Tag Archives: Philosophy

Celebrity slang sold here….

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Ffolkes,
It may not always sound like it, but I am reminded daily of how lucky I’ve been in life. Drawing comparisons with other folks is a sure path to stress and pain, as there will always be some folks who seem to have it better, and many who don’t. Each of us starts out with the same set of rights, but what we do with them determines the direction our life will take. I feel I’ve been fortunate in several ways, the primary being the set of high-quality tools I was issued at birth. The mind/body that I was given out of the gate oh, so many years ago, is a good one, with a nimble, curious mind, and a body well able to cope with in whatever environment I found myself .

I must confess I haven’t taken the care of it in a way that perhaps I should, but then, I tend to avoid anything that contains the word “should” as a reason for acting in any manner. But, for the most part, it (my body) has always been capable of handling whatever I asked of it, even excelling at much of it. And I am more than happy with how my mind has performed; as far as I can tell, it has served me well. Sure, there are problems and issues that need to be considered and handled on a daily basis, but all things considered, I have to say, I’m a lucky guy…..
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And of course, no soap, radio.

I have seen this little phrase, in this exact form, in several places over the years. The first time I saw it was in a science fiction story, one of an anthology put together to appeal to teenage readers (my daughter had it checked out from the school library). The story was pretty cute, and had some interesting characters in it. But mostly, the tone of the tale was intended to put a lesson into the reader’s mind, a lesson on how life’s problems can be handled. The lesson is most simply put to say: Life can be strange, so think outside of the box to find answers to questions that don’t fit into normal patterns. When dealing with issues outside our normal range of experience, it’s important to learn that not all knowledge is found in books, or in school; life itself is our most important teacher, and doesn’t always give the lessons in a format we can immediately fathom. So, you see, you must learn, learn, and learn some more; and, of course, no soap, radio……
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“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” — Philo

Such compassion and empathy! Who was this Philo person? A-googling I will go…..Well, here we are…. from Wikipedia,….James C. VanderKam writes: “Although many of Philo’s writings have survived, little is known about his life. We do not even know when he was born or when he died. The few facts about his life come from occasional hints in his own books and a small number of external references (e.g., Josephus mentions him).”

Ah, okay. Now I remember seeing some other examples of his quotes elsewhere, on previous pearl diving expeditions. This particular quote shows a great deal of insight. Each of us exists, alone, in our own little bubble of perception, and struggles alone with coming to terms with reality. For some, it is a long, drawn out affair; these are the folks who resist change the most, for change is the primary characteristic of reality. One cannot stop change, so learning to flow with those changes becomes a coping technique of primary value.

I’m not sure what it is in human nature that makes it so hard for some people to deal with the changes that are thrown at us repeatedly; nor do I understand why it is so difficult for them to learn how to cope with it. It seems crystal clear to me that learning to accept, period, is one of the best tools we have to deal  with the vicissitudes of life, and is easily recognized as one of the first lessons that needs to be learned. As long as one learns to deal with change, living the life we choose is not unreasonably difficult to achieve. But when one fights against the current of time, life becomes an unending struggle just to survive intact. As always, the choice is ours…..
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“This is no time for consensus government.  It’s a time for leadership.  The average citizen doesn’t know what the stakes are in Vietnam.” — Richard Milhouse Nixon, February 11, 1965

Excuse me? No time for consensus government? I was under the impression that consensus government was what we already lived by. I don’t recall any major changes to the Constitution for at least 75 years, or more, and that is what it promises to us. But Nixon, like many, or even most, of what we now are calling the 1% (I like the one from an author whose name slips my mind; he calls them the beloved ruling class…) actually believe in what he said; the rules are for other folks, not the elite. Moreover, it is how they act, and we, the people, have now allowed them to put their preferences in writing, thereby running an end-run around the Constitution to take away most of what we thought were our rights. We, or many of us, have forgotten that we only have those rights that we can defend; we gave up that defense to our leaders, trusting that they would honor the bargain. But they never had any intention of doing so, and we are now reaping our harvest of despair…..

“The people came to realize that wealth is not the fruit of labor but the result of organized protected robbery.”– Frantz Fanon
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“Rapoport’s Rule of the Roller-Skate Key: Certain items which are crucial to a given activity will show up with uncommon regularity until the day when that activity is planned, at which point the item in question will disappear from the face of the earth.” — Dan Rapoport

I’m amazed. I didn’t know this had been documented sufficiently to become an accepted natural law, on a par with the Murphy syndrome. But, I can testify to its veracity, because, believe it or not, this happened to me in my youth, before I had matured enough to either shave, or consider girls as other than cootie-bearing demons.

I’d gotten a pair of roller skates for Christmas, the old fashioned metal clamps that fastened onto the shoe, and required the Roller Skate Key to tighten them enough to stay on for more than two strides and a fall. Within two weeks, the key disappeared, of course, and wasn’t seen for two years. On the day I found it in some place or other, I looked for the skates, as I could now see myself, much older and more physically adept, sailing away down the sidewalk to the park.

Well, you know the rest. There was only one skate in the back of the closet where they had lived for the last two years; no way to tell when or how the other had made its escape. So, like the mature young man I was, I tied the key to the remaining skate. and tossed it back into the abyss that was my closet, never to be seen again. By the time I might have found the other skate, the technology had advanced, and shoe skates had replaced the old metal contraptions, no key required…..I guess I wasn’t the only one it happened to….
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‘It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Now, there is something I could wish; to hear what Oscar would say in today’s culture, wherein we are drowning in information, a great deal of which is useless, both generally and specifically. In fact, one of the fastest rising job markets today is for people who know how to manipulate the information that is available in such staggering quantity. It has become a very valuable skill to be able to sift and organize all the data that flows across the Internet Cloud.

A lot of folks my age (61) and older are having a hard time adjusting to the new pace in society; they’ve been out of the loop long enough that learning what they need to learn to deal with computers is a task they are unwilling to take on. Some, like myself, have been waiting all our lives for this technology to reach the stage it is at today; I grew up reading about the technology, in science-fiction stories, and in Scientific American, and as soon as possible I jumped on that wagon with glee. It is a source of amazement to me that this laptop I’m using to write this has more computing power than there was in the entire world when I graduated from high school!

Learning to be adept with computers is a skill that everyone now needs to learn at an early age, or they just won’t be able to keep up. And, if you stop to think about it for a moment, you can realize that a computer is merely a very sophisticated hammer; just another tool we’ve created to assist us in our constant quest to control the universe around us, and as such, can be learned by even the most resistive student…..in fact, it can be regarded as a “must-learn” skill set…..

“Buy a rifle, encrypt your data, and wait for the Revolution!” — .sig of Travis J.I. Corcoran (TJIC@icd.teradyne.com)
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Yesterday, I wrote a little poem to make a point. When I looked at it today, I thought to myself, “What were you thinking?”  I suppose I’ve seen worse, but I can’t recall when. Just a bit too trite and smarmy for my taste, and just another example of why I don’t usually try my hand at traditional poetry. Oh well, I guess I’ll stick to haiku; I feel much more comfortable creating them, and they all seem to come out better. But, meantime, we come to the end of another morning session of exposition, so I’ll bid thee adieu for another day….. y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Playing with a crooked cue….

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Ffolkes,
I realized as I sat here this morning that it has now been a year, just a bit more, actually, since I started this particular series of Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. It originally started as a way to blow off steam built up by caring for Mom when she was so ill last January, and eventually morphed into what you see before you today. This constitutes, as near as I can figure, 365+ days straight of writing a Pearl. All of a sudden I’m exhausted…..:-) Let’s go have some fun…..
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“…and before I knew what I was doing, I had kicked the typewriter and threw it around the room and made it beg for mercy.  At this point the typewriter pleaded for me to dress him in feminine attire but instead I pressed his margin release over and over again until the typewriter lost consciousness. Presently, I regained consciousness and realized with shame what I had done.  My shame is gone and now I am looking for a submissive typewriter, any color, or model.  No electric typewriters please!” — Rick Kleiner

Often, after composing one of these morning Pearls, I can empathize with Mr. Kreiner very closely. I’ve been known to take myself right back to bed some mornings, as there is nowhere else soft to crawl to….writing every day in a creative manner is a much harder thing to do than it is to imagine. A lot more goes into the things we read online, or in a newspaper, or even on TV, than we know of, looking from the outside.

The writer must not only write creatively, but within certain guidelines that can, at times, limit the creative urge. Once it is done, then it must be edited for errors and syntax, for style, for clarity. After at least 3 edits, it will finally be in a form suitable to be published. This, of course, makes no mention of research beforehand, or searching for pictures, videos, or links that may go with the material. It is a lot more work than it looks like from the outside, for sure. This could be why so many give up trying to write; it’s more work than they wanted. I suppose one could say that’s a metaphor for life, eh?……
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“One must not be mean with the affections; what is spent of the fund is renewed in the spending itself.” — Sigmund Freud

Boy, you can sure tell Freud was a psychiatrist, and too-heavily influenced by his own reputation. What a long winded way of saying you can’t get or give too many hugs! Even that long-winded story about Warm Fuzzies I read about 40 years ago was easier to understand than this one sentence from Siggy.

And that, I think, points to the problem encountered by a lot of philosophers, or doctors, or any other well-educated people who share their thoughts with others when they write. They have read a lot, and thought about what they’ve read; to many of them, this is a source of pride, and they tend to use the language far too formally, constructing long, meandering sentences, with lots of commas and semi-colons, that take the reader on a walk through the dictionary (sort of like this sentence).

The difficulty with this is it tends to take away from the actual content of what is being read, focusing the reader’s attention on the words and how they are put together, rather than on what the words mean. Siggy’s sentence above is a perfect example of this; all he really needed to say is; Hugs feel good, and you can never run out of them……and that’s the truth, so there, thpppppt!…..
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“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master.  Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” — George Washington

It makes perfect sense to me that the founding fathers of this country, Washington included, would be wary of a strong central government. After all, that is what they endured for many years leading up to the Revolutionary War. They had a profound distrust of a government that had unlimited power over the populace, and used that power to oppress; that distrust eventually brought them to the point of action.

We, however, the beneficiaries of their work and wisdom, have neglected to follow through with the responsibility they left us, i.e., to remain informed and alert to any wrong-doing by government officials. We didn’t pay close enough attention, and allowed their worn-out, frightful rhetoric to stampede us into abject fear, thereby allowing them (the government) to legislate our rights into dust. We have no one but ourselves to blame, and if society continues to allow the government to dictate to them what is right and wrong, then we deserve our chosen lot, i.e., slaves…….

“If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” — Will Rogers (1879-1935)
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Terror at Constitution Hall

Standing quiet, waiting on hope’s bright wing,
a stranger heralds the gift of Time.
Lyrical, spherical melodies we sing,
yet with silence, as a mime.

If fortune favors the bold and free,
truth may be spoken with courage unveiled.
But fortune oft is capricious and cruel,
and truth is naught but cold, with freedom failed.

Humanity has rights, ’tis often said,
if courage and truth can prevail.
If fear and ignorance are the diet we’re fed,
Life without liberty will be the end to this tale.

gigoid

“I think that 95 percent of what passes for art in this world is complete and utter shit. And 4 of the other 5 percent is shit with an asterisk. But oh, that 1 percent makes you proud to be a human, doesn’t it?” — Dennis Miller

I feel humbled, yet human….. I think it’s worth an asterisk, at least….
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“If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know?” — Steven Wright, 1994

So that’s why the spell-checkers never work right!  Heisenberg sticks his nose in everywhere, eh? And if I need to explain that, well, I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a long time, because learning what I needed to know in order to make the reference took a long time, too, and would be inappropriate in this venue. Besides, I’m not entirely certain that I know, either. Just because I make a joke doesn’t mean it has to be funny, now does it? Of course not….but it is pretty funny, so I’d suggest you look up Heisenberg’s equations, and an explanation of what they imply….. here’s a clue…

— ‘Shit Happens’ according to… Heisenberg: Shit happened, we just don’t know where.
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Well, I think I’ve done enough damage for one morning. I’m gonna go play Whack the Mole for awhile (I pasted politicians’ faces on the moles), then go back to bed. A great start to a rainy day….. y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

An unfortunate tendency to wobble….

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Ffolkes,
I hope everyone who visited yesterday took a moment to register their disapproval of SOPA and PIPA to Congress and/or the President. We’ve already lost the Bill of Rights, we can’t afford to lose any more of our freedoms. It already has a cost which it never had before the NDAA was signed…….Today’s version will seem somewhat disjointed, I should imagine. It’s the only way it could be, considering the state of mind I’m in this morning, which might best be described as funky. In it’s exact medical definition……I have been funkified;  no quarter will be given, and none will be sought…..
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“You can’t legislate morality. We tried to outlaw consumption of alcoholic beverages. We found that violation of the law led to bigger crimes and bred disrespect for the law.” — Jimmy Carter, 1976.

“The cure for capitalism’s failing would require that a government would have to rise above the interests of one class alone.” — Robert L. Heilbroner

“What would happen if the President, the Supreme Court, and all members of both houses of Congress were stoned out of their gourds twenty-four hours a day? The chilling truth is, it might be an improvement.” — Allan Sherman

The United States Supreme Court has handed down the eleventh commandment, “Thou shalt not, in any classroom, read the first ten.”

“Whether you have an abortion, what you put in your own body, with whom you have sex – these are not the affairs of the state.  A government does not exist to control the citizens.  When it does, it is a tyranny, and must be fought.  The tree of liberty, Jefferson warned us, must be refreshed with the blood of tyrants and patriots.” — Gore Vidal

The conclusion here is left as an exercise for the gentle reader….. think about the effect of the age-old battle of entropy versus will, and avoid underestimating the power of human stupidity…… it’ll come to you in time….
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The silent snow fell relentlessly, unceasingly, mercilessly from the sordid, sullied surreality of the sky as if some enormous, ethereal diner were shaking grated parmesan on the great, soggy meatball that was earth. — 1988 Bulwer-Lytton bad writing contest, runner up

This doesn’t require explanation or discussion. I just liked it. And I think I probably would like the first place winner, too. This one is what we like to call “pure crap”, and deserves all the scorn it garnered, and more…..
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“The Internet may fairly be regarded as a never-ending worldwide conversation. The government may not, through the [Communications Decency Act], interrupt that conversation… As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from governmental intrusion… The government, therefore, implicitly asks this court to limit both the amount of speech on the Internet and the availability of that speech. This argument is profoundly repugnant to First Amendment principles.” — U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell, 1996

Two bills currently in Congress are making another attempt to curtail free speech on the Internet. These two bills (SOPA and PIPA, by acronym) want to have the authority to shut down any American web site for having on it a link to another site that pirates music or movies, even if that site is in another country. It would also limit what people could say or do on the internet, and in conjunction with the NDAA (the latest version of the Homeland Insecurity Act) means that almost any citizen of this country can be taken to an undisclosed location, without benefit of lawyer, to be tortured according to law, and without the agency doing the kidnap having to justify why to anyone (there is no oversight written into the NDAA; they don’t have to even tell anyone they are doing it).

It is now possible for this kidnapping to be done because someone writes an article criticizing the government, or advocates protest, and posted it on the Internet. In other words, freedom of speech, freedom from unjust accusation, freedom to address our grievances, freedom to do any damn thing, all have been eradicated. You no longer have those rights. And now, they will try to completely shut down any opportunity for anyone to disagree with their new policies.

Sure, they say they are doing it to protect intellectual property, but what they are really doing is making sure that no one takes away any of their profit margins. I’m seriously considering moving to another country, where at least the government is honest about what they keep from the people. Our own government has lied us right into slavery, and we let it happen…..fuck ’em!….fuck them all! I want my rights back, and not tomorrow, today…..who else is down with that?……..Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.
— William Butler Yeats, “The Stolen Child”
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SCRIPTURES, n.  The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

The saddest part of this definition lies in the fact that most of the people who see it will think it makes perfect sense, and completely ignore the irony of the statement. It never ceases to astonish me to what depths the power of deliberate ignorance can take us. It always produces a sense of amazement in me to realize that not only do most folks never question what they are told by others, they actively reject any kind of interaction that would cause them to either change their minds, or one that merely asks them to consider another opinion as a viable subject for discussion….

Boy, I sure wish I could see some hope for us, but every day brings news that clearly indicates how grim the situation is, and doesn’t leave much room for hope…..intolerance and deliberate ignorance are winning the day just now, and look like a lock to continue in that vein……SIGH…… let us lift a toast, in memoriam. R.I.P. US Bill of Rights…… it was all a dream…..Hope, of all ills that men endure,
The only cheap and universal cure.
— Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) — The Mistress, For Hope
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DISCLAIMER — I said it. I must’ve meant it. There is nobody else to blame.

There is a bit less here than normal; chalk it up to the discordant state of mind I mentioned above. This will have to do, ‘cuz it’s all I’ve got today…. y’all take care out there…..

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

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Arbitrary signs of healing, again…..

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Ffolkes,
“Fall back! Quickly! Don’t think, just go!”…rushing through the dark, breathless and bone-deep in fear. Whispers followed, hissing “run! run!. The swollen moon above gives only shadows in the dark underworld beneath the trees, and each step is driven by the flickers of fear still running along his nerves. Branches whipping the face, panting with the sheer force of adrenaline, he bursts into a clearing. Ahead, outlined in stark, bright light from lamps hung among them trees, he sees what he most fears, the obstacle to his most cherished dreams….. his editor had arrived, and the shit would now hit the fan……
So, what? You expected bagels and lox, maybe?….read on, you’ll get over it…..
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When I ‘m not thank’d at all, I ‘m thank’d enough;
I ‘ve done my duty, and I ‘ve done no more.
— Henry Fielding (1707-1754) — Tom Thumb the Great, Act i, Sc. 3

Well said, Tom! Too often in today’s society do we see men who don’t understand this about duty. Hell, these days one can barely find a man who knows what duty is, much less how to fulfill it honorably. Duty is not something that anyone else can tell you, or give you, or make you see or do. Duty is a choice.

It is a man’s most honorable choice, and once assumed, may not be put down until finished. It is, in the final analysis, what determines the character of a man. There is no reward for doing one’s duty, other than self-respect, and none should be expected. Thanks are also not necessary, for the honor in the act lies not in how other people see it, but in how the man himself regards it.


Many confuse duty with the responsibilities given to them by others; they are not the same. A man may have other responsibilities, but those were not of choice, and thus are not duty. Duty is ONLY chosen, never assigned, and it can’t be given away. The only honorable path is to fulfill it oneself, as is expected when it is assumed. It is the true path to leading a life with honor, and for a “real man”, honor is everything. Death is preferable to loss of honor…..and that is what is missing today in a lot of men……
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“The major problem–ONE of the major problems, for there are several–one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.” To summarize: it is a well known fact that those people who must WANT to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.  To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.” — Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

Couldn’t have said it better myself….. but, having many times covered the same theme, with perhaps less humorous expression, I can recognize when it is well spoken….People are definitely a problem. And the people who want power over others are the biggest problem we have as humans. It is this single characteristic of a particular segment of humanity that has kept us from progressing to a fully civilized existence. As long as there are people who insist on everything being done “their way”, humanity will never reach its true potential.

In spite of the assurances from the beloved ruling class that what they do is for our benefit, this intransigence is keeping us from progressing beyond the larval stage. In a truly enlightened society, no man is greater or lesser than any other; tell me if you can think of one society, either now, or in the past, in which this was true. I’ll tell you right off, though, you won’t be able to think of any, because it has yet to happen on this planet. And it never will, unless we humans rein in those bozos, and send them off to rehabilitation….
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“You who’ve lost the concept of a right, you who swing in impotent evasiveness between the claim that rights are a gift of God, a supernatural gift to be taken on faith, or the claim that rights are a gift of society, to be broken at its arbitrary whim — the source of man’s rights is not divine law or congressional law, but the law of identity.  A is A — and Man is Man.  Rights are conditions of existence required by man’s nature for his proper survival.If man is to live on earth, it is right for him to use his mind, it is right to act on his own free judgment, it is right to work for his values and to keep the product of his work.  If life on earth is his purpose, he has a right to live as a rational being:  nature forbids him the irrational.  Any group, any gang, any nation that attempts to negate man’s rights, is wrong, which means: is evil, which means: is anti-life.” — John Galt

A very well-thought out and scripted statement from Mr. Galt; on first examination, it would be difficult to find any flaws in his logic. A second examination upholds that judgment, as well. Which leads me to conclude that every politician alive today is evil. If any of them aren’t, well, they never speak up, and silence is the strongest tool of those who prey upon the rest of society. What’s that old saw, “there is no need for evil to act, as long as men are silent in the face of oppression”? Something like that….or, “all that is required for evil to win is for good men to be silent”. That’s a little better said, though I forget who said it.

The point is, we are, as a society, moving rapidly toward self-extinction (and if you disagree, please, please offer me some evidence that what I’m saying isn’t so! Just one little piece of verifiable fact would suffice to create a discussion). If we don’t stop these fools, they’re going to drag the rest of us down with them into the abyss……
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A monk sat with his three students. He took out his  fan and placed it in front of him, saying, “Without calling it a fan, tell me what this is.”

The first said, “You couldn’t call it a slop-bucket.” The master poked him with his stick.

The second picked up the fan and fanned himself. He too was rewarded with the stick.

The third opened the fan, laid a piece of cake on it, and served it to his teacher. The teacher said, “Eat your cake.”

The question to consider here is, what did the student tell the teacher about the fan?  How would you describe his answer in words? My answer to both questions would be: The fan is, first of all, an opportunity to be of use. It is, as we are, best used in service to others. If you can think of another way to say it, feel free to submit your thoughts, and we can discuss them in a future Pearl……
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“Speak, thou vast and venerable head,” muttered Ahab, “which, though ungarnished with a beard, yet here and there lookest hoary with mosses; speak, mighty head, and tell us the secret thing that is in thee.  Of all divers, thou has dived the deepest.  That head upon which the upper sun now gleams has moved amid the world’s foundations.   Where unrecorded names and navies rust, and untold hopes and anchors rot; where in her murderous hold this frigate earth is ballasted with bones of millions of the drowned; there, in that awful water-land, there was thy most familiar home.  Thou hast been where bell or diver never went; has slept by many a sailer’s side, where sleepless mothers would give their lives to lay them down.  Thou saw’st the locked lovers when leaping from their flaming ship; heart to heart they sank beneath the exulting wave; true to each other, when heaven seemed false to them. Thou saw’st the murdered mate when tossed by pirates from the midnight deck; for hours he fell into the deeper midnight of the insatiate maw; and his murderers still sailed on unharmed–while swift lightnings shivered the neighboring ship that would have borne a righteous husband to outstretched, longing arms. O head! thou has seen enough to split the planets and make an infidel of Abraham, and not one syllable is thine!” — Herman Melville (1819-1891), “Moby Dick”

Now I’m glad I never read this book…..I gave up on reading this paragraph about half-way through, and have no desire whatsoever to subject myself any further to such drivel. It reminds me of The Rhyme of The Ancient Mariner, which, as we all know, was written under the influence of opiates….. I suppose people thought this was good because they couldn’t understand it, and were too embarrassed to say so, thinking they would appear foolish and illiterate. Naw…..it’s just crap, and I don’t care who thinks otherwise…..

Iago. She was a wight, if ever such wight were,–
Des. To do what?
Iago. To suckle fools and chronicle small beer.
Des. O most lame and impotent conclusion!
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Othello — Act ii, Sc. 1

Sorry folks. Ditto….. not everything Shakespeare wrote was good….and this is particularly bad….
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Another day, another 42 cents…..this treatise won’t be available on my site until after 8 PM tonight. I am participating in the internet-wide protest against SOPA, the internet piracy bill now before Congress. Please use one of the available methods to add your voice to others in protest. If this bill passes, virtually half or more of all websites would be taken down, just because someone else didn’t approve of it. Censorship at its worst. And after you’ve registered your disapproval, please come on back and enjoy today’s Pearl….. y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

In a manner of speaking…..

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Ffolkes,
Mornings such as this are becoming all too familiar. I sit here and stare at the monitor, waiting for an idea to float up to the surface of my mind, where I can pluck it up and lay it out for all to see. But, nothing is floating. The stream of consciousness keeps flowing by; I can feel the current. But, nothing is jumping into the net, or onto shore to flop around, and the baited hook is being ignored. Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to wing it; that’s better than diving in to catch ’em by hand……
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Q: “You’re right, of course.  I’m extraordinarily selfish.  But it has served me so well in the past.”
Picard: “It will not serve you here.”
Q: “Don’t be so hard on me, Jean-Luc.  You’ve been mortal all of your life, you know about dying.  I’ve never even given it a second-thought…or a first one for that matter.  I could’ve been killed.  If it hadn’t been for Data, and that brief little he created, I would’ve been gone.  No more me.  And no one would’ve missed me, would they?” — “Deja Q”, Stardate 43539.1

And right there is the answer to the question, why should one live with compassion and truth, honor and duty? Because if you don’t, NO ONE will miss you when you’re gone. Can there be a sadder way to die? Or, worse yet, a sadder way to live? I don’t believe there can be, at all, at all….
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“The assertion that all men are created equal was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the Declaration not for that, but for future use.” —  Abraham Lincoln

“All men are created unequal.”- Lazarus Long

“All men weren’t created equal. All were created with equal rights. But they weren’t created with equal abilities, or equal intelligence, or equal physical capabilities. Every man and woman is created with equal potential of being better than merely equal, and with the right to have that potential respected for what they may achieve. They should not be judged according to what someone with greater talent in one area or another may say, for they judge and condemn only according to their own assumed entitlement.” — gigoid ©
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“Termiter’s argument that God is His own grandmother generated a surprising amount of controversy among Church leaders, who on the one hand considered the argument unsupported by scripture but on the other hand were unwilling to risk offending God’s grandmother.” — Len Cool, American Pie

Vows with so much passion, swears with so much grace, that ‘t is a kind of heaven to be deluded by him. — Nathaniel Lee (1655-1692)  — Alexander the Great, Act i, Sc. 3

It can be a rather sobering pastime to contemplate the staggering effects of ignorance on human society. History is filled with evidence of just how silly mankind tends to be, especially when left to its own devices. How many times have we seen or read about some tin-plated demagogue spewing their vitriolic nonsense so loudly, and with such conviction, that millions of desperate people gather behind their banner, ready to die for the cause, however ignorant, on the off-chance that their lot my be improved thereby.

Let’s see….without googling, I can offer off the top of my head, Alexander. Genghis Khan. Jesus of Nazareth. Mohamed (yes, I know, but the spell-checker wants it spelled this way. Go figure). Hannibal, Adolph Hitler, Baha’ullah, Shrub, Sr. and Shrub, Jr., and a host of other charismatic leaders with the ability to pull people into their own particular delusional system. As a matter of fact, we have spent much of our history just recovering from the times when these charming idiots held sway over society.

Myself, I’m getting pretty tired of trying to live down the absolute nonsense perpetrated by these ignorant sociopaths; I wish it weren’t so, but it looks as if ignorance is going to win the final battle with reason, and humanity will join the dinosaurs in extinction, with the dubious honor of having chosen death over life……

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.” — Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals

“The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“It may be true that my desk here is really “nothing but” a transient eddy of electrons in the flux of universal process. Nevertheless, I find that it continues to support my feet, my revolver, and my cigars all day long. What happens when my back is turned I don’t know. Or much care. That’s no concern of mine.” — Edward Abbey

I find this to be an insightful epiphany; it’s just curmudgeonly enough to appeal to that side of my nature, which, I do confess, I encourage shamelessly. But, and here’s the important part, it’s pretty much true, in the sense that the Universe does exist and operate in ways we don’t always understand. But, there is also no need to understand everything; many parts of the Universe bring with them an understanding that needs no communication beyond perception. If it looks like a cat, and sounds like a cat, and smells like a cat, and feels like a cat, AND it tastes like a cat, it’s probably a cat. If, after performing all of these perceptual tests upon the cat, you walk away with a number of scratches, well, that is just one more piece of evidence in favor of the theory that it was a cat….. it’s kinda like Mark Twain said, “A man who has held a bull by the tail knows several things more than a man who hasn’t”……
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“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,’ said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
” What’s for breakfast? said Pooh. What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said. — A. A. Milne, “Winnie the Pooh”

Here’s a fine little example of how simple is best. What a wonderful attitude to have in the morning, in whichever form you choose, breakfast, or excitement. It is only when one attains a certain age that mornings assume the aspect of a challenge rather than an inspiration. Part of the process of aging, for us humans, involves learning how to approach each day with some degree of cheerfulness, having found that it is better to accept what is, rather than struggle to make it more to our liking.

When one is young, that unknown day ahead of us is bright and shiny, with promise and potential. As we get older, we see less of the shine, and focus instead on the potential. By now, we know any promises involving reality are false; things usually change before a promise can even be uttered. Mother Nature offers us no guarantees, we just have to take everything “as is”…..therefore, learning to get back to the childish side of our nature allows us to at least look forward to each day, even though we know its challenges…..
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Wait….no, wait a minute…..oh. Okay. It’s okay, I just had a strong feeling of veja du. ” For a moment, I thought I had entered an alternate universe.” — Vir  But, it was only my sense of humor playing a joke on me….. (Sorry, I apologize…I couldn’t resist…..) But, think of this, if you will: these are only my opinions. You should see my convictions.  Y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

In the absence of morality…..

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3

Ffolkes,
If is was, was is were, or was is wasn’t? If is isn’t, is confusing to say the least. Not sure what prompted that nonsense. It’s what happens when I just let my fingers type, without any input from brain. Supposedly that’s how James Joyce achieved his “stream of consciousness” style of writing; who can really say how genius works? But it certainly is hard to make sense that way. Of course, making sense is not always the goal, now is it? Sometimes it’s better to be odd, than it is to be even…..
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When I consider life, ‘t is all a cheat.
Yet fool’d with hope, men favour the deceit;
Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay.
To-morrow ‘s falser than the former day;
Lies worse, and while it says we shall be blest
With some new joys, cuts off what we possest.
Strange cozenage! none would live past years again,
Yet all hope pleasure in what yet remain;
And from the dregs of life think to receive
What the first sprightly running could not give.
— John Dryden (1631-1700)
— Aurengzebe, Act iv, Sc. 1

True beauty requires no adornment, nor comment…..
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“All societies are based on rules to protect pregnant women and young children. All else is surplusage, excrescence, adornment, luxury, or folly which can – and must – be dumped in emergency to preserve this prime function.  As racial survival is the only universal morality, no other basic is possible.  Attempts to formulate a “perfect society” on any other foundation other than “Women and children first!” is not only witless, it is automatically genocidal. Nevertheless, starry-eyed idealists (all of them male) have tried endlessly- and no doubt will keep on trying.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

Robert Heinlein was somewhat conservative in his political views, with an occasional foray into Atheism/Solipsism/Pantheism/Libertarianism to assuage his need for independence. The conservatism comes from his military education (he and L. Ron Hubbard were cadets at Annapolis in the early twentieth century), and an (for him) obsessive fear of creeping Communism. He wrote more than one story about revolution, or uprisings by Americans after being conquered, and all referred to the role, and duty, of the citizen in a republic, and in these stories, his conservatism comes through clearly.

But, he also had a very strong sense of personal and societal responsibility, believing each man has the duty to act in a manner that is beneficial to others, as well as to himself; society works best when the wheels are well-greased. I suppose what is attractive about his belief system is that it holds each man responsible for his own actions, while still acknowledging his duty to society. There are many, many too few men like him alive today, and there isn’t one politician alive who even approaches his level of patriotism; they’re all too busy with their personal agendas…..we need more like the one described below…..

“Boys become men by watching men, by standing close to men. Manhood is a ritual passed from generation to generation with precious few spoken instructions. Passing the torch of manhood is a fragile, tedious task. If the rite of passage is successfully completed, the boy-become-man is like an oak of hardwood character. His shade and influence will bless all those who are fortunate enough to lean on him and rest under his canopy.” — Preston Gilham
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If you understand, things are as they are.
If you do not understand, things are as they are.
— Gensha, Zen Master

Cuando se comprende sus problema, se conoce el solución. Y que es, es….. sounds pretty good in Spanish too. Though it’s not completely accurate, the Zen koan is deeply related to my little Latin pearl. For the google-challenged among you, it translates as, “When you understand the problem, you know the answer.” (Not sure, but I may have made it up, as I’ve not seen it before in print, at least, not in Spanish. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t printed, just that I’ve not seen it) The underlying reason for doing so was to find the middle ground between the two quotes, both of which are part of the solution to the Big Picture; around here we call it Consensual Reality.

Consensual Reality is the one that all of us know; it’s the one whose referents are known to all of us, and accepted as being the correct interpretation of what we perceive as real. Learning to see the whole picture is the first task to complete on the path to knowledge and truth; and learning consists of learning to accept what is, just the way it is. To do so, one must often employ Occam’s Razor, to trim away the nonsense and useless facts that accumulate in the process, carving away what is superfluous, to reveal the beauty within the Truth.

It can be a lonely path to walk, as most folks just don’t want to spend the effort to find deeper knowledge. Most are content to just get by, dealing with the peccadilloes of daily life the best they may without expending a lot of effort. But the reward is a renewed sense of self-respect, and the ability to sleep at night unbothered by fearful dreams of what might be……

Pluralitas non ponenda est sine necessitate.  (Multiplicity is not to be asserted when it is unnecessary.) — William of Occam [Occam’s Razor]
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“Truth never tranquilizes. The defining property of truth is its ability to disturb.” — Solomon Short

Bleeding heavily from wounds unseen
the warrior within fights on, on, and on.
In defense of truth, with blade so keen,
for the living dead, for the quick,
for the weak, for the aged sick,
he fights, and dreams on.

Don’t ask me any questions. I just might tell you the truth. It’s a risk only you can fathom……
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There is a pleasure in poetic pains
Which only poets know.
— William Cowper (1731-1800) — The Task, Book ii, The Timepiece, Line 285

When I came across this little gem, an image from a movie flashed into my mind’s eye. In the third Indiana Jones movie, Indiana and his father are fleeing from a German airplane, and all of a sudden become trapped in the open on a beach, while the fighter plane, guns blazing, flies right at them. The elder Jones, (Sean Connery), begins to run at a flock of sea birds, yelling and flourishing his umbrella. The flock flew up, straight into the path of the airplane, taking it down as surely as a .50 caliber Gatling. As he strolls away, he quotes the line about Charlemagne “and the birds in the sky shall be my weapons.” (or something like that), and strolls calmly away. It was a perfect audio-visual example of what is said above by Mr. Cowper…..and a fine testament to the power of language, especially in the form of a poem, even a simple couplet….
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Enough is enough….it’s important to know when to stop. It’s still early; lets go see what kind of trouble I can get myself into. My coping skills need a workout….. y’all take care out there….

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Intrusion of the Dubious….

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3

Ffolkes,
As the brightly colored dreidle spins, mesmerizing, laughter rings out above the noise of the crowded plaza. The sun beat down with heavy indifference, laying a mantle of sticky humidity on the poor, and on the not-so-poor denizens wandering listlessly among the filthy stalls. Occasionally, soldiers from the palace would stride past, looking neither left nor right, in squads of eight; any fewer would be an easy target for the bands of mercenaries purchased as protection by the criminal overlords of the city.

The crowds parted once again, and filled in behind, as a stranger, dressed in strangely colored garments, marched steadily toward the Speaking Stone. He reached the Stone and vaulted to the top; the crowd gathered around, and fell silent. As the sun began to sink behind the minarets to the west, the stranger looked out among the crowd, and spake thus, “Did you believe the lies? Did you doubt my words? If so, the proof of your mistaken choice stands before you. I have returned, and there will be a reckoning!” The crowd, still silent, fell back as the stranger quickly departed the plaza. Neighbor looked at neighbor, with baffled mien, until one shouted out, expressing the mutual confusion, and said “What! What the hell is that supposed to mean?”……

Sorry folks, just had to get that out…..we will now return to our regularly scheduled nonsense…..
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Alone!–that worn-out word,
So idly spoken, and so coldly heard;
Yet all that poets sing and grief hath known
Of hopes laid waste, knells in that word ALONE!
— Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1805-1873) — The New Timon, (1846), Part ii

It is interesting sometimes to see how the world works; there is always some piece of it that is stranger than we can imagine. This poem, though not of top notch quality, is nonetheless saved from total obscurity by the power of its plea. What interests me is that this gentleman is the same one who wrote the famous passage from the beginning of one of his books; it begins with “It was a dark and stormy night….” and proceeds to go downhill from there. It is considered by experts to be so bad that there is now a yearly literary contest, with a pretty hefty prize, called the Bulwer-Lytton Award.

The award is bestowed upon the author of the written passage that best exemplifies just how badly people can write. Each year, the winning pieces lend new meaning to Theodore Sturgeon’s Law of Everything, which tells us that “90 percent of science fiction is crap. But, then, 90% of everything is crap.” It’s all just another way for us to laugh at our best source of humor in life, ourselves and our personal struggle with our oh-so human nature…….
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“It is your resistance to ‘what is’ that causes your suffering.” — Buddha

In the movie, The Lion King, there is a scene wherein the young lion king-to-be is receiving a lesson from his shaman/mentor, the anorexic orangutan. The shaman would ask a question, and when the young lion answered, the shaman would hit him over the head with a stick, and say “Forget about it! It’s in the Past!”, carrying on with that until the point was obvious, to wit: Don’t hang on to baggage you can leave in the past, or you’ll drag it with you into the future.”

This is actually the only scene from the movie that I remember, so I guess my crap detector was on full alert. But this one scene makes the movie worthwhile for me, because this is a lesson that more kids (and adults) in this country need to have drilled into their heads. However, such a subtle concept as this is generally incomprehensible to westerners, who are conditioned from birth to avoid using their minds at all cost….to their eventual regret, and everyone else’s chagrin…..
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By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord Hymn

“Our safety, our liberty depends on preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate.  The people of the US are the rightful masters both Congress and the courts – Not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution” — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country…. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.’ — Former US President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 — letter to Col. William F. Elkins — printed in “The Lincoln Encyclopedia”, — ed. Archer H. Shaw, Macmillan, 1950, NY

“Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear — kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor — with the cry of grave national emergency… Always there has been some terrible evil to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant sums demanded.  Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.” — General Douglas MacArthur, 1957

This section of quotes hearkens back to the early days of the Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. The four quotes above, when considered as a continuing evolution of observations of American society, show an increasingly strong sense of impending threat to the freedoms our forefathers attempted to guarantee for us. The threat is getting even stronger as time goes on, and I can only hope that enough folks out there are aware of how close to the edge we are skating, and make a joint effort to pull us all back from danger…..but, then, I AM an optimist by nature…..
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Thou wast that all to me, love,
For which my soul did pine–
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.
— Edgar Allan Poe

Poe didn’t live long, but he loved, and lived well, miserable though he was. To love well is to live well; perfect logic trimmed with Occam’s Razor. I have loved, so I can say I have lived well. I still love, and seek more. It is, after all, our most defining emotion. Robert Heinlein, of course, said it the best, as far as I can see, when he said that “Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” That’s a goal worth living for…..
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No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 3, 1791

This is your daily reminder of what is now missing from your life…..no joke…..
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The above posting may seem like insignificant rubbish at first glance, but if you read between the lines, you will be surprised to discover the annals of Burt Bachrach, world peace, Oxford Advanced Readers Dictionary, quantum physics made easy, and an easy-to-use step-by-step walk-through on how to make a time traveling device that actually works. — DISCLAIMER

I can’t do it any better than that; not today. Today, I’ll be lucky if I can see my way clear to tomorrow. Matters at this point are, shall we say, unsettled? Good thing I refuse to be bored; to admit that is to admit I’m tired of what is in my own head. Not gonna happen in this lifetime…..meantime, y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Arbitrary moments of sublime nostalgia……

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2

Ffolkes,
I’ve hit the wall. It hurts. The longer I sit here and try to find something, anything in my head, the more solid the wall becomes. I’m already bleeding on the forehead, and it’s threatening to run down my arms onto the keyboard (which, by the way, is covered with tiny little thorns on the touch pads). Oh well, such is life; I’ll just keep on typing until I bleed out……
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“We have a presidential election coming up. And I think the big problem, of course, is someone will win.” — Barry Crimmins

Of course this is funny. It’s funny because it hurts; we laugh most often to ease the pain of living. And the fact that this is funny, is for me the saddest part of the whole deal. It’s funny because it’s true; someone is going to win the election, and no matter who it is, we will once again be at the mercy of a sociopath. Not just any sociopath, mind you, but one who has received from us a mandate, to go forth amongst the people and steal, steal, steal. We constantly are forced to deal with the felonious activities of those we elect, because by electing them we tell them, “It’s okay; I’ll just bend over right here while you unbuckle your belt.”

Recently, one of our readers opted out of receiving this via email, giving “your politics” (ie., my politics) as the underlying reason. I want to make something clear, if it isn’t already. I don’t have any politics. I firmly believe that those in our society who want public office are sick people, who have their own personal agendas for seeking office; public spirit, altruism, and a desire to help others are not listed on those agendas. So let’s just say it straight out….. I don’t like ANY politicians. Not Democrats, not Republicans, not Libertarians, not Socialists, Communists, or Green Party-ists. A central government is unfortunately a necessary evil, but whenever it becomes merely a popularity contest to decide which group of thieves to live with, then I start poking at it, and buying into it as little as possible. It’s the only way I can keep from getting nauseous every time I read the latest outrage in the news…….
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He who knows nothing, loves nothing.
He who can do nothing understands nothing.
He who understands nothing is worthless.
— Paracelsus

That may be a bit harsh; they’re not entirely useless…..a person fitting this description obviously has the qualifications to be a candidate for the U.S. Republican Party’s bid for the Presidency. This fits all six of the current crop like a tailored glove……
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Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep.

Dogs do this consistently. So do cats. Who are we to go against tradition? Besides, maybe they know something we don’t…… Well, at least some of us don’t know. What this really says is simpler than it seems, but is still some of the best advice one can receive. In essence, what this says is that “worry has killed more folks than bleeding to death ever did” (thanks to R. A. H. again).

The stress and unrelenting pressure that life in modern society puts on each of us, merely to fulfill those tasks essential to normal life, is so great that most folks are very seldom able to step back far enough to gain any perspective on their lives. Not only do they neglect to stop and smell the roses, they forget to even see them as they hurry by.

Learning to make one’s own pace, a pace designed to nurture and thrive rather than merely survive, is one of the most valuable lessons we can learn. It may not keep one from dying, but it makes living a lot more fun….. “The best way to get rid of worries is to let them die of neglect.”– Unknown Smart Person

Why lose we life in anxious cares,
To lay in hoards for future years?
Can these, when tortur’d by disease,
Cheer our sick hearts, or purchase ease?
Can these prolong one gasp of breath,
Or calm the troubled hour of death?
— Gay (1688-1732), Fables
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Dawn

Melting ice in a pool, waiting,
convex and patient.
Sunlight seeking.

gigoid

Long live Haiku! Poetry for the masses, indeed. Almost anyone, I think, who first reads a haiku, is often compelled to try to compose one themselves. The very brevity of its structure, displaying the absolute maximum of meaning in the minimum of expression seems to act as a challenge to even the least literate among us.

I enjoy the process; it reminds me at times of the state of mind I use when diving for Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, a modified state of limbo, where impressions and feelings guide my direction more than reason or facts. It’s an easy way, I’ve found, to touch the very center of reality within ourselves; sort of an alternate form of conscious meditation. Sounds a bit like New Age psychosocial babble-speak, I know, but, hey, it works for me….
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“No matter where you are, there you are.” — Oliver’s Law of Location

Here you are. Caught implacably in time between the past on one hand, and the future on the other. You cannot go back, only forward, though you hold the past in your heart. The future holds your hope, but only by being where you are now can you get to the future you desire. The seed of hope is planted today, and will be reaped in the future, as long as it is nourished and nurtured on each successive now. Wishing it were otherwise won’t make it so, nor will whining, complaining, or denying. Only by accepting can we be in the moment, where we belong……

“Yes! Living in today’s complex world of the Future IS much like having a hive of bees living in your head. But, there they are!”– Firesign Theater, “I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus”
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Opening to the inner eye, sinuous and subtle
floating truth, no fat, no rebuttal.
Fling away, share the innocent trouble,
as wells of laughter begin to bubble.

Okay, that’s another good start. I can feel more of this one in there somewhere, but it’s not ready to come out into the light just yet. Have patience, it’s all new to me, this poetry stuff. I gave up spending a lot of time in the pertinent state of mind needed to compose; too many interruptions from Reality for a lot of years. I’ll get it yet…..meantime, y’all take care out there….

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Purveyors of faint praise….

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1

Ffolkes,
Today is Friday, which means it is also Friday the thirteenth. I am compelled to say, “Yipee!” and dance a quick jig, because I always have a good day when one of these rolls around. Maybe it has to do with my lack of superstition, though I do have certain personal rituals I perform that ensure the success of any venture (like the little dolls I make to stick pins into when one of my enemies annoys me, or rubbing a child’s head before buying lottery tickets). I could also claim that it is a lucky day for me because I’m a triple Scorpio. Well, I could if I gave any credence at all to astrology; it’s a pretty flimsy theory, without much evidence of being real. I’d say that astrology is just about as true as the myths of creation that tell us that the world was made about 8000 years ago, and all the evidence to the contrary was planted here to fool us into thinking it is real. Sorry, not buying it; why would I think an omnipotent entity  would play tricks like that? Seems a bit petty to my way of thinking….okay, enough distractions, lets get on to the meat of the meal…..
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“It has been said that there are two theories of history: conspiracy and blunder. If there is some truth to that, it is surely equally true that blunder seldom receives all the credit due it as an explanation of complex events.” — Michael Scully

I would say that this is probably pretty accurate; after all, it is the winners who get to tell the story, and why would they make themselves look any worse than they already are? I believe that much of mankind’s progress up to now is, in fact, a result of blundering about, breaking the china and scaring the horses, until something serendipitous falls into someone’s lap.

The example most often given regarding inspiration that brings progress is that of Isaac Newton and the apple, which, according to history, fell upon his head unexpectedly, causing him to fall down and begin writing the 3 Laws of Motion. I think it more likely that he was trying to climb up to get the apple, and took a good fall onto his head; he just blamed it on the apple, and since he was the only witness, who can gainsay him?

This points out one of the less attractive, and most problematic of the characteristics of humans, and that is our inability to get beyond our childish feelings of insecurity. The older we get, the less able we become to handle the embarrassment or ridicule that follows a mistake, and the more contortions we will assume to keep others from seeing our Bozoid Tendencies. You see, like the Firesign Theater said, “I think we’re all Bozo’s on this bus!”; we all have the unfortunate ability to perform ridiculously stupid acts at times.

Most folks, though, don’t like to be thought of this way, and will go through almost anything to prevent themselves from looking inept in front of other folks. Me, I wish they’d just learn to laugh at themselves, and everyone else; maybe then they could grow up enough to be able to look directly at the things in society that we need to change, instead of childishly refusing to even look at the situation. Emotional maturity means dealing with whatever happens, without letting emotions control one’s actions, or reactions, and most of mankind doesn’t exhibit anything close to that sort of maturity……
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A Mexican newspaper reports that bored Royal Air Force pilots stationed on the Falkland Islands have devised what they consider a marvelous new game.  Noting that the local penguins are fascinated by airplanes, the pilots search out a beach where the birds are gathered and fly slowly along it at the water’s edge.  Perhaps ten thousand penguins turn their heads in unison watching the planes go by, and when the pilots turn around and fly back, the birds turn their heads in the opposite direction, like spectators at a slow-motion tennis match.  Then, the paper reports, “The pilots fly out to sea and directly to the penguin colony and overfly it.  Heads go up, up, up, and ten thousand penguins fall over gently onto their backs. — Audobon Society Magazine

I can’t help it. I this is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read; the mental image of thousands of birds falling over kicks me right over into hilarity. And I really, really like the idea of some bozoids spending hundreds of thousands of dollars  to use their supersonic flying machines of death to create a work of visual art, with only one witness, the pilot. Superb irony! It brings reality right up next to fantasy, and gives it a big hug……

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. “Where shall I begin, please your Majesty ?” he asked.  “Begin at the beginning,”, the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
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“The entire world is being driven insane by this single phrase: ‘My religion alone is true.'” — Ramakrishna, Hindu saint & reformer

I guess that Christianity and Islam are not the only world religions that suffer from the actions of their more fanatical devotees. It seems to be a particularly human characteristic to take perfectly rational religious beliefs and twist them into a form that has a dual purpose, to wit: 1) the beliefs now support their own personal agenda, no matter how bigoted and ignorant, and 2) the beliefs now justify that agenda on religious grounds.

It’s been said that a good theologian can dip into Scripture and pull out any number of ideas that seemingly support their own brand of madness; much like a statistician, who can make the numbers in a database say anything at all. I’m sure there are a few genuinely religious preachers out there, who actually try to apply the principles of their religion into life in the way it was intended. But mostly, they are just politicians who have found an even easier set of marks to exploit….

“Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent.” — Lazarus Long
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All I ask of you is forever to remember me as loving you.

A beautiful sentiment, one I would be happy to claim, had I but said it first.  I live alone now, having been summarily dismissed from my last relationship almost two years ago. But I can truthfully say that this is a statement I could make to each of the women I’ve loved, and for that matter, still love. None of my relationships was terminated at my instigation; I’m not a person who gives vows of fidelity lightly.

But as Tom Robbins pointed out in one of his books, “Finding love is easy, but, how can you make love stay?” I don’t know the answer, obviously; if I did, I’d still be married. What I do know is that my feelings for Carrie, Martha, Ellen, and Julie will never change. When I wrote my own vows for my marriage, one of them promised that I would love her more each day until the day I died, and beyond. I meant it then, and I still do. It’s the hardest thing I know of to be alone, when those you love have chosen to be elsewhere. And it’s especially hard when you don’t know why……
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“Thinking, understanding, reasoning, willing, call not these Soul! They are its actions, but they are not its essence.” — Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375)

When? Oh, four thousand four hundred eighty-seven years ago…..is that all? I’ve got acne scars older than that! Well, perhaps not. But I am continually amazed at some of the things I find that were written this long ago. It gives credence to the idea that mankind’s first steps toward modern culture were the result of how our minds work, and our penchant for using our imagination to understand the universe around us. It has been said that the first science was Astronomy, which makes a lot of sense. But, simultaneously, we used Philosophy, and the principles of logic and reason, to apply meaning to what we observed.

Forty-four hundred years is a long time to be working on the same issues, and it seems to me we should be getting somewhere a bit faster than we are. But then I realize that there is another side to human nature, one that is not so moral and ethical as our scientific bent, and this side of us is in constant competition with our virtues to assume control of society. And they are winning, mostly because they have no compunctions against cheating, or lying, or manipulating events to suit their own purposes. We’ve been at this long enough; let’s make a concerted effort to nullify the negative effects of deliberate ignorance and fear. Perhaps we can even find a way to survive our own nature…..
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The abyss stares back at me, unblinking, unmoved.
With passion unveiled, with honor unproved,
Seeking the path only begun
In hope of love, never undone.
I am as I am, unafraid, and so very alone.

There, that’s not bad, is it? Not much, but not bad……I’m stopping here, as I refuse to press my luck any further, even if it is Friday the 13th. I hope youse have as good a day as I intend to have. Y’all take care out there……

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

This truffle intentionally left in ignorance….

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2

Ffolkes,
Here is the Pearl I put together on 5/28/11…. a bit of a blast from the relatively recent past. I believe this one was posted on SFGATE on that date last year….. today it appears with a couple of short pieces at the end as a bonus round. It seems I’m not completely out of things that need to be said…..

Ffolkes,
The process of diving for pearls in the ocean of knowledge that is the WWW is one I have tried not to analyze too closely, for fear the delicate sense of nuance would fade away under the scrutiny, and be forever lost. Leaving the matter of choosing up to my subconscious has worked out very well for me, and I’m afraid to bring it up into the light of logic, which resides most comfortably in the conscious mind.

And that’s okay by me….. researching, outlining, organizing, and composing are fine if I’m looking to write a review, or describing the cooking technique for a certain recipe. But when it really needs to be subtle, when it really needs to stimulate zazen, as does a koan, then I find it works best to allow myself to see through a curtain of intuition, and make the subliminal choice. Today’s offerings were chosen in this fashion, with only one criterion to apply, to wit: life is one big joke, so don’t let your serious face freeze in place…..

“I don’t ask questions, I just have fun!” — Bugs Bunny

You can’t get there from here, you have to go somewhere else first. (thank goodness!)

A wide-eyed, innocent UNICORN, poised delicately in a MEADOW filled with  LILACS, LOLLIPOPS & small CHILDREN at the HUSH of twilight?? — Zippy the Pinhead

On Monday, when the sun is hot,
I wonder to myself a lot;
‘Now is it true, or is it not,
‘That what is which and which is what?’

“On Tuesday, when it hails and snows,
The feeling on me grows and grows
That hardly anybody knows
If those are these or these are those.”

“On Wednesday, when the sky is blue,
And I have nothing else to do,
I sometimes wonder if it’s true
That who is what and what is who.” — A.A. Milne, Winnie The Pooh

“It’s wonderful to be here, it’s certainly a thrill…”–The Beatles

In the words of little Ruth Anne, “…and that’s the Truth! Thpppppt!”–Lily Tomlin.
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Between those who use their neighbors, and those who use a cane.
Between those in constant power, and those in constant pain.
Between those who run to evil, and those who cannot run.
Tell me which ones are the cripples, and which ones touch the sun.
— Ceili’s Muse “What you do with what you’ve got”

Just another cleverly disguised criticism of modern day politicians and/or preachers. (For clarity’s sake: I use the word ‘preacher’ to describe any and all of the ministers, priests, pastors, vicars, or cult leaders who believe that their particular vision of God and Reality is the only one that is a) true, and b) acceptable to their degree of ignorance (i.e., subordinate). They all tend to proselytize, which is no end of annoyance…..). I hope you’re not getting tired of my taking shots at the talking heads at every opportunity; I have no intention of stopping or moderating any of it, until the Constitution is safe from further degradation, and the seeds of ignorance have been dug up and burned……
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Speaking of which…..

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” — Francis Bellamy, 1892

In case you didn’t notice, there is nothing in here about God. This is the original version of the pledge of allegiance; the phrase, “…under God…” was only added 62 years later, in 1954, by President Eisenhower. At that time, the stage was set for the eventual burning of the Bill of Rights, as more and more of our segments of government were taken over by fanatical Christians of one flavor or another. It was fairly simple, actually. We already expected our politicians to lie to us; Eisenhower wasn’t the first to do so in a major way when he conveniently “forgot” to mention to the American public that we were sending ‘military advisers’ to Vietnam in 1954, along with enough weapons and materials to equip them, and most of the South Vietnamese Army.

Every major politician in the last century, except perhaps Kennedy, who had other ways of concealing his true intentions, has shamelessly lied to us, telling the public whatever they needed to hear to get elected. Now, it seems it would be more honest to add one more short statement at the end of the pledge, one that makes it clear what is really meant…..to wit: …..with liberty and justice for all white Christians.” What do you think? Wouldn’t it be closer to the truth that way?….. but, oh yeah, I forgot….truth isn’t the point here; prejudice is……
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It’s a long and winding road, and as with any journey, it begins with but one step. The trick is to be prepared to take that step when the time is right. I’m ready, just waiting for wherewithal; as soon as it arrives, I’ll be on my way, to new horizons and new things to learn…..until then, this keeps me busy and fairly content. Y’all take care out there……

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!