Tag Archives: Ovid

Such a happy eggplant!….

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Ffolkes,

“Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.”

~~ Isaac Asimov ~~

sonoma spring

Spring in the Valley of the Moon….

Hajime…. We are all living in time, unconsecrated; most of us never know we live, at all, much less with any understanding of what any of it all means. Hence, unconsecrated. But, we go on, regardless, because, hey…. no choice. As long as our lungs pump air in and out, as long as we continue to exist on a planet filled with wonder and pain, we will continue to walk in beauty with eyes closed, oblivious to our own godhood….

I have no idea what prompted that. Nor do I care, for it broke the ice which had formed around my heart & mind. I still don’t know if the drama from next door is resolved, but, it’s been quiet for 24 hours, so, I’ll take it. The vet was here, & found Leelu to have picked up a flea, or three, from somewhere, along with a tapeworm infestation, both exacerbated by the recent heat wave & her apparent allergy to the flea. She’s been treated for both, & prophylactics have been applied to prevent further problems; she’s feeling better, though not yet her fully active self. She’s resumed her habit of wanting attention just as I begin this process, turning me into a cat hammock for a half-hour before she’ll allow me to finish, which is why this is a bit late this morning.

Things calmed down enough to allow me to finish this Pearl, so, I’m going to forgo any further discussion of the possible ramifications of recent events, & just get on with re-establishing the routines so rudely interrupted by real-time issues; first stop is to get this posted before any more interruptions can fuss with me. To enhance the possibility of success, I’ll go do that now, dumping y’all (and myself) back into consensual reality with a bit of a thump, which can happen when I apply such extreme measures. In fact, I’d suggest you hold on to your hat (if you’re wearing one) because the next step is rather steep, and there’s a high wind….

Shall we Pearl?….

“In handling a stinging insect, move very slowly.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

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blue moon soup bandcamp

Image from Album Cover via Google Images

I discovered this group in 2014, during the year’s Dead Covers Project, which takes place each year. Amateur, and some professional, artists make videos of their own version of iconic Grateful Dead songs, posting them on You Tube for the millions of Deadhead’s out there to enjoy. This group is comprised of four young men who play bluegrass music; they were obviously raised by Deadheads, as they play, & obviously love playing, old Dead songs in bluegrass style, with great four-part harmony, and excellent musical competence. Guitar, fiddle, bass, & mandolin, along with exuberant & beautifully blended voices make their versions irresistible. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do; I’ve included a link to their own band website, where you can also listen to the albums they’ve made streamed on various online platforms….

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Blue Moon Soup

https://www.youtube.com/user/BlueMoonSoupMusic

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Comedy_Tragedy

Relative Cynicism, with Caramel Sauce

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

4/7/2013

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

Notes on Life at Large….

*******

“Every moment is precious. And precarious.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

*******

“Nothing is more useful to mankind than those arts which have no utility.

~~ Ovid ~~

*******

“A man of genius makes no mistakes.
His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”

~~ James Joyce, “Ulysses” ~~

*******

“Every action in our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.”

~~ Edwin Hubbell Chapin ~~

*******

“If the only prayer you say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’
that would suffice.”

~~ Meister Eckhart ~~

*******

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education
is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do
when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not;
it is the first lesson that ought to be learned;
and however early a man’s training begins,
it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.”

~~ Thomas H. Huxley ~~

*******

“Many journeys end here,
But the secret’s told the same.
Life is just a candle
And a dream must give it flame.”

~~- Neil Peart, Rush ~~

*******

***************************************

Since I’m already late getting this posted, thanks to hammock duty, we’ll skip the usual tricks or treats you find in this final section, & merely say, see y’all tomorrow, as long as reality keeps itself on an even keel. In case I’ve forgotten to say so lately, thanks for stopping by…. See ya, sooner than you think, expect, or, probably, wish for…. Hah!…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Featured Image -- 14566

À bientôt, mon cherí….



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Certified balderdash, at random rates….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“‘Change’ is scientific, ‘progress’ is ethical;

change is indubitable,

whereas progress is a matter of controversy.”


~~ Bertrand Russell ~~


rustic selfie


Chance, or design?….


Hajime…. As we all know, or, if not, should know, every day is new & different from any previous day. (We won’t go into any questions regarding the science of similarity….) I, for one, am fully aware of this, yet, after enough time, many days SEEM to be exactly like the rest of them, & change seems as a dream. But, then, I do consume large quantities of several types of chemicals which tend to alter consciousness, and, concurrently, perception. So, who’s to say what Reality really is, or means, or whether any of it actually exists as anything other than a fevered dream, of a self-aware monkey, lost in inner space….?


Whether or not I have any opinion on any of that (discount the mere fact I wrote it….), here we are, again, & once more, I’m both late, and clueless. But, I do have the answer to both of those, if only for a few moments; chutzpah. If you have to look it up, you won’t understand it, anyway; for those who know its meaning, or, more importantly, its implications, a complimentary cup of broth will be awarded, upon verification of your genome. For those who simply don’t want to make the effort, you win. It’s all nonsense, anyway, just to fill a bit more space, a tawdry distraction to keep you from realizing what crap this is….


Oh, well; so be it. I don’t really have anything to say, that either hasn’t already been said, or, would make any difference. To keep from getting distraught over what I am currently unable to change, or control, I’ll use my executive authority to call a halt to any further attempts at making y’all laugh, or cry, or whatever I can get. Instead, I’ll have mercy, & this is what we’ll do, in recompense….


Shall we Pearl?….


“Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated”


— George Bernard Shaw ~~


***************************************


playing-for-change


As is the case often on such days (following an absence), I am, if not late, pretending to be, to keep myself cracking…. Yes, even I must, at times, resort to tricking myself into doing right…. Go figure, eh? Well, I AM human…. approximately…..


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Playing For Change

 Gimme Shelter






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Comedy_Tragedy


Illusory Time


Viewed from askance, the river is long;

deep, uncompromisingly intent, swift and strong.

In duality, perception creates our only reality;

such faux metaphoric paradox enforces mutability.


By two we perceive, both zero, and one;

digital, binary, on or off, such fun.

Separate, melded, we exist, knowing not what we know

ego, striving to be solitary, looking above, seeing below.


Furiously asleep, cultural anomaly claims a victim of choice;

validly unconscious, nobody speaks, nary a voice.

Potential escapees stir in dreams, fighting to wake,

until taking the wheel, for their own bloody sake.


Pots boil in due time, when the fire’s hot,

time exists to our advantage; or, not.

The solitary warrior, head bent in pain,

fights on, with, or without gain.


Night fell, day after day it persisted;

of those who knew, none showed any care, or resisted

Angels, ministers, none had any defense, nor grace;

all that remains is a face.


~~ gigoid ~~


10/22/2016


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pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Hard lines….


*******


“He who despairs over an event is a coward,

but he who holds hopes for the human condition is a fool.”


~~ Albert Camus ~~


*******


“The man who follows the crowd

will usually get no further than the  crowd.

The man who walks alone

is likely to find himself in places no  one has ever been.”


~~ Alan Ashley-Pitt ~~


*******


“No one is useless in this world

who lightens the burdens of another.”


~~ Charles Dickens ~~


*******


“The most pathetic person in the world

is a person who has sight

but has no vision.”


~~ Helen Keller ~~


*******


“For one human being to love another human being:

that is perhaps the most difficult task

that has been entrusted to us,

the ultimate task, the final test and proof,

the work for which all other work

is merely preparation.”


~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~


*******


“If you want to be loved, be lovable.”


~~ Ovid ~~


*******


“Life consists in penetrating the unknown,

and fashioning our actions

in accord with the new knowledge thus acquired.


~~ Leo Tolstoy ~~”


*******


***************************************


“That’s all she’s got, Captain! The engine’s won’t take any more!” — Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery Scott, on numerous occasions. If I am any judge, neither will my Gentle Readers, should any have lasted this far. Ah, well. Such is life. The best part of all this is, I get to try again. But, that can only happen if I stop this one, before it gets any further from anything resembling art, or, even phil. See ya, ffolkes, if the meds take effect….


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
The right way is to the left….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“A stiff neck usually supports an empty head.”


~~ Observant Bee ~~


leelu-redeye


Leelu, locked & loaded….


Hajime…. I had hoped, upon arising today, to find it within me to write some actual prose here to begin. However, upon entering the trance state I use to search out the appropriate creative urge, I found nothing but a vast, featureless plain, without even any shiny objects off in the distance. Rather than retreat, as I generally do, into paragraph after paragraph of blather & nonsense, I will, instead, accept the limitations I have encountered, & just get on with the posting process. You may thank me later…. or, not, as you wish….


I suppose, in order to earn & deserve any thanks, I’ll have to employ yet another example of a ruthless ending to the intro. I realize it has become rather de rigeur, but, that’s what happens when a blog gets old, along with its author. We just don’t care as much as we used to. But, that’s indulgent speculation, when our intention is to get down the page. Why don’t I make a quick turn, into this little cul-de-sac, where I’ll flip the switch on our old #4, which has served us so well for so long…. That one works like this….


Shall we Pearl?


“My mind to me a kingdom is;

Such present joys therein I find,

That it excels all other bliss

That earth affords or grows by kind:

Though much I want which most would have,

Yet still my mind forbids to crave.”


~~ Edward Dyer (c. 1540-1607) — MS. Rawl. 85. p. 17~~


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mozart2


When I want to focus my mind on a set task on the computer, this is what I put on. It’s a grand collection of Wolfie’s violin concertos, with what I’ve found to be the best music for such mental gymnastics. It just seems to help my mind relax, and enter the flow of thought with ease…. I hope you find it so yourselves…. Enjoy!….


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Mozart ~ Violin Concertos






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Comedy_Tragedy


Life as we know it….


As we grow and learn to be, in this sad, yet joyous parade,

we only have our Self with which to face life;

small, we are, and weak,

but, smart.


Reality, in studied contrast, is an invisible, ubiquitous shade

dispassionate ambivalence brings us mostly strife.

It’s never enough to seek.

Take part.


The universe won’t make a compromise, but will make a trade.

Give away your fear for knowledge, and a reasoned life.

It often requires a tweak;

live Art.


Love is an essential part of our own particular charade

without it, life can be filled with strife.

Souls perch high on a peak;

sweet, tart.


Pain always balances with joy, the price has to be paid;

for us humans, each must be equal in life.

To know one, the other must speak.

Never apart.


We are all actors, playing parts we’ve chosen to have portrayed;

the director’s absence produces endless strife.

Trying to make sense brings only pique.

Go. Start.


~~ gigoid ~~


11/27/2015


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pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Grinding the stone….


*******


“There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry.”


~~ Mark Strand ~~


*******


“Hello darkness, my old friend,

I’ve come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping,

eft its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision

that was planted in my brain,

still remains

Within the sound of silence:”


~~ Paul Simon ~~


*******


“Take me disappearing

through the smoke rings of my mind

down the foggy ruins of time

far past the frozen leaves

the haunted frightened trees

out to the windy beach

far from the twisted reach

of crazy sorrow.


Ah, to dance beneath the diamond sky

with one hand waving free

silhouetted by the sea

circled by the circus sands

with all memory and fate

driven deep beneath the waves

let me forget about today

until tomorrow.”


~~ Bob Dylan ~~


*******


“Nothing in the entire universe ever perishes, believe me,

but things vary, and adopt a new form.

The phrase “being born” is used

for beginning to be something different from what one was before,

while “dying” means ceasing to be the same.

Though this thing may pass into that, and that into this,

yet the sums of things remains unchanged.”


~~ Ovid — Metamorphoses ~~


*******


“It is the edge and temper of the blade

that make a good sword,

not the richness of the scabbard;

and so it is not money or possessions

that make man considerable,

but his virtue.”


~~ Seneca ~


*******


“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”


~~ Kris Kristofferson ~~


*******


“The more I learn, the more I have to learn.”


~~ Anonymous Bee ~~


*******


***************************************


Having thus completed my assigned tasks for this morning, I’ll use a bit of compassion, & close it as efficiently as I opened. Perhaps that isn’t the most compelling technique, but, it works for what we need today. I’ll reiterate the usual caveat, to wit: I’ll be back, to spend more time on tinkering with my brain, so as to distract it from going wonky. Y’all are welcome to join me, tomorrow, hopefully, when I’ll do this again. See ya, ffolkes…. Stay alert; it’s getting more than just a little crazy out in the Big Blue Room….


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Draped in retrospective affability….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


:Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better.

Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as time.”


~~ Thomas Carlyle — Memoirs of the Life of Scott ~~


~~ London and Westminister Review — Nos. XII and LV (1838) ~~


WOPC and a seal


Pine Cone Whimsey at Pier 39….


Hajime…. All will be well, and, all will be, well, as well as can be. Hmm… That is, no doubt, a little obscure, but, accurate enough. Leelu will be fine; she was reacting to the stress of my three day absence; it turns out this reaction affects her digestion, severely enough to make her ill. A return to routine, a couple days of bland diet, & she’ll be fine. The bond between us is strong, so, some mild, slow behavioral shaping, to get her used to me being gone, will need to be performed, to help her adjust better to my periodic need to be elsewhere for a time. Such is life, so, we’ll do what we can to keep her content, as we are each other’s whole world, in a sense, & I wouldn’t have it any other way…..


I managed to create a Pearl, cobbled together in pieces throughout the day, & on into this morning. I am still processing a lot of my weekend, which included a great deal of heavy lifting, mentally, but, none of it has evolved into anything to write as yet. We have music, a decent, recent poetic effort, and a pretty good pearl for the last section today, all as right & tight as I can make it on short notice/tight deadline. As such, it will have to do, ‘cuz I ain’t doin’ it over. In fact, I’m still pretty tired from all the hours I spent awake, so, I’ll forgo trying to impress here & now, opting, instead, for brevity, in spirit, and in sooth, by ending this before it becomes unwieldy, which often offers no opportunity to come to a dignified close. In point of fact, I intend to do that, here, and now, merely by doing this….


Shall we Pearl?


“Once conform, once do what others do because they do it,

and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul.”


~~ Michael de Montaigne ~~


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


I got a bit of a late start this morning, so, we’re going with our default musical selection, chosen, as always, by the one whose accompanying picture caught my eye…. Today, that happens to be Mozart Symphonies…. Enjoy!….


********************************







Classical Music

Mozart Symphonies 40 & 41







********************************












********************************


********************************


Comedy_Tragedy


Further Proof


No evidence exists, no rumored promise

of a guide on the path we seek.

Salient information lies hidden, seeking solace;

each possibility lost, no longer unique.


The past cascades through today, resolute;

finished and gone, by all reputable report.

Common failings decry any fever in the root,

as pillars of salt offer up little retort.


Longitude has latitude, one dimension to the next;

truth and lies, mirrored, transform on first exposure.

Born in chaos, living in change, by guile and pretext;

artful insanity, with no rational cure.


‘Tis no wonder, some do say now and then,

such creatures are doomed, by their own hand.

Cursed by the force of their very own ken,

until only the leaving seems very grand.


Perhaps, but, then, say those who doubt,

it’s all part of how it works, in fact.

We can’t know, really, what it’s all about

without completing the final act.


Is there any hurry?


~~ gigoid ~~


6/23/2016


********************************


pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Learning to Learn….


*******


“If the thraskin puts his fingers in his ears, it is polite to shout.”


~~ Doctor, The Time Monster ~~


*******


“Schooling is what happens inside the wall of the school,

some of which is educational.

Education happens everywhere,

and it happens from the moment a child is born

–some say before–

until it dies.”


~~ Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, A World of Ideas, 1989 ~~


*******


“Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her.

But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide

how to play the cards in order to win the game.”


~~ Voltaire ~~


*******


“Nothing in the entire universe ever perishes, believe me,

but things vary, and adopt a new form.

The phrase “being born” is used for

beginning to be something different

from what one was before,

while “dying” means

ceasing to be the same.

Though this thing may pass into that,

and that into this,

yet the sums of things remains unchanged.”


~~ Ovid — “Metamorphoses” ~~


*******


“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”


~~ Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” ~~


*******


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


~~ Bertold Brecht ~~


*******


“By letting go, it all gets done.”


~~ Tao Te Ching ~~


*******


********************************


Not too shabby, at all, for what it is; I am reasonably content. I shan’t make the error of commenting on its quality; instead, I shall continue the spirit of brevity as so aptly applied in the intro, by using the old “dump ’em where they are” method, which has worked so well for us in the past. Sometimes, ya just gotta do what you gotta do. Since, in truth, it’s already done, I’ll merely say, see ya for now, ffolkes. I’ll be back, probably sooner than I think. What y’all think is, for the most part, not irrelevant, but, unprintable. Well, maybe not, but, what the hell? It got us outta here, didn’t it?…. I know, strange, yet, normal, right?…. Be well, & happy as you may….


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


Featured Image -- 12254


À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Dabbling in obscurity….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“It is fear that first brought gods into the world.”


~~ Petronius ~~


winery-drive


Oenophile Road #1 ~~ Sonoma Valley


Hajime…. In the semblance of Time described below, Circumstance plays its part. Though Fate had its say, only the most elemental of emotional responses could conceivably hold sway, before the throne of Reason. As the light of Illumination grew stronger, Fear retreated into the shadowed halls behind the stairs, while Serenity filled hearts and minds. Gladly, the people slept, unaware they would never wake….


Hmm… A bit strange, but, not bad for off the proverbial cuff, especially at 0434 on a Monday morning. I’m up, with nearly two full cups of coffee on board. The Pearl for today, begun from scratch at 0330, is complete, as much as it will be, or may. I’m in an odd mood, with elements of both rage and peace battling amiably for precedence. I suppose, depending on who wins, we’ll have an interesting day ahead of us, since we’re about, oh, 3 hours ahead of everyone else in this time zone. Now, if only I can subvert these homicidal urges until they’re awake, maybe things can turn into a different dark alley. Or, not.


See, odd. But, that’s nothing new, right? Given the hour, it would be possible, not to mention attractive, to use the extra time to rant. But, I’ve found my ranting stash to be rather limited of late; if I rant here, I don’t have much to say when I go comment on other blogs. So, rather than subject my own Gentle Readers to such diatribes, I’ve been leaving them in the comment section of other blogs. Works for me, and it keeps these Pearls cleaner, if no more compelling. So be it, as he says often. I’ve got no excuses, or justifications; it’s just the way it is.


I can see I’m becoming fatalistic, which will never do. We’d get stuck somewhere if I keep that up, so, rather than take any chances, I’m going to employ my most ruthless technique to get us down the page. It’s a bit sudden, so watch your step….


Shall we Pearl?….


“But since life is cruel, to you and to me, here I am.”


~~ Umberto Eco ~~


********************************


celtic design


Today’s choice of music was chosen to supply the Gentle Reader with some quiet, soothing ambiance, in which today’s Pearl might be consumed at leisure. The genre selections included this one, which had a beautiful picture of the Irish highlands adorning the first screen. The picture made the choice easy…. Enjoy!….


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Celtic Music





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********************************


********************************


Comedy_Tragedy


Dreaming, I wait….


In the most patient moments of rationality

kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,

fallow thoughts speed first from equality

to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.


Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law

shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,

intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,

falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.


Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,

it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,

foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,

alive, always eager, willing, and pale.


Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few

with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.

No solemn royal version may pass in review,

true love for man, never to remain unhidden.


Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,

calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,

With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,

swimming in the oceans of natural delight.


When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,

roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,

Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,

and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.


Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night

aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart

Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,

tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art….


~~ gigoid ~~


8/18/2013


********************************


pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Listen, children….


*******


“I shall explain this by waving my hands about in an appropriate manner.”


~~ gigoid, the dubious ~~


*******


“Nothing in the entire universe ever perishes, believe me,

but things vary, and adopt a new form.

The phrase “being born” is used

for beginning to be something different from what one was before,

while “dying” means

ceasing to be the same.

Though this thing may pass into that,

and that into this

yet the sums of things remains unchanged.”


~~ Ovid — Metamorphoses ~~


*******


“A fish never thinks about water until he’s out of it.”


~~ Robert Penn Warren ~~


*******


“You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.”


~~ Aristophanes~~


*******


“It takes a long time to understand nothing.”


~~ Edward Dahlberg~~


*******


“Do you imagine that the universe is agitated?

Go out into the desert at night and look up at the sky.

this practice should answer the question.”


~~ Lao Tzu ~~


*******


“There are things that are known, and things unknown,

and in between are the doors of perception.”


~~ Aldous Huxley, “The Doors of Perception” ~~


*******


********************************


I find myself unavailable for comment. However, since we’ve made it this far, there’s no giving up. Here’s a thought: Why don’t I try this again tomorrow? Hey, what a great idea! We’ll do that. In the meantime, stay alert, ffolkes; you’re on your own until I return, tomorrow morning, same Bat-time, same Bat-station….


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


Featured Image -- 2780


À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Polite reasons to marinate….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				10			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,


“Malice drinks one-half its own poison.”


~~ Seneca ~~




resting leelu




It’s MY prey; don’t touch it….


Hajime…. What passes for a muse in my world seems to have taken a hiatus this morning; probably got tired of me tossing & turning most of the night, & went off to find something more entertaining to do. This, of course, has some rather significant effects upon the Pearl I had planned for today, since, now, I’ve got nothing in the way of creative urges to fulfill, or even find. So be it. We’ve been here before, and it’s all about trusting the process. Of course, that makes the assumption we can find & recognize the process, which is not a given, by any means.


But, it’s a good process, so, we’ll find the trust inside, somewhere, sometime today, I’m sure. It’s been there every time before, so, odds are good. However, we’ll give it a better chance, by cutting this intro short, and getting on with the rest of today’s mess. It always seems to work out better that way, and, who am I to fuss with tradition? Let’s try this new device I found in the Tardis yesterday while doing the monthly cleaning…. Let’s see what happens when I push this button, right here…..


Shall we Pearl?….


“The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: “Of course it is none of my business, but –” is to place a period after the word “but.” Don’t use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”


********************************




celtic design




Image from lispat.info via Google Images


I feel like some easy listening today, so, here is a two and a half hour of some pretty soothing music…. Enjoy!….


********************************



Celtic Music



********************************



https://youtu.be/49En0xjh0Xg



********************************







********************************


********************************




Dont keep calm




I’m running late again; in addition, I’m late. This does strange things to my persona, but, you knew that. Today, it means you get a somewhat new, if not completely inane form of a rant. It’s a “Do it yourself” rant. Below, you’ll find some pearls, each with a connection to each other, and to our Beloved Ruling Class, in some degree. Just put them together, to formulate a rant of your own making, simply by allowing them to show your thoughts which direction to follow. Pretty slick, eh? Well, okay, so it’s merely slippery; so be it….. Enjoy, ffolkes. If nothing else, it’s all in good fun, and does have some rather cogent points…. Go figure, eh?….


*******


“All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.”


~~ Aristotle ~~


*******


“Taxes are not levied for the benefit of the taxed.”


~~ Lazarus Long ~~


*******


“They made us many promises, more than I can remember,

but they never kept but one;

they promised to take our land, and they took it.”


~~ Red Cloud ~~


*******


“I don’t vote. It just encourages them.”


~~ A Maine woman ~~


*******


“He that will not reason is a bigot.

He that cannot reason is a fool.

He that dares not reason is a slave.”


~~ William Drummond, “Academical Questions” ~~


*******


“If anything can go wrong, it will.”


~~ Murphy’s Law ~~


*******


“And now there is merely silence, silence, silence, saying all we did not know.”


~~ William Rose Benet ~~


*******


********************************




Comedy_Tragedy


 


After the odyssey….


Portraits of iconic symbols, crashing, singing, forgotten;

evolving into mature innovation, as yet pale, and rotten.

Still water justly breeds, impenetrable primal verses resound;

unholy moments tarry, emotion swirls in passion unbound


Spiritual ovulation precedes each pregnant pause;

gravid, time moves on, following destiny’s cause.

Cast adrift on waves of confusion, to a final, damp landing;

salvation beckons sweetly, fed well on understanding.


Dreams directly fall, in night’s grey bower, unbidden;

lingering flavors in simple taste, lovingly, cleverly hidden.

Childish laughter sounds, joyful, bright, and clear;

no need ever to hide, no more monsters to fear.


Temper most foul arrives under unregistered mail;

forgotten taunts live on, lashed by an ancient flail.

Plain dealing delivers such lasting specks of honest hate;

savage in retrospect, never hasty, always running late.


Forever, cries an ambient lover of the pending night;

his pale, weak issue forms its own failing light.

Still, fortune favors such as those who apprehend;

Sweet love of Gaia, let it never end.


~~ gigoid ~~


3/10/2013


********************************




pearls_3


 


Naked Pearls


Life at Large


*********


“By letting go, it all gets done.”


~~ Tao Te Ching ~~


*********


“Living Dead the path is chosen,

to live forever is to die forever.


To not know when you’ll die

is to find life wherever you are.”


~~ Alagad ~~


*********


It is ridiculous to lay the blame of our wrong actions

upon external causes, rather than on the facility

with which we ourselves are caught by such causes.


~~ Aristotle ~~


*********


“The animal knows, of course.

But certainly it does not know that it knows.”


~~ Teilhard de Chardin ~~


*********


“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.”


~~ Phaedrus — Book i, Fable 26, 12 ~~


*********


“Put forth your effort

With no thought of gain.”


~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~


*********


“Be patient and tough;

someday this pain will be useful to you.”


~~ Ovid ~~


*********


“Work is not an end in itself;

there must always be time enough for love.”


~~ Robert Heinlein ~~


*********


“…. For my purpose holds;

To sail beyond the sunset, and the light

Of all the western stars, until I die.”

~~Tennyson ~~


~~ The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ~~


*********


********************************


I did it. This, as much as anything else that will happen today, is something of a surprise, if not a complete conundrum. Since it fulfills all the standard requirements, I declare it done, and, thank goodness. I’ll try again tomorrow, ffolkes; it can’t be any worse, right? Right. See ya….


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch






À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
From inside the pentagram….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				11			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,




“Never do a thing concerning the rectitude of which you are in doubt.”


~~ Pliny the Younger — Letters, Book i, Letter xviii, 5 ~~


not so crooked


Shadow of a not-so-crooked old man….




Hajime…. As I sit to begin this morning, I am struck by just how important to my sanity this process has become. Of course, sanity is a question-begging term for most folks, Most ffolkes, too. For me, it’s not a question, at all, at all. I am crazy as a bed-bug, as the saying goes, but, rather than suffer from it, I tend to revel in it. But, then, I am strange, and have accepted it as reality. In fact, being ‘tetched’, as it were, has afforded me untold opportunities in Life, of which otherwise I might never have seen or heard, to my everlasting regret. Since I don’t believe in regrets, I chose insanity.


You see, insanity is not the boojum most folks would have us believe. It is merely another of the many states of mind we humans can adopt, a state which, in truth, is merely another method humans have developed to deal with a big, scary universe they don’t always understand. It isn’t, as we are told, a bad method, it’s merely strange, compared to what most people have experienced. Strange and different don’t always have to mean ‘bad’; if it works to help the person deal with life more effectively than their previous method, well, so be it, in my book. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”


But, the rest of the world doesn’t much like strange and different; those two adjectives have, unfortunately, been given a bad rap, in my estimation, and needn’t be viewed askance any more than any other such superlatives. In fact, they offer many advantages the merely sane are unable to even perceive, and, in their own way, are honorable methods for dealing with Life at Large. Well, I find them so, anyway….


I think I’m lost. I haven’t a clue how we got to this point, other than by indulging my own talent for blather. Since we’ve gotten to this point without having any real direction, perhaps it would be best to get on with the show, before we reach the point of no return. We need the return, for the deposit. Therefore, I am calling a halt to any further nonsense, sense, or blather, and will now flip this little switch right over here, which should take us directly to the oyster beds, express-style…. Hang on….


Shall we Pearl?….




“Mongo only pawn… in game of life.”


~~ Alex Karras in “Blazing Saddles” ~~




********************************





bonnie (2)




Bonnie Raitt




The musical selection for today is an example of pure self-indulgence. I feel like listening to something both soothing, and hot. I can’t think of a better artist to cover both. Here is a live concert from the Oakland Coliseum in 1989. It just doesn’t get any better than this, ffolkes, not in my world…. Enjoy, if you will….




********************************


















Bonnie Raitt Live

















********************************































********************************




























********************************




********************************





Dont keep calm




    Yesterday, for a time, before my back & shoulders began to react to the oncoming rain we’re expecting today, I spent time commenting on a friend’s blog. He posts mostly about politics and issues in the Middle East, and can be found here: https://lobotero.com/  


My comments became rather a lengthy series of mini-rants, and, apparently, have cleared out any angst that had built up. So, in today’s section reserved for such ranting, you get an old-school pearl, designed to create more angst, or, as we like to call it sometimes, stimulating our rage against the Machine…. It isn’t the most pointed pearl ever, but, it gets rather esoteric and strange in spots…. As well, it’s got some rather tasty shots…. Enjoy!….


“The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” — Aristotle


“In all levels of life, the sheep are safe only when the wolves are not hungry.” — F. J. Lovret


“If you have ever seen a four-year-old trying to lord it over a two-year-old, then you know what the basic problem of human nature is — and why government keeps growing larger and ever more intrusive.” — Thomas Sowell


“When I was seven years old, I was once reprimanded by my mother for an act of collective brutality in which I had been involved at school. A group of seven-year-olds had been teasing and tormenting a six-year-old.  It is always so, my mother said. You do things together which not one of you would think of doing alone…. Wherever one looks in the world of human organization, collective responsibility brings a lowering of moral standards. The military establishment is an extreme case, an organization which seems to have been expressly designed to make it possible for people to do things together which nobody in his right mind would do alone.” — Freeman Dyson, Weapons and Hope


“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” — Paul Simon


“King Arthur and his armored goons of the Round Table functioned as the Politburo of a slave state: Camelot. Of all who have written on the Matter of Arthur, from Malory to White, only Mark Twain understood this. But Mark Twain was a great writer.” — Edward Abbey


“How many Presidential family members does it take to screw in a light bulb in the White House? Two, Hillary for her office, Bill for the rest of the White House.” — Snarky Bee


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


“If voting could change the system it would be illegal.  If not voting could change the system it would be illegal.” — Schroedinger’s Cat




“Our subjectivity

Is a mirrored,

Spiked casket.”


~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~




********************************





Comedy_Tragedy




After the odyssey….


Portraits of iconic symbols, crashing, singing, forgotten;

evolving into mature innovation, as yet pale, and rotten.

Still water justly breeds, impenetrable primal verses resound;

unholy moments tarry, emotion swirls in passion unbound


Spiritual ovulation precedes each pregnant pause;

gravid, time moves on, following destiny’s cause.

Cast adrift on waves of confusion, to a final, damp landing;

salvation beckons sweetly, fed well on understanding.


Dreams directly fall, in night’s grey bower, unbidden;

lingering flavors in simple taste, lovingly, cleverly hidden.

Childish laughter sounds, joyful, bright, and clear;

no need ever to hide, no more monsters to fear.


Temper most foul arrives under unregistered mail;

forgotten taunts live on, lashed by an ancient flail.

Plain dealing delivers such lasting specks of honest hate;

savage in retrospect, never hasty, always running late.


Forever, cries an ambient lover of the pending night;

his pale, weak issue forms its own failing light.

Still, fortune favors such as those who apprehend;

Sweet love of Gaia, let it never end.


~~ gigoid ~~


3/10/2013




********************************





pearls_3




Naked Pearls


Life according to Jimi


*********


“But first, are you experienced?”


~~ Jimi Hendrix ~~


*********


“[Freedom is] the power to live as you will.

Who then lives as he wills?”


~~ Marcus Tullius Cicero ~~


*********


“Make haste slowly.”


~~ Ben Franklin ~~


*********


“Where no hope is left, is left no fear.”


~~ Milton ~~


*********


“If you want to be loved, be lovable.”


~~ Ovid ~~


*********


“I have noticed that nothing I have never said ever did me any harm.”


~~ Calvin Coolidge ~~


*********


“The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world

is to be in reality what we would appear to be;

all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves

by the practice and experience of them.”


~~ Socrates ~~


*********


“Use a mirror in difficult times:

You will see both cause and resolution.”


~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~


*********


“If I don’t meet you no more in this world

Then I’ll see you in the next one.

Don’t be late”


~~ Jimi Hendrix ~~


*********




********************************


Having fulfilled the minimum requirements for a Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, we shall take our leave. We shall, in the interim before our return, attempt strongly to rid ourselves of this damnable royal “we” into which we keep stumbling. We are hopeful of success. We are also outta there, until the morrow. Count on it….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
This is a multi-zone pass….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”


~~ Benjamin Franklin ~~


tweety sez


And your point is…?




Hajime…. Ah, yes, apartment living…. You know the day isn’t going to go well when you’re awakened at 3:30 AM by screaming voices from the other side of the wall…. Once the hullabaloo was done, & the cat settled down, we managed to get back to sleep, only to oversleep…. Hence, today’s later than usual posting (we don’t use the Tardis on weekends if not needed…. maintenance….), paired with the perfect stolen meme to open todays mess. It describes my feelings this morning quite well, thank you very much….


However, rather than take out my angst over having to listen to someone else’s drama so late/early, and, to give my aching arms & hands a break, we’ll cut today’s intro short yet again…. Hell, this makes the third or fourth time in a week; certainly a new record…. and, I say that just as if a) it mattered, and, b) anyone cared at all. Before I get lost & can’t live up to the word ‘short’, we’ll employ this old literary trick, which works like this….


Shall we Pearl?….


“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” — Thomas Paine


********************************





allman.span




Image from nytimes.com via Google Images




I feel like something raucous today; this promises to fit the bill just fine…. Enjoy!….




********************************

















Allman Brothers Band

with Eric Clapton
















********************************































********************************




























********************************




********************************





buddah-out-to-lunch_s




    I’m lazy; so, sue me. I don’t feel like ranting yesterday; therefore, we have no rant today. We do, however have a bit of nonsense from the archives…. You may as well enjoy it; it’s all you get here today…..


From 2/25/2012:




“It’s a buck dancer’s choice my friend, you better take my advice. 

You know all the rules by now, and the fire from the ice. 

Ain’t no time to hate

— there’s barely time to wait. 

Whoa, oh, what I want to know: where does the time go?” 


~~ Robert Hunter ~~




Where does the time go? And who says so? Where does your lap go, when you stand up? Where are all those socks that have been lost over the years in the wash? If it’s an unknown soldier, whose side was he on, and how do we know? If Billy stays at his work, baiting lines on a tuna boat, a long time, does that make him a Master Baiter? If Time is a river, or a road stretching out before us, how does it fly? If a butterfly flying away from its cocoon can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world, what happens when an elephant poops? Why on Earth did kamikaze pilots wear helmets? Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?


These are the kinds of things that trouble mankind? Well, no, but I tend to think about them a lot. I’m curious, and there are still a lot of things I have to learn; one can only learn when they admit they don’t know. Why, you may ask, do I spend my time on such nonsense? That’s an easy one. Because I damn well want to, and it’s none of your damn business what I do inside my own head.


But, since you’ve asked so nicely, I’ll put down my curmudgeon cudgel, and tell you. It all started when I was young, and my brother accidentally stepped on my nose. You might wonder what my nose was doing under his foot, but you’ll be disappointed to learn that you’ll never know, because it’s not relevant, or germane to our discussion.


What is relevant is this….. life is hard enough to deal with just as it is; there is pain, suffering, and, a seemingly hostile Universe with which we must contend, every minute of every day. There’s no need to add another layer of difficulty by refusing to see the other side of that seriousness, that little bit of nonsense that is present every where and every when, in everything we do, in everything that happens to us.


We are all Bozos on this bus; when the nose shows, you must let it grow. There will be time enough to be plenty serious when serious problems need to be addressed; when we have the opportunity to experience the other side of existence, it makes good sense to take it. Or, as so aptly put by Willie Wonka:




“A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.”




Cheers, and welcome to the parade!…….


********************************





Comedy_Tragedy




Visible life


Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,

leave marks of salvation, often in pain.

Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse

fight heavily to keep a straight course.

Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense

Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.


Still the night comes soft and eternally dear

to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.

Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest

lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,

Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain

Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.


Now come brave signs of chapter and verse

Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.

Gravid portions of in-between retaliation

leave only pale marks of initial gestation

With hope even pallid warriors grow brave

Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.


Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace

Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.

Cheerful faces yet shine out of time

for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.

Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort

life is ever visible, if only as last resort.


~~ gigoid ~~


9/15/2012




********************************





pearls_3




Naked Pearls


Life Lived Large


*********


How does it feel?

To be on your own

With no direction home

Like a complete unknown?


~~ Bob Dylan ~~


*********


“The things that matter most

 must not be at the mercy

of the things that matter least.”


~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~


*********


“Be patient and tough;

someday this pain will be useful to you.”


~~ Ovid ~~


*********


“One’s mind is like a knife.

If you don’t sharpen it, it gets rusty.”


~~ Nien Cheng ~~


*********


“I think we are drawn to dogs

because they are the uninhibited creatures

we might be

if we weren’t certain we knew better.”


~~ George Bird Evans ~~


*********


“Nature is not human-hearted.”


~~ Lao Tzu ~~


*********


“This is living, not to live unto oneself alone.”


~~ Menander ~~


*********


We turn not older with years, but newer every day.


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~


*********


“I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together!”


 ~~The Beatles. “I Am The Walrus” ~~




********************************


That’s it. Done. And, not bad, considering. With that in hand, to assuage my non-existent guilt over today’s mess, I’ll take my leave, post-haste, before all my brownie points expire. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, tongue-in-cheek, hat-in-hand, and, just-in-time for a new day…. well, here, anyway…. Ta, then….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








Kowabunga!




À bientôt, mon cherí….



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Perspective ALWAYS matters….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				7			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,




“According to the proverb, the best things are the most difficult.”


~~ Plutarch (46-120 AD) ~~


~~ Of the Training of Children ~~


Galway garden path


A Garden Path in Galway




Hajime….  We take drugs very seriously at my house… Now, before anyone goes off on some weird tangent, I’ll say this: first, I found the statement in Smart Bee, and it fit so well, I had to steal it…. Second, it’s perfectly true, but, not in the way most folks would think it might be construed. What I mean by such a statement is exactly what it says; we take them, and very seriously.


That being said, we may now proceed on to more important things, such as getting this fucking Pearl done, as it didn’t get done yesterday, thanks to some levels of pain I haven’t experienced in over a decade…. What great fun we had, remembering back to those days of yesteryear, when life was shit, with no cherry, on top or anywhere else….. ‘Twas indeed a day to remember to forget…..


Fortunately for us all, pain, like any memory, fades in time, and, though this morning bodes ill for another such day, I have my plans to deal with it, involving yet more drugs…. But, don’t worry, they’re legal in this state. I mean, OF COURSE, they’re legal, if reluctantly. I’m quite sure, if the Big Pharma companies had their way, it wouldn’t be, for the use of these “drugs”, which have been used my mankind since the time we lived in trees and caves, promises, in time, to put them out of their very lucrative business, which involves keeping everyone sick, so they can sell them more poisons.


End of mini-rant. Let’s go on to the rest of today’s mess, shall we? It promises to be a little more pleasant, at least in tone, if not quality. But, then, if you wanted quality, you’d be somewhere else, now, wouldn’t you? Yep. Don’t worry, I know exactly how good all this is, compared to the general run of things online, so, don’t worry you’ll hurt my feelings. Besides, me and pain, we’re old friends…. For now…..


Shall we Pearl?….


“Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend.  If not, you can kill him without hate -and quickly.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”


********************************





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




    Yep, you know what that picture means, don’t you? Yep. Classical music, which is all I can think of to play right now…. might have something to do with the Grateful Dead jam I’m listening to, which sounds much like a long classical, bohemian piece….. until now, as they begin to break into a jauntier tune, (I Know You Rider), in a famous jam from 1979 or so….. Ah well, you can’t hear it, anyway, unless you’re a Deadhead, and go download it yourself…. But, you can enjoy this collection of great older stuff…. Your choice, as always…..






********************************

















Classical Music


















********************************































********************************



























********************************




********************************





Albert E & true sin




    I don’t have it in me to rant, but, given the above statement from Albert, I think we can put together an old-school pearl to show just how the world has been put into the position we now find ourselves, as well as who is to blame, and, how we can make the necessary changes…. Quite a lot for a few quotes, isn’t it? Well, you’ll see…. Enjoy….


“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” — Oscar Wilde


“The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true.  It is the chief occupation of mankind.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)


“You cannot conquer a free man, the most you can do is kill him.” — Lazarus Long


“Forbid a man to think for himself or to act for himself and you may add the joy of piracy and the zest of smuggling to his life.” — Elbert Hubbard


“As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy.” — Christopher Dawson, “The Judgement of the Nations”


“It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.” — H. L. Mencken


“For every disease that doctors cure with medicine, they produce ten in healthy people by inoculating them with that virus which is a thousand times more powerful than any microbe: the idea that one is ill.” — Marcel Proust (1871-1922)


“The highest treason, the meanest treason, is to deny the holiness of this little blue planet on which we journey through the cold void of space.” — Edward Abbey


********************************





Comedy_Tragedy




    Since yesterday was one of my worst days ever, I thought a poem written on a very similar day might work. You tell me….




Gauges of Pain 


Consciousness devolves in pools of gripping fears

holding hostage any hope of serenity,

sharp stabbing motions and greedy tears

nary a moment passes without common calamity.


Always a surprise, nothing soothing ever found,

leaving only breathless clinging pain,

salvation seemingly absent, it muffles all sound,

bringing ever more sadness and rain.


Solitude is ever present to claim my time,

lonely hours and relentlessly long days,

no radio plays such music in secular rhyme

happy, vibrant voices belong to elder ways.


Life can be justified it seems to say,

by hopeful favored moments of pleasure,

seemingly friendly, pointing out the only way,

to bring back happiness in minimal measure.


Days of horror and embarrassing tears

serve ever to drive wretched hours to withhold

promising naught but sorrow in coming years,

black, bitter memories that never grow old.


Cold, cold the days fly by,

can it really be our only token?

Never to say, or know just why

the pain never stops, even when spoken…


~~ gigoid ~~


(Yes, yesterday was NOT a good day…. why do you ask?…..)


Griefe brought to numbers cannot be so fierce, 

For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.


~~ John Donne ~~




********************************





About Hopi Indian Symbols




    I’m somewhat surprised at how this pearl turned out; it was mostly serendipity at work, I believe, which dictated the icon you see adorning the top of this final section. It’s a long pearl, with 13 gems shining out with some brilliance. The opening from Keats, and the close by Bryant may, at first seem out of place with the rest of the pearls, but, in truth, the form the perfect bookends to the ideas between, marking a section with some of the more off the beaten track when it comes to advice on living life with some style to go along with the virtue we all seek…. (Sure we do..) Enjoy!




In a drear-nighted December,

  Too happy, happy tree,

Thy branches ne’er remember

  Their green felicity.


~~- John Keats ~~


~~ Stanzas ~~




“A priest advised Voltaire on his death bed to renounce the devil. Voltaire said, “This is no time to make new enemies” — Attribution unclear


“A gift of flowers will soon be made to you. Don’t eat them this time.” — Cute Bee


“First, learn to love yourself, and then you will learn to love others.” — Chen-It Ong


“Waiting is.” — R.A. Heinlein, ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’


“Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich.” — Sir Thomas Browne


“Smile, but sharpen your knives.” — Found without attribution; probably a Fremen proverb (the original would have said “chyrsknife”)


“None but a fool is always right.” — Hare


“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one  damn thing over and over.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)


“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus  — Meditations, iv, 17


“Character is a victory, not a gift.” — Our old friend, Anonymous


“Courage conquers all things.” — Ovid




The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year,

Of wailing winds and naked woods and meadows brown and sear.


~~ William Cullen Bryant ~~


~~ The Death of the Flowers ~~




********************************


It’s done. In the final analysis, that is all that can be said of it, as it should be. Having fulfilled my self-imposed duty for the day, (while making no claims of quality, lest we find ourselves in court), I’ll take my leave, post-haste, to go begin the process of consuming sufficient herbal oils and essences to mitigate my agony…. Wish me luck, ffolkes, I’ll need it…. See y’all tomorrow, come Hell, or High Water…. I’ve been through both of late, so, that’s no empty promise….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Tinny pegs, and tall….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				8			

					


				

			
 Ffolkes,




“Fortune is unstable, while our will is free.”


~~ Diogenes Laertius — Epicurus, xxvii ~~


Dublin to Galway 011


Deeper Dreams/Eireänne




Good morning…. I use the term, not JUST loosely, but, in full knowledge it’s unreasonably optimistic, even now, when any good at all would be, well, good.


Hmm. That didn’t come out quite right, did it? Not quite as planned, either…. Oh, well….  So be it, anyway.


Hi, there. I’m back. Sort of. Are we confused yet?


Oh, good. Me, too. But, it’s okay, because at least I’m home to BE confused. Here, if and/or when I must spew, I know where to go, whether the need(must!) be mental, physical, or spiritual…. Each, as you know, of course, requires a different receptacle, all designed to prevent cross-contamination, of which none wish it so…. No, we all wish to keep them separate, in sturdy, attractive, thoroughly-tested nocturnal urns of great beauty, which I keep in numerous handy locations at home. (Doesn’t everyone?) In public, or on the road, as we’ve/I’ve been recently, one can’t always arrange matters so neatly, not ahead of need, anyway.


I wasn’t sure whether to go into moderate piles of detail, a lot of detail, or no details at all, at all, regarding my recent trip; there is certainly a LOT of stuff I need to process in my own mind about what occurred while I was gone. For the moment, since I’m still pretty effing tired from the rather extreme effort I had to expend to reach home, I’ll forgo any long diatribes, merely alluding to the entire episode as my Latest Slip/Slide/Ride Around the Learning Curve…. It has a nice, obscure, yet enticing ring to it, I think…. How ’bout y’all?….


Oh, don’t worry…. I don’t expect a lot of comments on that. Almost purely rhetorical, it was, so, relax. mates…. But, feel free, of course, to add one at the end, should you be so moved. No blockage encouraged here; we don’t even like the word. We like the word moved better. Speaking of which, if I DO decide to discuss the trip, you should find it in the ranting section, since I’ve already perused the news, observing nothing upon which I would comment, other than a lack of stuff on which to comment…. Ahem.


There. That will do. It will have to do, because that’s it for the intro…. In fact, look, it’s an old #4! Better duck, hang on, or go back to sleep….


Shall we Pearl?….


“When you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu


Well, maybe that’s a little grim for a first day back; let’s try again, shall we?….


“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” — George Bernard Shaw


Better…. Let’s do this….


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





15112676-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-1756-1791-on-engraving-from-1908-one-of-the-most-significant-and-influential




    To keep from overtaxing my brain, which is not yet fully recovered from our ordeal (See? Getting there…. it’s OUR ordeal now, which means the various parts of my shattered psyche are now within shouting distance of each other; first time in days…), I’ve chosen a rather mundane, average, unknown to me mix of our default music from You Tube, simply because I know it will do for our purposes today…. And, who knows? I can use all the healing power I can get…. Enjoy, ffolkes…..




***********************


















The Mozart Effect

Heal the Body

















***********************






























***********************



























***********************




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





More Galway 056




Typical Irish Pub in Galway




Being the sort of person I am, I could easily write a million words about my trip to Ireland. In my head, I’ve already done so…. Sadly, I don’t think I can keep up with all that typing, as the little bit so far required today has taxed my rusty skills, and my carpal tunnels. So, here is a short, two pearl rant on my thoughts re: the oligarchy, and its ubiquitous attempts to shove its collective ass in everyone’s faces, all the time, everyfuckingwhere in the everfuckingworld…. There are only two, remember, so, try to keep up….


“There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.” — Will Rogers


“Once, there was NO fun…  This was before MENU planning, FASHION statements or NAUTILUS equipment… Then, in 1985..  FUN was completely encoded in this tiny MICROCHIP…. It contains 14,768 vaguely amusing SIT-COM pilots!! We had to wait FOUR BILLION years but we finally got JERRY LEWIS, MTV and a large selection of creme-filled snack cakes!” — Zippy the Pinhead


There you go. Now we can get on with the small amount of detail I am allowed to share regarding my time away…. Who’s saying what’s allowed? Oh, no worries, I am…. Who here would care what THEY would allow? Hah! Give me a break…..


Sorry, cheap hack crap, I know. Let’s start again, or, over, or, something….


So, I went into this pub in Galway, where I proceeded to have pizza. Wait. It wasn’t a pub. Walked around the Spanish Arch FOREVER looking for a relatively quiet place for a bite, but, could not find any, it being the night prior to their local version of the Super Bowl, to wit: the Irish Football championships, with Galway playing Kilkenny for the premier league title, for the 8th year in a row (Galway having lost the previous 7 times….). Needless to say, the place was jumping, and, yes, finding a seat anywhere was a challenge.


It took so long, I apparently reached what I discovered was the very end of my rope. Feeling tired but normal, I ordered a second glass of wine after a decent pizza marguerita in an Italian restaurant (in a place called the Spanish Arch, in an Irish town, with a Romanian waitress and a Polish bartender….). I took one sip of that wine, then, stood up, & quickly retired/teleported myself to the nearest restroom, where I proceeded to toss the entire remaining contents of the day’s consumption into the commode, calling desperately for RALPH! With the help of relative strangers, I made it to a taxi, back to the B&B, and into bed, where I remained, essentially, for days….




Always we hope

Someone else has the answer

Some other place will be better

Some other time it will all work out.

This is it.

No one else has the answer

No other place will be better

And it has already turned out.

At the center of your being

You have the answer;

You know who you are and what you want.

There is no need to turn outside

For better seeing.

Rather abide at the center of your being

For the more you leave it

The less you learn.

Search your own heart and see

the way to do is to be.


~~ Lao Tzu ~~




SIGH…. At the time, I’m afraid the sheer genius, and truth, of Lao Tzu’s famous lines left little impression on me, though, now, it makes perfect sense why my subconscious mind chose it for that spot in this missive. Naturally, there was no one else who could make the necessary decisions, so, with the aid of one particularly strong, compassionate person, I was able to get myself home from Galway before I, a) died, b) killed someone, c) first b, then a, d) a+b+c, or, e) started the revolution right there and then….


So, without getting into too many details, other than to say, gee, thanks, doctors, you fuck heads…. I’ll just say this…. Trying to exist without perpetrating violence upon STUPID sheeple for 28 hours straight, while confined in a closed space, with intermittent, all-too-frequent, alternating chills, nausea, muscular twitching, severe stomach pain, and, periods of panicked anxiety, all enhanced by various painful joints, muscles, and/or every single molecule in my body on full alert…. but, don’t move around the cabin!….


Great fun…..


End of rant, and, end of complaints. It’s all getting better, little by little, as I rest, applying the missing pieces to the puzzle of why it happened…. which I do happen to know, and am dealing with in my own fashion…. I’m hoping another day or two of rest will do the trick; it will take that long just to get my internal clock right, I should think…. Ah, well, so much for the world traveler, eh?…. More later on all this, ffolkes….




“I grow old ever learning many things.”


~~ Solon ~~




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





Comedy_Tragedy




Stray Cats


The veils that billow and fold 

between dreams and reality

 may sometimes part, 

showing the visions of one to the other, 

blending, bleeding as one, 

only to bring us up short, 

closely jammed against immovable fate. 


Still, we keep our watch, 

seeking to find the vision

 that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard, 

a humble mind, and a compassionate heart. 


Events of broad impact draw us away again, 

distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music, 

leaving our feelings raw and bruised, 

the victim of universal disregard. 


Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading, 

and the glitter has all gone…. 

yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear, 

melancholy reminders of reality’s promises, 

unkept….


~~gigoid~~




Written 4/12/2013.


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





ankh




    This is a really old-school old-school pearl, which I now don’t have time to explain….. It’s okay, though, because this one will stand up no matter what…. Go ahead, try to knock it over….


“Deem not life a thing of consequence. For look at the yawning void of the future, and at that other limitless space, the past.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 50


“Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms … but a *dying* culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Loss of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.” — Friday’s boss, Mr. Two-Canes Baldwin, from “Friday” by Robert A. Heinlein


“Most people would rather give than get affection.” — Aristotle


“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” — Ovid


“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” — Maya Angelou


“To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception; it is aneternal loss for which there is no reparation, either in time or in eternity.” — Soren Kierkegaard


“Always be a little kinder than necessary.” — James M. Barrie


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


No, I don’t know what happened; all I know is I’ve been at this for hours, and it’s done…. Now to see if I can post it…. We’ll try again tomorrow, ffolkes, if I’ve regained some energy, or, have decided to give in to the demands of Fate. Hmm…. Not bloody likely, I think. We’ll see….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch








dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….