Fold the strawberries gently into the partially whipped cream….

Posted on February 10, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Such, I suppose, is the lot of those of us who live with pain; occasionally, we lose a day to the fog….. Yesterday, after writing the morning Pearl, I did something to my back, (no, I don’t know WHAT that something might have been….), which caused it to go into full spasm mode for the rest of the day, sending me to bed twice during the day, just to give myself a break from fighting gravity, a task of greater than normal effort when this happens…. When it does, the gravity of Earth feels more like that of Jupiter, where I’d weigh over 500 lbs…. After a while, trying to move under that handicap becomes more than just a little tiring…

It seems to be pretty well done now, though today’s back feels as if it WANTS to retreat back to that state; if I’m careful, and don’t do anything to tweak it again, it should calm down enough to at least finish this Pearl, a process that, under these conditions, becomes threatened with being dumped for the day…. I’ll do my best, but, I’ll probably have to resort to another archived rant, because I just can’t think very straight when I feel this much pain…. it’s a little distracting at times, y’know?…

Oh, not that I can’t do it…. One can ignore just about ANY level of pain, when necessary…. But, at 0350 in the AM, writing a Pearl isn’t a task that would allow that sort of adaptation; it’s just not THAT important…. But, if I had to save a baby, or my kids were in trouble, then, I could throw it off for as long as needed to finish the task…. But, if there isn’t any sort of that type of emergency, then, it’s not going to get done, until the back is done with its snit….

Well!…. I’m sure that little discussion of my pain levels was simply fascinating, but, I think we can do better…. and I think we SHOULD do better, if only to get me out of this chatty, too-much-information mode I seem to be in… It’s all a result of waking up at such a weird hour this morning…. 0245 is early, even for me…. I’m a bit out of sync, I guess, but, determined not to let any of my own shit get in the way of completing what I have taken on as my duty, to wit: the completion of a Pearl, every day…. It is, perhaps, not the most dignified, or lucrative, or even uplifting of tasks, but, it’s mine, and I’ll do it….

With that said, for better or worse, shall we Pearl?…..

“Hmph! Seriousness. Hmph! Sobriety. A Jedi craves them not.” — Yoda

(Okay, well, he MIGHT have said it!….. Sounds just like him, doesn’t it?….)
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“Uh-oh — WHY am I suddenly thinking of a VENERABLE religious leader frolicking on a FORT LAUDERDALE weekend?” — Zippy the Pinhead

The following is a public service announcement, with which gigoid fully agrees…. I would have the banner on my site, but, I couldn’t figure out how to do it using the WordPress widget they provided…. I’m a geek, but apparently not up to date on the way to do this task… But, this definitely needs to be spread around, and shared…. so, please do… I HAVE included a link to the main site for the protest, where you can go to sign the petition…. Please do that…. Let’s all join together to give the Asininnies the finger, and let them know we won’t stand for any fucking around with our Internet….

“On Tuesday, February 11th, EFF (the Electronic Frontier Foundation) will join thousands of other websites in demanding an end to mass surveillance through an Internet-wide digital protest.

Visitors will be prompted to contact members of Congress or sign a global petition opposing mass surveillance with a banner that can be inserted into any site This is a critical moment in the NSA surveillance fight.

Worldwide outrage at NSA spying helped pressure the Obama administration into making a few key concessions toward reform. But Obama’s reform plan falls woefully short.

That’s why we’re turning the heat up on Congress to finish the job. Help us end NSA mass spying. Use your website to join the protest, and help us spread the word on February 11th through social media with the hashtag #StoptheNSA.”

https://thedaywefightback.org/?r=eff

This is an extra pearl today, and, will appear again, tomorrow, the day of the protest….. Your three standard entries follow below…. For those of you wondering what the Zippy quote at the top of this section has to do with the content below it, the answer is, not a damn thing….
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“The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” — Oscar Wilde

It’s almost certain now…. I’m convinced the government is actively restraining themselves in this past week, deliberately trying to NOT do anything that makes the news…. The only articles in the past few days are all just follow-up stories on other older news, or what are called ‘fluff’ pieces, designed merely to take up space on the page, without actually serving up any real information about anything important…. Kind of like the “Dumb” Starbucks story today in the SFGATE headlines…. You know there is probably a conspiracy to control the news when the primary article on a Monday morning has to do with a corporate logo dispute in Southern California….

Now, one might surmise that this means that the psychopaths who inhabit the halls of government in this country are busy carrying on the business of the nation, out of plain sight in order to avoid distractions…. It would be more accurate, I’d think, to say they are definitely involved in the hatching of new schemes, er, making of plans, plans for making progress in their chosen task, that of total world domination…. Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh…. But, you can bet your bony ass that whatever they’re up to, will benefit themselves more than it does anyone else… They can’t help that, it’s a genetic imperative for them…. They are preconditioned to selfishness, and a complete lack of compassion for others….

Oh, these sickos we have in our elected offices are slick, though, aren’t they? To look at them, and to hear them talk, you’d think they did nothing but sit around all day and worry about how tough things are for you, and the rest of the common masses over whom they preside, with the implied purpose of spending all their time looking for ways to improve your lot…. It often astounds me just how many idiots in the mainstream of society will talk as if what I just described is the gospel truth, and goes to describe their own chosen heroes in the public eye…. They will go to any lengths to convince others of their candidate’s sterling qualities, often going so far as to claim a touch of nobility upon the brow of their champion….

I no longer bother even telling those folks how stupid they are, because they’re already addicted to the sugar that is poured into their ears, to take the place of real information, or actual intelligent ideation…. Hell, even when one speaks to them, they refuse to listen to anything that disagrees with their own misconceptions…. I used to try to convince them of how they were hurting themselves with their blind obedience to a shadow, but, I got tired of bandaging my forehead, after beating it against the wall of their stubborn ignorance….

Instead, I started making Pearls, and, in the solace of that task I found the peace my mind needs to continue to think clearly, as well as the means to say what needs to be said, even if I’m the only one who knows what the hell I mean…. Hence, it becomes clear that I have once more completely pulled wool over the eyes of those present, as all of this is merely a way of introducing the following group of pearls, forming a pearl, whose parameters, if I’m lucky, will match what I’ve written above…. and, if not, well, we can always shoot for funny…. Enjoy!…..

“Those who are clever, who have a Brain, never understand anything.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.” — David Searls

“It is the mark of our whole modern history that the masses are kept quiet with a fight. They are kept quiet by the fight because it is a sham-fight; thus most of us know by this time that the Party System has been popular only in the sense that a football match is popular.” — G. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England. 156

“Don’t confuse me with the facts – my mind is made up.” — Joe Average, NYC

(In a 1998 study, in which random people on a street in New York were asked to pick, out of four statements, the one that described their Congressman the best, this was the favorite, by a factor of 28…. Truth…. Yes, it is…. no I’m not lying, trust me….) (Okay, yes, I am…. but, it SOUNDS true….)

“The NY Times is read by the people who run the country. The Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country. The National Enquirer is read by the people who think Elvis is alive and running the country…” — Robert J Woodhead (trebor@biar.UUCP)

“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.” — G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, 9/11/09

“All cruelty springs from weakness.” — Seneca

Okay, so it came out a bit more comprehensive in scope than I first intended it to be, but, it works anyway…. The politicians are in there, for sure (See the first, third, fourth, and fifth pearls above for proof of that)…. But, the parameters widened up on me, mid-search, so, a few more ideas are included than we bargained for…. bonus!
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Most of today’s Pearl will, apparently, consist of a series of volleys fired at the Asininnies at large, and the BRC specifically…. Therefore, to keep from splashing on anyone else, here is one of my poems, from 2012, essentially written with those (left blank for lack of an adjective sufficiently nasty to apply) people who inhabit the labyrinthine halls of government in mind….

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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Apparently, the month of February of 2013 was a good one for ranting….. Here is the third old rant from that period that I’ve used in this last week or so, and each one is as valid today as when I first vented them…. This one, a politirant, is not so much an indictment, as it is a lament….. As is apparent above, ranting today would not be difficult for me to engage in, but, I have a feeling I’d get just a bit more vituperative than would be good for me right now…. I’d probably get so worked up I’d get up and stomp around on my break, and end up hurting myself good and proper…. Hence, this indulgence, and a rant that I know won’t draw blood….. Enjoy!….

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PRESIDENCY, n. The greased pig in the field game of American politics. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

You can’t see me, but I have this big smile on my face…. It has been there since I first read this, this morning, and has flashed on each time I see it…. I had forgotten just how funny, and how eerily accurate, as well as wonderfully sarcastic, the Devil’s Dictionary could be….. In either case, this is some funny stuff, and is a perfect example of how the Dictionary’s author somehow obtained a direct line to the future of this country, in order to be able to so exactly describe how our modern system has evolved, and demonstrate how it has become, rather than high comedy, an example of low farce….

Of late, you’ve seen me put out a lot of words on the Beloved Ruling Class (BRC), and the priestly hierarchies, those two entities I hold responsible for the miserable conditions that most of our society is forced to endure, and whom I also hold responsible for the danger of species extinction that we face… It is their narcissistic insistence on having it all for themselves that has put our entire species at risk, along with a large number of other species, who will also be affected by the mess we’ve created in the environment. I keep on shouting, even though it mostly feels as if I’m shouting into the wind, because, in all honesty, I don’t want to die, and I’d like my kids to have a chance to live their entire lives, too, and perhaps even have some hope of a future for their own children…. Currently, there isn’t much hope of that…..

Yes, ffolkes, there isn’t much time left to get this done…. Every second, more and more tons of particulate matter are being poured into the air, and the cumulative effects have actually, finally, reached the critical flash point that ecologists have predicted for years…. Soon, plants that provide oxygen to the air will begin to die, (actually, they are dying as I write this…. as I said, it is late in the game….) and the balance of oxygen and carbon monoxide in the air will start to rapidly change, until it is unbreathable for us, and for all the other mammals, sea creatures, and plant life-forms that are dependent on the levels of those substances as they are now…. This process isn’t unknown….. we have been warned about it, now, for going on 50 years, or more, since the effects were first noted….

But, nobody who cared to do anything about it was listening, and still today, there aren’t anywhere near enough of our BRC who are convinced of the risk, so virtually NOTHING has, or is being done to resolve the issue…. Instead, it is subjected to massive denial on the part of almost every government in the world. They, and most people, have no idea that the bill for our idiocy is about to be presented, and we left our wallet in our other pants….. I think it’s obvious the Universe doesn’t take checks, or give credit…..

I wish I knew the proper sequence of words to use, the words that would inflame the masses, that would inspire the world to rise up, and throw off the yoke of oppression that the 1% has fitted us with, to finally give them their just desserts, and save our own asses in the process…. Alas, I don’t seem to have them in me…. not yet, anyway…. There are probably a few ffolkes out there who agree with me, and would help, if they also knew what to do, or say, to get things started…. But, mostly, I think I’m either shouting into the wind, or preaching to the choir….

In either case, it doesn’t seem to be helping much, other than keeping me from losing my sense of perspective, and actively going out hunting, to try to at least thin the ranks of the ones who are causing the problems…. That would make me feel better, for sure, but, I’m not ready to live the rest of my life on the run, so, I’ll save that option for when things are even worse than they are now….

I’ll also keep shouting, even if it’s into the wind, because I’m also not ready to give in to despair, and loss of hope. Call me stubborn, call me irresponsible (you’d be wrong in that, but, hey, it’s a free country…. mostly….), but don’t call me late for dinner. Also, don’t call me to help you further any of the agenda items that I see on the part of those in power, because I can guarantee that would put me over the edge, and you would be right there, in the explosive field of destruction when I went off…. If you want help to work against anything they’ve started, I’m there…. In the meantime, keep your powder dry, and your field of fire clear…. This final pearl explains why….

“If we don’t survive, we don’t do anything else.” — John Sinclair

And one more, just because there must always be hope, or life isn’t worth living…

“In a just cause the weak o’ercome the strong.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Oedipus Coloneus, 880
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Now I’ve done it….. I’m done with today’s Pearl, such as it may be, and it’s still only 0515 AM (I know, the AM isn’t necessary when writing the time in military/24hr format…. but, not everyone knows that, do they?…. The AM is for those who don’t…. See, I can be nice, and think of others at times…. I’m no Asininnie, you can be sure of that!….)

This means I have at least three hours before most of the world will be functioning, four for most of the business world, and no books on tap to read…. That’s a bit more time than I can do, surfing-wise, and going back to bed will only awaken the others who are asleep (dog, cat, one other human…), whereupon, we’d all be up, and they’d be (rightfully) displeased with me for waking them up in what is essentially the middle of the night…. Ah well, I suppose I’ll just take some drugs to quiet down the spasms, and lay on the floor for a while….

Who knows? I might even fall asleep…. wouldn’t THAT be a treat!….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Bloody, but unbowed, he staggers on….

Posted on February 7, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

There are some mornings here on ECR when I’m no longer sure of what I’m doing, or exactly why. I’ve been doing these Pearls so long now at this time of the day, the routine of it will often pull me through any reluctance or fatigue that may manifest… We’ve discussed previously the power of routine in our lives, but, I don’t believe I explored how often routine is ALL we have to maintain the appearance of normalcy…. Our inner world can become so preoccupied with issues with which it is struggling, that the outer world, and all of ITS problems and issues become of distant, secondary concern to us, in terms of our priorities….

For example, today, I awoke with both a great deal of pain, and the full gamut of PTSD symptomatology, in full swing…. I’ve related how I am currently having to switch from one pain medication, upon which I’ve depended for my most complete pain relief for the last 8 years, to using strictly medical marijuana to treat my chronic, severe back and hip pain….

For some time now, I’ve used the marijuana products to augment the prescribed pain killer, as it is the most effective way to treat both the pain, and my PTSD symptoms, (consisting primarily of emotional lability, including ongoing anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia), all without causing any side effects, no risk of overdose, and no known negative interactions with other substances. However, since the federal government’s laws concerning that substance are antediluvian in nature, the doctors turn into myrmidons, and insist on following “policy” rather than honoring their Hippocratic oath to treat the patient, not the society….

This morning, my physical and mental states decided to rebel against the changes that are being forced upon me, as I try to wean myself off the addictive drug they’ve been giving me for 8 years, thereby insuring that I will suffer the lovely group of symptoms of withdrawal from a narcotic, including some rather vicious dyskinesia that is affecting me today….

That is the condition where your muscles are vibrating, you can’t sit still, and the entire body feels as if an electric current is running through the musculature, causing each muscle to spasm in turn…. Oh, it’s a lovely condition, and I’m just glad there are certain of the mj products that help soothe the symptoms when they occur….

Okay, so, how’s the Pity Party going? Anybody else want to chime in?…. we’ve got a lot of whine, to go with any cheesy complaints YOU might have, if you wish to join in the fun….. No? Okay…. It’s probably best if I discontinue any further pairings of whine and cheese, and get on with what I’m ostensibly here to do…. which isn’t complain about my conditions, which is something everybody out there has to deal with, one way or another…. I’m not alone, in that my medical issues aren’t any worse or better than anyone else’s….

But, they’re MINE, and they do take up more of my attention than I like…. I’ve never been “sickly” or even particularly weak in any way…. just the opposite. Which is why I really, really HATE not being able to do just about anything I’d like to be able to do anymore, and end up complaining about it…. I can’t say you’ll never hear about this again, but, I’m done for today…. Let’s get on with our regular business, okay? Okay….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“There is an ancient saying, famous among men, that thou shouldst not judge fully of a man’s life before he dieth, whether it should be called blest or wretched.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Trachiniae, 1
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I have to say, (one last bitch), this process isn’t as much fun when I’m having PTSD issues…. The mental effort to remain in disguise, as a normal, intelligent human being, is huge, and when one throws in the pain, it’s enough to have me in tears every few minutes, as I try and try to throw off the unwelcome, and unnecessary feelings of sorrow, from whatever source they’re bubbling up to torment me…. You see, I don’t even know WHY I’m sitting here with tears flowing freely down my face as I type…. I have no big issues of import at hand, at least, not any emotional ones, that I can think of, that would cause any such degree of angst, so, it HAS to be rooted in the past, somehow…. Nothing else makes any sense….

So, anybody have any suggestions, as to how I can get rid of all this shit that keeps coming up to haunt me, when I haven’t a single clue as to what the hell it’s all about?

No?

Well, I don’t blame you for not wanting to get involved…. mental health issues come under the heading of NIMBY for most folks, and, even for some ffolkes, who know a bit more about the issues involved, and are less judgmental…. It’s okay, though, because I have a sure fire way, at least of a temporary nature, that will do just fine to throw these feelings back behind the screen of denial where they generally reside; it’s called a random harlequin old-school pearl, a creative process that never fails to cheer me up…. So, I hope you enjoy the following group of pearls, because they’re definitely going to save my ass this morning….

“It is odd, is it not, that a person’s worth to society by is measured by their wealth, when instead their wealth should be measured by their worth to society.” — A. Cygni

“Belief in God? An afterlife? I believe in rock: this apodictic rock beneath my feet.” — Edward Abbey

— ‘Shit Happens’ according to… Waitress: “You want fries with that shit?”

“Even very young children need to be informed about dying. Explain the concept of death very carefully to your child. This will make threatening him with it much more effective.” — P. J. O’Rourke

“He hoped and prayed that there wasn’t an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn’t an afterlife.” — Douglas Adams

“Whoever invented the eraser had the human race pretty well sized up.” — Smart Bee

“Euripides was wont to say, ‘Silence is an answer to a wise man.'” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Bashfulness

Those of y’all who have seen a number of pearls in your time reading this blog will recognize this one as damn near perfect….. If you don’t get why, not to worry…. It’s all good advice, or good concepts upon which to spend time considering, and, thus, is worth reading…. If the point it makes isn’t clear, don’t push it, it will come to you in time…. If you are like me, it may wake you up late at night, out of your sleep, to say a loud “AHA!”….. And if not, well, you didn’t waste much time, and it DID improve your mind, know it or not….
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I really wish…. Well, why not? Let’s see what happens….

Blithely Untitled

A poem came to me today, willy, nilly,
along with a sharp blow to the head.
Since it left me feeling just a bit silly,
anything that rhymes should lessen the dread.

Manifesting destiny into a small, insidious group
we push on toward sanity, concentrating hard.
Full engaging moments spent navigating the loop
shall ever make a difference to victims found in the yard.

Still corpses of creatures, straight out of nightmare
fill up the corners of our tortured minds.
While ever saddened, the iconic male, most debonair,
gazes softly, ironically, at all the mutual interest he finds.

Moronic public statutes compel outbreaks of sanity,
responding to momentary impulses toward inducing peace.
Still, the motions get completed, in fertile stages of inanity
while the bulk of our inmates can find no surcease.

Reluctant motivation to continue is unbound,
striving to ascertain how far there yet remains to go.
No precognitive guesswork will make any less of a sound
to soften the final strains, to teach us to really know.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Well, it came out… such as it is…. I think it may get some editing done on it, some day… for now, it’s fresh poetry, so treat it nicely, ‘kay?…. In the meantime, my ranting ability for today is rather limited, I think, since I can’t sit very long before having to get up to take a break… makes it hard to follow a close line of reasoning, necessary for a good rant…. So, we’re going back to an old-school variety pearl, just because I can, and I want to…. Besides, I think today, it’s for the best….

On previous occasions when I’ve tried to rant after writing a poem, or, in the mood I’m in, terrible things have happened, and regardless as to whether or not it may or may not happen again, I don’t care to take that risk today…. mostly because I’d be tempted to just leave the dead bodies where they laid, giving them no respect or burial…. Then, two days from now, I’ll regret it because of the irrevocable odoriferous nature of dead bodies after two days…. With THAT lovely image in your head, allow me to just move out of the way, as y’all stampede the bathroom, to give it up at the throne….

All back? All serene? Good, sorry ’bout that, won’t happen again…. Just enjoy the pearls, ffolkes, it’s the best way to get this done so you can get out of this mess….

“A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.” — Henry Ward Beecher

“For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together. Our friends seldom profit us but they make us feel safe… Marriage is a scheme to accomplish exactly that same end.” — H. L. Mencken (1928)

“Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.” — Pythagoras (BC 582-507)

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“One should always be a little improbable.” — Oscar Wilde

“A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires sooner or later always leads to bitter disappointment.” — Albert Einstein

“It’s a lot of fun being alive… I wonder if my bed is made?!?” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, well, I like it…. so, it stays….
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Today’s Pearl is, as are most of them, unique…. But, if something can be MORE unique than any other thing, if only by connotation, then, this Pearl is more so than any I can recall…. and my memory is VERY good…. Legally, I can’t go back and even start over, as it has a completed poem in it, so, we’ll just have to let it fly as it is, and hope for the best…. I hope y’all enjoy it, and aren’t turned away by the personal nature of a lot of it, or by the unreasonably huge amount of whine and cheesiness that was served up front…. I guess all I can do is all I can do, and I’ve done all I can do…. So be it, gigoid has spoken…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Seventy-seven reasons to sit shiv-eh in the nude…..

Posted on February 5, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I feel my immortality oversweep all pains, all tears, all time, all fears, – and peal, like the eternal thunders of the deep, into my ears, this truth, – thou livest forever!” — Byron (1788-1824)

To look at this inspiring quote from Lord Byron, one might think he refers to religion, and the afterlife so glibly promised by those who engage in that particular human foible…. I’m fairly certain, however, that would be a mistaken assumption…. This, I expect, was more the result of the same sort of attitude as displayed by Bob Heinlein when he said, “There’s no conclusive proof of life after death. There’s also no conclusive proof there isn’t. Either way, soon enough, you will know, so why fret about it?”

If I am not mistaken in my memory (a rare occurrence…) Lord Bryon joined Yeats, and Keats, his contemporaries, and friends, in the unusual insistence on NOT buying into the whole dogma fallacy, and, they weren’t shy in saying so…. proving they lived in a truly free society, because, though all of them burned out and died rather young, none were hounded or persecuted for their beliefs while they were alive….

This is as opposed to society’s eventual reaction to Oscar Wilde, whose homosexuality, or, as most believe, his bisexuality, put him in direct opposition with the forces of public morality of his era, whereupon they sent him to prison, where his health broke, and he died young, as did the three romantic poets…. But, not by fate, but, rather, by human folly.

I’m not sure just why I’m talking about Romantic Era poets, or about the victims of dogma, either…. I was staring at the screen, lost in contemplation, when I decided to use a pearl to get me started (my mind was, in a creative writing sense, quite empty….), so I went to SB and found the quote from Byron, which, acting on instinct, I brought over and used as a springboard for discussion….

A discussion, as it turns out, truly worthy of some nontenured research fellow at college teaching a boring English Literature class on a July day, in a boring monotone, that would put the most dedicated student to sleep, I’m sure…. But, even if I don’t have any idea how I got here, here we are, four or five paragraphs down the pike, and all warmed up, finger-wise….

See how that works? I write, you read, and we have fun…. Simple, yes? Now, why would you want to go anywhere else in the morning for your first dose of Reasoning, Ranting, and Rhyming, which is pretty much all we do here…. Oh, I remember why…. Hey, I can’t do anything about Murphy’s tender mercies, nor can I keep myself from ranting over the shenanigans, (to use a NICE word they don’t deserve…) of the Asininnies (The BRC, the Priestly Hierarchies, the Shadowy Corporate Masters, the Blue Meanies, and the Mundanes…. at least, those of the clan Stupid….) whenever I run across more evidence of how nasty they are….

In spite of all the minor handicaps under which we operate, I think we do a pretty decent job here at ECR, of staying sane, and spreading that sanity around as far as we can…. If people don’t want to use it, well, I can’t go out there and beat it into their heads…. (Well, maybe I could, but it might be hard to continue publishing this blog from a prison cell….) When the sky turns green, and we can no longer see the moon at night for all the carbon and methane in the air, I guess they’ll get the picture…. Until then, well, I’ll just keep on keepin’ on….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Excuse me, Worker, I’ll just be a nanosecond.” — a computer, from Firesign Theater’s I Think We’re All Bozos On This Bus
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Robert Heinlein called the latter half of the twentieth century, “The Crazy Years”, with good reason…. I have reason to believe that the period of US history to which he SHOULD have applied the term might better be placed in the beginning of the current century, instead….

As proof of that, below, I offer five links, to articles on ONE news site, all of which give a pretty good estimation of the depth of the problems we have in society today…. It’s a pretty good overview of some of the issues, but one should remember to remember the irony of having to read the words they’ve written, at all…. My comments will follow each link, in parentheses to avoid confusion….

“Two rules we should always have ready,–that there is nothing good or evil save in the will; and that we are not to lead events, but to follow them.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — In what Manner we ought to bear Sickness, — Discourses, Book iii, Chap. x

http://www.sfgate.com/raiders/article/2nd-Raiderette-joins-suit-over-wages-expenses-5203869.php

(In sooth, this one isn’t so crazy as sad…. In the massive pyramid scam that comprises the structure of the NFL, the bosses make billions, the players, basically a bunch of grown up kids, make millions, the lackeys (like cheerleaders, equipment managers, beer vendors, stadium workers, and all the other mundane drones working in the business somewhere…) make a few thousands, while the fans, who are paying in all of that gelt, pretty much get screwed… but, then, what would you expect of a business that engenders billions of dollars of revenue each year, while engaging in what is essentially a complicated game of tic-tac-toe, with live x’s and o’s….. Actually, the whole NFL scenario reminds me of the whole Religion scenario…. same scam, different clothes… Robes and collars in one, uniforms and helmets in the other….)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sochi-city-hall-orders-killing-of-stray-dogs-5200318.php

(We all knew the Russian government was crazy, as often proven by their chief crazy, Vlad, the Bad boy, Putin….. and this little exhibition of the power of expediency over compassion is a perfect example of how the leaders of society take nothing but their own agenda into account when making decisions, regardless of how those decisions may affect another living creature, canine, or simian….. They don’t give a shit for anything but themselves, in essence, and this is more proof of it, to my way of seeing things….)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Senate-sends-farm-bill-to-Obama-5202152.php

(You know which farm bill this is, right? I’m pretty sure this is what they call the Farm Subsidy Bill, the one that distributes the BILLIONS of dollars, stolen by the government from taxpayers, to various American farmers, to supplement their income by paying them NOT to grow things…. Farmers, being PAID to NOT GROW food…. now, if that isn’t crazy, then I don’t know what the word means….)

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/television/article/Bill-Nye-defends-evolution-in-Kentucky-debate-5202990.php

(You know we’re in trouble, as a species, when a scientific theory that has been proven beyond all doubt is STILL being questioned in public…. The fact that the debate here is taking place in a Creation Museum is one of the more ironic parts of this….. Here, in one spot, is gathered all of the major points of ignorance that are held as true by Creationists, who believe the world was created 6,000 years ago, reportedly by some aged, white-haired, Caucasian Supernatural Being, with serious busybody tendencies, (whom nobody saw, other than a few minor prophets, where they had been in the desert, happily having visions from dehydration, and experiencing beautiful, inspiring visions from consuming the desert plants…), with the aid and collusion of some of history’s most accomplished con men, in support on the ground…. The mere fact that the matter under discussion here is still being questioned, by ANYONE, is the most ironic, and the saddest part of this one….)

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Slain-Napa-girl-kept-in-suitcase-freezer-police-5204040.php

(I’m pretty certain I don’t need to comment at all here, though I will; this story is infused with craziness…. The sheer insanity of this couple’s journey into methamphetamine hell, turned them from being human, into monsters….

I lay the blame for this death squarely at the feet of the BRC, as more proof of the failure of their “War on Drugs”….. Hell, from what I can see, everything the BRC has ever done to fight drugs has only worsened the problems that produce the drug use in the first place…. The drug use that is endemic in the lower reaches of the financial scale in our society is a direct result of the widening gap between the rich and the poor….

The sense of futility and hopelessness that goes with living in poverty, (and I know it’s real, having been there….) leads to despair, and drugs often seem like the only way to forget it all for a while….. Deal with THAT issue, the financial gap, and there MIGHT be some improvement in that area of societal behavior…. It’s obvious by the last 50 years that the current methods used to deal with drug use are NOT working….)

There you go ffolkes, a compendium of evidence that goes to prove how insane society has become…. I wish us all the best of luck in the coming years…. We are going to need it, badly….
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I’m trying to make today’s Pearl a fresh one from beginning to end, so, here is one of my own poems, that speaks about society, and how it treats those who perceive the universe with greater clarity than the majority…..

Intelligent Crimes

The value of wit is often said to cause harm,
for those who think, such is its greatest charm.
The new and the bold cannot be fulfilled
if innovation and change is left unwilled.

Society behaves at its base as a mob
conformity and submission its primary job.
Any sign of rebellion against the mob’s rule
is met with resentment, naming such rebel the fool.

Intellect and talent are looked at askance,
expressing artistry stands nary a chance.
To stand out from the rest of mankind
is fraught with danger, for body and mind.

Often, I stand to watch, in solemn dismay
as beauty and joy get left by the way,
ignored and reviled by the unwashed masses
who prefer darkness, and acting like asses.

With shouts of derision the normals make known
their fear of intelligence, greater than their own.
They hope to stop all semblance of progress;
for thoughts and ideas, they couldn’t care less.

The world struggles on in spite of all opposition,
managing to maintain its advanced position.
Pulling the foolish along in spite of reluctance,
helping each to learn the survival dance.

Hard though it may be to keep up with the future
genius manages its plans to develop and nurture.
In the final analysis, those who live by reason
enjoy life the most, season to season.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Okay, I’ve EARNED this old-school pearl…. The above material, in section one, while not quite as tiring as a rant, still left me pretty tired from the effort to be both reasonable, and tactful…. It’s harder than you think to NOT bite people…. HARD!, whether figuratively, or literally….

Nonetheless, I think I’ve showed decent restraint today, as evidenced by the miniscule amount of bandaging material that we’ve had to use so far…. Also, I’m happy to report, there have been no injuries today that broke the skin!…. Hurray!….. So, I’m going to put together a classic, seven-star pearl, without any specific parameters, other than my own whimsy, and Smart Bee’s admittedly odd sense of direction…. Enjoy!…..

“I’m having an EMOTIONAL OUTBURST!! But, uh, WHY is there a WAFFLE in my PAJAMA POCKET??” — Zippy the Pinhead

“And it shall some to pass that idiots shall roam the earth, and morons shall rule the masses.” — Smart Bee

“[In America] we like our solutions quick, and we like ’em stupid.” — Bill Maher

“Distrust interested advice.” — Aesop

“I refuse to be intimidated by reality anymore. What is reality? Nothing but a collective hunch.” — Lily Tomlin

“A little learning is a dangerous thing but a lot of ignorance is just as bad.” — Bob Edwards

“DON’T go!! I’m not HOWARD COSELL!! I know POLISH JOKES… WAIT!! Don’t go!! I AM Howard Cosell!… And I DON’T know Polish jokes!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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I’m almost certain, without having even proofed this, or gone back to edit at all, that it will do some real damage, if it gets into the right hands…. In that respect, all I can do is hope, because I’m too lazy to go promote it myself…. C’est la vie, mis amis! No soap, radio! See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Crash test dummies don’t do it….

Posted on February 2, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud
Of thoughts which were not their thoughts.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iii, Stanza 113

This excerpt is one I’ve used previously, in a Pearl from long ago… Other than not knowing the title of that particular Pearl, or what was in the pearl in which this was used, I remember it very well, in that, the verse held the same meaning for me then, as it does now. In essence, this expresses how I feel a lot of the time, when I consider myself in relation to my fellow man….

Often, I feel as if I am seeing something in the what the world presents for our perception that they don’t, that I am perceiving more details than most people….These perceptions, because they are different, and more extensive in many cases, cause me to entertain thoughts and ideas that always seem to shock or surprise others, because of their dubiously exotic, yet obviously valid nature, which is, all to often, in direct contrast to their own perceptions and thoughts.

The most common reaction I get from folks when I offer an insight into an issue out in the BBR somewhere (in line in a store, in a restaurant, etc….) is a puzzled expression, and/or a question about either “why” or “how” I came to the conclusions I’ve offered…. In many cases, I’ve learned to just stay out of situations where I could possibly help, because people get upset when it is offered; I guess they think that accepting the offer of help is tantamount to giving up, or seeming incompetent, so they get all grumpy and sober, insisting on fixing whatever the problems without assistance.

This little behavioral fillip is one that most humans have, to one degree or another, when their own mental acuity is put into question, either by circumstance, by someone’s tactlessness or cruelty, or by the bozoid nature of their own efforts….

Me, I just keep tumbling along the road to freedom, wherever it may lead me, keeping my thoughts mostly to myself, as I’ve found the public doesn’t want to hear it, unless you’re wearing a power suit, a red tie, (with stripes is good…. blue, if you can get ’em….), and a flag pin, while talking on TV…. Now, dress up like that, get on TV, speak nicely to them in small words, and they’ll believe just about anything they’re told….

Tell them face to face, in words of more than two syllables, and they will slam shut the doors to their minds like the closing of a bank vault; at that point there is no reason, and no rhyme, they will ever allow in…. Change can be scary, you know; people are well aware that when they allow themselves to learn something, something always changes on them…. and they don’t like it….

Perhaps this is why I find this blogging experience to be cathartic…. It allows me to say what I have to say, that would otherwise sit inside me and cause trouble, without it getting to the point of being burdensome, while at the same time, offering to the world some of the diligently imprudent, yet occasionally wise thoughts that have passed through my head over the years…..

Some of it is pretty good stuff, very helpful in living a life well lived… Other parts of it may not be quite as useful, or particularly attractive to those who don’t enjoy using their minds for anything other than finding food and companionship, but, hopefully, what I create will entertain and/or amuse y’all as much to read as it does me to share….

And, if not, well, there’s always the pearls to get you through the day…. They’re pretty infallible in their wisdom, you see, having been around long enough to have withstood the test of time, having long since proved their worth, as good advice, or solid logic…. or, merely as beautiful…. Whichever it may be, these pearls, and the Pearls that they form, will be here long after I am, and I hope they give someone pleasure to read, as they do me to write…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“All I kin say is when you finds yo’self wanderin’ in a peach orchard, ya don’t go lookin’ for rutabagas. — Kingfish
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A year ago, in January of 2013, my life was much different, in several ways, too numerous to mention now, obviously, or we’d never get anywhere…. However, if we use the following old pearl from a Pearl I posted early in that month as an indicator, one can see my thoughts haven’t traveled far in a different direction at all…. This sortofarant is one I wrote the second day of the month…. I was pleased with it back then, and am even more so now, for it saves me a shitload of work this morning, and my back, in its current state, thanks me…. I hope you enjoy it, too….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From 1/2/2013:

“Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.” — Oscar Wilde

One can always trust Oscar Wilde to display both elegant wit and intelligent insight, though, to be sure, many of his most closely held views were somewhat divergent with what was commonly held to be true, philosophically, by many in the mainstream of society. This divergence was, I believe, mostly deliberate on his part, as he tended to mock that which he did not respect, and he never had much respect for…. well, anything to do with human nature vs. reason and rationality. He mistrusted most people to act morally, and was unafraid to say so; this, of course, made him both famous, and infamous….. His infamy, I’m sure, ultimately was his undoing, much to society’s loss; as is said so often about our brightest minds, “only the good die young….”

I often wonder, (well, maybe not so often, so much as I’m wondering now…) what the world today would be like, if somehow, some of those bright stars in history had lived to an age where their accomplishments, in relation to the advancement of human thought, and the betterment of the human condition, had a broader, and more lasting effect than their absence has left us.

What if Keats had written poetry until he was 85? How many more inventions would have come to us from Nicolas Tesla, had he lived long enough for the rest of the scientific world to catch up to him, instead of hounding him to an early grave? How much more good music, and art, and literature would be available to all of us, if not for this tendency for the best of us to live as a burning meteor, flaming brightly through the sky, until burned out and lifeless?

It is a sad commentary for society to know that it is often the very brilliance of these people that brings about their downfall, at the hands of the ignorant, and the avaricious…. What is even sadder, to me, is that this demonstrates another part of human nature that is responsible for almost every painful issue in human history, and current society, the issues that cause people to suffer pain, oppression, perpetual struggle, and will most certainly ultimately lead to the extinction of our species, on this planet, at minimum….. I’m pretty sure we don’t have time to mount any significant exodus to another planet, to save at least some of the species, before our own stupidity catches up to us, in a fatal sense….

That piece of our nature is the unfortunate characteristic, in a number of humans, to be able to put aside all conscience, to act solely in their own self interest. All of us, of course, possess this quality to some degree; it is an outgrowth of having a will to survive. To these few others, it is their primary modus operandi; they simply do not take other people, or their concerns, into account when deciding what they are going to do, and are not hampered by the consideration of any suffering they may cause other people, animals, or things.

As is patently obvious, to my mind, every elected official, every high level preacher, every corporate magnate, and a great many lawyers, are all of this ilk, and have, for nearly 230 years now, been quietly and efficiently plundering the pockets and rights of the American people (and those of every other country in the world, for that matter…. it is a HUMAN condition, not just American…. Ours are just some of the most obvious about it….), while simultaneously lying, cheating, and otherwise acting to secure their stranglehold on society.

(Note from 2014: In fairness, let’s add those criminals in the world who prey on the weak and poor, like the mafia, the drug cartels, etc…. We’ll include anyone who involves themselves in prostitution or the sex trade in any way, or otherwise abuses women and/or children out of their own misogyny and greed…. A lot of the poor, who are resentful at the treatment at the hands of those in the same category, who disguise their evil behind the public face of politics or religion, become of the same nature, losing the connection to their own humanity, using violence, and physical power over others to survive in the world created by the corporate masters, and their dupes and myrmidons, in the established powers that be….)

Anyone who disagrees with this assessment, quite simply, isn’t paying enough attention to the world around them….. Sorry to be so blunt, but the facts are all laid out, right there, almost every day in the news media, if one knows how to look at the larger picture it presents, rather than the individual facets of that picture. Focusing on the little shit is just what those in power wish for people to do…. It keeps them busy not noticing other, more incriminating stuff they are carrying out, in the darkness where they mostly live….

“… change depends on individual acts of courage and commitment. Most such acts are private, invisible, and uncelebrated. But some find a place in the public spotlight; and their influence goes far beyond mere example.” — Arthur C. Clarke & Michael Kube-McDowell, The Trigger, 1999

Each and every one of us, in the face of what we know about reality, is responsible in some way, and to some degree, for both the way things are, and the way they will be in the future. If you don’t believe that, well, discussion is, for you, probably useless, and little hope remains. For anyone with moderate insight, however, this is plain, clear truth, and we all need to accept it before any significant progress can be expected against those who are sociopathic, which I define, and hereby name, as homo suicidus, those who would kill us all…. But, it is imperative that we act soon, for the damage we have done, and continue to do to our world, is at a point where the effects are nearly irreversible, and even if we manage to wrest control from the beloved ruling class, we may find it is too late to save our lives….

“In regard to disagreeable and formidable things, prudence does not consist in evasion, or in flight, but in courage. He who wishes to walk in the most peaceful parts of life with any serenity must screw himself up to resolution. Let him front the object of his worst apprehension, and his stoutness will commonly make his fear groundless.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, _Essays_, Prudence

It is my hope, small and pale though it be, that we WILL speak up, that the rational among us will rise up, and take back the control of our destiny from the hands of those who would see us all die, rather than give up their own control. It will only happen when men of courage, as defined by Mr. Emerson, stand up to those who would render us all impotent, for their own benefit. The only hope that exists for the rest of us lies in enough of us showing this kind of courage, and overcoming the fear that keeps us in thrall…..

“I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.” — John Milton (1608-1674) — Areopagitica

Myself, I don’t want to die ignominiously, gasping for breath, because I didn’t have the courage to speak up, and to fight back against the immoral, avaricious assholes who dominate society….. Instead, let’s create a whole new world, without a beloved ruling class, at all….. Who knows? We might just find out that anarchy works!….. Worth a try, I think…..

And, if it doesn’t work, well, we can always try a technocracy, which we have yet to do in history….. With a bit of foresight and planning, it might just be what we need to survive our own foolishness… Maybe, Richard Brautigan had the truest prophetic vision, when he wrote “All watched over, by machines of loving grace….”

“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” — Pablo Picasso

History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

— Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning”
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Again, to maintain integrity, rather than shuffle off any of the blame for today on anyone else, here’s another of my old poems, one that talks about the chronic pain, and the emotional lability that PTSD brings, that I live with…. a poem which, in its own sardonic way, expresses the joy those bring….. NOT… I’m pretty sure I wrote this when I’d forgotten to take any meds for too long, and was feeling the result of that….Or, it could have been a day when the meds weren’t working very well, or the pain was too much for it…. Either way, it’s real….. or, rather, it was real when written, a reality that remains, as it always will, a threatening potentiality….

Pieces of broken spirit….

Deep within the inner abyss, tears lay in wait
Ever on the verge, tending to infuriate.
Real moments of sadness cracking our need
Swift, deadly waves of appalling terror freed.

Memory hurts badly when visiting now
Leaving me alone, forgetting even how
Killing the sunshine still pouring over all
Darkening all spirit, holding it in thrall.

Knowing no blame seems almost to heal
Yet healing is blunted, plainly not real.
Innocence is pointless compared with pain
On the soul it tattoos an indelible stain.

Hours become days, days turn to a year
Serving up only a compendium of fear.
Blind groping for light finds only dark
In caverns of terror, angry and stark.

Trails of endless sorrow fill up the nights
Confounded at last by unfathomable sights.
No hope can find its way to the fore
Never to sail safely, lost forever more.

~~ gigoid ~~

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For some unknown reason, today, my mind keeps finding reasons NOT to compose…. I suppose it might have something to do with the fact it’s Sunday…. Nah, that doesn’t make sense, as I often don’t know what day it is until after noon, when I look at my calendar, or happen to notice when I look at my phone…. Ah, I know, more coffee…. Hold on….

Okay, well, better, but still no burst of creative urges billowing up from my subconscious mind…. I guess we’ll have to settle here for an old-school pearl, or we’ll never get done…. (You KNEW that was coming, didn’t you?….) Let’s see what Smart Bee has for us today, shall we?…. Hey, cut the complaints! It’s this, or you’ll be sitting through a half-baked, ill-considered, badly written rant, to no particular purpose, which I will make sure to take AT LEAST two more hours to write…. So, settle down, or I won’t distribute the Valium until we’re in the air…

“It is ridiculous to suppose that the great head of things, whatever it be, pays any regard to human affairs.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book ii, Sect. 20

“I don’t pretend to understand the universe–it’s much bigger than I am.” — Einstein

“If Shaw and Einstein couldn’t beat death, what chance have I got? Practically none.” — Mel Brooks

“Nobody ever complains that you are treating them like a child when you listen to their stories, encourage their dreams, and tell them how special they are.” — Callan Williams

“To certain individuals of small minds and overweening ambition, there is no greater insult than to be proved wrong.” — Thomas H Dyer 1984

“The most virtuous of all men is he that contents himself with being virtuous without seeking to appear so.” — Plato (B.C. 427?-347?)

And taste
The melancholy joy of evils past:
For he who much has suffer’d, much will know.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xv, Line 434

Well, who knew? A comment on Life at Large, its ever-present counterpart, Death, and, how to cope with both… Not bad for off the cuff…
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In spite of factors that have precluded much fresh material today, I think this is probably done, anyway. Oh, right, we’re here at the ass-end of section three, so it HAS to be done…. because I’m not going back to do it over now…. With that little piece of deliberately factoidal wordplay as my excuse, I’ll just slip out this door over here… See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Stable the horses, first, then we’ll emote…

Posted on January 31, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Now, here is something that doesn’t occur every day…. Here I am, up, fairly clear-headed, coffee poured and sampled, with all sorts of energy and rantable angst on hand…. and I can’t decide what to rant about….. There are just so many lovely topics from which to choose, I’m having the worst time, trying to pick one…. They’re all so critical, and attractive, especially to one who wants to bite somebody. I suppose when one wakes up with the urge to bite, it’s best to give in to that urge; it keeps me from biting myself, or, milady….. She gets so MAD when I do that!….

I don’t blame her… I’m down to one tooth in front, so the biting process for me involves some ripping, in order to obtain the proper chunk of flesh, without which any true bite is not complete…. Since I’m sure that is painful, I can see why she gets upset at me…. Of course, I always allow her a bite in return, so, the playing field stays level, and nobody’s feelings get permanently bruised…. All in all, it’s a win-lose situation, which is just the way I like it, and so does Murphy…

With all that said, what shall we talk about today, ffolkes? Since I can’t make up my mind, I might just have to dip into the archives again to find a suitable rant…. unless, of course, I decide to go ahead and work with the few article links I have to build a case against the BRC or the Asininnies…. That’s always fun….. It’s also quite easy, and subject to the whims of serendipity as to whether or not I have something new and fresh to point at while I’m ranting…. I guess we’ll just have to wait, and see how it goes later on down the page….

I wouldn’t want to start planning things out TOO drastically, or too efficiently…. One, or more, of my own myrmidons wouldn’t know how to deal with that much organization…. Most of them are trained ferals, you know, so they’re a bit skittish about that sort of thing…. They don’t like things too well ordered, or they get all antsy and anxious, which can cause them to ignore some of their training in a crisis, or even in times of normal activity, if they’re sufficiently spooked….. They feel stifled, and locked in…. Since they work for almost nothing, (just a meal, a bed, and a book most days….) I like to keep them happy….

Shh…. don’t tell the Feds that I’m using undocumented feral imaginary myrmidons to do my dirty work, okay? They’d most likely want me to get health insurance for them…. or make them get legally documented, or make me pay them a minimum wage, just like they were real Americans…. If I do that, making the SUV and boat payments is going to get tough…. Gee, I’m starting to sound a bit like a Romneyite, aren’t I?…. Sorry, couldn’t resist…. nobody’s taken a shot at that idiot in months, and we wouldn’t want him to feel neglected, now, would we?…. No, we’re far too compassionate for that….

Ah fuck it…. If I keep this up, we’ll never get to what we’re supposed to be doing here….. Shall we Pearl?….

“Bleem miserable venchit, Bleem forever mestinglish asunder frapt. gashee morphosite thou expungiest quopisk. fripping lyshus wimbgunts awilst moongrovenly kormzibs Gerond withoutitude form into formless bloit, why not then? moose.” — The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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Okay, rather than ranting, which today would be a project beyond the capabilities we have on hand (trust me….), I’m going to allow y’all to find your own level of angst, through the application of some links that will provide you with plenty of motivation for outrage…. I’ll also cheat a bit, and use each link as a platform for a comment or two on the article’s subject matter…..

As is patently clear, this is a new technique for me, somewhat, though I’ve tried something similar…. Let’s see how it goes, shall we?….

http://blog.sfgate.com/fiore/2014/01/29/goodbye-net-neutrality-hello-gilded-age-internet/

In this brilliant video, Mr. Fiore again turns his wicked sense of humor on the one specific group of Asininnies, this time on the shadowy corporate masters, who have once again bribed and bought the right judges in the federal court system, to obtain a ruling that allows them to take over control of the internet…. The ruling, which most American won’t know about until it’s far too late to change, will allow big network companies, such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc. to charge whatever they wish for people to obtain access to the internet, since the court awarded them that right as “corporate persons”….

Yep, now those with more money will be able to buy faster speeds for their internet connections, while those who have less will not have the same opportunity…. Once again, the government, this time in the guise of the courts, has screwed the public, BIG TIME, in favor of the corporate special interests who pay them to do so…. and, once again, we let them do it to us, without any opposition…. Of course, they didn’t bother to TELL us what was up, but, hey, can we expect them to turn themselves in for this kind of stuff? No, of course we can’t, because, hey, they won’t, and we can’t make them….

You know all that internet speed you’ve been enjoying for some time now, ffolkes? Well, kiss it goodbye, unless you’ve got a stash of cash somewhere to keep it flowing…..

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Tom-Perkins-trickle-down-defense-of-the-1-has-5186878.php

This article is pretty good, though it’s a bit hard to find any humor in such asininity…. But, the article’s author makes some good points, and rightly makes this jerk-face look just like what he is…. an asshole, with a sense of his own worth that is blown COMPLETELY out of proportion…. But, then, for some reason, money seems to do that to whomever falls under its spell….

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Leaked-docs-NSA-uses-Candy-Crush-Angry-5186801.php

This one is here just to let y’all know the administration continues to pursue their goals, all of which are based on their ultimate goal, to be able to hack into ANY computer, ANYWHERE in the world, if it is connected to ANY network…. Yep, ffolkes, it’s true…. they want them ALL. The NSA’s ultimate goal is to have the ability to look into, and take over the control of, any computer in the world….

Now, normally, I’d say that such a statement indicates some paranoia in whomever made it, even ME….. But, in this case, it isn’t at all paranoid, given the evidence in hand, as supplied by that American hero, Eric S….. I am absolutely positive that what I just stated above is the absolute truth; those people, the NSA, the CIA, and Homeland Security, with Obama in full collusion, want to control every other computer in the world, or, at minimum, have access to those same computers in order to obtain the information they require to meet their own paranoid delusional needs. They aren’t going to stop working toward that until they feel they have that control….

This has become patently obvious…. Look at the recent outbreak of news on the issue…. Tightly controlled by the White House, the news articles stated what THEY wanted to put out, then they shut up, and let that percolate, ignoring any other references to the situation, giving the State of the Union as an excuse…. Then, after two powerful congressional pundits put out supportive statements, the president then completely ignores the issue in the SOU, allowing ONE sentence on it to pass his lips…. It was obvious to me, given the nature of the embarrassment that the exposure of their illegal activities already outed, they weren’t going to bring it up any more than necessary, so they wouldn’t have to furnish more lies that could be exposed…

Now, we find them hacking into our phones (gee, didn’t the president assure us that wasn’t happening? Why yes, I do believe he did say that they weren’t listening to our phone calls, or reading our emails…. Gosh, you mean, he lied? No, really? Snort….)…. using the software in some of the games people play to access email and address information in the phones…. No intrusiveness there, no sirree bob…. Do you think, maybe, they’re lying to us about other stuff, too? I think it just MIGHT be so…

Okay, that’s enough for one day…. Recent statistics for this site show a drop off in readership, though I’m still gaining new followers…. This tells me my material is too heavy, and keeping people away, in trepidation of having so much to read to keep up…. Oh well, c’est la vie! I can’t seem to shut up, so, deal with it…. I have to, and so do you…. Besides, I’m now offering discounts….

Of course, a discount off of zero is still zero, so, I may as well cut this off here, because I’ve lost all chance at regaining my flow… Oh hell, I’d better shut this off quickly now, before it floods the whole place with nonsense and drivel….

Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow–
You are not wrong who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream

— Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream Within A Dream

_____________________________

Here is another of my older works, from 2012…. I kind of like it, myself…

Vague Glimpses of a Rainbow

All the sad notions of propriety had fled,
Screaming their anger for pausing in song,
Until late came the rabid fog, colored in red,
As serenity cried, unafraid to live so strong.

Fallow fields in faithful patience set free,
Dragged from birth, by their own nature cast
Saving each moment against fear yet to be,
Carved into silence, by ignorance held fast.

Historical forces plod slowly ’tis often said
Anxieties streaming stiffly, one epoch to the next.
Cultural mania stands nonchalant in its stead
No sadder epitaph has such bittersweet context.

Patterned bags of forgotten virtue lie in wait
Blessed by reminders whose souls value affinity
Frozen webs surround the fields in gravid state
Grasping passionately within obvious opportunity.

Passage to future realities isn’t guaranteed
Small favors for deities was left off the menu
No roses, nor manna, nor gallant aerial steed
Left traces of fatal, yet originally gracious venue.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

On days when I don’t officially rant, I get a bit of dross build up in my head, which is never a good thing…. The next-day results, after 24 hours of decay while sitting in there in the damp, dark corner where it gets shoved on such occasions, to get it out of the way, have been known to cause traffic delays three counties away, just from backlash over the stench….

To avoid any such happenstance today, I’m going to attempt a new pearling technique…. First, here is an old rant, from January of last year, on gun control; it’s part of a Pearl I wrote then, which you can find in section three of the Pearl connected to this link: https://gigoid.me/2013/01/17/artichoke-juice-is-an-efficient-lubricant/?relatedposts_exclude=2544

Now that I have provided a rant, even if it is one from last year, I feel that I’ve done my part to improve the traffic flow in the Bay Area, and I can now go on to the rest of this new endeavor, wherein I furnish you with a thrilling, seven-star pearl, sans parameter, to finalize what I’ve begun here today…. It may not finish whatever this is, but it WILL finalize it…. whatever THAT means….

Do you ever get feelings of Deja Vu?

“Nations and empires flourish and decay,
By turns command, and in their turns obey.

— Ovid ~~

“The only justification for our concepts and systems of concepts is that they serve to represent the complex of our experiences; beyond this they have not legitimacy.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“If we tried to sink the past beneath our feet, be sure the future will not stand.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Besides, it is clearly a bunny rabbit” — Data

“Most of us lead lives of chaotic improvisation from day to day, bawling for peace while plunging grimly into fresh disorders.” — Edward Abbey

“I don’t vote. It just encourages them.” — A Maine woman

Before enlightenment, one carries water and chops wood.
After enlightenment, one carries water and chops wood.

— Zen Proverb ~~

Do you ever get feelings of Deja Vu?

_____________________________

I rather like the format of that third section… The pearl, that I found to have created itself, (since I set no parameters, it set its own…), was one of such balance and beauty, I just had to centrally justify it, because it looked as if it was perfectly composed for such a balanced display….

It seems I was correct in that assessment, because, hey, look at it! It’s perfectly designed, and the pearls themselves are so powerful, it’s like a pillar, one that could be used to base an entire semester of study at some metaphysical college or another…. Or, maybe not… Maybe I should just go now…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

I’d like to be made fully cognizant, please….

Posted on January 30, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“After all,” he said, with a small, sardonic smile, “it’s only a matter of time.”

“Of course it is,” she replied, smiling back in her sultry way, “but, whose time will tell the tale?”

Have you ever seen one of those big old, shuffling bears, with a red vest, and a silly top hat, that rides around on a unicycle, playing a squeeze box? No? Neither have I…. But, that’s probably alright, because I HAVE seen one of the other kind of bears, the kind that shits in the woods whenever the Pope’s existence gets confused with his own… Playground games have more solid effect on Reality than you knew, you know…. No soap, radio!…..

Now that we have established the proper tone for this morning’s episode of fun and frolic, otherwise known as pearling for dollars, not that we ever see any….. at least, not for this…. But, I do like to start with some nice, thick, obscure nonsense; it just gives something special to enhance the tenor of whatever comes out of my head, sort of like adding streusel to schnitzel. Plus, it makes for a better, more healthful start to the day, as all of what we’ve been so fortunate to offer up thus far has been organic in nature….

Yep, nothing but pure, 100%, government certified organic materials were used to construct the pearls you’ll see today…. It’s our newest product line, brought in to try to corner a piece of the vegan market, though the reason “why” escapes me completely. It has something to do with the diversification program the top management wants to put us through, to try to bring the bottom line up from 0, to some number that resides outside the negative realms where it typically stays…. I keep telling them, nobody will buy it, especially not here, but, hey, they’re committed to it…. probably, one of them married a vegan, and can’t get any at home unless he does this…

Now that we’ve prevaricated shamelessly (Silly readers, there’s no top management here at ECR…. there’s just ME!!….), I wonder what other kind of mischief I can get into before getting to the meat today…. I’m feeling a bit whimsical, as well as feeling like I want to bite someone (not sure as to WHY on that one…. just woke up with a stick in my ass, and SOMEBODY’s got to pay for that, right?….), or maybe dance a few steps of the Assholio on somebody’s head…. You know, the Assholio, those classic mambo-like moves guaranteed to take the skin off anyone… All I know is SOMEBODY is going to get an earful, before the day is done….

Shall we Pearl?…..

And through the spaces of the dark
Midnight shakes the memory
As a madman shakes a dead geranium

— T.S. Eliot
_____________________________

“Gentlemen, listen to me slowly.” — Samuel Goldwyn

On first attempt this morning to fill in this section, I wrote what is now residing in section three…. My intended material, presumably located somewhere in the semi-intelligent haze of thoughts that hovers around in my head at all times, which concerned the recent SOU by our beloved POTUS, apparently got lost in the shuffle….

In truth, it’s just as well, because, from what I could gather on first impression, the State of the Union he described in his speech had very little to do with the actual Reality of that State, or, for that matter, that Union, since he managed to leave out some rather important issues altogether, concentrating only on what he wants people to focus on….

This technique is common among prestidigitators, showing a shiny, squirmy object, in one hand, with some kind of feathers, metaphoric, or real, (real is good, they never fail to pull in the eye….), that draws the attention, while the other hand is hiding the actual important issues, perhaps even off stage, never referring to them, so as to not plant any unwanted ideas….

Now, I have yet to peruse the content of the entire speech, but, I’ve seen a couple of articles that touched on his high points, and there were … are a couple of what I think should be called glaring omissions…. For example…. no, can’t do it… I’d better go research the speech fully before I pick at a specific…. Be back in a bit….

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obamas-2014-state-of-the-union-address-full-text/

Well…. That was educational, to be sure…. Yes, I just read the text of the whole speech; you can, too, using the link just above…. go ahead, I’ll wait….

In the speech, there were, as I mentioned, a couple of important issues that received only minimal mention, in passing…. (I know, I said they were omitted… I was wrong, they were merely minimized, and hidden in plain sight….). There was only one paragraph on gun control, wherein he promises to “try” to “stop more tragedies”, with one quick reference to Sandy Hook (gotta get those talking points in!… Shootings at elementary schools always bring out the tearful emotions, which is the intention…. such emotions are much more easily manipulated….).

This is an issue that has gripped the public attention all year, but, isn’t worth mentioning, except in passing…. Instead, the POTUS will deal with this “on his own”, through the use of the concept of the “Executive Order”, to limit assault weapon accessibility, along with other issues on his agenda, in which he is being blocked by Congress, or the Constitution….

There is also only one short, vague paragraph mentioning the issue of spying, prefaced, of course, by mentioning the illegal war in Afghanistan, reassuring us the number of troops there is decreasing, (We’re all gone from Iraq, he says….. Sure, sure we are….)…. while simultaneously fanning the embers of fear, by then stating “For while our relationship with Afghanistan will change, one thing will not: our resolve that terrorists do not launch attacks against our country……The fact is, that danger remains. ”

This, of course, is the justification for the following complete wash on the clandestine spying issue that has been in the forefront of the news all year; he makes a passing, one-sentence statement on that…. ( The pertinent statement is in bold, and italicized….) ….”That’s why I’ve imposed prudent limits on the use of drones – for we will not be safer if people abroad believe we strike within their countries without regard for the consequence. That’s why, working with this Congress, I will reform our surveillance programs – because the vital work of our intelligence community depends on public confidence, here and abroad, that the privacy of ordinary people is not being violated.”

That’s it…. That’s the sum total of what he had to say about the single most reported and discussed issue in the public arena in the entire year of 2013…. ONE sentence. Oh, the drones, too… They are another seriously disturbing factor in the clandestine activities they AREN’T talking about…. but, they’re nowhere near as critical for the public as the spying that continues to take place, in spite of the “welcome public debate” created by the actions that exposed the chicanery by the administration….

Oh, also, was that a crushing silence I heard on the subject of Eric Snowden, probably the most important character, definitely the most important of the last year in America, to enter the stage in the morality play that is our government? Why, yes, yes it was a crushing silence…. Maybe the president was still in shock; perhaps due to learning that Mr. Snowden had received his first nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday?…. That must be it….

His statements on climate change and global warming, while pointed in the right direction, still show no better willingness to face the true issues involved, as he said nothing that would disturb the bottom line of the corporate masters listening closely…. The entire speech, as far as I could see, had a very imbalanced viewpoint of Reality, much different, obviously, from a politician’s point of view than it is for the general public at large, and for me specifically…. His viewpoint paints a much rosier picture, of the past, the present, and the future, than the one I see, all without really making a single promise, or offering up a single detailed plan of action.

I guess I should have expected as much, seeing as this POTUS is one who is adept at painting pictures with words…. Unfortunately, the pictures he paints really don’t reflect Reality…. They’re very romanticized, vague, idealized, and lacking in clarity….. which, I believe, is a deliberate technique, designed to soothe the eyes and minds of the public at whom it is directed, distracting them from the harshness of the Reality that they can see whenever they look away from his pretty pictures…. Can’t have the natives getting too restless, now, can we?….

I think, given the evidence of this speech, along with some of the other issues that I’ve seen the POTUS take up, this is a far more dangerous individual than I had imagined, not because he is promoting reform, but, because he is using that pose, of being a reform politician, to cover up his much more egregiously oppressive policies, such as in the areas of intelligence, and executive power….. He has expanded the power of the office of the Presidency to an extent heretofore unseen, writing Executive Order after Executive Order, at times when Congress is out of session, or just to circumvent their blockage of what he is trying to accomplish….

This administration has brought suit against more journalists, for publishing leaked material, than any previous administration, by a factor of 10; they have aggressively and ruthlessly pursued any and all attempts by the media to obtain his vaunted, and non-existent “transparency”, which he so glibly promised in his first campaign for the office…

There are times I don’t blame him for some of it, because of all the actual, real reforms he, and every other president in the last 60 years, has tried to get past a divided Congress, and had blocked by their intransigent ignorance, and partisanship…. Except, that’s not how the Constitution says it is supposed to work….

He is writing LAWS, which is an act reserved for Congress…. He has issued orders on gun control that, according to the Second Amendment, he has no right to issue, for they restrict the public’s access to weapons of certain types altogether…. Not, I will admit, that they’re weapons they NEED, but, the Second Amendment doesn’t allow for any distinctions as to type or quantity of guns; change part of that, and it all changes, of that there can be no doubt…..

So, yes, I guess you could say that, once again, I’m disappointed in this POTUS’s assessment of Consensual Reality, or, at least, of his stated assessment, as well as in his lack of transparency, and willingness to lie to the public…. Oh, yes, ffolkes, lying by omission is still lying; just because he didn’t say anything about an issue, doesn’t mean he isn’t DOING anything illegal in that area… it just means he doesn’t want us to know about it…. You can be sure of that…. He’s already proven that transparency is just a word to him, one he is very glib and confident in using, but, one he has no intention of ever actually providing to the public….

In looking at the entire speech as a whole, what I see is a long, manipulative set of words and phrases designed to get the public, and his cronies, thinking about just those issues he wants to address, without giving any real information on any of it, beyond the necessary key phrases that identify his talking points.

He uses a lot of examples of what he calls typical Americans from the middle classes to illustrate his points, shamelessly using emotional stimuli to direct the people to the attitudes he desires to create in support of his agenda. In truth, he’s an adept, efficient speaker, never confusing the issues with facts, preferring to use insinuation and/or vague references to factoids….Sadly, none of what he said had any solid connection to what is actually real….. Ah well, I’m forced to admit, I wasn’t expecting to see anything better, and, I didn’t….

“Never be angry when a fool acts like a fool. It’s better when fools identify themselves…it removes so much uncertainty.” — Lord Peace
_____________________________

Once again, I’m putting in one of my own poems, to maintain the level of personal responsibility that must be assumed for whatever one may call this entire mess…. So be 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 ~~

_____________________________

“We’re not into science fiction because it’s _good literature_, we’re into it because it’s _weird_. Follow your weird, ladies and gentlemen. Forget trying to pass for normal. Follow your geekdom. Embrace your nerditude. In the immortal words of Lafcadio Hearn, a geek of incredible obscurity whose work is still in print after a hundred years, “woo the muse of the odd”.” — Bruce Sterling, addressing a convention of SF writers

A few days ago, I experienced an epiphany regarding the solutions we need to find to the issues of global warming and climate change…. This statement is one that, though not exactly what I’m talking about, is in the right ballpark…. Finding answers to what is happening in the real world has been part of what science fiction writers have done, peripherally, for many years, in the sense that the stories they write explore the concepts involved in ways that demonstrate the questions, and can, hopefully, point the way to finding the answers we now need…

There have been many, many stories…. full length novels, novellas, short stories… all written over the last two hundred years or so, that talk about the most critical issue we now face, to wit: the climate changes produced by our insane pollution of the atmosphere. There has also been a lot of speculation and talk among the people who do the writing, and those who write about them, all discussing possible scenarios for possible futures….. Somewhere among all that talk and discussion, there MUST be an idea that we can use to turn the tide that we have so foolishly turned against us…..

In other words, in a metaphorical sense, we need to go out into the realms of fantasy and imagination, to find the elves, so we can benefit from the wisdom of their counsel…. Even though I already know what they will tell us…. The elves always give the same counsel…. we will need to find a Hero, who can step forward to assume the Quest to save mankind from the folly of his own greed and ambition…. Metaphorically, this is absolutely correct…. what it will translate to in real terms is yet to be seen, but, something needs to be done to find an answer, and soon, for the time we have to accomplish anything that will work is growing smaller rapidly….

“There is something inside all of us that yearns not for reason but for mystery… not for penetrating clear thought but for the whisperings of the irrational… not for science but for wizardry disguised as science.. not for rationally founded influence but for magic.” — Karl Jaspers

In the meantime, rather than ranting at you to get out there and try to find an elf, who can then lead us to his where his people have gone, far over the Western Sea,…. I’ll put together an old-school pearl, with some good advice and/or some snarky comments about the assholes who got us to this point in the first place….

“For me, all I can do is spit in the eye of my fears by living each day with as much passion and commitment as possible to what truly counts, such as love and justice. To give the into the fear and hopelessness would be to declare defeat, something I am not ready to do while there is still the will to struggle.” — Lawrence Paradis

“You shouldn’t think about *how* we’re doing this. You should ask yourself, ‘why?'” — Penn Jillette

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

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

“A little folly is desirable in him that will not be guilty of stupidity.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Book iii, Chap. ix

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” — Oscar Wilde (1856-1900)

“Must not all things at the last be swallowed up in death?” — Plato

See? There is a perfect example of why I seldom make precognitive assumptions about a particular pearl, especially BEFORE it is constructed…. This is a grand pearl, but, no snarky comments to be seen…. ‘S’okay, it doesn’t need them….
_____________________________

All things considered, this didn’t turn out so badly as I had feared…. As I said above, so be it…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Subject to random bourgeois scrutiny….

Posted on January 18, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Aha! I have found it! Eureka! as they used to say in Greece, a long time ago… No, seriously, I found out why this whole intro thing has been such a struggle…. Here, check this out….

“The point I have been patiently trying to make,” Godwin said impatiently, “is that you expect far too much of a first sentence. Think of it as analogous to a good country breakfast: what we want is something simple, but nourishing to the imagination. Hold the philosophy, hold the adjectives, just give us a plain subject and perhaps a wholesome, nonfattening adverb or two.” — Godwin to Danny Deck, Some Can Whistle

See? It’s all because I’m too complex and twisted with age-related mental afflictions, stemming from a healthy, but possibly delusional sense of adequacy…. However, by choosing to adopt the above concept, my entire problem is thus eliminated, with one swift, clear indication of what is needed to put everything aright. My only regret is that it took me so long to find this….

Ah well, serendipity chooses its own time to manifest, and I guess it’s like family…. we don’t get to pick. I’m just happy I finally have a clue as to how to get myself past this section without all the hullabaloo. I swear I’ve spent more time agonizing over these little pieces than I spend doing much of anything else, let alone something as critical to the success of this venture, such as it is….

Of course, in looking over the requirements as set forth above, this may be more of a challenge to me than I knew…. I mean, I can get fairly pedantic, and pomposity comes pretty naturally, too. Keeping to a simple subject, adverb, verb format might be more than I can do on short notice….. I may have to practice awhile before it starts to go smoothly… but, that’s acceptable, if it will get rid of the daily struggle to figure out what direction to take. I’ve had enough of trying to do it on my lonesome, so, I can only tell y’all I’ll give it my best effort….

Hmm, okay, let’s see what happens here…. Subject, verb, adverb/adjective/pronoun…. simple, simple, simple…

“Politicians are assholes.” Whoa, that’s pretty good! Let’s try it again….

“Preachers are busybodies and thieves.” Wow! What a feeling of power! I’m going for it, ffolkes…

“Pimps are sub-human piles of feces….” Damn, and it just flows out so smoothly!

Okay, so where has this been all my life? How could one know how liberating it is to stick to a simplistic style of speech, to just say what needs to be said, and be done with it?…. It gives what is written a definite panache, and power, to express the thrust of one’s ideas with such clarity and simplicity…. I like it, and we may indeed start to use it, in certain situations where such clarity is called for…. such as in the three above sentences, which would, patently, make excellent beginnings for a rant, of whatever sort one chooses…

Not only that, but, just talking about all of this has gotten us through today’s beginning, with no pauses to speak of, and no fiddling about trying to decide anything…. Pretty cool, I think… We’ll definitely be adopting this idea, at least partially…. I’m all for innovation, if it improves efficiency…. Plus, here ’tis only 30 minutes into this, and I’m already at a point where I can say, without any guilt or angst of any kind….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Pfui. More people saying what they believe would be a great improvement. Because I do I am unfit for common intercourse” — Nero Wolfe, “Blood Will Tell”
_____________________________

Below, you’ll find two articles that should be read before joining the discussion below…. The first is a report summarizing President Obama’s speech yesterday, outlining the administration’s plan to address the spying concerns that the public has, as a result of the leak of information by Eric Snowden. The second article is a group of analytical statements about the speech by several New York Times reporters who listened to it live…. Please read these, for informational purposes only…. Oh, you can do whatever else you like with them, but, it will help our efforts here for you to read them first…

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Obama-proposes-new-limits-on-NSA-phone-collections-5151532.php

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/live-coverage-of-obamas-n-s-a-speech/?_php=true&_type=blogs&exprod=myyahoo&_r=0

There, now don’t you feel safer? Aren’t your fears soothed? The saintly president, in the power of his compassionate wisdom, has decreed that he will try to place some controls on the spying by his watchdog cyber agents, although he makes it clear that they’ve done nothing wrong, or illegal at all…. He will now make it necessary for them to get warrants, supposedly before, though it isn’t made exactly clear, mining telephone or other personal data on our citizens.

They must now get these warrants from a “special” court, whose sole purpose is to give them those warrants, and, which is manned by a group of judges, picked by ONE man, (That one man is the Chief Justice of the Supremes, but, who cares who it is? It’s ONE fucking person!…. One person, deciding for ALL OF US….); these judges, as it turns out, not surprisingly, are all, but for one, dedicated conservative hawks from one political party….

I’m sorry, ffolkes…. I know there are a lot of people out there who admire this president (I used to capitalize that word, but, I am a firm believer that the office, and the honorifics that go with it, must be earned; thus, the formerly capital P…. I haven’t seen any truly Presidential actions yet from him, thought I did have high hopes, going so far as to vote for him, again, in 2012…. That time, as the lesser of two evils, instead of in hope of change, which motivated me in 2008 …..

I saw in his first four years that change wasn’t going to happen, as anything he tried in the way of reform (which were, admittedly, pretty much limited, in truth, to his efforts to reform healthcare…. Otherwise, nothing much has been forthcoming in the way of change…. ), was effectively blocked by the other party, who have the numbers in Congress to do so…. So, I wasn’t TOO hopeful about the second term, anyway, more resigned…..especially after he signed the NDAA in that clandestine fashion….

That act, all by itself, should have acted as a warning to the American people that Obama isn’t anything other than another slick politician, who is in office to achieve HIS agenda, not the people’s….. Believe me, nothing of any significance is going to change on his watch, other than to watch the Bill of Rights slip further and further into memory, as rights we used to have….. There are other signs as well…. His administration has prosecuted more journalists and writers for security leaks than any previous administration, by a factor of 10 times as many…. This from the man who promised to have a “transparent government”….

Now we come to this speech…. From what I can tell, this is it…. This is the best they’re going to offer us (the public)…. They’ll put some minor, ineffectual rules in place to assuage the outcry, rules that will do nothing to change any of what the agencies are doing, as they have already gone light-years beyond any mandate given, and have no intention of stopping until they feel confident of their ability to hack into any computer, any telephone, or any communications device at their whim, to listen in for their “signs of terrorist activity”, and to mine all the information and data they can find, just because they know that knowledge is power….. (Whew, sorry, sometimes, my sentences tend to go beyond one breath….)

In this speech, Obama stated, unequivocally, that the agency “hasn’t been listening in, or reading your emails….”, making it seem as if the very idea were ludicrous, and beneath them…. I want to assure you, ffolkes, that is a bare-faced lie…. The documents already stolen and released prove that simply is NOT true…. He is lying now, he has lied all along, and he’ll continue to lie, just like any politician caught with their hand in a cookie jar, because that’s what they’ve always done, and it’s always worked for them…. They believe it’s going to work again; that’s why they came out with this namby-pamby, not-much-there-at-all, totally superfluous program to put restraints on the NSA’s activities at all…. They had to put out SOME response, so they put out this insult to our intelligence, hoping it would fly…..

I’m afraid I can’t regard this as any sort of rational or reasonable response to what the public is concerned about; it is a complete denial that anything at all was done wrong, and a half-hearted attempt at an insincere promise to do better, when they don’t believe they need to….. The message here is, “Whoa, dudes, what’s the upset? We didn’t do anything wrong, but, hey, since it bothers you, we’ll make some superficial, totally worthless alterations on the surface process, and continue to hide most of what we’re doing where you can’t see it…. Cool, right?” To my mind, what the president voiced in his speech yesterday was even more insulting than that…. I guess I just don’t have the right kind of meanness in me to talk that way with any accuracy of tone…

But, what I said was accurate in detail…. He stated they’ve done no wrong, and that’s a lie, a pretty obvious one….. He also said they would try to put in some controls and restraints…. guess what the odds are that that is a lie as well? I don’t know much about your math skills, but, mine are pretty good, and I’d figure those odds as being extremely high….

Oh, just accept the obvious truth, ffolkes! He lied, he continues to lie, and won’t stop, because he’s good at it, and keeps getting away with it….

All of these assholes whom we have elected to high office are liars; it’s how they got their jobs, and it’s how they keep them. If y’all can’t see that, then I am sorry for you, because you are no more intelligent than an ostrich, sticking its head in the sand to avoid danger….

I’m not asking anyone to do anything other than read the fucking news, and try to see what is written there in the light of reason, not in the light of assumption…. The evidence of the lying is right out there in black and white for anyone with wit to see, so open your eyes, ffolkes, or, just bend over in acquiescence….

Not me, though…. I say fuck ’em, fuck ’em all, hard, deep, and for a long time, in holes where they’re not designed to be fucked….. just like they’ve been doing to me, and the rest of y’all, for my entire life, and yours…..

Today’s rant comes to you courtesy of Barack Obama, and the cast of 544 other asininnies who inhabit the hallowed halls of government, who have finally managed to push me over the edge….. I’ll be back, eventually, with more in this vein…. As a final note, this rant calls for some art…. This one, which I’ve used often, is here as a proclamation, of my intention to never look on and do nothing…. If all I can do is shout and point at the bad guys, then, that’s what I’ll do…. Can you see me pointing toward the halls of democracy?….
_____________________________

It’s one of those days when a poem of my own is called for, to protect the innocent….

Geezer to Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks;
Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.

“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.

Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Having fulfilled the daily percentage of rantable material produced at ECR, having, moreover, done so with some alacrity, I’m happy to find myself in a position to put together an old-school pearl, sans the pressure that generally goes along with that decision…. For a change, I’ve got time, and an idea or two to guide the process, so, let’s see what we can come up with today, shall we?….

ESOTERIC, adj. Very particularly abstruse and consummately occult. The ancient philosophies were of two kinds, — _exoteric_, those that the philosophers themselves could partly understand, and _esoteric_, those that nobody could understand. It is the latter that have most profoundly affected modern thought and found greatest acceptance in our time. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“The fact is, that civilization requires slaves. The Greeks were quite right there. Unless there are slaves to do the ugly, horrible, uninteresting work, culture, and contemplation become almost impossible. Human slavery is wrong, insecure, and demoralizing. On mechanical slavery, on the slavery of the machine, the future of the world depends.” — Oscar Wilde

“Any body of men who believe in hell will persecute whenever they have the power.” — Joseph M. McCabe (1867-1957)

“It’s said that ‘power corrupts’, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable. — David Brin, The Postman

“And it should be the law: If you use the word `paradigm’ without knowing what the dictionary says it means, you go to jail. No exceptions.” — David Jones @ Megatest Corporation

“Once you have said that in correlative conjunctions in the subjunctive mood there should be parity between the protasis and the apodosis, you have said about all there is to say on the matter. But you have also, I think, left most of us as confused as before.” — from Bill Bryson’s, Troublesome Words

“Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.” — Smart Bee, channeling gigoid

So, it took some turns that didn’t appear to make sense at first, but, as usual, Smart Bee managed to tie it all together with a nice, pretty bow there at the end…. I’ve used the last line many times, and will do so again, I’m sure, since the concept forms one of the pillars of Truth upon which my philosophy of life is based…. So much so, I’m going to Google it, and if nobody else wants it, I’m taking it as mine…. Just so’s you know….
_____________________________

I think, maybe, this whole idea of sleeping well is a good thing…. It sure feels better than trying to do all this without the boon of even the slightest drop of the soothing, restorative waters of Lethe….. In fact, this has gone so well, I may just go reward myself with a nap!…. Regardless of what happens in the future, it will do; I think this one may just cause a reaction, if not any actual damage, out in the BBR…. who knows?…. Moreover, who can say with any degree of accuracy?….. We’ll see, won’t we…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Preparing to salivate on command….

Posted on January 4, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Living with cats is always more than one bargains for; they have a strong connection to the forces of chaos and entropy, and dealing with their capricious natures is as difficult as, well….. as difficult as trying to herd cats…. a well-used, and well-deserved cliche, if not actually an iconic adverbial state…. The potential volatility of a close relationship with a feline can be especially true when one is dealing with a cat with “issues”…… Now, you may ask, what kind of “issues” could such a “wee puir beestie” as these adorable creatures possibly have? Well, I’m here to tell you, they can be quite nasty issues, driven by dark emotional states, and made worse by the lack of human capability to understand the nature of Cat…..

At this point, I would be expected to outline some of the cuter, or perhaps, funnier episodes with our cat that demonstrate how adorable they are, and what wonderful companions they make for us seniors…. and, I would, if I could….. However, OUR cat does NOT do cute, or adorable, or even funny, for that matter…. She just does psycho…. She does that quite well, but I can’t say that as much of a recommendation, as her unfortunate destructiveness tends to keep us scrambling to the store to replace knick knacks at an alarming rate…. We’ve got Bed, Bath, & Beyond on speed dial from having to check their inventory so often, due to PC 14666,destruction of private property by a feline perpetrator acting in the guise of one of Satan’s minions….

This poor little devil started life with some handicaps, unfortunately, which are, sadly, compounded by her relatively obnoxious personality, an unfortunate trait caused by being raised feral for the first month of life…. She’s never really recovered all of the veneer of civilization that more domestic cats assume; she’s got a wild edge she has a hard time controlling, and which causes her, and us, a bit of conflict….. You see, she bites…. the little asshole never learned that it isn’t polite, or acceptable, to bite humans, not even for affection, and certainly not as a habit in anger…. Kitties who develop this habit often end up as recreational flying toys, aka, Frisbees, after having been unceremoniously been tossed on the interstate after biting their human in a pique of anger or warning….

This cat also has the usual cat arrogance, and a number of prerogatives upon which she insists; for example, upon arising in the morning, she informs whoever is up that she wants food, water, an open window, and company, NOW. Actually, anything she wants is required to be furnished NOW, but, this trait is one I don’t worry about, since to a cat, or dog, or other creature of their ilk, NOW is all there is….They don’t spend any mental time in the past, or in the future, so they always want whatever they want right away, simply because, for them, that’s all there is to time….

Now, if only she could learn that counter tops, refrigerators, cupboards, computers, and other parts of the house and furniture are NOT all her domain, and she does NOT have free rein to jump on or into everything she sees….. She also tends to believe that whatever falls on the floor belongs to her, but, in this, at least, she will negotiate, if one is prepared to give up some crumpled up paper, or, even better, tinfoil, in any compromise exchange of favors…. It’s lowering to have to negotiate with a cat, but, they’re very good at hostage situations, so, one must deal on their terms, at least until whatever she’s hidden is found, or rescued….

Now that I’ve demonstrated that we too have a cat, one that can provide nearly unlimited material for study or exposition, merely by existing side by side with us in our domiciles, I suppose I can get on with what we came here for today….. Learning the techniques needed for certain types of literature are well practiced, and better learned by writing about animals….. and, one will find, after a time of watching them closely, describing their behaviors can be a full-time, frustrating job; learning to do so well can be considered excellent training for any writer…. One MUST know how to set a scene, and make the reader see what the author wishes them to see; learning to describe the actions of a Cat are the perfect method for learning to do that well….

None of the above even begins to consider all the material that is also available in this category, of a more complex, personal nature, to wit: writing about our complex, loving, yet adversarial personal relationships with the cattus domesticus with whom we may end up sharing space…. People’s relationships with their cats are as deep, and loving, and complex as those they have with any person…. This, of course, gives us a fertile field from which to draw our subject matter, and makes writing about cats a staple exercise for anyone who wishes to consider themselves to be a competent author….

It’s also quite fun, re-living whatever experiences one has with their cats, who are, in truth, as much our best friends as dogs….. The long-standing agreement we humans have with the cat species is much different than the one we hold with dogs, but it is just as ancient, and just as strong on both sides….

Now that I’ve completely gone off, far afield, in a direction never before taken, there must be some way to get back on track, and get my butt into the water, diving for pearls to create some thoughts in those empty heads out there…. It seems I’d best get to it quickly today, too, as my carpal tunnel has picked today to act up, numbing my fingers as I type…. Oh boy, this will be FUN!….. NOT! Oh well….

Shall we Pearl?…..

Tell me, O Octopus, I begs,
Is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, Octopus;
If I were thou, I’d call me us.

— Odgen Nash (1902-1971)
_____________________________

Ohmigosh, Most Puissant Keeper, Protector of the Forever Dubious, help us! Do not desert us in our hour of need! Give us this day our humble desire, for sustenance to feed the mind, to help them grow to become worthy tools in the hands of our Gentle Readers. (Hmm…. okay, to all those Gentle Readers out there today….. please ignore any and/or all anatomical inferences, or references, in that last little statement…. I’m afraid I got my metaphors mixed up with my euphemisms, and the results are a bit confusing…. so, never mind….. ) Let Smart Bee, that most excellent of databases, find and offer up the most intelligent, the most ironic, the funniest pearls, no matter how old, dusty, or what dark corner in which is was found….

There you go, ffolkes, my version of prayer…. Let’s hope Ohmisgosh was listening….

“Every day should be passed as if it were to be our last.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 633

“Reality happens when you don’t make it to the bathroom.” — Smart Bee

“It does not matter whether the cat is black or white. So long as it catches the mouse, it is a good cat.” — Deng Xiaoping

“Big Business and State Socialism are very much alike, especially Big Business.” — G. K. Chesterton, G.K.’s Weekly, 4/10/26

Men must be taught as if you taught them not,
And things unknown propos’d as things forgot.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Criticism, Part iii, Line 15

“Power must never be trusted without a check.” — John Adams
(Side note: When I first saw this, I read it as “never be trusted WITH a check!”….. but, it works either way, doesn’t it?….)

Knowledge by suffering entereth,
And life is perfected by death.

— Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1809-1861) — A Vision of Poets, Conclusion

Hmm…. Smart Bee is showing off, I think…. That, or it feels as if the contractual obligation for obscurity hasn’t been met, and is just doing its part to help the team…. I won’t bother to remind it that it’s only January, and we have a very long time to get that done…. It was a nice gesture, even if it does leave us scratching our heads a bit…. I suppose it’s one of those pearls that will sit in there, in our heads, until it ripens, whereupon it will explode, leaving us all in awe at the sheer genius thus displayed…. Or, maybe not…. Only time will tell, once again…. Funny how that keeps happening….
_____________________________

“Verbing weirds language.” — Calvin (from “Calvin and Hobbes”)

Someday, I believe Calvin & Hobbes will be on a par, reputation-wise, with Pogo, Doonesbury, Dilbert, and a few other comic strips that are, because of the genius of their authors, as much social commentary as humor. Calvin’s display of all of the most dramatic human characteristics, including the vices, is perfectly counterbalanced by Hobbes brilliantly wise (both in creativity and common sense…), compassionate, grounded yet wildly original, commentary, whether presented in an existential framework, or something more mundane. With the little complaint above, the creator, Bill Watterson, articulates a particular pet peeve of mine…. in three words…..

I am in awe of this statement, much as when I find a piece of poetry that displays such an innate understanding of language, while simultaneously showing the power of using it well…. Using verbs as nouns, and vice versa, is a habit of modern culture I deplore as much as any other in the field of language usage; seeing it is an issue for others is a big relief to me, especially in a media venue that can influence a lot of people’s attitudes….

Of course, it’s something that will fly right by those millions of folks who DON’T read, either books, or newspapers, but, hey, one can’t have everything…. Those particular folks won’t be worrying much about what a verb is, or a noun, anyway, and won’t be deliberately switching them around to try to appear clever…..

There, now you can never say I don’t just ramble incoherently for no reason at all…. I just saw the quote, and it ticked off this little mini-rant against a very minor form of linguistic ignorance…. As we say around here…. never mind….. Here’s a nice poem to make it all better….. You didn’t notice the spoiler above, in the intro section?…. Don’t worry, neither did I, until the proofing stage…. Our minds can play funny tricks on us, can’t they?….

Adventures Of Isabel

Isabel met an enormous bear,
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bear’s big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now I’ll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry.
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.
Once in a night as black as pitch
Isabel met a wicked old witch.
the witch’s face was cross and wrinkled,
The witch’s gums with teeth were sprinkled.
Ho, ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,
I’ll turn you into an ugly toad!
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry,
She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,
But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.
Isabel met a hideous giant,
Isabel continued self reliant.
The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,
He had one eye in the middle of his forhead.
Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,
I’ll grind your bones to make my bread.
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off,
And when it was gone, she cut the giant’s head off.
Isabel met a troublesome doctor,
He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.
The doctor’s talk was of coughs and chills
And the doctor’s satchel bulged with pills.
The doctor said unto Isabel,
Swallow this, it will make you well.
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She took those pills from the pill concocter,
And Isabel calmly cured the doctor.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

_____________________________

I did a search of the morning’s headlines when I sat down to begin today’s effort, but, found nothing worthy of a rant, or even minor outrage, other than the usual critical view I have regarding the media’s choice of what news is fit to disseminate…. To be fair in their defense, I also try to keep in mind that I don’t have access to, or time to look at, ALL of the information that is out there to be absorbed…. So, I content myself with what passes for mainstream news, without falling into the trap of getting it from any site or organization that has a vested interest in what is to be brought forth…. such as, say, Fox News, MSNBC, or any of the major networks or their affiliates…. In short, I don’t much trust any of the news outlets that have ANY connection to a vested interest, so, it can be hard to get the straight story on many events….

In the long run, this, along with just about anything else one might think of, is a moot point, which only serves to illustrate the reason today’s Pearl won’t have what might usually be expected in the way of a rant, or as my good friend Lou puts it, my “bitching” about society’s ills….. Due to the (apparent) sparsity of my audience, loyal as those few are, I can’t argue that what I’m doing often FEELS like bitching…. That’s okay, though, because I’m only concerned with the message, and getting it over to people who need to hear it; there’s no denying, for that purpose, bitching is good. Well, it feels good, anyway, so, I’ll keep at it….

In the meantime, though, in order to fulfill the formatting requirements of this blog, I have to put SOMETHING here…. This means, of course, it will have to be a random, old-school pearl, with no particular rhyme, reason, or parameters for inclusion, other than…. it must SOUND as if it means something….

“The most important reason for the drug laws in this country is to encourage a healthy distrust for the law.” — Smart Bee

“Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“Orthodoxy is not thinking – not having to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.” — George Orwell (1903-1950), “1984”

“Death is a commingling of eternity with time; in the death of a good man, eternity is seen looking through time.” — Goethe

“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Paradoxically though it may seem, it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” — Oscar Wilde

“If the whole human race lay in one grave, the epitaph on its headstone might well be:’It seemed like a good idea at the time.'” — Rebecca West

Sometimes, this process works better than I know…. Upon due reflection, this may be one of those times…. Any ideas?….
_____________________________

Well…. instead of going into such a deep subject, or relying solely on what may be the oldest bad joke in the English language, I’ll just go on about my business as though nothing undue or immoral had occurred here…. which, you will note, it didn’t…. technically….. On that relatively positive note, I bid thee adieu, until tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Tales of rabbits running, and thyme….

Posted on December 15, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I realized, at one point, while going over yesterday’s post, that my diatribe in the intro section, regarding some theoretical might-have-beens for one of our former POTUS’s, may conceivably have sounded as if I were disparaging, by stereotyping, “those kind of guys”, when I was speaking of GWB Jr, aka, Shrub, Jr….. That would be an erroneous conclusion, completely against the grain of my actual beliefs, and totally in opposition to the point I was making about the shrub’s latency…

In that respect, I meant only to suggest that HE, Mr. Shrub, Jr., would have been much better off had he been allowed to explore that, shall we say, more ethically and/or morally evolved side of his personality…. which, sadly, also does not mention how much better off we all would have been, had that series of unlikely events have taken place…. I wanted to make that perfectly clear, as I MUCH prefer the politics and personalities I find in the gay community over those I find in the Republican Party, as a rule…. Actually, I’d say it’s more like a natural law than a rule, as I’ve yet to meet a Republican I liked very much, and I generally enjoy ALL the gay and/or transgender ffolkes I meet…. though I’m sure they produce their share of assholes, too… We all take our turn at that….

I started this apologia yesterday, at the point in time when I realized what I had done, so it has usurped my usual beginning routine…. which fits right in with the rest of the day’s events thus far…. I arose at almost 6 AM, the latest hour I’ve arisen in the course of many blue moons, and a good indicator that my new medication regime for sleeping is effective. I’m getting a handle on the amount of medication (cannabis….) I need to consume, as well as getting to understand how long prior to the time I want to go out for the night I need to consume it, so for the past five nights, I’ve gone to bed at a relatively normal hour, and gotten up eight to nine hours later, refreshed and reasonably recharged….. It’s a real treat, believe me, after many years of interrupted sleeping…. I do wake up a bit confused, though, as my mind doesn’t understand why I was asleep so long….

All of the routines I’m now developing are new, so it may take some time to regularize them; bear with me until then, if you will, and give me some slack…. more than you’ve already given me over time, as you’ve watched me go through all the contortions that my particular brand of madness makes me display so ardently….. I know it can be difficult to see a human being going through some of this, but, just toughen up, ffolkes, it’s all in a good cause, as long as the subscription papers got signed for the turning over of all the profits to the charity funds I picked…. Of course, that’s assuming we can ever show a profit, an event unlikely to happen in this lifetime, as I’m making no effort to do so…. So there….

Not sure why the irritability is there, but, hey, I’ve been in stranger moods, and still gotten a Pearl done…. It’s probably just some left over confusion from waking up, a natural response to new routines, and a natural flip, to turn over the confusion to the curmudgeon in me, and let it out as grumpiness…. Every body needs to practice their skills, eh?…. Even if the only thing we’re going to do is go for a dive, in familiar waters…..

Shall we Pearl?…. Below you will find a quote, one of my all-time favorites, but, sadly, one I have always attributed incorrectly, to the wrong author…. I had always thought this came from Mahatma Gandhi, in one of his gentle moments of sardonicism…. but, I was wrong, so, I offer it here with the correct author given credit….

“Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.” — George Bernard Shaw
_____________________________

I’m not up to a rant today, ffolkes, even though I see by the news that the idiots are loose out there, even on a Sunday…. But, they’re talking about the budget, and the economy, and NOTHING is more upsetting to me than that…. They all talk just as if there were something they could do that would have some effect on the economy, when it is perfectly clear to even the most thick-headed that there is not a damn thing to be done… ANYTHING they do is the wrong thing, and it is something they will never understand, as it is beyond their capability….. So, rather than stand around and point out the obvious bleeding from the head wounds they give each other, pounding on a wall that won’t move, I’ll put together an old-school style pearl, to show the same derisive qualities, but with a bit of panache, and, hopefully, humor…. Let’s see if SB will cooperate today….

“The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.” — Sir Thomas Browne

“Life is Not Fair! Not today, Not tomorrow, Not ever! Get used to it!” — Smart Bee

“Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.” — Anton Chekhov

“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv

“It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth.” — Oscar Wilde

“He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.” — Aristotle

Between those who use their neighbors, and those who use a cane.
Between those in constant power, and those in constant pain.
Between those who run to evil, and those who cannot run.
Tell me which ones are the cripples, and which ones touch the sun.

— Ceili’s Muse “What you do with what you’ve got”
_____________________________

I know a poet is special when what they’ve written speaks to me as if I were standing next to them, watching them as they wrote the poem…. All of this man’s poems do that for me…. He is very, very real, and powerful, especially when he reveals the vulnerability we all feel sometimes…..

Bluebird

there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I’m not going
to let anybody see
you.
there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he’s
in there.

there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?
there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody’s asleep.
I say, I know that you’re there,
so don’t be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he’s singing a little
in there, I haven’t quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it’s nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don’t
weep, do
you?

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

_____________________________

When I began to put this section together, my intent was a bit more dignified than the end result might indicate….. But, I have no regrets at all over this one, as it happened to turn out to be rather a good little pearly mini-rant, with some fairly nice shots taken, and some good advice delivered…. If nothing else, it gives us all a chance to think about just how much it’s going to cost me to get the psychiatric help I need…. until we remember, it’s all free, if you’re already insane!…..

No, really, ffolkes, this one actually IS a good pearl, with all the right stuff to take someone in the right frame of mind right over into patriotic fervor, or possibly, an outbreak of common sense, or even random compassion…. One never knows with these pearls, you know, they can be pretty unpredictable in their effect on some ffolkes…. and even more so on other folks….

“It is not the fact of liberty but the way in which liberty is exercised that ultimately determines whether liberty itself survives… When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.” — Dorothy Thompson, American journalist, author (1894-1961)

“Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our own possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the _real_ object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?” — Patrick Henry

“A promise must never be broken.” — Alexander Hamilton

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?” — Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on Virginia”

“A right is not what someone gives you; it’s what no one can take from you.” — Ramsey Clark

“All the big corporations depreciate their possessions, and you can, too, provided you use them for business purposes. For example, if you subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, a business-related newspaper, you can deduct the cost of your house, because, in the words of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in a landmark 1979 tax decision: “Where else are you going to read the paper? Outside? What if it rains?” — Dave Barry, “Sweating Out Taxes”

“America … just a nation of two hundred million used car salesman with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.” — Hunter S. Thompson, “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail”
_____________________________

There are mornings when I’m uncertain whether or not I really should be doing this…. Then, I read it, and it’s all okay again…. Let’s see if that works today….. Well, I won’t take the high road, and insist that this is all well-intentioned, and should therefore be pardoned…. Nor will I take the low road, and say it is so poor and lacking in content it should be ignored…. for in truth, it is neither one of those, but, almost a proper Pearl, in almost every sense… I’m not certain how it came out that way, but, I’ll take it…. and see you tomorrow, considering myself fortunate to be able to run away without guilt, “an have harmed none”…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

We can save time by cross stitching the zippers….

Posted on December 14, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

My writing schedule is a real mess, now that I’m actually sleeping a relatively normal number of hours….. I’m not sure what to do with nine hours of sleep every day; I don’t remember the last time it happened, especially not three or four days in a row…. One might suspect me of cheating somehow, but, how does one do that? How do you cheat to get some sleep? It seems to me that whatever means one might resort to would be legal means, given the very personal, and very critical nature of the issue. Even if there were some kind of legal issues involved, I don’t think I, or anyone else who has the same issue, would waste any of my time caring about getting in trouble over it…. As I heard in a movie recently, bring it on….

Oh, wait, no that was a POTUS who said that, not a cheerleader in a movie…. Well, she said it too, but, ….. never mind…. It was a bit childish, yes, and completely inappropriate, coming from our nation’s highest elected official, especially given the assumed dignity that is supposed to go with the office of the presidency…. Unfortunately, it’s sad, but true, that particular POTUS really had no business ever becoming one anyway; it was only his dad’s extreme skills at clandestine cheating that got him elected, both times…. but, we’re not going to go there today….

That’s a rant of an entirely different color, and we don’t have any rainbow bridles on hand today…. Did you ever get that from him? Did he, you know, Shrub Jr., did he ever strike you as well, kind of gay? He always reminded me of one of those old guys on Polk and Turk in SF, new to the scene, but determined to make up for all the lost years in the closet….. He always had that look in his eye, you know, and that silly little grin? The shit-eating, good-old-boys grin, just among buddies, y’know?…. Like he’s always wanted to join the scene, but, daddy would never give him enough room to stray that way…. A prancer, he looks like a prancer, that’s what he is, one of those who would dance around, waving a champagne bottle, wearing nothing but his cowboy hat and boots, white briefs, and a big shit-eating grin….

Okay, side issue there, sorry…. but, it’s true…. He always did remind me of one of those guys, you know?…. Okay, onward…. Of course, now that we’ve decided to move on, that leaves the very important question of WHERE to move on unanswered in any real way….. Personally, I think we should go go the pirate route, but, there are always a number of injuries when we use that methodology, and I’m low on paper tape for bandages. We could go with the Bossa Nova style we just got delivered yesterday…. No, wait, it isn’t all unpacked yet, and my zoot suit isn’t pressed…. Hmm. Oh hell, I suppose we’re just going to have to resort to the tried and true number seven…. I didn’t want to have to do that, but, hey, parts is parts, right?….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Don’t follow in my footsteps. I think I stepped in something.” — Smart Bee
_____________________________

Coming soon to a section near you!….. A grouping of pearls, especially designed and gathered for your personal delectation, with the intent, as always, to further increase your own growing collection of perspicacious elements of philosophical rationale, useful in many ways, for completing your homework, for filling the space in the front of your shoes, or for the bottom of that bird-cage… Created with you in mind, if not always in our hearts…Here now, from the makers of John Daniel’s finest breakfast products, happily if foolishly imbibed, then dutifully processed, by the organic, yet oddly technical, highly-trained consumer you see before you now… Your daily pearls of virtual wisdom, fresh from their own oysters…..

(No, I’m not really having Whiskey for Breakfast, though that IS an event known to have happened in the dim, dark past…. Just foolin’ around, in a sort of literary sense, Heyoka style… Never mind, it’ll never work now…. here, take the pearls, at least they won’t explode…. I think….)

“Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a congressperson can.” — Smart Bee

* Greatest number of citizens who have actually boarded a UFO
* Many newspapers feature “JUMBLE”
* Hourly motel rates
* Vast majority of Elvis movies made here
* Didn’t just give up right away during World War II like some countries we could mention
* Goatees & Van Dykes thought to be worn only by weenies
* Our well-behaved golf professionals
* Fabulous babes coast to coast

— David Letterman’s “Things we can be proud of as Americans”

“The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line.” — H. L. Mencken

“Ideology…is an instrument of power; a defense mechanism against information; a pretext for eluding moral constraints in doing or approving evil with a clean conscience; and finally, a way of banning the criterion of experience, that is, of completely eliminating or indefinitely postponing the pragmatic criteria of success and failure.” — Jean-Francois Revel

“Control of the dissemination of information (or misinformation) is one of the principal sources of political power. Political power is what the discussion of the Internet is really about, not home-made bombs or pornography.” — Michael Goldsby — Letter to Communications of the ACM, Nov 95

(Or, as gigoid put it, back in 1977, “True power is control of the routes of perception.”…. See “another rant, another time…” I’m sure I’ve talked about this before…. I know I have…. but, I haven’t a clue as to when that might have been…. SIGH…) Okay, two more to round this off so it won’t leave any scar tissue….

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

“Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.” [Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound]. — Smart Bee

Perfect ending….
_____________________________

“I have nothing to declare except my genius.” — Oscar had no qualms in doing so, either…. Fortunately for us all, he wasn’t wrong…..

A Vision

Two crowned Kings, and One that stood alone
With no green weight of laurels round his head,
But with sad eyes as one uncomforted,
And wearied with man’s never-ceasing moan
For sins no bleating victim can atone,
And sweet long lips with tears and kisses fed.
Girt was he in a garment black and red,
And at his feet I marked a broken stone
Which sent up lilies, dove-like, to his knees.
Now at their sight, my heart being lit with flame,
I cried to Beatrice, ‘Who are these? ‘
And she made answer, knowing well each name,
‘AEschylos first, the second Sophokles,
And last (wide stream of tears!) Euripides.’

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

_____________________________

One thing I can say about myself is that I’m fairly consistent, once I’ve made up my mind about something…. Below is a religirant, an old one, from more than a year ago, whilst I was still in the grip of the near-poverty level lifestyle with which I was familiar for a couple of years…. It’s all done now, but, as you can see from the following, I haven’t changed my mind about certain basic beliefs….

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

From June 27, 2012:

“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1972)

There are many folks out there who, when reading my material for the first time, might get the impression that I am an atheist, and an anarchist. The stuff I write would tend to give that impression, I have no doubt. But, it really isn’t the case, and just goes to show that not everything is always as it seems….

I’m not an atheist, at least not in a classical sense. I would more accurately be described as agnostic, as I believe strongly in a spiritual component in the universe. But, the very concept of omnipotence, and omniscience, implies that one cannot define God, or whatever entity one considers to be the ultimate authority. A finite mind cannot comprehend an infinite mind; anything we can imagine cannot, by definition, be accurate or complete, as our minds are not infinite in scope.

It could be said that our imagination IS infinite. We can, at the very least, comprehend the concept of infinity, even if we cannot touch it, or see it, or count that high. But, to actually think that what we imagine about God is the same as reality is not only arrogant, it is foolish. Yet a large percentage of the human race not only believes they know what God looks like (ironically, God always looks like the folks who are claiming Him as their deity….), but that they know what He wants. To my way of thinking, this is sheer self-aggrandizement, and unjustifiably arrogant….

I suppose it helps them in dealing with the everyday stresses of life to think that they are special. To think they are beloved of God, and what they do is important to Him. This sense of belonging is important to a lot of folks, due I think, to their own fears about their ability to deal with reality as it exists. It gives them a sense of entitlement, and justifies their actions, no matter how immoral or unethical they may be. It allows them to act upon their impulses without restraint, to lie, to cheat, to steal, all in the name of the Lord. And, if they should happen to feel a tiny shred of guilt about what they are doing to other folks, why, they just confess their sins to Jesus, and all is forgiven!….

Sorry, folks, but I could never buy into the whole scenario, from my earliest days. All of my experience, and all of my reasoning have led me to a different view of reality than what is described by any religion. I have observed the behavior of most people of a religious bent to be, as a rule, hypocritical, cruel, bigoted, racist, and, for the most part, unrelated to any moral or ethical system of any depth. The most religious in society go so far as to threaten violence toward anyone who disagrees with their beliefs, justified by their own self-proclaimed right to spew their hatred on anyone who differs.

I believe in compassion and kindness. I believe in love. I believe in protecting the vulnerable, and helping the less fortunate. I believe in beauty. And, I believe in reality, whatever that may be; it’s purely subjective for the most part. I DON’T believe in the divinity of Jesus, or Buddha, or Lao Tzu, or Mohammad, or any other religious prophet. I don’t believe there is some white haired, bearded old guy sitting on a throne of gold up in the sky somewhere, looking down and getting his pants in a bunch because I didn’t salute his graven image first thing after I got up.

That whole graven image thing, and the idea that God wants, or needs, our worship has always been a thorn in my side. I mean, can’t these zealots understand the irony of worshiping an image of Christ on the cross? Don’t they know that the cross is a graven image? And why would an omnipotent being need MY worship? It makes no sense. None. I cannot imagine of ANY reason for a God to care at all about such petty bullshit; I don’t care to be worshiped, why should He? Having someone act that way toward me makes me uncomfortable, so I can’t see why a God would even want to go there. What purpose does it serve?

Well, one of my computer alarms just went off, and made me realize I was ranting, which I had not started out to do. I think y’all can get the gist of my arguments by this time, and those who are in disagreement with what I’ve written aren’t going to be persuaded away from their long-held delusions by my words, so further soliloquy would be futile.

I’ll just finish by saying this…. until Mankind grows up enough to be able to put aside the crutch of religion, and learns to stand up to reality as it exists, without the delusional imaginary friend to intercede on their behalf with the universe, then our path to extinction will remain clear…. It’s too bad really, because our species shows a lot of promise…. it’s too bad we will never be allowed to explore our limits as an adult species, because we will have killed ourselves off before we ever got out of childhood….
_____________________________

You’re right, I cheated a bit…. I’m an American, sue me…. I don’t currently have the angst and/or outrage necessary for good ranting, so, I went with the archives again…. It saves time proofing, too, as I’ve already been over the old stuff at least twice before it got posted…. Let’s see what kind of overall damage I’ve done today….

It’s a good thing the universe has a lot of hit points…. I hit back fairly hard today. Be that as it may, I think Reality will probably survive, so I’ll just be on my way, doing my part to shore up the dikes of reason against the tide of ignorance…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

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

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Oscar Wilde

Fold the strawberries gently into the partially whipped cream….

Bloody, but unbowed, he staggers on….

Seventy-seven reasons to sit shiv-eh in the nude…..

Crash test dummies don’t do it….

Stable the horses, first, then we’ll emote…

I’d like to be made fully cognizant, please….

Subject to random bourgeois scrutiny….

Preparing to salivate on command….

Tales of rabbits running, and thyme….

We can save time by cross stitching the zippers….

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