government can do will stop us now….


Shall we Pearl?


“I was contemplating the immortal words of Socrates, who said… I drank what?” —  Shared by Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), Real Genius


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


Today’s video is a political cartoon from Mark Fiore, who makes brilliant short animated videos commenting on current world and national events…. I could not figure out how to embed the video, without joining a web streaming site, which I didn’t wish to join…. But, just follow the link below, and you can see this one, which is another outstanding observation regarding the recent midterm elections…. I won’t ask you to enjoy it, but, I will ask you to watch, and reflect on the information it has to impart….







Oh, heck…. Here, here’s a video for your morning laugh….




Adults Taste Baby Food



































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


“For some reason the little Senators make us laugh.” — Smart Bee


“But a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing t heir oppressors in Church and State.” — Thomas Jefferson, [letter?] To S. Kercheval, 1810









Oops…. It seems there is a bit of snark going on between the delusional leaders of one of the more delusional religious organizations, and the political representative their particular group managed to land in the Senate…. It all makes a pretty good example, for me, of how the separation of church and state has been quietly eroded to the point the religious group feels comfortable in making public their influence over their flock members who inhabit the halls of government, using the blackmail of guilt and threat of excommunication to try to force their desires to the forefront of the political agenda.


Now, the bishop of the church, in this case, is in trouble, for bringing it all into the light of day, more than any other reason…. I doubt very much the other church elders had intended for their influence to be outed in that manner, so, they will publicly chastise him, but, in the end, won’t really do much to him, other than muzzling his mouth by moving him to some position not accessible to the media for comment…. Having the Senate majority leader as a church member is a position those leaders will NOT jeopardize for any minor bishop’s cluelessness…. They’ll sacrifice him faster than Pontius Pilate gave up Jesus…


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







I think I’ve become more angry at this president than any other since, well, I guess the Junior shrub made me maddest, but, then, Bill Clinton was a Bozoid of major proportion, too…. In fact, I think, in my entire life, there is only one man who was elected to the presidency who managed to garner my respect, without making me angry for having to listen to constant, unrelieved lying, or plain stupidity…. and that President (the ONLY one for whom I will capitalize the title….) was probably the LEAST effective of all the twentieth century office-holders, because he spent his entire time in office being neutralized by a Congress held by the opposing party….


His name was Jimmy Carter, and though I don’t usually admire preachers, he is the only HONEST politician I’ve ever seen at that level… the ONLY one…. and, he is the only president in the last century who didn’t made a career out of dishonesty, cheating, and public theft… and I mean the ONLY one…. Every other president, from the beginning of the last century, to the latest rogues elected in this century, has lied to the American public, almost without pause, from the first time they opened their mouths on national TV….


I had hope when Barry was elected; I didn’t know much about him, and some of what he said promised some hope of reform, in at least some areas…. But, he has been one of the greatest of my disappointments, as he has lied the MOST, of any president in recent memory, which is quite a feat, given the past few presidents…. It was unexpected that Obama would be a worse liar than either of the two Shrubs, but, he has proven time and again he is NOT going to tell the entire truth to the American people, especially about his clandestine activities, spying on his own citizens without compunction, and with impunity, thus far…..


“A politician is a man who stands for what he thinks the voters will fall for.” — Smart Bee


If I were the type to use religious expressions, I’d thank God for Edward Snowden, a man I believe future generations will regard on the same level as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Nathan Hale, as one of our greatest patriots…. It pisses me off no end that Barry the O continues to bad-mouth him, as well as refusing to acknowledge his own culpability, as do the rest of the 455 kidnappers of the American Dream, who inhabit the halls of Congress, the White House, and the Federal courthouses…. I accuse them all of treason, not lightly, and not in fun…. Assholes, every damn one of them, only concerned with increasing their personal power, and lining their pockets with our money…..


I know this is the ranting section, so such vituperation isn’t out of place here…. However, this morning I’m a bit on edge, and typing is getting harder every day, so, I’ll leave my rant at that point, which, some would say is quite enough…. It isn’t every day that I accuse the entire government of the US of treason…. but, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one to keep from calling a spade a spade, nor am I one to suffer fools gladly….




But we, who name ourselves its sovereigns, we,

Half dust, half deity, alike unfit

To sink or soar.


~~ Lord Byron (1788-1824) ~~


~~ Manfred, Act i, Sc. 2 ~~




Our government, long ago stolen by corporate and religious influence, to work the will of those who prey on the weak and ignorant, depending on their gullible trust in authority to allow them to lie, cheat, and steal without consequence, has now gotten to a point where they don’t even bother to hide what they’re doing very hard…. They don’t care any more, as they know that nobody has the means, or the wit, to turn against them…. They have fooled 98% of the population into believing them, in whatever they say, and know they won’t be disturbed during their cleaning out of the public’s pockets…..


Bah, humbug! I’m pissed….. and there isn’t much I can do, except this…. So, having done this for today, I’ll leave it here for now…. Stay alert, ffolkes, and call them a liar when they lie… Maybe there is still a chance, if a couple more Ed Snowdens come forth, and tell the people how much they are being fooled, and screwed….. Until then, I’ll keep yelling at them, and about them, as often as I can….




Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Kansas

Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Washington D.C.

Everybody’s clean, it can’t happen here, no, no

And they thought it couldn’t happen here

They were so sure it couldn’t happen here

It can’t happen here


 ~~ Frank Zappa ~~


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


On a day such as this, it’s gotta be Bukowski…. He’s the only one real enough to suit my crusty mood….






hello, how are you?


this fear of being what they are:

dead. 


at least they are not out on the street, they

are careful to stay indoors, those

pasty mad who sit alone before their tv sets,

their lives full of canned, mutilated laughter. 


their ideal neighborhood

of parked cars

of little green lawns

of little homes

the little doors that open and close

as their relatives visit

throughout the holidays

the doors closing

behind the dying who die so slowly

behind the dead who are still alive

in your quiet average neighborhood

of winding streets

of agony

of confusion

of horror

of fear

of ignorance. 


a dog standing behind a fence. 


a man silent at the window.


~~ Charles Bukowski ~~




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


Today’s old-school pearl came together in a rather fractured fashion; nonetheless, it came out well…. Well, it came out, anyway…. I’m not altogether certain the point it is trying to make is one of particular import, other than to each of us on an individual level…. I guess you should just let it flow over you, and if it feels right, let it flow through…. Otherwise, just take it all as good advice for living a life that makes some kind of sense, on a larger scale than the merely personal…. Hmm…. I suppose that may be asking a bit much of an obscure seven-star pearl, but, we’re like that around here….


“Integrity has no need for rules.” — Albert Camus


“When the need arises — and it does — you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don’t farm it out — that doesn’t make it nicer, it makes it worse.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s  “Time Enough For Love”


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


“As a rule, there is no surer way to the dislike of men than to behave well where they have behaved badly.” — Lew Wallace


“Lampis the shipowner, on being asked how he acquired his great wealth, replied, “My great wealth was acquired with no difficulty, but my small wealth, my first gains, with much labor.” — Epictetus (c. 55-135 A.D.)


“The world has taken on a thickness of vulgarity that raises a spiritual man’s contempt to the violence of a passion.” — Charles Baudelaire




How lov’d, how honour’d once avails thee not,

To whom related, or by whom begot;

A heap of dust alone remains of thee:

‘T is all thou art, and all the proud shall be!


~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — To the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady, Line 71 ~~




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


Once more, I’ve pushed beyond my zone of comfort to get this done…. Oh, don’t worry, I’m not saying it makes me special, or that any admiration is due; I’m just glad it isn’t toxic, or overtly offensive to anyone but a preacher, a politician, a corporate snakehead, a pimp, or a myrmidon…. They, of course, may choke on it, as far as I am concerned…. For now, I’ll just bid thee adieu, until tomorrow….


See ya, ffolkes, and remember what Tommy Toilet always says… “Always wipe thoroughly, kids! Rectal itch is NO PICNIC!”© (R. Crumb, 1966, or so….)


Sorry, couldn’t help myself….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
A Hound is on the scent…

			
						

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Ffolkes,


 


“The very flower of youth.”~~ Terence (185-159 BC) ~~~~ Act ii, Sc. 3, 28, (319.) ~~


surviving munchkins




     In the “very flower of youth”,  we find these seven people, who are, quite obviously, the surviving members of the Munchkins, of Munchkin Land, in Oz…. They had come, at great expense and effort, to Earth to be honored at the 75th anniversary of the release of The Wizard of Oz, the iconic movie with a young Judy Garland, and a cast of amazing versatility (the woman who played the Wicked Witch remains to this day the most well-known example of an evil witch in our culture…. no other comes close….). The surviving Munchkins, among them one of the Lollipop Guild, and the Lord Mayor of Munchkin Town, still appear to be enjoying life to the maximum…


Well, I guess the guy on the extreme left end does appear to be a bit constipated, but, hey, at their age, I can testify, and relate…. But, then, he’s also wearing what appears to be the costume of a religious figure, (note the bishop’s mitre on his head…), I suppose he’s a right to be bummed out…. or, maybe he’s just got some bad gas…. I’ll also note the huge grin on the Lollipop kid’s face should bring the old fella around; who can resist a face with such happy camaraderie in it? He certainly is enjoying being in the limelight again, even if only for a moment…. (The picture itself was taken from sfgate, but, I saw it all over the news at the time of the event…..)


Maintaining a happy outlook on life, when one stops to consider, is a very good attitude with which to approach getting old, especially if one is a Munchkin, or a dwarf in a society that places a premium on physical normalcy. I have no doubt that all of those actors spent many years struggling to make a living, at anything, much less acting; our society is not known for the morality, or the gentle hand, with which it treats the weaker members of the common group…. They would, no doubt, have suffered discrimination at the hands of those they probably call the Bigs, all of their lives, from the time it first became apparent they weren’t “normal”….


Having taken a vow to stop ranting in the intro section, I’ll stop that discussion there, before I’m tempted to speak further on the subject of societal morality, which, as we all know by now, is what might be called a shadow, in that it has little substance in the minds of most of society, and as much influence as the images we make when blocking the light, i.e., none to speak of…. That little blurb right there is edging too close to ranting, so, I’ll just use this opportunity to change the subject, before I get caught with my words down…..


That decision, sadly, leaves me no choice but to turn to my new-found, and newly established protocol of ruthlessness, which I’ve learned to embrace, at least for the times we encounter here, attempting to end these intro sections…. I’ve discovered such a hard line is completely necessary, and should have been instituted the first time it came before the board…. But, I’m stubborn, and hate to give up any right, even if the exercise of it is less than productive…. It’s just a bad habit to accept the abrogation of a right, any right at all, something those in our government would do well to remember….


Since I AM now a relatively ruthless person (compared to previously, anyway….), I will assume the stance, and proclaim the hour…. ‘Tis time to get on with this mess, or it will again take over, and we’ll never be able to show any influence over where we end up…. No telling where that might be, either. Since I see an opening, right over there, we’re going for it….. Sit back, and enjoy, ffolkes…. it looks like it will only take a triple-loop to get through the opening, so your seat belts should keep you safe….


Shall we Pearl?….


“If you understand, things are as they are. If you do not understand, things are as they are.” — Gensha, Zen Master


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


I’m in the mood today for a bit of Sherlock and Watson….. Here is a good one, another story with horse racing as a basic element of the story….. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a really relaxing way to spend an hour, and, it has NO commercials…. though there are pauses written in that indicate where they once were shoved upon the gentle viewer….


 


Sherlock Holmes – Season 5 episode 3 – Shoscombe Old Place





















 


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


“I am quite sure that (bar one) I have no race prejudices, and I think I have no color prejudices or caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. Indeed I know it. I can stand any society. all that I care to know is that a man is a human being – that is enough for me; he can’t be any worse.” — Mark Twain — Harper’s Magazine, September, 1899


After reading the following, it will be a good test of how alert, and informed, the Gentle Reader may be, to ask them if they are at all surprised by the information contained…. It’s a rather long article, as it covers a lot of obfuscation and chicanery by the corporate and governmental assholes involved; clarifying such murky waters can take a bit of care, and the article is quite thorough in presenting its arguments….. Read it, and weep….


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/06/intelligence-agencies-lawyer-client-abdel-hakim-belhaj-mi5-mi6-gchq?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2


In the article, you will find an embedded .pdf document, which, if all goes aright, you will see below, a scanned copy of the legal complaint against the spy agencies in the UK, where the suit against them is being pursued…. It clearly states which privileged legal communications between plaintiffs and their counsel were intercepted, and used (illegally) to build cases against those plaintiffs…. It’s pretty damning evidence, showing clearly the sheer disdain the governments of the US and the UK have for the privacy rights of the individuals who make up the population of their countries…..


 


 



 


Can you believe the sheer effrontery of the spies who cleared this shit? Sorry, vulgarity and expletives are necessary adjuncts to a rant like this one will be…. I’m relating, with evidence, the criminal acts of the very people who are supposed to protect our rights, and they are NOT going to like any of it…. They are creatures of the darkness; any light shone upon them hurts them, making them want to lie even louder, and scuttle off into the nearest crack in the wall or floor, to regain the shadowy confines of darkness, where they may plot, and plan their next round of abuse, and/or, theft….


I’m sick of these assholes…. Let’s go around the ‘Net, & see what else they’ve been up to, or into…. I’ll make a short comment on each, just below the links….


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1342689/-South-Carolina-exit-poll-asks-whether-blacks-are-getting-too-demanding-over-equal-rights?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29


Once my mouth closed from it’s fully dropped-open-in-disbelief-and-shock position, all I could think when I saw this was, “Are you shitting me?”…. That was yesterday, when I first saw it; as I look upon it today, that is STILL my only reaction….


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1342646/-Alabama-passes-law-banning-sharia-law-because-of-course-they-did?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29



As the title says, of course they did….. I think there must be a law on the books in Alabama that prohibits anyone with an IQ over 75 to live in the state…. which, if you think about it, is a good thing, as it keeps a large number of them all in one place, where they’ll be easier to keep an eye on, so they can be monitored for self-harm through ignorance….


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1342626/-Intensive-anti-voter-fraud-effort-finds-no-instance-of-actual-voter-fraud?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29


Yep…. out of more than a hundred MILLION votes cast at this election, the paranoid hate group monitoring the voting areas for fraud were planning to prove their pet theory, that the level of voting fraud was rampant, and a huge problem, which would justify both their paranoia, and their insistent efforts to take away the voting rights of the poor and disenfranchised citizens among us…. Working as hard as they could, they were able to come up, nation-wide, with eight instances they classified as fraud, five of which were a bit specious, as they dealt with broken voting machines, not fraud by any individual…. But, that was ALL they could find….


Let’s just look at that fractionally, which would be 8/120,000,000…. If we figure the percentage of occurrence of this HUGE problem, it comes out to a figure many thousands of times smaller than a single percent…. Boy, what a humongous problem THAT turned out to be….


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1341593/-Cartoon-Christie-Cuomo-s-guide-nbsp-to-nbsp-Ebola?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29


The Cuomo/Christie fiasco surrounding “THE EBOLA CRISIS” explained, and made fun of quite well…


http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29950946


This article makes clear the police and intelligence agencies of the governments are working as hard as they can to penetrate the ‘Dark Net’, upon which the Tor Network is operated. The Tor Network (whose operation is explained in the article) is designed to be able to keep government snoops, hackers, or anyone wishing to look at private communications, from knowing where those communications come from, and where they go…. Naturally, this upsets the police. who want access to EVERYONE’s data, and computers…. They are apparently making progress, as this article relates how their latest attempts have gained them some ground in the quest to find a way to get into the dark net to follow all those who use it, so they can invade their privacy in their quest of complete power….



http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/07/us-binladen-seals-idUSKBN0IQ2RC20141107?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews


I have to be honest. I didn’t read the last listed article, from the Reuters news feed, re: two ex-Marines, both of whom claim to be the one who killed bin Laden, simply because I didn’t wish to subject myself to the sheer ignorance, and complete cluelessness of the people involved in such a ridiculous argument… and, if I need to explain WHY, y’all haven’t been paying attention….


This is, perhaps, the single greatest public display of stupidity, not to mention amorality, EVER. Ever…. No body, in my extensive memory, or in my no less extensive store of  knowledge derived from reading, in history, has ever made such a completely asinine fool of themselves, right out where everyone can see and hear….


SIGH….. I believe I’ve made my point, ffolkes, so, let’s go on to something not so depressing…. Oh, shoot…. by saying that, I won’t be able to use one of MY poems!…. Oh well, I’ll cheat…. it’s easy, and y’all can’t see what I’m doing anyway….. or, can you?…. Hmm, I’ll have to think on that….. Meanwhile, onward….


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


If you’ve been here a time or two, you’ll already know who today’s poet will be…. Since these are small, but chewy, we’ll have two….


 


A Cloud withdrew from the Sky

Superior Glory be

But that Cloud and its Auxiliaries

Are forever lost to meHad I but further scanned

Had I secured the Glow

In an Hermetic Memory

It had availed me now.Never to pass the Angel

With a glance and a Bow

Till I am firm in Heaven

Is my intention now. 


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~


——————————————


A Dying Tiger—moaned for Drink—

I hunted all the Sand—

I caught the Dripping of a Rock

And bore it in my Hand—


His Mighty Balls—in death were thick—

But searching—I could see

A Vision on the Retina

Of Water—and of me—


‘Twas not my blame—who sped too slow—

‘Twas not his blame—who died

While I was reaching him—

But ’twas—the fact that He was dead— 


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~






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


Today’s old-school pearl came together yesterday afternoon, and it makes no apologies for any misconceptions regarding human nature it may puncture like the soap bubble they so closely resemble…..


“There was, I think, never any reason to  believe in any innate superiority of the male, except his superior muscle.” — Bertrand Russell, Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind (1950)


“I am further of opinion that it would be better for us to have [no laws] at all than to have them in so prodigious numbers as we have.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. xiii


“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” — Mark Twain


“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” — J.K. Rowling, Padfoot Returns, — Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, spoken by the character Sirius Black


“A skunk is better company than a person who prides himself on being “frank.” — Smart Bee


“The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.” — Edmund Burke, letter, April 3, 1777, to the Sheriffs of Bristol


INCOMPOSSIBLE, adj.  Unable to exist if something else exists.  Two things are incompossible when the world of being has scope enough for one of them, but not enough for both — as Walt Whitman’s poetry and God’s mercy to man.  Incompossibility, it will be seen, is only incompatibility let loose.  Instead of such low language as “Go heel yourself — I mean to kill you on sight,” the words, “Sir, we are incompossible,” would convey and equally significant intimation and in stately courtesy are altogether superior. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


Well, of course it would….


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


Some days, this process goes better than others; this one wasn’t bad at all, considering….. In any case, it seems to be done, except for the final part, where I go through and miss all the errors…. I’ll do that, and get it right out…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided nobody comes after me with a warrant, in which case, it is conceivable I could disappear for a while, until I can find safe haven…. For now, though, enough is enough….


 


Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Is it Bastille Day yet?….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




But ‘midst the crowd, the hum, the shock of men,

To hear, to see, to feel, and to possess,

And roam along, the world’s tired denizen,

With none who bless us, none whom we can bless.


~~ Lord Byron (1788-1824) ~~


~ Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto ii, Stanza 26 ~~


day2 London 008


     Of late, I’ve been using some of my older pictures, taken on a trip to Europe last year, as the opening for this…. whatever it is. It is simpler for me, as I don’t have to worry about giving proper attribution, and can use any pic at all to demonstrate whatever point or idea I’m planning to utilize for material…. Sound’s highfalutin, I know, but, it works for me…. and, here in the intro section, ‘anything that works’ is our motto….


Of course, I can always go with, or comment upon the opening quote, too…. But, both of those bonus qualities are by design, though it may appear that there isn’t any such thing going on…. I got so frustrated of trying to come up with something worthwhile to start with, I began to use those two objects to give myself a running start, so to speak, with the opportunity to use either, or both, or neither as part of the beginning lines, which, in the process, can reveal the best direction to take…. Or, as often happens around here, it can confuse things even more than usual, in which case, I generally retreat into silliness, or weirdness, whichever jumps up first….


The picture was taken in an alley off Portobello Road in London, and serves to provide me with good memories of a fine day exploring the endless marketplace on that Road…. As the saying in the British Empire went, “You can find anything you want on Portobello Road.”….. It also served as a one-stop shopping center for all the necessary souvenirs and gifts I brought back to friends and family from London, and gave me that priceless photo for my collection of memories, of me and Charlie Chaplin, in identical poses, in front of a house on Portobello Road…. Any of these pix can take me back there in my head, so, it’s like being able to go anytime I wish….


It also provides me with ample material to fill in this big hole that forms each day at the top of this page, one I often fill with incomprehensible nattering, or with nonsense, or even outright humor (though the latter may be a subjective judgment….). That, in itself, is enough to make it a worthwhile decision, which allows me some space in my head, before having to go on to the next section, to deal with all the angst and turmoil that goes on in my head for each separate section…. SIGH…. If only someone was paying me for all of this, it might seem a bit more, I don’t know,…. justifiable? Maybe….


Ah well, it’s all moot now, as we’ve reached the jumping off point again…. In fact, we’re moving so fast this morning, I think I’d just better give out the warning, and trust to our run of luck to get us through the opening intact…. Wish me luck; the insurance won’t stretch to cover another mass payout…. Here we go, so, please, HOLD ON!….


Shall we Pearl?


“A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” — Mark Twain


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


A friend of mine is fond of internet memes, and funny/strange You Tube videos posted by some of our society’s fringe elements…. She was showing me some of her favorites, which includes this video…. I will give fair warning, ffolkes…. Don’t drink anything while watching this, as the choking and aspiration that could occur…. If you began gut-busting laughter with a mouthful of cola or milk, it’s going to either choke you, or it will come out as a wide-angle spray you’ll be cleaning off the walls for days…. Enjoy!…. Oh, and the link has a bunch more odd, funny videos for your entertainment, as well….




 


Americans Taste Test Australian Food

































 


 


 


 


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


“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” — Abraham Lincoln


http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-9-billion-witness-20141106?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=110614_16&utm_medium=email&ea=YWxwaGFnaWdvaWRAZ21haWwuY29t



Ffolkes…. This article is a must-read for any American citizen who is concerned about the banks’ and government’s collusion in the last few years…. The bailout, the recession, all deliberately caused by immoral assholes, who managed to make money out of their whole supposed fines, by charging their customers for paying them…. And, the lengths to which they’ve gone to keep the witnesses to their criminality quiet are astoundingly brash, showing complete disdain for the public, or for any rule of law….. They believe, and are encouraged to believe by the complicity of politicians, that their money will buy off any such litigation against them for their theft….


I’m not quite ready to rant as much as this article’s revelations deserve…. But, I have an older rant, from early this year, that will cover much of what is needed, with some comments and thoughts on the same issue, from February of this year….. It’s a long one, but, not too shabby, if I do say so myself…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. They deserve every name we call them….


“A government that fears it’s people is a government that should be feared.” — Smart Bee


From 2/25/2014:


If you would please read this article, the arguments that follow will make a lot more sense; if you don’t, it may take you a bit longer to figure out the gist of it….    😉     Plus, you’ll know, for sure, I’m not making this stuff up, just so I have something to write about….


http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-help-from-russians-193641893.html


In the time of Pythagoras that proverbial phrase “Ipse dixit” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pythagoras, xxv


Ipse Dixit. [Latin, “He himself said it.”]  An unsupported statement whose veracity rests solely on the authority of the individual who makes it.


And so it begins….. All of a sudden, many months AFTER the fact, several high-ranking officials from the administration all come out with the same story-line, IMPLYING that Eric Snowden was influenced and/or helped by Russian spies to do what he did…. This statement by Mikey-boy Rogers, U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman, R-Mich., Senator Feinstein’s cohort (she’s his counterpart in the Senate, who put out her office’s lies about this issue yesterday….), is the newest step in the ongoing attempt by the administration to paint Mr. Snowden’s actions with the brush of treason, when, in fact, they KNOW he is not a traitor, but, rather, a patriotic American, caught in the web of intrigue THEY created with their clandestine, illegal activities….


As soon as I saw this headline today, my highly-trained, delicately-honed, automatic political crap detector SCREAMED at me….. “LIES, LIES, MADE UP LIES!!”, it said, without much doubt implied (accuracy factor of the detection meter said it was 99.9% likely to be lies…. which makes it pretty certain, as I’ve programmed it to never say that it is completely sure; it defaults to that number when it is…)….. This is SO obviously a campaign to smear Snowden, it positively REEKS! They are introducing doubt of his character into the dialogue, which, come to think of it, is only a monologue, because, hey, he’s not here to defend himself, is he?


This, of course, is typical political posturing, reminiscent of any other campaign, such as an election run, when they need to direct the public’s attention toward certain areas, away from others, so they can control the conversation…. In his speech, Obama admitted to responding to a public dialogue called for by the leak of information, while never admitting any wrongdoing for having committed the spying initially. Yet, this conversation, this debate, has only shown them to be more secretive than we knew, and they are pulling out all the stops to stop any further investigation into, or outcry about what is REALLY going on…. Naturally, since they are politicians, they will approach this as a campaign to be won; the first step in any campaign is to decrease the viability, the believability of the opposition…. Hence, unproved, unfounded, and untrue accusations, out of nowhere, to try to demonize Eric Snowden….


They say first, it’s beyond his abilities to have done this…. Well, hell, even the most thick-headed fool can see this is a total fabrication…. If this is true, would it mean that the NSA made a habit of hiring programmers that couldn’t understand what they were being tasked to do? Doesn’t make any sense to me…. This man was part of the program, a programmer, and KNOWS how to read data, as well as write the programs that would do so…. Hell, I’m only a high powered user, and I understand what is being done, and what WAS done…. This statement is an obvious lie, an attempt to demean Snowden, so he looks more like a villain, or, at best, the dupe of master spies….


The second thing to note about this claim, is that it is introduced by a politician, who obviously is NOT capable of judging what a programmer is capable of doing with a computer…. Mikey-boy probably has to ask his admin how to use his smart-phone, which is, arguably, smarter than he is, technically speaking… Yet, this idiot, in his power suit and tie, makes this claim unequivocally, thereby implying that one of the most competent programmers alive (look who hired him to begin with!….) isn’t capable of doing something he was trained to do, but, had to be helped by a foreign power…. A pretty far-fetched stretch, to my way of looking at it….


The one professional spy they quoted, from the CIA, it should be noted, said, in his statement, right off, so he couldn’t be accused later of any prevarications…. “I don’t have any particular evidence”, but, then goes on to agree with the outrageous claims made by a politician, one with NO FUCKING CLUE about the glaringly obvious untruth of what he proposes, or, indeed, of how much truth any of what he said might have contain…. Rogers’ job, which he performed perfectly, was, simply, to put in the minds of the public a single idea, one small but important lie, that Snowden was made to do what he did, by coercion, by trickery, or by duplicity; they don’t say which, nor do they have to…. They merely imply, without directly accusing, so that the lies they intend to bring out later, as seeds for further doubt, will find fertile soil in the simple minds of the public….


None of the truth, or any actual connection to reality of the claims he was making concerned him; he was strictly a talking head, on a major TV show; his mission was to plant in the public awareness the idea that Eric Snowden didn’t act alone, and that the very act of his doing what he did, regardless of ANY evidence to the contrary, should be viewed as proof of his having had help from another country…. The fact that this isn’t remotely true was not an issue; the message was delivered, and supported by the other actors in the play…. Throw in the claim about him being technically unable to do what he did, and you’ve got some juice to keep the story going, even though all of it is a complete fabrication….


Ffolkes, if you can’t see that this is true, that you were deliberately lied to, and manipulated in an attempt to make you think what the government wants you to think, well, I guess I should just use THEIR justification and tell you…. You, too, are an idiot, and the fact is, if you believe any of what this man says about this subject, that, in itself, can be considered as PROOF of your idiocy….. incontrovertible, undeniable PROOF. (After all, that’s the same method of proof they’re offering for THEIR assertions…..) If the timing, and the words themselves, don’t make your crap-detector go off like it was on fire, then I’m afraid there isn’t much hope for you in the real world….


These statements were merely the latest tactic to be applied by the White House political strategists, all without having to bring out their big gun, the president, with his down-home, I’m-so-sincere, boyish face, and, the now-famous, good-ol-boy, aw-shucks grin, both of which are political tools of great value to him, but only if not over-used….. Right now, they’ve got a few of the sidekicks out in the limelight, after his speech over the weekend, making up stuff and carrying on with all the talking points and deliberate manipulations, all orchestrated in Mr. Snowden’s absence….. one I hope he continues to maintain, as it is the ONLY hope he has of surviving the future (….Ironically enough, in a case of Life imitating Life, this is a problem ALL OF US are going to have in the very near future…. that of running out of any hope of surviving the future, when the very air we breathe will be toxic to us….)


After seeing this story, and taking into account the other stories in response to the president’s speech about the nonexistent changes he claims he wants to make to the NSA mission (I mean, look closely at what he said…. He isn’t changing ANYTHING of any significance…..), I think it would be safe to predict that in the next few days and weeks, we will hear more fabrications and implications, with or without any actual evidence, about Mr. Snowden, as the administration continues to distract and defuse, hoping that if they stall long enough, something else will come up to take the public’s awareness from their spying, and put it back in the closet, or sweep it under the rug, where they keep all the other stuff they don’t want us to see or know, about what they are REALLY doing behind our backs….


(Note from February…. I personally think they’re hoping for another idiot to steal a gun and shoot up a mall, or a school somewhere, which always takes all the public’s attention and focuses it on their unreasonable fears for a couple of weeks….But, then, I’m pretty convinced of their complete lack of any human compassion, anyway, so, my concerns reflect my belief in their human nature, and their lack of any sort of virtue that would make them tell the truth, or espouse an agenda that benefits anyone but themselves….)


You can bet on that, ffolkes, for sure…. They’re not going to stop lying, just because they’ve been caught at it…. They’ll only get more bold with it…. It’s the way they’re built, they can’t, and won’t, help it…. There’s no profit in it for them to give up, is there? And, profit is what they are all about, when it comes down to the bottom line…. Profit for their self-interests, which are, to them, more important than the whole rest of the human race…..


As Lily Tomlin’s character, Edith Ann, used to say, when she was done making her brilliantly simple observations of people’s foibles…., “And that’s the Truth! THPPPPT!”


“Plausibility is the morality of fiction.” — Edith Mirrilees


Monthly update: The administration’s silence on the NSA spying issues continues to this date…. I’ve seen only one article in the past month on the subject, and it was merely a rehash of this information, with no real new developments reported…. They’re letting it go as long as they can without bringing any of it up themselves, so as to give the public, which has a notoriously SHORT attention span, a chance to forget all about it….. Good luck on that, dudes….


😉


I’ll be here, and I’ll be reprinting this, or a fresher version, either in a month, or, before that, if and/or when new statements are forthcoming from the potUS, or one of his myrmidons….. (Unless, of course, they decide to stop me…. That would be the ONLY reason I wouldn’t be posting a month from now…. in which case, you’d no doubt read about all the dead feds in the news, if they can count that high…. I don’t intend to go, shall we say, quietly? We shall say it….)


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I am going with a poem of my own, simply because I’m too lazy to go find one by somebody else…. Deal with it…. Here is one I wrote not so long ago that came out pretty well….




A dream, weeping….


“Never a dull moment to spare”, he said

with a crooked grin, and a broad wink.

“Can’t keep Reality hanging by a thread….

what would Chaos, or Entropy think?”


So, we plucked up our dreams of old,

to carry us on, in dutiful, strong arms,

stuffed a candle in the remaining fold,

for luck, and perfect proof against charms.


Storms follow the sun,  but, never stay; 

lessons round every corner, all free.

Past fleeting doubts, in a sad disarray,

the journey becomes the reason to be.


Simple kindness manifests untold riches,

in defiance of common cause’s demise.

Bold courage, hanging in stitches,

mends wounds that come as no surprise.


Still, waters run deep, ’tis said by many.

Too much pain cannot apprehend

the salient, sharp points of epiphany,

nor, plainly, to wisdom aspire to pretend.


Folly dogs even the simplest truth,

fumes of toxic ignorance and bile,

alienated as a loose rotten tooth;

it often hides itself, for a long while.


Sought after eons ago, we cried out,

to believe, to suffer no more doubt.

But found instead good reason,

for love, and truth, from season, to season.


~~ gigoid ~~




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What we have here is a somewhat loose old-school pearl, without a single parameter one could put their finger on…. But, it still manages to leave one with the feeling they’ve learned SOMETHING, so, I guess it works okay…. Just don’t use this one for any treatises or essays, as it isn’t definite enough in its sincerity to provide unassailable proof, of anything other than my own strangeness….


“Both Empedocles and Heraclitus held it for a truth that man could not be altogether cleared from injustice in dealing with beasts as he now does.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Which are the most crafty, Water or Land Animals? 7


“Let yourself be open and life will be easier.  A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable.  A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.” — Buddha


“Each time that Americans hold another election, about the only thing they learn is that they did not learn much from the last election.” — Smart Bee


“Goodness is beauty in its best estate.” — Marlowe


“The bear and Carl lived together in the cave for several years until, one day, the true savagery of Nature being unleashed, Carl killed the bear and ate him.” — Gary Larson


“How many northern Californians does it take to change a light bulb?” “None of your f***ing business and have a nice day.” — Smart Bee


“Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts.” — Albert Einstein


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Okay, that will do. If not, well, we’ll just go to plan B, and make our way to the nearest transit station, where we will board the next shuttle to Mars, or Venus, or the Asteroid Colonies, there to drown our disappointment and sorrows in a ration of their homemade whiskey…. Or, I may just go on back to bed, and try this again tomorrow…. Yeah, that sounds like the ticket…. See y’all then, ffolkes….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….