Is this the unused receipt line?…

Ffolkes,

“Better bend than break.”

~~ Scottish Proverb ~~

Supermoon August 2015 020

Full Moon Rising, 8/29/2015 ~~ Northern California


Good morning…. I promised a blogging friend a photo of the Supermoon from last night; lo and behold, here ’tis! It’s not bad, but, convinces me I need to upgrade my camera a bit…. I guess an 8-10 year old, five mega-pixel version is getting a little out of date. My phone is rated with more pixels, but, since I only use it as a phone, it doesn’t help me at all. Ah well, I guess that’s what photo editing software is for….

Wasn’t that just riveting? What an opening! Drama, the hook, strong language, all ther….. well, okay, so, none of that is there. So what? YOU try coming up with something cool and interesting EVERY EFFING DAY! I’ll tell ya, it ain’t easy. But, I digress, as usual….

Hmm…. Y’know, this seems to have escaped from control rather quickly, hasn’t it? I’m having a tough time this morning, if you hadn’t noticed. Nothing in the head, but for this nonsense. Not that nonsense hasn’t worked for us in the past; no, no, it’s been a real trooper in that respect. No, it’s merely the sheer insanity of this particular nonsense which makes it unsuitable, even for this. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for what happens, should I allow it to show its scary little face….

Instead, I think we’ll head on out to the oyster beds, & see if we can’t find a pearl or two…. Since that’s our intended purpose, anyway, it should work out well. As long as we don’t try to think about it, we’ll be fine…. Hell, let’s just forget all the regs, and do this one nude! Okay, everybody strip!…. No? Oh, well, can’t blame a guy for trying…. Instead, let’s do this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“One of the sayings of Diogenes was that most men were within a finger’s breadth of being mad; for if a man walked with his middle finger pointing out, folks would think him mad, but not so if it were his forefinger.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes, vi

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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    Y’all won’t be surprised, I’m sure, to find we’ve gone to our default music today…. However, today it will be a little different. I’ve mentioned radio station KDFC before, as being the best classical music station to ever exist (well, actually, I haven’t made that claim before, but, it’s likely very true, so, we’ll let it stand, and just call it mild hyperbole….). Below is a link to the station’s home page, where you can click the “Listen Live” button, to hear a fine selection of the world’s best music…. It’s all I’ve got today, but, it’s enough…. Abondanza!….


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A-laughing-girl-and-her-camel

    Some of y’all might wonder what that picture is doing above the ranting section. Others won’t care at all. Me, I’ll just tell you this; this is no ordinary rant….

In fact, it’s not a rant at all; it’s merely a statement of insanity from yours truly, to furnish y’all with the latest information on the status of my inner serenity, or, lack thereof…. It’s an annual thing, required by the law that allows me to remain outside the facility…. No, you don’t want to know….

That said, I realize the measure of my coherency is a bit of a conundrum; all of the tools designed to measure human intelligence, and/or levels of sanity in said humans, are somewhat useless applied to me, as I haven’t been human for years…. but, that’s another story, for another time. For now, allow me to just say this, and we’ll go on to the poetry section, where you’ll find a surprise…. a brand new poem, which spurted out of me unexpectedly yesterday afternoon….

Here’s the thing; I’ve decided sanity isn’t such a big deal. I mean, I’ve tried it, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Oh, sure, they’ll tell you it can’t be done, you can’t make it through your life without it. But, so far, I haven’t found it to be of any particular use; why should it, when the entire society in which we live penalizes everyone who displays it? Every time I try to display a rational, sane response to this insane world, it gets crazier. What can you do with a world like this, but, kick it down the stairs?….

I just realize I haven’t provided any context;  you have no clue what I’m talking about do you? I thought not; there were too many frowns and confused faces. Well, too bad; life’s full of disappointments, isn’t it? Y’all will just have to make do without it, this time, at least. Why? Well, because there ISN’T any context. None of this means anything, and I’m not going to explain at all…

Instead,  I’ll just quit. This section is already kaput, anyway; there’s no way in hell I can save it, and, why bother. It’s all a bunch of crap, and none of us have any real meaning. Bah! Humbug! Merde! Or, as we’re wont to say downtown, what the fuck?

Okay, that’s it. I’m calling a halt to this. It’s completely broken, and I don’t see any way to fix it….Let’s just consider this a complete loss, and leave it here, where it can die an unnatural death…. I don’t know just what the hell that was, but, it sure wasn’t a rant…. James Joyce nightmare I guess…

Oh well, it can’t all be Faulkner, can it?….

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Comedy_Tragedy

    As noted above, this one is new; I hope you like it….

Platitudes for Attitudes

Platitudes shake us, attitudes break us.
Life can be a real pain, y’know?
Still, if we don’t fight where it takes us,
it’s a pretty straight row to hoe..

A lot of what we see and hear
isn’t always in the best of taste.
Life at large can be a long frisson of fear.
Making an effort often seems a huge waste.

Pundits, dogma dogs, myrmidons, oligarchs & pimps;
assholes and predators every one.
Twisted, sick, anti-humans; anomalous, ignorant wimps.
Purest logic says, every time, lobotomize ’em, & be done.

Illusions, delusions, confusions, a dedicated data dump,
bilious, divisive, spicy with hatred and fears.
Inflation, immigration, promises from the clownish Trump
Even such base survival is left heavy with tears.

Ancient sages left signs on the path to peace,
for those with wit to see.
No need for undue effort, no quest for golden fleece.
All we ever really need to do, is be.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 8/29/2015.

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buddah-out-to-lunch_s

    What to say of this pearl? As random as Entropy can make it; though loose, it does not wobble. Though random, it is not less real. I haven’t the foggiest notion what I was thinking, but, I have a suspicion it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. That said, you will understand why I issue a precautionary note, to help you to comprehend what has occurred. That note, which was originally translated from ancient Sumerian, says, “Show caution, and wisdom; tread carefully, lest your brain turn to crap.” Really, it said that….

       JABBERWOCKY

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
   The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
   And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
   The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
   He went galumphing back.

“And thou hast slain the Jabberwock?
   Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
   He chortled in his joy.

~~ Lewis Carroll, “Through the Looking-Glass” ~~


“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” — Oscar Wilde

“Always do right.  This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” — Mark Twain

“Life without the courage for death is slavery.” — Seneca

“Arguments derived from probabilities are idle.” — Plato

“If you are too busy to read, then you are too busy.” — Literary Bee

“Self-pity is the worst poverty.” — Hazrat Inayat Khan

“Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it.” — James Stephens

“If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.” — Khalil Gibran

“Remember, ‘nowhere’ is also ‘now here’.” — Random Smart Bee

“Curiouser and curiouser!”

~~ Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” ~~

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Well, it’s done. I wasn’t sure I could do it; apparently I can…. Moreover, having done so, I’ll even show some rather good sense, & be done with it for today. I don’t think I could do any more damage than I’ve already accomplished, anyway. I’ll be back tomorrow, ffolkes, with some interesting news to relate…. See y’all then, unless you figure out a way to get out of it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Paradigm shift scheduled in D.C.; film at 11….

Ffolkes,

“It’s getting harder and harder to act weird.”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

Mars ISS2

International Space Station 2, orbiting Mars ~~ Artist: Ville Ericsson

Image from Space.com


Good morning…. Coming up with a justifiable reason might be problematic, but, evidence doesn’t lie; that means, sadly, no further dallying will be tolerated. It’s a shame, too, as we’re really, really good at dallying. Furthermore, the fabrication of reasons, of all categories and strengths, is sort of an avocation with us, (Luigi has his certificate already; who knew?), which means we could have come up with the correct one almost in our sleep, had we had any….

No, wait, that’s a lie. Don’t want y’all to think we’re falling into the habits displayed so frequently by our Beloved Ruling Class, now, would we? Nope. But, no worries, we didn’t do it; the lie was merely for the purposes of distraction; I actually did sleep, oddly enough, for the unheard of period of six FULL hours. Perhaps that’s why we’re so flippant thus far today; it matters little, since it’s gotten us two paragraphs deep into the intro, without breaking a sweat…..

That cover, officially pulled now, we will fold neatly, and, place right over here for later. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Okay, so, I’ve got a Pearl here for ya, but, it was put together yesterday, mostly, while I was battling some pretty fierce arthritic pain, to go along with the oppressive weather (got up to about 96ºF, & no A/C….), so, I can’t be entirely sure of the quality of any of it…. It looks okay, though, so, we’ll go with it, and trust to the process, which has proven itself to be up to the task many times…. sort of.

All that aside, where it belongs, it’s time to quit fooling about; we have no boats anyway, so, we are unable to fulfill Mr. Toad’s most excellent advice. (20 pt. bonus for knowing the reference) It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, as we don’t have time to spend on such frivolity now. We have oysters to harvest! Luigi, fire that puppy up, and get us outta here; I can hear the sirens coming up the drive….

Shall we Pearl?….

A thousand cups of wine do not suffice when true friends meet, but half a sentence is too much when there is no meeting of minds.” — Chinese proverb

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star-trek-renegades

Star Trek: Renegades ~ Scene from official movie

Screenshot Image via Space.com


An independent group of young filmmakers has created an entire movie based on the Star Trek Universe. It isn’t an official movie, made in Hollywood, but, an independent effort. I’ve watched the first few minutes; it’s excellently done. (Gotta love Admiral Checkov as a major character) I’m saving the rest to watch on my upcoming long flight, and really looking forward to it…. I managed to grab a copy, which will hopefully still be up on You Tube by the time you try to watch it…. It’s free to watch, so, enjoy!….

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Star Trek: Renegades

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We the People...

    Since I was up so early (0300…) I’d intended to see if I had a rant on tap in my head…. It doesn’t seem to be happening, so, we’ll go with a pretty decent politirant from last year. It is, of course, all still completely relevant, as our Beloved Ruling Class has no intentions to make any changes on its own. But, that’s a rant for another day; for now, let’s consider this:

From 5/21/2014:

Today’s rant comes to you courtesy of a couple of news articles, to which you will find links below…. It helps me if y’all read the article(s) first; then, my comments make more sense…. I also feel compelled to comment here; I find it very disturbing, though not particularly surprising, that many of the articles about the chicanery, and, illegal, immoral activities in which our government and police forces are engaged, are to be found only in foreign news sites… The sites in this country seem to ignore/pass over much of what is obvious to other countries, tending to softball any criticism about the people in power here…. I’m assuming that is because they are afraid of retribution; why else keep silent? It certainly is not to their advantage to do so, in the ultimate sense….

Any who, please go ahead & read them, after which, I’ll show some excerpts, upon which I’ll comment, as to the key points to be found…. Hopefully, my comments will make themselves obvious, but, to be clear, the excerpts will be in quotation marks; comments are not….


“On Monday, Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan was sentenced to three months in jail and five years of probation, after she faced down a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for her conviction of assaulting a police officer. Her supporters, unsurprisingly, feel the sentencing is excessive – especially given her testimony that the officer in question first grabbed her breast – but it’s also clearer than ever that McMillan’s conviction will have a chilling effect on the future of serious activism.”

“The most famous example of this is probably NYPD deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, who pepper-sprayed peaceful female protesters during an OWS march. In 2013, the district attorney’s office announced that it would not prosecute Bologna – and the NYPD docked him just ten vacation days and reassigned him to Staten Island.”

A large number of people are surprised when they see articles such as this; I can only figure it’s because they are really, really stupid, (sorry, I calls ’em as I sees ’em….). I make that assessment due to their implicit trust in the police forces in this country, for the simple reason they assume, in complete error, those entities are to be dedicated professionals, with integrity, honor, and compassion for others; they actually believe that bullshit. They have a hard time when an article like this comes out; if they paid attention to anything outside their own narrow world, they would see such event happen, pretty much, every fucking day, in every state in this country.

Yep, every damn day, I go through the news, and there is ALWAYS at least one, often more, article reporting (often with video evidence) another cop gone rogue, or some piece of corruption exposed, or another forcible rape by a sheriff deputy, or some other example of one of the BRC’s faceless myrmidons abusing the power of authority that comes with their job…. EVERY DAY ffolkes, and that is NOT an exaggeration; look at it yourself…. If I can find at least one article about a corrupt cop every day, how many do you think there actually ARE? A LOT, wouldn’t you guess? I would….

Except, it’s not a guess… My estimate is that at least half, & most likely more than half, of the assholes wearing a badge in this country are totally unqualified to carry a gun to enforce the law, because they are they type of person who will abuse that power…. Way, way more than half is my actual gut feeling, but, we’ll be conservative, & keep the estimate there at 50%…. Believe me, when it comes to corrupt cops, half of them is MORE than enough…. Especially when the other half generally refuse to acknowledge that fact….

My question is: how can any intelligent citizen think that these people could be trusted to use their weapons ONLY in defense of the law, if they were the only ones allowed to carry them? Do you think that most police would show integrity, or would they abuse their position, using their weapons to control and intimidate citizens, rather than protecting them? I’m sorry, but, I just don’t think they are any more trustworthy than the average citizen; in fact, I would wager serious money on them being far less honest, and far less honorable than the average joe on the street, and that is a fact….. Hell, they can’t even bring themselves to use their turn signals…. what makes people think they’ll not pull the trigger?….


“Christie, who says he is still considering running for president and will decide his political future later, recently said the lane closings would be “a footnote” by 2016. But his prediction last week came the same day his former campaign manager contradicted Christie’s timeline of the bridge scandal…..Political operative Bill Stepien said Christie misspoke Dec. 13 when he told reporters he had received assurances that no one close to him knew about the lane closings.”

Misspoke? Misspoke? What the fuck does that mean, if not “he lied”? As far as I can see, it can’t mean anything but that, but, this guy, Stepien, remember, is a “political operative”, and, as such, has been extensively trained to use the English language in ways no other sane person would think to do…. He is obviously pissed off at Christie for making him fall on his sword, but manages to still try to minimize the key fact of the matter, to wit: Christie was involved…. his governing style encouraged that sort of thing; it’s clear that he knew about it, and he lied about it….

This particular brouhaha, in fact, is one of the easiest issues to understand, as history has shown us that we can, for sure and for certain, count on one characteristic of politicians to be a fact…. WHATEVER a major politician says. especially regarding their own guilt or innocence, about ANYTHING, is going be an outright lie…. It’s knee jerk for them; they have no other behavioral response to fall back on, so, in such instances, when they are accused of ANY wrongdoing, they deny, deny, deny…. If pushed to the wall, they will say that the person they scapegoated, fired, had lied to them, which, as we know, is a crock of shit….. If they hadn’t trusted the idiots, they wouldn’t have been where they were….

Two things bother me about issues of this nature…. One, the lies that are told by the perpetrators of such acts are reported as if they have validity; the media doesn’t even TRY to point out any discrepancy in fact, or suggest any alternatives to accepting it as truth…. when, in truth, they KNOW it all to be a crock…. Second, people in the public read this crap, and believe it…. They have no clue, and are unwilling to believe, that they are being lied to at every turn…. If they do that, they would have to first admit their own FUCKING STUPIDITY….

Sorry, I get a bit worked up when I think of how gullible the average American is; it makes me ashamed of what the forefathers foresaw for this country, to see that the corporate assholes have won…. They’ve taken over all three branches of the government, and the majority of people in this country have no clue they are nothing more than slaves….

The average American is no longer an educated, honorable citizen of a democracy, who watches the government with cautious regard…. Mostly they are grossly overweight couch potatoes, carrying fifty extra pounds from eating all the crap the corporations want them to eat, locked into their own brand of indulgence, stupidly believing everything a talking head on their TV tells them, making them extremely easy to lead around by the nose, as they give up their legacy of rights to unprincipled, immoral, INSANE assholes with more money than common sense, or compassion, ignoring and/or denying as much of what goes on around them as they can…. It’s a wonder we aren’t all wearing collars….

Just wait, though, that day will come, if the monied elite have their way…. They sure as hell haven’t shown any inclination to share any of what they’ve usurped stolen from everyone else, nor do they exhibit any willingness to change their nature from being predatory, so, I’d wager they’ll just keep on doing what they’ve been doing, and continue to do, which is lie, cheat, and steal to and from everyone else, always seeking to maintain and extend their control over the rest of the world…. while the sociopathic assholes they have trained as their puppets and myrmidons, whom we call politicians, preachers, and policemen, continue to run roughshod over the rest of society….

So be it.

gigoid has spoken….

“Jesus died too soon.
If he had lived to my age he would have repudiated his doctrine.”

~~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy

    It’s been quite a while since I used anyone else’s work, aside from a couple of bloggers whose work impresses me. So, here is a classic poem, from the man I consider the best American poet. Period…. Enjoy, please; it’s pretty hard not to like this man’s work…. It’s a long poem; to save some time, I only posted the first verses, the beginning stanzas only. I’ve included a link at the end to Poetryfoundation.com, where you can read the rest….

Song of Myself

I Celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil,
this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and
their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never
forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

    You can read the entire poem, in the version published in 1892, here:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174745


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Yin-Yang-symbol-sun-and-moon

    This is a strange pearl; it doesn’t, at first, seem as if it’s going anywhere specific, but, manages somehow to create a lesson worth some attention…. I hope you enjoy it; it’s a pretty good one….

The modest front of this small floor,
Believe me, reader, can say more
Than many a braver marble can,–
“Here lies a truly honest man!”

~~ Richard Crashaw ~~
~~ Epitaph upon Mr. Ashton ~~

—————–

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

~~ Chuang Tzu ~~

—————–

“Any idiot can face a crisis. 
It’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.”

~~ Anton Checkov ~~

—————–

“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”

~~ James Stephens ~~

—————–

“It is the ability to choose which makes us human.”

~~ Madeleine L’Engle (Walking on Water) ~~

—————–

“When you come right down to it, all you have is your self.
Your self is a sun with a thousand rays in your belly.
The rest is nothing.”

~~ Pablo Picasso ~~

—————–

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~~

—————–

“No one can see their reflection in running water.
It is only in still water that we can see.”

~~- Taoist Proverb ~~

—————–

“The Magician of the Ivory Tower brought his latest invention for the master programmer to examine.
The magician wheeled a large black box into the master’s office while the master waited in silence.

“This is an integrated, distributed, general-purpose workstation,” began the magician,
“ergonomically designed with a proprietary operating system,
sixth generation languages, and multiple state of the art user interfaces. 
It took my assistants several hundred man years to construct. Is it not amazing?”

The master raised his eyebrows slightly. “It is indeed amazing,” he said.

“Corporate Headquarters has commanded,” continued the magician,
“that everyone use this workstation as a platform for new programs.
Do you agree to this?”

“Certainly,” replied the master,
“I will have it transported to the data center immediately!”
And the magician returned to his tower, well pleased.

  Several days later, a novice wandered into the office of the master programmer and said,
“I cannot find the listing for my new program.  Do you know where it might be?”

“Yes,” replied the master, “the listings are stacked on the platform in the data center.”

 — Geoffrey James, “The Tao of Programming” ~~


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Contrary to all precepts of scientific endeavor, we’ve finished. Not only finished, but, done. And, just in time, I might add. The myrmidons seem to be somewhat persistent today; I can hear the sirens coming right here to the oyster beds…. How convenient we will be gone when they arrive; funny how that worked out, isn’t it? Ah well, we’ll worry about all that later; once y’all have exited the premises, we can break out the heavier artillery. Of course, we’re not allowed to tell you what it is, but, trust me; you’re safe…..See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. Count on it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


Magic bullets engender dilatory responses….

Ffolkes,

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture.

Just get people to stop reading them.”

~~ Ray Bradbury ~~

Mars colony2

Artist’s rendition of Life in the Mars Colony

Image by Ville Ericsson via Space.com


Good morning…. Remember Alice’s White Rabbit? That’s me, all over. “I’m late, I’m late, etc….” The date with which I’ve tasked myself is not, perhaps, as important as the Rabbit’s, though, ’tis to me, but, that’s one of those points we are wont to call moot. Well, some of us are. But, I digress, which, as y’all have previously seen, isn’t unusual, or particularly helpful.

Ah, well, so much for the intro. I had hope honesty, even if coupled with fantasy, might work; alas, ’tis yet another plan gone awry. This, of course, leaves us in the lurch, and though Lurch was one of my favorite characters, it’s not the place a nice blog likes to find itself. Therefore, with powers vested in me by the leasing of the Tardis, I declare this intro complete…. Luigi, you know what to do…. The rest of you…. look busy.

Shall we Pearl?….

“He who fights the devil with his own weapons, must not wonder if he finds him an overmatch.” — South

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Jerry

Jerry Garcia


As a Deadhead in good standing, (I’m all registered as a user at Dead.net), I receive periodic emails from the remainder of the band, which has now morphed into the Dead & Company, now beginning a tour to live up to the band’s historic live reputation as improvisational wizards, along with the newest band members, taking the place of, but, never replacing Jerry and the others who have passed….

The Garcia Family started a non-profit foundation, with the purpose of bringing music to the children and people of the world. They’ve just released a song, with people from all over the world singing “Ripple”, one of the Dead’s iconic songs, with cameo appearances from several big musical names, such as Jimmy Buffet, and David Crosby. I’ve included it as today’s video, so, enjoy!…..


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Ripple | Playing For Change | Song Around The World   

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Sandclock .jpg

    Since I’m late, you know what’s going to happen now…. Here’s a short little mini-politireligirant that spilled out in the intro, from the archives….

From the intro on 6/10/2014:

I am frequently (adjective TBA) (Okay, we’ll use “bemused” for wont of anything more accurate….) to learn something new about people, especially myself….. In the process of checking my bank account online, to see if my SS allowance had been deposited, I became aware of the power of certain feelings, engendered by the mere presence, or absence of resources… In essence, just the mere fact of having a significantly useful amount of money to use is enough to stimulate feelings of extreme relief, almost a giddy joy, which is probably a reaction to NOT feeling the stressful worry that goes along with NOT having enough resources on hand….

In today’s world, most of us are only one or two months worth of paychecks from living on the streets, so when our bank account gets too small, it’s a source of constant stress….. Especially when food becomes scarce…. Of course, only the middle and lower classes of society are subject to this process, but, hey, that’s you and me, ffolkes, so it’s not as if you don’t know whereof I speak….

The most difficult feeling with which to cope, for me, is the one that comes to me when I realize that our BRC, our beloved rulers, and their corporate masters, along with their counterparts in the priestly hierarchies, don’t ever have to feel any of that…. They are already rich enough to have passed beyond the level where a month or two of income reduction, or shall we say, reduced profit, because that’s closer to the truth of the matter, won’t have any significant effect on their lives, and certainly wouldn’t cause them to lose their place of residence. In point of fact, they’re rich enough that they don’t have to even THINK about that issue at all…. I would guess that is a very powerful feeling in itself….

Now, I know you’re thinking to yourselves, “there he goes again, ranting in the intro…”, and you’d no doubt be right. I didn’t intend to start off this way, but, having gone to look at my account, it struck me pretty hard how wide the gap has grown between the rich, and the rest of humanity…. The income differential grows larger each minute, as the system of thievery of the middle classes, and the parasitic assholes who reap the rewards of that theft, continue their pillaging of society without ever slackening pace…. rushing us all along the road to extinction with gleeful madness…

Such ranting has become less than profitable for me, and seems to keep some folks away, which is part of the reason why I’m looking around for new ways to interest my readers…. I hate feeling this crap, and hate the fact that the world is set up in such a way as to allow the rich and powerful to do pretty much whatever they want, and the rest of us suck hind teat…. SIGH….

It just makes me want to go out & buy that gun I keep promising to obtain…. But, I know that soon after doing so, I’d have to keep one of the first rules of gun ownership, to wit: If you are going to keep your gun loaded, then only pick it up when you are prepared to fire it….. My only problem with that is the difficulty in CHOOSING a target; there are a LOT of them out there that are worth one of my bullets…. It’s all the more attractive as I think about how GOOD I’d feel after taking down a couple of those assholes who have more money than morals…. tempting, indeed…

For now, though, I’ll content myself with that, and get on with today’s business, such as it is…. At least this will keep me from SPENDING all that money for a few hours….

Note from 2015:

Nothing’s changed much in the past year, has it? In fact, things look a bit less stable than even that short time ago…. Ah well, tomorrow’s another day….

“Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.” — Eugene O’Neill

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Comedy_Tragedy

    Yep. It’s mine, from the past….

When life calls, ready or not….
Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/10/2012.

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pearls_3

    Naturally, we go once more to the archives to save our sorry ass….

From 6/13/2014:

Naturally, saving time means old-school…. I’ll be good, though, and find some fresh pearls, instead of pulling one from the archives… Aren’t I nice? Especially for someone still half-way buried in sleep…. Let’s see what happens; this could go several ways, so I hope it finds a good path…. I never quite know what to expect when I push Smart Bee to hurry…. sometimes it comes out well, and sometimes, well… it comes out, which is the BEST thing that can be said of it…. Let’s hope for better than that….

“Memory: what wonders it performs in preserving and storing up things gone by or rather, things that are!” — Plutarch

“We ought never to do wrong when people are looking.’ — Mark Twain

‘The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am.” — Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Although a cloth be washed a hundred times,
How can it be rendered clean and pure
If it be washed in water which is dirty?

 ~~ Nagarjuna (c. 100-200 A.D.) ~~


“Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable.” — The Wizard of Oz

“After being asked by a waitress if he wanted his pizza cut into four slices or eight: “Better make it four. I don’t think I can eat eight pieces.” — Yogi Berra

“The death of God left the angels in a strange position.’ — Internal documentation, programmer unknown

Well, it does show some of the effects of hurrying, but, it’s really not bad at all…. Makes a couple of good points, I think…. No worries, either way, it’s done…. so be it….

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Done. I’m not sure at all how it came out, and simply don’t have time to care. This is it, ffolkes; WYSIWYG. And, I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow…. maybe. Ah hell, who am I kidding? I’ll be here, come hell or high water…. or, the NSA, those clandestine a-holes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Heretical truth , though heresy, remains truth….

Ffolkes,

I slept and drempt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was duty.

I acted and beheld that duty was joy.

~~ Rabindranath Tagore ~~

snake-piggyback-po_uktel-8-4-15

Take me to your leader, and don’t try anything funny!

Image from the UK Telegraph 8/4/2015


Good morning…. Before we actually begin today, I should relate a small but relatively important piece of new information about these Pearls in general, and, more specifically, about individual pearls, and their attribution. As I’ve shared previously, (though not recently; hence this housekeeping event…), when Smart Bee gives me an aphorism/quote/statement without attribution, I try to take time to plug it into Google, which usually can identify it. When it can’t, and I can’t figure out any other way to find out, I just give Smart Bee the attribution, and let it go at that.

From today on, whenever I feel like it, in such cases where the final attribution for any quote is to go to SB, I may, or may not, provide a short, pithy comment on the pearl itself, in the format of an addition/change to the usual form, e.g., Very Smart Bee, or, Sarcastic Bee, etc. It’s just another little way I can let off a bit of steam, which is part of the cathartic effect of the blogging process…. for me. I know for sure there are others who use this process to maintain their sanity, so, I’m not alone in that; hopefully, this little addition will help smooth it out for me, and, in the process, give y’all a chuckle or two…

So be it. gigoid has spoken. We now return you to your regularly scheduled intro, as this portion was pre-recorded for my convenience, then, locked in the Tardis until time to paste in here…. Slick, eh? Okay, here’s your intro….

{{ dignified silence }}


Gotcha! Okay, Luigi, I think they’re sufficiently stunned; let’s hit it…. Oh, y’all might want to hold on to something, no matter how apt what George says below may, or may not be; bumpy is too mild a word when Luigi’s on a roll….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The power to stand alone is worth acquiring at the expense of much sorrowful solitude.” — George Bernard Shaw

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    In today’s video/music/entertainment section, we are going to listen to some more of my default choice, i.e., classical music. As a bonus, just below this paragraph, you will find an extra link. This link will take you to the home page of the SF Bay Area’s classical music radio station, KDFC. On their home page, you will find a button that says, “Listen Live”; click the button, to be connected to the streaming channel for KDFC, where you can listen to one of the finest selections of music ever compiled.

Though fully listener-supported, they stream their programs for free; on the home page you can also connect to listen to archived recorded music of various Bay Area events, such as the SF Symphony, every Wednesday evening, and other recordings…. And, you can listen to this fine selection ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!….. FOR FREE!….

An excellent resource, I’d say…. Enjoy:  http://www.kdfc.com/


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Classical Music For Sleep

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Dont keep calm

“All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.”

~~ Aristotle ~~


I’ve always felt a kinship to Aristotle; everything I’ve read attributed to him, and everything I’ve read about him, makes obvious his genius, not only for its depth of wisdom and rationality, but, for its simplicity, and, most importantly, its connection to what is human. This statement exhibits all those qualities, even though merely a general statement of truth as it applies to human nature.

Examining it for the depth of meaning implied by its simplicity explains a lot, about why the world we live in today has become such a burden to the common man, as society sinks ever further into the naturally occurring chaos which is the only possible outcome of such an unbalanced approach to society. The continuing repression of the masses of humanity by the oligarchy can never lead to any sort of harmonious existence for all; there will always be resentment for the all-too-apparent inequality of privilege, heavily in favor the few, over the many.

Trust Aristotle to put his finger on the core problem; humans are so constructed they cannot seem to handle the acquisition of power over others without losing their sense of morality, choosing every time to act in their own self-interest over that of others, regardless of the consequences for those others. They become so focused on the money and power, and their own desires, nothing else matters to them; not ethics, not morals, and certainly not the welfare of other people. One might think there would at least ONE historical report, which describes another outcome, but, I defy anyone to show me any, anywhere in the recorded history of mankind, from the days of ancient Greece, right up to the present, when society did not eventually fall prey to the same inner corruption we see today.

I’ve issued this challenge previously, and never received a single response; I suspect this is because there IS no adequate response (The more realistic side of me says it’s probably because not very many people see these pearls… but, the argument remains the same.). Any such period of time showing any truly ethical form of government was short-lived, as the oligarchy, in every case, has, over time, used their hidden resources to buy treachery, and to manipulate events to suit themselves…. a process at which they have become VERY adept.

Today’s world, with its new technology, threatens to turn our world into a truly dystopian nightmare, with less than .00001% of the people in the world oppressing the remaining seven billion, enforced by their typical violent means, with the added enhancement of computers and robots to assist them in their aim, which, put simply, is nothing less than to enslave the rest of the human race for their own benefit.

Once again, it seems I could rant forever; it also seems, sometimes, as if I already have. So, I’m mostly done, at least for today….. Here are three quick pearls, to give my opinion on the government we have today, then a short finishing blurb…. These 3 are pretty sharp, and pretty clear; no two-by-four needed….

“All forms of government are pernicious, including good government.” — Edward Abbey

“Love of money is the root of all Politicians.” — Obvious Bee

Laws are only words words written on paper, words that change on society’s whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool.” — John J. Miller, And Hope to Die — (in _Jokertown Shuffle – Wild Cards IX_)

I really think it is time for the people of the world to become aware of how ubiquitously they are being lied to, and, how they are enslaved, with their own tacit, ignorant agreement. When that time comes, when people finally realize their true state, it won’t matter how much control the oligarchs THINK they have. What do you think will happen to the predators of mankind when their prey, all 6+ BILLION of them, all get angry at once?… It wouldn’t be particularly hard to get the message across, as most people have heard the story, if only in music…. such as this, from the English speaking world… (I imagine it would translate well; most music is flexible enough to transcend mere language….)

And the sentence you’re paying is too high priced
While you’re living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he’s made on your dreams
~~ Traffic, “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” ~~


No amount of technology, no degree of control would be sufficient to protect them, for when all of mankind realizes the truth, the following would become even more relevant, on a scale unheard of in history….

“Beware of that person who is slow to anger. For when it is long in coming, it stays longer and is warmer and dies not so easily. Abused patience is a very strong fuel for a fire not easily put out by any known means.” — Ancient Smart Bee

Hey, it’s a nice dream, isn’t it? Now I just need to write the song…. You Tube can take care of getting it out to most of mankind….

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Comedy_Tragedy

Dreaming, I wait….


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


~~ gigoid ~~


Written 8/18/2013.

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buddah-out-to-lunch_s

    Here’s a nice little nine-star pearl, with some good stuff to say about life, and the advantages of at least pretending to use one’s mind to live it…. sort of. You’ll see….

“I think, …. Do You?”

~~ Diogenes Bee ~~


” Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing.” — Publius Syrus

“But the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” — Arthur C. Clarke (1917-) — Profiles of the Future (1962; rev. 1973) — “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination”

“The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it.” — Realistic Bee

“A belief is not true because it is useful.” — Henri Frederic Amiel

“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.” — Phaedrus — Book i, Fable 26, 12

“Do you know that disease and death must needs overtake us, no matter what we are doing?   What do you wish to be doing when it overtakes you? If you have anything better to be doing when you are so overtaken, get to work on that.” — Epictetus

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” — Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

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Well, ffolkes, I’ve been over it twice, or three times now; I can’t find anything I missed. I guess it’s done. Damn good thing, too, as I’ve been done for some time. I hope none of what occurred after that point gets me in any deeper than I am already. Time will tell; it always does. It never can keep its mouth shut. Today, I just hope it can do so until I’ve safely donned my protective armor. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, ambush, or no ambush….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Cream pie has no observable limits….

Ffolkes,

“My nose feels like a bad Ronald Reagan movie…”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

animals-frog_uktel-8-4-15

“Do ya think they’ll let us enter the Iditarod, Alonzo?”

Image from the UK Telegraph 8-4-2015


Good morning…. You may have noted the absence of the little pieces of ASCII art I was planning to include here from now on…. That’s because I don’t speak HTML, and couldn’t figure out how to enlarge them on the final viewing page of the posts; all I could get them to do was show up in their smallest incarnation, which was way too small…. So, they’re history, and I say that with gusto and aplomb, just as if anyone had really noticed, or gave a rat’s ass….

Oh! Wasn’t THAT lovely!…. Okay, ffolkes, I’m here, but, I don’t think I’d go any further than that. (And, probably shouldn’t even try….) But, I’m up, at 0230 again, so….. If I have to be here, somebody’s going to pay!…. I’ll try not to make it my Gentle Readers, but, I’d stay alert, if I were y’all. I’m afraid, in this mood, I can be a bit unpredictable….

Oh, nobody’s in any real physical danger (unless, of course, they panic at loud noises, or can’t find any appreciation at having to absorb a few minor blows to the head….), but, the stress levels have been known to top out the scale on occasion; it’s really no problem, as we offer Valium for those of our readers who need it, or, even, want it. We’re not your mother…

Nor are we particularly sane at this point in time (like that wasn’t already clear!…). Of course, sanity is a bit of a slippery concept around here, anyway, (hell, it’s not even included in the insurance!), so, none of that is of any particular significance…. Actually, I guess we COULD say that NONE of the above has any particular significance, and, we’d be right about that, too. We like being right, it’s so much easier, and cheaper, than being left.

Okay, that’s it. I’ve crossed the line, again. I’m making an executive (i.e., ruthless) decision, to get us the hell out of here before we manage to do something that could stimulate litigation. We HATE that! (Who doesn’t?…) Okay, I’m done. Let’s get on with this mess, okay?….

Shall we Pearl?….

“A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.” — Knights of Pythagoras

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elvira-madigan-photo

Image from listal.com via Google Images


This will, no doubt, remove any covers I may have had for my romantic nature, which, due to extensive training as a curmudgeon, I try to conceal as best I can… This piece was sent to me a few days ago by a friend, and I was so enchanted, I decided to include it for the enjoyment of my Gentle Readers…. If you can’t find it in yourself to sigh a couple times, and to feel some joy at the music and story, well, y’all need to lighten up… Enjoy!….

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Elvira Madigan -Piano Concerto No.21

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Sandclock .jpg

    As the iconic picture above indicates to those Gentle Readers who inexplicably frequent this blog, we’ll be dipping into the archives today. It’s not that I don’t have time to write a fresh rant; in fact, I have one in progress. But, it’s looking as if it won’t be done soon enough, as it keeps growing on me. So, I’ll do the exact thing tomorrow’s rant will address, and cheat….. This is a little follow-up to a religirant from the day previous to the date you see below; it’s pretty light, all things considered, so, enjoy the day off from wearing your thinking caps….

From 9/8/2012:

It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf.  But the gulf lies elsewhere.  It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought. — Smart Bee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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Comedy_Tragedy

    Today’s poem was chosen merely because it’s the one which hasn’t been used for the longest time; last posted in 2013, this one is one of my personal favorites, no matter how it compares qualitatively with any of the others…. I hope you enjoy it….

Unheralded Sagacity…


To many, who will not see beyond their nose
the world becomes a dangerous place,
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,
no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.

Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years,
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.

Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt
Strength is found in an unfettered mind,
Cry “freedom” with a great shout.

No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 4/17/2013.

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pearls_3

    Today’s final pearl is pretty typical; it speaks about some of those things in life it can be important to remember, in order to live the life we choose to live…. Well, in one sense, I suppose we all do that, whether we choose or not; not choosing is also a choice…. But, I digress…. Enjoy, ffolkes; once you get past this, it’s a piece o’cake….

“If you would know a man, observe how he treats a cat.” — Smart Bee

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” — Robert A. Heinlein

“Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.” — Henry Van Dyke

“Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.” — Bertold Brecht

“To be able to say how much love, is love but little.” — Petrarch

It is a man”‘s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” — Buddha

“The choices we make dictate the life we lead. There is no destiny; you make your own fate.” — Smart Bee

“Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is boring without it.” — Pearl S. Buck

If of all words of tongue and pen,
 The saddest are, `It might have been,’
 More sad are these we daily see:
 `It is, but hadn’t ought to be.’

~~ Francis Brett Harte ~~


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Not only a piece o’cake, but, chocolate marble cake with a caramel-buttercream frosting!…. Yum! Unless, of course, you’d prefer the German Chocolate, which we keep on hand. No? Too early for that much sugar? No worries; it’ll keep. Having completed my self-inflicted duty, so will I, until tomorrow, when I’ll get up at goodness knows what hour to begin all this again…. Oh, yay. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I don’t see any way I can get out of it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Wasting time the old fashioned way….

Ffolkes,

“All men are created unequal.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

trees-angkor_uktel-8-6-15

Elder Trees at the Temple of Angkor Wat

Image from the UK Telegraph 8-6-2015


Good morning…. Boldly, he sat to begin, in spite of knowing full well the futility of even trying on such a day. Truly, his will is strong, if misguided, if he believes he can pull this off; only such loyalty to purpose could even give such hope. Yet, there is a certain poignancy to consistent failure; mankind has always liked a sad story. Perhaps, if he ever has time, he’ll think about that….

Morning, ffolkes…. I think I’ve gotten whatever that was out of my system. I’m not really sure where it actually came from, and I can’t recall ever falling into that particular mode of expression, speaking in the fourth person, so to speak, talking about myself as if I were watching from a distance. Oh, well, it must have something to do with the 57 minutes of staring at the screen I did while cudgeling my brain to come up with today’s title…. and, look at the poor thing! Pathetic!….

Oh, well. It’s probably a good thing I got up early; it gives me more time to clean up the crap that spills. It is also a good thing nobody’s paying me to do this, or I’d feel really bad about the quality of my work. But, I put my time in on the financial wheel of karma, so, it’s my turn to coast a bit. My dad would FLIP if he thought I was getting paid for any of this!….

But, enough about me; let’s go find some pearls, before this gets any further from reality. I’m already into territory I’m not sure I could find my way out of….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The superior man is the providence of the inferior. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, and a shield for the defenseless. He stands erect by bending above the fallen. He rises by lifting others.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    My brain is rather uncooperative today; it’s probably pretty obvious by now. Almost an hour to come up with a title, and, far too long for a weak intro…. Now, I cannot seem to even decide what kind of music to listen to…. At this point, it becomes clear there’s only one thing to do, which is to say, “Fuck it”, and go with our default. Here is about an hour and a half of somebody’s idea of the best classical music. If I can’t pull it together in that amount of time, it’s hopeless…. In any case, I hope you enjoy it…. I picked it solely for the picture it showed on the page….

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Classical Music, Again

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Dont keep calm

    Today’s ranting section will consist primarily of homework…. Yes, I know, I’m not your teacher, unless, of course, you wish me to be. However, it never hurts to learn. Period. So, here is some pretty good material that was sent to me by an anonymous commenter named ‘anders’. I checked out the three links he/she/it sent, and found them to be quite interesting.

The document on Natural Law is quite good; the other I have yet to finish, but, makes a lot of sense so far. The others were found at Tales From The Conspiratum, where an article from Jon Rappaport was reblogged; he’s an author and frequent contributor to Natural News, Waking Times, Think Progress, and a number of other alternative-to-MSM news sites…. All good stuff, in no particular order…. We’ll follow it up at the end with an old-school pearl, taking some shots at the Asininnies (who else?….)

Enjoy!….

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


Hereinafter is set forth the aforementioned old-school pearl;


Pay no heed, at your peril….

“I love this nation, but we have some of the stupidest people here. — Smart Bee

“Everything’s gotta have rules, rules , rules!” — Calvin & Hobbes

(For any visiting folks, or  Gentle Readers who may be irony-challenged, that’s irony…. Think about it a minute….)

“Thank goodness modern convenience is a thing of the remote future.” — Pogo, by Walt Kelly

(This one is more sardonic, than ironic, but, it works….) (Does that make it iconic?…. Or, iconoclastic?…. Just wondered….) (Yes, I know I’m strange… Don’t worry, the pearls don’t care….)

“As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.” — George Orwell (The Road to Wigan Pier 1937)

“All Bibles are man-made.” — Thomas Alva Edison

“A man parks his car in front of the main entrance of the Congress. Immediately, a member of the security team goes after him yelling: “Sir! Sir! You cannot park in here!  All the congressmen are about to go out!” The man replies, “Don’t worry.  I have a good alarm in my car.” — Smarmy Bee

“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever.  I think you’ll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.” — Brian E. Moore

“How should one deal with a man who is convinced that he is acting according to God’s will, and who therefore believes that he is doing you a favour by stabbing you in the back?” — Voltaire

“Is it legal to advocate the long overdue overthrow of a corrupt govt.?”” — Smart Bee

“The world is divided into people who think they are right.” — Bumpersticker

“Those who cling to the untrue doctrine that violence never settles anything would be advised to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it.  The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon.  Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst.  Nations and peoples who forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms.” — R.A. Heinlein

“Nationalism is an infantile sickness.  It is the measles of the human race.” — Albert Einstein

“You expect me to believe that? . . . Del Grant ~~ “Not particularly. But it happens to be the truth….” — Avon

Hmm…. Apparently, this could go on forever. There are already thirteen, and SB is still running hot; I was, and remain, not entirely sure about going on to #13; last time I did that, the Space/Time Continuum sent me a memo to stop fooling around…. We’ll stop there, thus showing both the compassionate side of our nature, and the common sense to stay in the good graces of the S/T Con, certainly an entity/iconic force of Nature, with whom it probably isn’t wise to mess….

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

Comedy_Tragedy

    Around this time last year, I was having a lot of pain; this is a poem I wrote at the time…. I hope you enjoy it, it’s pretty honest…

Elemental, dear Watson….

Don’t worry,
it’s not
me
you hear
screaming.

It is
only
my bones,
giving in,
to
cowardly,
pathologically,
repetitive,
fucking,’
complaints
of
past abuse,
and
all the fun
we had.
playing,
hard.

I don’t mind
too much;
I can spend my
TIME
in another space
in my head,
pretending
my bones
don’t
exist….

It
is,
indeed,
a shame
they
always
come
back….

Fuck.

It
hurts.

More proof,
I guess,
either
God isn’t,
or,
He  is.

IF

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

IF

He is?
Then,
I don’t fucking care
who
doesn’t like it,

I say,

He
is
a bully,
a coward,
a hypocrite,
and,
truly,
an enormous asshole.

I suppose,
God
 is
what comes,
to,
and
from,
People,

because

 they
feel
a need,
for
someone
to
blame,
for
a
Universe
they
cannot
understand
or
accept.

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/14/2014.

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

ankh (2)

    The icon should give y’all a clue this pearl is a little different. It kind of got away from me, as I tried to put two pearls together in one session with Smart Bee. (It seemed to be in an extraordinarily good mood, giving out lots of good stuff, so, I pushed the envelope a bit….) It worked out fairly well, but, I’m not exactly sure if it’s completely sane. It is, however, all good advice on how to live, even if a bit skewed at points here and there, so, you might want to take notes…. No telling if any of it will be on the Quiz….

“Nothing in excess — including moderation.” — Smart Bee

“In the midst of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

14. “Wipe thine ass with what is written and grin like a ninny at what is Spoken. Take thine refuge with thine wine in the Nothing behind Everything, as you hurry along the Path.” — THE PURPLE SAGE, HBT; The Book of Predictions, Chap. 19

“Reality is a cliche from which we escape by metaphor.” — Wallace Stevens

“A man is not aware of his virtues (if any). Nevertheless, one hopes that they exist.” — Edward Abbey

“The present is the only thing that has no end. — Erwin Schrödinger

“No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout… run right back and make friends.” — Things We Can Learn From Dogs

“All people smile in the same language.” — Smart Bee

I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen,
Of Meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were,
With morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see,
For still there are so many things that I have never seen:
In every wood in every spring there is a different green.
I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago,
And people who will see a world that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think of times that were before,
I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.

 — J.R.R. Tolkien


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


        How this one got done will probably forever remain a mystery; nor is it one I’d care to investigate. It’s done, and, right now, that’s the best I can say of it; I’ll make no claims to quality today. In fact, it would probably be best to just take my leave, before this gets to a point where I’ll have to end up making some sort of apology…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; this time, I may need to find a good reason to do so…. Nah, no worries, I’ll be back…. Ooh, too Arnoldy?…. Ah, well, see ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Epiphany for sale: affordable rates….

Ffolkes,

 =-0 * * *

~~ The Enterprise firing photon torpedoes, at a cloaked Klingon Warbird ~~

=-O ~~~~~    =۞≫

~~ The Enterprise firing phasers at an uncloaked Klingon Warbird ~~

This rich view of a tapestry of colourful stars was captured by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) camera, on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It shows a open cluster of stars known as IC 4651, a stellar grouping that lies at in the constellation of Ara (The Altar).

This rich view of a tapestry of colourful stars was captured by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) camera, on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It shows a open cluster of stars known as IC 4651, a stellar grouping that lies at in the constellation of Ara (The Altar).

Star Cluster IC-4651

Image by European Southern Observatory via Space.com


Good morning…. Boy, what a ride! Life can be pretty unpredictable, especially when you’re awake. Sleep, having been hard to come by of late, has apparently returned to stay for a while; I’m up late (for me; it’s damn near 6 AM….), having again slept more than 6 hours. Yay for me. Now, once again, I’ll have to rush to get posted before my automatic sense of duty kicks in to REALLY send me into panic mode. To forestall any such event, we shall now head out directly to the oyster beds, with no further fooling around…. Watch this!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” — James Baldwin (1867-1947)

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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    You guessed it. Default music…. This one called itself a mix to improve Brain Power, and gives you about 10 hours to do so…..


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Classical Music

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2001_a_space_odyssey

The Dawn of Man


https://youtu.be/ypEaGQb6dJk




As you observe the opening lines of this section, I’d like you to note a couple of details, which were deliberately added for the purpose of directing this discussion. First, I would request you watch the video, either by clicking on the embedded player, or using the link to watch it on You Tube…. Particularly note the development of the habit of violence in the human tribe of simians, with the not unexpected eventual response of stimulating the curiosity and violence in the nature of those abused by that new habitual behavior, thus, perpetuating it as part of the developing embryonic cultures.

Then, note I put the title just below a picture of the part of the film which shows humanity’s progress, with the Blue Danube waltz playing in the background, to highlight the pinnacle of achievement thus represented by the station, the flight, and the music, combined to show what is possible for us as humans. The title, to me, shows the TRUE dawn of Man.

We aren’t quite as far along yet, as shown in the film, (directly attributable, it seems clear to me, to the effect our violent nature has had in slowing that progress..); however, to me, our ascent from this planet into space is the only hope we have to get away from that violence, sublimating the power of the emotional content that drives it, by channeling our curiosity, into exploring a Universe large enough to provide us with an unending pursuit of knowledge, and more complex and powerful methods of getting along with the races we encounter out there, rather than into more complex and powerful weaponry, while simultaneously giving us the necessary physical protection of knowing HOW to fight.

The irony of putting the title at that point is this: we are NOT going to get there. Not at the rate we’re going. There is too much instability in the world today to ever believe we won’t end up destroying ourselves, either by consuming conflagration of nuclear war, or by continuing to poison the air we breathe, the food we eat, the plants and animals that support the ecosystem, and, most of all, by our ignorance and lack of courage/virtue….. The signs are too clear to ignore, ffolkes, so, it would behoove all of us to figure out exactly what we’re going to do…. quickly, too, for there are certain issues of physics/biology/chemistry/ecology which will NOT wait until we get around to it….

“As soon as you are willing to discard observational data because it conflicts with religion, you are giving up any hope of ever really understanding the  universe.   As soon as you pick religion as the touchstone of reality, then we  have to start discussing how one can demonstrate the correctness of one religion over another when different *religions* disagree.” — Wilson Heydt

“The answer is simple: kill the heretics.   History shows us that this is the actual solution that competing religions apply — trial by combat or trial by ordeal.  God is the final arbiter.  What a sad waste of human potential it has proven to be.” — Paul Hager

The two quotes above, taken together, give a graphic example of how this irony manifests itself in today’s world. The oligarchs control the politicians and the religions, and the politicians and religions try to control the masses of humanity, playing out their drama of good vs. evil on a global scale, at such a complex, mind-numbing number of times, places, and on so many fronts, the average person is buried in the details and stresses of life, never even realizing how deeply their thoughts and behavior are being influenced by others.

All this sad, yet, somehow glorious and fascinating panorama of human existence in today’s world, is observed by a relatively small group of people, smart enough to understand, and see, the big picture, but, who have never wished to control anything but their own lives. Since we don’t really WANT to have to do so, or to have to take part in any of the other delusional behaviors most of society is pursuing, it becomes a challenge, to find others who see the same, and have the wherewithal to organize, to make some kind of difference, if by nothing else than speaking up to educate the ignorant….

So, that’s what I do…. I seem to have done it enough for today, so, we’ll get on with the remainder of our lives now…..

    gigoid has spoken.

    So be it.


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

Comedy_Tragedy
Roses for Noses
I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
 nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
 how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
 too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
 Or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst”….

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
 since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
 The world is full of humor,  but not always easy to find
  so laughing at myself I learned never to mind….

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
 there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
 and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows….

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
 to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
 of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face….

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
 we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
 if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop….

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
 let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
 you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 1/27/2013.

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

buddah-out-to-lunch_s

    This one was a little rushed at the end, but, I’m pretty sure it came out alright. You tell me….

“A short saying oft contains much wisdom.”

~~ Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Aletes, Frag. 99 ~~


“I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind.” — Antoine de Saint Exupery

“Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.), [quoting Plato]

“Profound Truth differs from simple truth in that the negation of a simple truth is a simple falsehood, while the negation of a Profound Truth may be  another Profound Truth. E.g. a button with “Life is just as simple as it seems” on one side and “Life is not as simple as it seems” on the other.” — Smart Bee

“It is… nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreak and ruin. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.” — Albert Einstein, “Autobiographical Notes”

“I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.” — John Locke

“I am a man, and nothing that concerns a man do I deem a matter of indifference to me.” — Terence — Heautontimoroumenos, Act i, Sc. 1, 25, (77.)

“Your actions prove what you think of yourself.” — Will Limon

“And never think about the past. No regrets, ever.” — Lazarus Long

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

    Some of y’all may have noticed a new piece of ASCII-art added to the pearls today. If it wasn’t obvious before, it really ought to be now, for it is sitting right above this paragraph, staring at you as if you are some sort of pond slime for not noticing. It’s a sensitive icon, you see. It will be a part of every pearl henceforth, for as long as I remember to put it there, or, until I figure out the correct way to get it into the template…. So be it.

Now the housekeeping is done, (as Tommy Toilet recommended so aptly to us all, so may years ago….), I note the Pearl for today is as well. Done, that is. Or, at least, I hope it is; I promised it would be. I can’t be sure, as I’m actually writing this yesterday, and leaving it to the Tardis, to put it where it belongs, at the proper time. Handy, that. On that semi-plausible, –in-another-universe–, note, I shall take my leave, with the usual caveat regarding the instability of the Space/Time Continuum, and, of course, the forces of Entropy, which can be whimsical, at best…. I’m gonna go post now…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Darkness has an odd coefficient….

Ffolkes,

Enjoy the present hour,
Be thankful for the past,
And neither fear nor wish
Th’ approaches of the last.

~~ Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) ~~

potd-hippo_uktel-8-4-15

Please! Everybody take your seats so we can get started!

Image from the UK Telegraph 8-4-2015


Those readers who have been here consistently will know right away something is up. Those who have not will merely feel a slight bit of uneasiness, without knowing why. Those who are here for their first taste of Consensual Reality, gigoid-style, are in for an epiphany, of sorts; the direction it takes is completely ruled by their own inner needs. The rest of us, well, we’re going out for breakfast….

Of course, breakfast will consist solely of a bit of smarmy dialogue, but, they don’t know that. I’ve decided, as is by now obvious, to sever all connections we had to normal reality, and spend the day out on the fringes. There wasn’t a damn thing to write about where we were, so, it became necessary to move the encampment out to the suburbs of sanity, where things start getting a bit random…. There’s more variety here to choose from, which appeals to my basic laziness….

Since there will be no rhyme (well, maybe one or two) nor reason (I think you’ll agree that won’t be a problem today…), perhaps we’d best not dally here in the intro. Randomness and silly, when combined in such quantities, can easily overwhelm the ballast pumps, causing us to wallow a bit. No wallowing allowed, of course, so, we’ll be monitoring that particular system closely today. All part of the service….

There, I think that brings us to the required point of insanity. Luigi is getting a bit impatient, so, let’s all tighten up those seat restraints, make sure all beverages have been placed in the appropriate holders, with lids firmly attached, apply makeup, and be on our way…. We’ve got a long way to go today, and Luigi always likes to go slow on Wednesdays…. Tuesday is his day off, and he’s always a bit sluggish the day after moulting….

Shall we Pearl?….

“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.” — Voltaire

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

royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

    If you’ve been here before, you’ll know I love the guitar. Leo Kottke is a virtuoso of the instrument, most famous for his work on the 12 string. I’m not familiar with Mike Gordon, or Phish, as I’ve gotten a bit out of touch with modern artists and music, but, the band (Phish) has a good reputation, and, if Leo sat down to play with him, I imagine he’s pretty good; this should be a good little piece of entertainment for those of us who appreciate live music… and, who doesn’t?…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. there’s no reason NOT to do so….


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Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon (Phish) Live

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

Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent

“Money can’t buy happiness.”


I have, naturally, applied the science of dubiousity to this axiom, one I’m certain everyone has heard; hell, it’s so ubiquitous, I didn’t bother with any attribution…. I’m happy to say, after a period of serious cogitation upon the issue, it is possible to add a few words which would demonstrate this idea to be, if not false, at the very least, amenable to mitigation. Let’s try it this way:

“Money can’t buy happiness, unless spent in service to others.”


In other words, it is the act of gathering money, or, more accurately, the avarice which leads to gathering and hoarding money, with its attendant lure, of giving power over those who don’t, which absolutely precludes bringing happiness to those who acquire it for the purpose of serving themselves. Money is merely a symbol, of the value people place on their time; by giving it to others, these “normal people”, (I contend such philanthropy is the instinct of a ‘normal’ human being….), increase their positive karmic burden, thereby freeing themselves from ego, and the suffering so natural when one becomes attached to ‘things’.

Our world is currently embroiled in a conflict covering the entire planet, one which has been raging for centuries, since the very beginning of our first attempts to build a culture. The conflict is a direct result of the duality of human nature, and can be held responsible for every moment of suffering, and of joy, experienced by mankind. The very duality of our nature, which reflects the duality of reality, sets us at odds with each other, as the two sides of us war for dominance….

One side is our lust for life, the other is our reason; those who live by the dictates of the first are those who act from their ego, who desire money, and power over others in order to feel as if they are a success in life. Those who live by reason have no such appetites, understanding that it is only by helping one another, we all may survive the complexity of this terrible, yet wonderful Reality in which we have been dumped….

Dumped? Well, that’s a bit harshly phrased. and, I don’t mean to imply there is anyone responsible for that; no, I just meant we are here, and we don’t have any idea why, or how we got here. Truthfully, neither of these questions is really important, not to the Universe. But, for some reason, they are important to us humans, so, we have to discuss them endlessly, such as here, in blogs such as ECR…. Funny how that works, eh?…

Any who, we see, now, how the duality of our nature keeps us in conflict with each other; the two camps of human attitudes will be forever at odds, until one or the other has become ascendant…. If it is those who live by their base nature, by desire and ego, well, I don’t believe the species is long for this world…. I’m pretty sure, if we don’t turn the other way, toward reason and compassion toward life, well, we are ALL doomed, regardless of how much anyone WANTS it to be otherwise….

That’s enough darkness for one morning…. I actually didn’t plan to do this, but, hey, that’s life in the blogosphere, right? Right… I’ll leave you with a final thought, then we’ll wrap up the rest of this, forthwith….

“You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you ever risked disapproval? Have you ever risked a belief? I see nothing particularly courageous in risking one’s life. So you lose it, you go to your hero’s heaven and everything is milk and honey ’til the end of time, right? You get your reward and suffer no earthly consequences. That’s not courage. Real courage is risking something that you have to keep on living with, real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness. Real courage is risking one’s cliches.” — Tom Robbins

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

Comedy_Tragedy

Painful candor

I sit, and ponder, then try to write…
seeking always to keep from sounding trite.
My record so far is less than grand;
we’ll not be striking up the hometown band.

Poems come to me, with cadence and rhyme,
that’s the easy part, every time.
Finding words of wisdom herein to include,
makes short shrift, however, of my attitude.

Still the words keep floating up in my head,
harbingers of danger, of wisdom, of dread.
Challenge is issued. in the weight of persuasion
Fey shadows of intent for any bright occasion.

Following along becomes habit and routine,
which naturally tells us where we have been.
New vistas beckon just out of sight
Pulling me forward, from day into night……

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 9/19/2012.

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

A-laughing-girl-and-her-camel

    Today’s final pearl is, at its core, perfect. I didn’t plan it that way, it just happened. I was building a group based on the principles of Karma, and, lo and behold, what I got is Karma embodied… Even the final line, which may SEEM inappropriate, is perfect. All you have to do is think about it with the correct twist in your shorts…. and THAT makes it perfect for today’s Pearl….

“It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.” — Moliere

“He only profits from praise who values criticism.” — Heinrich Heine

“A thick head can do as much damage as a hard heart.” — Smart Bee

“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.” — Josh Billings

“If you think you’re free, there’s no escape possible.” — Baba Ram Dass

“One should count each day a separate life.” — Seneca

“Say the secret word and the duck is yours.” — Groucho Marx

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

Okay, well, that went pretty well. Since it did, I’m going to perform a rapid exit, virtual stage left, so as not to tempt fate. It’s been rather a good day, hasn’t it? Smooth as a baby’s bottom. On that odd note, I shall bid thee adieu for another day. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the ferry makes it across the channel….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Abusing orphan participles is thirsty work….

Ffolkes,

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.

~~ Alexander Pope — Essay on Criticism, Part ii, Line 15 ~~

Mixed days 024

Rural Serenity/Scenes from a Train


Good morning…. As the first greeting between people to mark the opening of conversation, I suppose ‘good morning’ is the most common for the same reason many of our human interactions have evolved over the centuries, to wit: it’s innocuous enough not to piss anybody off, first thing. In a culture created by a creature which has turned the act of killing into high art, such grease to the social wheel needs regular application. Say the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time (which fits just about any modern male in the morning, pre-coffee), one takes one’s life in one’s hands….

Now, that may seem to be a harsh assessment, (not to mention brutally formal), but, I’ve been sitting here thinking about it, and, it seems to fit all the requirements of a true statement, as far as I can figure. But, then, the hour may have influenced how harshly I view things. It isn’t every night I wake up a bit past midnight, to realize sleeping further is out of the question… It’s been happening a lot lately, of course, so, one might think I’m getting used to it. One would be wrong. I hate it. I love my sleep. Sleep is a weapon, mine is dulled, and it pisses me off. Most of the time….

Tonight, or, this morning, whichever the hell it is, I decided, when I realized my pillow’s entreaties for me to return to bed would go unanswered, to NOT get pissed off, but, to use the time more constructively. Hence, the foregoing small dissertation on human interaction. What the hell, it’s better than my usual waffling to find ANY thing to say. Maybe.

I guess that’s not really my judgment to make, other than editorially. Which I already did. So, the question with which we are faced now is this: where the crap do I go now? Ah, I know. I’ll get coffee…. Then, there is at least a minimal chance this  whole thing can be saved…. Hang on, ffolkes, be right back. You’ll know I’m back when you hear the low, but penetrating low growl/groan of near-ecstatic satisfaction, the kind any addict feels on fixing….

Amazing what a bit of caffeine, sugar, and perspective can do. In this particular case, it’s given me the proper solution to our small dilemma, i.e., what now? That, naturally, is to just get on with it, which, one has to admit, is pretty simple and effective….. Let’s see if we can live up to that description….

Shall we Pearl?….

“It’s not denial. I’m just very selective about what I accept as reality.” — Calvin (“Calvin and Hobbes”)

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Image from blu-ray.com via Google Images


A friend sent me this clip yesterday; it stimulated several trains of thought which will probably lead to at least two, or more, rants. I love serendipity. I also love this movie, which is perhaps Hollywood’s best reproduction of a science fiction novel. Arthur C. Clarke’s book was fascinating when it came out, and I was thrilled when it came to the movie screen, even if the ending wasn’t quite as clear as Clarke’s book, in terms of the meaning of the images. But, it worked, and worked well.

After watching this video clip, which is just as disturbing now as it was originally, I recommend watching the sequence shown on the You Tube link page, in which the space ship rockets up to the space station to dock, to the music of the The Blue Danube Waltz, by Strauss, one of the most gorgeous, uplifting movie sequences ever made, in my opinion…. Enjoy, ffolkes, I certainly did….

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The Dawn of Man

2001: A Space Odyssey

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    Today’s ranting section is comprised of a bit of historical ranting, and a fresh old-school indictment. The following Pearl was the complete post on this blog, mere days after beginning to post on WordPress. I was still working out formatting issues, so I’ve edited it, but, only to the extent of placing the text into the proper positions to fit today’s look and feel. I’ve also used the title used that day, added some art, and cleaned up the punctuation a trifle…. It’s historical because I believe it’s the first post I’ve found in which I ranted in this particular manner, sort an embryonic version of what is usually found in this section these days…. I hope you enjoy it….

From 8/20/2011:

gnomes-in-swiss-panorama_2355264

World-weary gnomes travel light….


Ffolkes,
And, so, it begins again. It’s enough to make you just want to rant sometimes. The news every day bombards us with the craziness going on in the world, providing us with the mental equivalent of dried dung in such quantities the Berbers could make a fire lasting all night. Politicians speak out every day, spewing tons of the most amazing crap, proving with every word just how insane they are, and people keep lapping it up like ice cream. The media that reports all this possibly plays the worst part in the charade, as they continue to report on the most trivial BS they can find. They don’t seem to care whether it is dignified, or if it makes any sense; they just want to increase ratings, and bad news does that better than good.

Oh well, I could rant on this forever, and it’s not going to make any difference. It’s unfortunate, because I’m beginning to believe that it is too late for us humans; we passed the turnoff to sanity a while back, and nobody noticed. Our beloved ruling class has decided that they are not going to buy into the idea that we are killing ourselves, and will hold that opinion all the way to the graveyard. I’m of the opinion that we little people only have one choice left, and that is revolution. The conditions which produced the first American Revolutionary War are fully present today; government is NOT responsive to the will of the people.

Hell, they could care less about the people; to them it’s all about what they can get before getting caught, and even then they don’t get prosecuted. How many bankers and Wall Streeters were put in jail for stealing all that money a few years ago? None…instead we gave them bailout money. Ah hell, that’s enough for one morning; if I continue I’ll end up with indigestion, and I’ve only been up for a half hour. Fuck ’em, they’re not going to ruin my day….today’s Pearls were picked out when I had this on my mind, so they may reflect that…..they’re still a pretty good group….

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

“When forced to resort to arms for redress, an appeal to the tribunal of the world was deemed proper for our justification. This was the object of the Declaration of Independence.” — Thomas Jefferson

“I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary notices I have read with pleasure.” — Clarence Darrow
(How long is YOUR list?…..mine runs to three or four pages….and the first two are just the politicians (most of whom began as lawyers) and preachers).

“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. I don’t like them myself. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings.” — Humphrey Bogart to Lauren Bacall, in The Big Sleep

Existing order thrives upon ignorance and lies.  Objective truth and individual reason are feared above all.

“The seeker after truth must, once in the course of his life, doubt everything,  as far as is possible.  What is doubtful should even be considered as false. This doubt should not, meanwhile, be applied to ordinary life.” — R. Descartes, “1-3rd Principles of Human Knowledge”

Well, I feel a little better…..reading pearls always helps me regain my equilibrium. Hopefully, they do the same for you….. y’all take care out there…..

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Note from 2015: Before I found this pearl to use today, I had begun collecting an old-school pearl on much the same litany of issues; I’ll throw them in as a bonus, and, to keep up our reputation for always going over the top…. No worries, it’s only a seven-star pearl!…. Enjoy!….

” Whoever has any authority over you, no matter how small, will attempt to use it.” — Quigley’s Law

“When politics and religion are intermingled, a people is suffused with a sense of invulnerability, and gathering speed in their forward charge, they fail to see the cliff ahead of them.” — Dune, by Frank Herbert

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

“Why did you hire that idiot?” “You can’t fool all of the people all of the time, so I’m breeding them for stupidity.” — President Weishaupt

“How can people ignore the petitioners in front of the supermarket, then complain about the sorry state of our government?” — Smart Bee

“Pain is just God’s way of hurting you.” — Smart Alec Bee

(Oops! Sorry, wrong  bunch of asininnies. That one doesn’t count….)

“Poor dear, there’s nothing between his ears.” — Margaret Thatcher, about Ronald Reagan, in the 6/2/88 issue of The New York Times

“In times like these, it is helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.” — Paul Harvey (for chuq…)

In French, I believe the phrase is, “Et voilá!”. Or, maybe it was “Houp lá!” Ah well, you know what I mean…. don’t ya?….

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Comedy_Tragedy

    Though I’m up very early, the poem I’ve felt percolating in the vast unknown regions of my mind, where such obscure, random ordering of chaos takes place, isn’t ready to come floating up into my consciousness, where I can open a vein to allow it to leak onto the screen. In addition, I think it would be best not to use anyone else’s work today, in order to spare them the embarrassment of possible association. (Hmph…) Here is one I had forgotten completely; it’ll do nicely….

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 ’tis but my own……

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 10/19/2012.

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Yin-Yang-symbol-sun-and-moon

    Ffolkes, this pearl needs no explanation, or introduction; it speaks for itself quite well.

“This is my death … and it will profit me to understand it.” — Anne Sexton

“Life is like a coin.  You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.” — Lillian Dickson

“The mind divides the world into a million pieces. The heart makes it whole.” — Stephen and Ondrea Levine

“Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.  But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it.  Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.” — Shunryu Suzuki

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.  Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” — Old Indian saying

“Death is the greatest kick of all. That’s why they save it for last.” — Smart Bee

“Death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.” — Sir Walter Scott

“And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” — The Beatles, The last lyric of their last song

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Not surprisingly, it’s done. Again. And, again, I’m left with a vast number of minutes/hours to fill until the rest of the world even begins to stir for the day. Hell, half the people here probably aren’t even home from the bars yet, even on a Tuesday night, in a depressed economy. Ah well, I suppose that’s what books are for…. They’ve always been my go-to recreational choice to fill in some time; another default for me. Too bad the books I just ordered a few days ago haven’t arrived…. Ah well, perhaps an old friend…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, no matter what damn time it happens….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

We’re off to see the lizard….

Ffolkes,

No pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage-ground of truth.

~~ Francis Bacon — Of Truth ~~

rainbow lightning-saguaropicscomviagizmodo

Rainbow Lightning

Saguaro Photography via Gizmodo.com


Good morning…. Indeed, it’s actually morning, too. I’m up at an hour more familiar to the rest of the world today, having, for an unknown reason, slept all of seven hours, thanks to the application of a massive dose of helpful herbs. I’m not sure what to do with all the energy, but, I’m sure most of it will be consumed by the sheer rush of putting a Pearl together in no time. As a matter of fact, just thinking about having to work so fast makes me tired…

No, not really, but, it does make me want to get going, so, I’ll reject all temptation to fool around here in the intro, and merely instruct Luigi to get us the hell out of here, now…. Hang on, ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Truth is a gem that is found at a great depth; whilst on the surface of this world, all things are weighed by the false scale of custom.” — Lord Byron

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    As you may guess, default music today….. I’ve tried to give it a bit of a new feeling, by going to the last page I could find on You Tube to grab this one, which was chosen just for the picture alongside it on the page…. Enjoy….


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Classical Music for Babies

The Mozart Effect

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Sandclock .jpg

    As always, the picture tells the story; here’s a rant/discussion from the archives…. This was last posted on 2/25/2014, written earlier.

From 12/12/12:

“He who proselytizes in the cause of unbelief is basically a man in need of belief.” — Eric Hoffer

This is true…. you never see an atheist going door to door, trying to convert the pious to their unbeliefs. However, I would go further on this train of thought, and add that, “He who proselytizes, in any cause, in basically a man in need of a life.” I’m sure it occurred to Mr. Hoffer, but he was too busy trying to explain this statement to somebody who didn’t understand the word ‘proselytize’….. For my own case, I have never, ever understood why people feel compelled to go door to door to try to get other people to believe what they believe; it’s one of the most persistent delusional systems I’ve ever witnessed, to believe that anyone wants to hear what they have to say, much less they will find their beliefs palatable to others, or find anyone who believes them to be superior to their own…..

“More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying they made them.” — Smart Bee

Humans seem to have an immense blind spot when it comes to their own actions and beliefs. Most of them never seem to question the things they are told, even when those things are presented with no evidence other than faith. Of course, the people who are invested in the religious system, to wit: the preachers, begin their indoctrination when their constituents are very young, when they are still prone to accept whatever an adult says as truth. This ensures a life-long predilection for being simple to control…. or, in short, mental slavery, if you will. Unless there is some sort of rebellion of spirit, where new knowledge is injected, these poor saps will spend their entire lives believing that what they have been told is real, when, in fact, they are fitting themselves with shackles, that will forever imprison their minds, and their imagination…..

“To defend one’s self against fear is simply to insure that one will, one day, be conquered by it; fears must be faced.” — James Baldwin

In my life-long quest for the truth, I’ve come to believe that religions, while originally intended to benefit people, (by their iconic progenitors, anyway…. I’m sure Jesus was a quite nice man, and wanted the best for those to whom he preached his own philosophy of compassion….), have historically been taken over by the predators who live to control others.

To be fair, some of those who become priests, or any of the other varieties of religious fanatic that prevail in our society, may indeed believe that their beliefs are true, and act accordingly, but the majority are, as far as I can tell, only concerned with maintaining status quo, thereby benefiting themselves, while never actually allowing any REAL progress in the development of the human condition. They would have society behave as if we were still living in caves, in essence, still cowering in our meager shelter while the storms and lightning are raging outside, terrified of the power of what we do not understand, and, therefore, allow ourselves to fear….

“A universe of death, which God by curse
Created evil, for evil only good;
Where all life dies, death lives,
and Nature breeds Perverse,
all monstrous, all prodigious things,
Abominable, unutterable and worse
Than fables yet have feigned, or fear conceived,
Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire.”

~~ Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II ~~


(Side note: I’ll bet Milton had a hard time sleeping….)

The Universe is a big place, and there is a lot to learn. Fearing that knowledge, or fearing what changes that knowing will always bring, is the act of a coward, to my mind, and should not be encouraged. Supernatural beings of unlimited power are not a required component to the understanding of Nature and the Universe; we need not fear that our lack of knowledge of how things work is unattainable. Just because we do not understand a part of reality does not mean that whatever it is, is beyond our understanding.

It is not necessary to ask for exemptions, or intervention by our own personal gods, for us to achieve happiness, or even contentment; that is completely within our own power, if we but acknowledge that part of us that is free, and connected to everything else we can perceive. The connections may not be fully understood, but they are there, and if we can only learn to recognize it, the power to change reality lies within us, all the time…. As Epictetus said, “Happiness lies in learning to accept a simple truth. There are some things you can change. And there are some things you cannot.” It’s really quite that easy, you know, once one learns to accept this fact of life…. No dogma required…..

“If brains were outlawed, nothing would change.” — Smart Bee

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Comedy_Tragedy

Pensive early and late…

Endings aren’t always a new beginning
I’m sad to say.
Sometimes it’s just an ending
there’s always a price to pay.

Still, it’s only money, he said
watching it piss away
Did everything ‘cept meet Fred
‘n had a good time the whole way.

Even the bad stuff turned out well,
life lessons are just that way.
Knowing what’s right, you can’t always tell,
we don’t always know the right things to say.

I’ll take all the hard times, without complaint,
learning isn’t always easy to take.
Kindness, patience, and compassion without restraint,
are still the best decisions we can make.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 4/26/2013.

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ankh

    Okay, so, here is the only fresh pearl you’ll see today…. Try to enjoy it, okay? Thanks….

Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.” — Phaedrus (c. 8 A.D.) — Book i, Fable 26, 12

“He that feareth is a slave, were he never so rich, were he never so powerful. But he that is without fear is king of all the world.” — E. R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros

“Anacharsis said a man’s felicity consists not in the outward and visible favours and blessings of Fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind.” — Plutarch — The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men, 11

“The evidence of the emotions, save in cases where it has strong objective support, is really no evidence at all, for every recognizable emotion has its opposite, and if one points one way then another points the other way. Thus the familiar argument that there is an instinctive desire for immortality, and that this desire proves it to be a fact, becomes puerile when it is recalled that there is also a powerful and widespread fear of annihilation, and that this fear, on the same principle proves that there is nothing beyond the grave. Such childish proofs are typically theological, and they remain theological even when they are adduced by men who like to flatter themselves by believing that they are scientific gents…” — H. L. Mencken

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

“You are all depending for your spirituality on someone else, for your happiness on someone else, for your enlightenment on someone else…. You have been accustomed to being told how far you have advanced, what is your spiritual status. How childish! Who but yourself can tell you if you are incorruptible?… I desire those, who seek to understand me, to be free … from the fear of religion, from the fear of salvation, from the fear of spirituality, from the fear of love, from the fear of death, from the fear of life itself…. You can form other organizations and expect someone else. With that I am not concerned, nor with creating new cages, new decorations for those cages. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free.” — Krishnamurti — From his last speech to the Theosophical Society

“When one asked him what boys should learn, “That,” said he, “which they shall use when men.” — Plutarch — Laconic Apophthegms, Of Agesilaus the Great

“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness, and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” — Aristotle

“The only problem with seeing too much is that it makes you insane.” — Phaedrus

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I don’t even have time to apologize for any breathlessness with which y’all may have been bothered and bewitched, ffolkes. It’s done, and that’s that. See y’all tomorrow, hopefully with a bit less rush to get done. Of course, that will depend on whether or not the Space/Time Continuum continues to breeze along at its current clip…. We’re hoping for the best….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….