In my left ear, sir….

Posted on August 15, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Pearls should…

Long, deep thoughts always

bring truth to the eyes of man,

and light into dark.

~~ gigoid ~~

Today’s Pearl will be, to some extent, similar to the above picture, in that, the participants of the activity recorded are having as much, or more, fun, than those who are observing and recording…. Now, it’s true, such a statement only takes into account such factors as how much fun it is to watch others work, how much the elephant enjoys being sprayed, but, has no clue as to whether or not the guy washing the beast is gay, straight, or in-between… Of course, the latter has nothing at all to do with anything, but, it was shocking enough to get your attention, wasn’t it?….

Just a little trick to open up…. sort of like the old pull a coin from the ear trick, but, with letters…. None of what is included in the above paragraph had any particular meaning, or significance; it was all a set-up for the punch line…. I also know that it is currently considered a faux pas to use gays, lesbians, or other alternative choice adherents as the butt, or even the subject, of any sort of joke…. I guess they’re too sensitive? I don’t know, and don;t care; it’s a fucking joke, ffolkes, so get over it…. Nobody here is laughing at gays; I laugh at those who are afraid of them, or hate them, as I know, for a FACT, it is usually because of their own fear of feeling attracted to the same sex that prompts them to be cruel or stupid.

I didn’t mean, actually, to get into anything so controversial right off; in fact, I was trying to figure out how to tell y’all I was just going to re-blog an older post…. then, I sort of fell into this discussion, whereupon I decided I was up, so I may as well Pearl…. So be it….

I don’t know where this will end up; I do know we won’t be targeting any hapless LGBT enthusiasts in any of our rants, as I figure they don’t need any help from me…. The last twenty or thirty years of constant societal interaction has brought the issues to a head, and, in the process, has made veteran activists out of many people who otherwise would never have even thought about it…. There is still a long way to go, as there are a LOT of ignorant people out there, none of whom care to admit their ignorance, or try to learn anything new, but, the tide has turned in society, and the forces of ignorance are currently in full retreat from their position of intransigence regarding sexuality…

This isn’t saying I won’t support them, I’m just not devoting this entire Pearl to their issues…. In fact, I haven’t a clue as to what issues we may touch upon, but, it’s not going to be that one…. unless, of course, some headline jumps up, grabs me by the eyes, and says, “here, look at THIS!”…. It’s been known to happen…. I think I’m beginning to unravel here….

It’s probably best if I stop here, and get on with the rest of today’s effort…. I’m getting further and further away from any sort of coherency in this section; we’d be better off to get on to the next….. This means, naturally, since we are so firmly entrenched in this, we’ll need to apply another emergency exit strategy, in order to return to any semblance of dignified competence…. Not that such is anything like normal around here, but, we do try to maintain a certain level of protocol and tradition, even if it constantly blows up in our faces….. Who knew Murphy was allergic to protocol?….. Not me….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Belief gets in the way of learning.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

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

After reading the following diatribe-style pearl, it is clear that two pearls are necessary to start it off with the correct frame of mind…. anything less would be hazardous to your mental health….

“Perhaps I know why it is man alone who laughs: He alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“Kids, don’t gross me off.. “Adventures with MENTAL HYGIENE” can be carried too FAR!” — Zippy the Pinhead

When I first began today, I had intended to re-blog an older post, and still may use something from the archives….. for now though, I’ve collected another set of links to articles that continue to explore the problems we have in society that are leading us to our extinction, more rapidly than we are willing to admit…. there are only three articles, but, the two issues covered are, perhaps, two of the more serious issues we face, to wit: climate change, and the effects of racism on modern society (that racism, as I see it, is the primary contributing factor behind the militarization of the police forces in this country, as well as around the world….)

If you don’t think I’m being accurate, or that the police forces around America aren’t becoming militarized, allow me to provide you with some Art that clearly indicates what I mean…. The picture you see (which has been used in a number of sites and reports…. I believe it’s an Associated Press picture….) shows the county police in Ferguson, Missouri, during one of the community protests over the shooting of an unarmed civilian…. This, ffolkes, is how the modern police force is views the public they allegedly serve…… as their enemy….. After looking at the picture, read the two articles, which, of course, are from a European news outlet…. our own news companies won’t talk very much about the issue…. Oh, they’re reporting on it, but, they don’t even MENTION any of the military style equipment or tactics, except in passing….

These yahoos are in a small town in central Missouri, but, by their dress and equipment, you would think they were about to be attacked by armed Jihadi forces in another country…. And, let me ask you this….. are these guys going to carry around all those neat battle toys, and not want to USE them? Just a thought, as it seems to me, they would WANT to see what all their new stuff can do…. I mean, just LOOK at all that weaponry, the armored assault vehicle, the radar or sonic weaponry, the battle helmets, armored vests, automatic rifles, sharpshooters…. it’s a regular assault force there….

Also, just what IS that thing on top of the battle truck? I believe it is a targeting device for some sort of automatic weaponry, or possibly for rockets?…. I’m not currently up-to-date on weapons tech; I just know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to see ANY of these articles of war deployed against our own citizenry…. You think? Okay, read the articles, then tell me if you disagree with any of this….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/14/obama-ferguson-police-excessive-force-michael-brown

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/14/ferguson-cops-military-weapons-michael-brown-shooting-protests

“…witnessed teargas being shot directly at a camera crew with al-Jazeera America. Photographs later showed police officers dismantling al-Jazaeera’s broadcasting equipment after the crew fled. ”

Now, of course, we see why the American news reporters are reluctant to write about what the police are doing…. The people who would report on them are being targeted; in the article you will see where the county police arrested two reporters in a fast food restaurant, then released them only because the chief of police intervened…. Do you think maybe the reporters are getting a bit leery of making the police the subject of their writing? I certainly do; they’re human, and aren’t going to put themselves at risk if they can avoid it….

Next comes something about the issue of climate change, from one of my favorite columnists, who always has an even-handed, insightful approach to such issues…. I’m giving up now, as the picture above tends to send my outrage through the roof…. After that, if I start in on this issue, I’ll overload, and possibly end up in bed again from exhaustion…. Not going there, believe me…. Instead, after you enjoy Mr. Carroll’s words, I’ll put together an old-school pearl, to try to soothe my fevered brow….

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/Tons-of-methane-tons-of-garbage-What-fun-5684628.php

Okay, lets see if I can work off some of this angst with some pearls that shoot in the direction of the Asininnies….

“Teach a parrot the terms “supply and demand” and you’ve got an economist.” — Thomas Carlyle

“We haven’t the time to take our time.” — Eugene Ionesco

“The difference between a lawyer and a rooster, is that the rooster gets up in the morning and clucks defiance.” — Smart Bee

“A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” — Robert Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“A very ancient and fish-like smell.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Tempest — Act ii, Sc. 2

“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school…” — Paul Simon

(Okay, so, it makes more sense when the next line is included….)

“It’s a wonder I can think at all….” – Paul Simon

Well…. It seems that seven stars don’t quite cut it…. we’ll need to expand to nine…. hold on, we’ll find two more, & be done with it…..

“The award for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan. During an impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to “expand oyster and clam research,” a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan…..
DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are having to artificially propagate oysters and clams.
HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature’s oysters?
DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter is that female oysters through their living habits cast out large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large amounts of fertilization…
HOFFMAN: Wait a minute! I do not want to go into that. There are many teenagers who read The Congressional Record.”

— Smart Bee

“There is no freedom without the power to defend it.”– Smart Bee

Close enough…..

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

First posted on 10/24/2012:

“What do you want me to do? Say it again in worse English?” — Robert Frost, when asked about the meaning of one of his poems.

A Late Walk

When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.

~~ Robert Frost ~~

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

Rather than try any more to do what I cannot do, I’m going to the archives, for a piece I wrote a couple of years ago that seems to fit in with my mood today, if not my subject matter under discussion…. I guess, all in all, this one’s got a bit of a lot of things in it…. Enjoy, please….

From 10/27/2012:

“I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word I am saying.” — Oscar Wilde

AOL!….. LOL…. “AOL!” is hacker slang for “me, too!”, patterned after the typical AOL user’s response to a witty statement in a chat room…. in this case, I can honestly say that Oscar and I have this in common, especially the part about not understanding a word I’m saying….. I would say that puts me in some pretty good company, what?….

“The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson.” — Smart Bee

Oscar once made a statement that ran parallel to this one, as well. It is a hard lesson for all of us to learn, but, it is one of those common pieces of natural law that affect all of us at one time or another in our lives. Life, like the physical universe, just doesn’t care whether or not we are ready for an experience, it just happens. It is our own reaction to that which determines whether or not we are able to cope with the experience, and learn from it, or whether it buries us…. an all-too-common fate. It’s a tough room, as the comedian said….

“If you’re smoking after sex then you’re going *WAY* too fast!” — Smart Bee

This is not a perfect segue into the next item for discussion, since I’m a) not sure what that was, and b) this wasn’t it, but it does exemplify what I like to call the “silly factor”, an offshoot effect of the natural bozoid tendencies that all of us humans possess as members of this silly species…. Murphy’s Law is merely an observation, but is one that could only be made by our species (even though I’ve noted that other species, that associate with us, can sometimes be pulled into Murphy’s influence, to do his bidding, and occasionally, to act as co-victims….), because he takes full advantage of our tendencies toward bozoid behavior, to set traps for us; traps that cannot, and never do, fail to catch us unawares.

“I sometimes think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Even if one considers that God did not exceed his capabilities when making Man, he certainly made a rush job of it, and left certain design characteristics out of the final production, facets that would have gone a long way toward making this world a lot more pleasant a place than it has turned out to be, with Man in his current foolish state. Ah well, it just goes to show that one shouldn’t depend on a notion like creationism to provide us with excuses for our behavior….. accepting that kind of indulgences, or even assuming it, has obviously led us to the state of affairs we now face in the world, as the great majority of people continue to behave just as if they had the right to use the universe as they choose, rather than as they should do as moral creatures….

“Instead of being born again, why not just grow up?” — Smart Bee

That about says it all, don’t you think? Mankind would be far better off if we all decided to act as grown-ups, rather than clinging to the ages-old fantasies that have put us in this position. Only a child acts without regard to consequences; our species has been refusing to grow beyond that avaricious stage for millennia now, and the world is showing the deleterious effects of that sense of entitlement. We cannot continue to treat this planet as our toy, to be used and discarded like it was some piece of manufactured plastic, or we will most certainly suffer the very real consequences of that foolish attitude.

“Morals today are corrupted by our worship of riches.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

In spite of all the massive quantities of evidence that it is harmful, we continue to pump millions of tons of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere every minute of every day…. the effect of that on the balanced ecology of the planet is reaching a critical flash point, and may already be at a point from which there is no turning back…. This is FACT, not supposition….. but, the world carries on, certain that we may depend on the same old idea, that we are invulnerable, and not subject to the laws of nature…. a sincerely stupid idea at best…. It is almost enough to make one want to tear hair out and start shooting…. but, unfortunately, there isn’t enough ammunition to shoot all the folks who need to be shot, and it’s probably too late now, anyway….. Besides, who wants to be the one who has to decide who to shoot first? (I do! I do!…. which just proves that we humans can’t handle that sort of godly decisiveness….)

“All the secrets we may be able to keep from any and every god and human being do not in the least absolve us from the obligation to refrain from whatever actions are greedy, unjust, sensual, or otherwise immoderate.” — Cicero, On Duties

It’s really too bad that this idea never caught on…. oh, many folks learned to use it, to lie to the rest of us, but, in reality, nobody ever really does this, they just say they do….. It kind of makes one wonder whether we deserve to keep living, doesn’t it? Well, it makes ME wonder…. with not a little bit of sadness, for our species holds such promise…. a promise we have never learned to keep….

“It is only the superficial qualities that last. Man’s deeper nature is soon found out.” — Oscar Wilde

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

Well, ffolkes, it’s done; I wasn’t completely sure I would be able to get it to this point when I started, and, half-way through, I almost gave up again…. I think we can mark this one down under the “Serendipity” category tab, as I don’t know how to explain it any other way…. I’m only guessing here, but, I think proofing would be superfluous at this point, so, off we go to post…. See y’all tomorrow, given half a chance….

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

Soliciting salsa for the homeless….

Posted on August 12, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“An Irishman is not drunk

as long as he can hang onto a single blade of grass

and not fall off the face of the earth.”

~~ Irish “wisdom” ~~

One might think I’d lost my mind, if there were not already ample proof of that having happened more than a decade in the past…. Yes, I know the quote is Irish wisdom (such as it is… it’s honest, anyway, right?….), and the statue is a figure study of Robert “Robbie” Burns, a Scot, and damn proud of it…. as the tartan scarf and tam o’shanter demonstrate so clearly. (I wonder, though…. I didn’t check to see if the plaid is the correct one for the Clan Burns, or if it is a statement of some kind, that only another Scotsman would comprehend…. Ah well, one of life’s little mysteries, I suppose….)

Arguably, such an obvious juxtaposition might be considered an error, or the result of ignorance…. Nope, not in this case…. it’s just my little poke at the concept of nationalism, one of the nastiest mental diseases suffered by mankind…. In today’s world, in fact, the disease is threatening, again, to set England and Scotland at odds, with an election coming up soon where the Scots will vote on whether to remain part of Britain’s commonwealth, or go independent, as Northern Ireland did from the rest of the island….

It’s all a social/political/nationalistic mess, complicated by thousands of years of antagonism, periodic outbreaks of violence, and the insistence on maintaining a divisiveness, emphasizing all their cultural differences, rather than seeking to build a community united with a common purpose, comprised of the English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh, all of whom claim their own little corners of the British Isles….

If countries who basically speak the same language, and have shared cultural characteristics for thousands of years cannot learn to live together peacefully, what chance do those which don’t speak similarly have? Very little, I should think, and made even more doubtful when one considers how the average human being is getting dumber over time….

That little fact is not very well known, but, is none the less true for it…. It is a mathematical certainty, demonstrable by equations which show the process in humans, describing how, every year, with every new birth to one of the BILLIONS of souls crowding this planet, humans are becoming less intelligent, on average…. It is a function of the extremely high number of people, and the effect that has on the average…. I won’t trouble you with the figures now, but, trust me, they exist, and are incontrovertible…

That is part of the problem…. Nationalism is what could be called an “attractive nuisance” (well, I consider it that, even if our BRC doesn’t….) for people…. Throughout history, people have fallen for the foolish lies told by politicians, who have an agenda that doesn’t jibe too closely with what most people want, but know how to make their lies attractive to the ignorant, by playing into their fears, and manipulating their emotions…. with the end result you have large groups of brainwashed people who will fanatically throw themselves into battle to “protect” their lifestyle, without ever really understanding why they would do so….

Ah well…. I see I’ve stumbled again, and began ranting in the intro…. probably a result of being up late, and still a bit groggy…. I’ll quit now, and let this argument pass into history, as one more incidence of the secret to life getting passed over, and tossed away before anyone in the human race even knew they were holding it in their hands….. SIGH…. I love my country, but I sure hate the people who have usurped the control of it, giving it over to the assholes who live only to take advantage of other people, or those who are ignorant enough to be easily controlled by corporate interests… which, these days, is almost anyone with a degree in law, or law enforcement, which is actually what most of the ignorant are attracted to as their vocation….

There I go again, starting up another rant, right in the middle of trying to end one…. Sheesh!…. Oh well, we’re going to have to resort to some pretty drastic measures here, and now, anyway, just to get us out of this intro, where we seem to have become stuck, just as if someone had duct-taped us into our seats…. Hell, maybe they did, when I wasn’t looking…. Oh well, let’s just do this….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Many things do not happen as they ought. Most things do not happen at all. It is for the conscientious historian to correct these defects.” — Herodotus

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

Since I have already used up my stored-up angst with the rant above, this article no longer seems so important to note…. When I read it, I saw a couple of statements that could have begun the process of creating some outrage in me, but, now, they’re just part of what is obviously a set piece, designed to fill space with information that only serves to obscure the actual issue, which is that ALL of them are lying, and spying, and cheating on their oaths of office… Feinstein, Obama, the CIA, the Supreme’s, Congress, damn near every one of them, save a couple individuals, they are all more concerned with maintaining their own status quo than with anything the public might need, or want.

This faux fight, described here as a bipartisan issue, at the core, is actually all a distraction from what they don’t want the public to realize, which is NOTHING has stopped, NOTHING has changed; the spying that WAS happening is still happening; the torture is a piece of that whole arena of paranoid overcompensation that so delights our leaders, as it provides a constant source of spin for them.

They can talk, and talk, and talk about how they’ll reform the NSA, and shut down Guantanamo Bay, and get us out of all of our illegal wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else we are currently dropping bombs… Oh, yeah, Iran, or wherever those ISIS rebels are chasing the Kurds, who we were chasing a few years ago…. Now, of course, since we’re not, but, some of our enemies are, we will be sending them weapons, so they can fight back…. Of course, Putin’s Russian government, with their own set of corrupt, self-serving Asininnies, but with a Russian accent, will be arming the ISIS group, so it will all balance out, right? Sure….

Does any of this make any sense to you? It sure doesn’t make any to me, and I’m pretty smart… Read the article, then go wash up, ffolkes, & we’ll talk shortly about the second headline for today…. Believe me, you will WANT to wash up after wading through so much BS….

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Feinstein-winning-fight-with-CIA-Obama-over-5679304.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

Next we have an article about the woman who was videotaped while being beaten by a California Highway Patrol officer, on the side of the road, the tape being shot by a passing motorist on their cell phone…. It was a pretty brutal video; this officer really went off on this poor woman, who was, at the time of the attack, homeless, and in the throes of a psychotic episode, brought on by the stress of living on the streets…. The officer, of course, is being protected by the Blue Wall of police solidarity…. It’s a sad situation, one that is, unfortunately, all to representative of the current state of affairs between the police and the public, both here, and around the world….

Again, I won’t rant, but, I do need to say this…. All of this stuff we see every day in the news is symptomatic, of a culture that is dying…. Just about any competent historian can tell you how many of the controversial or shocking things we see each day are merely indications of the stress that daily life puts on each and every one of society’s members, and can be shown to have a direct correlation, and similarity to, historical events that preceded the fall of more than just one civilization…. The signs we see now are indicative of a culture that no longer looks to the future, but is desperately trying to maintain the status quo…. Sorry, but, LIFE, and the UNIVERSE, don’t operate like that, so, we can either change, or die….

Maybe I’m wrong, but, since my track record on such predictions is pretty good, I’d say we, as a species, are in big trouble, ffolkes, and our day of reckoning with Mother Nature is not far away…. Go ahead, read the article, clean up again, (for you WILL feel a bit soiled afterward….), and then come back, for an old-school pearl designed to make us all feel better, by reaching out for some radical silly…. I don’t know about y’all, but, after all such discussions, I always feel better for allowing myself to engage in a bit of silly….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/APNewsBreak-LA-woman-punched-by-patrolman-speaks-5680552.php

“When attempting to predict and forecast macro-economic moves of economic legislation by a politician, never be misled by what he says; instead — watch what he does.” — Smart Bee

“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” — Thomas Jefferson

“History doesn’t repeat itself — historians merely repeat each other.” — First Rule of History

“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” — Francis Bacon

“A lot of people voting for Pat Buchanan say they are doing so to send a message. Apparently that message is, Hey, look at me, I’m an idiot.” — Dennis Miller

“[History] hath triumphed over time, which besides it nothing but eternity hath triumphed over.” — Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) — Historie of the World, Preface

“Don’t look now, but the man in the moon is laughing at you.” — Smart Bee

Hmm…. well, it looks as if, somehow, I confused Smart Bee, because there is more sardonic in there than there is silly…. But, they all seem to fit, sort of, with the theme, so, we’ll let it fly, and get on with the rest of today’s effort, which, thus far, has been going just about as slowly as I can make it go….. SIGH…. This is only to be expected, as I am up late, in pain, and have yet to hear from Murphy…. which means he has something really special planned for me today….

Oh, joy…..

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

Sorry if I seem to go here a lot, but, I need some Emily D…..

Delight becomes pictorial
When viewed through pain,–
More fair, because impossible
That any gain.

The mountain at a given distance
In amber lies;
Approached, the amber flits a little,–
And that’s the skies!

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

That doesn’t seem to be enough; we’ll have another, if you please…..

______________________

Death sets a thing significant
The eye had hurried by,
Except a perished creature
Entreat us tenderly

To ponder little workmanships
In crayon or in wool,
With “This was last her fingers did,”
Industrious until

The thimble weighed too heavy,
The stitches stopped themselves,
And then ‘t was put among the dust
Upon the closet shelves.

A book I have, a friend gave,
Whose pencil, here and there,
Had notched the place that pleased him,–
At rest his fingers are.

Now, when I read, I read not,
For interrupting tears
Obliterate the etchings
Too costly for repairs.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

Ahhh…. that’s better…..

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

As I noted somewhere above, I’m a bit late today, so this last section with be put together as fast as I can do it; this may lead to an unforeseen result, so, be warned…. This pearl may be like no other…. It is essentially parameter-free, as well as, most likely, judgment impaired…. Oh, well, at least I’m not getting paid for any of this….

“I do not distinguish by the eye, but by the mind, which is the proper judge of the man.” — Seneca (8 BC) — On a Happy Life, 2, (L’Estrange’s Abstract, Chap, i.)

“Old men are dangerous; it does not matter to them what is going to happen to the world.” — George Bernard Shaw

“There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit.” — Alexander Pope

“I like people better than principles, and I like people with no principles better than anything else in the world.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

“No matter how hard you throw a dead fish in the water, it still won’t swim.” — Smart Bee

“Fortune is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 274

“I’ve got an IDEA!! Why don’t I STARE at you so HARD, you forget your SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I gotta say, that went well….

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

I have done all the damage I can do for now, to this, and to myself…. Don’t make me come out there and do it to you!….. Actually, there’s little danger of that, now, isn’t there? It sounds cool, though, and does have the bonus effect of really throwing a wrench into everyone’s sense of reality…. I’m only glad to be of help….. On that nearly psychotic note, I’m outta here until tomorrow, ffolkes…. See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

No glue, Ignatius, but, lots of duct tape…

Posted on August 10, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal

with the intent of throwing it at someone else;

you are the one who gets burned.”

~~ Buddha ~~

“All anger arises from obstructed desire.” — Bhagavad Gita

If, in the interests of full and complete examination, these two ideas may be considered to both be true, we find ourselves, in at least one very real sense, in possession of a key ingredient of real happiness, and true inner peace, or peace of mind, however one wishes to describe it. I find it interesting to note that, even though both of these ideas come from different religious doctrines, at different times in history, while from basically the same relative part of the world…. Yet, history itself, given the violent nature of most of it, seems to indicate that practically no one pays any attention to either of them, at least, not on the world stage….

Oh, I know what you’re thinking, that there are millions of good people out there in the world, smart, compassionate people, who try to live good lives, to be productive, and happy…. But, there is another part of humanity, who pays no attention at all to any sort of compassion, acting at all times in such a way as to manipulate & control others, to achieve their own agendas for happiness, which do not take anyone else into consideration at all. These people have no compunction about lying, or cheating, or resorting to violence to achieve those ends, especially when they can do so with societal sanction, such as in a police force, or in the army, where the science of killing is refined, ever to be at the command of those in positions of power….

I’m not sure exactly why the beautiful flower I found on my walk the other day should stimulate such a depressing philosophical discussion first thing, even though it IS the day before today, meaning I started this yesterday afternoon, when the ideas occurred to me…. I intended at first to approach the two quotes, which speak of anger from two directions, according to how they applied to myself, and how I deal with anger….

I’ve known the quote from the Bhagavad Gita, spoken by Krishna to Arjuna, since I was quite young; it played a significant part in molding my personality, as I took it to heart, as a way to control my own temper, which has always been, and remains, in a word, fierce…. Until I learned to handle it, there were a lot of occasions when it got away from me… Learning this concept, and the implication (to wit: anger can be controlled by simply changing what you want, without keeping any emotional attachment to the discarded desire….), helped me to become a better person, in my own mind; the other quote, from the Buddha, describes what anger that is NOT controlled can do….

That is another point the Buddha’s quote acknowledges, which is that anger will always be with us, part of us as humans; I can attest, there are times when knowing how to control the anger doesn’t get rid of it, entirely. It’s simply too powerful an emotion sometimes to dismiss out of hand, and must be consciously addressed to keep from bursting out on the rest of reality, an effect which, as we all know, can have disastrous effects…. I know this…. in my youth, there were times I failed to fully keep my anger inside, which caused a distinct and sudden spike in the number of casualties flooding emergency rooms all over town…

Not really…. I’m not really an ogre, but, I can be a nasty boy when aroused, and don’t like myself much whenever it happens…. So, I’ve always tried to avoid getting close to the edge when it comes to anger…. It just hurts others, and then I feel bad… and why? Because I was afraid I wouldn’t have a desire met? Not good, karma-wise, I should think…. Better, and easier, as I discovered when I first heard the idea, to just CHANGE WHAT YOU WANT…. If we don’t get overly attached to those wants, it doesn’t bother us as much when they’re not met, and life becomes much more pleasant, all the way around…

Pretty simple, eh? Simple enough, one might think even the slowest among us could learn to use the technique, to be able to change what they want, to something they are able, or at least, more likely to be able to achieve at some time…. And, if not, well, we aren’t so attached to having our own way we need to get upset about it…. Easy peasy, but, will anyone do it? Nope, not that I’ve seen….

This simple idea, of how to avoid anger, must be too complicated for anyone whose mind is capable of studying law, or needs to get elected, or becomes a ~~grifter~~, er, preacher, in order to foist upon society a set of persistent delusions about supernatural forces controlling our lives, thus dividing humans from each other with dogma…. because none of them seem to get it. None of these people seem to get the simple fact of reality, that keeps hitting us in the face, whenever we try to ignore it…

We are responsible for what we do… all of it. The good, the bad, the ugly, all of it is on us, but, most people not only don’t believe that, they actively work to pretend it isn’t so, refusing to listen to any arguments against what they believe, or look at any evidence that disputes their contentions…. In short, most people are…. well, I’m not sure just WHAT they are…. There are elements in our species of ignorance, of stupidity, of cowardice, of actual evil, in a great many people…. But, it is also true that right alongside all of these qualities, there exists so much beauty, created by the hand and mind of Man, it can make our hearts ache just to see it….

Unless ALL of us take responsibility for our actions, Reality is going to exact a price, for allowing the darker sides of our nature gain precedence over that which connects us to the whole of the universe. There is a lot to be said for the Star Wars vision of a universal Force, that connects all living, and non-living parts of Reality, which is there to be utilized, if only we can perceive it…. I suppose the trick is to figure out whether or not the vision can be made real enough to save our asses before it is too late…. No way to tell at this point, but, it doesn’t look good, ffolkes, not at the moment…..

Well, hell…. This turned out to be enough for three entire Pearls, and we haven’t even worked our way out of the intro section…. Huh…. Imagine that…. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to take things as they come, and deal…. Let’s go see what other damage I can do today, right?….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.” — Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm (1844-1900)

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

I believe the rant in the intro might give people the wrong impression, so, here is a piece from the archives which might make things a bit clearer….. Don’t fret, it’s not too long…. I know I got carried away above, but, I’ll try to keep it efficiently sized from this point onward…. Enjoy!….

From 5/18/2012:

“It may be irrational of me, but human beings are quite my favorite species.” — Doctor Who, Ark in Space

It probably seems to most folks reading this blog that I don’t like people very much. I tend to spend a lot of time finding and pointing out the things I see in them that I don’t like, and discussing them at nearly interminable length, which would seem to indicate a lack of affection for the species as a whole. In reality, the opposite is true…. I love people… I love watching them, listening to them, thinking about them, writing about them…. they afford me no end of intellectual stimulation, entertaining comedic genius, and fertile fields of thought and endeavor to explore, virtually and actually.

Human society and culture is an incredibly beautiful, complex tapestry of emotion and creativity; nobility, cruelty, heroes, villains, puppies, cats, love, hate, and all the rest of the things that make people what they are unfolds before us every day, growing and adding length and breadth to that tapestry of existence. I can’t think of anything more interesting than the drama/comedy that is human history in the making….

I might wish it to be a more compassionate world, with less tyranny and oppression, without slavery and starvation. I might wish that my life would not be so complicated by ignorance and intolerance, and I might wish that the small percentage of humanity that holds the remainder in the grip of their own avarice would die horrible deaths worthy of their own evil natures.

But, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Nor would I say that any of these changes are particularly apt to happen without many more people in the world taking an interest in them; most folks just go through life trying to get by, and not be bothered with anything more complicated, and one can’t really blame them, bless their cowardly little hearts…. My own method of dealing with how much I’d like to see reality change is to write about what I see, and what I think can be different, with the right set of attitudes.

This desire to see the changes arises out of my love for my fellow man, not from indignation or outrage, though they are present. But what I write, and what I’m trying to accomplish, is to help folks deal with life in a way that allows them more freedom, of whatever kind they wish to have, whether monetary, intellectual, religious, or physical; my motivation is to share the strength and freedom of thought that I have sought so hard to achieve… Mankind has much more potential than we are exhibiting, and I would love to see more of it fulfilled, rather than stifled, as in current society…. we can be so much more…..

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.” — Albert Einstein

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

It could be said that Emily Dickinson’s entire life was spent exploring the power and nuance of metaphor, without sounding too idiotic…. I think her work, all those little pieces of truth in different words, are a constant attempt by her mind to impose some kind of an order upon the universe, according to her own artistic perception of it…. However one chooses to describe what she wrote, it remains exactly what it is, and what it has always been…. bloody brilliant….

A narrow fellow in the grass
Occasionally rides;
You may have met him,–did you not,
His notice sudden is.

The grass divides as with a comb,
A spotted shaft is seen;
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on.

He likes a boggy acre,
A floor too cool for corn.
Yet when a child, and barefoot,
I more than once, at morn,

Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash
Unbraiding in the sun,–
When, stooping to secure it,
It wrinkled, and was gone.

Several of nature’s people
I know, and they know me;
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality;

But never met this fellow,
Attended or alone,
Without a tighter breathing,
And zero at the bone.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” — Mark Twain

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/08/05/dianne-feinstein-says-cia-trying-to-hide-facts-in-torture-report/

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/GOP-millionaire-Munger-behind-Dem-vs-Dem-smear-5669862.php#photo-3650012

http://blog.sfgate.com/fiore/2014/08/06/camp-do-nuttin-recess-for-congress/

Originally, I had collected these articles in order to rant on them…. but, I fell into the introductory rant…. Now, I don’t need these to provide me with any outrage, though each of them, in their own way, is infuriating, as one more example of how egregiously asinine are those who are now infesting our government…. I like that word, infesting…. it seems perfectly appropriate for describing how the pundits and talking heads all run around D.C. flapping their mouths and pointing their fingers, making enough noise to scare the dead, all while never getting any closer to the truth, or reality, than they feel they must…. about as useful as a handful of fleas….

It may seem as if I am ranting, but, this is merely the explanation of how it is going to go…. I’m leaving the links, as I think you should go ahead and read the articles…. Doing so may start your own rant, or, perhaps just the urge to do so…. Together, these articles, which are, sadly, representations of what is real in this world, make a statement that clearly gives a picture of today’s society, and how UGLY it has become…. I need to go find me some beauty, just to counteract the effect of all this on me this morning…. Before I do that, here is a group of fresh pearls, taking some shots at my favorite targets…. politicians, preachers, and the Asininnies at large…..

“Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.”~~ G. K. Chesterton,The Speaker, 12/15/00

“Sensors show a moron in this sector, Captain.” — Spock, after running sensors on the White House….

“When one rows, it is not the rowing which moves the ship. Rowing is only a magical ceremony by means of which, one compels a demon to move the ship.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

(Gee…. this sounds just like that press conference when Obama told us how the NSA was NOT spying on US citizens….)

“Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime.” — Jacob Bronowski “The Sense of Human Dignity,”

“Paranoia is only the leading edge of the discovery that everything in the world is connected.” — Smart Bee

“To tell a falsehood is like the cut of a saber; for though the wound may heal, the scar of it will remain.” — Saadi (1184-1291)

(I can see your scars, and I can show you mine….)

“Imagine, if you will, that I am an idiot. Then, imagine that I am also a Congressman. But, alas, I repeat myself.” — Mark Twain

I love ending a pearl with one such as that one from Sam, which might just be the most perfect of all American political pokes…. Twain was, indeed, a master of the subtle jab to the ribs, especially when the target was an elected official…. Not bad for such a crowded morning….

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

Well…. In the last few weeks, I’ve written a lot; some of these Pearls are breaking over 3500 words. Some of it has been some pretty good work, too, from what I can tell…. SIGH…. Now, if I could get, oh, say, a couple hundred THOUSAND more ffolkes to drop in to read it, we might just get this message out to some of the people who need to see and/or hear it…. That, unfortunately, isn’t going to happen, not right away, so, I may as well just get on with my day…. Today has some potential, so, I’m going to go meet it, head on….. 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

Some new bruising along the jaw….

Posted on August 9, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“As the saying is, I have got a wolf by the ears.”

~~ Terence (185-159 BC) ~~

Today’s opening pearl is perfectly descriptive of how I feel…. I just don’t have it today…. I thought, yesterday, when I chose the picture, I could use its energy to stimulate something about which to write. Just look at the face of that young lioness cub, and the pose her mother assumes…. That is one boisterous child, I would guess, and Mama has a hard time keeping up with all the things she wants to get into…. When I first saw it, several years ago, I named the cub “Moxie”, because she looks like she has plenty…. The pic, by the way, was taken from the SFGATE Day in Pictures, many moons ago, and the photographer’s name is right there on it….

As for the wolf, whose ears I am gripping desperately, it may consume me before I can get to this, so, if today’s post never shows up, you’ll know why…. Oh, well, I guess that can’t be true, can it? I always forget about that negative reality shit, you know…. It comes from believing too much in such songs as Jimmy Buffet’s “If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me!”….. If I let go of the wolf’s ears, long enough to type, he/she’s going to turn on me, and in my current state, the outcome would be fairly random, but, I’m pretty sure the wolf would win….. Generally, I’d give myself the edge, but, not today….

Without going into TMI, suffice it to say, I’m not in the best of moods, nor am I feeling particularly humorous or compassionate…. This can make for a strange day, not just for me, but for y’all, as well, as my feelings often crawl aboard whatever I’m creating, whether I wish it or not. It’s just something any artist has to learn, as the creative process can’t happen at all without some contribution of flesh and/or blood from the artist…. It just doesn’t compute, and whatever is created without that is bland, and devoid of any power….

Nonetheless, nothing much of a creative nature is going to come out of THIS head today, so, I’ll be filling in part of today’s effort with something from the archives….. In fact, I have a good idea for a piece, if I can find it….. One of these days, maybe I’ll go back and create an index of the Pearls, so I know which Pearl has what material, but, that won’t happen soon, as I’m not overly concerned with it…. I kind of like the surprises I get whenever I go through the stuff from the past three years or so…. I told you I was easily entertained….

For now, though, I see we’ve made it far enough to call this a wrap, or finished, or whatever little phrase we choose to indicate the end of another intro section, such as it may be…. It probably didn’t live up to the promise that Moxie’s portrait showed, but, it will have to do, as I’m NOT going to do it over…. I do have SOME pride, if only a smidgen…. It keeps me from getting overly strung out about all this, anyway, as I DO have to take responsibility; too much my father’s son, I suppose, to let someone else take the blame…. At any rate, since we’re already here, and ready,…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Heaven embraces the horizon. No matter how jagged the profile,the sky faithfully conforms.” — Deng Ming-Dao

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

“I live by Louis Pasteur’s advice that “Chance favors the prepared mind,” and my own, “The two most common elements in the known universe are hydrogen and stupidity.” — Harlan Ellison

“Dragon? What dragon?” — Famous Last Words

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/08/unsealed-us-sought-permission-change-historical-record-public-court-proceeding

Okay, here’s the deal…. I wasn’t going to rant today; I’m just not ready for it. But, this article set me off, after I received the link in an email from EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an internet watchdog organization, dedicated to keeping the Internet free, and fighting against the illegal use of spying over that internet as being perpetrated upon the public by the NSA, and the asshole politicians who hold their leash…. which has actually been removed, to allow the clandestine spying to take place in every possible illegal fashion….

In this article, you will be shown how the administration, yes, this “transparent” administration, is now so out of control, they believe they have the RIGHT to spy on us, and to lie to us about it…. I’m so pissed off about this one, I CAN’T rant; I’m almost speechless with rage, that the government of this country would go so far as to attempt to lie, in court, and to request the court to not only allow them to lie, but to not tell the other side of the suit against them that they made the request to redact material, AFTER it had already been related….

Such chutzpah! It takes a lot of gall, not to mention disrespect, to lie like that to the very people who elected you…. As it turns out, their paranoid redactions weren’t even necessary, as they hadn’t released the information they believed they had…. but, it served to highlight the lack of respect, the willingness to lie, and the sheer dishonesty that is being displayed, in a number of arenas, by this administration, and by our government at large…. They are not OUR government any longer, ffolkes….. They are off the leash, and out of control, believing they can do ANYTHING they want to do, without fear of consequence….

I don’t know about y’all, but, I’m getting damn tired of being lied to….. Let’s make a pearl, shall we?…. I can’t think of anything better to do with this angst just now, and ranting would just push my blood pressure through the rood again…. Let’s see what Smart Bee can find to help me work some of this off….

“President? President? We don’t need no stinking president.” — Smart Bee

“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.” — Socrates

“Just because information has been published doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be classified.” — Lincoln D. Faurer, NSA director

“Government corruption will always be reported in the past tense.” — The Watergate Principle

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

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful until it became risky.” — C.S. Lewis _The Screwtape Letters_

“Beautify America – Deport Congress!” — Smart Bee

So be it…. gigoid has spoken…..

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

I know, I know, y’all are tired of my stuff, but, I don’t have the time or the energy to seek out anything else this morning, so, oh well…. Deal….. or, do like I do when I’m not feeling up to a poem, and skip down to section three…. I won’t mind….

Relative Cynicism, with Caramel Sauce

Absolute stillness follows violent movement,
it can happen during a downhill race,
as an immovable piece of asphalt pavement
meets the once handsome racer’s face.

Yuk, yuk, yuk said that asshole Moe,
after poking both of Larry’s eyes,
bashing face, head, & crotch of Curly Joe
and only ever got hit with pies.

Lonely moments never really come along
when Murphy’s got us in his sights.
Not for money, love, or siren’s song
will he abrogate his natural rights.

All we can do is sigh, or laugh in pain,
as Life portions out our ration of shit.
Silver linings melt in the slightest rain,
so we may as well learn to live with it.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

“The foolish ask questions that the wise cannot answer.” — Oscar Wilde

Oscar hit the nail with this one, for sure; hell, I’ve been known to do this to myself!…. I gave ample warning of going into the archives for part of today’s Pearl, so, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise…. It’s not exactly a rant, but, more of a discussion of a point made by Gurdijeff, a twentieth century philosopher…. What could be more appropriate, on a day when we are taking pot shots at our Beloved Ruling Class, and the fine mess they’ve gotten us into…. Enjoy, please….

From 5/19/2012:

“If a sufficient number of people who wanted to stop war really did gather together, they would first of all begin by making war upon those who disagreed with them. And it is still more certain that they would make war on people who also want to stop wars but in another way.” — Gurdjieff (1873-1949)

Actually, this is not so much of a predictive statement as an observational one. It certainly matches what I know of much of history, and how little the actual reasons for fighting wars are understood by either those who fight in them, or those who cause them to be fought. Neither of those two groups are mutually inclusive, as well, so the reasons that one group may have, or believe they have, for fighting may be (and probably are…) much different from the other groups reasons, stated or actual.

Now, if I can be any less clear in my meaning, please let me know, because I think that paragraph is pretty well obscured…. What I’m trying to say is, the folks who get talked into fighting wars don’t fight for the same reasons as the folks who asked, or told, them to fight. That is because the folks who end up fighting are the honorable, dedicated men (and women) who believe that they are protecting the people they love. The folks who send them to fight are not as honorable, and their reasons for initiating the conflicts are seldom related to people, but rather to money or power, which is what they love. It is a perverted love, yes, but it is nonetheless the primary motivating factor for those who would have power over others, for money equals power in the reality they inhabit.

Gurdijeff’s statement is, I find, too limited in its scope; it doesn’t account for all the different reasons that people are motivated to fight wars. It is a fair and accurate assessment of what is a likely progression of events if men of little purpose beyond their own prejudices are united in cause, because, hey, humans here, not rational creatures by any means, especially in groups….. But humanity is comprised of more than just these folks, and all of the different kinds of people in our species have historically resorted to violent means to settle large disputes. It’s a human thing…. not pretty, but there it is, just like a pimple that won’t go away…..

So how does one stop war? Hmm… well, I can’t claim to have the answer to a question that several thousand years of human history has shown to be somewhat hard to solve with any lasting effect. I’ve managed to avoid taking part in the warlike actions that our country has involved itself in in my lifetime, having seen none that I could honestly say was as important to fight as the government was trying to tell me it was. If I’m going to die, it will be for an honorable goal, not for someone’s profit margin….

War isn’t going to stop unless we change the whole structure of our culture, and remove the benefits of one person having power over another. It’s a very deep, subtle, and pretty well impossible change, its success resting as it does in changing human nature…. That hasn’t happened in all of history so far, and I don’t see it happening anytime soon… so we’d best stay alert to avoid the worst of the fallout from whatever happens….

“If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning, and you could only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the paper?”– Smart Bee (It’s a subtle connection, but it’s there, trust me….)

There, now, wasn’t that SPECIAL?….. (Thank you, Gilda….)

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

Today, I’m going to leave you with some Art…. This is an artist’s rendition, found in an article on Space.com, which explored the various theoretical methods of achieving interstellar travel, such as the one pictured, to wit: using an artificially created worm hole…. It really doesn’t have any particular meaning, not one that is connected to what has been discussed today…. It’s just that, the idea of space travel is one I’ve dreamed of my entire life, so, any kind of material that gives me hope of it happening, even if only in the far future, makes me feel better…. and, I like the picture, too….

As for the rest of today’s Pearl, well, it will just have to do, just the way it is, because it isn’t going to be done over, nor am I willing to forgo posting for a day I’m not ill or incapacitated…. Such as it is, here it is, so, please enjoy it, and I’ll see y’all tomorrow….

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

Flicking and swishing here, your grogginess….

Posted on August 4, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Spintharus, speaking in commendation of Epaminondas, says he scarce
ever met with any man who knew more and spoke less.

~~ Plutarch (46-120 AD) ~~ Of Hearing, 6

—————————————————————————-

True is suffering; this is true cause;
this is true cessation; this is the true path.

Know the sufferings; give up they causes;
attain the cessation of the suffering; follow the true paths.

Know the sufferings although there is nothing to know;
relinquish the causes of misery although there is nothing to relinquish;
be earnest in cessation although there is nothing to cease;
practice the means of cessation although there is nothing to practice.

~~ Buddha, The Four Noble Truths ~~

In case there is ANY question as to the meaning of any of the above…. The first quote is there to set the tone…. The next quote, from the Buddha, is there to show how the Buddha understood Reality, which is to say, very well…. If you look at the picture of the three pals napping on the sidewalk, then consider the Four Noble Truths, you will see that each of these animals…. dog, cat, rat…. are all perfect examples of a creature who LIVES by those precepts…. They all know how hard life can be, but are content to have a serene moment of companionship, without becoming wrapped up in any species-oriented chauvinism…. I think it’s pretty cool myself…

It’s also a good thing it’s here, because I’m late again, and will have to rely on stuff that was either done ahead of time, or is very quick and easy to put in here, where it can do me some good…. Some bloggers would probably just re-blog an old blog, but, I like to at least put some effort into making something fresh each day, even if it is only a fresh reprint of an older piece…. I’m finding my rants from a couple of years ago are all still pretty valid, what with the crap that continues to plague us due to the shenanigans of the Asininnies, and their ilk….

Since I am so late, though, we’ll go with some of that older material, just to save the time…. At least I’m not using the old lame excuse of expediency, or doing this because of my own hidden agenda…. No, my agenda is right out there, and only has to do with getting done with this with a bit of dignity intact, not with ripping y’all off, or making sure I’m in control of your life…. which is what you can count on from your local politicians, and their myrmidons….

In that vein, I believe I may have reached a point where I can put an end to this intro section…. or, if that isn’t feasible, I can usually use one of the methods we’ve developed to help us in these moments of uncertainty…. Why, look, here’s one of them now! I believe it’s actually the method we call #4, the old standby…. It works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“It did not matter, after all. He was only one man. One man’s fate is not important.
If it is not, what is?
He could not endure those remembered words.”

— Ursula K. Le Guin, spoken by Gaverel Rocannon, Rocannon’s World

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

Since I am not going to rant this morning, I’m going to sublimate, in order to relieve some of the built-up angst, from the last couple of days of headline reading without producing a rant to release the worst of the pressure, I will create an old-school pearl, fresh and sharp, to poke some holes in the blanket of wool that the Asininnies are forever trying to pull over our eyes….

“If turkeys could fly Congress would be an airport…!” — Smart Bee

“As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.” — George Washington

(Well…. So much for THAT idea!…..)

“The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking…the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“I don’t care what is written about me so long as it isn’t true.” — Dorothy Parker

(A little known fact about this quote…. Dorothy was quoting Howard Taft….)

(That, of course, is a lie; I made it up…. but, it SOUNDS true, doesn’t it?…. By which, we see it may be defined as a “political truth”….)

“It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.” — Voltaire

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

“The reason that poverty and homelessness exist is not because capitalism is not working properly, but because that is the way it works.” — Smart Bee

Not bad, not bad at all for what it is…. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did….. I’m going to go clean up now…. Wait, first, I’ll try to make up for this, with one more pearl, that should help you feel a little better…. If not, well, there’s always aspirin in the first-aid kit if you want one….

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

I’m going with mine, to save time, and blame…. I hope you enjoy this one; it’s from December of 2012…..

Dreaming of Calliope

La belle dame sans merci speaks aloud through endless night,
torturing dreams, with powerful words and stentorian phrases.
Manifest visions bathed in unbearable grace and light,
destroying all direction, standing lost, in unfathomable mazes.

Fate plays a part, one that will never face denial,
as fear and courage eternally vie for ascendancy.
Conflict becomes valid, gifting strength in open trial,
but honest emotion wears no costume so fancy.

Blood, sweat, and tears stroll on avenues of gold,
unlikely heroines heralding as in ancient lore;
Sharp, competent knives cut through tales untold,
eternally shifting reality past the naked shore.

Drifting toward origin, bereft of mandate or cause,
finished, nay, abandoned, tied with a figurative bow.
No simple gift from muses to give comfort or pause,
save that all we need to know, we already know…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

The following older pearl is one I’ve probably used many times, as it contains much of the wisdom I use personally to guide my actions through life…. It’s all stuff I learned, one way or another, from my Dad, the Master Sergeant…. All of this could be considered to be ACTUAL wisdom, I think; it’s much more valid, and useful, than most of what you’ll find masquerading as such, and is certainly more than merely virtual wisdom…. because it’s all been tested by time, and found to be true….

From 9/30/2012:

Here are some true pearls of virtual wisdom from the acknowledged Grand Master of Science Fiction…… arrogantly solipsistic, delightfully honest, absolutely moral according to whim, and eminently useful in pursuing a full life of honor and joy…..

“The only real sin is hurting others unnecessarily. All other sins are made up nonsense…. (Hurting yourself is not sinful, just stupid.)” — Robert Heinlein

“A desire not to butt into other people’s business is at least eighty percent of all human wisdom… and the other twenty percent isn’t very important.”
“You butt into other people’s business. All the time.”
“Who said I was wise? I’m a professional bad example. You can learn a lot by watching me.” –Dr. Jubal Harshaw — Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein

“Don’t store garlic near other victuals.” — from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of “loyalty” and “duty.” Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute — get out of there fast! You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed.” — from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. But there is no evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough you will know. So why fret about it?” — Robert Heinlein

“The more you love, the more you can love — and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just.” — Robert Heinlein

Lastly….. a statement that serves as an adjunct to Peruaosophy; indeed, it’s more that that, as it forms a critical part of the basic premises, upon which that philosophy was created…..

“Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please — this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No – and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.) ” — Robert Heinlein

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

Today, as is sometimes the case when I arise late, and push a bit to get this done on time, I feel a bit scattered at the end…. which, I suppose, isn’t all that surprising, given the nature of what I’m doing….. It’s okay, really, because it means I’ve been focused, so the results should meet any of the loose standards to which I hold these Pearls…. If not, well, too bad, so sad, because, hey, it’s done, and we’re NOT going to do it over…. On that note, I should follow my own advice, and take my leave before it gets any riskier…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided the NSA leaves me be….

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

For this, we’ll need two laser-guided cats….

Posted on August 2, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

It was a saying of Demetrius Phalereus, that “Men having often abandoned what was visible for the sake of what was uncertain,
have not got what they expected, and have lost what they had,–being unfortunate by an enigmatical sort of calamity.”

— Athenaeus (c. 200 AD) — The Deipnosophists, vi, 23

I have to I agree with the camel and the little girl; that’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard. I’m certain the original phrase, which, going by the evidence in the name of the author, and the listed group of like minded oafs, had to be first written in ancient Greek…. It was also, unquestionably, just as boringly pedantic, or pedantically boring, as the English translation you see here. As shown above, in English, the mere act of reading it damn near put me to sleep by the time I reached the word “sake” in the text. Athenaeus, whomever he was, was obviously a crushing bore, which may account for my never having heard of him…. Anyway, as far as I can tell, Mama Gump said the same thing, so, perhaps the translation should just read “Stupid is as stupid does….”

I love that picture…. It’s very old, I think. I found it on Facebook, a couple years ago, but I’m almost certain I saw this many years ago, either in a National Geographic magazine, or Life magazine, which often had pictures from around the world…. But, I do remember seeing it, somewhere; when I found it on FB, there was a strong feeling of “oh, there it is!”, sort of a welcoming back, right before I copied it to my computer…. The photographer who took it had an amazing bit of luck on the timing, but, then, perseverance is often accompanied by good luck…. I can only wish I could see whatever it is that caused the reaction in both of them….

Uh oh…. Now we have a problem….. Having discussed the picture, and the quote, my stimulation props are all used up, which puts us right back to the same difficulty we faced each morning BEFORE we started using them…. The pictures, with their accompanying quotes, have proved invaluable in this process, making me wonder why I hadn’t tried it previously…. Regardless, they’ve been very helpful in removing some of the awkwardness in the beginnings…. though not without trading it for other glitches. Those, however, are simple in comparison, involving only the difficulty in choosing a picture and/or a quote to use….

SIGH…. I suppose this means that I’m doomed…. Well, perhaps that’s a bit dramatic…. But, I’m definitely stuck with this, whatever it is, so, I suppose I’d best learn how to get along with whatever it requires of me…. After all, it’s my choice, right? Right….. Not that I have a lot of choices as to how to relieve all the shit that builds up in my head…. I could rob banks, I suppose, which would make for an even more comfortable lifestyle, but, what with my ethical upbringing, and all, I’d probably suffer a lot of guilt, so, no way…

I could try to sell my poetry….. Nope, not going there….

Ah, the hell with it, I’ll just go on with what I’m doing here, and hope for the best…. In the long run, that’s probably for the best, as I have a tendency to get even more curmudgeonly when I’m feeling guilty…. It doesn’t happen much, as I’m pretty guilt-resistant from a lifetime of blocking and rejecting it from Christians who attempt to lay it on everybody, but, when it does, it’s ugly….. and the bills I get for the property damage can get a bit high…. SIGH…. I sure feel better, though, after acing a couple of missionaries….. but, I don’t like to talk about that. At least, not until the statute of limitations has been reached….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“All time in all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all bugs in amber.” — Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Slaughter-House 5

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

“I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That “all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people…” To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” — Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1791

Yesterday, the president (Yes, I know it isn’t capitalized; that is because I no longer have the required amount of respect for the office that I once had; I refuse to give him that, as he has been far too dishonest, and exposed himself as just another cheap politician, in the pocket of corporate interests and conservative hawks….) went on TV to initiate the next round of the spin cycle regarding the spying going on right under our noses….

If you will please note, in this press conference, there is no mention of the fact that the spying, torture, and illegal activities spawned by the 9/11 paroxysms of paranoia continues unabated, while the focus is taken off that, and placed on this issue, which should merely be turned over to the courts for prosecution of the guilty parties, including both Bushes, Cheney, Rove, and that entire pantheon of assholes who took us to Iraq and Afghanistan for their own agendas…. Gee, can you tell I’m still a little pissed off about that?….

Read the article ffolkes, but, I’d suggest putting on something that won’t mind the splashes from all the crap flying around….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Obama-says-after-9-11-US-tortured-some-folks-5662988.php

I’m surprised the president showed no signs of the dizziness he must have felt at this press conference, which sounds like it was more of a statement, without any questions that weren’t vetted or part of the show…. Indeed, generally, when one spends that much time spinning so fast, they tend to fall over, or at east list a bit when they walk…. He must have a really strong middle ear, or spend a lot of time on the ocean or something, to be able to turn in circles that fast for so long….

I’m sorry, I just can’t buy the low-key, let’s all be friends, and not get upset at what happened in the past attitude he takes on this subject, advising us to all avoid being “sanctimonious”. Sanctimonious my ass…. The fuckheads who tortured, on the fucking orders of the fucking president, who stole the fucking election in the first place, by waterboarding and torturing, along with that president, committed acts that are defined by law as felonies, and the attacks, and casualties we suffered, are NOT a sufficient excuse for any of it…. No more than it is an excuse for invading Afghanistan, or Iraq, or killing hundreds of thousands of civilian innocents in our brutal thrashing about, chasing all over the world looking for someone to blame, while ignoring all that our own laws proscribe….

I believe the word sanctimonious would more accurately be applied to anyone making fucking excuses for such behavior, no matter what the circumstances…. If one’s morals and ethics are not held strongly in the face of actions such as we experienced as a nation, then those morals and/or ethics are useless…. Expediency, anger, who cares? If you won’t be honorable in the face of dishonor, when will you? Will you become the very people whom you seek to destroy? And, most frustratingly dishonorable of all, the current president wants us to believe he has brought it to a stop, when he won’t even allow any investigation of the culprits, instead, wanting us to “put it all behind us”….

Fuck that…. Those people are guilty of war crimes on innocent people, to a far greater degree than Al-Qaida was able to manage in their one moment of glory…. Yet, we still wonder why they hate us so much…. just because we kill them when they do what they consider is fighting back against our imperialism…. This isn’t the time to go into all of the reasons the other people of the world have to dislike Americans, though it is most certainly a huge factor in the ongoing, chronic nature of the conflict between cultures….

It should be remembered that, although we, as a nation, suffered a grievous wound on 9/11/2001, our responses and actions since that day have been egregiously overbalanced, and have served only to provide the rest of the world with further reason to hate us, for having exacted our measure of justice to the tune of over a half million people, compared to the approximately 4,000 Americans who died in the attacks.

Not only that, the majority of those we have killed, in our numerous conflicts in other countries since that day of infamy at home, have been innocent non-combatants, just normal folks going about their business, and their lives, just like you, and me…. until our planes dropped tons of explosives on them from 40,000 feet, so high they never heard the planes at all….

We lost 4000 of our countrymen; in response, we have killed over half a million, most of whom were no more involved in warfare than were any of our people…. I suppose you could say we’ve had our revenge; the question remains, has there been any justice? Anywhere in any of this?

Worst of all, it continues to haunt our national culture, with episodes such as this one, which grew out of the paranoia that was fanned into flames by the events of that day…. a paranoia ruthlessly exploited by fanatics like those in the Bush administrations, and in the CIA, NSA, and other clandestine organizations that were involved in the aftermath of the attacks…. They all were crazy with fear, and made sure the public was even more afraid, so they could justify any and all of their illegal activities, without ever having to worry about suffering any consequences for them….

I’m going to change directions now; I’ve taken enough shots at the BRC for the moment…. We’ll go on to bigger, better things, leaving you with this short, five star pearl as a memento of our time together….

“The fields were fruitful, and starving men moved on the roads. The granaries were full and the children of the poor grew up rachitic, and the pustules of pellagra swelled on their side. The great companies did not know that the line between hunger and anger is a thin line.” — John Steinbeck (1902-1968) “The Grapes of Wrath”

“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.” — Ayn Rand

“Respect cannot be learned, purchased, or acquired…. it can only be earned.” — Smart Bee

“I don’t pick on politicians. They ain’t done nothin’.” — Red Skelton

“In the United States…politics is purged of all menace, all sinister quality, all genuine significance, and stuffed with such gorgeous humors, such inordinate farce that one comes to the end of a campaign with one’s ribs loose, and ready for “King Lear,” or a hanging, or a course of medical journals.” — H. L. Mencken

Or, as in my own case, one ends each new campaign with a vague feeling of nausea…..

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

There are times when nothing will soothe my spirit like a piece of classic poetry; this is one of those times…. It really doesn’t fit in with the theme for today, but, it does help to ease the turmoil created by the rant…. Well, for me, it does…. I hope you enjoy it as well….

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight,
So haggard and so woe-begone
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.

I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheek a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful, a faery’s child:
Her hair was long, her foot was ligh,
And her eyes were wild.

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long;
For sideways would she lean, and sing
A faery’s song.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She looked at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan.

She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said,
“I love thee true!”

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she gazed and sighed deep,
And there I shut her wild, sad eyes—
So kissed to sleep.

And there we slumbered on the moss,
And there I dreamed, ah! woe betide,
The latest dream I ever dreamed
On the cold hill side.

I saw pale kings, and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
Who cried—“La belle Dame sans merci
Hath thee in thrall!”

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill side.

And that is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

~~ John Keats ~~

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

I’m going to go with some Art today, and to save myself the trouble of attribution, they will all be my own pictures…. I went for a walk yesterday, and collected a number of pictures of some lovely flowers and plants…. I like them, but, when I really want to collect and view some really beautiful pictures of flowers, I always go to the web site of my blogging friend, Carol Welsh, who takes the most amazing flower photos I know of…. Here site is located here: http://radiatingblossom.wordpress.com/ Go on by, & check it out, & tell her I said “howdy”, okay?…. In the meantime, Enjoy these pix, please, for what they are, such as they are…..

There you have it, ffolkes…. Now go see Carol’s flowers, to see how it should be done…. with style and elegance…..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, that went pretty well, all things considered….. In fact, I’m going to go with my instincts, and let it go the way it is, sans any editing at this point…. I suppose tomorrow I’ll know if that was a mistake, but, for now, it’s good enough for me…. See y’all around the campus, 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

Turn left at the garden gnome….

Posted on July 27, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn
between a desire to improve the world, and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” — E. B. White

All I can say about today’s opening picture, which happens to be from my camera, is, there’s one in every crowd, isn’t there?…. But, then, the one that just HAD to be independent, sleeping apart, (though, you will note, still connected….) from the rest, DID end up in the ONLY little bit of sunlight to be found, didn’t he/she?….. I guess there is something to be said for the independent spirit, after all…. I always did like that George Carlin quote, about the word “team”,. the word “I”, and Mrs. Grundy, which, conveniently, you see just below……

Now, I know what you’re thinking, and it just isn’t so…. Of course, that could be a lie, but, I don’t generally start the day out by lying to my Gentle Readers…. in fact, given my feelings about lies, and the lying liars who tell them, I do try not to engage in it at all…. We all know it isn’t possible to keep from EVER lying; otherwise, there would be millions of dead husbands out there, who forgot themselves when their wife asked them “does this (dress/pants/blouse/expression) make me look fat?”…. Not all of us can remember the ONLY possible safe answer to that question, which is “does this face make me look stupid?”

Okay, now that I’ve done my part to keep the war between the sexes on full alert, and to further the incredibly sexist stereotypes that the war encourages us to hold, we can get on with whatever is going to take place today….. What that may be remains to be seen, though it could be rather new, fresh, and exciting…. We’ve already started off with more Art than normal, but, normalcy isn’t one of our goals, so that’s normal….. and confusing, I’m sure…. Don’t fret, it won’t leave any stains….

Of course, it could leave a few bruises, and/or scars, but, that’s just part of living, right? Now, at this point, I’m betting you are wondering just how I’m going to pull this off. Here we are, well into the intro, with some good Art, and a couple of not-too-shabby jokes, with nothing appropriate to go along with such apparently endless competence….. which is surely an unexpected visitor here at ECR…. Of course, at this point, I’m very aware that most of y’all are VERY, VERY confused, or, if not, VERY, VERY stoned, and don’t care…..

That’s okay, so am I…. stoned and confused, that is…. Well, actually, having only been up for a little less than an hour, I’m not stoned enough, but, that’s an issue with an easy fix…. An issue which, given that I am the owner of this domain, and, thus, do possess the powers of a Time Lord while operating this blog, has been duly fixed…. a roundabout way to say I’ve consumed sufficient cannabinoids to have reached an appropriate level of that tenuous, yet firm cross between silly and profound, which characterizes the state of a mind so enhanced….

In fact, I have been enhanced sufficiently for me to realize we’ve done it again….. The intro has, in its quest to achieve some sort of reasonably attractive format, grown to a point where, even if it should all of a sudden become brilliant and compelling, which, thus far has escaped us, it is of legal size, and shape, to fill the bill, or the william, if you prefer… In other words, we’re outta here!….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” — J. C. Watts

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

I’m not in the mood to rant, though I do feel up to some rude comments…. So, we’ll go with the weird-style pearl, with some links to articles in the news that caught my eye, followed by an old-school pearl, to finish poking at the Asininnies we have unearthed, pursuing their insane personal agendas on the public stage….

http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2014/07/25/surrounded-by-cops-15-year-old-was-detained-so-search-was-invalid-court-says/

Encouraging, at least minimally, to see a judge acknowledging the aggressive, confrontational tactics of the police in such matters, not to mention having the guts to rule against them, thus placing the onus of responsibility to control such attitudes squarely on their shoulders, where it belongs. The police in this country are very nearly out of control, and only the few cops with actual integrity and the character needed to do society’s third most thankless job, i.e. a character that is founded on the belief in service, protection, and honor…. Not the current attitude of most police officers, which is closer to displaying a pathological need to assert authority, and the need to feel entitled, that the laws do not apply to them….

The last characteristic is the one that bothers me the most, as so many officers I see on the streets are of this ilk…. They cruise around town in their “unit”, speeding, ignoring lane markers and signals, NEVER using a turn-signal, and so obviously profiling in their choices of whom to stop to investigate…. They dress like they are military, they cut their hair as short as they can, to maintain the camaraderie and discipline of the military lifestyle, and even use military insignia and rank designations in their internal command structure…. Not to mention how many police and sheriff’s departments around the country are outfitting and equipping themselves with old military hardware, such as modified tanks, personnel carriers, and automatic weaponry….

Any who, it’s nice to see them suffer a setback in their campaign to eliminate all of our civil rights…. just sayin’, they know their job will be easier, once all of our rights are gone, so, they’ll do all they can to see that happen, ffolkes…. Count on it….

“It is the natural order of things. Nothing can alter it. The strong take, the weak surrender.” — Sepp von Plum

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/San-Bruno-E-mails-show-cozy-ties-between-state-5647686.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

Not so encouraging, nor at all surprising to me, this article relates evidence of the corruption existing in the state government, as encouraged and exploited by the corporate lackeys who inhabit the megacorp energy Goliath, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., an amorphous corporate entity that has been ripping off the public at an astonishing rate for over a century, in full lockstep with legislators, governors, and any other elected official with their hand out…. I’m not even going to bother with exploring too deeply into this issue; I have a feeling it would merely distract me from issues I am more inclined to follow…. which saves you some ranting, and me some angst, ultimately, so no complaining….

I will say this however….. from what the article says, the agency that is supposed to oversee, and regulate the public sector utility companies is CLEARLY under the influence of the corporation…. The tone of the emails from both ends are clear in their implications of collusion, and show exactly what the article says is the most dangerous outcome, to wit: the agency and the company are behaving as if they have the same agenda, all in favor of the company, and screw the public…. Now, I would say that this isn’t all that uncommon, nor unexpected…. What is both unexpected, and uncommon, in my view, is the incredibly naive attitudes of the regulators, to think that they are NOT being duped, or exhibiting massive levels of stupidity….

Corruption isn’t just a danger in our government, ffolkes, it’s a reality, and that’s the truth….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/26/former-cia-officials-access-senate-torture-report

“Torture is illegal under US law. CIA officials dispute that water boarding amounted to torture.”

The line directly above this one is an excerpt from the article to which the link provides a path. In my view, it makes a decent summary of the whole issue involved, and, at the same time, amounts to a good statement of WHY the issue is so important…. There are currently two, if not more, viewpoints on the subject of torture that are in conflict, both sides of which are in different segments of the very small group of people who are in control of our government….

To me, the whole issue, in every respect, and with every single controversial point that is raised, is merely evidence of how the people in our government have no connection at all to reality, (not the one I inhabit, anyway…..), nor to anything remotely important to the public over whom they have authority. The agendas that each and every one of the people mentioned in the article have nothing to do with making anything better for the populace; it is all about securing and maintaining their own power base, keeping the public unaware of the truth, and making them afraid of the enemy (whomever that might currently be….)

The issues related in this article are all just smoke, designed to distract the public from the real issue, which is, as Eric Snowden told us, the simple fact that our own government is spying on us, (and, everyone else in the entire world, even their FRIENDS….), lying to us about it, using water boarding and other methods of torture, to go along with the more cowardly methods of warfare (such as bombing the crap out of whomever we wish to subdue….), to pursue their own fearful, insane, illogical agenda of war, based on the fear they continuously try to engender and fan into flames, with their partial truths, hints of controversy, and outright lies, their stock in trade for controlling the emotions, and the minds, (such as they are) of the general public….

That’s probably more than enough for one day…. It’s sure taken long enough…. in fact, it’s long enough we won’t need an entire old-school pearl, but can settle for one good one to finish off the matter…. You can take this one as gospel, ffolkes, and apply it to this treatise, if you wish, to help prove its worth…. See, I’m not making any money for any of this, so I can speak the truth without any fear of influence by anyone else…. which cannot be said of our entire ruling class, for they live by this….

“When money speaks, the truth is most often silent.” — Smart Bee

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

I don’t know yet what poem will go here, but, I’m sure it’ll be good, so, please enjoy…. Ah, well, you get one of mine again, just because they’re already here, so I don’t have to search for them, just pick one…. I’ll try to pick one you haven’t seen in a while…. Okay, got it…. here is one from October of 2012, which may be the first one I wrote after my decades-long hiatus from writing any poetry at all…. It’s not bad, actually, and I hope you enjoy it…

A Seasonal Approach

Absolute stillness grips a frozen field,
anticipating dawn with such patient yield
morning burgeoning in dark winter’s hold
brings promise of tales yet to be told.

Lengthening days of pale sun unto night
slowly tell of time’s subversive flight
bringing such original songs of natural fire
with melodies complex in casual attire.

The months are certain they will always win
it is just the way it has always been.
None may argue, nor yet slow life down
Nor dim the eternal beauty of nature’s gown.

Winter evolves from fall into spring,
sending flocks and hearts ever awing.
Summer follows suit, t’other way ’round
Spring into fall, often without a sound.

Life is meant to be lived, beginning to end
choices abound, and change can be a friend.
Yielding with grace to reality’s compelling ploy
fills our plain existence with clean, honest joy.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Now we can get back to normal, such as that is around here, with an old-school pearl…. I think I’ll let Smart Bee pick out the parameters today; it’s been a little sticky and edgy about giving me any really good pearls today, so maybe, if I let it have its head for a bit, it will cease hiding the best stuff… It’s worth a shot, anyway…. Let’s pearl, ffolkes….

“Never argue with a Scorpio–even if you win, you lose.” — Smart Bee, with some damn good advice

“To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne —

“When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), “Caesar and Cleopatra”, Act III

“I find that the further I go back, the better things were, whether they happened or not.” — Mark Twain

“A dead end street is a good place to turn around.” — Naomi Judd

“Reality is a hypothesis.” — Tugwell’s Basic Assumption

“That parrot is definitely deceased.” — Smart Bee

Hmm…. This is, without a doubt, one of the most eclectic, obscure pearls I’ve ever seen, even for Smart Bee. Most times, when a quote from SB brackets the pearl like this, it can be considered fairly solid, and is generally quite clear in its tone, if not its intended target…. This one makes us think right from the start, and then stretches our imagination to the limit with the last line, which is obviously an obscure literary reference to the short story, “Gaudy Night”, a parody of the Dorothy L. Sayers’ series of detective novels and stories involving Lord Peter Wimsey, and, in spite of its obscurity, quite a brilliant metaphorical finish to the pearl…. Really, trust me….

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

I’m not entirely sure of what happened here this morning…. I’ve been at this for nearly three hours, with breaks for pain-reduction activities, but, it doesn’t feel as if I’ve done much…. Then, when I go back to look, I see I’ve gone and gotten completely carried away, with what can be termed another epic Pearl, mostly fresh, with some Art, and the whole nine yards…. I’ll take it, and run, just because I can…. Well, plus, I don’t want to have to start over…. I’ll 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

Time to apply the marinade….

Posted on July 23, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“But I be a cat, and no cat anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer.” — JoJo

That, of course, is true of all cats, all the time….. However, you CAN trust a cat to be straight with you, if it is asking for something…. Cats are completely shameless about that; they will always ask for what they want, figuring it is always worth the effort, since, if one doesn’t ask, one never knows, do one?…. Nope, so, they ask, and don’t get upset at whatever the answer may be…. Of course, if they DON’T get what they want, they will keep asking, in a louder voice, until you break down and give it to them….

Just look at that face! Focused, alert, terminally cute…. all the proper attitudes for the penitent beggar….. And, you can see in the eyes, she’ll do literally ANYTHING, if you’ll just give her whatever it is she’s asking for….. Well, or they’re saying, “Give it to me NOW! Your will is my will.”…. She’s got that intense, Svengali-like look to the eyes, doesn’t she? And all she really wants is some pets…. you know, a little scritch around the ears, or, best, along the jawline…. Purrrrr….

The picture is Jojo, the small, formerly feral cat who lives here for the time being…. It took us a while to come to terms, but, having lived with cats all my life, along with dogs, it’s only a matter of time before my superior scratching skills win them over…. That, and being knowledgeable enough about cat psychology to know how to respect their boundaries…. It’s all a matter of respect with cats…. if you don’t respect their nature, there will be continual struggles based on that misunderstanding, and you’ll find yourself wondering who is actually in charge of the house…. They can be stubborn when they feel insulted….

Okay, that was nice…. A bit of morning cuteness, some casual conversation, and we’re pretty much good to go for today’s intro…. It’s a bit shorter than some, but, short is okay, short is good…. especially since, yesterday, I got a bit carried away, to the tune of over 3200 words… That’s what happens when I try to combine two rants into one…. but, I think I got in some good blows to the body of the asininnies, so, I’m happy with it…. I just promised myself to make today’s effort more in line with the norm, whatever that is….

Such being the case, I’m now going to bring this to a close, and get on with the rest of this…. It’s not as if we don’t do this every day, now, is it? It is? Oh, hell, I was hoping y’all wouldn’t notice…. I should have had y’all busy doing something, like fastening your seat belts, or shining up the brass work, or something…. Oh, well, we’ll manage, even if you don’t pay attention to the standard rules of engagement, as we use them around here…. But, then, nobody ever does, so, what the hell, let’s get on with the show….

And, oh, yes…. as for cats being from this planet, I don’t think ANY of them are…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Life is short, art long, occasion sudden; to make experiments dangerous; judgment difficult. Neither is it sufficient that the physician do his office, unless the patient and his attendants do their duty, and that externals are likewise well ordered.” — Hippocrates (460-359 BC) — Aphorism i

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“Although it is tempting to resent disaster, there is not much use in doing so… Whether we remain ash or become the phoenix is up to us.” — Deng Ming-Dao

What you will find below was first posted as the entire Pearl of Virtual Wisdom on 10/28/2011, just a few months after I started on WordPress…. It’s a pretty good discussion, from a period when I had not yet firmed up either the format for Pearls, or my own style of writing…. I have gone through to edit, so it’s more user-friendly, bearing in mind what I’ve learned since then about how to put together a piece for posting…. I haven’t altered any of the ideas or concepts, just adjusted punctuation and grammar a bit…. I hope you enjoy it….

From 10/28/2011:

Our real self, the soul, is immortal. We may sleep for a little while in that change called death, but we can never be destroyed. We exist, and that existence is eternal. The wave comes to the shore, and then goes back to the sea; it is not lost.” — Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian sadhu, a holy man. He was a teacher of yoga and philosophy, beloved around the entire world. He wrote the book “Autobiography of a Yogi”, which is held to be responsible for bringing the practice of meditation to the Western world. Now, yesterday, or perhaps the one before, I included here a quote from one of the Indian holy books written before the advent of Christ, in approximately 300 B.C. If you were to hold the two quotes together, it would be very difficult to tell whether or not they came from the same piece, or at least the same school of thought. But there are over two thousand years between the appearance of the first, and the writing of the second.

To me, this is one of the major reasons I often prefer the approach of the older religions to the questions of Life that they try to answer. Compared to most Christian, or Muslim writings, the passages from the Bhagavad Gita, the Dhammapada, and the older Hindu tomes written first in Sanskrit, all show a much greater understanding of how the universe works, without having to resort to the creation of one deity, who is omniscient, omnipotent, and all-seeing (it says so right here on the label), who strangely enough, resembles most an old Jewish patriarch, and who, oddly enough, has the behavioral characteristics of a jealous and spiteful little boy.

That whole batch of stories in the Old Testament about the prophets like Job, and Lot, are like reading a soap opera script, complete with deus ex machinae. It’s the sort of story that first drove me away from Christian teachings, which proclaim to be merciful, but have been perverted to rationalize prejudice and racism, causing me to seek out more logical, evidence-based philosophies, that encourage diversity and reason. I’ve never looked back, and, thus, have never risked becoming a pillar of salt…..

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to William S. Smith, Paris, Nov. 13, 1787

In the past few years, since the advent of Homeland Insecurity, I have watched the more conservative elements of our society pull back, just like a tortoise who sees danger, and retreats into his hopefully impervious shell. And at the creation of each new regulation to curtail one of our liberties, I have watched with somber regard, ashamed of my country. We were attacked on 9/11/01, yes. But why? Has anyone ever stopped to ask that question? Well yes, some did, and they were shouted down as being unpatriotic. Apparently, holding fast to the liberties provided for us by Mr. Jefferson, et al, has become an unpatriotic act.

It is unpatriotic for me to object to having my private information and home privacy invaded, as well as to complain when it has been curtailed. It is supposedly unpatriotic to object out loud to any of the measures taken; the pundits will scream their tiny little heads off, using every fear of the unknown that they can come up with to frighten and distract the public. I recently broached a radical idea, in one of my pieces, when I suggested we, as Americans, should consider the concept of another American Revolution. I pointed out that the men and women who fought against English rule in the late 1700’s did so because they wanted to govern themselves, to “pursue happiness” according to their own rules, rather than living with rules and taxes laid upon them by people who were only interested in profits and power.

Sound familiar? Today, we are living under the same sort of oppression; the people who are elected in this country run for the office not because they are public-spirited, but because it is the best way to achieve power over others. I cannot think of one single elected representative that did not lie to the public to obtain office, nor can I come up with a name of one who didn’t continue to lie once elected. It’s pathetic how stupid the general public has become, so focused on the details of living that they can’t spare the intellectual energy to question their beloved ruling class. I’m not sure anymore that there are any Americans left who believe in what Tom Jefferson said above; they’d all rather just kick back and watch hockey, whining like children when the beer’s too warm……..

“Freedom is just a hallucination created by a pathological lack of paranoia.” — Smart Bee (Scary, if true…..)

I think I’ve chosen poorly this morning, which isn’t surprising. I had a lot to say about this when I first picked it, but I can see that most of the subject was covered above. It might be amusing to try to go humorous with it, but I’m not in the mood today for that; too much sheer anger built up against the forces of Dark, aka Ann Coulter, Karl Rove, Bush I or II, or any of the other crop of folks who prefer to keep the public in a state of constant turmoil, in order to distract them from what they are actually doing. It is hard for me to accept the whole “water-boarding” controversy, because I had assumed that our leaders were people of integrity, not hypocrisy.

Torture, to my way of thinking, is an act of cowardice, only used by those who believe that the end justifies the means in all cases; it doesn’t fit with my image of how a free man functions. Cowards who live in constant fear that someone will really see what a coward they are, who will say or do anything to maintain their own little kingdom of influence. Sometimes the end CAN justify the means, but not most of the time. Most of the time, it merely serves as a way to comfort their innate insecurity, and keep them from assuming either guilt, or responsibility for their actions, which they KNOW to be immoral, unethical, and, most likely, illegal according to our Constitution.

This could go on forever; I have a lot of powerful emotion behind these ideas, and could sit here all day, taking shots at the talking heads. But, I do have other stuff to get done today, so I’ll leave it here. Feel free to comment, positively or otherwise; dialogue is always welcome here. In the meantime, y’all take care out there…..

“I think we should stop looking for issues to discuss. I think we should shut up and get to work.” — Howard Chaykin

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On days like this, when I’ve sublimated a rant out of the archives, I like to go with this poet, one of the best of the twentieth century, a true poet of the people…. I give you, the inimitable Charles Bukowski….

Alone With Everybody

the flesh covers the bone
and they put a mind
in there and
sometimes a soul,
and the women break
vases against the walls
and the men drink too
much
and nobody finds the
one
but keep
looking
crawling in and out
of beds.
flesh covers
the bone and the
flesh searches
for more than
flesh.

there’s no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.

nobody ever finds
the one.

the city dumps fill
the junkyards fill
the madhouses fill
the hospitals fill
the graveyards fill

nothing else
fills.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

I find myself in the throes of laziness, which, though nothing new, is nonetheless problematic, striking as it is mid-blog…. Such a conundrum might have sent me off into the archives again, to find another fill-in piece, but, I’m going to be a good boy, and put together a fresh pearl, if for no other reason than to take the sails out of the argument I’ll give myself later….

See, even in the midst of an internal debate, I can think ahead! Getting older DOES have certain advantages, with foresight being one of the more important ones, one that saves us old farts a lot of energy that would otherwise be spent foolishly on wasted effort…. and, yes, that could be called pandering to myself…. Enjoy it anyway, if you believe you should…. If not, well, there is little I can do to help you at this point; you’re what we would normally call toast, by any other name….

“Have you ever wondered why you always run out of breath when you throw up? Ah, but a man’s retch should exceed his gasp, else what’s a heaving for?” — Smart Bee

(Sorry, really, I couldn’t help it…. it’s just such a wonderful pun!…. Gotta love that Scottish wit….. I’ll do better, promise….)

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Yes, we’re all tired of dinosaurs.” — Mom’s Hint #130

“In a state-run society the government promises you security. But it’s a false promise predicated on the idea that the opposite of security in risk. Nothing could be further from the truth. The opposite of security is insecurity, and the only way to overcome insecurity is to take risks. The gentle government that promises to hold your hand as you cross the street refuses to let go on the other side.” — Theodore Forstmann

“It is fatal to be right when the rest of the world is wrong.” — Brother Theodore

“There’s always a bigger fish.” — Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars Episode I

“Three doctors were talking about their favorite patients. The first said that he preferred operating on Germans because their organs were lined up in exactly the right position. The second preferred Japanese because not only were their organs in exactly the right position, but they were also color coded. The third chimed in too. “I’ll take lawyers any day. Ever open one of those suckers up? Only two working parts – the mouth and the anus, and they’re interchangeable.” — Smart Bee

I love it! This pearl, eclectic though it may be, is rock solid, ffolkes…. Bookended by Smart Bee, bolstered with wisdom from Mom, Qui-Gon, and Mark Twain, how could it be anything but amazing!…. If you read them with the right squint, and allow your mind to be guided, the mind-set where you end up will leave you breathless…. guaranteed…. I mean that in the best way, of course, not in the same sense as the first pearl in this section….

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

Well! That was…. something. I think I’d better go take a look at it, now that it’s done…. I’ll be back shortly….

See, that never takes long, does it?…. It’s almost like being a Time Lord when I do that…. Now, how to describe the unthinkable…. You know what? I think I’d be better off not to try…. It could get explosive, and who knows what it might do to the space-time continuum, which is shaky enough these days?…. We’ll just close our eyes to any potential hazards, and wish y’all happy trails….. 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

A plethora of positive paradigms….

Posted on July 22, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

How does it feel?
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown?

~~ Bob Dylan ~~

The first time I heard Bob Dylan’s song, Like A Rolling Stone, I was half-asleep, riding in a car to go to work, very early on a summer morning in, I believe, 1963, or 1964….. Though not overly impressed by the voice that sang it, I was struck at once by the power of metaphor he employed so liberally throughout the piece…. It was the first time any of us had heard him; that was his first hit song, the one that catapulted him into fame, and the public eye…. Somehow, the plaintive tone of his voice, almost a whine, but, not quite, fit the words he spoke very well, and those words were, themselves, a new experience, as the poetry dug down into the subconscious to deliver subliminal messages, underneath the more obvious lyrical verses….

Ah well, those were the days…. Wait. Stop there….. Step back a few feet, ffolkes, let me get a better look at this….. Yep. I thought I heard some overt nostalgia in there….. Sorry, ffolkes…. We don’t often get attacks of mundane sobriety, with a strong overtone of nostalgia like that, but, we try to head them off quickly when we do come across one of them…. They can cause quite a bit of mental damage, if not caught early on; that sticky sweet reminiscence can be, not just fattening, but dangerously filling…. One small dose of it can layer a whole new coat of fat over the heart, increasing the risk of stroke by a factor of 3 or more…. not good….

So, we’ve developed a pretty efficient way of dealing with them when they come after us; we burn them, and get on with our business…. So, since this one has already been hauled off by our friendly stevedores, off to the incinerator, which will make short work of it, we can put it out of our minds, and move on to the next international incident, er, section of the post…. You’ll have to excuse me this morning, ffolkes, I’m still a bit groggy from sleep…. The picture above is what woke me…. Well, that’s not quite accurate…. hold on…. short break….

It would be more accurate to say the sight of the picture shocked me closer to the state of awareness needed to begin this missive; I’m now three or four paragraphs down the line, and still feel like my brain resembles a bowl of oatmeal more than anything fully alive…. And, see, I can’t even come up with anything remotely humorous to describe what is taking place! In a minute, I’m going to start whining again, so, it might be best to employ one of my emergency exit strategies, to take us out of here, on to where we need to go, wherever that might be…. Given this introduction, it could be just about anywhere at all….

Shall we Pearl?…..

And I’ll do you one better if you’ve got the nerve,
I’ll race you all the way to deadman’s curve.

~~ Jan & Dean ~~

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“Cato instigated the magistrates to punish all offenders, saying that they that did not prevent crimes when they might, encouraged them.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Roman Apophthegms, Cato the Elder

Below you will find an epic pearl, a rant of magnificent proportions, complete with at least two rants, both aimed in the same general direction, but coming at it from different starting points…. I spent a good portion of yesterday at the computer, having been given that boon by my massage the day before, putting my whole body in a better space…. This led me to catch up on some news sites I hadn’t been to in a while, particularly the Guardian, the UK news site that broke the Snowden Papers story to the world….

(Of course, when I say a long time at the comp, it means an hour or three, not six or eight, so, I could only read the news, not visit all the blogs I want to catch up on… If I start that, I never can get caught up, or get away before I start to regret it physically…. SIGH…. Hard decisions… Any who….)

I still find many of the more egregious activities that the US government is up to on the Guardian, rather than any US sites…. The US media seems to censor much of what the Guardian is writing about, sometimes not covering stories at all that the Guardian has unearthed. Whether this tendency is from jealousy, or fear of reprisal from the government, I can’t say, but, the stories just aren’t there as often, or, if covered, don’t get as deep into the issue as the European site does…. It isn’t just the US who gets their custom, either…. They focus their attention on their own government just as tightly, nor are the rest of the world’s leaders spared their often intensive questions about conditions in other countries….

Nonetheless, the US media has its own axes to grind, and they LOVE any story that puts the police in the spotlight, so, the first part of today’s epic rant concerns that issue, to wit: police brutality and the military bent that the police have been assuming for some time now…. Let’s see what got me going, because, otherwise, it won’t ever get done…. Enjoy, and for goodness sake, pay attention, and pass the information on to those who need it, i.e. every citizen of this country, and of the world, who are being affected by what those assholes at the top of the heap are up to these days…..

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/21/government-agents-directly-involved-us-terror-plots-report

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/nsa-surveillance-world-leaders-calls

The latter article is from October of 2013, but, may not be known to some Gentle Readers…. When considered in conjunction with the other article’s information, the earlier report serves as prior proof of what I’ve been saying for quite a long time now, regarding how the government looks at the public as their tool, not as their boss…. If anyone at all has any evidence to the contrary, please, come forward, and we can discuss the matter…. I don’t think there are many who will come forward, because it’s all truth; they ARE spying on YOU, ME, and EACH OTHER…. The tail has begun to wag the dog, and the leaders of the world are completely insane, taking the old saw about “knowledge is power” to new extremes of meaning….

We saw above how the FBI particularly has been abusing their newly-acquired powers to create terrorist plots, involving people in them, then using the completely unconstitutional terrorist court system created after 9/11/01 to convict otherwise innocent people, to justify their own existence and continued clandestine operations…. The FBI is the top level of the police forces of society, forces that are supposed to provide protection and support for the citizens of this country; they help set the tone for the other forces, on the state and local levels, who also are supposed to, as they are fond of saying, “protect and serve”….

Instead we have, on a daily basis, though not all of them receive this much coverage, incidents such as the following, which provide examples of how, in today’s society, the police view the public as enemies, to be unworthy of possessing even the most basic rights, such as free speech, or privacy, an enemy requiring intimidation to assert authority, and threats of violence to maintain control, while the public views the police as violent, aggressive, filled with entitlement, unethical, unfair, not to be trusted, and, worst of all, continuously demonstrating their belief they are not subject to the laws they enforce….

(Note: it took SFGATE three articles to give the same information three times, without ever getting very deep into the issue… they had lots of nice photos, though, of Rev. Al and his religious cronies, taking advantage of the publicity to get photographed with the victim’s widow…..)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Rallies-planned-after-in-custody-death-of-NYC-man-5632335.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/More-studies-needed-in-apparent-chokehold-death-5635142.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/NY-preacher-appeals-for-justice-in-chokehold-death-5634035.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

“…..as four officers bring him down to the sidewalk, Garner, who was asthmatic, gasps, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” The video shows one officer using his hands to push Garner’s face into the sidewalk……” “The second video, which appears to have been shot shortly after Garner was handcuffed, shows him lying on the sidewalk, apparently unresponsive. More than three minutes in, medics arrive and one checks his pulse. Garner is lifted onto a gurney and transported to a waiting ambulance about two minutes later.”…. “A bystander asks why no one is performing CPR and one officer responds, “because he’s breathing.”” — excerpted from the last article listed, describing the events as seen in the videos shot at the scene by bystanders….

In addition to the other issues presented by the incident, I find it a telling point that no mention of any police videos of the incident have been noted by the media, nor by the police…. I don’t know if the NYPD is in step with most of the other police forces in this country, but, I’m pretty sure, by now, the majority of officers and police cars on the streets of New York have video recorders somewhere about their person or vehicle, fully capable of recording all they do, and all they encounter in “pursuing their duties”…..

If not, well, I’m thinking they wish they did have them in place; if they do, why haven’t they been used to either corroborate, or deny, the accusations of wrongdoing? Any speculative reasons as to why such evidence is not available are, naturally, going to be negatively perceived, and will not help their already tarnished image….

The NYPD, along with just about every police force in the entire world, has become what many of our forefathers warned us against, i.e., professional soldiers and/or para-military wannabe soldiers, with a sense of entitlement, and a barely restrained tendency to use violence as their measure of authority…. which, being the neurotic personalities that all-too-many of them are, they must seek out to feel any self-worth…. Only by asserting that authority can these sick, violent bigots feel in control, thus proving their “manhood”.

I’m not being hyperbolic, either…. I’m going by my own observations, and my own experiences in observing the interactions between the police, in this town, and everywhere I’ve ever lived, as well as in my more than simply copious reading of the local, national, and international news, to the tune of two news site a day, minimum…. That’s now; it used to be two news papers….

All of which is in addition to the book a day I have read since I was 10 years old, in addition to all I read in the news…. That reading, and my perceptions of this issue, have enabled me to see the police go from being one of the most admired and respected professions in the world, when I was young, to one of the most feared and mistrusted segments of government, and society….. all in the course of my 55 years or so of perception and reasoning about the world at large….

When I was a lad, in the 50’s, my own parents always made sure we kids knew that, if lost or in trouble, an MP (military policeman) would always help (we were Army brats….)….and that included civilian policemen…. However, by the time I was in college, in 1968, police ranks had swelled to unprecedented numbers, while the hiring standards remained set on old, outdated concepts of societal needs.

The societal disharmony that had been building up, along with the widening of the income gap, for many years, since the Depression, and before, all came to a head, erupting in the early 60’s, when society exploded against the restraints on their freedoms….The Free Speech movement, Civil Rights, Vietnam, the invasion of Cambodia, as well the beginning of the women’s rights, and LGBT rights movements, society-wide struggles that continue today, as society moves forward into a new millennium. These new, (for the time) large demonstrations by students and citizens with issues were a new phenomenon to the police forces that existed, and the conflict started to demonstrate how out of touch they were becoming with the rest of society…..

That same separation of perception has continued to widen ever since, until now, police everywhere, no matter how good or bad they are, will be painted with the brush of corruption, psychopathy, bigotry, and para-military rigidity of thinking…. and for good reason, as there are EASILY as many, or more, bad cops these days, as there are good cops….

Actually, though, it occurs to me, the whole issue is merely one facet of the overriding problem facing society at large, which is the ever-widening gap between the super-rich and the rest of humanity….

And don’t fool yourselves, ffolkes…. it’s way smaller a number than 1% that is behind the entire set of problems that face mankind, as a result of their selfishness and lack of humanity…. My guess, without actually researching, but, going by the “sincerely best-guess” methodology, is that the number of people in the world, who actually have the control over 99% of the money and resources, either directly, or by proxy, is about 5000 people, or fewer…. This small number of super-wealthy, inhumane assholes, believe they have the right to decide for all of us exactly how reality should be run, which just so happens to coincide with their vision of absolute power….

The sad part is, they have been able to do exactly that for many centuries now, ever since the major proportion of the world became dependent on the whole concept of money, compounded by the gullibility that allows them to be fooled so easily by those without any morals or ethics to restrain them…. They buy governments, without anyone ever knowing their names…. They buy churches, who spread the delusional belief in a supernatural afterlife where all life’s pain will be taken away, and they will be rewarded for being sheep all their lives, allowing those in power to tell them how to think, and how to live…. And, in the process, they are killing themselves, and us right along with them…..

Isn’t that sweet?

“Do I look like someone who cares about what God thinks?” — Zippy the Pinhead

Don’t worry, ffolkes…. I’m not done ranting about these people…. This one, however, has gone on long enough, and is starting to get a bit nebulous…. I prefer a more substantial target for my barbs, so, we’ll come back to this another time, when I’ve put together a bit more ammunition to use on them, and, perhaps, even identifying one or two of them for y’all ….. For now, I’ll leave you with this: Keep your head in the game, and always be ready to doubt what you hear from anyone who thinks they are in charge….. because, whether they are or not, they believe that shit, which makes them annoying, and potentially dangerous to your well-being….

Stay on your toes, ffolkes, (metaphorically speaking, of course), & don’t believe any of their lies…. How do you know when they’re lying? Their mouth is open, and words are coming out; if that’s so, it’s a damn good bet…. The tricky part is knowing exactly who they are…. they don’t come out into the light much….. You know how those evil demons of the dark are…. Besides, they have their talking heads, the pundits & politicians, to stay in the public eye, where they want to be, and are most easily manipulated…. The bottom line for those in power is to prevent, at any cost, any change in the status quo, thus ensuring their continued existence at the controls of society..

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

SIGH…. It’s a pretty ugly picture, and it isn’t getting any prettier…. More later, ffolkes….

“It’s getting harder and harder to act weird.” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

I’m not such an egotist that I think I’m a great poet; I’ve written some good ones, but, nothing to compare with someone such as Sylvia Plath, or Poe, or Whitman, or any of a hundred others from the past who have written many works far better than mine…. But, by using my own, nobody else has to take the blame for all the stuff surrounding it, which may or may not be of note to the Gentle Reader…. I AM enough of an egotist to keep writing it, though, and putting it here for y’all to either laugh, cry, or otherwise react in some way to let me know I’m a writer of bozoid degree…. I hope you enjoy whichever one I choose for your perusal….

Stray Cats

The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.

Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.

Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.

Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone….
yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept…..

~~gigoid~~

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

I see from the above, I got a little carried away…. To save myself from any further potential claims of abuse by overuse, I’ll throw together an old-school pearl, with simple parameters to find good advice…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’ll be quick and easy…. Well, compared to the rest, anyway….

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle

“To tell a falsehood is like the cut of a saber; for though the wound may heal, the scar of it will remain.” — Saadi (1184-1291)

“To know much is often the cause of doubting more.” — Michael de Montaigne

“How did the great rivers and seas gain dominion over the hundred lesser streams? By being lower than they.” — Lao Tzu

“Laws do not persuade just because they threaten.” — Seneca, 65 AD

“In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

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

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

I should know better than to say anything would be quick and easy….. Not that you care, but, finding that last pearl was an incredible ordeal, as Smart Bee went into “let’s fuck with gigoid” mode, and started throwing up all sorts of really stupid, asinine quotes for me to wade through…. I finally found that last one by F. Scott, and said, “YES!”…. I cut, copied, pasted, and am outta here, having done all the damage possible for one morning….. See y’all tomorrow, if I recover in time…..

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

Morning becomes eclectic….

Posted on July 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Dharma: What is the greatest mystery of all?

Yudishthira: That each day, death walks the earth, and we continue to live as though we were immortal.

— The Bhagvad Gita

A while back, I posted another picture much like this one, both of which were taken somewhere on the Irish Sea. One was taken at sunrise, one at sunset, but, for the life of me, I can’t tell which is which, as they both appear to be capable of passing as either one….. I’m ALMOST sure this one was taken in the morning, but, since I can’t be sure, I’m not going to commit myself one way or the other…. Especially since they can pass for each other…. I will, though, say this… photography isn’t as easy as it looks….

None of which is particularly cogent, or meaningful, in the larger sense. The quote from the Bhagavad Gita is one I’ve used often, as it speaks to a facet of human nature against which I rail continuously, or consistently, anyway…. I’m talking about the human sense of entitlement, that sense of fatalistic egotism that motivates much of humanity’s actions toward each other, and reality at large….. Humans seem to believe in their own immortality, despite having the reality of death staring each one of us in the face….

Perhaps it is this dichotomy that is the true motivation; we know, deep down, we cannot expect to live forever, but, as a species, it is possible to envision mankind stepping into the future, though it may not look just how we had imagined. Whatever is the true case in each person’s existence, many people seem to think that, because they are entitled to live, they are entitled to everything else they desire, as well…. So, they take it, regardless of how the process of acquisition harms others, or denies the simple rights of others, to live, in peace, without fear….

It sounds pretty simple, and, it is…. This simple fact of human nature, this overweening egotism, and the false sense of entitlement that goes along with it, is the root cause of most of what is wrong in this world….. Most of the problems faced by mankind are connected to the danger of extinction as a species we face, due to that same sense of entitlement, which prompts us to continue the use of carbon based fuels to run our society, to fill our ever-growing needs for more and more power, in spite of the very obvious negative results of doing so….

The evidence is clear; if we continue to walk down that path, we WILL die, all of us, and there isn’t anything that will stop it, once the catalytic process has begun….. which it did, several years ago…. Yet, mankind continues to skip merrily down that path, eyes closed to the possibility they just might be wrong, while the pollution continues to pile up, and the moment of no-return draws ever closer….. In fact, we’re so focused on ourselves, and our own wants and desires, the point has probably already been reached, and passed, without us ever realizing what we have done….

SIGH…. I did it again, didn’t I?…. I didn’t mean to rant, but, when I get started on this, I can’t seem to stop myself from ranting about it….. People are SO STUPID! It makes me crazy, to sit here and watch them go through all this idiotic bullshit, spinning madly in place while Rome burns, laughing like loons and cursing the gods…. which are laughing their immortal asses off at the stupid little humans, pretending to be something they’ve never been….

I have an early appointment out in the Big Blue Room this morning, so a large part of this Pearl was completed yesterday…. I have to warn y’all, this one turned into an epic, but, it’s got a lot going for it…. a new, fresh poem nobody has seen before, unless you were one of the two or three people reading this blog back in June of 2012, and a fairly long discussion of “the properties of love”, in the inimitable words of Steve Miller…. Lots of good stuff, so, I think, given the already out of control size and content of this intro, we can easily get by with calling it a finished product…. so, I will…

Shall we Pearl?….

How much a dunce that has been sent to roam
Excels a dunce that has been kept at home!

~~ William Cowper ~~

(1731-1800) — The Progress of Error, Line 415

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

I cannot tell a lie…. Well, that isn’t true. I can, but, I have a hard time justifying it to myself, so, I keep it to a minimum, and mostly succeed… It’s not usual, I know, for people to even think about it, more’s the pity, but, that’s just the way I am…. So, since I can’t, I’ll tell you right now, I don’t have the wherewithal to rant any more this morning…. The intro took most of my angst away; the emotional power just isn’t there now, so, anything I did write would be a bit frail; I like my rants to be robust, if nothing else….

So, we’re going to do this…. Below is a link, to yet another example of A) how egregiously the governments of the world, ours, the Brits, and all of them, are bumbling around, spying on you, me, and each other, while the public sits and watches as they try to justify their insane paranoia by telling the public it’s all for their own good…. It’s bullshit, of course, but, that’s their story, and they are sticking to it….and B) how the lies aren’t even being addressed by those who are telling them, but, rather, are being labeled as legal, by the passing of legislation making it so….

Since I’m NOT going to rant about it, I’ll follow the link with a seven-star pearl that takes aim at those who are involved in the whole ugly mess at the top of the heap, which, in my mind, is beginning to resemble one of those snake pits we hear so much about…. Hiss, hiss, wriggle…..

Enjoy the pearls, ffolkes, and try not to let the article depress you any more than necessary…. If you must, you can be glad this is the BRITISH government that is being exposed in this article…. at least it’s not our own….. THIS time, anyway…. Of course, ours is busy with its own illegal spying programs, none of which have been shut down, or even restrained, in spite of all the hullabaloo over it…. Ah well, see you in the poetry section, ffolkes….

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/18/intelligence-services-email-database-internet-tribunal

“This message has been personally tested and certified by Big Brother Bill, Senator Exon, and the Religious Right to be PC, containing only the best of family values, and Safe For The Children ™. Disclaimer: The caffeine made me do it.” — Smart Bee

“The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes and fears rather than with their minds.” — Will Durant

“Americans used to roar for Liberty, now they bleat for Security.” — Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

“Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won’t buy the wag of his tail.” — Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818-1885))

” — I’d love to, but…the President said he might drop in.” — 4 of 101 Easy Ways To Say NO

“It does take a perverse form of optimism to have any faith in the news media when almost every time they cover something you _know_ about, they get it wrong. Maybe they’re wrong that often covering subjects in which I’m not an expert? Naw, it just couldn’t be.” — Grant Edwards

“It ain’t me; it ain’t me; I ain’t no senator’s son!” — (Creedence Clearwater Revival) The Fortunate Son

Yep…. As I’ve noted previously, it’s all in the wrist….

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

Yesterday, after writing the new poem, (Which, I have to say, came as a total surprise to me; I thought I was done for the day, intending to find somebody else’s work to post…. Without any warning, it just pumped out, like I’d sliced an artery, or some major blood vessel in my mind….), I was looking at some old Pearls, from 2012, when I came across the following poem, apparently one I wrote, and posted, on a day near the entry I was searching for….

Seeing it again was a surprise to me, I think, not just because I didn’t have it in my collected poetry, but, because I only vaguely remember it, and had completely forgotten it in the process of collecting the poetic works I’ve done here…. I vaguely remember I wrote this at a time when I had all but given up on writing any more poetry in my life…. I suppose it serves as more evidence that poetry produced in times of uncertainty or stress turns out more powerful than other times…

It occurs to me, this kind creative outburst, for me, anyway, is a matter of the necessary internal dynamics undergoing, or perhaps, processing, some sort of energy, which arises from friction between opposing internal emotional responses…. a long winded way of saying I feel conflicted, or repressed, or stressed in some way, so, a poem bleeds out…. Hell, who knows, and who cares? Not me…. If I can do this, then forget it entirely for two years, analysis isn’t needed, and might even cause problems, so, we’ll leave speculation to the critics, and just go on to the poem… Enjoy, please, it’s pretty good, I think….

From 6/13/2012:

Unbidden, treasure unfolded…

Taken by surprise, Psyche sits numb
Amidst tall phrases worn of elder time
Seeking a not-new place from which to come
No shiny new horizon, nor altered paradigm.

Sudden regrets shape dreams as times maintain
Shades of memories bring poignant clear sight
Visions of duty, each chosen wild campaign
Shouts echoing clamors to enfold the night.

Arisen from less than eternal havens of sleep
Facing moments created in torment and pain
Destiny weighs upon those chosen to keep
As the sparrow flies now to sever the twain.

Faded pathways lead away, hazy and long
Burned out verges, so long unknown
Images of yesterday, clear and strong
Bleed into today, though t’is but my own……

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Since I found the above, shamelessly using it for today’s poetry section, I’ll continue with full disclosure, & tell you I also found this during the same search…. In fact, this was the object of the search…. Due to recent events of note in life, the following discussion struck a chord in me; after re-reading it, I see it remains mostly valid…. Thus, will make a nice fill-in piece for this last section, where I so often struggle for something worthwhile, or at least compelling, to write…. This is not, perhaps, all that compelling, but, it is fairly uplifting in its overall tenor, and, as a bonus, contains a nice complement of classic poetry, well matched to the discussion….

From 6/9/2012:

My life, described in six words….

“Looked for love, found it everywhere.” — gigoid, to KDFC radio DJ, Hoyt Smith, 2009….

While listening to the radio one day, the DJ was talking about a meme activity he had been told about via an email earlier that day from a listener. The challenge was to describe your life in exactly six words; he gave several examples of those who had already responded, and asked the listening audience to call in with their own. After a couple of moments the above six words floated to the surface of my mind, almost unbidden, so I called in, and, to my surprise, my call was taken, and my quote was put out over the air.

For life, with all it yields of joy and woe,
And hope and fear (believe the aged friend),
Is just our chance o’ the prize of learning love,–
How love might be, hath been indeed, and is.

~~ Robert Browning ~~

(1812-1890) — A Death in the Desert

Considering that what I said to Hoyt in the above six words, upon reflection, is something I can, and still do, say is as true as the day, it felt kind of good to have it shared over the air…. Fortunately, it didn’t lead to any more than 15 seconds of fame, the time it took to say my name, and my contribution…. It isn’t as if I was hoping it would lead to an appearance on Letterman or anything, but it did feel pretty good, as I am proud of the quote…. (Still am, in fact, and it still rings true…. gigoid, from the future, which is now the present, but used to be the… Oh, never mind….)

Of course, though finding love has never been difficult, I’ve never found the rest of the secret, the other part, about getting love to stay, other than that love between friends that is so important. Our culture, so tenuous in its support of monogamy, provides people with so many ways to leave a relationship without penalty, no one seems interested in making them last an entire lifetime any more. It’s like, “Oh well, that didn’t work… there’s lots of fish in the sea….”, and off they go into the dating world again…. Frankly, it makes me dizzy….

I can’t say I know what the problem is in society that dooms relationships these days; if I did, then it wouldn’t be a problem, as I’d know what to avoid…. What I do know is that on (at least) five occasions in my life, I’ve given my heart to a woman, and spent all my energy giving my all to that relationship, faithfully and fully. On all of those occasions, the woman eventually decided, for their own personal reasons, that they didn’t want to continue, and left. I guess they like Will Shakespeare more than I do… as they seemed to take on his attitude…..

“I dote on his very absence.” — William Shakespeare ( Though I hold most of his work to be crap and nonsense, even he came up with something coherent occasionally….)

I’ve been fortunate, I guess, in that, of those five times, only three were painful in their intensity, leaving my heart shattered, my life in tatters; two of them were relatively amicable breakups. (Sure they were; that’s what I keep telling myself….) But, I’ve just gotta say, it hurts when a woman I’ve loved for 23 years, and intended to die with, decides she’d rather pursue other options; it hurts, and it hurts a lot…. I can testify, from the evidence of a more recent nature, it also hurts when a woman has said she loved me for ten years, and has been lying the whole time…. That kind of betrayal brings a very lasting pain, and is slow to pass…

I hear you reproach, “But delay was best,
For their end was a crime.” Oh, a crime will do
As well, I reply, to serve for a test
As a virtue golden through and through,
Sufficient to vindicate itself
And prove its worth at a moment’s view!
. . . . . .
Let a man contend to the uttermost
For his life’s set prize, be it what it will!
The counter our lovers staked was lost
As surely as if it were lawful coin;
And the sin I impute to each frustrate ghost
Is–the unlit lamp and the ungirt loin,
Though the end in sight was a vice, I say.

~~ Robert Browning ~~

(1812-1890) — The Statue and the Bust

Pain is an old friend of mine, though, in all its various guises, and I know it always passes in time. Now I am looking for love again, in my own time, still trying to find that one woman who can be both loving and honest. The ones I’ve known so far have all had a problem with that last part…. it’s not something our society teaches well. But, until I find her, I’ll have to make do with the pain…. But, I know she is out there, somewhere….. There’s got to be some woman who would enjoy being worshiped by an old, fading, but faithful, romantic curmudgeon with a soft spot for dogs, cats, kids, & a good laugh, along with a severe case of wanderlust to complicate the issue….

In the desert a fountain is springing,
In the wide waste there still is a tree,
And a bird in the solitude singing,
Which speaks to my spirit of thee.

~~ Lord Byron ~~

(1788-1824) — Stanzas to Augusta

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

This was found along with the above discussion; it’s too good to NOT include, so, you get it today, as a bonus pearl…. It’s pretty much a stand-alone anyway, requiring nothing to make it whole and complete….

The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings.

~~ The Buddha ~~

I can’t think of a single thing that needs to be added here, so I won’t….. As Nike says, “Just do it….”

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

For a post created willy-nilly over the last 18 hours, this isn’t bad…. It’s also an epic Pearl, well over a couple three or so thousand words, I’d estimate…. Not bad for one I intended to get done quickly, so as to be ready for the business I have in a couple of hours…. In fact, I’m so happy with it, I’m outta here…. See ya, 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

gigoid

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

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: NSA

In my left ear, sir….

Soliciting salsa for the homeless….

No glue, Ignatius, but, lots of duct tape…

Some new bruising along the jaw….

Flicking and swishing here, your grogginess….

For this, we’ll need two laser-guided cats….

Turn left at the garden gnome….

Time to apply the marinade….

A plethora of positive paradigms….

Morning becomes eclectic….

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