Tag Archives: Oscar Wilde

Celebratory moments on parade…..

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Ffolkes,
Being a geek never felt better…. yesterday, in frustration, I uninstalled Smart Bee again from my computer, then re-installed it, and gloryoski, Skeeter, it worked! It’s back, and looking grand, I must say….. SIGH…. I feel much better now……

So much better, I slept well, and woke early, just to get a good start on this Pearl…. it’s really good to have material to work with. I’ve grown dependent, I guess, on having sufficient quotes from other smart ffolkes to stimulate my thought processes, and not having them was taking its toll. Now I feel so good, another poem dripped out last night while I was basking in the glow of a successful install. Not great, but pretty good, I think…. and all original, so that has to count for something, right?…. It all rhymes, too, so Mrs. Lowe and Mr. Olsen would be proud…..

Without further ado, let us get on with today’s process….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“OVER the underpass!  UNDER the overpass!  Around the FUTURE and BEYOND REPAIR!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

In celebration of the return of SB, I offer this brilliant aphorism from Zippy as thanks, and as a tribute to the power of nonsense in Life. If it weren’t for the concept of ridiculousness, I’d be just another bozo on the bus, rather than a sharp, progressive purveyor of reason and honor…. and Pearls of Virtual wisdom might never have been liberated from their shells….

In the Harry Potter books, and movies, I was particularly impressed with Ms. Rowling after reading the part about Boggarts in the second novel, and finding out the spell that banished them, to wit: Ridikulous! shouted in stentorian tones while thinking of what you fear in a comical venue. Such sharp insight! It was a perfect, perfect piece of story-telling, and gave me a whole new perspective on the depth of the whole Hogwarts experience…. “Never tickle a sleeping dragon” indeed!….. With that in mind, and in recognition of the return of plenty to a world in dearth, here is an old school pearl, with a message about how to live well, and happily….

“Don’t try to have the last word. You might get it.” — Lazarus Long

“Ignorance is not bliss — it’s oblivion.” — Phillip Wylie

“Stereotypes are like a supermarket. They are convenient, economical, and useful. They do our thinking for us. We don’t have to waste time trying to make sense of our ignorance. Stereotypes slice through the niceties of language, tide us over the loose ends we don’t understand and wrap up into a comfortable package our narrow – mindedness about everything and everybody except ourselves” — Chuck Stone (Washington Post 6/3/96)

“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful.  He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful.  Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either.  But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain

“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live.  It is asking other people to live as one wishes to live.” — Oscar Wilde

“As God is my witness – I am that fool!” — Gomez Addams

And, on that note, we shall forge onward with renewed vigor, and a carefree heart!……
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Confidentially Paranoid

Only when the bright sunlight of dreams draws nigh
can the dark glass of reality factor true value..
Destiny’s horses run in fear as time goes dry,
for grappling with fate in such traitorous venue.

In pallid costumes made of graven cast-off tales,
fallen angels and demons show the measure of faith.
No sad transactions should escape these well-marked trails,
no angry relatives cast insults to a sedentary wraith.

Meaning can always hide in literal cold intent,
yet show mere facets of honor to perishable youth.
Sincere contentions leave with sorrowful bent,
while bastardly arguments fill in poorly for the truth.

Gone are moments filled with florid blasts of rhyme
left to moulder on the shoulders of unreasonable hope.
Only courage can save these measures of unspoken time
to gather new issues of powerfully broad and painful scope.

~~ gigoid
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It is time, the Walrus said, to speak of many things…… or at least one…..

“Shakespeare was an intellectual ocean, whose waves touched all the shores of thought; within which were all the tides and waves of destiny and will; over which swept all the storms of fate, ambition and revenge; upon which fell the gloom and darkness of despair and death and all the sunlight of content and love, and within which was the inverted sky lit with the eternal stars — an intellectual ocean — toward which all rivers ran, and from which now the isles and continents of thought receive their dew and rain.” — Robert G. Ingersoll (American lawyer and orator)

Now, to look at this, one might think that this Ingersoll person was a smart fella, having obviously read a lot of Shakespeare. I am forced to point out, however, that being able to read does not necessarily mean one can think, or that one is entitled to an opinion. There are clues within this statement that reveal its weaknesses, the foremost of which is that it is a large load of bullshit…… I, too, have read a lot of Shakespeare, though not by choice. At first, I read him because it was assigned in school by some ignorant English teacher who had fallen under the normal delusion taught in most schools about Will, i.e., his stuff was good…. when in reality, most of what he wrote is just a pile of shit piled really high….. Afterward, I read him to find further examples of his failings to show people in proof of my assertion, to wit: he is the most over-rated, and most egregiously pandered to author of all time….

Oh, he was prolific, and wrote a lot of stuff that is fairly good, by any standards…. but, given the massive amount of stuff he wrote, that is merely proof of the law of averages. For the most part, what he wrote is too wordy by half, obscure in meaning that clouds the story, or has no connection to the story at all, and tends to a flowery saccharine flavor by the choice of his words. He did achieve a large popularity in his own time, either due to good press, or the normal bad taste of the public; I don’t really care. In today’s world, his story lines are trite, and tend to stick to common themes that every author treats; in addition, his use of slang went completely overboard, and has turned what may have been decent rap in his day, into such tripe that it just sounds like random noise, similar to the common run of rap today…. it amazes me how many bad musicians there are in the world…. but that is another story….

In order to demonstrate for you the absolute nonsense that flowed from his pen, I’ve included some samples of his work below…. they pretty much speak for themselves….. badly…… so I’ve added my comments in parentheses…..

O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t,
A brother’s murder.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act iii, Sc. 3
(Ooooh, such tension and horror….. NOT…. merely mundane, as far as I can tell…..)

“The venom clamors of a jealous woman poison more deadly than a mad dog’s tooth.” — William Shakespeare
(I’ll bet Will was real popular with the women of his time….. NOT)

Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip’s bell I lie.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Tempest — Act v, Sc. 1
(Huh? What? Is this part of the play?…..Which part?…. Which play?)

O, that he were here to write me down an ass!
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Much Ado about Nothing — Act iv, Sc. 2
(Don’t worry, Will, I’m here…..)

A plague of sighing and grief! It blows a man up like a bladder.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act ii, Sc. 4
(I suppose if your society doesn’t yet have rubber, or balloons, a bladder is the best you have…..)

Most forcible Feeble.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act iii, Sc. 2
(Oh, aye, what a handy turn of phrase…. NOT… What does this mean?….)

They fool me to the top of my bent.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act iii, Sc. 2
(Uh, to where? I think more likely, he’s the one trying to fool…. the audience….)

O, never say hereafter
But I am truest speaker. You call’d me brother
When I was but your sister.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Cymbeline — Act v, Sc. 5
(Honestly, this sounds like something I’d write when really, really drunk, and think it was hilarious…..)

Okay, that’s probably enough for one day…. I’ve got well over four pages full of stuff of his like these, so there is a lot to choose from…. Just doing what I can to spread the truth, as I see it…… and this truth needs telling, to get society away from this ridiculous celebrity worship when it comes to him, and to artists like him, who rely on public opinion more than Art to determine the value of their material…. Call me Ishmael, if you must…. just don’t forget to call me…..
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Boy, that was great fun! Lots of material, old friends to pick on, and a new poem, which is always better out than in…. can’t beat that with a stick. I’m going to sign off here, so as not to tempt Fate into retribution so early in the day….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Unknown patterns of regimental filtration….

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Ffolkes,
Today is the last day of leisure for this week. Tomorrow I should be able to pick up the keys to my new place, and start the moving process. I’m hoping it goes as smoothly as the packing has done…. Using the most useful advantage of age, foresight, I’ve been packing little by little, until there is now only the daily use items left to go, and they’ll get done on the last day, anyway…… Not too bad for an old fart with flat feet and flatulence, eh?….

“He is never less at leisure than when at leisure.” — Cicero (106-43 BC) — De Officiis, iii, 1

For those who enjoyed yesterday’s story beginning in the intro, I have already started on that, to turn it into a whole story, whether novel, novella, or short story length. The story is yet a bit unclear in my head, other than the beginning, but it will solidify as it percolates in the back of my mind for the time being; when it gets a bit more solid, I’ll outline it, so I know where to go with it….. should be fun. Hope so, anyway….

As I mentioned before, I may have to miss posting this blog on Friday and/or Saturday of this week. I’m not sure at this point whether I’ll have internet service right away in the new place, so I’ll have to go to Starbucks or somewhere else with free Wi-Fi…. and no telling how long I’ll have to do that, so I could conceivably get lazy and not go at all…. time will tell, as always.

Now that all the housekeeping chores have been completed, I think it’s time to go look for some material, just for fun. It’s certainly not for profit…..   Shall we Pearl?…..
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“I haven’t killed anyone yet. Help me keep it that way. I mean, what hope is there for the world if I die?” — Smart Bee

The above line from Smart Bee is actually two separate aphorisms that popped up one after the other, and were obviously (to me) meant to be together…. As it is now, it perfectly describes how I feel much of the time, especially pre-rant…. I have a small problem today, though, so I’m morphing right in front of your eyes….

I tried to write a rant, but just couldn’t work up the strong outrage that is needed to get fully into the flow of a full-fledged rant; even I fall prey to human nature at times, and rationalize my laziness as either fatigue or indifference… In this case, I’ll be honest, and cop to it….. I’m feeling lazy, so an old-school pearl will have to do for the nonce…. There IS a point to all this….. if only I knew what it was….

“I was contemplating the immortal words of Socrates, who said… I drank what?” — Real Genius

I don’t suffer from insanity–I revel in it! — Smart Bee

The seven eyes of Ningauble the Wizard floated back to his hood  as he reported to Fafhrd: “I have seen much, yet cannot explain all. The Gray Mouser is exactly twenty-five feet below the deepest cellar in the palace of Gilpkerio Kistomerces. Even though twenty-four parts in twenty-five of him are dead, he is alive. “Now about Lankhmar. She’s been invaded, her walls breached everywhere and desperate fighting is going on in the streets, by a fierce host which out-numbers Lankhmar’s inhabitants by fifty to one — and equipped with all modern weapons. Yet you can save the city.”  “How?” demanded Fafhrd.  Ningauble shrugged. “You’re a hero. You should know.” — Fritz Leiber, from “The Swords of Lankhmar”

Forever never lasts as long as you think it will!! — Smart Bee (Especially if the grammar police catch you using multiple exclamation points)

“It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God but to create him.” — Arthur C. Clarke

“Make no judgments where you have no compassion.” — Anne McCaffrey

That should do it…. it’s a pretty simple puzzle, all things considered….. If it is too obscure, don’t fret, just eat some chocolate…. that fixes just about anything……
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I’ve indicated previously how much I like the poetry of Emily Dickinson…. below is one of my favorite of all her poems, because of the sheer power of her words, few as they are…..

A word is dead
When it is said
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.
— Emily Dickinson

Below you will find a poem by another poetess of great talent….. and you will find my comments directly below that…. no rolling your eyes like that!….. Pay attention, please…..

Under the Rug

I knew him for too many seasons. So when
the hot fury of summer finds me, or
when winter’s ice freezes my bones to
my skin, I smell him in my fingertips.
I wear him to bed.
I hear his laughter echoing through the night,
the night….

the nights come heavy with dreams that
wet my eyes, that drown my blankets with
sweat,
an old premonition.

I remember before he went,
his hands were as wide as my eyes,
sliding across my cheek,
his blue eyes flashed a promise at me

and in my fear, he stayed.

Then, he tugged at needles and
flossed with weakness
and they took him. The dark angels of
forever took him
beyond touch, or sight, or scent

and I went off to Dr. Steve.
I found him with his plants and his leather
and I found
the bottom of the rocks.
I spent my nights with Love’s thick hands
strangling me, and my
days with Dr. Steve’s hands turned upside
down, proving that authority was a soft side.

I gave his magazines a thought,
I gave his theories a thought,
I gave him every last piece of vulnerable paper
I had sitting around from the past 4 years,
and after he poured my heart into his
plastic plants,
I poured out my last ounce of attempt to stuff
struggle into the shadows.
I lifted his rug, and I crawled underneath it to
hide myself from the fury of the seasons.

~~ maggiemaeijustsaythis

http://maggiemaeijustsaythis.wordpress.com/2012/08/26/under-the-rug/#comment-20671    Following this link will take you to the original of this poem by maggiemae, as posted on her site, maggiemaeijustsaythis, a WordPress blog site; you will find many other poems there, equally as powerful and elegant as this one.

Maggie Mae is, in short, an astounding talent. I firmly believe that her work will someday be included in college and high school educational courses as one of the most important poets of the first part of the Twenty-First century, just as her favorite poet, Emily Dickinson is considered for her own era.

Seriously, she is that good. Her poems are filled with images of great power and metaphor, and reading one of them can leave you breathless in awe, as well as breathless from the sheer roller-coaster feeling of following her thoughts and words…. It is a truly amazing experience….. and one that promises to bring her unique passion and vision into the public eye for a long time to come, to our everlasting joy and appreciation. Please visit her site, and prepare to be amazed…..
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I wrote this poem in reaction to some of the news stories I’ve been reading on the upcoming election battle….. which gives me the right to call it a pearl….

Modest sounds of impatient concern….

Crowds converge at the raw and grisly scene,
comatose to compassion, curiosity tugging at the hem
with sharp, oh, sharp tools made obscene,
filing the essence of future hopes in spite of them.

Yet who has won the keys to the treasure,
who whipped up the fear of another brother?
Who spent the dreams of the old in selfish measure,
with such arrogant blindness grave issues to smother?

Fateful decisions may prompt still another pause,
to catch and release collective images of insanity.
Surely legitimate anger arises with ample cause
wallowing in self-made entrepreneurs, fluent in profanity.

A quartet of eternities must pass to guarantee change,
regardless of need, or desire, or autonomous manipulation.
Ancient rules and modern aggression is only passing strange
when golden delusion grasps futilely at its related illusory station.

~~ gigoid

A bit ambiguous regarding any hope for change, but all in all, not bad, I think…. hope you enjoyed it….
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Such as it is, it is done, and that may be the best we can say of it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Surfeit with ecstatic pain…..

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Ffolkes,
Okay….. I am now resigned. Try as I may, I can find nothing but ambivalence. I’ve tried to engender some enthusiasm for something positive; nothing doing. Fine, I say to myself, we’ll go with negative. But nooooooo, we’re not going there either, sayeth my stubborn mind.  Not up for a rant so early. So, ambiguity reigns today…. it could be worse…. I could feel like writing a poem…..

Maybe that isn’t such a bad idea…. the poems I’ve created of late have been, if nothing else, acceptable to my inner critic, and the feedback on them has been pretty positive, so perhaps I should put aside my prejudices, and give it a whirl. I suppose it can’t be any harder than trying to come up with prose, not in this state of mind….. We’ll see how it goes once I get this intro out of the way……

Which once again dumps me right back where I started, only now I have all this ambivalence to shed before I can concentrate on what I’m writing…. Hmmm, now, where should I put it. Can’t put it where the sun don’t shine; previous appointments have been made, and cannot be broken. I probably shouldn’t put it in the fridge; the cold would just make it stiffer and harder to mold. And the medicine cabinet is out…. no locks or blocks to keep it from wandering around, getting into mischief.  SIGH, it’s tough to make up one’s mind when it is filled with such ambivalence…..

However, having somehow found our way through the morass of the previous paragraph, I find myself here at the end of the intro, and the ambivalence has been shed. I’m not sure where it went, but, I am sure I don’t want to know. Some things are better left alone, especially when it comes to dealing with unwanted emotions or unwelcome states of mind. Ambivalence fits into both those categories, so we’ll just let it hide wherever it found a niche, and get on with the much more amenable task of finding some stimulating pearls…… Shall we Pearl?…..
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“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.” — James Madison
    From all I can tell from here, this has already happened. When? Why, the very day that the Two Towers were brought down by terrorists, using our own complacency as a weapon. Within hours of that event, politicians of all varieties were screaming for revenge, and the groundwork was laid for the true purpose behind those attacks…..

That purpose had nothing to do with what the terrorists want. I am of the opinion that the entire charade was perpetrated by elements of the CIA, at the behest of their former chief, GWB the First. I’m sorry if that sounds unpatriotic, but I believe it to be true; if it is, it kinda makes them the bad guy, now, doesn’t it?…..

The timing of the attacks are what always bothered me. The day before, September 10th, you may recall, there was an effort to bring to light the voter suppression and vote manipulation in Florida during the election, which had the votes from that state changing from supporting Gore to being in favor of GWB the Junior. There was evidence of mischief in the handling of the votes, and the idea of an investigation into the election was gaining strength, as it should. But, that whole idea was forgotten in the heat of the moment when the terrorists struck….

Funny, isn’t it, how that event changed the face of American politics, putting the fear of “others” into the populace? That fire was immediately stoked until white hot, and the people were made afraid. Of precisely what was never made very clear, but we were supposed to be afraid, at least according to all our brave pundits in Washington. And what was the end result of all that hooraw? The Homeland Security Act, the first blatant, and successful, attempt to abridge the civil rights guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights.

Searches, seizures, snooping, all without warrant or cause, were made legal, and the rest of the Bill of Rights were restricted. The public not only did not object, they supported this abrogation of duty, all from the fear engendered on 9/11. The right to assemble in peaceful protest was severely restricted, and the forces of evil, in the guise of police, were given carte blanche to roust the citizenry of this country, without having to answer to anyone, even if they proved to be wrong. And did we hear any complaints from the public? None that were publicized….

Which brings us to the other culprits in this whole charade; the media. The media has jumped right onto the fear bandwagon, reporting the terrorist acts in the harshest, screaming headlines they could manage, whipping up the public’s fears with stories of horror and vicious inhumanity. Any voices that objected to the abridgment of rights, or questioned the reactions of the political pundits, were labeled as unpatriotic, and drowned out in the fear-mongering and public paroxysms of terror that blared from the papers and televisions.

“The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded on truth.” — Edith Sitwell

People tend to forget that the media outlets are all owned by members of the 1%, and are not really interested in presenting unbiased, informational stories. Those don’t sell very well, and they don’t feed into the fear that the beloved ruling class wants the public to feel when they think of other countries. The pundits keep telling the public that the rest of the Third World is jealous, and are out to get us, and by their actions, they are making absolutely sure that is true. The media does NOT present a fair and unbiased version of ANYTHING, much less of the political scene, and people need to remember that…. Just because someone on TV, wearing a nice tie, an American flag pinned to the lapel of their $1000 suit, and an ingratiating smirk, tells you that someone from another country is evil, doesn’t make it so…..

The opinion I expressed above, regarding who is actually responsible for the mess we are in, is, so far, unchallenged by anyone with any direct evidence. But then, nobody wants to hear that they’ve been fooled again by the powers that be; it’s embarrassing, if one considers themselves to be a free man. to realize that they are actually an ignorant slave of the beloved ruling class.

Most folks will pretend that they agree with whatever comes out of the mouths of the pundits, just so they don’t have to look at how stupid they are really being, and how far from reality they actually reside. Nobody likes to feel like a fool. But, to my way of thinking, I’d rather feel the fool, than feel my freedom slip away, all because some asshole in a suit decided his son needed some help to nail down his theft of the election….

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” — Oscar Wilde, “Oscariana”

So be it….. feel free to comment on this theory, should the urge strike…..

“It does no harm just once in a while to acknowledge that the whole country isn’t in flames, that there are people in the country besides politicians, entertainers, and criminals.” — Charles Kuralt
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Premises, premises….

Tricked, I stumble, and I fall
dreaming, through an abandoned palace.
Frightened and wary, unheard my call
fading into memory, no cup, no argent chalice.

The people, crushed, cry out to be freed
asking only to take part, or travel.
Nascent oaths spotlight such bursting need
fed by treachery, deep from our well.

Only the wicked shall find their way blocked
justice seeks them, snug in their hole.
Faint praises never touched, but naked, stalked
singing no gospel, no soul, no rock and roll.

Only the promised will remember the way
from unforgiven trails of sorrow.
To live life, and give death no sway,
saving grace for our only tomorrow.

~~~ gigoid

Well, it looks like the urge to rhyme overcame my reluctance to subject myself to the poetry-writing process…. this one just had to come out….. I hope you like it….
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“He hasn’t a single redeeming vice.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Having ranted already today, I wasn’t planning to do so again. But, every suitable pearl I find seems to point me toward taking a few shots at the political scene as it relates to the upcoming election. Then, this came into view….. What a perfect description of either one of the Republican candidates! Both Romney and Ryan fit this like a tailor-made shirt.

Since the Twitt made his decision to choose Lyin Ryan (as he is so aptly named by Jueseppi B., the Obamacrat….) I have watched as they have proceeded to alienate one group of voters after another. Women, Jews, Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, senior citizens (such as yours truly…), Catholics, immigrants (legal or not), and the entire middle class, all have been informed by these two idiots that they are not classed as citizens, and will have no rights under their administration…..

Watching these two destroy their own chances has been sort of entertaining; it would be more so if there weren’t so many ignorant bigots and racists out there who have thrown their support to the Daffy Duo, just because they are not black. The election has had at least one useful outcome thus far; it has shown us how far there is still to go until we can consider racism and bigotry things of the past. There are still too many folks out there who make all their decisions based on their prejudices, rather than on any type of reason.

It is unfortunate in the extreme that they can vote, and even more so that they do so regularly; the more educated and informed members of society often become discouraged, and do not vote, thinking that by doing so they are acting honorably, by not lending their support to either party. As far as it goes, this would be correct.

But they forget that the masses of ignorant voters don’t care, and will vote for ANYONE who promises to eliminate those things they fear, such as a Black man as President. In light of that, their unwillingness to adapt, and vote, becomes their downfall, and their shameful regret, as they are then saddled with disastrous leadership for four years….

I’m not going to rant for long this morning; it really isn’t necessary to carry this argument further. The point has been made, and it is this…. Get out there and vote, because if you don’t, there is real danger of losing ALL of our freedoms, as Romney and Ryan take this country back to the middle ages. If they get into the Oval Office, they will continue to rake in their millions, as they continue the rape and pillaging of the Bill of Rights, and bury the middle class under a mountain of tax and debt….. You can count on it….

“I would like to nominate a man who is honest and courageous. I’d like to, but this party doesn’t have one of them kind of people. My candidate does not know the meaning of the word “compromise,” does not know the meaning of the word “appeasement,” does not know the meaning of the word  “cowardice”–and has done quite well despite this lousy vocabulary. — Vaughn Meader
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That should take care of my ranting for a day or two…. and my need to rhyme, too. As I said above….. So be it.  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Emerald green tofu makes better ballast…..

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2

Ffolkes,
All attempts to establish routine are now considered futile; only random acts that resist routine will be allowed. And damn! I wish I could find a comfortable chair in which to sit…. Yes, I know that sounds stilted and pompous, but grammar is grammar, so whattya gonna do?

Any who, back to routine, or lack thereof….. Waking in the middle of the night, sobbing over a dream, is not what I’d call conducive to making a routine. It took me an hour, and two or four solid shots to get back to a state where I could fall asleep again, and consequently gave me a late start this morning…..SIGH…. (That’s a west-county Irish sigh, a long full breath, and slow exhale, accompanied by a sorrowful expression and a sad shake of the head….)

I should probably be getting used to this randomness in my life; not having to work, or to spend any significant time worrying about what other folks need or want, is both the greatest perk, and the most stinging curse of retirement. The outer world no longer has a say in when I do something, or even what I do. I make my own schedule, and thus have no one to blame if it doesn’t suit me…. which, I’m sure you can see, is a reflection of that blessing/curse relationship. Ah well, such is life….

Since I’m late, and will be later, given the upcoming events this morning, we should get to the searching portion of the process, as it is the most time-consuming part. So…. shall we Pearl? Anything has got to be better than what has been happening thus far…..

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” — Lao-Tzu, Tao Teh Ching
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The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. — Old Testament — Job i, 21

I don’t know if it actually was Job who first said this particular phrase, but, given what God eventually did to him, all on a bet with Satan, it could have been…. If so, it goes to show, one shouldn’t go too long in the desert sun without finding some shade….

Here we have a statement that purports to provide reason for worship, a justification of why we should bow our heads in prayer to the heavens…. in short it says, “God is unpredictable, and omnipotent; it makes good sense to kowtow to Him…. he likes appeasement.” Well, maybe not, but you get the idea. We are theoretically in the power of a mad God, one who will fuck with his creation at the drop of a hat, just to entertain himself and the Devil over a wager.

He put Job through some outrageous times…. boils, plagues, genocide, hordes of locusts, deformity, God really did a number on Job, trying to see if his mind-conditioning would hold…. Since, according to the story, Job did hold out, and suffered all he did at God’s hand, and still wouldn’t curse him, we see that it did hold fast. What a dolt he must have been! No, I meant Job, but you may be right…. God surely acted like a dickhead in this one….

Sorry, but along about the third time God took everything away from me (had I been his chosen target instead of that stubborn boob, Job…), I would have started trying to figure out some way to fire back a few warning rounds, just to let Him know I’d had enough of that kind of treatment. A certain amount of leeway should be given, of course, but nobody gets more than three, I don’t care who they think they are…. By the act of persecution of Job, in my mind, He gave up any rights to worship, or even belief…. and He ought to know that, as he made me the way I am (according to the theory as given in Genesis).

I’d make this piece longer, but I think I’ve probably offended the Christians out there enough for one day…. also, the next section is a great poem, by my favorite poet, and I’d as soon you read it all, long as it is…. onward…..
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This poem is rather long…. but I hope you read it all; it’s a great follow to the previous pearl, and well worth the time it takes….. enjoy!

A Tale Of The Thirteenth Floor

The hands of the clock were reaching high
In an old midtown hotel;
I name no name, but its sordid fame
Is table talk in hell.
I name no name, but hell’s own flame
Illumes the lobby garish,
A gilded snare just off Times Square
For the maidens of the parish.

The revolving door swept the grimy floor
Like a crinoline grotesque,
And a lowly bum from an ancient slum
Crept furtively past the desk.
His footsteps sift into the lift
As a knife in the sheath is slipped,
Stealthy and swift into the lift
As a vampire into a crypt.

Old Maxie, the elevator boy,
Was reading an ode by Shelley,
But he dropped the ode as it were a toad
When the gun jammed into his belly.
There came a whisper as soft as mud
In the bed of an old canal:
“Take me up to the suite of Pinball Pete,
The rat who betrayed my gal.”

The lift doth rise with groans and sighs
Like a duchess for the waltz,
Then in middle shaft, like a duchess daft,
It changes its mind and halts.
The bum bites lip as the landlocked ship
Doth neither fall nor rise,
But Maxie the elevator boy
Regards him with burning eyes.
“First, to explore the thirteenth floor,”
Says Maxie, “would be wise.”

Quoth the bum, “There is moss on your double cross,
I have been this way before,
I have cased the joint at every point,
And there is no thirteenth floor.
The architect he skipped direct
From twelve unto fourteen,
There is twelve below and fourteen above,
And nothing in between,
For the vermin who dwell in this hotel
Could never abide thirteen.”

Said Max, “Thirteen, that floor obscene,
Is hidden from human sight;
But once a year it doth appear,
On this Walpurgis Night.
Ere you peril your soul in murderer’s role,
Heed those who sinned of yore;
The path they trod led away from God,
And onto the thirteenth floor,
Where those they slew, a grisly crew,
Reproach them forevermore.

“We are higher than twelve and below fourteen,”
Said Maxie to the bum,
“And the sickening draft that taints the shaft
Is a whiff of kingdom come.
The sickening draft that taints the shaft
Blows through the devil’s door!”
And he squashed the latch like a fungus patch,
And revealed the thirteenth floor.

It was cheap cigars like lurid scars
That glowed in the rancid gloom,
The murk was a-boil with fusel oil
And the reek of stale perfume.
And round and round there dragged and wound
A loathsome conga chain,
The square and the hep in slow lock step,
The slayer and the slain.
(For the souls of the victims ascend on high,
But their bodies below remain.)

The clean souls fly to their home in the sky,
But their bodies remain below
To pursue the Cain who each has slain
And harry him to and fro.
When life is extinct each corpse is linked
To its gibbering murderer,
As a chicken is bound with wire around
The neck of a killer cur.

Handcuffed to Hate come Doctor Waite
(He tastes the poison now),
And Ruth and Judd and a head of blood
With horns upon its brow.
Up sashays Nan with her feathery fan
From Floradora bright;
She never hung for Caesar Young
But she’s dancing with him tonight.

Here’s the bulging hip and the foam-flecked lip
Of the mad dog, Vincent Coll,
And over there that ill-met pair,
Becker and Rosenthal,
Here’s Legs and Dutch and a dozen such
Of braggart bullies and brutes,
And each one bends ‘neath the weight of friends
Who are wearing concrete suits.

Now the damned make way for the double-damned
Who emerge with shuffling pace
From the nightmare zone of persons unknown,
With neither name nor face.
And poor Dot King to one doth cling,
Joined in a ghastly jig,
While Elwell doth jape at a goblin shape
And tickle it with his wig.

See Rothstein pass like breath on a glass,
The original Black Sox kid;
He riffles the pack, riding piggyback
On the killer whose name he hid.
And smeared like brine on a slavering swine,
Starr Faithful, once so fair,
Drawn from the sea to her debauchee,
With the salt sand in her hair.

And still they come, and from the bum
The icy sweat doth spray;
His white lips scream as in a dream,
“For God’s sake, let’s away!
If ever I meet with Pinball Pete
I will not seek his gore,
Lest a treadmill grim I must trudge with him
On the hideous thirteenth floor.”

“For you I rejoice,” said Maxie’s voice,
“And I bid you go in peace,
But I am late for a dancing date
That nevermore will cease.
So remember, friend, as your way you wend,
That it would have happened to you,
But I turned the heat on Pinball Pete;
You see – I had a daughter, too!”

The bum reached out and he tried to shout,
But the door in his face was slammed,
And silent as stone he rode down alone
From the floor of the double-damned.

Ogden Nash
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The following is an old-school pearl, with a specific thought in mind for you to deduce….. for the sake of everyone’s blood pressure, that specific thought will be revealed at the end…. I don’t usually, but thought I’d give a treat, just ’cause I’m a nice guy…. really, I am……

Child:  “Supreme Being, why is there evil in the world?”
Supreme Being (Sir John Gielgud in a Savile Row suit): “Oh, dear, I can’t remember, exactly. . . something to do with free will, I believe.”
— Terry Gilliam, _The Time Bandits_

“The character of human life, like the character of the human condition, like the character of all life, is “ambiguity”: the inseparable mixture of good and evil, the true and false, the creative and destructive forces — both individual and social.” — Paul Tillich

Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair
Where I sit.
There isn’t any
Other stair
Quite like
It.
I’m not at the bottom,
I’m not at the top;
So this is the stair
Where
I always
Stop.
— A.A. Milne

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

“Truth, in the matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived.” — Oscar Wilde

“SANTA CLAUS comes down a FIRE ESCAPE wearing bright  blue LEG WARMERS.  He scrubs the POPE with a mild soap or detergent for 15 minutes, starring JANE FONDA!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

You may be asking yourself at this point, just what have I gotten myself into? Well, relax, it’s no big deal….. all of the foregoing is intended to lead you to the following….. which WILL be on the quiz…..

An it harms none, do what thou will. — Wiccan Credo

Alternate answer, also correct:

There’s little in taking or giving,
There’s little in water or wine:
This living, this living, this living,
Was never a project of mine.
Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is
The gain of the one at the top,
For art is a form of catharsis,
And love is a permanent flop,
And work is the province of cattle,
And rest’s for a clam in a shell,
So I’m thinking of throwing the battle —
Would you kindly direct me to hell?

— Dorothy Parker

“Birth, school, work, death.  About sums it up, I think.” — Smart Bee
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For a rush job, this didn’t come out too badly…. it will have to do, anyway, so let’s get on with it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you……

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Mandrake blooms make obscene noises if disturbed…..

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Ffolkes,
Have you seen my mind? It wandered again……SIGH…. I need to get started, so let me know if it shows up….. it probably won’t be missed, anyway…

Such is life for the wicked, as they say. “They” are the bane of my life, seemingly everywhere, the ubiquitous voice of society’s behavioral monitoring system. They talk about the weather, but nothing is ever done about it. They mumble their platitudes about sports, about religion, about politics, about everything under the sun, and none of it ever makes any damn sense…. it’s all just a way to explain why Murphy’s fingers are in everybody’s pies….. and to help keep the rebellious in society frustrated at the mundane nature of society that “they” prefer….

“They” will drive you straight to the crazy house, if you let them, unless, like me, you drive them crazy in return. I try to make a habit of NOT doing whatever “they” say should be done, or at the very least, making sure that they are inundated with my complaints about having to do something so ridiculous….. such as respect authority, or assume that our beloved ruling class is doing right by the people, or that priests are telling the truth…. I am certain and sure that none of those things are true…. I know of no authority in place that has the right of jurisdiction over me. Our beloved ruling class is NOT doing right by the people, and priests do NOT tell the truth…. of course, they believe  the nonsense they spout, so it’s hard to convince them that they are doing so…

Hmm, I must be in rant mode….. haven’t even gotten past the intro, and I’m already firing away at the PTB…. it must be the righteous anger I feel at having to move at the end of the month. I wouldn’t have to move, if the economy wasn’t tanking, and THAT is certainly not my fault, or that of my landlord…. That one is all on the shoulders of the banks, and the politicians, so don’t be asking me for any favors for them….. If the economy wasn’t so bad off, I wouldn’t have to move; it is that simple. And it is all because the asshole 1% in this country continues to rape and pillage the rest of us at their whim… It’s enough to make me spend my money on a gun instead of a house to live in….

I believe it would be best if I go on a pearl search now….. if I continue in this vein, my blood pressure will go through the roof…. shall we Pearl?……
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Since I have already ranted, I’ll save you from another right away by giving this old school pearl…. These quotations all point in the same direction, and will lead eventually to yet another fine reason to mistrust the beloved ruling class…..

“A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), “The Picture of Dorian Grey”, 1891

Then came the churches,
then came the schools,
then came the lawyers,
then came the rules.
— Mark Knopfler

“People are always talking about tradition, but they forget we have a tradition of a few hundred years of nonsense and stupidity, that
there is a tradition of idiocy, incompetence and crudity.” — Hugo Demartini, in “Contemporary Artists”, 1977

“People are very open-minded about new things  — as long as they’re exactly like the old ones.” — Charles F. Kettering

The Government is my shepherd, I shall not work. It maketh me to lie down on good jobs. It leadeth me beside the still factories. It destroyeth my initiative;  It leadeth me in the paths of the parasite for politics sake; Yea, though I walk in the valley of Deficit Spending, I will fear no evil, For the Government is with me; its doles and its vote-getters they comfort me.  It prepareth an Economic Utopia for me by appropriating the earnings of my grandchildren.  It filleth my head with baloney, my inefficiency runneth over;  Surely the Government shall care for me all the days of my life And I shall live in a Fool’s Paradise forever. — The Government’s 23rd Psalm

“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.” — Albert Camus

No matter how you vote, a government still gets elected. — Smart Bee

That should about do it, I think….. if nothing else, one may get a clear picture of how I feel about government…..
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In the movie, Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home, Kirk shows off his classical education from Star Fleet Academy when he quotes from the following poem by D.H. Lawrence….. it is well worth reading the entire poem, so….. enjoy!

Whales Weep Not!

They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains
the hottest blood of all, and the wildest, the most urgent.

All the whales in the wider deeps, hot are they, as they urge on and on, and dive beneath the icebergs.
The right whales, the sperm-whales, the hammer-heads, the killers
there they blow, there they blow, hot wild white breath out of the sea!

And they rock, and they rock, through the sensual ageless ages
on the depths of the seven seas,
and through the salt they reel with drunk delight
and in the tropics tremble they with love
and roll with massive, strong desire, like gods.
Then the great bull lies up against his bride
in the blue deep bed of the sea,
as mountain pressing on mountain, in the zest of life:
and out of the inward roaring of the inner red ocean of whale-blood
the long tip reaches strong, intense, like the maelstrom-tip, and comes to rest
in the clasp and the soft, wild clutch of a she-whale’s fathomless body.

And over the bridge of the whale’s strong phallus, linking the wonder of whales
the burning archangels under the sea keep passing, back and forth,
keep passing, archangels of bliss
from him to her, from her to him, great Cherubim
that wait on whales in mid-ocean, suspended in the waves of the sea
great heaven of whales in the waters, old hierarchies.

And enormous mother whales lie dreaming suckling their whale-tender young
and dreaming with strange whale eyes wide open in the waters of the beginning and the end.

And bull-whales gather their women and whale-calves in a ring
when danger threatens, on the surface of the ceaseless flood
and range themselves like great fierce Seraphim facing the threat
encircling their huddled monsters of love.
And all this happens in the sea, in the salt
where God is also love, but without words:
and Aphrodite is the wife of whales
most happy, happy she!

and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin
she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea
she is the female tunny-fish, round and happy among the males
and dense with happy blood, dark rainbow bliss in the sea.

~~D. H. Lawrence
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    Since I am part Irish, I am allowed to laugh at the characteristics of the culture that I share with the gentlemen in the picture, who are all displaying that wonderful Irish sense of irony in the face of adversity…… plus, the caption just makes me laugh out loud, as we can all see the panic they are trying to conceal….   🙂 

The picture, oddly enough, was found on Craigslist, in a place you wouldn’t believe if I told you…..
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I can’t say I think this is the best Pearl ever, but it hits solidly in the middle ranges, so it’s good enough to publish… I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, or do, or whatever…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

He exudes substantial melancholy leakage….

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Ffolkes,
Having left home so many years ago, he…. No, that’s not right….try again…

Never before had there been such a storm in Beulahland…. no that’s no better….again.

The shadow reached out to tap the shoulder of the man to whom it was attached….. hmm, better, but not there yet…..

Maria screamed, as the deafening blast shook the windows in their frames. Dust flew everywhere, obscuring the nightmarish scene before her eyes. Across the room, her father lay dead, eyes staring at the ceiling as if the answers were all there……

I don’t like any of them…. not even the last one, that showed a bit of promise. Ah well, it’s just as well. I’m starting way late again, having once again slept late. It’s no doubt due to having put in about 6 or 7 miles yesterday, walking to look at apartments. I can see I need a different method, as trying to walk to all these places is going to wear me out before I ever find anything. I’ve never spent a long time without a car, so this is a new experience for me, and I’m not sure I like it much…..

I’m not going to indulge in a display of whining today, though the universe is giving me plenty of reason to do so. Actually, I think that, after putting this Pearl together, I’m going to take the rest of the day off…. catch up on some sleep with a nap, listen to the Giants get beat by St. Louis again (hey, I don’t like it, but the last two games haven’t been encouraging….), maybe even cook a real meal, like on the stove and everything. Yeah, that’s the ticket….. in the meantime, shall we Pearl?…..
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“The evidence of the emotions, save in cases where it has strong objective support, is really no evidence at all, for every recognizable emotion has its opposite, and if one points one way then another points the other way. Thus the familiar argument that there is an instinctive desire for immortality, and that this desire proves it to be a fact, becomes puerile when it is recalled that there is also a powerful and widespread fear of annihilation, and that this fear, on the same principle proves that there is nothing beyond the grave. Such childish proofs are typically theological, and they remain theological even when they are adduced by men who like to flatter themselves by believing that they are scientific gents…” — H. L. Mencken

“One of the proofs of the immortality of the soul is that myriads have believed it–they also believed the world was flat.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910)

“Convincing yourself doesn’t win an argument.” — Robert Half

Here is an old school Pearl, in a manner of speaking…. These three quotations all say pretty much the same thing, with varying types of expression. Each, to me, seems to express that same idea more succinctly than the one before, leaving out more and more words until the final statement gives the bottom line… which is one that is heavily argued by those to whom it most applies….

It’s funny (ironic funny) to me to hear some of the arguments proposed by the priestly hierarchies in support of their beliefs. Some are couched in formal robes, all dressed up so they appear as reasoned logic, rather than the unwarranted assumptions that they really are. Mr. Mencken’s expression above would be the most effective in engaging these wordy individuals, as it would appeal to the side of them that pretends to being a scientist. They might reject the arguments, since their own arguments are, in the final analysis, subjectively formulated, not based on observations but on induction, just as the platform of their entire argument is all based on an imaginary entity’s theoretical wishes…..

“Jesus loves  me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”…. Such an innocent sounding piece of doggerel…. one would scarcely believe it is one of the most insidious examples of blatant propaganda in existence. The proponents of the “Old man in the sky” group start drumming this into the minds of children as soon as they are able to talk, and, as they well know, before they learn to doubt what their elders tell them. Children naturally accept what their parents tell them, almost exclusively for the first few years of life.

This home-schooling form of brainwashing continues once they are of an age to start looking outside their family for knowledge of the world, with teachers, preachers, and kindly old aunts who continue to inundate the young minds with stories of Bible heroes and villains, drilling into the malleable minds the sense of entitlement and elitism that will provide them with the impetus for bigotry later in life.

In addition, this period strengthens the brainwashing given earlier, teaching the kids that they should only trust certain people to tell them the truth, and that all the other religions in the world are not only not saved, but are not eligible for saving, due to their own beliefs, which are characterized as villainous, and as enemies, to be reviled and persecuted because they are different….

“The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” — Oscar Wilde

This entire process, this systematic, deliberate mental conditioning, is, to my mind, pretty despicable. It denies its victims any possible way of examining the information that other systems may possess, by convincing them that all other forms of knowledge are not only wrong, but blasphemous in nature, and should be cast aside whenever encountered, without ever examining the information for its relevance, or its accuracy.

Education is learning that you did not even know what you did not even know you did not even know. — Smart Bee

The whole system is designed to continue the delusional system into the future, while keeping the congregation in the dark of ignorance. It has no other purpose…. it is not in place to help or sustain the members of the congregation, but rather to control that population’s thoughts and behavior, ensuring the power and influence of the priests, pastors, preachers, or whatever name they choose to call themselves…..

I can only count myself as fortunate, to have been raised without the brainwashing on a regular basis. We attended a Presbyterian church, probably an offshoot of the old Church of England, where the adage about “cake, or death?” was originated…. The net result of this was that I was able to include other systems in my education, and found the entire construct to be a house of invisible cards, easily knocked down with a single bite of the Apple….

“How come you never see a politician (or a preacher) laugh? Because they know what they’re getting away with, and if they started laughing, they’d never stop.” — Smart Bee

And you know what else?…. I always thought Satan got a pretty raw deal, all for exercising the free will he was given…. and so did Adam and Eve…. Even as a child of five, I always wondered why God had set them up to fail like that…. it’s like, “Here’s the apple…. don’t taste it….” and then making sure we, as humans, had a sense of wonder and curiosity strong enough to disregard the admonition…. Even then, it looked like a set-up, and I could never reconcile the image in my head of a God, supposedly with infinite knowledge, setting up his own creation like that…. it just didn’t seem very God-like, or even fair…. and I still don’t get it, even today…..

With a subject such as this, it’s hard to know when to stop…. the issue has been one that has held Mankind back for two millennia now, preventing us from achieving our real potential as a species. All the progress we, as a species, have made in the last 3,000 years or so has been in spite of the efforts of the priestly hierarchies to keep us as ignorant as possible; at every turn of the wheel of science, the powers that be have thrown sand in the works, to try to slow down the acquisition of knowledge.

“Neither do the ignorant seek after wisdom.  For herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself; he has no desire for that of which he feels no want.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

They know that an educated populace, capable of reasoning beyond the limitations placed on the human mind by religious dogma, is the greatest threat to their continued existence as the leaders of Mankind. They know that once people are exposed to knowledge (the flesh of the Apple, remember?), the less they will submit to the brainwashing that is the lot of the common man…. and it scares them to death…..

Doubt. Question authority. Ask the next, deeper question. And never, ever, give up the right to make up your own mind…. In the final analysis, that power is the only one we all have, and the only one that cannot be taken away from us without our consent…. Viva la raza!…..

Oh, and won’t it be nice when you don’t have to give tithes anymore?…..

Though old the thought and oft exprest,
‘T is his at last who says it best.
— James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) — For an Autograph
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The Rose

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you its only seed.

It’s the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It’s the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It’s the one who won’t be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin’
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love
In the spring becomes the rose.

~~ Amanda McBroom ~~

I first heard this song as sung by Bette Midler, back in the 70’s or 80’s, whenever it came out. I thought then, and still believe, that it really couldn’t have been done better, and is one of the loveliest poems put to music I’ve ever heard…..

Now, I’ve given clues before that show that I am a closet romantic, but my feelings for this song prove it without doubt. As I sit and read the verses, I can hear Bette’s voice, flying up on the high notes, and tears just come into my eyes without any warning…. The last verse, particularly, is very moving, and never fails to bring with it a lot of emotion and, oddly enough, hope….  hope for me, for the world, it’s all the same at this point in my life….. It gives me strength to think of spring, when the world is renewed and the seeds of hope that have germinated in silence all winter bloom in all their glory, driving out all thoughts of the cold, and the dark….

I miss having someone to love…. I am perfectly content with my own company, as I learned long ago how to laugh at my own folly, thus ensuring I never get bitter about being alone. But, it is lonely….. I’m glad my friend Carol posted this poem, for it is a reminder that the future has yet to be written, and that somewhere out there is a woman whom I will meet someday, and never again have to be alone, unless I choose to be so….. SIGH….. I just wish time would get a move on, as it seems to me that two plus years of solitude should be sufficient for me to appreciate…. I could use a change of direction, and some company…..   🙂    Ah, me, time will tell…..

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

— J.R.R. Tolkien
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“To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist–the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one’s vinegar.” — Oscar Wilde

To those of us in society who are seekers of truth, Oscar Wilde is a frequent flier, in terms of how often one of his quotes will show up. He had a way with words second to none, and in his time, touched on almost every subject dear to the hearts and minds of those who actually use both extensively. It goes without saying that this quotation is true; it is an expression often turning up in discussions of how people learn, and communicate what they’ve learned to others. “A spoonful of sugar, makes the medicine go down” is one of these expressions, one that supplies the very same dosage of truth as does the above from Oscar…..

This technique is one that everyone who wishes to share their knowledge MUST learn; it is immediately obvious when what we have to say is NOT going to be believed, as people will simply stop listening, or even react negatively to what they are hearing, because it is opposite to what they feel they know to be true. Often, one will need to duck quickly, or take to their heels, should the reaction to what is said be taken amiss…. people get testy about their deeply-held beliefs, especially if those beliefs are faith-based, rather than based on reason….. Sad, but true….

So, it becomes an important skill to be able to impart information to someone who doesn’t have it in such a way that the person can digest it, or process it in their mind without stirring those strong feelings that crop up when the message is not couched in the proper terminology. Even the non-verbal techniques used when teaching are important to learn; what one says can be negated entirely by using a facial expression that isn’t complementary to what is being said out loud…. Tone of voice, facial expression, volume, all play a part in whether or not the message given will be received, and the person who ignores this is destined to experience a lot of pain and anguish at not being able to get their message across to the ones who need it most….

So, remember Oscar’s little reminder, and use the proper amount of oil to go with your vinegar…. For a good, tasty vinaigrette with the proper emulsified consistency, you need to learn the technique of pouring the oil into the vinegar slowly, whisking briskly while adding the oil, until the proper thickness and emulsification takes place….. Only then can the person you are serving enjoy the salad fully, and take in the beneficial qualities that otherwise would be lost if the message fails….  In the kitchen, the rough estimated proportions are four parts oil to one part vinegar…. but that can change, depending on the oil, the vinegar, and the cook, so flexibility must be maintained….

When successful, it makes a great salad, all but guaranteeing that it will be consumed until the plate is empty….. the goal of anyone serving others, whether in food, or in education…..
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Although arising late, this turned out fairly well…. at least it feels like it from this end….. So be it; it will have to do, as I’m not going back and starting over…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Mighty fancy footwork, pilgrim….

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1

Ffolkes,
Fast forward a few spaces….. there.! See it? It’s all broken, and we paid a bundle for those! That blasted driver did that deliberately! What are we going to tell the boss? Boy, he’s going to shit a brick when he sees this!….. Maybe we can get it replaced before….uh oh, I guess not…. Hi,  boss! Long time no see….. What, no, it’s not important, just a delivery that came overnight…. yeah, we know…. okay, I’ll get the boys started cleaning it up, while you call the vendor….

I suppose it might be interesting to stick around and hear the conversation with the vendor, but I’m not feeling curmudgeonly enough yet to pull off a conversation…. gotta have some angst in there for that to happen easily, and I’m keeping my angst at a minimum these days. Moving is going to be enough of a pain without getting all weirded out by it, thank you very much. 

I started the process yesterday, checking out potential places, and put in a good 4 miles of walking to do so…. not bad for an old fat guy with a limp….. I can see I’ll need to do a bit more looking online, and map out a route to use the buses to get there…. SIGH…. such a pain, when I just want to relax and read my books….

No more complaining, I swear…. I’m tired of hearing it myself. It’s probably for the best if we just get on with the business for which we are gathered this morning, yes? Yes…. Shall we Pearl?…..

Disclaimer: The following may contain coarse and violent nudity.  Occasional language will also be encountered…..
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“Calling him a pea brain would be an undeserved compliment.” — Smart Bee

Many of you who have visited here before will know, by this statement, exactly who will be our subject for dissection, er, discussion today. That’s right, Mitt the Twitt, who has been out there meeting and greeting the public, and living up to my expectations once more…. He has started to harp upon a piece of legislation in Wisconsin, I believe, or maybe Ohio…. some state, anyway…. that the Obama administration initiated via the Attorney General’s office.

Unfortunately for him, he is once again harping on a lie; he says the legislation is an attempt to limit the vote of military personnel, claiming Obama is anti-military. It’s really too bad for him that this isn’t true; in fact, it is the opposite of what he claims…. the legislation protects the voting rights of the military voters, as well as the other citizens who were affected by the law it proposes to overturn… a law initiated and pushed through by a Republican coalition…..

“Admit nothing, deny everything, and launch counter-accusations.” — Smart Bee

I was certain Mitt would continue to stick his foot where he seems to like it, (firmly entrenched in his mouth), and he didn’t disappoint…… He kept repeating this blatant untruth several times on Sunday, only stopping when it was pointed out to him by his own people that he was wrong. Now, of course, he is ignoring it altogether…. a typical ploy to get people to talk about anything other than his missing tax returns.

Which, by the way, isn’t working, as more and more Republicans are making pointed remarks about it. In a way, it reminds me of a little boy, trying to keep from having to admit to Mom he’d been in the cookie jar, while having cookie crumbs all over his face and fingers. It might be cute, if it wasn’t so pathetic in an adult….

“He who confesses to small faults hopes you’ll think he has no big ones.” — Smart Bee (Hmm, SB is really on the ball today….)

Mitt’s mouth has gotten him in so much trouble, both open and shut, that his handlers have gagged him. A full search of the front page of the SF Chronicle news site, SFGATE, shows that there are NO stories being pursued this morning, on either the presumptive candidate, nor the POTUS. Neither Romney nor Obama were mentioned anywhere on the front page. The landing of the newest Mars rover (successfully, YAY!….), the latest crazy white man gunning down innocent people of color, and the Olympics are the top stories today.

For a politician, this is extreme hiding…. the trick for them is to get their name out there, so people are talking about him, and he remains in the forefront of the national eye. For a candidate for any office, NO news is bad news…. and in this case, is most likely due to their candidate’s ingrained habit of opening mouth, inserting foot….

Just remember this, my girl, as you look up in the sky — You can see the stars and still not see the light. — The Eagles, from “Lyin’ Eyes”

It’s early yet, so perhaps by the end of the day, the Twitt will have once again proved his complete lack of intelligence with some ill-considered lie. I suppose it’s a good thing that he is so completely clueless; if he bothered to ever look up at the sky, he wouldn’t even see the stars, much less the light…. At this point, all we can do is make sure that enough ffolkes get to the polls to keep him from ever getting any closer to the Oval Office than the two-dollar White House tour….. and continue to watch as he continues his campaign of self-destruction, right there in front of God and everybody…..

“I used to be a FUNDAMENTALIST, but then I heard about the HIGH RADIATION LEVELS and bought an ENCYCLOPEDIA!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“The broad mass of a nation… will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), “Mein Kampf”
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Families, when a child is born
Want it to be intelligent.
I, through intelligence,
Having wrecked my whole life,
Only hope the baby will prove
Ignorant and stupid.
Then he will crown a tranquil life
By becoming a Cabinet Minister
— Su Tung-p’o

Born in 1036, Su Tung-po was a famous Chinese poet. He was also called Su Shih. Born in present-day Sichuan province, Su was from a literary family. During the Sung Dynasty he wrote very simple poems based on Buddhist Philosophy. Su occupied many official posts, rising to president of the board of rites (which regulated imperial ceremonies and worship). He designed the parks surrounding Lake Si in Hangzhou. Five emperors came to the throne during his lifetime.

Su’s poetry and art were inspired by Taoism and Buddhism, although his political views were founded in Confucian philosophy. Su is generally considered the greatest poet of the Sung dynasty. He is also noted for his fu, satiric poems which approach free verse, and for letters and essays. Although his writings were once blacklisted, even destroyed, his genius could not be repressed. His poetry and writing have been reprinted, studied, and enjoyed by generations since.

His satiric verses and opposition to official policies frequently lost him his official status and resulted in imprisonment and 12-times exiled. Su’s tumultuous career began around 1079, when he wrote a satirical poem on the New Policies promoted by Prime Minister Wang An-shih, who was infuriated and had Su arrested. Su served time in jail and was later released, but the following year he was banished to Huang-chou in the southern hinterlands. This proved to be a major turning point in his life. Beforehand, Su was a free and spirited personality, and his poetry was full of insight and energy. However, having barely escaped with his life and being banished to the harsh region of the south, he began to reflect on the beauty of nature and the meaning of life. In exile, he enjoyed the simple pleasures of farming and writing, taking joy in what life had to offer. In fact, many of his most popular works were done at the time. Though Su was later pardoned, he was never far from controversy. Even as an old man, he was banished to the furthest reaches of the land–Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The experience, however, only further enlightened him. Though pardoned once again, this time he did not make it back to court and died on the trip north.

Picture, poem, and biography from Poemhunter.com   Su Tung-p’o

I love finding new authors…. well, authors who are new to me. I’ve seen this poem before, and even used it once, I believe, as a pearl, but I didn’t realize there was more from the poet. Now I have a whole new bunch of stuff to read, that I’ve never seen before…. Life is good!….
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It’s time again for an old-school pearl…. these statements all lead to one cogent thought, one that can completely change your life, and how you look at that life…. just let your mind float freely, holding each thought, then adding the next one in, until all have been mixed together thoroughly, to a smooth consistency…. and you will SEE!…..

“Always store beer in a dark place.” — Lazarus Long

Be a hero! Teach your children to think for THEMSELVES! — Smart Bee

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” — Oscar Wilde, “Oscariana”

“You’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.” — Malcolm X

“Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding  into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes  with plaid is easy.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

And, as it has been said for centuries in the alleyways and hidden streets of the world’s greatest cities,….. there you go. You may now consider yourself a yogini of highest rank…..  or was that yogurt?  No matter, don’t you feel enlightened? I know I do….. with a nice blueberry aftertaste….
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I’d better stop here…. it’s threatening to get away from me, and it wouldn’t be pretty for that to happen today; too much built up angst-pressure. It would blow away this whole corner of the internet for a couple hours, minimum…. So be it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Pure wrought iron with filigree….

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2

Ffolkes,
Sober faces, and worn-out traces of unrequited love mark the passage of unwanted time. Beelzebub and Albert continue their arguments over the nature of space/time, filling napkin after napkin with inscrutable symbols of rarefied math. A mastiff the size of a small pony snuffles around the floor, cleaning up all the scraps he can find, while the maestro gets busy pandering to the owner’s wife. Sodden reflections are all that remain of the rest of the band, but the bartender will polish his glasses all night long. All of the matrons, and all of the meritorious crew still danced to the music that no longer played. And the tick tock, tick tock of the grandfather clock marked the approach of dawn….

At that point, I woke up, with my head still whirling with the images of my dreams, blending with reality at first, until the sound of coffee brewing breaks through with a scented siren’s call. A bit clearer, albeit a bit fuzzy, I got up, used the facilities, and allowed my nose to lead me to the coffee pot, to stand impatiently while it finished its work….. Then, sheer bliss, as the first sip of black blood brings me completely into focus, if a bit confused as to exactly which reality I am inhabiting this morning. Gotta love that caffeine!

Since it also woke me enough to type out the surreal scene with which we opened today, I will celebrate the day by taking a moment to think back and reflect on how much I have for which to be thankful. (Using correct grammar sometimes comes out looking and sounding not right…. hmm, a puzzle….) It’s not much, to be sure, but it is a lot more than much of the world can count on. (See, put the preposition at the end of the sentence, and it sounds better, even though incorrect…..) Having not been given the opportunity to provide input on where I was born, I can’t correctly say that I am proud to be American, but I can certainly say that I’m thankful; in this country, our bottom line is still at a level that can be described as “it could be worse”.

Having thus straightened out my karmic burden, allowing me to shoulder it comfortably, I suggest we go on to our morning dive for pearls forthwith…. Shall we Pearl?….. C’mon, the oysters are waiting!…..

To continue, smash forehead on keyboard…..
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A Considerable Speck

(Microscopic)

A speck that would have been beneath my sight
On any but a paper sheet so white
Set off across what I had written there.
And I had idly poised my pen in air
To stop it with a period of ink
When something strange about it made me think,
This was no dust speck by my breathing blown,
But unmistakably a living mite
With inclinations it could call its own.
It paused as with suspicion of my pen,
And then came racing wildly on again
To where my manuscript was not yet dry;
Then paused again and either drank or smelt–
With loathing, for again it turned to fly.
Plainly with an intelligence I dealt.
It seemed too tiny to have room for feet,
Yet must have had a set of them complete
To express how much it didn’t want to die.
It ran with terror and with cunning crept.
It faltered: I could see it hesitate;
Then in the middle of the open sheet
Cower down in desperation to accept
Whatever I accorded it of fate.
I have none of the tenderer-than-thou
Collectivistic regimenting love
With which the modern world is being swept.
But this poor microscopic item now!
Since it was nothing I knew evil of
I let it lie there till I hope it slept.

I have a mind myself and recognize
Mind when I meet with it in any guise
No one can know how glad I am to find
On any sheet the least display of mind.

Robert Frost

I thought it would be good to start off with something classic, and for that, Robert Frost can never do you wrong….. Enjoy!
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INFIDEL, n.  In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in Constantinople, one who does.  (See GIAOUR.)  A kind of scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to, divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs, voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbes, nuns, missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests, muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders, primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries, clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs, bonezs, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans, deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons, hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins, postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons, reverences, revivalists, cenobites, perpetual curates, chaplains, mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas, sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals, prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, cures, sophis, mutifs and pumpums. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Boy, if there is any tagline I’ve found that needs no adornment, this is it! Ambrose spent some time on this one, making sure he didn’t miss any of the priestly hierarchies’ titles for their acolytes, and came up with a very impressive list. I spent a few minutes poring over it, and couldn’t think of a single title to add, so, here it is to enjoy in all its original glory……  Enjoy!
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Here are a few of the unpleasant’st words that ever blotted paper! — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Merchant of Venice — Act iii, Sc. 2

Huh! It seems that Willie had an inkling of my birth, since he wrote my thoughts down like this so perfectly. I’ve stated my opinion previously, that Herr Shakespeare is the most over-rated writer that ever trod the planet. I find his work to be pretentious, over-bearing, and completely inscrutable. He admittedly had a pretty way with words, and he wrote so damn much that some of it was bound to come out okay. After all, he is not a room full of an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters, so a good piece of writing had to occur on occasion.

But, for the most part  I find his work is far too ornate, and far too full of itself for me to consider it anything other than sheer drivel. Even the line of his above expresses what I feel about his work with far more pompousness than it required. It would have been better reading, better literature, and better writing to just have said “Who wrote this? It’s pure crap!”…..

Here are a few other examples of his work, that serve to prove my point….

No man’s pie is freed
From his ambitious finger.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry VIII — Act i, Sc. 1
(All I can say is, “Eewwww! Don’t touch me!”)

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together! — (The Beatles) I Am The Walrus
(Sorry, couldn’t resist….) (But, note, please, the simple obscurity, mimicking Willie, as it were…. John was a true cynic…..)

I understand a fury in your words,
But not the words.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Othello — Act iv, Sc. 2
(Could he make such a simple concept any more obscure? It sounds almost like the therapeutic technique of “active listening”, of which one part is mirroring, e.g., “I hear you are angry? Can you tell me a different way?” or some such nonsense delivered in a soothing voice….)

We burn daylight.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Merry Wives of Windsor — Act ii, Sc. 1
(WTFDTM?)*

I think we do know the sweet Roman hand.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Twelfth Night — Act iii, Sc. 4
(Again, WTFDTM?)*

A merry heart goes all the day,
Your sad tires in a mile-a.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Winter’s Tale — Act iv, Sc. 3
(See? Adding a letter to a word, just to make it rhyme…. can he be any tackier?)

No profit grows where is no pleasure ta’en;
In brief, sir, study what you most affect.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Taming of the Shrew — Act i, Sc. 1
(I got a headache just trying to decipher a meaning for this… any meaning at all would do, but alas, as far as I can tell, there is none….. or, to put it more succinctly, as above, WTFDTM?)*

That’s probably enough to get the point across…. Next time someone quotes Shakespeare to you, remember this, and you will be able to thoroughly embarrass the poor fool with nonsense from the same source….Don’t be intimidated by all those folks who fall for his hype, and stick with writers who aren’t so impressed with their own supposed talent…..

“He hasn’t a single redeeming vice.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

*It’s short for What The Fuck Does That Mean?…..
___________________________________

I had intended to add a pearl today since I didn’t actually write very much, choosing to limit myself to commenting. But, I’m feeling a bit lazy, and Smart Bee doesn’t seem to want to cough up anything interesting to write about…. I’ll give it 20 more tries, and if nothing comes out, we’ll call it a day…. be back soon….

Okay, so I found a pearl at number fourteen, but it’s not one that needs any discussion, since its author says it so well…. Instead of above, I’ll just add it in here…

Take Idaho’s license plates – they say ‘Famous Potatoes.’ Then there’s New Hampshire – their license plates say ‘Live Free … or DIE!!’  I don’t know, I  think that somewhere between ‘Famous Potatoes’ and ‘Live Free or Die’ the  truth lies.  And I think it’s closer to ‘Famous Potatoes.’ — George Carlin

See? It’s perfect, just as it is…. and on that note we will bring today’s effort to a screeching halt…. Just in time, too, I think, as it is starting to get away from me. So, y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Bagels never travel in first class….

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3

Ffolkes,
My mind’s eye is clouded and grey this morning. No visions of beauty, or even of horror. No trite phrases, no witty repartee, and worst of all, no nonsense floating around in my head, clamoring for release. It’s all a void, empty space that I may have to try to rent out. I have fallen into writer’s limbo, that terrifying landscape where ideas run off the moment they arrive, and creativity is limited to sock colors. Where material is not merely hard to find, but actively resistant in spite of all efforts on my part to find something, anything to write about……

A hundred sinister eyes peered out from the darkness surrounding the traveler, closely following his progress on the road leading to the castle of the local lord. The traveler took no notice, his hooded face hidden as he stared downward at the back of his horse, seemingly asleep. In the darkness ahead, the vague outline of a building took shape, growing clearer as he approached, until a gatehouse revealed itself, tall and grim, seeming to lean over the roadway leading to the bridge over the river, which was now audible, as a low rumbling just at the edge of consciousness. In the swirling mist crawling out of the river, the traveler sensed a presence……

See, even my fantasies are failing me…. in re-reading this, it is apparent that this might make an entry for the Bulwer-Lytton Contest next year… that is the contest to find the worst opening paragraph that can be written each year, with a monetary prize for the top three entries, along with notice from publishers who follow such contests, looking for new talent. It’s certainly bad enough, and that second sentence in the second paragraph definitely stretches the boundaries of good writing; it is a run on-sentence of major proportions…..

Ah, well, fuck it…. let’s go Pearl, instead……
___________________________________

“I must decline your invitation owing to a subsequent engagement.” — Oscar Wilde

Ah, Oscar! Such a wonderful way with insults he had! This is so subtle that I believe 99% of the English speaking world would accept this from him and never realize they had been insulted…. I’ll have to remember this one the next time I get invited to attend Sunday services somewhere….

Shoot, I know for sure I could say this to my own brother, and he wouldn’t realize it….until he was sitting in church, and took a moment to reflect upon it…. but then he’d decide he must have mis-heard what I said, and would forget it…. He’s not the brightest bulb in the box, my brother….but he is very good hearted, one of the few Christians I can tolerate for more than a few minutes…. And if you ever repeat what I said about him, I’ll deny it, right up to the point where you show it to him online…. then, I’d just grin and tell him he’s heard worse…. which he has….

I’ve always enjoyed insults, as a study, not as a habit. I do use them on occasion, when deserved, but generally I try to be play nicely with others. A well-delivered subtle insult, the kind I like best, is like this one from Oscar; couched in words that outwardly appear to be quite amicable and friendly, yet devastatingly sharp upon reflection. The very best will not even be recognized as an insult at all, but I like them when they wait an hour or two, and then come back and poke the recipient right in the mind’s eye….. after I am safely in another part of town……

I used to collect insults, and once had a list of the 100 most effective put-downs, as collected by the publishers of Mad magazine…. Some of them were pretty corny, even for me….such as “You should be on the stage…. There’s one leaving in an hour….”  That’s just sad, when you think of it…. but, it does get the point across. Then there is this type…. “So, did they ever catch the guy?”  “What guy?”  “The one who ran over your face….”  Pretty silly, yes?  Yes….

And silly is a word that could probably be accurately applied to this pearl. So accurate, it struck home, and I’m now no longer in the mood for insults…. we’ll just have to go on to something else a bit more engaging….. Shall we?….
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“You govern a kingdom by normal rules;
You fight a war by exceptional moves;
But you win the world by letting alone,
How do I know that this is so?
By what is within me!
The more taboo and inhibitions there are in the world,
The poorer the people become.
The sharper the weapons the people posses,
The greater confusion reigns in the realm.
The more clever and crafty the men,
The oftener strange things happen.
The more articulate the laws and ordinances,
The more robbers and thieves arise.”
— Tao Teh Ching #57, Lao Tzu

This is obvious. But don’t look at it too carefully, or it becomes unobvious, until you look at it for a long time, when it becomes obvious again. –Smart Bee

The above two pearls were sent to me by Murphy, so I have to write about them. How do I know he sent them? Well, when I was cruising my dB of quotes, the excerpt from the Tao Teh Ching was the very first quote that came into view after opening the program. I debated a discussion, as it is one of the most important of the lessons in that book.

But, I decided to go on, and find something a bit more amenable…. So I hit the key to bring up the next quote, and the second quote, the message from Smart Bee, came into view….. obviously, at least to me, the two were from Murphy, hence their presence here for me to comment….. although I don’t know why I should, since Murphy is such an ass. But, knowing him, if I don’t, I’ll pay for it, so…. here we go…

Each of the assertions in the above quote from Lao Tzu’s book is a subtle lesson, designed to teach the reader about the nature of the Tao.  As it says in the very first chapter of the Tao Teh Ching, the Tao that can be named is not the true Tao. To the Occidental mind, this seems to be a contradiction, and achieving an understanding requires a loosening of the rigid patterns of thought that are typical of the western mind. One must learn to hold two seemingly contradictory ideas in their mind simultaneously, to allow the meaning of each to mingle, and blend with the other, until the true nature of Tao is revealed, even though it cannot be touched, or seen, or heard.

This subtle process is difficult for westerners to use, as we tend to think in a straight line, from a to b; to understand the Tao, one must first understand that, to the eastern mind, a IS b. Instead of viewing the world as subject to cause and effect, the eastern way of looking at the world views cause and effect as the same concept, but looked at from a different vantage. As I said, subtle, but not completely inscrutable….

And now I know why Murphy sent them to me…. If one considers the second quote, and uses the lines from the Tao Teh Ching as the subject of discussion, then it is obvious. But don’t look at it too carefully, or it becomes unobvious, until you look at it for a long time, when it becomes obvious again…..

🙂   Murphy was obviously telling us that, in order to understand the eastern way of thought, use the second quote as the process for examination of the idea, and one can find their way through to an understanding that they formerly could not see….See, now what was so hard about that?…..
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“Eternal Vigilance Is The Price of Liberty” used to mean we watched the government – not the other way around.” — Bill Stewart

I don’t know who this Bill Stewart is, but he sure nailed this one…. but then, the American public lost its will to vigilance some years back, and we are now reaping the results of that lack of attention to what is important. The PTB, (Powers That Be) comprised of the beloved ruling class and their myrmidons, the priestly hierarchies, have been brainwashing the American public now for oh, I’d say about a hundred and fifty years or so. Since the confusion generated by the Civil War in the mid-1850’s, the PTB have relentlessly waged war on each of the freedoms that are guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

First, a corrupt Federal judge made a landmark decision regarding businesses, and the rights thereof, giving “corporate personhood” to any corporation, but most specifically to those who paid him for that decision. This, in its essence, makes profit a right for these corporations, and just about any kind of process they may use to make that profit is made legal by this law. In other words, the law guarantees them a profit, no matter how much they may lie about their products, or to what lengths they may go to obtain a profit….

Since the beginning of the 20th century, this country has been involved in at least four major conflicts, and they all took place in the first half of the century. WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam shoved the nation into war time culture, exactly as Field Marshall Goering, of the the Third Reich, explained when he was tried at Nuremberg for his war crimes. The PTB convinced the  public that our nation was under attack by the forces of Evil…. Evil that was given a different face for each war. And, at the end, each war found the rights of the average citizen curtailed just a little bit more….

In the latter half of the century, the country was not forced into battle until our oil supplies became problematic. The PTB were having a harder time coming up with a face to put on the ones who are reportedly attacking us, until Saddam came along. Since the first intervention in Vietnam in the 50’s and 60’s, to the intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts in the 1990’s, to now in 2012, all of our wars have been illegal, in my mind, according to our Constitution.

Ostensibly, Congress is the only entity who is authorized to declare war. But, time after time, beginning in Vietnam, the President of this country has used his Executive powers as the Commander in Chief to engage in wars in Kuwait, Irag, Afghanistan, and probably a few places that haven’t been published.

Each time we are dragged into another conflict, using the same old tired story of being under attack, the PTB manage to place more restrictions on the unsuspecting public, until many of the rights we were given in the Bill of Rights have now been eliminated.

We can no longer gather to protest the government’s actions; if we do, we are “disturbing the public peace” or we are “serving the interests of our enemies”, thereby turning ordinary American citizens into criminals for actions that used to be protected by the Constitution. It is no longer considered legal to criticize the PTB; it’s unAmerican and a threat to National Security….

Our vigilance has been spotty at best, and the PTB are very well versed in the scientific methods of controlling large numbers of people; they have been practicing their skills for thousands of years. They know exactly how to phrase their words to inflame the public, to make them afraid, and thus set themselves up as the saviors of society. And they know exactly who to target with their rhetoric…..

Their primary targets are the same people who look at Mitt Romney as a man of character, and cheer him on as he makes his bid to get into the highest seat of power in the land, never realizing that they will be counted as his very first victims…. This man has NO interest in making things better of the average American. His words and actions have clearly shown that he is one of the elite, the super rich, who are not subject to the laws the rest of us must follow, and if elected, he will waste no time in making life a living hell for anybody making less than $250,000 a year….

I’ve been watching the government now for about 60 years, and every word of what I’ve written above is based upon what I’ve seen and heard from them in that time. None of it is made up. The PTB in this country, and in every country in the world, live only for their own aggrandizement, and have no interest in making life better for the average man or woman. They are only interested in maintaining the power that they have, and seek only to solidify their stranglehold on the remainder of society.

If you think otherwise, I challenge you to offer some kind of evidence for that. All the evidence that I have gathered, and witnessed, tells me that I am not wrong to mistrust the politicians and priests, because everything they do is designed to keep me , and you, and the rest of society in the role of victim. They’re good at it, they’ve practiced a lot….

Obviously, this is a subject I can rant about for days, which only makes sense, as I have a lot of years of experience at watching the ruling class in action. But, the rest of the day calls me, and my butt is getting tired of this chair….. so, I’ll leave this here, and merely say this…The situation in the world today is a result of NOT being vigilant, of not paying attention to the PTB, and assuming that they are looking out for our interests.

Well, we were wrong, and now we are paying the price, in the loss of those freedoms that made this country the world’s example of how the common man can be free. Now we are merely another example of how the wicked and corrupted in society can completely dominate the law-abiding masses, who allow themselves to be turned into sheep….. SIGH, and we showed such promise!…..

“When you stay on the tracks, ignoring the facts, you can’t blame the wreck on the train”. — from the song, “You Can’t Blame . . ”
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Well, I certainly had a bit to get off my chest, didn’t I? Hopefully, I didn’t put anybody to sleep; I do tend to get carried away when I’m in the flow. But, we can all heave a big sigh of relief, and get on with the day….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Consequently, she didn’t moult that year….

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8

Ffolkes,
Pixies were pulling at my hair, but my head was pounding like a hammer on an anvil, and I didn’t want to sit up. I opened my eyes, to be greeted by the sight of the ugliest little person I’d ever seen. He (that’s right, he….apparently, there are male pixies, too) wasn’t real happy, if his expression was any indication. Hovering about two feet away, ragged old-grey wings flapping, with a mop of fly-away hair and an ill fitting tunic, chewing on the stub of a nasty smelling cigar, he looked like a miniature punk leprechaun with a bad attitude, and sounded like a manic frog…..

“You great lout! Get your bloody arse off my front door, you bleeding idjit!” I looked around, and saw that I had ended my previous night’s drunken stroll through the Irish countryside at the foot of a great old oak, inadvertently blocking the entrance to the angry imp’s house in the base of the tree. My befuddled brain finally kicked in, and I realized I was in a very unstable position, and had best be careful…. Pixies are not known for the sweetness of their disposition, and can be vengeful when crossed. I tried out a tentative smile, and clearing my throat, rumbled out, “Top o’the morning to you, kind sir!”  The pixie folded his arms, tapped his foot, and just glared at me….. I got the feeling he wasn’t in a particularly friendly mood…. a feeling that was justified, as he proceeded to turn me into a donkey…..

Enough of that…. he deserves whatever happens to him, the bozo, for getting so drunk he didn’t watch what he was up to.  Never a good policy in pixie country…… but it got me through the initial stages of today’s Pearl, so that is a good thing. Theoretically, anyway….. Now that the nonsense has had its moment, we can get on with our scheduled dive….. shall we Pearl?…..
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There is always a second right answer.  Look beyond the obvious. — Smart Bee

I am glad that I found this quote this morning. I was looking for something to go with a discussion around the events that took place in Colorado yesterday, wherein a young man shot and killed 12 people, and injured many others, before being subdued and arrested. I have not engaged in reading any of the stories about it, as they all follow the same pattern, and repeat the same cliches trying to describe the horror of the scenario, and to describe the terror felt by the victims. The news coverage of events of this nature vary little from one to the next; the only difference lies in the number of victims, and the place it occurred.

I don’t watch the stories, but the headlines always give enough information to satisfy my level of curiosity. The part of these events that interests me is always the amount of outrage and dismay that is expressed by those who are not even involved. People from all over the world will write articles condemning guns, or lamenting the victims, or expressing sorrow, or otherwise giving their reaction to the story. One of the reactions that is common after an event such as this is from the people who would like to see ALL guns taken off the streets, and make it illegal for citizens to even own a gun.

This to me is the reaction of a scared child. Yes, terrible things happen, and sometimes those terrible things are perpetrated by some idiot who has managed to get his hands on guns. But, it is folly to blame the guns themselves for the deaths of those people. The person is responsible, not the guns. But, to these frightened children, the very idea of guns is too scary to deal with, and they would like to see reality changed to suit their fears. It’s kind of like saying that “oh my, cars cause over a million deaths a year. Let’s get them off the streets!” It is an over-reaction, common to those who typically refuse to stand up for their own rights, preferring to allow the government to tell them what to think.

I agree that it is tragic that events like this should happen, and I feel bad for the victims. I also feel bad for the idiot, because only a soul that is in extreme distress could ever consider such actions. If it were to happen in front of me, I would not hesitate take him down, and put him down, like a sick dog, but I would do so in sorrow, knowing that he is a broken man. This event will mark a moment in time that none of the victims will ever forget, and it will change their lives in some way, for certain. But, to let these events cause us to make poor decisions about guns is an error in thinking, and can lead to the loss of more rights than we have already lost to the fear-mongers.

Living involves risk. This is a truism, and is not subject to debate. One may prepare for that risk by making themselves strong and educated regarding the extent of the risks, and dealing with those risks in an adult fashion. Or, one can retreat to their childhood, and give over the handling of risk to the authority figures in our lives, and feel snug and safe in their little delusional bubble. 

What these people fail to understand is this: prohibiting guns, or making them illegal, is NOT going to make guns go away. It will just drive them underground, and make it harder to keep track of them. The risk will be even greater, because NOW there is nothing to stop criminals from victimizing others, other than the police, and we can see already how little effectiveness the police have in stopping events like this.

This shit is going to happen, whether guns are legal or not. I am personally unwilling to trust the government of this country, or of any other, to protect me and my interests. If they have guns, I want mine, because otherwise there will be no reason at all for them to keep from taking from me whatever they want. Police in this country are NOT to be trusted; most of the time they have a poor opinion of the public, and a sense of entitlement that puts them above the law. The same goes for politicians; I’m not going to trust them any further than I am the police. Probably even less, as they have shown time after time that they are not to be trusted. If they can’t be trusted with my money, I’m certainly not going to trust them with my guns….

Attitudes adjusted, while you wait. — L.A. Police Car Bumper Sticker

I’m not overly concerned whether or not anyone agrees with me on this; everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Some will say that I am calloused and indifferent to the pain those people felt. Well, they are free to say whatever they like…. The simple truth is that I feel very sorry for all the victims, and their families, knowing full well that they are now looking at years of therapy and healing before they will ever be comfortable again. But it is also the simple truth that I am not going to get all worked up over something that happens all the time, and will continue to happen as long as the world remains so overpopulated that we are like rats in a cage, fighting and biting each other over the limited resources.

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

If one wants to get outraged over needless deaths, then let’s begin a dialog about the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who continue to die for no good reason. We were told that the wars in those two countries were started to “get Osama bin Laden” and put an end to  terrorism. Ten years and trillions of dollars later, bin Laden is dead, and terrorism is NOT ended. Probably, more than 12 soldiers are killed every day in both countries, but there is no outrage that I see….

So, let us not engage in the orgy of feelings, and outpouring of outrage, over an event that, while not normal or desirable, should nonetheless not be a surprise. And, let us not thrash about in fear, and center our anger on the wrong target. Guns are not the problem; people who are broken are the problem, whether they are shooting people in a theater in the mountains, or passing laws in a building in Washington D.C.  The answer is not to get rid of guns; that is never going to happen. The answer is to fix the broken people…. and you can take that to the bank….

“Americans like to talk about (or be told about) Democracy but, when put to the test, usually find it to be an ‘inconvenience.’   We have opted instead for an authoritarian system *disguised* as a Democracy.  We pay through the nose for an enormous joke-of-a-government, let it push us around, and then wonder how all those assholes got in there.” —   Frank Zappa
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A Drunken Man’s Praise Of Sobriety

Come swish around, my pretty punk,
And keep me dancing still
That I may stay a sober man
Although I drink my fill.

Sobriety is a jewel
That I do much adore;
And therefore keep me dancing
Though drunkards lie and snore.
O mind your feet, O mind your feet,
Keep dancing like a wave,
And under every dancer
A dead man in his grave.
No ups and downs, my pretty,
A mermaid, not a punk;
A drunkard is a dead man,
And all dead men are drunk.

William Butler Yeats

The sober nature of what I’ve written so far today demands a bit of relief…. who better for that than Yeats?….. Enjoy!
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“All through human history, tyrannies have tried to enforce obedience by prohibiting disrespect for the symbols of their power. The swastika is only one example of many in recent history.” — American Bar Association task force on flag burning

Where did we get lost? When did my country lose the not just the feeling, but the meaning of freedom? The above statement is an indication of how far we have come from the basic ideas that the founding fathers originally fought for in the late 1700’s. The very fact that we must even consider the issue shows how many people have come to believe differently. In today’s society, it is becoming politically incorrect to speak of these subjects, to question the motivations of those who seek to gain office, or to question those in office. If one speaks out to question anyone in a position of authority, one is labeled as “un-American” or “Communist”, or “Socialist”. Or, even worse, “un-Christian”….

The separation of church and state was one of the bottom line reasons for the American Revolutionary War. I’m not an idiot, so I realize that money motivates as much, or more, than does idealism, and the OTHER bottom line reason was just that, the bottom line. Taxes, of course…. Our founding fathers, as tired of losing money as they were of being told to worship only one way, decided that it was enough reason to set up a system of government that kept them separate. They realized that the churches and the banks were the greatest threats to a free society, so they made an effort to keep them from influencing government…..

“In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to Liberty.” — Thomas Jefferson

But, 200 years of chipping away at laws and social mores, and we now see that many of those freedoms are threatened, by the forces of Evil, otherwise known as ‘corporate bidness’ and ‘da priesthood’….. Now, set up in opposition to the current President, who has shown his commitment to change, we have a candidate who combines the worst (or best, depending on your view….) of those two groups, Mitt the Twitt, the richest, sneakiest Mormon mouthpiece you will ever see. This man has already, before even becoming the official candidate of his party, shown himself to be in favor of big business, racism and bigotry, and completely against any sort of reforms that would benefit the average joe…. yet there are millions of “average joes” who blindly follow what he says with open mouth, closed mind, and bated breath, just because he isn’t black….

The election of 2012 may go down in history as a pivotal moment in the history of this nation. This election will clearly indicate the state of mind of this country, as the two ostensible candidates represent extreme poles of opposite beliefs, only one of which remains true to the principles upon which this country was founded. We now will see what direction we will take in the next years…. either onward to a brighter future, or downward toward extinction…. Each of us will need to make a decision about which one we are willing to fight for…. because a fight will surely be coming…. and the sides will be hard to tell apart, as both will call themselves Americans…. Only one side will be right….

“After a time, you may find that ‘having’ is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as ‘wanting.’  It is not logical, but it is often true.” — Spock, “Amok Time,” stardate 3372.7.
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As a chef, I know that sometimes the best stuff comes when you just throw stuff in as you go, never knowing what you’ll end up with, but knowing it will be delicious. Today’s Pearl may, or may not, reach that level, to be worthy of the definition of “good stuff”. Time will tell, as somebody said recently….    🙂     Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!