Too late for palliative measures….

Posted on November 11, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Misfortune shows those who are not friends.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

Leaving Galway on a Train

Hajime…. There are times, such as today, when I wonder why I push myself to do this. Then, I just do it. That’s what we will have to do today, ffolkes, thanks to some physical issues demanding attention, and, the realization that Reality is about to step on me, big time. I’ll let y’all know if I live through it.

In the meantime, I got most of this done last night during one of my insomniac periods during the night; even so, some of it is rather truncated, due to well, taking on more than I was prepared to handle. So be it. I have no more to say, until the end, so, let’s start working our way down to that end….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 4/19/30

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Out on the town in Bedrock

Image from free-extras.com via Google Images

Yesterday, I made a slip of the fingers, typing ‘Fred and Wilma’, when I meant to type ‘Fred and Ethel’, referring to the Mertzes, of course. Since it reminded me of this show, which I had not used previously, I figured it would work today, which, oddly enough, it does. Enjoy!….

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The Flintstones

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https://youtu.be/tDHDGAJu7FI?list=PLQzuPQmNCoFaohiJt-XUD66qfsSgunV2m

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“The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.”

~~ Socrates ~~

Today’s rant will be more of an ‘exploration’ of an idea than our usual ‘explanation’ of how an idea functions, and the resultant angst that function creates in me. If you think about it, a rant is more of the latter, and thinking is what I’d like to encourage with this particular piece, in myself, and in the Gentle Reader, if you acquiesce. Otherwise, it may get a bit boring, or, at least, uninteresting, two related, yet, not equal states. The second is not necessarily a choice, the first always is…. but, once again, I digress. The idea Socrates brings up in the above quote is our focus, so, let’s examine it while I have the wherewithal, and the urge….

In this assertion, Socrates echoes an opinion I’ve seen expressed by other sages, to wit: the language we choose to use in our speech influences our thinking, thus affecting our behavior, equally as much as the process works the other direction, with our thoughts influencing speech. When we choose, as we often do, we humans, to allow our feelings to guide what we say, rather than what we may think, it tends to roughen our language; it becomes simpler, perhaps, and plainly expressive, but, with such feeling attached, often negative, it becomes vulgar. This can lead to allowing feelings to dictate behavior as well, so, the common use of vulgarity tends to encourage that indulgence. To maintain a rational level of sustainability for all in our interactions, upon which our behavior is such a vital factor in the outcome, we must learn to detach ourselves from the feelings involved, and that is best encouraged by using language that does not retreat into either excessive passion, or vulgarity.

Not to say vulgarity doesn’t have its place in language; anyone who DOESN’T cut loose with some serious vulgarity when a carbon-steel hammer comes down unexpectedly on their finger is missing out on the best way to release the frustration, if not the pain. And, if they HAVEN’T done so, well, quite frankly, I’d put down serious money to bet they’re lying about that…. We all have our secrets, especially those who deny ever having evil thoughts, or having never made a moral or ethical mistake i.e., a bad choice, of words perhaps most often…. Since much of the language I hear in the mainstream culture to which I’m exposed is pretty vulgar, as a whole, when not merely perverse and ignorant, I would say Socrates’ point has been made rather graphically.

So, now we know evil is rampant in the world, as evidenced by the language you can hear any/every day, in the news, movies, on TV, on the radio, on the net, all of it together makes up a picture of culture, and, by all I can tell, this one is pretty well fucked. I mean, just look at religion, and the stranglehold it has, and has had on society for practically forfuckingever…. I’m not the only one to have noticed you know; just read some of the lesser known passages in the Bible, describing the victories the ancient tribes had in their wars to spread the word of Yahweh, the bloodthirsty asshole… Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to get vulgar…. Let’s see what somebody else has/had to say on the subject….

“Strange, because they are so frankly and hysterically insane — like all dreams: a God who could make good children as easily as bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave his angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice and invented hell — mouths mercy and invented hell — mouths Golden Rules, and forgiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man’s acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites this poor, abused slave to worship him!” — Mark Twain, _The Mysterious Stranger_

I’m afraid this rant has gone a bit south on me; I keep finding pearls which, though they fit in with the overall theme, exploring how society has gone wrong over time, also seem to want to go all over the map to find those responsible for much of it…. For example, while thinking of how to next demonstrate the principle we’re dealing with, i.e. how our language reflects our attitudes, and thus, our reality, Smart Bee gave me the following pearl, defining another class of people who have caused more than their fair share of damage to others…. our old friends (NOT!…), solicitors/counsel/officers of the court, to wit: lawyers, or as most of us here on the streets call them, fuckheads in suits…..

Q: What do you call 5000 dead lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A: A good start! — Smart Alec Bee

Lawyers, of course, once they have rotted on the vine for a while, generally become politicians, so, Smart Bee came up with the following pearl to show his diverse talents….

“Anyone can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.” — Cicero

Gee, does this remind y’all of anything you may have seen/heard before about the post-larval lawyer class? For example, in the news lately, we see how the US government, at the behest of, and in collusion with the Big Pharmacy companies, have conspired to keep the knowledge of how powerful a cancer drug cannabis is, for more than 40 years. The FACT that cannabis cures cancer has been withheld from the American people and the world for all that time, the secret held by a few traitorous politicians and their pet scientists. In short, all of the more than 20 million people in this country who died from cancer since 1976, when the research was classified, have been, essentially, murdered by their own government….

http://www.naturalnews.com/051881_cannabis_oil_cancer_treatment_Big_Pharma.html

Okay, I’m sick of talking about those assholes, the scum of our species, the oligarchs, politicians, preachers, pimps, police myrmidons, professional military assholes, and especially lawyers, who prey upon their fellow man… To finish off this now epic diatribe, let’s go 180º, and find some pearls to show us how things COULD be, if we just kicked their asses to the curb….

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” — Greek Proverb

“The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.” — Henry L. Mencken

“It is our duty to make the best of our misfortunes, and not to suffer passion to interfere with our interest and public good.” — George Washington

“Let us face a pluralistic world in which there are no universal churches, no single remedy for all diseases, no one way to teach or write or sing, no magic diet, no world poets, and no chosen races, but only the wretched and wonderfully diversified human race.” — Jacques Barzun

That’s all, ffolkes. I’m done, having bitten off more than I can chew. At least I spit it out….

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Fine and Good, Good and Fine

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Nuff said….

~~ gigoid, tongue firmly in cheek….

Written 3/23/2013.

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It’s a pearl, and that’s about all I have to say at this point. It does have a meaning; I’m just not up to explaining it. Enjoy, anyway, please….

“Some people are, through no fault of their own, sane.” — Smart Bee, talking about gigoid again

“A dead man cannot bite.” — Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey)

“Fortune is unstable, while our will is free.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Epicurus, xxvii

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” — Doug Larson

“A man makes no noise over a good deed, but passes on to another as a vine to bear grapes again in season.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations, v, 6

“Think not that thy word and thine alone must be right.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Antigone, 706

“It’s not what we don’t know that gets us into trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.’ — Will Rogers

“Dreaming permits each and everyone of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.” — Charles William Dement

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It’s done, and that’s the best I can say of it. Moreover, it’s all I SHALL say, for I am, for once, out of words. See y’all tomorrow…. I hope.

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

The forecast is for extremely fluffy….

Posted on November 4, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.”

~~ Pythagoras (BC 582-507) ~~

Triple Full Moon Over Vallejo

G’day…. Given the state of my life over the past month or two, it’s rather nice to feel even a moment of hope, even one based on what may or may not be an omen of things to come….. Ooh, I like that, it’s wonderfully obscure, yet gives a sense of intimacy that encourages further interest. More good omen material…. Omens of good have been sadly infrequent of late, so, twice in one paragraph, even if both are completely unidentified, is, well, a good sign….

It may have to do with the relief of being back online, at home, though the mere presence of relief indicates a dependency I’m not sure I entirely can be comfortable with. Nonetheless, it’s nice not having to go drink somebody else’s coffee to get posted. It’ll sure make sticking to the diet easier, too; way too many pastries lately have taken up the entire morning’s calorie count, leaving me starving until dinner time. Ah well, I’m a sucker for a blueberry muffin, what can I say?

Okay, enough innocent chatter; it’s not really our style anyway. We’re gonna go Pearl now ffolkes. I’ve been waiting too long to do this from home, again, so, I’m a bit impatient (Could you tell?…). In fact, so impatient, we’re skipping all the usual folderol, in favor of just getting on with it…. How does that look? Like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“When you said “HEAVILY FORESTED” it reminded me of an overdue CLEANING BILL.. Don’t you SEE? O’Grogan SWALLOWED a VALUABLE COIN COLLECTION and HAD to murder the ONLY MAN who KNEW!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Weird Al

Image from riverfrontimes.com via Google Images

Here’s another artist who needs no introduction; all that is required is to enjoy!….

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Weird Al Yankovic

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https://youtu.be/qpMvS1Q1sos?list=PLXjuyl3vwK6X5lBD7yogtDDBLqu3m_HGR

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“If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns.”

~~- Edward Abbey ~~

Mr. Abbey, with this short statement, nails my opinion on gun control right on the bloody head. My entire objection to the fools who cry out to “take away the guns” from everyone, (so, what, this will ensure nobody will ever die? Right….), is exactly the point he makes. None of the advocates of disallowing citizens to own guns seem to think about this point; do they really believe the government will give up THEIR guns? Really? I’d be really interested to hear from which planet they came to visit us here on Earth?….

Of course, most Earthlings have trouble bumping neurons together; it’s not just an immigrant problem…. Most earthlings, for some unknown reason, choose, soon after birth, to stop using their brain as a tool for making their life better, choosing instead to use it merely to transport their ass from one toilet to another…. I am often amazed at how many people, who are of an age to reproduce, seemingly can’t formulate a complete sentence, unless it has the word “fries” in it, or, have yet to learn the actions involved in tying their shoes. And, please, let us not begin to discuss how many lost brain cells it takes to follow the current street style of wearing one’s pants around the thighs rather than the waist, necessitating the use of one hand just to hold them up….

But, then, that’s just how the elite want the public to be; distracted and stupid. These asininnies want the average person so busy trying to just maintain their current place in life they have no time to inspect all the ways they are being controlled by their own ignorance, and their inability to use their imagination to see beyond their immediate needs…. Our world-wide society has three characteristics which, to me, indicate just how sick it is…. The belief that Mankind was made by a god…. By accepting this sort of belief, one’s mind is left open to other false truths, which allow the perfect vehicle for manipulation of behavior by those who do not believe, but, play the part for the reward of power over others, and a complete lack of personal responsibility for how others are affected by their acts.

Second, this belief in a delusion allowed the predatory members to convince everyone that money actually exists, and has some sort of real power over reality…. This, of course, is ridiculous. Money is simply an idea, a way to organize barter, by placing an artificial value on a person’s time and effort, when, in fact, it has only the value we give it. It is only important because we believe it to be, not because of any inherent real value…. This idea, though, is probably too complex for those who have given up the right to think, and operate totally on the theory of doing whatever is the most expedient….

Then, for the final insult to our humanity, the concept of government as a beneficial facet of society, to ensure the ‘safety’ of all, is thrust upon these unsuspecting fools, who are already primed to believe anything someone in a ‘position of authority’ (preacher, teacher, policeman, elected official, etc…. bureaucrats and sycophants, all…) tells them to believe…. That’s the whole problem, right there, in a nutshell…. If you believe the first false idea, the rest of them form the remaining cords of their slave collars…. and, the saddest part is, most of them never even know they’re slaves at all…

I could, no doubt, carry on in this vein for a long time; there are a thousand examples in daily life of how the average person has no clue as to how easily they are controlled by the forces who wish to have power over others…. But, I’m getting tired, and, am well aware most of those who will read this are NOT part of those who can be controlled; they don’t end up here very often, somehow…. If they do, they don’t talk much…. For the rest of us, I’ll show some pity, and finish off with a 13 star pearl with as many indictments, and examples of how things got the way they are…. Enjoy!….

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“In morals, what begins in fear usually ends in wickedness; in religion, what begins in fear usually ends in fanaticism. Fear, either as a principle or a motive, is the beginning of all evil.” — Mrs. Jameson

“No people in the world ever did achieve their freedom by goody-goody talk and moral suasion: it being immutable law that all revolutions that will succeed, must begin in blood, whatever the answer afterward. If history teaches anything, it teaches that” — Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)

“These PRESERVES should be FORCE-FED to PENTAGON OFFICIALS!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“The amassing of wealth is one of the worst species of idolatry, no idol is more debasing.” — Andrew Carnegie

“The missionaries go forth to Christianize the savages–as if the savages weren’t dangerous enough already.” — Edward Abbey

“Ignorance is the soil in which belief in miracles grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

“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

“Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” — Denis Diderot in “Dithrambe sur la fete de rois”

“Have in readiness this saying of Solon, “But we will not give up our virtue in exchange for their wealth.” — Plutarch — How to profit by our Enemies

DEBT, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave- driver.

As, pent in an aquarium, the troutlet
Swims round and round his tank to find an outlet,
Pressing his nose against the glass that holds him,
Nor ever sees the prison that enfolds him;
So the poor debtor, seeing naught around him,
Yet feels the narrow limits that impound him,
Grieves at his debt and studies to evade it,
And finds at last he might as well have paid it.~~ Barlow S. Vode~~

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

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Future Shocked:

Weeping, I wake;
waking, I weep, I weep.
I weep for the ages to be lost,
for the children never to be born.

Time comes calling, strident and spare,
nudging us toward the future with bony hands.
No pausing, no waiting, always away,
Frantic hearts unseen, unheard.

Spirits are dark, afraid.
And the Beast hunts, hungry and cruel,
seeking out the weak, and the foolish.

We all weep now…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 7/22/2013.

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An odd little pearl, with seven excellent statements to help us find some meaning in Life. Of course, if you’ve already found meaning that works for you, you don’t have to do it again…. Those are the rules…. I think. Anyway, enjoy!….

“The value of passion, like fire, is judged finally by the amount of warmth and light it creates. Fanatics, like forest fires, burn bright but destroy all in their path that is tender and green. To be useful, fire must be confined. To live passionately, we must develop discipline; to love powerfully, we must forge bonds of commitment. Passion is inseparable from compassion.” — Sam Keen

“You can’t get wet from the word ‘water’.” — Alan Watts

“To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult.” — Plutarch

“The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal depends not on what he feels but on what he does; just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, ix, 16

“Truth that has merely been learned is like an artificial limb, a false tooth, a waxen nose; it adheres to us only because it is put on. But truth acquired by thought of our own is like a natural limb; it alone really belongs to us.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

“As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.” — Diogenes

“If you don’t laugh at all, you’ve missed the point. If you only laugh, you’ve missed your chance for illumination.” — Robert Anton Wilson

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Since I’m back online a day before I’d thought to be, I’ll end this here, in the proper spot, and get it posted. This also means I’ll be back tomorrow, unless something historically compelling, like a revolution, gets in the way….. See ya then, ffolkes; count on it….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

We’ve used all the available penguins…

Posted on October 30, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If you’re going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance.”

~~ Whimsical Fatalist Bee ~~

By any other name….

Konichiwa, gospodin, a phrase which makes more sense than is apparent, not to mention combining two languages from two countries, neither of which is the one I currently inhabit…. Not too shabby for relatively early morning, what? After all, it DOES, technically, mean “Good morning, ffolkes”, (Japanese/Russian, for those curious enough to care….); as such, it fulfills the obligatory initial greeting for the day, thereby freeing us to proceed, onward, to more lucrative, if less structured, and, thus, less debilitating to creativity, activities of the literary process, known as ‘blogging’. Otherwise, there’d be no excuse for such a display of chutzpah, sans shame, or any overt evidence of conscience….

The good news is, I will have internet service again at home as of the coming Tuesday, the 3rd. The bad news, AT&T is taking over the ISP business, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. The only service I could find ends up having to use AT&T lines, and is busily trying to assume the same corporate persona and practices of that behemoth. Ah, well, food for more ranting, I suppose, but, I should no doubt, cease my introductory bitching, and get on with the pearl for today, since I still must go find a place to post it…. Probably lose fewer readers that way.

In fact, it sounds like a plan. Luigi, take it away, and don’t spare the horses…. I’m in a strange, unpredictable mood, and don’t wish to begin the killing too early in the day. Too much clean-up that way…. Off we go, then….

Shall we Pearl?….

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

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Image from Google Free Images

I don’t think this artist requires an introduction; just enjoy….

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Bob Marley

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https://youtu.be/OKpxuHLUzuA

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Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:

Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

~~ Cicero ~~

I’m often amazed at how wise our ancient ancestors were, compared to the current age. It seems to me there are any number of ancient sages, whose words, like Cicero’s, above, have showed us how to avoid making the same mistakes mankind has been engaged in making for, oh, about the last 10,000 years or so. From all I can gather, by record and by deduction, we haven’t made a single millimeter of progress over the civilizations which existed 4 to 5,000 years in our past. We continue to make ALL of the above mistakes, and have learned to make even more of our own…. Now, with the aid of computers, we can make them faster than ever….

“Religion is a crutch, but that’s okay… humanity is a cripple.” — Moral of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, via Smart Bee

Throughout history, most of mankind has fallen prey to the myth of religion, much like the populace of the kingdom where they needed a child to see the truth about the Emperor…. Sadly, there is also a significant portion of humanity which not only KNOWS this, but, uses it to their advantage at every opportunity, though not always in the guise of religion. The ability, or rather, the obtuseness, to fall for anything that will soothe their fear of the unknown, without the bother of actually thinking, or being brave enough to go and FIND OUT about what frightens them. Men assume, to their everlasting regret, the Universe reflects their own state of being, and MUST have been made by a supernatural being….

“Men freely believe that what they wish to desire.” — Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.)

Sorry, folks, ‘taint so, by a long piece. There is NOTHING that actually indicates any such thing, anywhere to be found, outside our own imagination. If anyone can point any out, feel free; I’ll wait until I understand, without the need to blame it on someone else…. It’s just another way to avoid the responsibility of one’s own actions, as far as I’m concerned…. Unfortunately, there is a direct correlation between the state of the society, and humanity’s lack of courage and will, which we are now observing in action, as the weight of more than seven billion people stretch the total resources of the planet to its limits….

“The other planets are laughing at us.” — Futurist Bee

If we WERE so fortunate as to belong to a Galactic Federation, it is my firm belief they WOULD be laughing at us. ‘Hoomans’ would become a caricature of one of our OWN iconic prejudices, a product of our own bigotry, for we would be known as the “pink trash” of the infinitely diverse galactic panoply of species, all of the rest of whom will, no doubt, be free of such failures of perception of reality, pitying us for the suffering we cause each other, through our own ignorance and fear….

Unfortunately, a small portion of mankind seem to think it is perfectly acceptable to prey upon their species mates, regardless of how any such behavior affects anyone else. They believe they are entitled to any sort of resource or power they can steal or take, and are willing to resort to any means to obtain their desires…. Even our American cartoon art reflects this attitude, thereby legitimizing the lack of honor by making it laughable…. What do I mean by that? Well, take note of this, from the ’50’s….

“Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I’m rich.” — Daffy Duck, from Looney Tunes Ali Baba Bunny (1957, Chuck Jones)

These corporate snakeheads, bankers, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and the ilk, don’t care at all about other people; they live completely without compassion, having no soul themselves. They deliberately lie, creating outlandish situations so they can cry “danger!” to the populace, making them believe they are unsafe, thereby turning them aside from their democratic duty to educate themselves…. Instead, the average American accepts as gospel all they read in the media (which only repeats the lies told by the leaders, as if they were true….), and all they hear from the pulpit, where their sycophantic corporate shills preach obedience to temporal authority, in exchange for a dubious promise of immortality, completely unfounded on any evidence…

“A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither.” — Thomas Jefferson

Fuck it. Tom would be angry, almost as angry as I am. Moreover, I still believe there are a LOT of people in this country who are unhappy with the way things are going. The Powers That Be are making a big mistake by assuming their new technological toys will make the difference, and protect them from the rage that will be their only legacy, when the rest of humanity comes to realize how they’ve been duped…. It won’t matter, because it will be over seven billion to a handful, and the odds won’t be affected by any such nonsense as technology…..

Revolution is coming, ffolkes. Call it treason if you like, but, you and I both know Thomas Jefferson would have been at the head of the columns in the streets, along with Tom Paine, George Mason & Washington, and Patrick Henry, none of whom were afraid to be called traitor….. Another word for it is Patriot….

“Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third [“Treason!” cried the Speaker]–may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.” — Patrick Henry (1736-1799) — Speech in the Virginia Convention, 1765

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Here is a poem I wrote back in 2013, when I still retained a small piece of hope for our nation. I have since come to some rather more harsh conclusions, but, that’s for another day, and another poem…. I hope you enjoy it….

Destiny’s Vote

It was a special day, written on tablets of stone
with fanfare, and crepe paper, a symphony of lies,
played with verve, but discordant, and alone,
never more the grand parade, no more apple pies.

Heated dialog full of prejudice, hatred, and fears,
fills up the airwaves, a cacophony of callow untruth,
playing up to ignorance, bringing anguish, and fearful tears,
while Nero’s fiddler sits down, in the only open booth.

Watchful and afraid, I see the coming conflict
clouds of ignorance and intellect, preparing to fight,
one to fight with darkness, and abject fear to depict
opposed at the base, banishing fear with truth, and light.

Seeds of anger and bigotry are planted very deep,
growing best in darkness, hiding in shame and fear,
waiting for moments of trouble, its destiny to keep,
looking for weakness, seeking to draw its victim near.

Sing not yet a funeral dirge for tolerance,
that particular die is not yet cast,
there still remains a very good and honest chance,
our common dream of freedom may yet hold fast…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 8/18/2013.

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

Yep, it’s another pearl about Life, in this case, with some pretty solid advice on how to do it right, or, at least, do it with some style to go with the virtue…. Enjoy!…. I particularly like the closing pearl; it’s pretty deep….

“Reality is in the mind of the beholder.” — Reality Bee

1. ” Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. ” — Instructions for life”

“As you go the way of life you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think.” — Native American advice

“Discontent is the want of self-reliance: it is infirmity of will.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Kindness is my true religion.” — The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

“If you are out of trouble, watch for danger.” — Sophocles

“Do not look for all the answers at once. A path is formed by placing stones one in front of the other.” — The Giant from Twin Peaks

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

So be it. Pearls of late have been a bit choppy, for which I apologize, and lay the blame at my own feet, for allowing the uncertainty in my Life at Large to leak over into the process. Hopefully, a greater degree of consistency of quality can be achieved once I don’t have to worry about access to the internet; it seems to have become a more important part of life today than can be abrogated. Before I get started again, let’s take our leave, and try again another day…. See y’all next time, whenever it may be….. It WILL be, I assure you….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

A crimp in time saves pi….

Posted on September 1, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud
Of thoughts which were not their thoughts.

~~ Lord Byron ~~

~~ Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iii, Stanza 113 ~~

Wind Spinner, Spinning

Good morning…. How can it be otherwise, when I’m going on the road in just about exactly three hours? Yes, today’s the day; the journey calls, and I must answer…. or lose out on the round-trip airfare. No way I’m doing that, so, whatever there may be in the Universe with any objections to my going had best get swallowed, because it sure isn’t going to keep me from leaving. So there….

Okay, all flippancy gone, we may now proceed to put together a final Pearl from home, with the warning it could be up to a week before another Pearl appears; no telling how things will work out where I’m going in re: available Wi-Fi spots, not to mention my own willingness to take the time to create them. My focus will NOT be on Pearling; I’ll be busy learning, and seeing, and listening, and walking, and talking with people I’ve never met before, all of which are some of my favorite things in life to do…. So, you will see me when you see me, and not before….

That all said, with the reminder full Pearls should begin again around September 18th, or 19th, depending on how quickly I can recover from the trip…. I’m not as young as I once was, but, this kind of activity tends to energize rather than tire me out…. Well, it used to; we’ll see how it goes. If nothing else, one is always glad to see one’s own bed….

For now, let’s throw together a Pearl, for luck, and for good measure…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“If the obstacles of bigotry and priestcraft can be surmounted, we may hope that common sense will suffice to do everything else.” — Thomas Jefferson

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

Anyone at all familiar with how things go around here will know what they’ll see in this section today…. It’s amazing what these search engines can find, if you’re precise in telling them what you want….A little traveling music, maestro, if you please….

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Classical Music for Travel

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https://youtu.be/IxOuFGzdqPo

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Oddly enough, SB presented me with some nice little stimulants for a rant while putting together the old-school pearl yesterday afternoon, so, I started a rant; I don’t feel enough angst to take it further, so, I’ll find a few pearls to say the same stuff, and let it go at that for now… In short, what you see is what you get….

“The Greeks by their laws, and the Romans by the spirit of their people, took care to put into the hands of their rulers no such engine of oppression as a standing army. Their system was to make every man a soldier, and oblige him to repair to the standard of his country when ever that was reared. This made them invincible; and the same remedy will make us so.” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to Thomas Cooper(1814)

Well, for the most part, we blew that one, didn’t we? Tom would be ashamed of us, and, rightly so. He also believed in each citizen educating themselves as to what the government was up to, as well as warning us to keep a close eye on the bankers; he pointed out their attempts to corrupt government practically before the ink on the Constitution was dry. Did the American people listen? No, they didn’t. They listened instead to the preachers, who told them to trust their leaders, never cluing them into the simple fact those leaders were, as they themselves were, lying through their teeth to the people who trusteed them, almost every time they open their mouths.

Beset on all sides by ruthless liars, is it any wonder the common man hasn’t a clue as to his own slavery, thinking he has rights, and the opportunity to improve his life by living by the rules… In fact, the common man has no rights, and the system is designed to reward only those who lie, cheat, and steal in order to get ahead. Simple truths are hard to accept, but, trust me, this one is truth.

“Nature is not cruel, but, pitilessly, indifferent. This is one of the hardest lessons for humans to learn. We cannot admit that things might be neither good nor evil, neither cruel nor kind, but simply callous — indifferent to all suffering,lacking all purpose.” — Richard Dawkins

What people don’t really get, even if they feel the rightness of this idea, is that cruelty DOES exist, but, only as a human characteristic, due to our need to make our own lives have meaning to us, according to our standards. This is, in the eyes of the universe, a handicap rather than an asset, for it leads those who cannot let go of such ideas into failures of logic, and understanding of the real world…. Being able to accept the idea makes it possible to act without fear, or emotion of any kind, interfering with our decision making process… For example…

“Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly “– Lazarus Long

Lazarus was a smart guy; he also gave us the most efficient, and logical method for dealing with such people, when there are options available short of killing… to wit:

“Never appeal to a man’s “better nature.” He may not have one. Invoking his self-interest gives you more leverage.” — Lazarus Long

Ah well, we do the best we can, with what others have to offer; other than that, it’s every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost…. What does that mean?…. Any who, as noted above, angst is in short supply, so here is a nine-star pearl to finish this mini-rant in a more palatable fashion, that won’t dull the edge of my excitement and joy…. Not much could right now, but, here…. take this….

Isn’t it strange that the same people that laugh at gypsy fortune tellers take economists seriously?” — Cincinnati Enquirer

“In a decision sure to cause major controversy for several minutes, the US Supreme Court struck down the First Law of Nature, judging it to be unlawfully discriminatory. Though never actually written down, the First Law of Nature is generally accepted by the American Bar Association to be, “If an individual or collection of individuals puts into practice or causes to be put into practice an action which, measured against the judgment of a reasonable person, is unwise or lacking in basic common sense, then the aforementioned individual or collection of individuals shall suffer all consequences resulting from that action, up to and including loss of life.” Translation: “You do something stupid, you die.” — Snarky Bee

“Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you’re a jerk.” — Humble Bee

“He is running for Congress … Do you know why he will be elected? Because all the gun owners will vote for him. Why will they vote for him? Because he is against any new law which will require registration of firearms. He claims that if there is a war, we might be invaded by Communists. And we will all need guns. With nuts like that in Congress, it could happen.” — Larry Siegel

“God must love assholes — She made so many of them.”– Druidic Bee

“Do you really believe that fear of the damage that you could inflict with your .22 Squirrel Blaster is the only thing keeping the government in check?” — Mark Oehlert

“The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who hold power, in power.” — Gerry Spence ‘From Freedom to Slavery,’ 1993

“Chaotic Evil means never having to say you’re sorry.” — Shrub Senior (Okay, I lied. Sue me…)

“Congress’ idea of “safe” sex: no reporters.” — Smart Bee

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Random Exposure

If I only knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.

Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.

Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.

Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.

Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 4/22/2013.

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

With a bit over two hours to lift off, things are moving along quite smoothly, if slower than I’d like…. Funny how the clock slows down when we wish it to run fast…. Ah well, here’s a pretty standard pearl, with the usual tips one living with some dignity, and how to make our lives a bit more comfortable, if not less ‘interesting’…. Enjoy!….

“Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” — Confucius (551-479 BC)

“Individuality seems to be Nature’s whole aim — and she cares nothing for individuals.” — Goethe

“Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.” — Japanese proverb

“Fear is the parent of cruelty.” — James Anthony Froude

“Dolendi modus, timendi non item.” [To suffering there is a limit; to fearing, none.] — Bacon, Of Seditions and Troubles

“There is never anything to feel sorry about with love. Never.” — Robert Heinlein

“Very late in life, when he was studying geometry, some one said to Lacydes, “Is it then a time for you to be learning now?” “If it is not,” he replied, “when will it be?” — Diogenes Laertius — Lacydes, v

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

Done…. Most excellent! Now, I can pack the computer, and, at the whistle, walk out the door…. Rather than prattle on in my usual mindless way, I’ll merely say ‘adieu’, and, with perfect sincerity, wish you a peaceful and happy existence until we meet again, here at ECR, where Reality is what we make of it…. Ta, then, ffolkes…. Eventually, like the Terminator, I’ll be back, with the usual caveat re: incarceration, or death…. neither of which looks particularly imminent…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Approaching mundane bogosity, captain….

Posted on August 29, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
Was thy dream then a shadowy lie?
Toil on, poor heart, unceasingly;
And thou shalt find thy dream to be
A truth and noonday light to thee.

~~ Ellen Sturgis Hooper (1816-1841) ~~

~~ Life a Duty ~~

Supermoon, July 2015, Madrid

Image from an article on Space.com

Good morning…. I’ve decided to throw out the last two days; there doesn’t seem to be much point in remembering such an extended period of misery. Oh, not that it’s been exactly Hell; Hell’s probably hotter than 94º, the average for the last 48 hrs. But, the roller coaster ride of pain, from extreme highs to complete absence, and back again, over the course of an hour or two, every couple hours like a damn clock, sure makes telling the difference a distinct challenge. Faugh! Basta! Begone from my mind!

Please?

Ah, me. Such is Life in the Big City, I suppose. If I didn’t like it, I’d probably move. Hey, wait! Is that….? No, sorry, it’s not her; it’s just the arrival of our delivery of indigestible parables. Not to worry, Luigi will sign for them. Okay, where were we? Ah, yes, about to consider emigration to the wilds of Northern Cali, due to the massive influx of insanity here in the Bay Area. The level of bogosity present out in the BBR is becoming more than merely annoying; it’s getting downright dangerous for us curmudgeons; the act of obtaining one’s bagel in the morning has become a challenge of major proportion…..

Not that there’s anything up with the bagels; it’s the mundanes one must wend one’s way through to get it. They’re everywhere, spreading their ignorance and cluelessness wherever they walk, confusing themselves and others, as they try to understand a world in which they cannot comprehend the rules of engagement. It makes the effort to remain non-homicidal VERY hard to repress; they’re EVERYWHERE, asking dumb questions, making dumb mistakes, honking their horns, walking into light poles as they walk down the street obsessively gazing into their phone…. It’s enough to make an old fart regret not carrying his gun… or, a nice, big, sharp knife….

Oh, gosh. I guess it IS a little early for homicidal impulses, isn’t it? Okay, I’ll quit now. It’s just being indulgent, anyway. I’ve sworn off killing mundanes for at least another month. If I hadn’t decided on a hiatus, I would have reached my legal limit before October. It’s too expensive to get an extension; maybe next year they’ll up the limit….

I reckon that’s enough. I can’t expect y’all to take it forever, can I? Nope. Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into down below…. If Luigi ever gets those parables stowed away, we can…. Oh, good, we’re ready. Let’s get on with it, before it’s too late, again….

Shall we Pearl?….

“If the average man is made in God’s image,

then such a man as Beethoven or Aristotle

is plainly superior to God.”

— H. L. Mencken

Ipse dixit!

Q.E.D.

So be it.

gigoid has spoken.

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

I’m lazy; big surprise, eh? In this case, that’s a good thing. This collection of music touts itself as the “Best” relaxing classical music on the Beach. You tell me if that’s so, okay?…. Enjoy, please….

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The Best Relaxing Classical Music on the Beach

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https://youtu.be/KHg8wBoj_3M

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☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

First Dog on the Moon: Cybersecurity

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/sep/09/first-dog-cybersecurity

The cartoon was reproduced, without permission, but with full attribution, from the UK Guardian news site…..

I decided to give y’all a break from a down-to-earth, makes-you-think sort of rant, opting instead for a bit of educational entertainment, first, with the chosen graphic from the UK Guardian’s own First Dog on the Moon, followed by a rather smarmy old-school pearl, with parameters set to make us laugh at, or jeer at. the Asininnies, of whatever variety we can find, or, you may choose your own to fill in the blanks…. Enjoy! Where else can you find such interactive fun, eh?…. Okay, so, not all of it is funny, or fun. Some of it’s just Truth…. I think you’ll recognize those without any help….

“Believe 1% of what you see, and none of what you hear.” — Dubious Bee

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” — Thomas Jefferson to A. Stuart, 1791

“I’m all in favor of the democratic principle that one idiot is as good as one genius, but I draw the line when someone takes the next step and concludes that two idiots are better than one genius.” — Leo Szilard

“Crime does not pay. Unless, of course, you get to make, enforce, or interpret the laws.” — gigoid, the dubious

“I call Christianity the *one* great curse, the *one* great intrinsic depravity, the *one* great instinct for revenge for which no expedient is sufficiently poisonous, secret, subterranean, *petty* — I call it the *one* mortal blemish of mankind.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“Who is secure in all his basic needs? Who has work, spiritual care, medical care, housing, food, occasional entertainment, free clothing, free burial, free everything? The answer might be nuns and monks, but the standard reply is ‘prisoners’; i.e., citizens of a provider state.” — Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

“The apathy of the born freeman is worse than the docility of the born slave.” — Grant Singleton (1890-?)

“A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.” — real standing law in Pennsylvania, United States of America

“A kitchen in every pot. I mean, a pot in every — I mean, a chicken in every…” — George Bush, 1988

“The law is a sort of hocus-pocus science, that smiles in yer face while it picks yer pocket; and the glorious uncertainty of it is of mair use to the professors than the justice of it.” — Charles Macklin (1690-1797) — Love a la Mode, Act ii, Sc. 1

“Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.” — Henry Adams

“Keep a very firm grasp on reality, so you can strangle it at any time.” — Realistic Bee

“The higher you climb, the more you show your ass.” — Alexander Pope, “The Dunciad”

I must stop here… my fingers are hoarse. In addition, thirteen pearls of this nature is probably enough; we all know what can happen to the Space/Time Continuum if we go to fifteen…. It isn’t pretty….

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

Penance, Made Simple

After all the dross is sent away
a celebration can begin,
time will face up to space, to stay
willing, to shine from within.

Anger and confusion come in to share
brushing reason aside,
eager to welcome all that is fair,
alert to danger, eyes wide.

Re-gift the wicked with their own pain
stand with the just;
fail to partake of the ill-gotten gain,
living in honor, the only must.

Standing fast in the face of wrong
is its own prize and reward.
Holding on to truth makes us strong,
well worth working toward.

Little is left to chance by fate
our lessons are never free of cost.
Seldom does reality make us wait
only when alone, are we lost.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 10/23/2012.

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

This one is about being human; the good, the weird, the ugly, the wondrous…. but, mostly, it’s about the duality of nature, and, our own inner nature, with which we constantly battle, inside AND outside ourselves… It’s not easy when the only way to win, ultimately, is to keep battling; if either side becomes dominant, imbalance disallows longevity; eventually, whatever is created destroys itself, whether overbearingly good, or obsessively evil…. Sounds a bit confusing, doesn’t it? Yeah, to me, as well, but, it DOES go a long way toward explaining a lot about most people’s reaction to much of what happens to them in life….

SIGH…. Ah well, if they would only learn to listen to the pearls that live inside them…. If not, well, they could always come read some of these; I don’t see how it couldn’t help things. Nothing much else seems to have done so….

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

“The measure of man is what he does with power.” — Pittacus

“Nothing shows a man’s character more than what he laughs at.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“You know what they say about paradigms – shift happens!” — Witty Bee

“To him that waits all things reveal themselves, provided that he has the courage not to deny, in the darkness,what he has seen in the light.” — Coventry Patmore

“His red right hand.” — John Milton — Paradise Lost, Book ii, Line 174

“Arms are instruments of ill omen… . When one is compelled to use them, it is best to do so without relish. There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men…. When great numbers of people are killed, one should weep over them with sorrow. When victorious in war, one should observe mourning rites.” — Lao-Tzu

“Mongo only pawn… in game of life.’ — Alex Karras in “Blazing Saddles”

“Sometimes I think. And sometimes I am.”

~~ Smart Bee, using Peruaosophy as a koan ~~

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

What the…? How did we get here? Oh, wait; okay, I get it. Sorry, the Tardis was set to put me here at a certain time, & I forgot. Okay, we’re done, right? Right. I suppose I’d better go see what happened up there, before I let this loose on the world….. Hang on….

Hmm…. I think it’s best if I don’t comment on any of that. I’ll just say this; it’s done. That fulfills all the legal requirements, so, I’m going to use some common sense & get us the hell out of here, before Reality is stressed any further…. I’ll be back tomorrow, ffolkes….. Hey! Oh for goodness sake, stop with the wailing and lamentations! It’s not a threat, calm down. I don’t THINK we’ve even made any of the do-not-fly lists yet, so, it’s just another walk in the park. Sheesh…. Besides, what’s your beef? Did you pay for this? No…. Well, not in anything other than a karmic sense….

See ya, ffolkes; that’s a promise…. I don’t make them lightly….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Paradigm shift scheduled in D.C.; film at 11….

Posted on August 28, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“It’s getting harder and harder to act weird.”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

International Space Station 2, orbiting Mars ~~ Artist: Ville Ericsson

Image from Space.com

Good morning…. Coming up with a justifiable reason might be problematic, but, evidence doesn’t lie; that means, sadly, no further dallying will be tolerated. It’s a shame, too, as we’re really, really good at dallying. Furthermore, the fabrication of reasons, of all categories and strengths, is sort of an avocation with us, (Luigi has his certificate already; who knew?), which means we could have come up with the correct one almost in our sleep, had we had any….

No, wait, that’s a lie. Don’t want y’all to think we’re falling into the habits displayed so frequently by our Beloved Ruling Class, now, would we? Nope. But, no worries, we didn’t do it; the lie was merely for the purposes of distraction; I actually did sleep, oddly enough, for the unheard of period of six FULL hours. Perhaps that’s why we’re so flippant thus far today; it matters little, since it’s gotten us two paragraphs deep into the intro, without breaking a sweat…..

That cover, officially pulled now, we will fold neatly, and, place right over here for later. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Okay, so, I’ve got a Pearl here for ya, but, it was put together yesterday, mostly, while I was battling some pretty fierce arthritic pain, to go along with the oppressive weather (got up to about 96ºF, & no A/C….), so, I can’t be entirely sure of the quality of any of it…. It looks okay, though, so, we’ll go with it, and trust to the process, which has proven itself to be up to the task many times…. sort of.

All that aside, where it belongs, it’s time to quit fooling about; we have no boats anyway, so, we are unable to fulfill Mr. Toad’s most excellent advice. (20 pt. bonus for knowing the reference) It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, as we don’t have time to spend on such frivolity now. We have oysters to harvest! Luigi, fire that puppy up, and get us outta here; I can hear the sirens coming up the drive….

Shall we Pearl?….

A thousand cups of wine do not suffice when true friends meet, but half a sentence is too much when there is no meeting of minds.” — Chinese proverb

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Star Trek: Renegades ~ Scene from official movie

Screenshot Image via Space.com

An independent group of young filmmakers has created an entire movie based on the Star Trek Universe. It isn’t an official movie, made in Hollywood, but, an independent effort. I’ve watched the first few minutes; it’s excellently done. (Gotta love Admiral Checkov as a major character) I’m saving the rest to watch on my upcoming long flight, and really looking forward to it…. I managed to grab a copy, which will hopefully still be up on You Tube by the time you try to watch it…. It’s free to watch, so, enjoy!….

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Star Trek: Renegades

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https://youtu.be/eE2Wgop9VLM

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

Since I was up so early (0300…) I’d intended to see if I had a rant on tap in my head…. It doesn’t seem to be happening, so, we’ll go with a pretty decent politirant from last year. It is, of course, all still completely relevant, as our Beloved Ruling Class has no intentions to make any changes on its own. But, that’s a rant for another day; for now, let’s consider this:

From 5/21/2014:

Today’s rant comes to you courtesy of a couple of news articles, to which you will find links below…. It helps me if y’all read the article(s) first; then, my comments make more sense…. I also feel compelled to comment here; I find it very disturbing, though not particularly surprising, that many of the articles about the chicanery, and, illegal, immoral activities in which our government and police forces are engaged, are to be found only in foreign news sites… The sites in this country seem to ignore/pass over much of what is obvious to other countries, tending to softball any criticism about the people in power here…. I’m assuming that is because they are afraid of retribution; why else keep silent? It certainly is not to their advantage to do so, in the ultimate sense….

Any who, please go ahead & read them, after which, I’ll show some excerpts, upon which I’ll comment, as to the key points to be found…. Hopefully, my comments will make themselves obvious, but, to be clear, the excerpts will be in quotation marks; comments are not….

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/19/cecily-mcmillan-three-months-jail-occupy-future-protest?CMP=ema_565

“On Monday, Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan was sentenced to three months in jail and five years of probation, after she faced down a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for her conviction of assaulting a police officer. Her supporters, unsurprisingly, feel the sentencing is excessive – especially given her testimony that the officer in question first grabbed her breast – but it’s also clearer than ever that McMillan’s conviction will have a chilling effect on the future of serious activism.”

“The most famous example of this is probably NYPD deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, who pepper-sprayed peaceful female protesters during an OWS march. In 2013, the district attorney’s office announced that it would not prosecute Bologna – and the NYPD docked him just ten vacation days and reassigned him to Staten Island.”

A large number of people are surprised when they see articles such as this; I can only figure it’s because they are really, really stupid, (sorry, I calls ’em as I sees ’em….). I make that assessment due to their implicit trust in the police forces in this country, for the simple reason they assume, in complete error, those entities are to be dedicated professionals, with integrity, honor, and compassion for others; they actually believe that bullshit. They have a hard time when an article like this comes out; if they paid attention to anything outside their own narrow world, they would see such event happen, pretty much, every fucking day, in every state in this country.

Yep, every damn day, I go through the news, and there is ALWAYS at least one, often more, article reporting (often with video evidence) another cop gone rogue, or some piece of corruption exposed, or another forcible rape by a sheriff deputy, or some other example of one of the BRC’s faceless myrmidons abusing the power of authority that comes with their job…. EVERY DAY ffolkes, and that is NOT an exaggeration; look at it yourself…. If I can find at least one article about a corrupt cop every day, how many do you think there actually ARE? A LOT, wouldn’t you guess? I would….

Except, it’s not a guess… My estimate is that at least half, & most likely more than half, of the assholes wearing a badge in this country are totally unqualified to carry a gun to enforce the law, because they are they type of person who will abuse that power…. Way, way more than half is my actual gut feeling, but, we’ll be conservative, & keep the estimate there at 50%…. Believe me, when it comes to corrupt cops, half of them is MORE than enough…. Especially when the other half generally refuse to acknowledge that fact….

My question is: how can any intelligent citizen think that these people could be trusted to use their weapons ONLY in defense of the law, if they were the only ones allowed to carry them? Do you think that most police would show integrity, or would they abuse their position, using their weapons to control and intimidate citizens, rather than protecting them? I’m sorry, but, I just don’t think they are any more trustworthy than the average citizen; in fact, I would wager serious money on them being far less honest, and far less honorable than the average joe on the street, and that is a fact….. Hell, they can’t even bring themselves to use their turn signals…. what makes people think they’ll not pull the trigger?….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Ex-aide-set-to-testify-in-Christie-bridge-scandal-5490758.php

“Christie, who says he is still considering running for president and will decide his political future later, recently said the lane closings would be “a footnote” by 2016. But his prediction last week came the same day his former campaign manager contradicted Christie’s timeline of the bridge scandal…..Political operative Bill Stepien said Christie misspoke Dec. 13 when he told reporters he had received assurances that no one close to him knew about the lane closings.”

Misspoke? Misspoke? What the fuck does that mean, if not “he lied”? As far as I can see, it can’t mean anything but that, but, this guy, Stepien, remember, is a “political operative”, and, as such, has been extensively trained to use the English language in ways no other sane person would think to do…. He is obviously pissed off at Christie for making him fall on his sword, but manages to still try to minimize the key fact of the matter, to wit: Christie was involved…. his governing style encouraged that sort of thing; it’s clear that he knew about it, and he lied about it….

This particular brouhaha, in fact, is one of the easiest issues to understand, as history has shown us that we can, for sure and for certain, count on one characteristic of politicians to be a fact…. WHATEVER a major politician says. especially regarding their own guilt or innocence, about ANYTHING, is going be an outright lie…. It’s knee jerk for them; they have no other behavioral response to fall back on, so, in such instances, when they are accused of ANY wrongdoing, they deny, deny, deny…. If pushed to the wall, they will say that the person they scapegoated, fired, had lied to them, which, as we know, is a crock of shit….. If they hadn’t trusted the idiots, they wouldn’t have been where they were….

Two things bother me about issues of this nature…. One, the lies that are told by the perpetrators of such acts are reported as if they have validity; the media doesn’t even TRY to point out any discrepancy in fact, or suggest any alternatives to accepting it as truth…. when, in truth, they KNOW it all to be a crock…. Second, people in the public read this crap, and believe it…. They have no clue, and are unwilling to believe, that they are being lied to at every turn…. If they do that, they would have to first admit their own FUCKING STUPIDITY….

Sorry, I get a bit worked up when I think of how gullible the average American is; it makes me ashamed of what the forefathers foresaw for this country, to see that the corporate assholes have won…. They’ve taken over all three branches of the government, and the majority of people in this country have no clue they are nothing more than slaves….

The average American is no longer an educated, honorable citizen of a democracy, who watches the government with cautious regard…. Mostly they are grossly overweight couch potatoes, carrying fifty extra pounds from eating all the crap the corporations want them to eat, locked into their own brand of indulgence, stupidly believing everything a talking head on their TV tells them, making them extremely easy to lead around by the nose, as they give up their legacy of rights to unprincipled, immoral, INSANE assholes with more money than common sense, or compassion, ignoring and/or denying as much of what goes on around them as they can…. It’s a wonder we aren’t all wearing collars….

Just wait, though, that day will come, if the monied elite have their way…. They sure as hell haven’t shown any inclination to share any of what they’ve usurped stolen from everyone else, nor do they exhibit any willingness to change their nature from being predatory, so, I’d wager they’ll just keep on doing what they’ve been doing, and continue to do, which is lie, cheat, and steal to and from everyone else, always seeking to maintain and extend their control over the rest of the world…. while the sociopathic assholes they have trained as their puppets and myrmidons, whom we call politicians, preachers, and policemen, continue to run roughshod over the rest of society….

So be it.

gigoid has spoken….

“Jesus died too soon.
If he had lived to my age he would have repudiated his doctrine.”

~~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche ~~

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

It’s been quite a while since I used anyone else’s work, aside from a couple of bloggers whose work impresses me. So, here is a classic poem, from the man I consider the best American poet. Period…. Enjoy, please; it’s pretty hard not to like this man’s work…. It’s a long poem; to save some time, I only posted the first verses, the beginning stanzas only. I’ve included a link at the end to Poetryfoundation.com, where you can read the rest….

Song of Myself

I Celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil,
this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and
their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never
forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

You can read the entire poem, in the version published in 1892, here:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174745

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This is a strange pearl; it doesn’t, at first, seem as if it’s going anywhere specific, but, manages somehow to create a lesson worth some attention…. I hope you enjoy it; it’s a pretty good one….

The modest front of this small floor,
Believe me, reader, can say more
Than many a braver marble can,–
“Here lies a truly honest man!”

~~ Richard Crashaw ~~
~~ Epitaph upon Mr. Ashton ~~

—————–

“If water derives lucidity from stillness,
how much more the faculties of the mind!
The mind of the sage, being in repose,
becomes the mirror of the universe,
the speculum of all creation.”

~~ Chuang Tzu ~~

—————–

“Any idiot can face a crisis.
It’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.”

~~ Anton Checkov ~~

—————–

“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”

~~ James Stephens ~~

—————–

“It is the ability to choose which makes us human.”

~~ Madeleine L’Engle (Walking on Water) ~~

—————–

“When you come right down to it, all you have is your self.
Your self is a sun with a thousand rays in your belly.
The rest is nothing.”

~~ Pablo Picasso ~~

—————–

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~~

—————–

“No one can see their reflection in running water.
It is only in still water that we can see.”

~~- Taoist Proverb ~~

—————–

“The Magician of the Ivory Tower brought his latest invention for the master programmer to examine.
The magician wheeled a large black box into the master’s office while the master waited in silence.

“This is an integrated, distributed, general-purpose workstation,” began the magician,
“ergonomically designed with a proprietary operating system,
sixth generation languages, and multiple state of the art user interfaces.
It took my assistants several hundred man years to construct. Is it not amazing?”

The master raised his eyebrows slightly. “It is indeed amazing,” he said.

“Corporate Headquarters has commanded,” continued the magician,
“that everyone use this workstation as a platform for new programs.
Do you agree to this?”

“Certainly,” replied the master,
“I will have it transported to the data center immediately!”
And the magician returned to his tower, well pleased.

Several days later, a novice wandered into the office of the master programmer and said,
“I cannot find the listing for my new program. Do you know where it might be?”

“Yes,” replied the master, “the listings are stacked on the platform in the data center.”

— Geoffrey James, “The Tao of Programming” ~~

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

Contrary to all precepts of scientific endeavor, we’ve finished. Not only finished, but, done. And, just in time, I might add. The myrmidons seem to be somewhat persistent today; I can hear the sirens coming right here to the oyster beds…. How convenient we will be gone when they arrive; funny how that worked out, isn’t it? Ah well, we’ll worry about all that later; once y’all have exited the premises, we can break out the heavier artillery. Of course, we’re not allowed to tell you what it is, but, trust me; you’re safe…..See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. Count on it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Magic bullets engender dilatory responses….

Posted on August 27, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture.

Just get people to stop reading them.”

~~ Ray Bradbury ~~

Artist’s rendition of Life in the Mars Colony

Image by Ville Ericsson via Space.com

Good morning…. Remember Alice’s White Rabbit? That’s me, all over. “I’m late, I’m late, etc….” The date with which I’ve tasked myself is not, perhaps, as important as the Rabbit’s, though, ’tis to me, but, that’s one of those points we are wont to call moot. Well, some of us are. But, I digress, which, as y’all have previously seen, isn’t unusual, or particularly helpful.

Ah, well, so much for the intro. I had hope honesty, even if coupled with fantasy, might work; alas, ’tis yet another plan gone awry. This, of course, leaves us in the lurch, and though Lurch was one of my favorite characters, it’s not the place a nice blog likes to find itself. Therefore, with powers vested in me by the leasing of the Tardis, I declare this intro complete…. Luigi, you know what to do…. The rest of you…. look busy.

Shall we Pearl?….

“He who fights the devil with his own weapons, must not wonder if he finds him an overmatch.” — South

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

Jerry Garcia

Image from the Jerry Garcia Foundation website, at:

http://www.jerrygarciafoundation.org/?eml=dn/PlayingForChang-CheckItOutHere-body-inline-left-1-3/2015August26/2661282/6131962&etsubid=39846924

As a Deadhead in good standing, (I’m all registered as a user at Dead.net), I receive periodic emails from the remainder of the band, which has now morphed into the Dead & Company, now beginning a tour to live up to the band’s historic live reputation as improvisational wizards, along with the newest band members, taking the place of, but, never replacing Jerry and the others who have passed….

The Garcia Family started a non-profit foundation, with the purpose of bringing music to the children and people of the world. They’ve just released a song, with people from all over the world singing “Ripple”, one of the Dead’s iconic songs, with cameo appearances from several big musical names, such as Jimmy Buffet, and David Crosby. I’ve included it as today’s video, so, enjoy!…..

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

Ripple | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

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

https://youtu.be/MHo1fNnXFVU

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

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

Since I’m late, you know what’s going to happen now…. Here’s a short little mini-politireligirant that spilled out in the intro, from the archives….

From the intro on 6/10/2014:

I am frequently (adjective TBA) (Okay, we’ll use “bemused” for wont of anything more accurate….) to learn something new about people, especially myself….. In the process of checking my bank account online, to see if my SS allowance had been deposited, I became aware of the power of certain feelings, engendered by the mere presence, or absence of resources… In essence, just the mere fact of having a significantly useful amount of money to use is enough to stimulate feelings of extreme relief, almost a giddy joy, which is probably a reaction to NOT feeling the stressful worry that goes along with NOT having enough resources on hand….

In today’s world, most of us are only one or two months worth of paychecks from living on the streets, so when our bank account gets too small, it’s a source of constant stress….. Especially when food becomes scarce…. Of course, only the middle and lower classes of society are subject to this process, but, hey, that’s you and me, ffolkes, so it’s not as if you don’t know whereof I speak….

The most difficult feeling with which to cope, for me, is the one that comes to me when I realize that our BRC, our beloved rulers, and their corporate masters, along with their counterparts in the priestly hierarchies, don’t ever have to feel any of that…. They are already rich enough to have passed beyond the level where a month or two of income reduction, or shall we say, reduced profit, because that’s closer to the truth of the matter, won’t have any significant effect on their lives, and certainly wouldn’t cause them to lose their place of residence. In point of fact, they’re rich enough that they don’t have to even THINK about that issue at all…. I would guess that is a very powerful feeling in itself….

Now, I know you’re thinking to yourselves, “there he goes again, ranting in the intro…”, and you’d no doubt be right. I didn’t intend to start off this way, but, having gone to look at my account, it struck me pretty hard how wide the gap has grown between the rich, and the rest of humanity…. The income differential grows larger each minute, as the system of thievery of the middle classes, and the parasitic assholes who reap the rewards of that theft, continue their pillaging of society without ever slackening pace…. rushing us all along the road to extinction with gleeful madness…

Such ranting has become less than profitable for me, and seems to keep some folks away, which is part of the reason why I’m looking around for new ways to interest my readers…. I hate feeling this crap, and hate the fact that the world is set up in such a way as to allow the rich and powerful to do pretty much whatever they want, and the rest of us suck hind teat…. SIGH….

It just makes me want to go out & buy that gun I keep promising to obtain…. But, I know that soon after doing so, I’d have to keep one of the first rules of gun ownership, to wit: If you are going to keep your gun loaded, then only pick it up when you are prepared to fire it….. My only problem with that is the difficulty in CHOOSING a target; there are a LOT of them out there that are worth one of my bullets…. It’s all the more attractive as I think about how GOOD I’d feel after taking down a couple of those assholes who have more money than morals…. tempting, indeed…

For now, though, I’ll content myself with that, and get on with today’s business, such as it is…. At least this will keep me from SPENDING all that money for a few hours….

Note from 2015:

Nothing’s changed much in the past year, has it? In fact, things look a bit less stable than even that short time ago…. Ah well, tomorrow’s another day….

“Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.” — Eugene O’Neill

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

Yep. It’s mine, from the past….

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/10/2012.

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

Naturally, we go once more to the archives to save our sorry ass….

From 6/13/2014:

Naturally, saving time means old-school…. I’ll be good, though, and find some fresh pearls, instead of pulling one from the archives… Aren’t I nice? Especially for someone still half-way buried in sleep…. Let’s see what happens; this could go several ways, so I hope it finds a good path…. I never quite know what to expect when I push Smart Bee to hurry…. sometimes it comes out well, and sometimes, well… it comes out, which is the BEST thing that can be said of it…. Let’s hope for better than that….

“Memory: what wonders it performs in preserving and storing up things gone by or rather, things that are!” — Plutarch

“We ought never to do wrong when people are looking.’ — Mark Twain

‘The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am.” — Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Although a cloth be washed a hundred times,
How can it be rendered clean and pure
If it be washed in water which is dirty?

~~ Nagarjuna (c. 100-200 A.D.) ~~

“Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable.” — The Wizard of Oz

“After being asked by a waitress if he wanted his pizza cut into four slices or eight: “Better make it four. I don’t think I can eat eight pieces.” — Yogi Berra

“The death of God left the angels in a strange position.’ — Internal documentation, programmer unknown

Well, it does show some of the effects of hurrying, but, it’s really not bad at all…. Makes a couple of good points, I think…. No worries, either way, it’s done…. so be it….

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

Done. I’m not sure at all how it came out, and simply don’t have time to care. This is it, ffolkes; WYSIWYG. And, I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow…. maybe. Ah hell, who am I kidding? I’ll be here, come hell or high water…. or, the NSA, those clandestine a-holes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Heretical truth , though heresy, remains truth….

Posted on August 25, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I slept and drempt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was duty.

I acted and beheld that duty was joy.

~~ Rabindranath Tagore ~~

Take me to your leader, and don’t try anything funny!

Image from the UK Telegraph 8/4/2015

Good morning…. Before we actually begin today, I should relate a small but relatively important piece of new information about these Pearls in general, and, more specifically, about individual pearls, and their attribution. As I’ve shared previously, (though not recently; hence this housekeeping event…), when Smart Bee gives me an aphorism/quote/statement without attribution, I try to take time to plug it into Google, which usually can identify it. When it can’t, and I can’t figure out any other way to find out, I just give Smart Bee the attribution, and let it go at that.

From today on, whenever I feel like it, in such cases where the final attribution for any quote is to go to SB, I may, or may not, provide a short, pithy comment on the pearl itself, in the format of an addition/change to the usual form, e.g., Very Smart Bee, or, Sarcastic Bee, etc. It’s just another little way I can let off a bit of steam, which is part of the cathartic effect of the blogging process…. for me. I know for sure there are others who use this process to maintain their sanity, so, I’m not alone in that; hopefully, this little addition will help smooth it out for me, and, in the process, give y’all a chuckle or two…

So be it. gigoid has spoken. We now return you to your regularly scheduled intro, as this portion was pre-recorded for my convenience, then, locked in the Tardis until time to paste in here…. Slick, eh? Okay, here’s your intro….

Gotcha! Okay, Luigi, I think they’re sufficiently stunned; let’s hit it…. Oh, y’all might want to hold on to something, no matter how apt what George says below may, or may not be; bumpy is too mild a word when Luigi’s on a roll….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The power to stand alone is worth acquiring at the expense of much sorrowful solitude.” — George Bernard Shaw

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

In today’s video/music/entertainment section, we are going to listen to some more of my default choice, i.e., classical music. As a bonus, just below this paragraph, you will find an extra link. This link will take you to the home page of the SF Bay Area’s classical music radio station, KDFC. On their home page, you will find a button that says, “Listen Live”; click the button, to be connected to the streaming channel for KDFC, where you can listen to one of the finest selections of music ever compiled.

Though fully listener-supported, they stream their programs for free; on the home page you can also connect to listen to archived recorded music of various Bay Area events, such as the SF Symphony, every Wednesday evening, and other recordings…. And, you can listen to this fine selection ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!….. FOR FREE!….

An excellent resource, I’d say…. Enjoy: http://www.kdfc.com/

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

Classical Music For Sleep

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

https://youtu.be/dZzA9LesTS0

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

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

“All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

I’ve always felt a kinship to Aristotle; everything I’ve read attributed to him, and everything I’ve read about him, makes obvious his genius, not only for its depth of wisdom and rationality, but, for its simplicity, and, most importantly, its connection to what is human. This statement exhibits all those qualities, even though merely a general statement of truth as it applies to human nature.

Examining it for the depth of meaning implied by its simplicity explains a lot, about why the world we live in today has become such a burden to the common man, as society sinks ever further into the naturally occurring chaos which is the only possible outcome of such an unbalanced approach to society. The continuing repression of the masses of humanity by the oligarchy can never lead to any sort of harmonious existence for all; there will always be resentment for the all-too-apparent inequality of privilege, heavily in favor the few, over the many.

Trust Aristotle to put his finger on the core problem; humans are so constructed they cannot seem to handle the acquisition of power over others without losing their sense of morality, choosing every time to act in their own self-interest over that of others, regardless of the consequences for those others. They become so focused on the money and power, and their own desires, nothing else matters to them; not ethics, not morals, and certainly not the welfare of other people. One might think there would at least ONE historical report, which describes another outcome, but, I defy anyone to show me any, anywhere in the recorded history of mankind, from the days of ancient Greece, right up to the present, when society did not eventually fall prey to the same inner corruption we see today.

I’ve issued this challenge previously, and never received a single response; I suspect this is because there IS no adequate response (The more realistic side of me says it’s probably because not very many people see these pearls… but, the argument remains the same.). Any such period of time showing any truly ethical form of government was short-lived, as the oligarchy, in every case, has, over time, used their hidden resources to buy treachery, and to manipulate events to suit themselves…. a process at which they have become VERY adept.

Today’s world, with its new technology, threatens to turn our world into a truly dystopian nightmare, with less than .00001% of the people in the world oppressing the remaining seven billion, enforced by their typical violent means, with the added enhancement of computers and robots to assist them in their aim, which, put simply, is nothing less than to enslave the rest of the human race for their own benefit.

Once again, it seems I could rant forever; it also seems, sometimes, as if I already have. So, I’m mostly done, at least for today….. Here are three quick pearls, to give my opinion on the government we have today, then a short finishing blurb…. These 3 are pretty sharp, and pretty clear; no two-by-four needed….

“All forms of government are pernicious, including good government.” — Edward Abbey

“Love of money is the root of all Politicians.” — Obvious Bee

Laws are only words words written on paper, words that change on society’s whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool.” — John J. Miller, And Hope to Die — (in _Jokertown Shuffle – Wild Cards IX_)

I really think it is time for the people of the world to become aware of how ubiquitously they are being lied to, and, how they are enslaved, with their own tacit, ignorant agreement. When that time comes, when people finally realize their true state, it won’t matter how much control the oligarchs THINK they have. What do you think will happen to the predators of mankind when their prey, all 6+ BILLION of them, all get angry at once?… It wouldn’t be particularly hard to get the message across, as most people have heard the story, if only in music…. such as this, from the English speaking world… (I imagine it would translate well; most music is flexible enough to transcend mere language….)

And the sentence you’re paying is too high priced
While you’re living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he’s made on your dreams

~~ Traffic, “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” ~~

No amount of technology, no degree of control would be sufficient to protect them, for when all of mankind realizes the truth, the following would become even more relevant, on a scale unheard of in history….

“Beware of that person who is slow to anger. For when it is long in coming, it stays longer and is warmer and dies not so easily. Abused patience is a very strong fuel for a fire not easily put out by any known means.” — Ancient Smart Bee

Hey, it’s a nice dream, isn’t it? Now I just need to write the song…. You Tube can take care of getting it out to most of mankind….

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

Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 8/18/2013.

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

Here’s a nice little nine-star pearl, with some good stuff to say about life, and the advantages of at least pretending to use one’s mind to live it…. sort of. You’ll see….

“I think, …. Do You?”

~~ Diogenes Bee ~~

” Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing.” — Publius Syrus

“But the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” — Arthur C. Clarke (1917-) — Profiles of the Future (1962; rev. 1973) — “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination”

“The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it.” — Realistic Bee

“A belief is not true because it is useful.” — Henri Frederic Amiel

“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.” — Phaedrus — Book i, Fable 26, 12

“Do you know that disease and death must needs overtake us, no matter what we are doing? What do you wish to be doing when it overtakes you? If you have anything better to be doing when you are so overtaken, get to work on that.” — Epictetus

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” — Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

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

Well, ffolkes, I’ve been over it twice, or three times now; I can’t find anything I missed. I guess it’s done. Damn good thing, too, as I’ve been done for some time. I hope none of what occurred after that point gets me in any deeper than I am already. Time will tell; it always does. It never can keep its mouth shut. Today, I just hope it can do so until I’ve safely donned my protective armor. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, ambush, or no ambush….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Frugal memories of Cracker Jack….

Posted on August 24, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I’m not crazy. I just don’t give a shit!”

~~ gigoid, the dubious ~~

Frightened Feline, Stumped

Good morning…. I suppose it’s only natural to be a bit thick at this time of day, regardless of how much sleep I may have been blessed to receive. But, does it have to be thick as a brick? It sure would make it easier if it didn’t take so damn long to find two neurons willing and able to work together long enough to get started on this, at least until the coffee can kick in. Of course, that would eliminate more than half of my opening ideas, since I generally end up doing just as I’m doing now, to wit: beginning the day with whining and complaints at how early it is….

I would imagine it’s getting as old for y’all as it is for me; it’s really a shame I can’t seem to think of anything else much of the time. Nobody told me it would be so difficult to come up with interesting, believable, compelling literature first thing in the damn morning. And, damn if I’m not experiencing some of the strongest feelings of deja vu I’ve ever felt…. What to you think? Should we go for three full paragraphs of cheap whining, or just get on with the regularly scheduled insanity? I vote for getting the hell out of here….

Since my vote is the deciding factor, that’s what we’ll do. Sorry for the boring intro; I’m sure you’ll give me, just this once, the benefit of the doubt, and forget the whole thing, won’t you? No? Ah, well, fuck it, then…. Luigi, fire that puppy up, and get us out of here, now! I’m done with this….

Shall we Pearl?….

He that holds fast the golden mean,
And lives contentedly between
The little and the great,
Feels not the wants that pinch the poor,
Nor plagues that haunt the rich man’s door.

~~ William Cowper ~~

~~ Translation of Horace, Book ii, Ode x ~~

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

Image by Susan at

http://birdsanddogs.com/2015/08/23/a-new-trail-tiger-mountain-trail/

Today’s video has been preempted by pictures…. One of the more consistent Gentle Readers of this blog has moved, and is involved in exploring an area of the country new to her and her partner and dogs. They discovered a very beautiful hiking area near where they are looking for a home, and posted some picture of the hike…. I thought they were great pictures, of a very beautiful part of the country, so, rather than a video today, here are a couple pictures, and the link to her site, where you can see the rest…. They’re worth it, even if the drought is affecting the forests heavily…. Enjoy!….

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

“The Earth is degenerating these days. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer mind their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching.” — Assyrian Stone Tablet, c.2800BC

Mankind, as a species, is fond of touting how special he is; one is constantly hearing how advanced our culture is, how magnificent the works of art we have produced, how wonderful is our species! The pinnacle of Creation! Which makes us, possibly, about the stupidest creatures ever conceived, for basing our sense of entitlement on a massive sense of delusion and denial of reality….. If we can assume, for the purposes of discussion, the tablet referred to in the above quote was created on today’s date all those years ago ( as likely a date as any other day….), our species has made absolutely NO progress in the past 4,815 years! Whoever wrote those words on the tablet could easily have been born in 1950, for our world today exhibits EXACTLY the same symptoms of decay as described…..

Now, I don’t know about y’all, but, it seems a little specious to claim such a position of ascendancy when we cannot even bring ourselves to make sure everyone in the species experiences the same advantages as any other; what is the point of having a society/culture, if it doesn’t provide the same advantages to ALL its citizenry? None I can see. Yet, we continue to behave as if there is no tomorrow, lying, cheating, preying upon each other as if the future did not exist…. There are times when it seems we understand, for there is evidence, such as in movies, when a character can make a statement that catches the fancy of the public, who repeat it endlessly, without ever realizing it applies to themselves…. such as, “My mama says “stupid is as stupid does….”

Yes, Forrest’s mama had it right; what wasn’t clear to most folks is that it was talking about THEM. Most of the people I see in this world have no clue they are a slave; they live their lives just as if they had some choice in what they do, never realizing they are hemmed into such a narrow field of existence, they cannot see they are confined at all, believing themselves to be free men…. And the beat goes on, as it has for almost 5000 years, without ever getting anywhere that might actually brings us all into a future we can live with….

This rant isn’t going much of anywhere; I’ve already whined and complained for four paragraphs, without ever buckling down to any specifics…. Part of that is the simple fact there is SO MUCH about which I could rant, it’s hard to pick one…. Should I rail against the industrial machine? Should I indict the pundits, who lie and cheat and steal their way around the halls of government? Should I condemn the Dogma Dogs, who sycophantically endorse the corporate mandate, promising immortality and manna from heaven for the privilege of wearing a slave collar? Or, should I just bemoan the fact of my peer’s lack of honor and strength of will? Any and all of these are part of the core problem, but, I’m tired of them all…. and, that’s only a partial list!….

Ah, the hell with it. I’m gonna go find some pearls to sublimate, and be done with it for today…. We’ll all just have to deal with it…. If the group gets a bit smarmy, well, chalk it up to the mood I’ve put myself in with this rant….

“Bother!” said Pooh, as he found his smack had talc in it. — Smart Bee

“It is alarming and also nauseating to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the East, striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceregal palace, while he is still organizing and conducting a campaign of civil disobedience, to parley on equal terms with the representative of King-Emperor.” — Winston Churchill, — speech to the West Essex Conservatives, February 23, 1930

“It makes no difference who you vote for– the two parties are really one party representing 4 percent of the people.” — Gore Vidal

“And if I said a year ago that these [social] programs weren’t working, perhaps I have been vindicated.” — President George Bush, on how Lyndon Johnson was to blame for the LA riots

“Definitely, times have changed. If you flunk out of high school today, you will likely have to settle for being just Vice President.” — Smart Bee

“I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they’d never expect it.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

“Keep the war alive.” — A White House official, — describing President Bush’s 1992 reelection strategy

“Do unto them before they do it to you.” — American proverb

“Talk of revolution is one way of avoiding reality.” — John Kenneth Galbraith

“Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sure sign he expects to be paid for it.” — H. L. Mencken

“You’re standing where I want to pee.”

~~ gigoid, to Ronnie Raygun, in one of his favorite dreams ~~

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

Piraeus calls me, silently

Sizzle, sizzle, crash, bang, boom.
Intellect burning with subsequent doom.
Lingering long over decisive style,
Whistling up chaos all the while.

Such frozen thoughts may shatter,
Should we infer, but, no matter.
Firing blanks is children at play
Blooded sages all gasp in dismay.

Nonsense is good sense at times
Mundane objectives trip lightly in rhymes.
Fallen angels dance on a pin
Until each sinner enters within.

Fast moments with natural rain
Bring ashes, yet still must remain.
Final thoughts clamor for more
Find them only on a far distant shore.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/3/2012.

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

Now, THIS is a pearl!….

When the night has been too lonely,
and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,

Just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun’s love,
in the spring becomes The Rose.

~~ Bette Midler, “The Rose” ~~

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” ~~ V. Smart Bee ~~

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” — Marcus Aurelius

“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.” — John Berry

“The mountains, too, at a distance appear airy masses and smooth, but seen near at hand, they are rough.” — Diogenes Laertius — Pyrrho, ix

“Do every act of your life as if it were your last.” — Marcus Aurelius

“To him who is in fear, everything rustles.” — Sophocles

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself
(I am large, I contain multitudes).

~~ Walt Whitman, ‘Song of Myself’ ~~

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

Well…. That was something. Rather than try to figure out exactly what, I think I’ll just go proof, and be done with it. Given the state of my attitude so far today, it’s probably for the best if we don’t make any further attempts at rationality; besides, my lawyer’s on vacation, so, I’d rather not have to deal with any consequences just now.

It’s Monday. I’m going to pretend it’s Sunday, again. I can do that; I’m retired….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can remember where I parked the Tardis….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Wasting time the old fashioned way….

Posted on August 22, 2015 by gigoid

☬

Ffolkes,

“All men are created unequal.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

Elder Trees at the Temple of Angkor Wat

Image from the UK Telegraph 8-6-2015

Good morning…. Boldly, he sat to begin, in spite of knowing full well the futility of even trying on such a day. Truly, his will is strong, if misguided, if he believes he can pull this off; only such loyalty to purpose could even give such hope. Yet, there is a certain poignancy to consistent failure; mankind has always liked a sad story. Perhaps, if he ever has time, he’ll think about that….

Morning, ffolkes…. I think I’ve gotten whatever that was out of my system. I’m not really sure where it actually came from, and I can’t recall ever falling into that particular mode of expression, speaking in the fourth person, so to speak, talking about myself as if I were watching from a distance. Oh, well, it must have something to do with the 57 minutes of staring at the screen I did while cudgeling my brain to come up with today’s title…. and, look at the poor thing! Pathetic!….

Oh, well. It’s probably a good thing I got up early; it gives me more time to clean up the crap that spills. It is also a good thing nobody’s paying me to do this, or I’d feel really bad about the quality of my work. But, I put my time in on the financial wheel of karma, so, it’s my turn to coast a bit. My dad would FLIP if he thought I was getting paid for any of this!….

But, enough about me; let’s go find some pearls, before this gets any further from reality. I’m already into territory I’m not sure I could find my way out of….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The superior man is the providence of the inferior. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, and a shield for the defenseless. He stands erect by bending above the fallen. He rises by lifting others.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

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

☬

My brain is rather uncooperative today; it’s probably pretty obvious by now. Almost an hour to come up with a title, and, far too long for a weak intro…. Now, I cannot seem to even decide what kind of music to listen to…. At this point, it becomes clear there’s only one thing to do, which is to say, “Fuck it”, and go with our default. Here is about an hour and a half of somebody’s idea of the best classical music. If I can’t pull it together in that amount of time, it’s hopeless…. In any case, I hope you enjoy it…. I picked it solely for the picture it showed on the page….

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

Classical Music, Again

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

https://youtu.be/Y4xRlnO7-Ps

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

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

☬

Today’s ranting section will consist primarily of homework…. Yes, I know, I’m not your teacher, unless, of course, you wish me to be. However, it never hurts to learn. Period. So, here is some pretty good material that was sent to me by an anonymous commenter named ‘anders’. I checked out the three links he/she/it sent, and found them to be quite interesting.

The document on Natural Law is quite good; the other I have yet to finish, but, makes a lot of sense so far. The others were found at Tales From The Conspiratum, where an article from Jon Rappaport was reblogged; he’s an author and frequent contributor to Natural News, Waking Times, Think Progress, and a number of other alternative-to-MSM news sites…. All good stuff, in no particular order…. We’ll follow it up at the end with an old-school pearl, taking some shots at the Asininnies (who else?….)

Enjoy!….

https://talesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/psychiatry-erase-the-unique-individual/

https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/psychiatry-erase-the-unique-individual/

http://ivansbj.blogspot.se/2014/02/natural-law.html

http://www.mensenrechten.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-most-dangerous-superstition-larken-rose-20111.pdf

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7trTVRKsVsSQ0NCWXlMSW5nS2c/edit?pli=1

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

Hereinafter is set forth the aforementioned old-school pearl;

Pay no heed, at your peril….

“I love this nation, but we have some of the stupidest people here. — Smart Bee

“Everything’s gotta have rules, rules , rules!” — Calvin & Hobbes

(For any visiting folks, or Gentle Readers who may be irony-challenged, that’s irony…. Think about it a minute….)

“Thank goodness modern convenience is a thing of the remote future.” — Pogo, by Walt Kelly

(This one is more sardonic, than ironic, but, it works….) (Does that make it iconic?…. Or, iconoclastic?…. Just wondered….) (Yes, I know I’m strange… Don’t worry, the pearls don’t care….)

“As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.” — George Orwell (The Road to Wigan Pier 1937)

“All Bibles are man-made.” — Thomas Alva Edison

“A man parks his car in front of the main entrance of the Congress. Immediately, a member of the security team goes after him yelling: “Sir! Sir! You cannot park in here! All the congressmen are about to go out!” The man replies, “Don’t worry. I have a good alarm in my car.” — Smarmy Bee

“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever. I think you’ll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.” — Brian E. Moore

“How should one deal with a man who is convinced that he is acting according to God’s will, and who therefore believes that he is doing you a favour by stabbing you in the back?” — Voltaire

“Is it legal to advocate the long overdue overthrow of a corrupt govt.?”” — Smart Bee

“The world is divided into people who think they are right.” — Bumpersticker

“Those who cling to the untrue doctrine that violence never settles anything would be advised to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Nations and peoples who forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms.” — R.A. Heinlein

“Nationalism is an infantile sickness. It is the measles of the human race.” — Albert Einstein

“You expect me to believe that? . . . Del Grant ~~ “Not particularly. But it happens to be the truth….” — Avon

Hmm…. Apparently, this could go on forever. There are already thirteen, and SB is still running hot; I was, and remain, not entirely sure about going on to #13; last time I did that, the Space/Time Continuum sent me a memo to stop fooling around…. We’ll stop there, thus showing both the compassionate side of our nature, and the common sense to stay in the good graces of the S/T Con, certainly an entity/iconic force of Nature, with whom it probably isn’t wise to mess….

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

☬

Around this time last year, I was having a lot of pain; this is a poem I wrote at the time…. I hope you enjoy it, it’s pretty honest…

Elemental, dear Watson….

Don’t worry,
it’s not
me
you hear
screaming.

It is
only
my bones,
giving in,
to
cowardly,
pathologically,
repetitive,
fucking,’
complaints
of
past abuse,
and
all the fun
we had.
playing,
hard.

I don’t mind
too much;
I can spend my
TIME
in another space
in my head,
pretending
my bones
don’t
exist….

It
is,
indeed,
a shame
they
always
come
back….

Fuck.

It
hurts.

More proof,
I guess,
either
God isn’t,
or,
He is.

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

He is?
Then,
I don’t fucking care
who
doesn’t like it,

I say,

He
is
a bully,
a coward,
a hypocrite,
and,
truly,
an enormous asshole.

I suppose,
God
is
what comes,
to,
and
from,
People,

because

they
feel
a need,
for
someone
to
blame,
for
a
Universe
they
cannot
understand
or
accept.

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/14/2014.

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

☬

The icon should give y’all a clue this pearl is a little different. It kind of got away from me, as I tried to put two pearls together in one session with Smart Bee. (It seemed to be in an extraordinarily good mood, giving out lots of good stuff, so, I pushed the envelope a bit….) It worked out fairly well, but, I’m not exactly sure if it’s completely sane. It is, however, all good advice on how to live, even if a bit skewed at points here and there, so, you might want to take notes…. No telling if any of it will be on the Quiz….

“Nothing in excess — including moderation.” — Smart Bee

“In the midst of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

14. “Wipe thine ass with what is written and grin like a ninny at what is Spoken. Take thine refuge with thine wine in the Nothing behind Everything, as you hurry along the Path.” — THE PURPLE SAGE, HBT; The Book of Predictions, Chap. 19

“Reality is a cliche from which we escape by metaphor.” — Wallace Stevens

“A man is not aware of his virtues (if any). Nevertheless, one hopes that they exist.” — Edward Abbey

“The present is the only thing that has no end. — Erwin Schrödinger

“No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout… run right back and make friends.” — Things We Can Learn From Dogs

“All people smile in the same language.” — Smart Bee

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

— J.R.R. Tolkien

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

☬

How this one got done will probably forever remain a mystery; nor is it one I’d care to investigate. It’s done, and, right now, that’s the best I can say of it; I’ll make no claims to quality today. In fact, it would probably be best to just take my leave, before this gets to a point where I’ll have to end up making some sort of apology…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; this time, I may need to find a good reason to do so…. Nah, no worries, I’ll be back…. Ooh, too Arnoldy?…. Ah, well, see ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious
☬

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

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