Tag Archives: Plan 9 From Outer Space

Just as well; this one is too blue….

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Ffolkes,

“It is not the possessions but the desires of mankind which require to be equalized.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

August 14 2014 008

    I apologize to anyone who got fooled into watching yesterday’s video choice…. I had not watched “Plan 9 From Outer Space” for many years, having apparently blocked out of my mind anything about the plot or quality; I watched it yesterday for a while, but, lasted only up to 15:45, (when the third of Vampira’s victims is found by the police), before having to stop the video to prevent damaging the computer…. I was frighteningly close to tossing it through the window when I caught myself…

I promise, from now on, I’ll pre-screen any movies like that one… Aye, it’s a cult classic of the genre (Ed Wood, Jr. films, and their ilk…), noted for its campy nature, and lower than B- or, even C-movie rating. I guess in this case, campy translates into crappy…. Oh well, I saw some others on the page where I found it that looked like they would at least have a slightly larger FX budget, with a flying saucer that doesn’t wobble as it moves forward, due to being suspended by only one string, as it gets dragged across  the camera’s eye, rushing uncertainly in front of the (obviously) poorly drawn background, by some guy who apparently has a limp, walking out of sight behind the screen…. SIGH…. I won’t even mention the acting, because nobody in the movie could be accused of that….

Sometimes, my paragraphs get a bit long, and I can’t cut them down, because, as with the one just above this one, it has a typical, (for me), run-on sentence of massive proportion… The one you see here is almost worthy of the Bulwer-Lytton contest held each year, to find the worst opening line for a story…. The four lines above are pretty bad, all in all, but, I’ve seen some amazingly putrid paragraphs take the prize, so it isn’t what I would call a prize-winning effort…. I think at least eight or ten lines are required to catch the judges eyes, all much like that one above, just plain boring and repetitive, until one considers how wonderfully awful it is….

Oh well, it’s fun, but, my purpose here is to teach myself to write better, not worse. I can cough up a run-on sentence any old time; making a compellingly charming one is much more of a challenge, you may be sure. Today, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come up with either type, that is, not until I can figure out how to get us out of the intro…. I seem to have written myself into a corner again, with no apparent exit…. Oh well, that’s alright. I’ll just break out a bit of the ruthlessness I have left over from a few days ago, and rip us out…. right here, and right now….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Although war is cruel and brutal, it is also dangerous and stupid.” — Yakko Warner

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I believe I’ve already stated my preference for Eric Clapton’s music, so, I won’t bother to gush any more today. I’ll just say this: this band is considered by more than a few rock historians to be the best group that ever got together & put out an album…. We are fortunate in that Derek and the Dominos put out a couple, or three (I forget), so we have a good legacy of their talented time together…. This album is the best of what they did, with what many consider the best R&R song ever made, in Layla…. Abondanza, ffolkes…..

Layla — Derek and The Dominos (Full Album)

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“It is always best to start at the beginning.” — Smart Bee

Sometimes, Smart Bee comes up with stuff that’s hard to argue with…. Since, in this case, I’m aware of this, I’ll just let it go, and get on with what I have planned for here…. In putting together the pearl, and pearls, for section five, I got a bit carried away with comments, which, while not unusual, did cause that section to grow beyond all reason, into what could be considered a rant…. So, since the news seems to be quiet right now, waiting for the other shoe to drop, I suppose, I will NOT rant here….

Instead, here is a nice, fresh, old-school, seven-star pearl, a bit eclectic, but, not bad…. It will do for today’s effort, which is a bit fractured, anyway, as I try to work new protocols into my day, to deal with my newest annoying physical issue…. This one turned out a little twisted, so, be careful on the turns, okay?….

“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.” — Aristophanes

“Anatidaephobia:  The fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you.” — Smart Bee

“The tragedy and the magnificence of Homo sapiens together rise from the same smoky truth that we alone among the animal species refuse to acknowledge natural law.” — Robert Ardrey, _The Social Contract_

“Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let’s not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emissions standards from man-made sources.” — Ronald W. Reagan, quoted in “Sierra”, 10 September 1980

“Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” — Will Rogers

“Democritus said, words are but the shadows of actions.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of the Training of Children

“Ever stop to think and then forget to start again?” — Steven Wright

Hmm…. At this point, I think it would be best if I didn’t comment any further…. Why don’t we go read a poem?…. Good idea…..

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I have found the site named Poemhunter.com to be an excellent web site; it has everything a poet, or one who merely appreciates poetry, could ask for. One of those features is a listing of the top 500 poems of all time, as voted by their readers…. When I want to include a good one from a classic author, I go straight to the list, where I find poems such as this one from Wordsworth, which, for some reason, has always been one of my favorites…. It might be because he describes a process familiar to us all…. well, familiar to all of us who possess an imagination, anyway…. Enjoy!….

Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

~~ William Wordsworth ~~


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So, if SB cooperates, the following old-school pearl will be the relative equivalent of a rant; the given parameters I set were to pick pearls which demonstrated the modern American politician’s way of looking at the world, and life, or, in some way, indicates how the average American has been corrupted, to believe in standards and issues which are completely false, or in some way are designed only to keep them distracted, unaware of exactly what their leaders are doing….(I seem to be practicing for the next Bulwer-Lytton test….)

By the end of it, you’ll get the picture…. which is why the pearl would be rantable, or, at minimum, usable IN a rant, if utilized in that respect…. You’ll see, no worries, mates… Oh, just as a helpful reminder…. any insulting statements, if unclear, you may assume the insulter is referring to a politician…. because they most likely were my target….

“Bend the facts to fit the conclusion. It’s easier that way.” — Smart Bee

“He was as great as a man can be without morality.” — Alexis de Tocqueville

(See? Both of these are perfectly ascribable to ANY US president of the last 30 years, since Carter’s administration…. Hell, over the last 60 years, I know of only two presidents who displayed ANY sort of integrity while in office, one of whom was Jimmy Carter…. Of the rest, only Kennedy showed any concern for the common man, and Jack only did so because that was his gig; it’s how he fooled the public, by seeming to be on their side, and, acting as if he were, in many ways…. But, then one must also consider his misogyny (just couldn’t keep his hands off women other than Jackie….), and his overall lifetime membership in the BRC, as one of the richest men in America…. and, he’s the one who sealed the deal in Vietnam, selling it to the public with all his charm….)

(Okay, it has to be said…. the current prez, Barry the Obama, has, as far as I can see, hit about 30/70 on the moral/evil scale while in office; prior to his election as prez, I had NEVER HEARD OF HIM AT ALL, a fact which tends to make me think the Dems were sort of hiding him in plain sight, waiting for the right moment to throw him up into the spotlight, a tactic which worked beyond all their dreams of success… Any who, he’s done okay on healthcare, and economic issues, which is why I generously gave him the 30….)

(I think, though, his actions there were simply designed to get the common man to trust him, as well as to distract him, by highlighting this issue, along with gun control issues, which come up every time someone gets shot, it seems…. But, in terms of supporting the bankers, nobody has ever given them so much money as Obama, with his “bailouts” which, as a reward, the bankers used to allow the economy to settle down, so he would look good….)

)Thus, he has been able to reward the bankers in turn, by keeping us in a constant state of war, spending millions upon billions of dollars on armaments and military actions, none of which is ever debated in public, or declared as a war by Congress…. and, that doesn’t even mention the whole illegal spying issue, and the complete lie of “transparency” he promised during the run-up to the election…. )

(I’m ranting, aren’t I?….. Oops…. Oh well, back to the pearls….)

“… if the democratic nations fail, their failure must be partly attributed to the faulty strategy of idealists who have too many illusions when they face realists who have too little conscience.” — Reinhold Niebuhr

“I’m not happy until I’ve violated somebody’s civil rights and then put them in jail. … That ruins their day … but it makes mine.” — Christopher Commission report of LAPD car-to-car computer message, 7/91

“As a candidate for national elective office the most dangerous thing you can do is say something during the campaign that the people might remember.” — Eugene McCarthy

“I’ve heard enough of your twaddle, Ringleader. We’ll settle this the American way — with our fists!” — Mighty Mouse, “The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse”

(I’m surprised he didn’t say “bombs”….)

“We need excellence in public education and if the teachers can’t do it, we’ll send in a couple of policemen.” — Frank Rizzo, Philadelphia Bulletin, Oct 19, 1973

“Our “neoconservatives” are neither new nor conservative, but old as Babylon and evil as Hell.” — Edward Abbey

“Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.” — John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy 1981-1987

I like the quotes from the living and dead talking heads, such as the last one…. They tend to show how the speakers really feel and believe, thus giving us the clearest view of their intransigently evil natures….

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Okay, so, it almost got out of hand, but, I managed to wrestle it back into the restraining device, though not without some pissing and moaning…. Regardless, it’s done, as far as I can get it done, so, it will, by definition, be good enough…. In point of fact, though, it’s a bit of an odd duck, so, perhaps it would be best if I slip out this side door here, before the authorities arrive…. You can tell them I said hello, okay? Thanks….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if they don’t catch me….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….

 

Did dinosaurs dream, in color?….

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Ffolkes,

“When virtue is lost, benevolence appears;
when benevolence is lost, right conduct appears;
when right conduct is lost, expedience appears.
Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth;
it is the beginning of disorder.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

August 14 2014 011

    To show y’all I don’t ALWAYS ignore the opening quote, (and to demonstrate that you might have missed the clues I DID leave….), here’s a perfect example of how Lao Tzu’s statement fits today’s society like a glove…. We have long since passed through the first stages he outlines for us, to a point where expediency is not merely a viable choice, but, is chosen all too often as an acceptable replacement for truth, as we can observe in the following example from our modern world…..

I am totally amazed, having just checked the weather online…. The online version of the Weather Channel is now so powerful, so omniscient, so infallible, it knows, well enough to have predicted it in writing, here in the town where I live, we’ll have some rain showers, in the morning,nine days from now, or, a week from Sunday…. I did not know they had achieved that kind of accuracy….

I suspect they’re being more than just a little optimistic about their predictions, having come to an arguably erroneous conclusion, to wit: now, they are GOD!….. Or, perhaps, they have managed an exclusive deal with GOD for the inside story on upcoming weather…. right here in Vallejo, that hotbed of national, international, and, no doubt, interplanetary, and yes, galactic & interstellar intrigue, not to mention, of course, weather patterns of intense pubic interest….

Such predictions are, of course, pure egotism, bullshit with a light veneer of possibility, thanks to satellite technology, and modern climatology advances…. Somehow, I still think being THAT positive of one’s sure and complete knowledge of future events, especially weather, is just a little optimistic…. and, yes, that’s sarcasm, just as thick as I can make it. No matter how sure of themselves these bozos may be, whatever I read there, before I go outside into the grip of climate, I’ll stick my head out the window first, to get a sniff, and, second, to take a quick look at the sky to the west, from which direction all of our weather comes….

Well, most of it… If there are changes coming from elsewhere, from the North, or South, such changes bring hard, cold rain (from the North), or soft, warm rain, (from the South) to pelt us for days on end, but, thanks to those same silly, but handy, satellites, we usually hear about it in ample time to prepare…. Those preparations seldom seem to work well, though, or be strong enough, as there is always some damage to human property, and/or, deaths/injuries during large storms….

Sometimes, it almost seems as if our minds cannot conceive of what will happen, even though our history is rife with examples of just how destructive weather can be to our civilization…. We, as a species, apparently have some sort of congenital blind spot, which constantly leaves us surprised by natural events that are no different from what has happened before, of which there is more than ample documentation, in history books, in newspapers, and in the oral histories common to all nations…..

Hell, to add to the mythical library of events in history, most religions have a cataclysmic event of some sort, such as Noah’s Flood, a historical event proven by satellite imagery and the geomapping techniques new since the advent of computers, or, consider the legends and myths that grew up after the Krakatoa explosion in the 1800’s….

Yet, every time such events take place, we humans act as if we are stunned by how bad it can make things….. like we didn’t know it was going to happen…. Why is that? Do you know? I don’t…. but, then, I don’t feel too surprised about a lot of stuff most folks seem to be taken unaware by; if I’ve heard about it, or read about it, or suspect it may happen, then what would any surprise be based on? 

I can’t figure it out…. unless, it is connected to that innate human tendency to retreat into denial when reality doesn’t match our preconceived notions of how it should be…. Now, if that is the case, the tendency becomes a bit more comprehensible to me…. no less stupid, and, certainly no more excusable, but, it does explain a lot….

Sheesh, and we thought we were an ADVANCED civilization…. but, we can’t even get past the same bullshit fears we had when we were cowering in cold stone caves, trying to figure out the lightning and thunder, with only our imagination available to assuage our fears, by coming up with all kinds of fanciful ideas, and gods on which to blame the noise and danger, all to explain what we know, now, to be the normal, natural laws of our reality, acting naturally, and normally…. In today’s world, I guess, we just cower down in more nicely appointed, warmer caves…. From what I can see of most members of our species, though, that warmth and comfort has not made us any less afraid of the thunder and lightning….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Agesilaus being invited once to hear a man who admirably imitated the nightingale, he declined, saying he had heard the nightingale itself.” ~~ Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Agesilaus II —

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I am fairly certain this one needs no explanation; if you’ve seen it already, kudos. If not, well, enjoy…. it’s a classic… Honest, it is….

Plan 9 From Outer Space

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“Since when is “public safety” the root password to the Constitution?” — C. D. Tavares

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/17/secret-space-plane-us-air-force-x37b-lands-california

“The X-37B program has been an orphan of sorts, bouncing since its inception in 1999 between several federal agencies, Nasa (sic) among them. It now resides under the air force’s rapid capabilities office.”

From what I can tell, the secret part of this mission is now reserved to describe whatever it was they were doing up there…. I saw this landing reported in three different news sites online this morning, so, the secret isn’t too secret…. However, without falling prey to complete speculation, I find it a telling piece of information to see the office under which the budget for this mission is overseen, i.e, the “rapid capabilities” office….

Now, in today’s euphemistic world, that phrase, “rapid capabilities”,  sounds to me like it is military bureaucratese for “fast weapons research”, looking for ever-quicker ways to deal death to our enemies, this time from the comfortable distance of at least 22,000 miles away from any retaliation by whomever is targeted…. Handy, eh?…. It’s a bit hard to block a bomb, or anything, when it is dropping from orbit…. The speed of the drop alone makes even a small rock a danger to anyone on the ground, and they have much more dangerous things to drop than rocks, believe me….

The Air Force, Pentagon, and the White House are all being very cagey about it, refusing to elaborate on what they were up there to experiment on, but, given the, ahem, Air Force connection, and the terminology used, there is little doubt it has to do with space-based weapons of some variety…. there are more than just a few, for those of you unfamiliar with the concept…. and, each one is more deadly, and more destructive than the previous one…

Imagine, if you can, billions and billions of tiny, indestructible needles, made of some cheap, hard metal… falling from the sky, at terminal velocity, at hundreds of miles per hour, in a swath a quarter mile wide, blanketing an entire city, destroying every structure, and killing every living creature within its boundaries, spreading itself in a line, marching across the land in a westerly direction, as the tiny shards of death fall from their orbital source, a satellite, or a small robot plane, such as the one you see in the picture accompanying the articles, a smaller version of the US Space Shuttle….

The use of the needles, you might want to know, is just ONE concept, that I came up with on the spur of the moment, as I wrote the above…. How many ideas of that nature do you think they were able to “experiment” on during over 600 days in orbit? More than just a couple, I would guess…. Wouldn’t you? Or, are you still convinced the government had, or has, some legitimately rational reason for such a secret mission? If you say yes to that, well, I’d suggest you bend over, and kiss your ass goodbye NOW, because you’re not long for this world, with that sort of gullibility….

Oh, I’m sure if we asked the government politely, they would tell us what the experiments being done were….. Sure, I am…. Actually, that is a lie, as I don’t believe any such thing…. We HAVE asked, and gotten nothing from them. What I am sure of is that, even if we pinned them down, forcing them somehow to respond when they don’t want to, they would lie…. They would come up with some marginally plausible statement that tells us nothing more than that already have, which would, no doubt, have absolutely nothing to do with what is actually happening…. Count on it ffolkes…. When you see me use the phrase, “no doubt”, then you know I’ve gone over that concept with a fine tooth comb, and it is TRUE, by all available evidence, and/or by deductive logic….

So, once more, they lie, and lie, and lie, and lie,….. and then, they lie some more….. Yet, they still want us to believe them, in whatever they say to us…. I don’t know about y’all, but, I’m awfully tired of being lied to like that; it’s insulting, and pissing me off more every day…. Tell you what, let’s all join up with Russell Brand, and start a world-wide revolution, and throw all the assholes out on their asses…

Sounds like a plan to me…. It definitely sounds better than sitting around, watching them solidify the hold they have on the public, for sure….. Now, all I have to do is find enough like-minded souls to give us a chance to succeed, or, to go down trying for justice…. Maybe if we do, our grandchildren may have a chance to live their whole lives, too….

Let’s see if SB has some pearls to show our disdain for the BRC, the Asininnies, and their ilk…. Five good ones should make my point, I think….

EMANCIPATION, n.  A bondman’s change from the tyranny of another to the despotism of himself.

    He was a slave:  at word he went and came;
        His iron collar cut him to the bone.
    Then Liberty erased his owner’s name,
        Tightened the rivets and inscribed his own.
                                                                 — G.J.

 — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“If you thought yesterday was bad, wait till you see what happens today.” — Smart Bee

“The proverb warns that You should not bite the hand that feeds you. But maybe you should if it prevents you from feeding yourself.” — Thomas Szasz

“I never understood why God decided to endow the military man with His big brain when bone and marrow are all that he needs to execute his purpose.” — A. Einstein – Ideas and Opinions

“Statesmen are dead politicians. Lord knows we need more statesmen.” — Opus the Penguin, Bloom County

Ah! Opus! We miss you!…… There, I think that should make it pretty clear how I feel about politicians, preachers, snakeheads, myrmidons, and all those who believe they have the right to take advantage of other people…. But, don’t worry, ffolkes, their day is coming…. Reality will be exacting a price for our ignorance, any day now…..

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Here is a wonderful little gem from Emily, one I hadn’t seen before, which fits in with today’s rant, if nothing else…. To complement such serendipity, without condemning anyone else to the oblivion of inclusion here, I’ll follow it with a short, but, pithy poem of my own…. Enjoy!….

‘Speech’ — is a prank of Parliament

Speech’—is a prank of Parliament—
‘Tears’—is a trick of the nerve—
But the Heart with the heaviest freight on—
Doesn’t—always—move —

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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Geezer to Congress, with Love

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

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

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

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~


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I would like for you to pay a little extra attention to this pearl, because it took an immense effort on my part to get it done…. Each of these pearls is the result of a major battle of wills, a battle which saw me, and Smart Bee, going head to head for some hours…. I don’t know what has come over the damn thing, but, it’s being absolutely assholio of late…. (assholio… the state of exhibiting characteristics of an asshole….as if you couldn’t figure that out….) Any who, no matter why, it’s true, so, the fact I got this done is remarkable enough for me….. It’s a pretty good one too, with some good advice, and statements of truth, good for putting in one’s toolbox of stuff that helps in Life….

“Aren’t you beginning to feel time gaining on you? It’s like a  predator. It’s stalking you. You can try to outrun it with doctors, medicines… new technologies. But in the end, time is going to hunt you down – and make the kill.” — Smart Bee

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain

“And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.” — Kahlil Gibran, “The Prophet”

“Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. If it does not always tell us what to do, it always cautions us what not to do.” — Lydia M. Child (1802-1880), Philothea: A Romance, ch. 6 (1836)

“We cannot live only for ourselves.  A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” — Herman Melville

“These times of ours are serious and full of calamity, but all times are essentially alike. As soon as there is life there is danger.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I’m reporting for duty as a modern person.  I want to do the Latin Hustle now!” — Zippy the Pinhead

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It won’t show, but, I damn near got ahead of myself for a moment there….. Whew! Dodging bullets left and right this morning…. In spite of the necessity that has created for us to keep actively working and moving, I managed to get it done, after a fashion…. All the needed parts are there now, at least, so, we’ll see how it goes once it gets up online…. For the moment, though, I think it would be wise to just slip away into the shadows, while I still may…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Kowabunga!

À bientôt, mon cherí….