Tag Archives: Philosophy

Training aardvarks is thirsty work…..

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Ffolkes,
Fair warning….. today’s Pearl is being created under the most trying of conditions imaginable…..  I’m awake…. moreover, I don’t want to be awake….. If I could sleep, I would be doing so at this very moment, but, my aging body, and more than half-crazy head, have conspired to make any such valuable outcome well-nigh impossible…. Well, perhaps not impossible, but relatively fruitless, and not worth the effort of turning over and trying to find a comfortable position again…. Once I’m mostly awake, there pretty much isn’t one, anyway….

Since I had nothing better to do, I got up, and started to prepare to Pearl…. whereupon Smart Bee took a dump, going into its corrupted mode, the one where it sits on the task bar, pretending to be open, but cannot be viewed by mortal users….. This meant I had to take the time to uninstall SB, then go to their website, download a fresh install copy, and again install it on the computer…. Not hard, but all time-consuming, and frustrating to be blocked by reality first thing….

Of course, this is Murphy’s handiwork; that much is obvious, and not unexpected, other than by the exact timing, and he is well-practiced at knowing the exact right moment to reveal his machinations.  By its very nature, his work is hidden by Time itself, until the moment is correct, when the most surprise, and the most damage, will ensue…. Knowing all that doesn’t help to mitigate the anger and frustration, it just helps to keep me from pulling out quite as much hair, which I can’t afford to lose….

Not only has Murphy’s less-than-welcome reappearance thrown a wrench into the works, I’m afflicted with another slight handicap today, but, its nature is such that, if I told you about it, you’d be in terrible danger, (legally, I’d be required to kill you, or, at minimum, turn you into a vegetable….), so, I’ll be a nice guy for a change, and keep it to myself…. Besides, y’all couldn’t do anything to help, and it would just upset your sensibilities to be exposed to the knowledge of what I am experiencing…. Please don’t ask, because I can’t tell you, and it would make us both feel bad…. Not to mention the wear and tear on my shredder….

I may be in a hurry, but, that’s no excuse for a paragraph such as the previous one…. sheer idiocy, just filling in space with nonsense, and not very compelling nonsense, at that….. Pathetic, and not up to even MY loose standards for an intro section…. At this juncture, starting over might be a good idea, but would put me even further behind than I am already. I’m finding myself with less time in the mornings now, as I have a lot to do out in the Big Blue Room, preparing for my upcoming trip(s)…. which, now that it occurs to me, might be a pearl in the rough…. yeah, that’s the ticket…. Sorry, got distracted there….

Any who…..  I guess this is a sufficient amount of crap to throw out for one morning…. if I’m not careful, it could get on someone’s clothing. We’ll go on, just as if everything were going just the way it should be, just as if I knew what I was doing…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Only exceptionally rational men can afford to be absurd.” — Allen Goldfein
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“It has begun to occur to me that life is a stage I am going through.” — Ellen Goodman

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had received word that my SS had been approved, and though I’ve yet to receive anything on paper to that effect, it was proved true by the money that hit my account a few days ago, a relatively robust amount, comprising the back payments for the time I’ve waited since applying.

This money is going to fulfill my dream, of a retirement that isn’t marked by having to struggle to get by, but will allow me to live comfortably, without having to work, and still have enough to do some traveling, if I am thrifty. That shouldn’t be too hard, since I’ve learned how to live on next to nothing over the past two and a half years, and see no reason to start being a spendthrift now….

All that being said, this is going to have a side-effect, relating to this blog…. I intend to keep writing each day, and posting the Pearls before anything else I do each day…. It saved my sanity, and seems to be necessary for that to stay intact, so I’ll keep on writing, if for no other reason…. But, the content may change more than just a bit…. I’ll be traveling often, or, as often as I can work it out, so a lot of the posts will have to be written while doing that…. which I am actually looking forward to, as it means that my life is proceeding as I wish it to go on….

So, next Tuesday, the Pearl will be written while I’m riding the Pacific Coast Starliner, on my way to Oregon to visit with a friend…. I have no idea how that will go, but it promises to be an adventure, and I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation…. I’ll write a couple days while staying with my buddy, and then, on Friday, will board the train to come back here, so the Saturday Pearl will again be a mobile effort….

I don’t know right now what other trips may happen in April, but, they’ll be relatively short, as I’ve already booked, and paid for, the trip of my dreams for the following month…. I’ve wanted to visit Ireland, and the UK, for many, many years….. AND, I ‘ve wanted to go on another cruise ever since 2004, when I went on the last one…. I had one booked, that had to be canceled, when I had to nurse my mother back to health, so I missed out, and have wanted to go, badly, ever since January of 2011, when it was canceled…. Long story short, I decided to combine the two dreams, and have booked a cruise of 12 days, round trip from London, stopping in eight or nine ports, in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, as it sails around the British Isles…. Pretty cool, eh?….

I’m going to go 3 days early, before the cruise, staying in London long enough to get over jet lag before the departure, as well as have a bit of time to see some things I’ve always wanted to see, such as the changing of the guard at the Palace, Stonehenge, and Oxford, to name just a few….. I haven’t decided, but I may also stay over the end of the cruise a week or so, to further explore parts of Ireland…. I figure, since I’m already there, it would be cheaper to do that while I am, rather than leaving it for another trip, that may or may not happen, and may be more expensive….

So, in May, I’ll be gone for much of the month, exploring a much larger version of Consensual Reality than usual, and it promises to be interesting to see  how it affects my writing…. It will certainly affect the content, as I’ll write whatever comes to mind about the places I’m visiting, and hope to bring a new way of seeing things to historical sights…. It’s bound to be fun, as well as educational, for all of us…..  😆    Europe may never be the same, after I’ve had a look-through….   😈

“I’m in a (jet plane?) in 53 BC… I’ve landed in ancient Rome… Some gladiators are playing scrabble… I’m ordering Pizza….” ~~ Zippy the Pinhead
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Some days my mood demands the classics…..

I Must Have Wanton Poets

MUST have wanton poets, pleasant wits,
Musicians, that with touching of a string
May draw the pliant king which way I please:
Music and poetry is his delight;
Therefore I’ll have Italian masks by night,
Sweet speeches, comedies, and pleasing shows;
And in the day, when he shall walk abroad,
Like sylvan nymphs my pages shall be clad;
My men, like satyrs grazing on the lawns,
Shall with their goat-feet dance the antic hay;
Sometime a lovely boy in Dian’s shape,
With hair that gilds the water as it glides,
Crownets of pearl about his naked arms,
And in his sportful hands an olive-tree,
To hide those parts which men delight to see,
Shall bathe him in a spring; and there, hard by,
One like Actæon, peeping through the grove,
Shall by the angry goddess be transform’d,
And running in the likeness of an hart,
By yelping hounds pull’d down, shall seem to die:
Such things as these best please his majesty.

~~ Christopher Marlowe

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“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” — Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was a very interesting man, as this aphorism makes clear. It’s not your typical statement from someone so deeply involved in politics as to have been the Dictator/President of France, as he was for so long, but,  the quote IS/WAS typical of him, or, at least, of the image he projected, as a maverick in the political world, both inside and outside of France. 

If I recall my history correctly, (he was alive for much of the first half of my life….), other world leaders didn’t trust him much, which tends to give him more cachet, in my mind…. If the normal run of politico mistrusted him, he’s obviously my kind of guy, as that kind of reaction from a politician generally implies the target subject is an honest man….

With this statement, he pulls the covers of the greater percentage of those in public office. Those eminent officials are constantly spouting off about how they are “public servants” and how their salaries are paid by the taxpayers…. All the while, they are shoveling money from the public treasury into their pockets just as fast as their little hands can move.

They make the same noises when they are up for re-election, to further solidify the image they wish to project, as concerned citizens just following their hearts to help the people, when in fact, they are merely petty thieves, with slick tongues and a smooth patter, no more honest than a street grifter, and no more likely to give a shit about anyone else….

I’m not going to make this a long rant today; this is one subject that is so obvious (to me) that I hesitate to even write about it, as it would be insulting my readers to assume they weren’t aware of this truism. But, I did want to remind y’all that, no matter how honest and sincere a politician may seem, no matter how often they tell you they are just your servant, they are lying, bare-faced and deliberately. This applies to ALL of them, from the top to the bottom of our federal, state, and local governments; the corruption is inherent in the structure of the system, which encourages behaviors that are self-serving, and rewards theft with more access to more money…..

“Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.” — John Stewart Mill (1806-1873)

I don’t think I need to even show any evidence here, as it ample proof of the chicanery prevalent in society is all over the news every day, if one knows where to look, and how to read between the lies….. (not a typo…)  The recent events surrounding the budget mess, have reached a stage where it is apparent, even to the citizens who blindly support anything the politicos say, that there is something wrong with this picture, and serve as a perfect example of what I am implying, nay, accusing them of here. The bickering and obstructionism reached levels that showed exactly how little the people mattered, in relation to the money, and who would have the control of it….. It’s a huge mess, and nobody has any acceptable solutions (so they say….)…

So, what do they do?…. Things get stalled long enough for the Supreme Court to take up the constitutionality of the concept of Gay Marriage, a decision that will have a long-term effect on how our country operates on some levels, and certainly engages the emotions of every citizen with any concern over the issue… Quite distracting, in fact, and to me, a bit suspicious in timing, as it takes the public awareness away from what Congress, and the White House, are up to, which, I assure you, is no good…. at least, not for us, or for the people at large….

SIGH… My outrage at the system is so large it keeps me awake at nights, sometimes…. but, it is so large because the system is, in nature, completely amorphous, with no obvious pieces that can be attacked and destroyed…. Add to that the fact that too few people alive are even aware of the need to do so, and it leaves me with little choice but to rant…. Life goes on, without any real changes; the rich keep getting richer, while the poor keep on keepin’ on, best they can…. Me, I’m gonna go take a nap…..

“The trouble with Congress is every time they make a law, it’s a joke, and every time they make a joke, it’s a law!” — Will Rogers
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Not bad, I think, given the circumstances….. It’s done, and that just may be the deciding factor; it hangs together fairly well, and I don’t see anything legally actionable; the only name I mentioned was Charles de Gaulle’s, and he’s dead, and not likely to take offense, especially since I put him in a pretty positive light…. Therefore, I pronounce this Pearl completed, and wash my hands of it…. Gotta go, 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

dozer3

Her shoes were bright, but made of porcelain….

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Ffolkes,
Imagine, if you will, the process of creation in my mind, as metaphorical coffee, softly bubbling, percolating until it is the proper consistency and flavor. Then, imagine that coffee as brewed, but left to sit on the warmer, slowly reducing itself, becoming stronger and thicker as each moment passes, until, if left long enough, the coffee turns to sludge, and becomes not a beverage, but garbage, bitter and toxic….. Well, that’s what has happened in my head this morning…. more’s the pity….

Not that I had any particularly good ideas floating around, waiting to be infused into the final flavor of this morning’s concoction, but, it would have been nice if I had been at the keyboard, ready to put in some milk and sugar, and serve it up hot and fresh…. Instead, I spent an inordinate amount of time, worshiping at the porcelain throne, to soothe my inner demons, and lost that moment or three of opportunity….. Hence, this rambling, imaginative yet stupid couple of paragraphs that once again have used up more time than they warrant, or deserve, for that matter….. SIGH…..  If I were the type to be ashamed of myself, I would be, but, I’m not, so I don’t, so there….

I do, however, feel some small regret, at having to figure out, once more, some way to have this lead into the rest of today’s Pearl with some style and dignity, in spite of never having previously attained either of those qualities. One always retains some hope, though, and I keep trying to find a way to make this intro section palatable, and interesting.

Murphy, of course, does all he can to prevent any such simple success, as he feels it is his duty as the personification of Loki in the modern world. If I can distract him, it becomes a bit easier, but, he’s getting wise to most of my tricks as time passes, so I’m brainstorming some new fabricated illusions for him….

However, in the meantime, I have a Pearl to create, and I haven’t even warmed up Smart Bee yet, what with all the other stuff in my head vying for prominence….. and I need to get done, as I have stuff to accomplish today again, out in the Big Blue Room….

I really, really want a new pair of shoes, and don’t know the outlets in this town, so I’ll have to research first. Always a fun time, figuring out the buses here, as this bus system is the absolute WORST I’ve ever seen for staying on schedule; it’s hard to figure out the times when it will arrive, meaning I end up standing on concrete for long periods…. It’s a cheap means of getting around, but rather inconvenient, if one isn’t physically up to the rigors of riding and waiting for the buses.

Why, lookie, lookie….. I do believe we have an intro section done! How did that happen? Hmm, if it wasn’t me, I’d be suspicious of conspiracy, but, I know myself too well, and it was just plain cluelessness…. Nonetheless, it worked, and we have several paragraphs of not-very-informative-but-quite-charming words and phrases, neatly stitched together into what we call an introduction…. It’s not your grandma’s intro, for sure, but it works for me, and it got us this far, so I’m not going to look a gift frog in the gums…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Madness, we fancy, gave an ill-timed birth to grinning laughter and to frantic mirth.” — Prior
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“Have you noticed that many people who laugh at kids who believe in Santa Claus are the same people who believe in campaign promises?” — Smart Bee

Well! It’s very smart of Smart Bee to make such a cogent observation so early in the day…. I had to chuckle at this one, as it is just so, so true, and nails perfectly a great many folks in today’s society who seem to fall for anything that comes out of the mouths of the people they see on their TV’s. Max Headroom, the original iconic talking head, was much more accurate than many realized at the time, as a caricature of the type of manipulation by the BRC that is so ubiquitous, nobody believes it exists.

When the machinations of those who actually rule are exposed, people tend to either disbelieve it (because they cannot accept their own cupidity), or to rationalize it, and make it okay in their minds, as being justified…. Unfortunately, the justification most often used is that of expedience…. It’s just easier, they think, to go along with what the rules say we are supposed to do, or want to do, than it is to try to change the rules set forth by those with the desire to control, and the means to assume that control.  Most folks won’t go to any great lengths to even find out the truth of the issues they encounter; they just accept whatever is said by their trusted news anchor, and never even know they are fastening the slave collar around their own necks….

The hardest part of all this, for me, is that people actively resist any knowledge that challenges their belief in the idiot assholes who run the world…. It’s as if they WANT to be controlled, and wish to be slaves, rather than have to take responsibility for their own actions, for their own success or failure in life…. If they follow the rules, keep their mouth shut, and resist any change, they believe they’ll be rewarded, (and this is the part that gets me….), BY GETTING TO GO TO HEAVEN INSTEAD OF HELL WHEN THEY DIE!  Now, I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve heard better lines from con men and grifters on the street, who at least will cheat you now, rather than later….

I’m really not sure what it is that is supposed to be the reward in THIS life for conformity, unless it is a life empty of all challenge, or interest…. I suppose for many, the idea of being left alone to live their life is attractive, but, to me, the price they pay, of placidly agreeing to live that life by someone else’s rules, is much too high, especially since what is offered as the reward is not just an illusion, but, were it real, I could easily obtain myself….

Add in the fact that what happens after we die is, so far, undetermined, and impossible to determine, with any degree of certainty, and the promises made by the priest/preachers, and the BRC, assume a rather strong degree of falsehood, as it is obvious that they cannot promise what they do not possess, or even possibly understand….

I’m attempting in this diatribe to keep from getting too vitriolic toward anyone in particular…. I do have a lot of dislike and, yes, hatred, for the Beloved Ruling Class, composed of lawyers, politicians, judges, legislators, lobbyists, the priestly hierarchies, and the corporate masters who are all complicit in keeping the rest of mankind in the state of repression currently extant…. Lots and lots of hatred, in fact….

I also have a lot of lack of respect, for the idiots who fall for the crap served up by those self-same assholes at the metaphorical top of the heap…. and feel no guilt whatsoever at calling a spade a spade…. But, it’s hard to get them to listen to begin with, and calling names will drive them into their mental cocoons, impervious to reason, so I’ve tried to take it easy on them today….

So easy, in fact, that I’m done for now…. The lawyers and politicians, who are genetically programmed to lie, the priestly hierarchies, who are deliberately delusional, and the corporate masters, who are just plain evil incarnate in re: their relation to the rest of us, can all go straight to their own version of Hell, as far as I’m concerned…. The folks who buy into their crap aren’t much better, in my book, as they tend to choose weakness over strength, cowardice over courage, and fear over reason, all of which means they will always get exactly what they deserve in life….. which is nothing but trouble and pain….

To the rest of us, those who doubt, those who think, those who care about other people, who think about, and believe in, concepts such as reason, duty, honor, and compassion…. Well, Thou art God, you know…. Wanna go downtown and get some lunch?….

“Apparently I’m insane. But I’m one of the happy kinds!” — John Young
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I’m not sure why, but it seems to be a day for metaphorical silliness…. What better way to honor that, or to humor it, than with a selection of Ogden Nash? Why, none at all!….

Children’s Party

May I join you in the doghouse, Rover?
I wish to retire till the party’s over.
Since three o’clock I’ve done my best
To entertain each tiny guest.

My conscience now I’ve left behind me,
And if they want me, let them find me.
I blew their bubbles, I sailed their boats,
I kept them from each other’s throats.

I told them tales of magic lands,
I took them out to wash their hands.
I sorted their rubbers and tied their laces,
I wiped their noses and dried their faces. Of similarities there’s lots
Twixt tiny tots and Hottentots.

I’ve earned repose to heal the ravages
Of these angelic-looking savages. Oh, progeny playing by itself
Is a lonely little elf,
But progeny in roistering batches
Would drive St. Francis from here to Natchez.

Shunned are the games a parent proposes,
They prefer to squirt each other with hoses,
Their playmates are their natural foemen
And they like to poke each other’s abdomen.
Their joy needs another woe’s to cushion it,
Say a puddle, and someone littler to push in it.

They observe with glee the ballistic results
Of ice cream with spoons for catapults,
And inform the assembly with tears and glares
That everyone’s presents are better than theirs.

Oh, little women and little men,
Someday I hope to love you again,
But not till after the party’s over,
So give me the key to the doghouse, Rover

~~ Ogden Nash
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I slept in today, inadvertently…. forgot to punch the button to set the coffee to brew at the correct time in the morning, so I had to do it myself, when I awoke at 0715, an hour later, or more, than usual…. As a result of that, plus the extended worship session this morning, I’m quite late getting this completed…. The above mild rant, more of a discussion, really, were it not for the harsh words for the targets of the rant, used up any outrage I’d built up, and I’ve got so many plans in action, and metaphoric pans on the fire, my creativity can’t seem to focus on anything I consider worth writing about….

With my usual panache, I will proceed to cheat…. Here is a Pearl from the dark ages, way back around 2005 or 2006, when I was working at NSH as a program secretary, helping East Indian psychiatrists write court reports that made them sound like natural-born English speakers, rather than ESL speakers with accents as thick and spicy as curried rice… Each morning, before anyone else was at work, I’d compose pearls like this one, and send it out so about 250 ffolkes would find it in their email when they booted up for the work day….. For some reason, I saw this, and it seemed perfectly appropriate for today’s Pearl…. Enjoy!….

It wasn’t my fault…

Ffolkes,
The dog ate my homework. There was an earthquake, and I was helping find the victims. I didn’t get the memo. My mom grounded me. The check was in the mail. I needed a widget, & the store was out. My electricity went off. There was a flood. Right after the earthquake…..


Actually, just had an appointment, but what kind of dramatic opening would that be? In retrospect, I probably should have taken care of this yesterday, on a delayed send, but I guess if I was that efficient I’d already be rich & retired. Ah me, choices……damned if we do, & damned if we don’t. Make good ones….

“Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.” — H.L. Mencken

Human nature, being what it is, I shall not attempt to rationalize further; it’s too early in the day to fend off physical attacks.

Y’all take care out there….& remember to DUCK!
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Well, THAT was interesting…. I’m not sure exactly what just took place. Let me go back and look at it; I’ll be right back…. Sometimes, I surprise myself…. That said, I’ll take it, or, rather, leave it, or, post it, or whatever….. It’s done, and I can’t make it any better than it is, given the content…..  As I’ve previously and frequently reiterated, all we can do, is all we can do…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

His uncle was a poltroon….

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Ffolkes,
I never asked for this, nor do I deserve it….. I’ve always suspected that Murphy is an asshole, and this just gives me proof positive my suspicions are correct. If I weren’t such a nice person, and wasn’t fully aware of the importance of such incidents in the larger picture, I would object to such cavalier treatment, even at the hands of an iconic force of nature, whose only purpose for existence is to keep people on their toes in dealing with the real world…. Besides, who needs this kind of crap in the morning?….

Hmm…. it needs work. Don’t you think? Well, I do, and my opinion is the only one that counts in the final analysis, because it’s my fingers hitting the keys….. I don’t really think there would be much of a market for generic complaint templates, do you? I mean, I know that Murphy fucks with EVERYBODY sometimes; I’ve never known anyone who didn’t know who he is, or hadn’t had the dubious pleasure of his acquaintance, or the distinct displeasure of his attentions. So, I thought, maybe, I could pick up some extra cash by selling a template people could just fill out, adding their name, the date, and the specifics of Murphy’s depredations….. but, then I realized, who are they going to turn it in to?…..

Nobody gives a crap about what Murphy did to anyone else, and I can’t think of what government agency might cover what he does….. As far as I know, we don’t have a Federal Bureau of Sympathy yet. I’ll have to write my Senator, to have them suggest it as a new agency, dedicated to mitigating the deleterious effects Murphy has on the citizens of this country, effects which have a negative impact on the economy, and on the national spirit, dragging it down into the proverbial dirt…. It might not have much political pull for a while, but, I’ll bet it would be one of the busiest agencies in Washington D.C from the moment it opened its doors…..

Sure, that’s what we need, is another government agency sticking its nose into the lives of average citizens….. not that the government, or the BRC, for that matter, gives a rat’s ass about what we care about, or what might be good for us, so, it’s all pretty much a fantasy, and an exercise in mental futility, as are most things involving the BRC…. and this isn’t the place to start ranting on the BRC, or anyone…. I just can’t seem to help myself…. SIGH…. break time….

Pardon my French, but, FUCK!  Reality is giving me things to think about that won’t be ignored, and I’m going to have to spend some time making hard decisions, if I want to live…. Sounds ominous, I know, and might be so in fact, but remains true, for all that I’m not sure yet of what is really happening to me. I know I’m also being obscure, but this is not something I’d be ready to share in detail, until I know for sure what’s up…. So, I’ll shut up now, and get on with today’s mess….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Every stage of human life, except the last, is marked out by certain and defined limits; old age alone has no precise and determinate boundary.” —  Marcus Tullius Cicero

Last evening, as I was standing in the front yard, leaning on my walking stick, as I must, if I wish to resemble a human being more than a pretzel while I’m  making my way about the landscape, words my doctor had said to me a few years ago loomed large, to wit: “If you hadn’t been so active when you were young, you wouldn’t be so creaky and worn out now.” As you might guess, we have a candid, forthright relationship, and he didn’t blame me at all for the broken chair, nor did he even mention my language, except to ask me to repeat one line so he could write it down….

He was amused, I suppose, at my obvious discomfiture (a fine euphemism for being extremely pissed off….) at having that little piece of information left out of the manual, and at falling for the old adages and cliches about exercise being good for you, a healthy mind means a healthy body, and other such lies…. The truth is that most people, the ones who are active and don’t become obese, become obsessive, or at least habitual, about working the body hard, which, it turns out, is the wrong approach for true health, and keeping one’s limberness and strength into later years…..

Moderation, of course, is the key, which, as I looked back on my life, I realized had NOT been my habit…. When I trained in or for a sport, it was all out, to maximize my performance, and, in the process, my enjoyment of the activities…. In short, I loved playing ball, (I’ll chase, or throw, or catch, or do almost anything marginally legal with just about anything that will roll, bounce, or otherwise lend itself to recreational use and/or abuse by humans….), or running into people (specific to football, American style), or training to fight (the actual fighting wasn’t nearly as much fun, but, one must accept reality as it is….), making myself strong, and, apparently healthy…. with a hidden process going on that would lead to my current state of disability….

Now, according to Marcus Cicero, I have an undetermined amount of time to contemplate living with constant pain, to a degree, and living with the goal of keeping said pain tolerable, and not so debilitating as to eliminate my ability to be mobile altogether, rather than the relatively mild challenges I face now in getting around to do what I need to do….. Or, as we are wont to say down at the Senior Center, getting old is a bitch, and don’t let anybody tell you different…..

“I think, therefore I set off the smoke alarm…” — Smart Bee

Any who, as I was standing there, feeling old, and thinking long thoughts, it also occurred to me that it was okay…. I was okay with the pain, and the weight of my years, and all the mistakes I may have made in engaging in so many activities that were, ultimately, not as good for me as I had thought, or been told…. It was all worth it.

No matter what sport it was, I enjoyed every minute of playing it, at least in retrospect, and now, while I am not feeling the pain and stress of the effort it took at the time, and, often, the intense pain afterward (such as the six days of a painful charley horse in my calf, from taking a cleat on the final play of a high school football game we lost… Ah, sweet memories, even the losses that bring nostalgic melancholy….). I was pretty good at all of it, and I enjoyed using my skills in both team and individual sports….

Now, my most active form of exercise, since I’m currently celibate, is walking to the library with a few books in a backpack, a matter of seven city blocks or so, which, all in all, I consider pathetic…. I was never a long distance anything , but it takes me more time to recover from that walk than it did to run a half-mile for time, or even wind sprints, for goodness sake…. Just pathetic…..

Like I said, though, it’s okay…. There are folks who cannot get around at all, with worse disabilities, so I’m thankful I can do as much as I am able to do, because it’s enough…. As I think Lao Tzu said, it is a rich man who knows that enough is enough….. Or, as gigoid has been known to remark, all we can do, is all we can do…..
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I can make haiku
more real than any other
of my poetry.

~~ gigoid

I don’t have anything new, other than this haiku, so you’ll have to settle for an older one…. It is an appropriate choice for today’s mood, and subject matter thus far….. Enjoy!

A Failure to Germinate

Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.

Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.

I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.

My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.

Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
that reality has boasted of proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.

~~ gigoid

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“Commonly, physicians, like beer, are best when they are old, and lawyers, like bread, when they are young and new.” — Fuller

“As to Jesus of Nazareth…I think the system of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, the best the World ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting Changes, and I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity.” — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Well, as you can see, Smart Bee is being a bit recalcitrant, an event which, though usually not a good thing, did give me the opportunity to use the word “recalcitrant”, which doesn’t often happen…. Any who, I’m having a bit of trouble finding a pearl, or a group of pearls, that would be suitable for either a rant, or an old-school quest; the two above are the best I can find, in over an hour of searching. Though not too bad, they aren’t quite right for either process, and not strong enough to stand alone, in my opinion. So, I’ll cheat again, with another blast from the past…. this one will be a random choice, the first one I come across that will fit physically into this space, so I have no idea what it will be like…..

From 4/10/12:

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” — Proverb

This is the sort of pearl that is much, much deeper than it appears at first glance. (Note: It seems common to find the most complex and deep issues most often described or related in very short sentences. Hmm…. probably something to do with K.I.S.S., which the universe believes in strongly…) Applied as a metaphor for human interactions with reality, it assumes an even greater degree of relevance, as it implies both choice and hope. Both are always present, but not always in view; such aphorisms as this can help one to find where they are standing, hidden in plain sight…

It is clear to most by now that reality does not adjust to our desires; any adjustments made must be on our part, as we have absolutely no power to change any aspect of reality other than our response to it. A hard lesson, one that many never learn, or come to terms with, one which guarantees they will find life to be one long struggle, as they spend their days futilely trying to make what is into what they wish it to be. To use the analogy provided, they never learn to trim the sails of their vessel, and find themselves constantly fighting with, and cursing, the wind, never realizing their own lack of understanding is what sends them into uncharted waters, or into the metaphorical rocks.

Thus, from simplicity does great wisdom arise; to reach one’s desired destination in life, one must learn to trim and adjust the sails of our vessel to make the best use of the wind that the universe sends in our direction. Or, more plainly, we can only make changes to ourselves, not reality. Learning this one simple lesson can turn a life out of balance completely around, and give it the direction and stability it has ever sought, allowing the most troubled soul to sail into the light, and out of the darkness that engulfs those who argue with reality…..
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Given the handicaps with which Murphy decided to load me down with today, I consider the fact that this is done to be a major victory…. It’s another one that I doubt will catch the attention of the Pulitzer committee, but, I can live with it, since I’m not getting paid to do this, other than with a little stronger grip on my sanity….. as they say, the price is right. With that classic cliche ringing in your ears, I bid thee adieu for today, and leave you with my assurances that I’ll try harder tomorrow…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

dozer3

You’re SURE this won’t alter history, right?….

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2

Ffolkes,
Trepidation may be considered a word that reaches only one of the first levels that describe fear in our language, by connotation. It is not strong enough, though, to fully catch the depth of terror that settles like ice over me when I am faced with another blank screen, and all I can see in my head is a vast, featureless plain, stretching to infinity with nothing at all to draw the eye, or stir interest…..

It is a fear only an author can truly feel, that sheer, unbridled, fulminating fear, that not only makes one’s insides curl in anticipation of failure, but causes trembling in one’s limbs, threatens to give us weepy eyes, and puts a truly piteous expression on our face, all of which add to the problem, as it all makes it impossible to think clearly, if at all…. I get all weirded out just talking about it, and now, it’s here for real, again….

I don’t know if this means that Murphy has returned from wherever he went for a day or two ( just long enough for my SS to come through…. Yay! ), or if I’m just hitting another of my periods of slack. It happens now and again, usually when life gets easier somehow, as I seem to need the edge that living in fear gives me, that enables me to write without suffering any blocks. Besides, I just kick them aside and go on writing anyway; it just gets even MORE nonsensical than usual….. But, whatever the reason, I’m struggling beyond belief to get this intro even started….. These three paragraphs have taken me over 20 minutes to put together, which, given their absolute lack of ANYTHING resembling creativity, is not encouraging, to say the least…..

I’m tempted to just give up today, and post an old Pearl…. it’s not like I don’t have a million of them to choose from, and I doubt that many of you will have seen whatever I chose to post, as I’ve written over 2500 pages of material since starting on WP, and I don’t think there are many folks who are familiar with all of that…. over a million words so far, and counting….. Hmm, I’d best go cogitate on this…. I’ll be back, after a short session of worship….

Okay, I’m back from my session at the porcelain throne…. not chock full of any fresh ideas or plans to overcome my blockage, other than trying to figure out the mental equivalent of prunes…. but, ready to take the music for my failure…. or, more accurately, ready to dodge the bullet, and offer a compromise…. otherwise known as a cop out….

Today, I’m going to post a Pearl from the past…. from 1/8/12, to be exact…. The Pearls then had five sections, rather than three, and the poetry was mixed in with less prominence. I’ll put in a full poem at the end to make up for that, one of my own, so all of this can only be blamed on me….

So, here are five pearls from yesteryear, which, as you can see, may have been different in format, but not in subject, style, or degree of silliness…. I hope you enjoy it, because I’m definitely going to enjoy what I do today instead of writing fresh…. I’m going to book a cruise, and buy my daughter a birthday gift for the first time in three years….. Shall we Pearl?….
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Ffolkes,
For a bit over a year now, I’ve been writing about fifteen hundred words a day, spread among different Pearls, articles, and blog posts for different sites. Over the last few weeks, I’ve noted a bit more of a struggle to get it done than previously; fresh ideas are getting harder to dredge up from the confines of my mind, and I suspect that the well is getting a bit dry, as I’ve been drawing on it heavily for some time now. I’m not sure what to do about it; I can’t stop writing, or I’ll become even more of a curmudgeon than is already the case. I guess I’ll just keep on plugging away, and see what develops……
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“In ecology, as in economics, TANSTAAFL (There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free  Lunch) is intended to warn that every gain is won at some cost. Failure to recognize the no free lunch law causes the buffalo-hunter mentality syndrome — the unthinking assumption that there will always be plenty because there always has been plenty.” — Dr. Robert W. Prehoda

Today’s society still suffers from Codyism (buffalo hunter’s syndrome); as a matter of fact, Codyism is one of the primary pillars upon which capitalism exists. For capitalism to function correctly, it must have a constant source of new markets into which it can expand. Without constant growth, the system begins to feed upon itself, and falls into chaos quickly. But none of the folks who are invested in propping it up will believe that the resources of the planet are limited.

As far as they’re concerned, there is no end to what can be created from the resources at hand; what they refuse to understand is that in the very near future, those resources will no longer be at hand. And since we have yet to learn how to create more resources from nothing, they won’t be coming back. When the finite limits of the planet have been reached, it’s going to be a big shock to to all the Bill Cody’s out there, counting on the buffalo to return. But, y’know what? That’s never going to happen, and wishing won’t make it so…..
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The only problem
with Haiku is that you just
get started and then
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Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering. — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

Most of us probably lost the ability to do this around the age of 11 or 12; after that we’ were all too busy dealing with hormonal storms to spend a lot of time soothing our souls. And it’s unfortunate that so many never again learn to find this particular spot in their psyche, a loss they feel without understanding why. Only the wisest know that finding our way back to this childish peace of mind is one of the most important tasks we can perform as an adult. Being able to tap into the serenity and joy that naturally accompanies any trip down this path is a valuable skill, one that everyone needs to cultivate as a method for relieving the stress and anxiety that everyday life creates within all of us.

Albert Einstein found a marvelous way to walk this path when he said, “I stopped opening my mail a couple of months ago, and I’ve never felt better in my life!” (Or something like that….it’s close…) We can all take this as good advice (except perhaps, for those who send mail; they might find this somewhat stressful)…..doing nothing can be good medicine for the modern spirit, despite what you may have heard about idle hands…….
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Christian, n.:  One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

This will possibly offend the Christians out there. For that I have no apology, for I don’t believe either of these definitions is very far from truth; I’m just not convinced that faith has shown itself to be a motivation for integrity. More often it is used as motivation for proselytizing.  As a matter of fact, I’d say that about 98% of the Christians I know would fall into one of these two categories.

I would also challenge any of those Christians to mitigate their anger until they have made a complete self-analysis, and found whether or not it applies to them.  After doing so, I would welcome any evidence they might have to present that would disprove these assertions. I don’t think I’ll be hearing from very many of them…..or, if I do, their arguments won’t have any relation to these statements, or resemble ‘evidence’ any way but superficially, but will instead make a personal attack on the author. Any bets?…..
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No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 5, 1791

It galls me to have to say it, but……another one bites the dust……I’ve been writing about this all week, and will continue to do so until the NDAA is repealed. I want my Bill of Rights back!……
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I see something at the end of the tunnel. I’m not sure it’s a light, though. Might just be a fig newton of my imagination……at any rate, another day is dawning, and is demanding my attention. Since I’ve been cranking on this since about 4:15 AM, I suppose I can finish up and get on with it. Two hours isn’t bad, compared to some mornings of late. I hope your day goes well…..try to have some fun. Y’all take care out there…..
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As promised, or threatened….   😆   ….. a poem of mine…..

Dreaming of Calliope

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid

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😳   I guess I have to confess, I’m not terribly proud of today’s Pearl, though I’m certainly not ashamed of any of it. It’s just not what I am accustomed to producing, and my unconscious mind is complaining about it the only way it has, by making me vaguely uncomfortable from guilt….

But, like any modern man, I am immune to guilt, in the sense that NOBODY on this planet seems to allow guilt to keep them from doing exactly as they please…. Oh, they may feel it, even complain of it, but they don’t let it keep them from crapping on everybody around them….

Oh well, it’s a bit late in the post to start another rant, even a short one…. and I’ve got a travel agent to call….   😀    I’ll be here tomorrow, with fresh ideas, and news….   Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

The stupidity factor was obviously miscalculated….

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9

Ffolkes,
For most of my life, my favorite activity, above all things, has been to watch people, and try to understand them. I’ve never really known why it pleases me so to just sit, watching people walk by, pondering the ins and outs of the lives and motivations of the people I see pass before me, but, I know that I can no more stop wondering than I could stop thinking, or breathing…. It’s just too fascinating a pastime to resist, for me….

Though I am well experienced at that pastime, I can’t say that I have reached any particularly earth-shattering conclusions about human nature, though I think I’ve seen enough to not be too shocked by anything it can show me in that arena….. I learned long ago never to underestimate the power of human stupidity….

I also learned to never undervalue the potential for human courage, and to appreciate that piece of human nature, I don’t know it’s name, that makes a human rush into a fire to save a child, or step in front of a bullet to save a comrade, or to stand up for the weak against the wicked and evil. even though it may cost their very life….

That part of all of us, that is brought out in such situations in reality, is worth looking for, and encouraging to manifest in other parts of life, for it is a very powerful and inventive quality, of intuitive right action, based on a morality that is unspoken, but no less immediate, and no less compelling, for all that….

There are times when I make myself laugh….. and this is one of them. The above paragraphs, while all true as the day, are about as pompous as I can get, don’t you think? Oh, it’s interesting enough, I suppose, and all correctly punctuated (if one doesn’t count the three dot journalism habit I’ve developed over the years since Herb Caen made it his iconic style), but it’s just too high-falutin’ to be real….

Nobody talks like that, do they? Nope, unless, of course, they are asking ME to explain some sort of astronomy question, which can get me going, and can easily, by its nature, fall into that sort of pattern…. No, it’s written in what I like to call my Imperial style of writing, which, while true in the realest sense, can drive folks away quickly with its arrogant tone, and pedantic presentation…..  Nobody likes someone who talks like a prig, basically…..

To get back to the subject at hand, though, I’ll mention that watching people continues to be my favorite thing to do to pass the time…. When I was about 14 or so, I remember saving up my money for a couple months, to take to the County Fair, to spend on the carnival.    On the day my family went, I’d rush to the midway, play my games, ride some rides, try to win some prizes, and blow my saved up cash in about two hours of fun. 

I never minded it going so fast, because I would then go out to the main plaza, near the entrance, and watch the crowds, for hours on end, an endlessly fascinating parade of families, young couples, old retired folks, kids, the whole panorama of human culture, all right there, passing before my eyes…..

Now, I’m old, and watching people continues to be my favorite way to pass time, when there is nothing else to do to occupy the mind. The human parade is always changing, never the same, and provides an endless supply of food for thought, humor for the soul, and unlimited entertainment, watching how people interact, and live…. As Spock would obviously say, “Fascinating.”……

Since I’m old, I now have a few perks in life, one of which is what I like to call give-a-shititis, the most common attitude among those of us retirees who think…. We are at a point in life where it can no longer threaten us to behave in certain ways, and it’s difficult to make us do what we don’t wish to do…. What are they going to do to us? Make us old? Give us pain? Restrict our movement? Been there, done that….. For many of us, this means that all the things we’ve always been too polite to say, can now be said with relative impunity, as folks give us a bit of leeway in that respect. Besides, I call it what I do because it is what we DON’T do anymore, and that is give a shit what others think about what we say…..

This, as you might imagine, allows us to say stuff that we formerly would have kept to ourselves, and not care about whether or not that person wants to hear it…. It is a heady experience for a lot of oldsters, and can become habitual…. I don’t agree with those who say that is an occupational hazard that cannot be avoided; one’s demeanor toward others is always a matter of choice, regardless of age, and there is no excuse for being rude without cause; sadly, many older folks don’t get that.

They become grumps, quite simply, and find fault with everything around them, making life difficult for everyone with whom they come in contact…. I don’t ever want to be that kind of old person; I imagine one could end up pretty alone with that kind of attitude…. and I have no intention of being alone forever…. it’s lonely!….

So, I’ll work on my attitude, which isn’t too hard for me, because my own habit of watching others has given me a great love and respect for people, and I try to treat others as I’d want to be treated (the Golden Rule ALWAYS works well…. there is a reason it is a classic idea….). It works for me, as it would work for anyone who makes Love a greater force in their lives than Fear…. Fear is humanity’s greatest enemy, the one that steals our intelligence, our courage, and often, our life, when we let it control our thoughts and actions.

Hmm… I just noticed that I’ve been ranting, or at least, pontificating, for some time now, and we’re still only in the intro section…. Sorry ’bout that, I DO tend to get carried away sometimes, don’t I? Just can’t seem to shut up sometimes…. Oh well, c’est la vie, I suppose, and fairly common for this blog. I’m going to do what I usually do in these cases, and ignore the whole thing….

We’ll just leave things where they are, mid-flight, so to speak, and go on to the remaining portion of the program…. It won’t take TOO long, as I have a task to meet today in the BBR (the Big Blue Room, you know, the room on the other side of the doors of the place where your computer lives….)…. I have to visit my grandson, and spend money….   😆

So, to move things along toward completion of today’s task list, we’ll go on….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. (The conviction of the rich that the poor are happier is no more foolish than the conviction of the poor that the rich are.)” — Mark Twain

This has a familiar ring to it, which isn’t surprising, as I’ve used it a number of times in previous Pearls…. It is a good springboard for discussion about society, and human interaction, and quite frankly, would have been a good place to start today’s first pearl….

Unfortunately, during my last break from the chair, I went to take a shower, in preparation for visiting with Zackary, my grandson, slipped on the wet tub, managing to keep from falling by a quick movement and grab at the sink, but, by doing so, gave my back a nasty twist, which is now causing a flood of spasms, massive increasing stiffness, and, a five-step increase in my old friend, Pain…. So…. This paragraph may seem smooth and readable; that comes with a cost, of having to stop to move around, or lie down, every few minutes…. which makes it hard to maintain any continuity of thought, or speech, as manifested by this missive….

This is a pisser, to be honest…. I was supposed to go visit with my grandson today, and now won’t be able to go, as I just can’t face an hour or two on my feet in the park, trying to keep up with a two year old and his father…. It’s one of my high points in life, as I don’t get to see Zack, my grandson, but for a few times a year, and I hate to miss this opportunity…. But, I couldn’t be as involved as I’d like, and I’d just as soon not have any of his memories of me be of an old, frail man who can’t play with him very much, and grunts a lot moving around…. Karma can be a real Bitch sometimes, you know?….

Any who, I don’t want to get into all that today, it’s too depressing, and the pain is enough to deal with…. but, I can’t think very well right now, so I’m going to have to cheat again, and use some of my previous work to fill in…. At least there’s plenty to choose from…. I’ll be right back with a pearl, a blast from the soi-distant past…..

“He who flees will fight again.” — Tertullian (160-240 AD) — De Fuga in Persecutione, c. 10

Okay, I found a perfect pearl, from Halloween of 2012… and it is actually covers the same subject as the one I began today, with the Mark Twain quote, or, sort of… so, since this is already turning into an epic Pearl, for one so broken up by my painful approach to the writing…. enjoy, it’s not bad….

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

And here, poor fool, with all my lore
I stand no wiser than before.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

“This instant is thine; the next is in the womb of futurity, and thou knowest not what it may bring forth; maturity of the unborn is in the keeping of the Law. Each future state is that thou has created in the present.” — Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375)

“The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.” — Joan Borysenko

Living life well is a subjective goal, and, as such, whether or not it we are successful in reaching the goal is purely a subjective judgment. This kind of judgment requires introspection, which makes it somewhat of a conundrum for many people, as their skills at that particular activity are severely limited from disuse. Very few people today spend much time in self-examination, from what I can see. If they did, they sure wouldn’t act the way they do, or dress the way they are, or carry on such a foolish, self-destructive course of living….

“The study of the errors into which great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be uninstructive. . . No man is so wise but that he may learn some wisdom from his past errors, either of thought or action, and no society has made such advances as to be capable of no improvement from the retrospect of its past folly and credulity.” — Charles Mackay

Introspection, however, requires both honesty and ruthlessness, in being able to recognize those things within us that are not of value, and to remove them from our persona. As such, it is what most folks would term as “hard” or “difficult”, and they will avoid it at all cost, laziness being a rather common human trait. It is much simpler, and easier, to just take what all the powers that be, (otherwise known as either the beloved ruling class, or those most heinous of criminal manipulators, preachers/priests), are selling as moral standards, and use them, regardless of whether or not they are truly moral or not…. and I assure you, mostly, they are not….

“Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

I often feel like Goethe, in what he stated above, as I believe myself to be one of the few who actually do use introspection on a regular basis. I believe this because, if other folks were using this process, the world would look a lot different. Women would feel safe walking the streets; old folks would feel cared for; gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals would not suffer discrimination for their orientation; racism would be dead, and religion would join mythology as a piece of mankind’s past, rather than its current status as our jailer/executioner…..

“Being good at being stupid doesn’t count.” — Smart Bee

All of these societal problems (bigotry, racism, discrimination, slavery, entitlement, misogyny, etc. )arise from the attitude of elitism held by those individuals among us who never look within, to see just how ugly their inner selves have become, from using the sick, twisted elitism as preached by the modern religious and political leaders.

We, as a species, cannot afford to listen any more to the Judeo-Christian (note: add Talmudic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, etc…. gigoid, 3/24/13) ethic as propounded by the beloved ruling class; this kind of entitlement and aggrandizement has led us to the very brink of extinction, as we continue to treat the planet as our toy, instead of as our home.

We cannot keep pouring millions of tons of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere and expect nothing to happen, because what WILL happen is already happening…. our weather is changing, and not in a good way…. the planet is warming up, and when it is warm enough, the ice at the poles will melt, and everything on Earth will feel the effects….

“The faith in which I was brought up assured me that I was better than other people: I was saved, they were damned … Our hymns were loaded with arrogance–self-congratulation on how cozy we were with the Almighty and what a high opinion he had of us, what hell everybody else would catch come judgment day.” — Robert A. Heinlein

As Akhenaton pointed out over 3000 years ago, what we do in the present will determine how the future will be. What our species is doing now will guarantee that most of us won’t be around to see what happens in that future, because we will be dead within a hundred years, or less, if things don’t begin to change TODAY…. Since it is unlikely that will happen, well, we may as well take the advice given to many school children in the 50’s, in learning to deal with an atomic blast…. to wit: bend over and kiss your ass goodbye….  I hate to be so cynical, but, introspection requires honesty, so….

“You were s’posed to laugh!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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It’s probably a bit egocentric, but, hey, it is MY blog, right?…. Here is a poem I wrote last August, once again on the subject so close to my mind today…. my old friend and constant companion…. Pain….

Denial of Comfort

Baleful chairs become the enemy, heralded in red
seemingly welcome softness beckons with a smile,
waiting, content with slaughter, they are finally led
screaming in agony, deluged in venom all the while.

Desperate distraction becomes such a friendless fire
for all the patterns of autumn’s pale dismay,
leaving sincerely latent trails in spirals of twisted wire,
while memory insists, again, upon failure, palpably evil, and fey.

Fat, jaded tears would have fallen in good time,
if only the suitable suitor had scaled the garden’s wall.
Credence for discounted prices luckily in their prime
bring only fascinated eyes into such a hallowed hall.

Searching for answers is ever a clever portrayal
with studious accouterments to fulfill each common rule.
Arguably patient pictures of science and honest betrayal
shall evermore languish, in light of passion so elegantly cruel.

~~ gigoid

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Okay, so you already know I’m cheating today…. therefore, another pearl from the past isn’t going to fool anybody, unless I try to pass it off as fresh, and I refuse to go there…. Hence, here is another pearl, which may give any newbies more information than they need…. it might scare them off. But, I’m nothing, if not honest…. so, I give you this again too-long, but, too bad, so sad piece from November of 2012….

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:GIGO: /gi:’goh/ [acronym] 1. `Garbage In, Garbage Out’ — usually said in response to {luser}s who complain that a program didn’t “do the right thing” when given imperfect input or otherwise mistreated in some way.  Also commonly used to describe failures in human decision making due to faulty, incomplete, or imprecise data.  2. `Garbage In, Gospel Out’: this more recent expansion is a sardonic comment on the tendency human beings have to put excessive trust in `computerized’ data. — from The on-line Hacker Jargon File V423

Many years ago, I adopted the user name gigoid, taking it from the above definition, and adding an “id” for, of course, identification purposes; with that suffix, I am assured of human status, i.e. hominid, humanoid, etc.  I chose this acronym because it is the perfect reminder of the basic integrity that is built into all computers, i.e., they can only do what we tell them to do, and cannot lie. Thus, if our results are wrong, the error lies in our input, not in the computer; this automatically cuts in half the number of places to look for the problem.

I like to think that my awareness of this principle characteristic is what has allowed me to use computers without suffering many of the common difficulties such as crashes, freezes, and blue screens of death. Only once have I ever encountered one of those on my own computer, and that was the result of a virus my defenses missed… my fault, of course, I hadn’t updated soon enough…

Oh, I’ve encountered that famous blue screen before, when I worked as a computer tech back in the late 90’s, setting up LAN’s and office systems for H&R Block…. a significant percentage of machines were dead soon after coming out of the factory box. But, on my own computers, I am very careful never to break any of the basic rules that govern those kinds of mishaps…. and I owe it all to a wise choice of user name…. Well, it’s fun to think about it that way anyway….

So, who is gigoid? Well, if you’ve hung about this blog site for long, I’ve certainly given y’all enough of my inner workings to look at, in my rants, and in my old school pearls, as well as in my poetry, which is quite revealing, to me….. but, then, if it wasn’t, I most likely couldn’t write it….

Any who, to give the short answer to that question, I’ll post below some pearls that give insight into what I believe to be true, and how I try to live…. Like any weak human, I don’t always succeed at being as moral or ethical as I can be, but, I do try, and I do feel pangs of regret when I don’t, so cut me some slack, eh? Just kidding…. What I am is all what I am, though I’m not Popeye…. and these pearls are what I see in the mirror…..

“They are able because they think they are able.” — Virgil

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

“An epigram often flashes light into regions where reason shines but dimly.” — E. P. Whipple

It is my firm belief that it is a mistake to hold firm beliefs. — Smart Bee

Computers can never replace human stupidity. — Smart Bee

“Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.


But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please — this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!


So learn to say No – and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.) “

— Lazarus Long, from Time Enough for Love, by Robert Heinlein

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

Well, that’s enough about me…. Hope this helps clear up any confusion, and if not, well, hey, life goes on…. all we can do is all we can do, and no more….
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I’ve tried to read this over, proofing-wise, and can only say, well, I’ve done all I can do…. I think it’s close to what it should be, and, if you will remember axiom #1 of Peruaosophy, you’ll realize that’s enough for me…. (For the uninitiated, Peruaosophy is the Philosophy of Pearls, as created by gigoid (yep, that’s me….) in 1986…. #1 says, to wit: “I think I am…. that’s close enough.” ) I’ve relied heavily on my past work today, but, given my justification, feel no remorse whatsoever… and neither should you….  😆      Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Winifred is our alpha geek now….

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Ffolkes,
Affectionate regard is probably the best I can come up with, if that…. More likely, infinite disdain, and barely-controlled rage will be the order of the day, IF it happens…. I’m torn, hoping it does, and that it does not; the former would make ME feel better, but the latter would be better for everyone involved, given most everyone’s feelings after the mess the other day…. Why they couldn’t have just sprayed over it, or melted it somehow, I’ll never know, but the fact remains they didn’t, so we’ll just have to deal with it the way it is…. Pope or no Pope….

Okay, that’s enough for now; it got me here, and that was the solitary requirement for today’s initial paragraph…. Sort of the literary equivalent of sleight of hand, you see…. Practicing the lead in by a bit of fantasy, all made up to move the eyes along, without necessarily engaging the brain too heavily, just enough for the purpose of distraction, while I, the handsome, young, clever male (well, one out of four isn’t ALL bad…..) author of the offending piece, slip up and steal your wallet while you’re trying to decide if anything I’ve said makes any sense…..

It’s all safe enough, really, as the only wallets I can really obtain are metaphoric, and the only real harm is to your dignity, which, as we all know, is a hit and miss proposition in the first place, right? Right…. losing it again isn’t going to break your heart, too much…. Besides, if you didn’t enjoy that sort of horseplay and humor, you’d be reading a different blog, wouldn’t you? Yep, you know you would….

Now that I have denigrated and insulted most of my readership (all four of them….), I could go on to the regular part of today’s post…. though, it really doesn’t matter much, as there’s probably nobody left to direct, anyway. SIGH… I don’t know why, but for the last two or three days, the visits and Likes on my blog have been reduced a LOT, almost as if a bunch of people fell off a cliff all at once, or something…. I haven’t been able to spend as much time as usual reading other blogs, but, that hasn’t had this kind of effect before, so I don’t know what to think about it….

Not that I’m particularly unnerved by confusion; it’s rather a common state for me. No, it’s just a puzzle, one that strikes right at my natural worry that nobody will like me, or what I write…. Silly, I know, but perfectly human, to want approval, or at least acknowledgment, from our peers. This is perhaps less critical in my case, as I don’t write for money or fame, but, for sanity, but, it is a concern, if only a small one…. I have all of those I need, in sooth, and really don’t want any more, so I’m going to set it aside, and deal with it in the most appropriate fashion, by ignoring it….

Besides, while y’all were looking the other way, I got us all the way here to the end of this intro section, without, I would have you note, experiencing any bloodshed, or any minor injuries at all…. Bonus! I’m out of Oxy cleaner, and the bloodstains are getting harder to get out of the seats….. Any who, I think this is sufficient for one day; I ride too close to the edge of sanity as it is, and don’t need to tempt Fate with an overlong intro…. Besides, I’m fairly certain that y’all have reached a state of confusion I can work with, so I’ll strike while the iron is hot, metaphorically speaking, of course…. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

“Any culture which in the interests of efficiency or in the name of some political or religious dogma, seeks to standardize the human individual commits an outrage against man’s biological nature.” — Charles A. Reich, THE GREENING OF AMERICA

Most people, on reading this, would, I think, say they agree with it; it has been a rallying cry for the liberal movement for many years, since the book was first published, sometime back around the late 60’s or early 70’s, I forget exactly. It can be considered a defining statement of the humanist philosophy, and can be seen as an essential component in the making of a progressive activist. Like Mark Twain said (I paraphrase…), it can take some time for a man with some edges to him to fit himself into a round hole, square peg that he is….

Yet, the entire humanist movement…. Oops, excuse me… My computer tells me an email just arrived, and I’ve been waiting to hear from someone, and need to check it… Be right back….  Okay…. A single word, which, as you will see, I consider to be a very, very controlled response to the news the email had for me…. In fact, so controlled, I am now unable to let it out the way it needs to be let out….. but, I’ll try….

YEE HAW!!!!  I am saved! Okay, well, a priest might argue that, but, that is how it feels…..  My SS benefits, which includes 26 months of back payments, just hit my bank, and my wait is over. All the patience I’ve cultivated is now rewarded, and I can start the actual process of putting my life on the track I’ve worked to enjoy for fifty years…. I’m abandoning this pearl, and I don’t care at all….  😀  To finish out this section, here is an old pearl, from sometime in 2007, I think… It seems apropos, somehow, and will fill in the necessary space to replace the above aborted discussion…. so, voilá….

I like it like that….

Ffolkes,
It’s the name of the game, you know. And if you don’t know, well, look in the old music files; it’s a great song. The offerings this morning picked themselves, and in spite of my protests to the contrary, keep insisting there is a point to be made. Apparently it is a very subtle point, and escapes me completely. But, since each of these is good to go by itself (by my standards at least), we’ll let them have their way….naturally, the point to be made is left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader……

“A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.” — Saul Bellow

“A man must not swallow more beliefs than he can digest.”  — Havelock Ellis

“He who adds not to his learning diminishes it.” — The Talmud

Hmmmm…..it’ll probably come to me as I’m on the throne….. y’all take care out there…..

I was right… it is apropos to the moment, as it speaks to how we deal with those times that are a challenge to our inner peace…. a perfect description of my last three years of life…. Onward, to finish out this Pearl, and get on with the business of the day, to wit: MY GUITAR IS COMING HOME!!!  I can’t tell you how sweet that is, though some of you may know….
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I’m amazed at myself…. Last night, this poem spilled out of my head almost as fast as I could write it down, taking about 10 or 15 minutes altogether, start to finish….. I’ve read it over this morning, and it will do…. I hope you enjoy it….

Fine and Good, Good and Fine

A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,
cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.
This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around
cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.

Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,
I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.
Every damn time, it all went to crap,
Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.

‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;
why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….
Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,
’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.

Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,
life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..
T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,
is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.

My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,
each one colored with trust, which isn’t always smart.
Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,
I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.

It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,
and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all
Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;
Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.

‘Nuff said….

~~ gigoid, tongue firmly in cheek….

__________________________________

Due to the events outlined in section one, to wit: money in the house, I will again cheat a bit, by using an old pearl, from the past…. this one is from January 4, 2012, when it was one of five sections of a complete Pearl, all of which had five, at that time…..

“How often we recall, with regret, that Napoleon once shot at a magazine editor and missed him and killed a publisher. But we remember with charity, that his intentions were good.” — Mark Twain

This is the goal. This is my whole purpose in writing. To be this subtle in delivering a blow from a sledgehammer; to insult so thoroughly in one line; to indicate passion, love, hate, literature, sports, and morality with such a smoothly fitted collection of words, this is my Nirvana, my Quest, the object of my jealous envy…….

No really, it just doesn’t get any better than this. It’s the kind of humor that most appeals to me, for it pokes fun not only at the victims of the humor, but at the author too. I can just see Mr. Clemens, telling this with a twinkle in his eye below a raised brow, a small little Mona Lisa smile, and a mustache trembling with the effort not to burst into guffaws. Perfect.

A few days ago, I was flabbergasted, and extremely flattered, when a reader said that one of my lines sounded like something Twain might have written. I almost burst with happiness, and floated around for a while on that little bubble of joy. Now all I have to do is figure out how to sound like that all the time. Well, not JUST like Mark Twain, more like me with his skill. I’ll keep working on it…….

~~ Back to the present…. I think this was a good pearl, in that it remains as valid today as the day it was written, for me…. Writing as well as Twain, without sounding TOO much like him, would be a good thing, I think…. It’s worth a shot, anyway, eh?   😆
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I can stop pretending now…. I have so many things I want to do, I hardly know where to begin… But, I’ll start where I KNOW I want to start…. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, though perhaps a bit late… I’m going now to get my guitar, and I may just play it until my fingers bleed, and I get so hoarse I can’t talk for days….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Hollandaise is a sauce, not a country….

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Ffolkes,
Today’s watchword will be ‘sanity’, a word whose meaning is somewhat flexible around these parts…… It HAS to be, because my own level of that particular quality of mind is extremely variable, and depends on a number of factors, none of which are completely under my control. In fact, I long ago gave up hope of maintaining any real control over it, as my efforts, though competent enough, were not enough, by a long shot, to stem the tide of my insanity, which is incredibly powerful, if I do say so myself….

I picked this word, with such deep connection to my life, because I’m starting into a period of life when maintaining my hold on reality needs to remain strong. A lot of stuff is finally beginning to happen for  me in the Big Blue Room, from which I’ve been hiding, so to speak, while waiting for these events to arrive,transpire, and become part of current reality. All that long-winded rationalization is here to say, I won’t have as much time to write in the coming days, and the structure and content of these Pearls is liable to change once again….

I began this blog in August of 2010, or thereabouts, on another site, SFGATE, the SF Chronicle website. In 2011, I signed up on WordPress; subsequently, for a while, the amount of content grew dramatically, as I had a lot of time to fill up in the early days of my retirement (poverty didn’t catch up to me until 1/1/11, when my retirement came into effect, and my full pay income went down to the near starvation level at which it has hovered for the past two plus years…). I filled that time, after my mom left from visiting in early 2011, by writing, and the Pearls grew to comprise five sections, two or three of which were early rant-like diatribes…. It was a lot of stuff pouring out of my head….

In early 2012, the stuff leaking out trickled down to a lesser amount, though still pretty prolific…. At that time, I cut the number of sections in each Pearl down, from five to three, with at least one always dedicated to poetry, mine or someone else’s. That format has worked out very well; it has plenty of opportunity, and room, for ranting, and the poetry always manages to soothe my mind in between rants, or old-school pearls, which I use when my creative side is less active than my habitual, constant inner dialogue, which I express in the old-school format.

That brings us to today, and today’s intro section…. As you can see, I’ve once again fulfilled the intro requirements, by composing and executing (interesting choice of words to describe how I write….) a number of rather useless paragraphs. Today’s examples have something more than the usual amount of relevance, and real information, than is the case in the recent past, but, I can truthfully say that is both providential, and intentional.

Out in the Big Blue Room, I have to start coordinating my SS and State retirement benefits, so that I can maximize both for my future use and convenience of operation. I am pursuing a relationship with a wonderful woman I’ve met, and wish to spend more time on that particular phase; she’s a sweet lady, and we enjoy being together, so I want to do more of that, for certain….

Probably most significantly, I will soon have the resources to travel as I wish…. I’m going to need to sit down and do some serious planning, to, again, maximize the resources I’ll have to have them get me to all the places I want to see, and support the activities I’ll need to pursue during this latter part of my life…..

One of the most satisfying parts of finally getting some of the resources is the sweet feeling I know I’ll get when I walk into a certain store to complete the very first item on all my lists….. I’m going, first thing, into the hock shop and getting my guitar out of pawn, paying the entire loan amount off, knowing that I will never again have to put it in gaol to be able to afford to eat….

All of this will be good for my ‘sanity’, so, I’m rather looking forward to the coming months…. Today, being the 22nd, is the second day of Spring, 2013, and I’m ready to rock the house…..

Well…. that was interesting…. almost like a complete little essay, right here at the beginning, where it will probably bore everyone to death…. That seems to have happened yesterday, as my stats show only four Likes all day, from some regular visitors…. oh well, I’ve never worried about stats, and I’m not going to start now…. What I will do, in the interests of my ‘sanity, is try to keep the creative process under control, at least to the extent of not trying to compose anything particularly scholarly or precise, as I don’t think I’m quite up to either of those today…. I’m feeling pretty lazy, in fact, and want to go do other stuff, so I’ll probably end up cheating, and use a bunch of old stuff, from my archives of ALMOST FIFTEEN BLOODY YEARS of writing these Pearls…..

Sorry, didn’t mean to shout…. that has apparently been sitting in there for a while, waiting for a chance to come out….. My unconscious MAY be a little more in turmoil than I thought…. I’ll have to think about that…. Meanwhile, back here at ECR…..  Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

I’ve probably given ample demonstration in the past of my innate laziness; I always thought of it as being smart, figuring out the easy way to do things….. but, I also call a spade a spade, and it is a fact….. I’m lazy sometimes…… This, then, is one of those times…..

This is an old, old-school Pearl, written sometime in 2008, or so…. I never did date them, other than the date on the email that contained them, so it’s hard to figure out sometimes, just when they were first seen….. and I’m not so vain as to have kept all those emails…. Five years is old enough for our purposes; that’s our story, so, we’re going to stick with that for now…… As you can see, the process of creating pearls remains much as it was, a random, chaotic process full of fun, laughter, and despair for the author’s obvious lack of ‘sanity’…..

Another attempt at so-called levity…

Ffolkes,
Today’s offerings are more of our usual,  a subliminal array of choices; no conscious thought went into the selection process. But there does seem to be some sort of coherency, if only in attitude. (Hmph!)  So, without further ado, enjoy……

“In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (Unfortunately, this applies to most religions, not just Christianity…..nrm)

“Dear Lord, I’ve been asked, nay commanded, to thank Thee for the Christmas turkey before us… a turkey which was no doubt a lively, intelligent bird… a social being… capable of actual affection… nuzzling its young with almost human- like compassion.  Anyway, it’s dead and we’re gonna eat it. Please give our respects to its family…” — Berke Breathed, Bloom Country Babylon

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence. — Smart Bee

Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are can last a long time. — On the role of beauty and handsomeness in love — Christine, age 9

“The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the old man who will not laugh is a fool.” — George Santayana (1863-1952)

Actually, my goal is to have a sandwich named after me. Or at least an ice cream sundae…. — Smart Bee

Y’all take care out there….

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

~~gigoid
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I’m still lazy, so, deal…. but, I’m going to at least be honest, and use my own work to be lazy with…. Here is a poem I wrote last October, prompted by, and a response to, the quote that is given just before it…. I hope you enjoy it, it’s one I’m happy with, and it’s positive enough for today’s mood….

“But groundless hope, like unconditional love, is the only kind worth having.” — EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow, “Cynthia Horner’s Eulogy”, Apr. 1994

Unsolicited Gratitude

Fear becomes familiar when reality bodes us ill
pain assumes first position, no matter our will.
Powerless, we founder, no strength to prevail
anguished and afraid, against unwanted Fate we rail.

Still, a grain of hope deep inside, hidden well against need
gives us reason to survive, our starving souls to feed.
Failure of courage burdens time, of being bested,
until our souls, in submission, become foully infested.

Bitter tears wash through us each day, with little care,
no thought, no feeling, no wish, or need to be fair.
Rendered clueless, confusion falls upon us, as prey,
we surrender a piece of our soul, little as we may.

Yet, always, a bright beam of hope is seen from afar,
no matter how dreary, or dark, it may seem where we are.
None knows, nor would consent to tell, it seems
from whence it hails, or why it so brightly gleams.

Saving our sanity, absolving our unwanted fears,
dispelling the myths and lies that come with the years.
Each man has known the precious gift that hope may give
And gives glad thanks, as long as he may live.

~~ gigoid

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“Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” — Henry David Thoreau, “Walden”

I’ve always felt that a return to older ideas is not necessarily a counter-productive activity to pursue in seeking change in one’s own situation. Though there are hazards to adopting some ideas that are old, those can be mitigated to a degree with some care in choosing which ideas are considered for use. (Duh….) In other words, if we use ideas such as the one above, first heard about a century and a half ago, we have to take care to ascertain whether those ideas are effective or not when used…. This statement from Henry David can, I think, because of its very celebrity, and long-time inclusion in mankind’s treasury of wisdom, be considered one idea that is always true, no matter how much time has passed since it was spoken….

Choosing which ideas from the past that will be most helpful can be a daunting task, simply because when one is speaking of historical wisdom, there is a LOT of material from which to choose, much of which is considered to be very wise, while some others of which may not be such good advice…. One cannot always know with certainty what an idea will do, once adopted in a real sense, and used in a real-life situation…. Sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose, badly….. Of course, the latter events generally are very instructive, in the sense that they teach us what NOT to do in the future….

I suppose we could say that failing at experimenting with reality is most likely humanity’s preferred form of learning, to wit: sticking our finger in the fire to learn that it hurts to burn flesh…. Not terribly smart, but effective; most folks only need one lesson…. We dignify the process we go through in learning, by calling what we get from it ‘experience’, but, it remains a rather bozoid method of learning, depending as it does on our ability to survive the answers that Reality provides to some of our more volatile questions…. like finding out we can’t just do what we want to the planet, without suffering consequences that are incompatible with human survival.

This is approaching rant-like proportions, but, I think I can fix that…. What we’ll do at this point it to admit the truth of how we learn, and just realize we can improve our chances if we learn a bit faster, and more from using our imagination, than we do from subjecting ourselves to the lashes and bumps that experimentation can entail…. In light of that, I will now provide several pearls, all of which are good advice on how to learn, and how to live, and hopefully, do so with some dignity, some laughter, and a lot of joy…..

“If you want to go far in a decade you have to go far each year. If you want to go far each year, you have to make sure that you do something significant each day.” — Deng Ming-Dao

“We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.” — Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.” — Emily Dickinson

“Be patriotic – question authority.” — Bumper Sticker

“The strong live off the weak, and the smart live off the strong.” — Smart Bee
(Well, not ALL of us….. but, most….)

“I’m sitting on my SPEED QUEEN..  To me, it’s ENJOYABLE..  I’m WARM..  I’m VIBRATORY..” — Zippy the Pinhead

I suppose one can never accuse me of failing to be eclectic, nor of taking Life too seriously…. It got away from me for a moment, but Zippy, as always, managed to put things into their proper perspective….. Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of warm vibration to make life alright….
__________________________________

I’m a little afraid today…. yesterday’s Pearl seems to have fallen off the scales, stat-wise, but today’s effort may just drive everyone away for good…. Or not, and, I don’t really care one way or another, as this is still all about getting this crap, er, stuff, out of my head…. I’ll go look it over, and see how it came out….. Be right back….

See? That never takes long….  Okay, well, it isn’t quite as bad as I’d feared, so I’ll go with it…. I know, I’m easy…. But, I do get posted every day, so, that’s something, I guess….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Salubrious greetings included in every box….

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Ffolkes,
Early up means early bed, usually, but, only time will tell, as those incipient grammar nazis down at Cliches R Us always say….. They hate me there…. not because I never buy, but because I’m forever browsing their old merchandise, the classic stuff they keep in the basement, trying to memorize as many as I can remember until I get home….. All the best authors plagiarize. didn’t you know? If not the words, the very ideas are fair game, to an author….. Well, so they say down at the pub, anyway, where all the authors hang out between their bouts of writing, and trying to sell some poor fool what they write…. But, they’ll say ANYTHING, pretty much, if you buy them a beer…..

All the above is just so much BS, of course…. It’s getting to the point around here that you can pretty much count on the first paragraph here to be sheer nonsense, or fantasy, at least in any terms of any part of it being based on, or even connected to, Reality. I really don’t seem to have much use for Reality, not when I’m composing, anyway; it just complicates matters, and demands not only accuracy, but truth, and what author can handle writing with those two qualities simultaneously? Not many, I assure you…..

Belay that noise…. shut that fan down, too, and gather together over there, in that corner of reality for the moment, while I deal with this enraged oatmeal….. Okay, so it wasn’t enraged, only giggling, but, hey, how is an amateur cereal killer supposed to know the difference? It’s not like I see oatmeal in an enraged state on a daily basis; it usually just sits in the bowl, rather mundane and boring, if you ask me…. Maybe it was trying out for an acting part? Who knows, and more importantly, who cares? Not me, not in the slightest….

But, then, that may have something to do with the fact that I have not a single clue as to what the HELL I’m talking about now; this has gone completely off the rails, and I have no idea where it’s going, or where we might end up…. I don’t think I WANT to know, either…. I’d be lying if I said I did, anyway, so, it’s best not to speculate without data. And, how can one obtain any data, when one has no interest in doing so? Or in even talking about it? Hell, I’d give almost anything right now, just for some idea of what this is all about, if anything….

But, I’m doomed to disappointment, it seems…. that’s five paragraphs, each more confusing and worthless than the one before, and that, my friends, is enough to call an intro, at least, it is around here…. We’ve lowered our standards quite a bit, you know…. Had to after losing so much in that counter suit over the false pregnancy…. I just can’t seem to find a decent lawyer, which, I suppose would be an oxymoron, anyway….. I know I only know one of that ilk, and he’s no longer a lawyer by trade….

Having completed the minimum allowable number of paragraphs, I’m going to cheat, almost as badly as I plagiarize, and call this a done deal…. I’ve done worse, I know, though I can’t seem to recall when…. I think, as an author, I’m required to say so, even if it isn’t true…. But, you know me, if it’s true, I’ll blurt it out…. Any who, I don’t think I can be any more confused or intimidated, so I’d best get on with today’s dive, before I do something to crack my mask…. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

In the interests of fair play, and proper health maintenance, I will be cutting down a bit on ranting. I have no shortage of outrage to give impetus to such discussion, but will have to find another outlet for a time, as ranting seems to be evolving a bit, but, into what form I haven’t a clue. All I know at this point is that the urge to pick away at the underpinnings of the BRC and the priestly hierarchies, while still present, doesn’t currently offer the usual degree of satisfaction, and since I am a hedonist at heart, as are we all, I’ll look for other methods of satisfying the urge than taking shots at specific targets… I’ll stick to more general subject matter….

All of which makes no difference at all to this pearl. It put itself together in just about twenty clicks of the mouse, meaning Smart Bee has been saving them up to give me at one sitting…. Hence, here is a five star pearl, with a fairly obvious bent, and a perfect closer to drive home the point….. which comes, of course, from our own Smart Bee…. Enjoy!….

He who searches for truth must not appease his urge by giving himself up to the narcotic of belief.” — Hans Reichenbach, quoted in _ The Philosophy of Matter in the Atomic Age_

“We do not believe in immortality because we can prove it, but we try to prove it because we cannot help believing it.” — Harriet Martineau

Behold the child, by Nature’s kindly law,
Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw;
Some livelier plaything gives his youth delight,
A little louder, but as empty quite;
Scarfs, garters, gold, amuse his riper stage,
And beads and prayer-books are the toys of age.
Pleased with this bauble still, as that before,
Till tired he sleeps, and life’s poor play is o’er.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744)– Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 274

“At twenty, a man is full of fight and hope. He wants to reform the world. When he’s seventy, he still wants to reform the world, but he knows he can’t.” — Clarence Darrow

“I would like to buy a fish license, please.” — Smart Bee

Does it get any better than that? Nope…..
__________________________________

It’s been a while since I remembered how much I like the poetry of Walt Whitman…. and it’s always such a nice surprise when I do….

A child said, What is the grass?

A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . .I do not know what it
is any more than he.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful
green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrance designedly dropped,
Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we
may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child. . . .the produced babe
of the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow
zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the
same, I receive them the same.

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them;
It may be you are from old people and from women, and
from offspring taken soon out of their mother’s laps,
And here you are the mother’s laps.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old
mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues!
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths
for nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men
and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring
taken soon out of their laps.

What do you think has become of the young and old men?
What do you think has become of the women and
children?

They are alive and well somewhere;
The smallest sprouts show there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait
at the end to arrest it,
And ceased the moment life appeared.

All goes onward and outward. . . .and nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and
luckier.

~~ Walt Whitman
__________________________________

“How’s the wife?  Is she at home enjoying capitalism?” — Zippy the Pinhead

It’s hard for me to say just how much I appreciate Zippy’s wisdom, or, more accurately, his expressions of what isn’t always obviously wisdom. His creator, Bill Griffith, has provided me, and society at large, with his unique take on reality since the 1960’s, including his first utterance of the perhaps the most telling iconic phrase of the twentieth century, in 1979, when he had Zippy ask, “Are we having fun yet?”

Spending any amount of time with Zippy, attempting to decode his thinly veiled sardonicism, and his even more thinly veiled cynicism regarding modern culture, is an exercise for the mind’s most subtle editors…. It is all brilliant social comedy, poking fun at the most basic of our beliefs, and allowing us to laugh at ourselves, even if it is with confusion and bewilderment at just what, and who, is being made fun of the most…. society, or the reader….

Therefore, in keeping with my new resolve to keep things a bit lighter around here… I give you a Zippy pearl, chock full of his perfectly crafted truffles made up of apparent nonsense, all of which have been dipped in the darkest of ironic chocolate…..

“Those aren’t WINOS–that’s my JUGGLER, my AERIALIST,  my SWORD SWALLOWER, and my LATEX NOVELTY SUPPLIER!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“I’m a nuclear submarine under the polar ice cap and I need a Kleenex!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“I’m also pre-POURED pre-MEDITATED and pre-RAPHAELITE!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Did YOU find a DIGITAL WATCH in YOUR box of VELVEETA?” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans.  It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity.  But then–we elected them.” — Lily Tomlin

(Whoops! How did that get in there? Oh well, since it’s Lily, it can stay…. )

“In the first place, God made idiots.  That was for practice.  Then he made school boards.” — Mark Twain

(Okay, sorry, Smart Bee is being a smart ass…. Oh well, since it’s Sam, and fits right in with the rest of it…… )

“I’m having BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS about the INSIPID WIVES of smug and wealthy CORPORATE LAWYERS.” — Zippy the Pinhead

Perfect….. and there you have it, a lovely piece of breakfast sausage, metaphorically speaking, of course….
_______________________________

I don’t imagine that any of this will get me arrested…. hell, it may not even get any laughs, though I gave it my best shot, and tried to stay away from anything remotely sober. I suppose not all of these can be gems of the highest quality; somebody has to get a C on the test. I’m just not accustomed to not getting A’s or B’s…. Ah well, old habits die hard, but are well gone…. and I have no idea what I meant by that, so let’s not read too much into it, okay?…..

Having read this over, and still not having a clue as to whether it is any good or not, I’m going to publish it anyway, because, hey, it’s done….. such as it is. Perhaps, in the fullness of time, and the compassionate depths of your heart and mind, you will forgive me….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Plainly, it isn’t wise to bump OR grind….

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Ffolkes,
While it is true that I did travel there at one time, the stories that have been circulating regarding my, allegedly, legendary trip to Kansas have been exaggerated to an extreme…. I left no broken hearts, or heads, behind, no dead bodies were found in my hotel room, nobody got married, pregnant, or abandoned, and that dwarf wasn’t even looking for me! And, while I’ll admit I was talking to the old lady with the dog and the pony, it isn’t true I was trying to retain their services; that pimp wasn’t even in the room with us!…. The reporter just got mad because I lied to him about the priest…. So, you can just put aside your shock and disgust, as none of it actually happened, and if it did, it wasn’t my fault! It was those damned girl scouts, with their damned cookies!….

Hi there….. Regarding that first paragraph: you may ignore it at will…. No excuses, and no complaints, I guess. I wrote it pre-coffee, so I can’t put the same expectations on it that are valid post-salvation. Given that stricture, it isn’t too bad, all in all, though I think I could have been a bit more graphic in the line about the dwarf…. a dwarf is always good for some laughs, but you’ve got to use good imagery, or you lose the total effect of the contrast in their overall appearance when interacting with, shall we say, less fascinatingly grotesque creatures, such as ourselves….. In my opinion, I could have been clearer in my expression there…. Oh well, tomorrow’s another day, and the dwarf is on retainer….

Now what? Here we are, three paragraphs in, and, so far, nothing is manifesting itself for inclusion. I’m beginning to think I’m going to have to just break down and write a template introduction, that I can just plug in each day at the start, to get me moving, in SOME direction, if not on a specific vector…. You know, something like, “Here’s today’s news,,,,”, or, “Another day dawns without hope here in America….,”, or, “OMG, shut that window, NOW!”…. You know, something gripping, that will pull ffolkes in without hurting or insulting them, and lead them gently into the body of the Pearl…. I’ve considered this idea for some time now; it’s an attractive one, that could conceivably save me a lot of time and worry over getting the intro done…..

But, what fun would that be? I think part of what I enjoy about blogging like this is the freedom I feel to NOT restrain myself in such ways, to allow myself the mental freedom to go anywhere my crafty little grey cells want to go, and say whatever I want to say, within the bounds of good taste and compassion… I do skate a bit close to the edge of the one about good taste, so it’s good for me to keep watch on that….. and if I cop out and make a template, that sense of alertness might get dulled from disuse….. All of our mental strengths are exactly like muscles, and will grow soft and useless if not exercised, so it’s good for me in that sense to have to be creative, in a small way, each morning, first thing….

Plus, it gives me the opportunity each morning to put together five or six of these nonsensical gems, full of absolutely diddly squat (hmm… Spell Checkers are funny… it didn’t like “diddly”, but was okay with “squat”… Oh, right, that’s actually a word… What, they’ve never heard of Bo Diddly?….never mind…), which I find to be both a good warm-up for the typing fingers, and a good warm-up of the grey cells, giving the coffee a chance to work its magic before I get into anything serious (And, as long as I can avoid the use of too many parenthetical comments in one paragraph)…. Yesterday’s intro, which grew into a pretty good-sized rant, happened for just that reason, to wit: I got into what I was writing before the coffee was fully on board….. a dangerous habit to form….

Why look! What’s this? I do believe it’s happened again! I’ve found another complete intro section, just laying here, ready to go…. What do you know about that? Now, don’t get all antsy, and upset with me…. SOMETHING has to go in this section, so what’s wrong with some deliberate nonsense, and a bit of prattle? Nothing, that’s what… Besides, it’s all finished now, so you won’t have to try to figure out if it will ever get anywhere significant…. It won’t. It’s done, It’s time to dive…. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

“Better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a lamb.” — Smart Bee

I’m in a mood today, one that, if typical of such, will not yield to any sort of alteration or modification into something less abrasive, or more tasteful… In other words, I don’t know why, but I feel like biting somebody. I have no reason to feel this way; all is proceeding quite smoothly in my life just now, pretty much, so I don’t have any really good reasons to feel grumpy.

No excessive pain going on, money and food are in the house, computer’s functioning well, as is the internet service. I have plenty of reading material, and I just finished watching all seven Harry Potter movies last night. I could ask for fewer sirens at night stopping just up the block, but, alas, there is nothing I can do about my neighbors’ behavior late in the evenings…. My lady friend isn’t feeling well, but, I think, and hope, she will feel better, so I’m only worried a little about that, not enough to cause a grump….

I could also ask for Social Security to move a bit faster, but, they have already shown me over the last two years what their typical pace is…. Their bureaucracy’s automatic cruise control is set at “crawl”, and isn’t going to go any faster anytime soon. I received verbal confirmation of my approval for benefits on Tuesday, the 12th, when the caseworker told me she would be sending out a packet of information for me, with the notice of the granting of my appeal of their original denial (long story….)…

Any who, that was eight days ago, so, I speculated, then, that she might send out the information the next day, or perhaps on Thursday, and I would receive it a couple days later. The office from which the packet is to be sent is here in the same town, so I thought, hmm, two days to go 30 blocks would be a reasonable estimate, even for the USPS, for a 10 X 12 inch envelope…. HAH! So much for speculation about the USPS…. Serves me right for assuming ANYTHING…. Especially for assuming normal behavior from an organization that has already proven to be broken, and abnormally anomalous, or anomalously abnormal, or both….

I suppose I’ve found why I’m grumpy, as these last two paragraphs show on whom my subconscious is placing the blame, squarely…. So, before I give Ms. H., my new case worker at SS a call, to ask WHEN she might be sending the stuff to me, I’m going to put together a pearl, with a specific type of pearls in mind for the search process… those that bring me peace of spirit in some way…. Enjoy!…. Oh, and, given my tendency to not be able to shut myself up, I’ll put any thoughts that occur to me about the pearls in parentheses, which is as usual as it probably is annoying….    😆

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

“1 four letter word is sometimes worth 1000 pictures.” — Smart Bee

(Which may be why there are so many of them….. We humans are nothing if not hilariously and prolifically vulgar….)

“In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away
— for the Snark *was* a Boojum, you see.”

— Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark

POETRY, n.  A form of expression peculiar to the Land beyond the Magazines. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

(Ambrose was a Grand Master of Sarcasm, and a social critic of immense genius…. )

” What is it the Bible teaches us? – rapine, cruelty, and murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? – to believe that the Almighty committed debauchery with a woman engaged to be married, and the belief of this debauchery is called faith.” — Thomas Paine — The Age of Reason

(    😳    Sorry, sometimes I can’t help myself…. This one isn’t particularly soothing to most ffolkes, or folks, nor is it part of the connective tissue for this pearl; it just sounded like something I might use for a rant some day, and I saved it before I could stop myself….. Just ignore it, please, or set it aside for later perusal… Thank you for your cooperation….)

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” — Albert Einstein

“Not to laugh, not to lament, not to curse, but to understand.” — Spinoza

I don’t know about y’all, but, after those last two, I’m soothed….     Okay, okay, we’re going!   No need to shove!….
__________________________________

Here is an obscure little poem from Keats; I like it, which is all it needs to get included here…. but, it’s also a nice example of classical romanticism, with precise cadence and rhyming, and very personal imagery… I hope you enjoy it, as I do….

A Dream, After Reading Dante’s Episode Of Paolo And Francesca

As Hermes once took to his feathers light,
When lulled Argus, baffled, swooned and slept,
So on a Delphic reed, my idle spright
So played, so charmed, so conquered, so bereft
The dragon-world of all its hundred eyes;
And seeing it asleep, so fled away,
Not to pure Ida with its snow-cold skies,
Nor unto Tempe, where Jove grieved a day;
But to that second circle of sad Hell,
Where in the gust, the whirlwind, and the flaw
Of rain and hail-stones, lovers need not tell
Their sorrows. Pale were the sweet lips I saw,
Pale were the lips I kissed, and fair the form
I floated with, about that melancholy storm.

~~ John Keats
__________________________________

“We are the protagonists and authors of our own drama. It is up to us; there is no one left to blame. Neither the system, not our leaders, nor our parents. We can’t go out and hang the first amoeba.” — Rebecca McClen Novick

Oh. My. Goodness. This is the perfect quotation for a rant on global warming, or overpopulation, or climate change, or any of the other immediate threats to our species’ survival one may consider. It begins at exactly the correct point to have a discussion about what might be done, for whatever can be done, can only be done when people admit the need, which, obviously, entails accepting the responsibility for causing it in the first place… Duh!….

But, as I said above, I’m in a mood, which isn’t the time to start ranting…. Outrage is necessary, and a touch of anger to fuel the outrage…. but, in a mood like this, I would likely get vicious, and lose track of what I promised to keep track of, to wit: good taste…. Instead, I’ll do what I always do in such situations, and fall back on yet another old-school pearl… I’ll make it a short one, with only five aphorisms, as small as I can find, on the subject at hand, again to wit: Our own particular brand of human foolishness, or, as I labeled it many years ago, the Principle of Bozoid Tendencies…..

“If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.” — George Bernard Shaw

“These round things Asur has attached to his sled: they take the wood away from the Earth-Mother, they make it move too fast; they turn around and round in a strange, e-ville fashion.  Indeed, they are ungodly, and Asur should be stoned to death forthwith.” — Translated from proto-Indo-European — scratched on clay tablets, circa 6500 BC

“I haven’t committed a crime.  What I did was fail to comply with the law.” — David Dinkins (Mayor, New York City) — Answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.

“Yes, many primitive people still believe this myth…But in today’s technical vastness of the future, we can guess that surely things were much different….. I think we’re all Bozos on this Bus!” — The Firesign Theater

“An INK-LING?  Sure — TAKE one!!  Did you BUY any COMMUNIST UNIFORMS??” — Zippy the Pinhead

Well, there you go…. Perhaps I should have known better…. Ah well, at least it’s all over now, but for the shouting….
__________________________________

I’ll try not to shout so loudly it will awaken those who decided to nap early….. I probably should be ashamed, but, I’m not being paid for any of this, so I have nothing to feel ashamed about, other than the entire content herein…. Too late now, I’m committed…. Or, will be, once I go back and proof it…. which, I will now do, in the interests of getting something else, anything at all, done today…..

It isn’t often I can write myself speechless…. but, there is a first time for everything, I suppose…. Here it is, such as it is…. WYSIWYG, and that’s the truth…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

The remainder may go free…..

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Ffolkes,
In re: motivation…. let’s be honest. The motivation that prompts each of us to write, and then to post what we write, may be simple, or it may be complex; humans have a tendency toward both at times, depending on their predilections, and preferences in life. In my own case, since I tend to complicate matters naturally, it is somewhat complex; I suppose I enjoy the feeling of chaos at work that comes with maintaining an active mental life. In short, I’m crazy as a bed bug, and I like it…..

As the old saying goes, I don’t suffer from insanity, I revel in it…..  😆   In fact, I encourage insanity in others, often, in an attempt to give life a little spice when it falls into one of those routines, that threatens to become a rut….. There is nothing like some general insanity to liven up a party, now, is there? Who’s more popular on the dance floor than the guy with the lampshade on his head?….. Nobody, that’s who!

There are so many aphorisms floating around in my head, I often can’t remember who said what, but, I believe it might have been Voltaire, or another social philosopher of the modern age, who said, “Insanity is a sane reaction to an insane world.”….. Oh, hell, Google will know… Yep, I was right in my being wrong…. it was the psychiatrist and philosopher R.D. Laing who is credited most often with that particular phrase… though other authors seem to lay claim to it without any regard for that information…

Now that we have that out of the way, and we know for a fact that, a) I’m crazy as a loon, and b) it doesn’t matter at all for our purposes here, we can get down to business, and stop with the fluff (Whew! Tough word to type…. took me five tries…. that fluff stuff is tougher than it sounds….). I have some crow to eat, and I’ll thank you to let me chew and swallow quickly, to avoid some of the unpleasant flavor…. It still leaves a bitter after taste, no matter how quick one is in spitting it out, or downing it, whatever….

Yesterday, I ranted for quite a while about missionaries, such as those generally found in remote places lording it over the natives, and specifically targeted the most famous of that breed, Mother Teresa. I knew when I chose the subject that I risked some controversy, but, I happen to believe all I that I write, and still do.

But, a friend, one of the email recipients of the Pearls, happens to live in my building, and we got to discussing the piece in the afternoon, during which discussion, she most excellently, and correctly, scolded me, putting me back into my correct place, for having targeted whom I did. She did so without ever falling into trying to make me feel bad, but, rather, explaining, or, reminding me, mostly, of a piece of the picture I had forgotten to acknowledge….

Essentially, that piece is this: I’ve never met Teresa, and, in the eyes of a great many people, she is considered to be one of the most compassionate, truly loving examples of a follower of Christ that has ever lived, achieving relative sainthood during her lifetime for the charity work she does with the poor.

According to legend (which, right now, I am merely listing, and not questioning for veracity….), she is a perfect example of how a real Christian should live, in the sense that she eschews all worldly material goods in favor of giving herself and all she has to help those less fortunate than herself…. In light of her unswerving dedication to this life-style, and her absolute defiance of typical Church procedures, she is truly one of the heroines of the common man….

I have observed much of Teresa’s life in the public eye, as she, and her books (five of them) all came into the light of public scrutiny when I was a child, so I have known OF her for many years. When I googled her name, the first page of results showed about 15 results, of which five were informational, such as Wikipedia, or sites where images were shown, seven were positive stories about her life, (she died in 1997), and three were articles like mine, that explored the darker side of the missionary activities she perpetrated for the Catholic Church in her lifetime. One was entitled, “The Darker Side of Mother Teresa”, while another headline in the Huffington Post proclaimed, ” Mother Teresa Humanitarian Image A ‘Myth,’ New Study Says”. I’ve included below the Google links to the three articles that challenge the usual image we have of the good sister….

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=mother%20teresa&source=web&cd=9&sqi=2&ved=0CGgQFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2013%2F03%2F04%2Fmother-teresa-myth_n_2805697.html&ei=eW5IUYTBJoeo2wW00YHQDA&usg=AFQjCNH-3mFJygRAnYL9dRgfh_YWT0FNtA&bvm=bv.43828540,d.b2U&cad=rja

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=mother%20teresa&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CG4QFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slate.com%2Farticles%2Fnews_and_politics%2Ffighting_words%2F2003%2F10%2Fmommie_dearest.html&ei=eW5IUYTBJoeo2wW00YHQDA&usg=AFQjCNGxL857ajNJxrzHQLKqkkYT-Swbmg&bvm=bv.43828540,d.b2U

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=mother%20teresa&source=web&cd=12&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CHoQqQIwCw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fideas.foreignpolicy.com%2Fposts%2F2013%2F03%2F18%2Fthe_dark_side_of_mother_teresa&ei=eW5IUYTBJoeo2wW00YHQDA&usg=AFQjCNHf4kcbwQD3W8Xf9PEcF0tyqopJ0w&bvm=bv.43828540,d.b2U

After speaking with my friend, I went back to read over what I’d written yesterday, and I will confess to a degree of vituperation that may have been overdone. I don’t know the woman personally, so all I have to go on is her public persona, what I know about people and their psyches, and the depths to which they will sink to achieve their ends, regardless of whether or not those ends are either moral, ethical, or even helpful at all. So, I apologize for anything I said about her being an evil person…. she may indeed be a very compassionate, truly Christian woman, so I will acknowledge that portion of the legend that has grown up around her…..

However, I stand by what I said about her missionary work, and that entire ilk of religious fanaticism, or for how observing how it is demeaning for those it purports to help.  In truth, it seems clear to me the practice is motivated by the desire of the priesthood to claim more souls, not out of any particular concern for those souls themselves. The Church doesn’t send out missionaries to save the people, it wants the souls, which translates into power over others, and a lifelong bivouac of luxury and pomp for the clergy….

Nuns are a bit different, as many of them are actually out there in the world, dealing with people, so, they tend to ignore or modify what the church itself might do or say to fit the local circumstances; otherwise they would never get anything done to help people. But, their motivation remains murky, even to them, as almost every nun, or priest I’ve ever known, if they were at all honest people, suffered from crises of faith, where they doubted their vocation… Perfectly natural, and a shame they always seem to talk themselves out of listening to that little voice in their head….

Well, I’ve started to ramble, and it is threatening to turn into another rant, (actually, in looking back, it already did that….), so I guess I’d better get on with this, or I’ll never get done today…. I’ll have to depend on Smart Bee to come up with something different to talk about, but, it never seems to have much trouble with that….

Any who, I’m sorry for picking on Mother Teresa… like the Beatle’s song said about the Queen, “I imagine she’s a pretty nice girl, but she doesn’t have a lot to say….”  She may or may not be as bad as I made her out to be; to my mind, even if she is not a bad person, she is still operating under a set of very strong delusions, but, that is not at all unusual in this world, so I can’t hold that against her…. So, sorry, Terry… I hope your compassion can extend to forgiving me for my brashness and the crime of inelegance, if nothing else….

In the meantime, shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

“Enough is enough.” ~~ gigoid

I’ve re-read the intro section, as it seemed a bit like it was too long…. It was, indeed, but, I can’t in good conscience take much of it out, or it will fall apart from its own inner weight imbalances (it’s a very weighty discussion, difficult to keep in balance, as each word and phrase changes the moment of vector…. trust me, the math is tricky, but clear….). So, I’ve resorted to one of my own aphorisms, above, one I mutter to myself often, as an incantation against breaking free of the habit of moderation in all that I do…. Moderation is the key to long life, I believe, but, even moderation itself needs to be practiced in moderation; it’s a good thing now and again to just let go, and give one’s wild side free rein…. just long enough to release all the built up angst, but not long enough to land in jail….  😉

So, naturally, I shall default into the normal procedure for following a rant, even if it is an intro, and submit for your reading pleasure a harlequin pearl, freshly chosen this morning, complete with potential hilarity and possible clarity…. enjoy!  Oh, and, no point to this one, it’s all as random as I can make it…. so, don’t hurt yourself trying to figure out if it has one…. Of course, if it should end up with an obvious sharp point, let us know, so nobody hurts themselves on it, okay? Thanks…..

“If Mother Nature doesn’t make mistakes then why does dessert taste better than dinner?” — Smart Bee

Shifu: “If the instrument is broken, the music will be sour.”
Daniel: “The music does not play the musician.”
Shifu: “Normally there is truth in that.”
Daniel: “Really? Good. Because I really didn’t have any idea what I was talking about.”
— from Stargate

“Call on God, but row away from the rocks.” — Indian proverb

“My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

” — You know it’s going to be a rotten day when you wake up face down on the pavement.” — Smart Bee (?)

Hmm… for a five-star, it’s not bad, if a bit strange… I think two more ought to bring the Force, if not the Metaphorse, back into balance for now…. let’s see what comes up….

“A life lived in fear is only half lived.” — Spanish proverb

“By the time this message gets back on topic, WE’LL ALL BE DEAD!” — Smart Bee
(Doh!   😳   Sorry, this one doesn’t count… Smart Bee isn’t supposed to do that…. bad Smart Bee, bad dB!…. One more, for good measure….)

“Good generally conquers evil. Unless, of course, good is stupid.” — Smart Bee

And there you have it… Smart Bee came through in the end with the perfect closer…. Okay, onward, or we’ll never get done….
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In the interests of brevity, along with elegance and depth, where else would I go, but to Emily?…..

Rouge et Noir

Soul, wilt thou toss again?
By just such a hazard
Hundreds have lost, indeed,
But tens have won an all.

Angels’ breathless ballot
Lingers to record thee;
Imps in eager caucus
Raffle for my soul.

~~ Emily Dickinson

Her poems are small enough that two is not crowding….

Rouge Gagne

‘Tis so much joy! ‘Tis so much joy!
If I should fail, what poverty!
And yet, as poor as I
Have ventured all upon a throw;
Have gained! Yes! Hesitated so
This side the victory!

Life is but death, and death but death!
Bliss is but bliss, and breath but breath!
And if, indeed, I fail,
At least too know the worst is sweet.
Defeat means nothing but defeat,
No drearier can prevail.

And if I gain – oh, gun at sea,
Oh, bells that in the steeples be,
At first repeat it slow!
For heaven is a different thing
Conjectured, and waked sudden in,
And might o’erwhelm me so!

~~ Emily Dickinson
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Faith, n: “That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be untrue.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

Calm down! And sit down, and relax…. I am well aware that, upon first seeing the above aphorism where it is, you immediately figured I was going to start in on another rant of major proportion, again heaping scorn upon the priestly hierarchies, and the myriad of folks who fall for their rather unbelievable fantasies…. Even I, however, have my limits….

I wrote around a thousand words above, in a general way, about religion, or, at least, religious figures, and I’m not going to burden you with another…. No, this was chosen just to get your blood moving, and to relax you for a final, short group of simple pearls, all on a particular subject, or as near as I can make them…. What that subject might be is for you to guess, should you wish to exercise your imagination in that way…. Otherwise, just enjoy them for their, well, whatever they are….

“When Eudaemonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, “This is a wonderful speech,” said he; “but he that saith it never heard the sound of trumpets.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Eudaemonidas

‘When they tell you to grow up, they mean to stop growing.” — Tom Robbins

“I have known noble ones who lost their highest hope, and then they disparaged all high hopes. They lived shamelessly in temporary pleasures, and hardly had an aim beyond the day. “Spirit is also voluptuousness,” they said. Then they broke the wings of their spirit; it now creeps about, and defiles whatever it gnaws at. Once they thought of becoming heroes, but they have become sensualists. A trouble and a terror is the hero to them. By my love and hope, I implore you: do not cast away the hero in your soul. Maintain holy your highest hope. Thus spoke Zarathustra.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, _Thus Spoke Zarathustra_

“All religions issue Bibles against Satan, and say the most injurious things against him, but we never hear his side.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

(Well, actually, Robert Heinlein did write a book called, “Job, A Comedy of Justice”, in which the main character happens to meet up with the Devil, when he was picked up hitchhiking, is taken to His home, and hears His side of the whole story… It’s a great read, if one can suspend belief, and exist purely in imagination for a time…. It’s also funny enough in spots I’ll warn you to be seated when you read it…. I will note, in Twain’s defense, that the book was written well after he died, so he can be forgiven for not knowing of it….   😆    )

“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: (1) not going all the way; and (2) not starting.” — Buddha

Well, I don’t think I could have picked a better closing pearl if I had it specifically in mind…. good job, and good recovery, Smart Bee! Well done….
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I am almost afraid to go back over this to proof… but, here goes…..  I’m really not sure how it happened, but, this is a good one…. I like it, and since that is all that counts, ultimately, it can go out as is, with my blessing, if not my hopes…. Those have already been realized today, when my first tax refund hit the bank electronically…. I’m considering dinner out tonight, as a start….

It’s nice to not have to think about how that might run me short at the end of the month, as it is already almost that time…. More proof that patience, while not an absolutely essential quality to possess, is surely of some value in preserving our dignity, if not our comfort….. And THAT is surely an example of “Enough is enough”….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3