Silly is just another word for sublime….

Posted on January 5, 2016 by gigoid

.Ffolkes,

“Hopelessly lost, but making good time…”

~~ David Letterman ~~

Leelu preying…. A deadly predator to shoes and paper.

Hajime…. Yesterday’s foul mood, while passed into memory, mostly, remains hovering around the edges of my persona; I suppose, given today’s world, a certain amount of angst will be humanity’s lot from now until the world has settled into whatever the future brings….. In other words, “What the fuck?” is the new paradigm for human reality, so, we’d best get used to a higher degree of chaos in our daily lives…. So be it; we have no one but ourselves to blame for any of it….

I’m tired, having spent a restless night, post foulness of mood. Also c’est la fucking vie, so, no sense worrying over it now. It isn’t as if I hadn’t been there before, right? Right. Since we’re being so damn logical and grounded this morning, perhaps it would be best to get the slow on the toad, right away, before we lose any of the competence we may possess by virtue of the new day. Yeah, that’s the ticket…. Hang on, we’ll teleport over to the oyster beds, so we can get started without any further delays, or, opportunities to fuck it up…. Sure, like that will work…. Oh well, let’s go, anyway….

Shall we Pearl?….

“In a room with four mirrored walls — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual — you can easily look in one mirror look in two if you try, and possibly look in three but you can never see yourself in all four. You have to spin around, change your focus or better, have a friend who can watch your back reflecting what they see, and help you grow.” — Callan Williams

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A few days ago, I used the MTV Unplugged video of Eric Clapton’s session on that show. On the page where it resides, I found another concert, from 1988, & decided to listen to it…. The show opens with two of the finest guitarists alive, absolutely killing old Cream songs, for the first 20 minutes or more….. I just sat there smiling, with my jaw dropping on a regular basis, as Eric, or Mark, went off on the guitar solo riffs in both White Room, and another couple of the old tunes…. Amazing…. When Elton joins in, it’s magic, ffolkes…. Enjoy….

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Clapton, Knopfler,Elton John
Live in Tokyo, 1988

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https://youtu.be/c7ZdSuuTMEI

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The Anti-trafficking Movement Needs Survivor Voices: Why Are We Ignored?

“Human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself from one place to another.” — Tom Robbins

As an opening for a rant on politics, I can’t think of a better writer than Tom Robbins, to illustrate for us the primary cause for all the problems we humans seem to make for ourselves in that silly, yet, deadly arena of human existence. With one masterful line, he shows exactly how we fail to understand the true nature of not only Reality, but, ourselves, as well. Of course, one must possess the wherewithal to understand the incredibly subtle metaphor he employs, but, hey, if there is anything we know around here, it is the power of the Metaphorse….

With that said, I’m feeling generous today, as well as smarmy, so, I’ll forgo ranting in favor of poking at the BRC, and all the other Asininnies we can include, with the sharpest sticks we can find in the oyster beds today…. Since we have, naturally, using the power of a Time Lord, as bestowed by virtue of a Tardis on loan from the Doctor, already collected all the pearls we shall need, why don’t we get right to it? Okay, that was easy…. Oh, and, fair warning, ffolkes; there are 13 of these puppies. Take it slow….

Almost Naked Pearls

How to irritate others, and lose friends…

(All implied criticism is intentional… gigoid)

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“A man can’t get rich if he takes proper care of his family.” — Navajo Proverb

“Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perennially rejuvenated illusions.” — Albert Einstein

“If the newspapers of a country are filled with good news, the jails will be filled with good people.” — Daniel P. Monynihan

“Of course the US Constitution isn’t perfect; but it’s a lot better than what we have now.” — Eric Sheppard

“Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof.” — Ashley Montagu

“Fewer possess virtue, than those who wish us to believe that they possess it.” — Cicero

“A prune is a plum that worried a lot.” — Witty Bee

“It is utterly implausible that a mathematical formula should make the future known to us, and those who think it can would once have believed in witchcraft.” — Betrand de Jouvenel, The Art of Conjecture, 1967

“It’s hard for the modern generation to understand Thoreau, who lived beside a pond but didn’t own water skis or a snorkel.” — Bill Vaughan

“The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.” — Lord Acton

“That which leads us to the performance of duty by offering pleasure as its reward, is not virtue, but a deceptive copy and imitation of virtue.” — Cicero

“He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.” — Chinese proverb

“A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a Unicorn.” — Ancient Human Proverb

(Sources on Google ranged through countries & cultures all over the world; the implication of that is obvious…. and, if it isn’t, then, it becomes an exercise for the Gentle Reader to THINK about it….)

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For The Blind Poet, Embraced

I sit to open a vein, exposed in public places,
happy to be written, judging by the faces.

None can see the price so willingly paid,
at the feet of imagination is that cost weighed.

Still shadows of reality shine quite as well
to hide all the bleeding as if under a spell;

While visions and fantasies vie for attention,
hoping to win once-hoped-for final mention.

Technology may or may not rue its day
never knowing or caring its part to play.

All the precious moments of inspiration
Fall ever short of our own imagination.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/30/2012

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Naked Pearls

Thoughts on Life at Large

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“Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke.”

~~ Hermann Hesse ~~

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“Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

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“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

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“It takes a very long time to become young.”

~~ Pablo Picasso ~~

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“No man can be brave
who thinks pain the greatest evil;
nor temperate
who considers pleasure the highest good.”

~~ Cicero ~~

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“We are all born for love.
It is the principle of existence,
and its only end.”

~~ Benjamin Disraeli ~~

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“Don’t reinvent the wheel, just realign it.”

~~ Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book ~~

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

“Every time a man unburdens his heart to a stranger
he reaffirms the love that unites humanity.”

~~ Germaine Greer ~~

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Beauty is truth, truth beauty, –that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

~~ John Keats ~~ Ode on a Grecian Urn ~~

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Well, it’s a Pearl. Further, deponent sayeth not. As to the future, well, one never knows, do one? You can be sure, given today’s post, I WILL be back tomorrow, to try again…. It may not be better, but, it will be different….. For now, I’ll merely say, adieu for now; I’ll be back, as long as I don’t run into anyone meaner, or trickier than myself…. If I do, read the news, for it will probably be there…. If not, I’ll be here….

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….

Pollinated twisty bread, nicely packaged….

Posted on December 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

Laser-eye Leelu

Hajime…. ‘Tis indeed unusual for me to feel energetic, or, for that matter, less than homicidal, at this time of day. That’s a simple, obvious direct result of the severe insomnia I experienced for about 3-4 months. Now, after a night of 10 solid hours, again, I find myself feeling almost normal in the mornings, if with a bit more pain than in previous times in life. Hey, I accept, now, I’m 65, not 25; for a long time, like, I think, all of us, we try to deny the passage of time; that feeling of immortality we maintain for much of our youth carries over into middle and elder stages, unfortunately…. Then, something brings us up short, realizing, hey, that hurts! And, it’s something that never hurt before…. and, we realize, our life will never be quite the same….

THAT is, I believe, a moment which must come to us all, like it or not. Oh, we can continue to deny the effects of the passage of time on our bodies and minds; in my opinion, there’s a word for folks who try that…. corpses. Yep, that’s one of those really STUPID things we humans tend to do, and, every time, it will kill us, because, hey, the Universe just doesn’t give a shit about how we feel, about anything, much less a force of nature like aging, and dying…. After all, the process IS merely another example of how our lives are so connected to reality, for all of reality experiences the same aging process…. The Universe, however, doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as we seem to do….

Ah well, maybe if we’d try, as a species, to understand a bit more about death, perhaps we would handle living with a bit more style and elegance. As it is, much of humanity dies hard, and afraid; it’s considered a lucky man or woman who dies at an old age, in bed, with friends and family at their side. The major portion of life is spent trying to arrange a comfortable death, with the greater part of us failing miserably at that…. Or, at least, that’s the way I see it. I guess maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, for I see the ever-present battle in Reality being won by Chaos and Entropy, while the Order and Reason attempted by Man, falls into disuse and ill repute.

At this point in this narrative, I see it has already fallen into ranting mode, which is always dangerous here….. Y’know what else. I’m tired of all the doom and gloom I see all over the fucking world, including right here where I live, where every day I see falsely-entitled police forces hassling homeless and poor people, just because they can. I’m tired of the assholes who run this world thinking they can lie, cheat, and steal from everyone else, and get away with it. And, I’m tired of being lied to…. especially that. The so-called leaders of this country, and of every country in the world I read about, in their own words, suffers the same issue; the world is being raped, and pillaged, by just a small percentage, while the rest of us try to get by in a world gone mad….

Fuck it, let’s go find some pearls, to help get rid of some of this angst, and, maybe, in the process, find a bit of humor, and maybe even some hope….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Life is the childhood of our immortality.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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The Grateful Dead

Images from an email from Dead.net

Last night I was listening to some of the music I’ve downloaded from You Tube. Specifically, I was checking out some of the bands who played covers of Dead music for the Dead Covers Project in 2014. The Project started in 2013, I believe, and has produced some of the finest home-grown, home-made music one can find anywhere. I listened to the one I’ve included, and can tell you, you HAVE to see, and hear the lead guitar solo in this song. About three or four minutes in, the band breaks into some solo breaks. The lead guitar player, like most of the band, is an obvious O.O.F., apparently about 70-75 years old….

I swear, the old fart NAILS the solo; not only does he nail it, he kills it! Fast, clean, and rockin’, he, and the other old farts in this particular band, rocked the house where they played, back East sometime in 2014…. It’s well worth seeing, as are any number of the other covers that amateurs sent in each year…. Check them out; there are a lot of surprises. Some are really bad, but, some, like this one, will amaze you at the musicianship of the players…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a blast from the past, right here in the future….

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BEGGARS TOMB
New Minglewood Blues
Dead Covers Project 2014

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https://youtu.be/KoALTQNFL7Y

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“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad, “Under Western Eyes”

What a wonderful beginning for a rant! Too bad I’m not up to writing one… Plus, I’m in too good a mood to go there, so, instead, we’ll go with this discussion from a very good early Pearl, about a year after coming to WP. I hope you enjoy it; I did…. and, hell, I wrote it, and I’m a harsh self-critic….

From 10/21/2012:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.~~ Rudyard Kipling ~~

~~ Just So Stories (1902) “The Elephant’s Child” ~~

I first read the phrase “feeding the Elephant’s Child” in a Robert Heinlein novel, many years ago, and enjoyed it as a metaphor for reading/learning, before I knew from whence it originally came. Once I did know (a moment of illumination whose exact placement in time is hazy….), I liked it even more, from an aesthetic standpoint. The above little ditty is brilliant doggerel, astute observation, and deep insight, all presented in a simple, straightforward style, with a powerful, basic lesson for any would-be philosopher, or any one who wishes to encompass reason as their modus operandi, so to speak. Besides which, I find that another piece of Bob’s advice fits well with this one, to wit: “Life tastes better in big bites….”

“Never wear anything that panics the cat.” — P. J. O’Rourke

I like this, a lot. It summarizes perhaps one of the most elemental rules of getting along in the Universe, in essence saying, “You can learn a lot by watching what happens around you…” It is the perfect companion to the concept of learning as presented above, as it contrives to speak to both sides of Reality, i.e., how you approach reality (the clothing you choose to show to the cat….) and how reality will change to react to your approach (the cat’s opinion of your clothing….) It also gives one a subtle warning about how the wrong clothing can produce unwanted consequences, and we all know how an offended cat is likely to respond…. as Mark Twain once remarked…. “A man who carries a cat by the tail is learning valuable things. He will never again be dim or doubtful. Chances are he’ll not carry the cat that way again, but, I say, if he wants to, let him!” You can’t say fairer than that….

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” — Buddha

One can always trust the Buddha to state the most profound thoughts in the simplest way…. I often wonder how he came to such a complete understanding of Murphy, whose presence is acknowledged in all of what the Buddha stated, but whose ministrations seem to have passed by the Buddha’s existence…. either that, or Murphy shows him a lot more respect than he does anyone else alive. At times, it seems that what the Buddha states, such as in this statement, is, in at least one respect, an answer to a question that is raised when Murphy intervenes in our lives…. in simpler words, he explains why Murphy is able to affect us as he does, by cutting through the bullshite we perceive to the truth of what is real….. SIGH…. one of these days, enlightenment will slap me upside the head, and I’ll be able to see Murphy coming…. I hope…

There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan

Often I feel as if not only is life a joke, but it is our duty and purpose on this plane of existence to codify that joke, to put it down on paper, or on screen/disc, to free ourselves from the prison of sobriety, achieving an understanding that everything in this silly universe is here for our amusement, and we have been taking it, and ourselves, seriously for entirely too long….. So seriously, we have begun to offend those parts of the universe that just want us to relax and enjoy ourselves, and the time is growing nearer when we will have to admit that the joke is on us, for not being able to change our inner selves enough to be able to handle the humor of our situation…. See, the universe thinks death is funny…. not because it is cruel, but because death is just another part of life, and it doesn’t care about one more than the other…. See, now, isn’t it funny how you never noticed that?…..

I once read a science fiction novel, whose title and author escape me completely; in all it was very poorly written, with prose that did not live up to the good ideas contained in the plot line. However, it was a great plot line, in all….Specifically, there was one chapter I liked, which had a super-genius taking on the task of finding the solution to a mathematical treatise, an equation so complex and advanced that no civilization in the galaxy had ever been able to completely solve it.

The genius/hero of the book shut himself up in his room for three weeks, working on the problem. At the end, he was thinking so hard he entered a trance-like state, computing while nearly dead…. after a week of this, he suddenly opened his eyes, gave a look of astonishment, and burst into uncontrollable laughter for approximately 25 minutes. When he could finally control himself, he simply said, “It’s a joke….” and would never discuss it again….

In a pearl such as this one has grown to be, there comes a time when I have to decide whether to continue on, to try to reach the conclusion that was nebulously hovering somewhere in my mind as I began, or to admit that I have once again wandered into uncharted territory, and might find it a bit tricky to find my way back to clarity. This is that time…. and I’m leaving it up to Smart Bee, as always…. If I don’t find a proper pearl to carry on the tenuous chain of thought I’ve created, then we’ll take the first one that will appropriately wrap it up as a lost cause….. all within a specified number of attempts…. so, here we go… You’ll know in a moment what will happen….

“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi

There, see?…. That didn’t take long at all…. and I managed to find the perfect pearl to cover both bases…. In this case, we will use it as an ending quote, since it sort of summarizes a lot of the discussion, after a fashion. It could conceivably also be used as a springboard for further discussion, but this has gone on long enough, and I wouldn’t want to lose anybody due to an injudicious application of excess verbiage, culminating in tedium…. Of course, we may have reached that point some time ago, but, hey, who’s counting?…. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into not very much….

🙂

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Today’s poetry choice is here simply for the final line; it fits perfectly with my mood, and, tells us everything we need to know to have life just the way we want it, if we are smart enough to take it….

Dreaming of Calliope

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

12/13/2012

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Naked Pearls III

“To know and to act are one and the same.”

~~ Samurai Proverb ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Happiness follows sorrow,
sorrow follows happiness,
but when one no longer discriminates
between happiness and sorrow,
a good deal and a bad deed,
one is able to realize freedom.”

~~ Buddha ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Do not eat your heart.”

~~ Pythagoras ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Truth is the summit of being,
justice is the application of it to affairs.”

~~ Emerson ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Learn or die.”

~~ Reality ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”

~~ Salvor Hardin, in Foundation by Isaac Asimov ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Adversity is the first path to truth.”

~~ Lord Byron ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.”

~~ Josh Billings ~~

~~~~~~~~~

‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the word.’
Already I stick, and who shall help afford?
The ‘word’ at such high rate I may not tender;
The passage I must elsewhere render,
If rightly by the Spirit I am taught,
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the Thought.’ By the first line a moment tarry,
Let not thine eager pen itself o’er-hurry!
Does ‘thought’ work all and fashion outright?
It should stand: ‘In the beginning was the Might.’
Yet even as my pen the sentence traces,
A warning hint the half-writ word effaces.

The Spirit helps me – from all doubting freed,
Thus write I: ‘In the beginning was the Deed.’

~~ Dr. Faustus, Wolfgang Goethe, “Faust” ~~

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Well, gosh. It’s done, and I’m NOT exhausted. What a nice way to start the day! Without my usual mistrust of such good feelings, I’m going to take the money and run. Should be easy, as the money doesn’t exist. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’m afraid there’s just no way to avoid it; it seems to be written in stone…..

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….

Just the fax, Sam….

Posted on December 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Solitude makes a wonderful mistress but a terrible wife.”

~~ Emerson ~~

Three Moons over Vallejo

Hajime…. Over the course of time, Pearls of Virtual Wisdom/Exploring Consensual Reality, as a blog, has evolved in structure and appearance, as I became more accustomed to using the WP platform, until settling on the five-sections for each subject we use today. In the past two or three months, it’s shown itself to be flexible enough for me to use even when I am not completely whole, either physically, or mentally. Thus my luck with serendipity is made clear once again, as I chose better than I knew. Thanks, Me!

Oh! That hurt! I should know better than to pat myself on the back; with my shoulder’s arthritis, such a movement comes with a high price in pain…. Oops. Ah well, even the simplest literary trick can be, well, tricky, eh? That will teach me not to try those sorts of literary shenanigans before I’ve started on my second cuppa; I just don’t have the chops until then to make it work as it should. Now I’m stuck here, talking in real time, exposing my own ignorance, again…. As we who have lived on the street are fond of saying in such situations, FUCK!

Oh, well, sorry if I’ve offended anyone. That particular venting vessel is one that has probably kept me off the WP Freshly Pressed list ever since I began…. It seems even ONE word that MIGHT be offensive will keep a post off that page, so, I’ve never been there, even if I was ever nominated (a fact of which I have absolutely no clue…. especially as it doesn’t matter, since it’ll never happen…. I refuse to edit for PC in any form…). I don’t care, as I don’t write for fame, or money, merely for sanity…. or as close to it as I can get….

All that being said, in such honest, if boring fashion, I suppose we can just get on with today’s mess, and probably be better off for it. I won’t even pretend Luigi, or Guido is here today, nor that we are off to anywhere other than my imagination and ego trips. That’s okay, too…. at least it’s real, which I find to be always a good thing to observe…. really, I do…. So, without further ado, or adon’t, we’ll be off to the nether portions of the blog for today…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“”There’s nothing an agnostic can’t do if he really doesn’t know whether he believes in anything or not.” — Monty Python

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The Irish Rovers in 2010

Image from kpbs.org via Google Images

I hesitate to pull the covers of anyone, but, I remember listening to these lads when I was a lad myself. My parents had an album they enjoyed playing sometimes when I was young; I remember specifically listening to them, often during Christmas when relatives were over…. I still enjoy their music, so, here they are, for your enjoyment as well… If you don’t enjoy traditional Irish music, perhaps you’re ready for the ranting section….. Fair warning; you’d best be so. Ready, that is…. Section three can be a bit of a challenge if you’re not ready for it…… Why don’t you listen to the music while reading; it might help….

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The Irish Rovers

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https://youtu.be/cf0E_PJtJWg?list=PL86CC0AB0FBFD2CDF

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“The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.” — Socrates (BC 469-399)

In more modern language, the concepts Socrates has presented in this statement could be summarized thus: “The more you practice being honorable and real, the more real and honorable you become.” I’ve stated it thus, so simply, because, it seems to me, the modern person’s mind has not grasped the concept of virtue, or honor, or even reality, with any degree of actual understanding. This, of course, is just the way the people who govern the world, and those in their service, to wit: churches, politicians, lawyers, police, and military myrmidons, want the public to be, that is to say, as ignorant of their true nature as they can make them…..

Now, this sounds like a rant in the making, and, in the normal course of events, you’d be correct. But, I find myself exhausted, still, after my recent long physical ordeal; quite frankly, it’s all I can do in a day to write this blog. Any further activity is confined to keeping Leelu entertained, which takes up more time than one might think; she considers herself in training, and me to be her personal trainer. And, she’s really, really serious about it, so, whenever I pause in my typing, I find her sitting at my chair-side, mewling and crawling into my lap to ask me to play…. like right now….

Okay… I managed to distract her by opening her window, from where she can watch the birds and traffic on the street; it can keep her fascinated for a good twenty minutes, so, I’ll try to get this done before I’m once again summoned to throw crumpled paper about the house. We’ll sublimate my urge to purge my angst with a series of statements from various smart ffolkes, on the subject at hand, to wit, the Asininnies, and our Beloved Ruling Class, including the Dogma Dogs, the Highly Conditioned Uniformed Myrmidons, and the eternal butt of everyone’s favorite jokes, the scum of society, lawyers of practically every ilk…. Let’s see what Smart Bee comes up with today, shall we?…..

“The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy. Not for nothing was the revolver called an ‘equalizer’ Eqalite implies liberte. And always will. Let us hope our weapons are never needed — but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government — and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws.” — Edward Abbey (1927-1989)

(On a personal note, me, too, Ed….)

“A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the Lord in vain, then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?” — Robert A. Heinlein

“I honestly believe that the doctrine of hell was born in the glittering eyes of snakes that run in frightful coils watching for their prey. I believe it was born with the yelping, howling, growling and snarling of wild beasts… I despise it, I defy it, and I hate it.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

“– Bother!”, said Pooh, as he found a politician in his honey pot.” — Twisted Bee

“A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker.” — H.L. Mencken

“An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.” — Simon Cameron (1799-1889)

CORSAIR, n. A politician of the seas. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

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

“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1972)

“The doctor is to be feared more than the disease.” — Latin Proverb

Okay, so, it’s a little light on shots against Big Pharma, the AMA, etc…. the last one summarizes that issue quite well, I think…. Okay, off we go, to something a bit more entertaining…. Well, I think so….

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For those Gentle Readers from around the world, who may not know who Joe Friday is, allow me to explain…. Joe Friday was a character in a TV cop show, called Dragnet, which played here in the US in the 1950’s to 60’s. It was, I believe, the first cop show of its kind, fictional, but trying to portray true-to-life situations. The lead actor, whose name I forgot until now, was Jack Webb, and he had absolutely NO acting ability, at all. He played Joe Friday as an emotionless, flat-voiced asshole, (a rather prophetic portrayal, given that the biggest percentage of modern ‘cops’ are quite simply, ignorant assholes with a badge….), whose favorite and completely over-used phrase was “Just the facts, ma’am.”…. Hence, the title of today’s lament re: the illusion upon which Western society is based….

Joe Friday’s lament

Life is short, and though I’m odd, they say
it really doesn’t bother me
to realize there is no God, per se.

Though other folks will disagree
and tell me I’m wrong
I won’t believe it, with naught to see.

Liars called padre tell me, have humility,
and do as the authorities say,
then fondle little boys with facility.

They also tell me to share the wealth
and give them a 10% tithe
so they don’t have get it by stealth.

So spare me the delusions, please
don’t bother with such a tale;
I’m nobody that needs such a tease.

Keep your fantasies under your hat
and out of my face;
I don’t need them, they’ll make me fat….. headed.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/6/2012

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

“So then, these are the foundations, as they call them,
of all mixt bodies, and of all wonderful operations:
and whatsoever experiments they proved,
the causes hereof rested
(as they supposed)
and were to be found
in the Elements and their qualities.”

~~ Giambattista Della Porta ~~

~~ Natural Magick ~~

Today’s final old-school pearl is special. Why? Hell, I don’t know. It’s just the way it turned out. Those who are at all familiar with pearls here on ECR received a clue; there is seldom a quote above the picture in this section. Today, the statement from Natural Magick serves perfectly as both warning, and disclaimer…. Enjoy ffolkes, this will take your mind and turn it around so it looks you right in the eyes…. Are you ready to see?….

“All that we see or seem, “

is but a dream within a dream.

~~ Edgar Allen Poe ~~

~~ from “A Dream Within a Dream” ~~

~~~~~~~

“Are you the dreamer or just the dream?” — Alan Edgar Bee

~~~~~~~

“I do not want to die…
until I have faithfully made the most of my talent
and cultivated the seed that was placed in me
until the last small twig has grown.”

~~ Kathe Kollwitz ~~

~~~~~~~

“If a pessimist is always right, is he a realist?”

~~ Cynical Bee ~~

~~~~~~~

“Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.”

~~ Suzanne Necker ~~

~~~~~~~

“In this world, you have to be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.
I spent years being smart.
I recommend pleasant.”

~~ Elwood P. Dowd ~~

~~ played by James Stewart in “Harvey” ~~

~~~~~~~

“Silence is argument carried out by other means.”

~~ Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara (1928-1967) ~~

~~~~~~~

“Loosen up; the unaimed arrow never misses.”

~~- Zen Bee ~~

~~~~~~~

“Here pigs will fly, lightning will strike twice,

hell will freeze over, and eventually,

things will get really interesting…”

~~ Prophetic Bee ~~

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

It’s done. Whew! Boy, Leelu will be glad; she’s been staring holes through me for twenty minutes. I’d best just close this out, and be off to make it up to her…. I shall see y’all tomorrow, I would hope in good spirits, as I am these days, much more often. True freedom is the release from pain…. believe it. I’ll be back, as Hollywood’s favorite assbite has said more than once…. but, I won’t try to eradicate the human race….. Ta, then, luvs…..

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….

Chicken bones for dessert….

Posted on November 12, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Xenophanes said,

“I confess myself the greatest coward in the world,

for I dare not do an ill thing.”

~~ Plutarch ~~

~~ Of Bashfulness ~~

A Storm on the Horizon

Leelu in full PK mode

Hajime…. For any Gentle Readers who are wondering why I’m continuing to use the Japanese opening for today’s Pearl, well, I’ll tell ya…. It’s like this: As I write this, it isn’t morning. It isn’t even evening, really, as it will be, in a short time, what is best described by Eric Clapton in his song, “After Midnight”…. That’s pretty clear, right? It’s the fucking middle of the night, again, and, here we sit, me & Leelu, working on a Pearl instead of sleeping, as my body/mind would REALLY like to be doing.

Why I’m up again isn’t important, though it’s probably relevant. But, any sort of discussion would just set me off again, I’d start ranting, and we’d never get out of the intro. So, I’m passing on that, and we’ll go straight to something more fruitful, or, at minimum, less offensive and rude. We do like to avoid rude, whenever possible. Mom wouldn’t like it if we were rude…. We don’t like to disappoint Mom, do we? No, of course not….

The question now, however, becomes once more problematic, as we are proscribed from using the same trick twice. My box of literary tricks is rather empty right now; what with all the recent time spent finding my way back from Hell, I haven’t had a lot of time to read, or study, or, for that matter, think as much as I’d like. Though we are both body and mind in one, the body’s complaints sure seem to take precedence when they occur; this makes it hard to use the mind to balance whatever is happening…. One can persuade one’s self Reality isn’t actually happening for only so long; at that point, Reality switches tools, from a scalpel to a sledge hammer. and has its way, regardless of whether we can fool ourselves, or not….

I’m pretty good at fooling myself, as are most of us human types. This doesn’t mean I like it; I can just accept it…. Now, where were we? And, where were we going? Oh, right, intro. Okay, it looks as if we have enough to satisfy the licensing board, so, why don’t we let Luigi have some more fun, and use the turbo booster? Everybody strapped in? Okay, Luigi, it’s all yours…. (Don’t worry, ffolkes; if we crash, we’ll just switch over to the Tardis, travel back to this instant, & start over….)

Shall we Pearl?….

“Skeptics laugh in order not to weep.”

~~ Anatole France ~~

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

Tom Waits ~ Stencil by The MIVC

Image from 8tracks.com via Google Images

Unique. It’s the only word for Tom Waits; his voice, his musical talent, his lyrics, his persona. Another of mankind’s treasures, to my way of thinking. You can decide for yourself…. This was his debut album, released at age 24; on the page listed below, you can find all of the rest of his body of work, with extras…. Enjoy!….

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

Tom Waits
Closing Time

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

https://youtu.be/lndL46jiEFQ

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

~~ Bruce Sterling ~~

Though I’m afraid he’s right, Mr. Sterling’s assertion does require some definition of terms; “moral relativism” just BEGS to be misinterpreted, in the sense that each person will filter the concept through their own moral viewpoint. So, in order for us to discuss it wit any degree of confidence, I’d best delineate why my own opinion runs, if not parallel, at least in the same quarter of the compass as his statement. Why don’t we do that? I dunno, why not?

Okay. I believe it, moral relativism means exactly what I described above. Each of us has our own moral code (hopefully); we view the world, and its activities, with that code coloring our perceptions. For example, a person who holds the belief they have the duty to help others will view a business transaction entirely differently than one who feels they are entitled to do unto others, first. One will sell their products at a fair price. with service given to each customer. The other will consistently overcharge for cheap products, and act as if they are doing a favor to sell at all.

You see, to me, that’s what moral relativism is; when people make a decision about how to interact with others, for whatever purpose it may be, a certain percentage of our species tends to think it is just fine to rationalize ANY sort of behavior, if it leads to them getting what they want. They can justify lying, stealing, even killing, in the pursuit of their desires, without any compunction, or, really, any thought at all about how others might be affected by their actions. Moreover, many of them are canny, and have learned how to manipulate others of their kind, who have a tendency to be violent, to do their bidding…. They call them ‘police’ these days….

“Our legislators are not sufficiently apprized of the rightful limits of their power; that their true office is to declare and enforce only our natural rights and duties, and to take none of them from us.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1816

As Tom’s observation from the early days of the Union show, the problems we face today have their origins in that very same beginning, as those who serve only themselves worked their lies and manipulations to gain control of government almost before the ink was dry on the Constitution. He recognized in this, and other writings, how the bankers and preachers had conspired, naturally, as is their nature, to pervert the legislators from day one of the first Congress, lobbying to have their own wishes made law….

And they’ve done it. Our world today is under attack by large corporations, and their owners, who number far fewer than many might believe. They wish to control everyone’s habits, and finances, and health, and every other aspect they can seize. They have made sure the laws favor them over any other member of society, and now have almost free rein to attempt to order everyone’s lives, so we all live in the same houses, watch the same TV shows, eat the same poisonous foods, go to the same doctors who feed us more poisons, then send us to church on Sunday to celebrate our slavery, by worshiping a delusion who promises us our next incarnation will be better.

Bah, humbug! Not for me, thanks…. I’ll take it the same way it’s laid out in the Constitution of this nation, as written. Period.

gigoid, the dubious, has spoken.

So be it.

“When, in the course of human events,…. etc.”

~~ Declaration of Independence of the United States of America ~~

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

For some reason, this one, though recently created, seems to fit in with today’s rant; since I can do what I want, here ’tis….

Mad Dogs at Bay

Wicked, angry, red scenes of imminent demise
haunt my dreams each night.
Fearful visions of destructive surprise
leave me sweating in terror, as well they might.

Small, mean, ugly, with beady little eyes,
pundits gather like maggots, bloated and vile,
grunting, snuffling, mumbling outlandish lies,
enslaving the ignorant with patience and guile.

Society’s denizens exist as volunteer slaves.
Living and dying by script, completely blind.
Never allowing any resentment, no making waves.
Never knowing joy, nor any peace of mind.

Free men will not be controlled, ’tis said;
No coercion, no illusion can cloud their sight.
No threats, no pain, no fear they dread;
their only duty to keep to the right.

Dreams are mere reflections of our inner fears,
whispering, close against doors shut fast.
Mocking our mostly irrelevant tears,
clearly marking the future as our sordid past.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 7/15/2015.

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

What follows is what I would call a true pearl of virtual wisdom; in fact, in this case, it approaches the real thing. Most of it will definitely be on the Quiz, so, if I were y’all, I’d take notes, at least…..

“Reality is a group hunch.”

~~ Frank Zappa ~~
———-
“We do not perceive reality. We conceive it.”

~~ Oskar Haeml ~~
———-
“If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”

~~ Native American Proverb (Minquass) ~~
———-
“Never pretend to be something you’re not.”

~~ Things We Can Learn From Dogs ~~
———-
“Be and not seem.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
———-
“Truth never tranquilizes.
The defining property of truth is its ability to disturb.”

~~ Solomon Short ~~
———-
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”

~~ Erich Fromm ~~
———-
“When someone loves you for a long time,
really loves you, then you become Real.
Generally, by the time you are Real,
most of your hair has been loved off,
your eyes drop out,
but this doesn’t matter . . .
when you are Real you can’t be ugly.”

~~ The Velveteen Rabbit ~~
———-
“Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

~~ Dylan Thomas ~~

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

Some of you may have noted, or, not, I failed to actually tell y’all why I used the opening word; it shows how easily we humans can be distracted by them, adding more evidence to yesterday’s discussion of Socrates thought on the use of language, and how it can be evil when used improperly. Which is, again, a digression. Each Pearl you’ve seen, and continue to see, has been a fight to produce; I’m in sad shape, in a lot of ways, and the mere fact it’s getting posted at all is a victory, in a way. It means I survived another fight, which, at times, is the only possible way to win at all.

Since it’s been such a daily fight, we begin as every Judo, Karate, and Japanese martial art of any sort begins a match…. The irony, of course, is we are done now, but, it does mean I’ve survived this far, at least. Now I post, then, begin the fight to survive to do it again tomorrow…. Considering my record so far, the odds look good again…

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….

Saved by the smell of a bell….

Posted on November 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion

— i.e., none to speak of.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of NGC 7049 in the constellation of Indus, in the southern sky. A family of globular clusters appears as glittering spots dusted around the galaxy halo. Astronomers study the globular clusters in NGC 7049 to learn more about its formation and evolution. The dust lanes, which appear as a lacy web, are dramatically backlit by the millions of stars in the halo of NGC 7049.

Constellation Indus, NGC 7049

Click to see enlarged image

Buenos dias, gente…. In my most egregiously avaricious dreams, I’ve never really wanted much; to live about 200 years, and, to see my kids happy is about what it has boiled down to. Beyond that, I’m pretty content with what I’ve got, and what I’ve always had…. Money, other than as a tool, has never entered into anything I’ve wanted. It’s probably due to having heard, somewhere from someone, before the age of 11, “If you wish a life of trouble, fill your house with treasure.” For some reason, that struck a chord in my young mind, so, I thought about it pretty long and hard, considering. The result was a firm conviction to never seek treasure, or possessions, or more than I needed to survive relatively comfortably.

Of course, I didn’t think it quite that way at 11; some of that evolved over time, as I learned to apply it to my life over the years…. Now I’m an OOF, I can look back, and feel pretty good about it all; you see, other than those times I’ve made bad internal decisions, same as any human, I’m happy with all I’ve done, and have now…. In looking back over HISTORY (all caps intentional, giving it oomph, to imply ALL of it….), I can honestly say I’ve lived my life at least as honorably as I could, (not to mention, a good deal more honorably than many of histories more famous figures) given the handicaps implied in having the unfortunate luck to have a Human nature, which pushes us all to find and take the easiest way much of the time, rather than the right way…. It’s a basic flaw in all of us; male, female, skin color, whatever, we all are inherently lazy(*), and, it’s gotten us in trouble for centuries now….

(*) About the hard stuff in life, anyway…. stuff such as physical work, morality, ethics, emotional growth, cultural growth…. You know, nothing most folks can’t do without, as long as nobody asks them to be responsible for anything.

Gosh. That’s sort of heavy, isn’t it, for an intro? I don’t know exactly what happened, other than to say, sorry, if appropriate, for engaging too many neurons right off the bat, especially after the light-hearted feel to the opening line from Lazarus. It all just flowed out; even Leelu was entranced…. Well, for a while…. She came up, sat & watched intently as I typed all of the above; she got up then, walked directly in front of my face, and went to lie elsewhere, a clear clue to change direction, I’d say. Especially since it’s NOT morning, nor is this even today’s Pearl I’m working on (I think; sometimes I can’t always remember where the Tardis has left me, especially when I’m writing….)

There. That should do it. We’ve successfully disengaged from the serious vein with which I started this mess; now, we can really start fucking things up, as is our usual habit this time of day. You know, we’ve had some good results from letting Luigi indulge his love of speed; I think we’ll try it again today. That means restraints are now optional, but, we insist you put your beverage in the holders provided…. Thanks…..

Luigi! They fell for it; take it away!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”

~~ last words of Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator [1890] ~~

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

Itzhak Perlman

Image from palmbeachpost.com via Google Images

I tried to download the entire playlist, consisting of 98 videos, but, apparently, they’ll play, but not follow. Ah well, just let the music play; anything this man plays becomes better than originally intended by the composer. I first saw him play when he and I were both children, on the Ed Sullivan show, where I was astounded at the talent he displayed, playing some classical tune I don’t remember, but, with such obvious joy, it impressed me very strongly…. Witness now possibly the finest violinist of the twentieth century, and beyond, one of mankind’s treasures, and a testament to the power of the human will, to not merely overcome his handicaps, but, to show how truly insignificant they are in comparison to the human spirit…..

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

Itzhak Perlman
Tango

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

https://youtu.be/dsU9zmnZ37g?list=PL5EBFB25FBF920152

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

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

Morning Muse

I’m having a bout of insomnia, thanks once more to my lovely personal physicians, may they always be infested with fleas…. Normally, or, as close as we ever come to normally, that would/could produce a rant of its own; tonight/today, however, it has stimulated merely some mild annoyance, and a wish for a bit of peace (some sleep would be nice, too…. SIGH…. Ya never know what you’re gonna miss until it’s gone, do ya?). We’ll deal with that in our default manner, with a short, meandering little pearl from 2012. Enjoy, please, or suffer the consequence, to wit: a short period of severe boredom….

From 9/8/2012:

“It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf. But the gulf lies elsewhere. It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought.” — Smart Bee

Yet more proof of Murphy’s presence in Life…. or, in my life, anyway….. Yesterday I wrote about this subject, expounding as I am wont to do with no little enthusiasm, trying to bring some clarity to a naturally murky subject (it’s hard to pin down anything solidly when the subject under discussion is a matter of conjecture, not physically present to be examined….). Then, later in the day, I come across this one short paragraph, that summarizes my 3-400 words succinctly in three lines, and very clearly, for all its brevity. SIGH….. So much for originality, eh? Though I don’t know who said it, I salute them….

“In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.” — Edward P. Tryon

Once more, I have to agree with the author, especially as it gives a sort of pat on the shoulder to the paragraph above, as if sharing an obvious point. Serendipity, I say, and well met….

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” — Bernard Bailey

This one, when viewed in light of the previous two quotes, made me smile, big….. now, why is that? Because when he says a lot, he means, A LOT OF PEOPLE!…..

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Funny how people under stress always get so close to the truth; it makes the one who hears it more nervous and upset than he who said it…. or it that just me? Of course it is…. Why shouldn’t it be me? What’s the matter with me? Don’t you like me?….. Sorry…. any who, let’s see what else the magic can find….

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?…

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

~~ T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” ~~

I’m not sure why, but this excerpt from T.S. Eliot seems to be the perfect finishing line for the above meandering treatise…. and it is as close to a verifiable point as we’re going to get today, I can tell…. so, best leave it be for now, and go on to something else…. Or, in this case, to something the same….

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

On 9/8/2012, when I wrote and posted the above treatise, I also used this poem as the choice for the day. It still fits, and makes perfect sense, given the ending of the above section…. Enjoy!….

Portrait of a Lady

Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself–as it will seem to do–
With “I have saved this afternoon for you”;
And four wax candles in the darkened room,
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet’s tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid.
We have been, let us say, to hear the latest Pole
Transmit the Preludes, though his hair and fingertips.
“So intimate, this Chopin, that I think his soul
Should be resurrected only among friends
Some two or three, who will not touch the bloom
That is rubbed and questioned in the concert room.”
–And so the conversation slips
Among velleities and carefully caught regrets
Through attenuated tones of violins
Mingled with remote cornets
And begins.
“You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends,
And how, how rare and strange it is, to find
In a life composed so much, so much of odds and ends,
[For indeed I do not love it . . . you knew? you are not blind!
How keen you are!]
To find a friend who has these qualities,
Who has, and gives
Those qualities upon which friendship lives.
How much it means that I say this to you–
Without these friendships–life, what cauchemar!”

Among the windings of the violins
And the ariettes
Of cracked cornets
Inside my brain a dull tom-tom begins
Absurdly hammering a prelude of its own,
Capricious monotone
That is at least one definite “false note.”
–Let us take the air, in a tobacco trance,
Admire the monuments,
Discuss the late events,
Correct our watches by the public clocks.
Then sit for half and hour and drink our bocks.

T. S. Eliot

I don’t care what anyone says…. this is some good stuff….. a worthy goal to shoot for, wouldn’t you agree?…… Not in hope of exceeding, but merely to equal the power of this man’s work is worthy of any effort…..

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

You may wonder why the girl is laughing, and, sure enough I’ll tell you…. She’s laughing at me, for my emotional investment in how these come out; while this one was processing itself, I went through all sorts of mental contortions trying to decide what it meant, and, getting all worked up at HOW it came together….

It seemed at first as if it would go on forever; I had the first seven gems in place in no time. It then took a strange turn, and the pearls became rare as their counterparts in reality. Eventually, it sorted itself out, sort of; I still am unsure of exactly what it’s trying to say about Life at Large, beyond the obvious advice to use one’s mind to one’s best advantage…. Perhaps that’s enough…. Either way, the little girl had fun, and so did the camel….

Xenophanes speaks thus:–

And no man knows distinctly anything,
And no man ever will.

~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pyrrho, viii ~~

“Better be ignorant of a matter than half know it.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 865

“Doth perfect beauty stand in need of praise at all? Nay; no more than law, no more than truth, no more than loving kindness, nor than modesty.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 20

“To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“He who knows best knows how little he knows.” — Thomas Jefferson

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” — Benjamin Franklin

“Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 22

“It is not length of life, but depth of life.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go.” — La Fontaine

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

Some days this process sort of runs itself; much of today’s post fits into that category easily. But, it has that one distinctive characteristic for which we constantly strive, to wit: it’s done. As such, we’ll go post it, and start on tomorrow’s mess, to get a running start at it, so to speak. Until then, y’all be chill, and good to each other…. I’ll be back, and we all know who said that….

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….

It’s all starting to wobble….

Posted on October 23, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I live in my own place
have never copied nobody even half,
and at any master who lacks the grace
to laugh at himself — I laugh.”

~~ inscribed over the door to Friedrich Nietzsche’s house ~~

Artist’s rendition of NASA’s Kepler Deep Space Telescope

Image from Space.com

Good morning…. Apparently, stupid is contagious. While playing with the cat, I leaned over the chair’s arm, resting my ribs on the wood of the arm. As I reached further to pick up the cat toy, my ribs slipped, and came down on the wooden arm with a lot of my weight on one rib, whereupon I felt it flex, painfully, as if it had cracked. I shot up, howling, and, after the initial rush of pain subsided, realized I had, if not cracked, badly bruised the rib, with some intercostal tissue damage. Now I have three weeks or so of painful breathing, sleeping, and moving around, to look forward to….

HONK! (For those who don’t know me well, that was my nose, which, at the moment, is large, bulbous, and bright red!…..) Thank goodness for cannabinoids! My magic cream is going to get a long workout, for certain….

Yes, I am a Bozo, of the first degree, and I am constantly giving myself another Life Lesson like this, to be more cautious in performing physical activities, as my now almost 65 year old body isn’t as fast, or as durable as I once considered it to be. SIGH…. Time marches on, doesn’t it? Too bad our humanity is such that we don’t bother to talk to each other about it much, so, a lot of it comes as a surprise to us when it happens. Ah well, makes life interesting, what?

Today’s Pearl, as all of them recently, is being posted late, from a public Wi-fi spot, of unknown location, as yet. In fact, I have yet to pack up to get to one, so, I’ll chop this off (as it probably deserves….) ruthlessly, so as to get us on the road in a timely manner. Luigi, you may fire up and go now…. Y’all should probably hang on; the music and ranting sections today are a rather wild ride….. guaranteed….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Nature has placed nothing so high that virtue can not reach it.” — Curtius-Rufus (fl. 100 A.D.)

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

Image from Dead.net via Google Images

Whenever I, or anyone, for that matter, feels their age, (i.e., old….), this is a great album to pull out of any such self-indulgence…. The title says it all, and, the music, well, speaks for itself…. Enjoy!….

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

Old & In The Way
Garcia & Grisman

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

https://youtu.be/16EYejUic_0

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

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

“Every man’s life, liberty, and property are in danger when the Legislature is in session.”

~~ Gideon J. Tucker ~~

As light-hearted as the above statement may sound to the uninitiated, we here at ECR know it to be all too true for anyone’s comfort. I’ve put both of the usual icons above this rant because I thought it was time to vent; fair warning, as the material I’ve chosen to discuss is liable to a) disturb or anger some readers, b) be of questionable taste, and/or, c) be of negative interest to the paranoids in the NSA, and those of their ilk.

For their benefit, I will say, I mostly speak in a non-real sense, in that I make observations about reality, and those observations are not the thing of which I speak, itself. There, that should confuse the issue well enough, while simultaneously indicating the obvious interest to those Gentle Readers who are NOT of that particular ilk….

In short, if I say a revolution is nigh, it is an observation, a prediction of probabilities, not necessarily a call to action…. Of course, I do believe it’s past time for such an event to occur, from a moral/ethical/honorable sense, and won’t act in any way to prevent any such happenstance. But, I’m a realist, and know I am too old to start any such ruckus myself; if/when it happens, the best I can hope for is to survive, and help those for whom I care do the same. That may take some rather radical steps, but, hey, we all do what we gotta do, right?

One might well ask what has prompted my angst; without too much need for thought, I can point to the latest reason for all of us to build up a bit of ‘rage against the machine’. It stems from a short video, to the presence of which I was informed of by the blog of a friend on WP; Tales from the Conspiratum’s Lou posted the video, and link to the You Tube page where he found it.

In turn, I posted it here, so, many of y’all have seen it; I’m not sure if the full implication of its message has penetrated, either your awareness, or the consciousness of the public at large. When it does, each and every one of the people who “get” the message will feel much as I do. It’s my belief the information in the video touches on a subject that has had a direct effect on the life of every single person in this country, at one time or another…,

In this space on previous occasions, I’ve demonstrated how our BRC lies to us, consistently, solely for their own advantage; news of one more lie might not seem so important. But, I think this one is an indicator, of the depth of the lies we are told, as well as an indicator of the true motives of those who achieve power in this country. Which lie, you say? Is it about spying on us? The environment? Corruption? Is it about guns? Is it about the wealth gap? Is it about health insurance, or Big Pharma, or the whole mess of a medical model? If you picked the last group, you’r warm….

“Can you trust a government that subsidizes tobacco and tries to ban vitamins to make intelligent choices about your health care?” — Pertinent Bee

The video whereof I spoke above was created by the hacking group, We Are Anonymous; in it, they make some rather pointed accusations against the US Government, specifically the office of the Presidency in 1974, when Richard Nixon was in office, and the disaster of the Vietnam War was winding down to its inevitable conclusion. According to the evidence they claim to possess, (and, have apparently posted online, though I’ve yet to find it… no service, hence, no Google….)(I’m also compelled to add, this group has, verifiably, NEVER lied about what they do, or evidence they possess, in all their history, which very few can say….), Nixon was looking for something to distract the public, and wanted to prove marijuana was worse than tobacco for people.

He (Nixon) gave a large research grant to a Virginia university medical school to investigate cannabis for its medical qualities, with the expressed desire they find some evidence to show it caused cancer, or some other nasty disease by its use. Instead, after just a few months, the report was issued, showing, clearly, the cannabinoid components they tested acted to KILL every type of cancer they tried it on, as well as showing remarkable properties in encouraging the body’s other systems to heal themselves!

(These results, btw, have since been verified as true; the National Cancer Institute, in a very recent study, found cannabinoids can completely kill 97 types of cancer cells…. In that study, cancer cells literally exploded when they came in contact with certain components of THC….)

So, what did our beloved traitorous ‘leader’ do, way back in 1974? He shitcanned the report, swearing the researchers to silence with threats of prosecution if they ever told their story, I have no doubt….. Typical elitist behavior, but, in this case, particularly egregious, due to the implications of his act…. Some, at this point, might ask, what implications? To be perfectly clear, I will lay it out for you, clearly and simply….

Cannabis KILLS cancer. With proper research and development, the scourge of our time would no longer be a threat to the public health at large, as a cure would exist, a cure that most likely will lead to other new areas of knowledge regarding the efficacy of using plants in their natural form as our default source for medicine, rather than the chemicals with which Big Pharma and the AMA continue to poison us, in their quest for ever-higher profits, and a sicker population. Hey, can’t sell drugs to people who are well, can you?….

Moreover, think of this: If cannabis had been used since 1975 for treating cancer, how many people would still be alive? How many of YOUR loved ones would NOT have died? Personally, my father, and now, my brother both contracted cancer. My father might have lived past the age of 72, the age he succumbed to the disease, for another twenty years, at least…. Multiply the number of cancer victims each year by 40, and you will have an idea of the enormity of Nixon’s, and our own government’s, selfish act of betrayal.

(Per Google search & use of calculator: Approximate deaths per year in the US; 500,000, times 40 years = 20 MILLION people, in the US alone, have died from cancer, while the government fiddled….)

My brother is now treating his own version of cancer (lymphatic) with cannabis products, and has seen a lot of improvement, so, there is hope…. But, that does NOT mitigate my anger at the death of my father, or make me want to forgive Nixon, or any of the other government officials responsible for hiding this information from the public…. I also believe my anger will be echoed by MILLIONS of people, when they find out their own relatives didn’t have to die, at all…. Moreover, it happened because an asshole of a politician wanted what he wanted, and didn’t give a shit about the people who elected him…. But, then, he lied to get elected, (throughout most of his career; I was there…) just as they ALL lie….

Oh, I am SO angry…. I can’t write anymore, so, here are some closing thoughts, with a small instruction/suggestion to share this information with as many people as you can…. I think it’s important for the people of this country to know just how far the government will go to cover up their lies; nothing will change until enough of us feel the need for a change…..

“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

(That is equally as scary as the idea of conspiracy!….. Logical, though….)

“In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.” — Bertrand Russell

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.” — Karl Kraus

“The difference between the Pope and George Bush is that whereas Bush walks on the ground and kisses women,the Pope kisses the ground and…” — Observant Bee

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on the human face– forever . . . And remember that it is forever.” — George Orwell, ‘1984’

“If Congress can determine what constitutes the general welfare and can appropriate money for its advancement, where is the limitation to carrying into execution whatever can be effected by money?” — South Carolina Senator William Draden 1828

“I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.” — Robert Frost

“In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile-and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. We owe that to ourselves and our crippled self-image as something better than a nation of panicked sheep.” — Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939), journalist — The Great Shark Hunt, Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1979)

“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig.
You get dirty, and besides,
the pig likes it.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

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

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/27/2012; modified in 2013.

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

A classic, seven-star pearl, with the obligatory observations on Life at Large, as seen from the oyster beds of gigoid’s mind, and, SB’s database, which, I must confess, was a trifle fractious, unwilling to give up more than seven gems today. Ah, well, such is life with semi-autonomous software, that seems to have moods having nothing to do with my own…. Works for me….

“Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” — Gray

“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.” — Goethe

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

“Knowledge is the antidote of fear.” — Emerson

“How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it?” — G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

“Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.” — Thomas Fuller

“As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 1

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

It’s done; I’m not going to even bother trying to judge the quality. I repeat, it’s done, and for us, that’s all that matters. Hopefully, it came together well; otherwise, oh, well…. I will be back, though I can’t say exactly when…. It seems there are very few honest, non-greedy ISP businesses left out there to compete against the big guys, but, I’ll keep looking…. See ya, and, I figure, that’s fair warning…..

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….

All just a twist of the wrist….

Posted on October 21, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.”

~~ Bertrand Russell ~~

Image created in Celestia (Astronomy software) by gigoid

Good morning…. Or, so it says here on the label. Personally, I prefer to wait a few hours before trying to make such a distinction, or, for that matter, any judgments at all regarding quality. But, that’s just me; the rest of the world insists on perpetrating ‘social niceties’, even when they have little to do with Reality. Wow…. Sometimes, cool stuff just pops out like that…. If you look at that last statement, from “the rest of the world” to “Reality”, you will see it is a rather perfect metaphor for Life at Large…. in regards to humanity’s part in that Reality, anyway….

Now I’ve completely screwed the pooch for any sort of organized ranting, I suppose I should do something that will save this intro, but, it hardly seems worthwhile, as this Pearl may not get posted today at all. It’s not done yet, and, I still don’t have an ISP, so, a trip to a Wi-fi spot will be necessary to post. SIGH…. Life as a Bozo can be complicated sometimes, can’t it? Ah well, when the nose grows, you gotta let it show. And, it’s far too late in my life to make radical changes in my outlook, so, I’ll just keep honking when appropriate, and enjoy the irony of living life on a parallel track from everyone else, when I am so aware of the necessity of connection….

You pays your money, and you takes your chances; we’re all in THAT boat. So, griping and whining about it won’t help, or make any changes. In a way, I suppose this blog is part of my own attempt to make sense of Life; can’t say it’s helping a lot, but, hey, it’s better than not trying at all, right? Well, that’s what all the ancient sages say, so, I’ll go with it. They seem to have had most of it right, from what I can tell. Damn! How did we fall into this fatalism? God!….. “The emotions, Bunter! Terrible things”

Okay, that’s a clear signal it’s time to bring this to a close, which is another weird thought (closing the opening, yes?…). I am convinced now. We’d best be on our way, before Entropy and Chaos take full control. If we slip out to the oyster beds now, I think we can fool them into thinking we’re still here. Just leave your drinks and coats; we’ll pick them up later & have them mailed to the address you left on the “Instructions In Case of Death” y’all filled out in the initial phase of your training…. Luigi, fire it up & get us outta here!…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Sic Biscuitus Disintegrat.”

~~ Adrian Ogden ~~

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

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

“Life without music would be an intolerable insult.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

I don’t think I can be any clearer than that; here is part of the reason why it’s true….. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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

Classical Music, Again

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

https://youtu.be/ENueF-JnvkY

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

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

“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks.” — Johann L. Uhland (1787-1862) — Speech, May 27, 1836

Such an excellent pearl is suitable for ranting, certainly; its level of truth is astoundingly high, as well as the accuracy of its aim. And, in fact, I had a very full rant planned to go along with it, as we who live in today’s world are living with the consequences of what Mr. Uhland noted back in the early nineteenth century. As I sit to begin, however, I find myself tired of it; I have to deal, daily, even hourly, with the very real issues that arise out of the fact we are all merely slaves to money, an unreal concept the bankers have managed to convince the world is important to them…..

It makes me very sad, quite often, to think how easily most of humanity falls into the traps laid for them, then, spend their entire lives living according to two very serious delusions about Reality…. First, people have fallen for the delusion of a God, which, in my mind, is a completely unprovable, and dangerous, idea to fall for; secondly, they have been fooled into thinking a) money actually exists as something other than an idea, and, b) money is very important…. neither of which concept has any true meaning in Reality…. I mean, you can’t eat a dollar bill, ( One COULD eat a dollar, I suppose, but, I wouldn’t think it would be particularly tasty, or satisfying, and certainly wouldn’t taste like much without some ketchup & mustard….), and a coin put into the earth will not grow up to be food of any kind… so, what good is it?

I see I AM ranting, but, my heart isn’t in it. Here, take these, instead…. It’ll have the same effect, anyway…. As one of our most famous American authors once said…. “Draw your chair up close to the edge of the precipice and I’ll tell you a story.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, _Notebooks_

“A nation never falls but by suicide.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

“If everyone believed in peace they would immediately begin fighting over the best way to achieve it.” — Goebel’s Observation on Utopia

“Anytime I see a person fleeing from reason and into religion, I think to myself, there goes a person who cannot stand being so goddamned lonely anymore.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

“Happy is he who dashes the heads of his enemy’s children against rocks.” — Psalms 137:9

“Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil.” — Lazarus Long

“The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt

(Whoops! Missed that train, didn’t we?….)

“I believe and I say it is true Democratic feeling, that all the measures of the Government are directed to the purpose of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.” — William Henry Harrison

(Funny (ironic) this statement being made by a President of this country…. One might think it to be true…. which it is….)

“As God is my witness – I am that fool!” — Gomez Addams

“.. I don’t know why but, suddenly, I want to discuss declining I.Q. LEVELS with a blue ribbon SENATE SUB-COMMITTEE!” — Zippy the Pinhead

(Perfect ending quote; Zippy does it again!….)

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

Ffolkes…. one last word on this subject, if I may (and, why not? It’s my blog….)

We Americans are in the pickle we’re in for one simple reason; not enough of us took the following statement seriously; we are now harvesting the crop of our failure to plant the idea in due time…. We forgot, you see….

Vigilia pretium libertatis.

[Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.]

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

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/27/2012; last posted 12/2013.

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

Hopefully, the icon chosen for today’s final section will cause those Gentle Readers familiar with our methods to go on full alert. Here’s a pearl on Life at Large, but, from a viewpoint not often taken…. We’ll start with a nice definitive statement on the nature of Reality, and go from there to our jumping off point…. Take a towel, ffolkes, it can get a bit humid with all the thinking going on…. Enjoy the ride!….

“Why you say you no bunny rabbit when you have little powder-puff tail?” — The Tasmanian Devil

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

“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth, more than ruin, more even than death….Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.” — Bertrand Russell, “Selected Papers”

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Confucius

“All of our best and oldest legends recognize that time passes and that people grow old and die.” — Alan Moore, The Dark Knight Returns

“Each of us visits this Earth involuntarily, and without an invitation. For me, it is enough to wonder at the secrets.” — Albert Einstein

“No human thing is of serious importance.” ~~ Plato ~~

“Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

There you go…. I don’t think it can be any clearer, especially given the closing pearl from our old friend, Mr. Abbey…. So be it….

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

Well, all in all, it’s all I can do, and, you know the rest of that one…. Oh, gosh, look, it’s a closing section! I believe I’ll take advantage of it, and close this puppy down. Now, the task becomes physical, to find the nearest suitable Wi-fi spot, comfortable enough to spend the necessary time to post. I decree it shall be done, since I also have reasonable hope of securing home service in the near future. Whatever…. I’ll be back, one way or another, ffolkes… count on it, at least for the nonce….

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….

Full licensing requires pink taffeta, and/or pale green tissue organza….

Posted on October 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If you can’t say something nice, say something surrealistic.”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

Supermoon eclipse over Arizona September 2015

Image from gizmodo.com

Good morning…. Okay, so, momentous news…. sort of…. You see, I’ve come to realize, it’s too late… I’ve been living alone too long, and, it’s too late to go back. I shall, from this now forward, into the next, etc., ad nauseam, be condemned/blessed by remaining in that state until my demise.

The proof is too strong to ignore, I’m afraid. I guess I’ve seen it coming, but, in the end, it only took eight-plus-fun-filled-(NOT)-days, of enduring a Hell worse than anything in Dante’s feeble imagination, to get my mind clear enough to acknowledge the truth of what I perceive… I’ve become a completely unsocialized human being, with too many idiosyncrasies to allow myself to consort with other humans…. S’true, so don’t try to convince me otherwise; I’ll be a hermit, and it’s probably for the best…

Now, I’m not being depressive by saying that…. No, I am, in truth, motivated by what love I have left in my heart for the species at large, and for the eight to ten people whose company I seem to be able to tolerate for more than two minutes without feeling homicidal. The more time I spend around mundanes and myrmidons and slaves and assholes and creeps, and all the other idiots who seem to be all that is left in this part of the world, the more I have to assert firm control over my weapon hand, to prevent myself from leaving a trail of bodies behind me, EVERY FUCKING TIME I STEP OUT THE DOOR! I tell ya, it gets wearing….

Then, when, as in the past two weeks, my physical issues keep me house-bound, I end up getting to a place as I did just a little bit ago, where I am sitting here, in front of the computer, mind racing, Mozart playing at full volume, when I realize I am much happier alone. I don’t feel like killing anyone, and the weirdest thing I do is what prompted this little diatribe, to wit: I periodically find myself talking seriously to the programmer of whatever software I’m using, cursing him/her out for never learning to code with elegance, or otherwise bitching about the way it works, just as if she/he were right here to hear me, and, as if they cared…. Stupid is as stupid does. and talking to absent, arrogant hackers is stupid, AND weird, too….

Ah, well, I guess I COULD chalk it up to having been up all day and night for 9 of the last 11 days; that can be somewhat tiresome, I can attest…. Whoops! What the…? Oh. Okay, never mind. Just a little Tardis turbulence. Y’all know what that means, don’t you? I lost some time, and had to use the powers of a Time Lord to get back to the correct date. Now, I can attest the tiresomeness of sleeplessness holds true, the same when it’s been 11 of the last 13 days, as well for lesser amounts of time…. Pretty fucked up, to tell the truth; I found out there are levels of Hell lower than Dante’s Inferno ever dreamed of. In fact, where I was being held was right above the two lowest levels, for lawyers/politicians/preachers/pimps/myrmidons, and oligarchs. Honest, I could hear them screaming; it helped….

But, I’m back, temporarily, to further attest the veracity of the VERY old saying, true freedom is the release from pain…. While I’m in the groove, I think I should let Luigi do his thing…. Take it away, amigo….

Shall we Pearl?….

To be truly conscious of your stupidity is one of the greatest steps you can make toward wisdom. If you know others, you are learned. If you know yourself, you are indeed wise. It isn’t the things that you don’t know that get you into trouble. What gets you into trouble are those things you know for sure that ain’t so.” — Artemus Ward (1834-1867), aka Charles Farrar Brown

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

Image from al.com via Google Images

Image from billboard.com via Google Images

I’ve already pulled my covers as a Deadhead; no surprises there. It’s also no surprise the live concerts the band played, in June and July of this year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first tour, have already been released to You Tube for the fans to hear. This is even though the CD’s and other merchandise for the tour is still on sale, and the band, with the new members to replace Garcia, Hunter, and other deceased band mates, are going on a new tour…. In short, the Dead community, which includes the Dead Family, have allowed the music to remain online without legal action…. It is a clear indicator of why the band’s connection to their fanbase, and American society in the last half of the century, reflects our entire history of that time…

Here for your enjoyment are two of the concerts the band played during the initial celebration tour, in June of this year…. Enjoy, ffolkes; there’s nothing like a Dead concert, for sure, and for certain….

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

Grateful Dead
Fare Thee Well X 2
2015

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

https://youtu.be/Du9QPhLgblY

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

https://youtu.be/5WZmNdfvAjY

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

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

One might think, given the fact my last post was made on the 9th, I would have come across something rantable; I may have, but, to be frank, the period of time between then and now is one I’d prefer NOT to think about ever again. Having made the decision to excise those six days from my life and memory, as being unworthy of keeping, I must confess I honestly don’t remember getting worked up enough about anything to have written anything caustic, or even analytical. What I did manage to do, somewhat unconsciously, I think, is collect some rather good pearls that do make some reference to the world’s continuing problems on the human society front….

Mankind is, quite simply, as a species, a major fuck-up, perhaps even rating ‘clusterfuck’ status…. Anyone who says otherwise is NOT paying attention. Below you’ll find some reasons why that is true, along with some more general comments regarding the situation, which drew my attention as having something worthwhile to say, if only as a piece of smarm, or sarcasm…. Hell, without looking, I know I included something derogatory about a politician, or a lawyer, or a preacher of some kind…. I can do that in my sleep, and though I didn’t come anywhere near sleep for almost seven straight days, I did find these pearls, for better, or for worse…. Your call….

“The more laws, the less justice.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.) Roman Orator, poet, statesman — De Officiis (44 B.C.)

One of the unpardonable sins, in the eyes of most people, is for a man to go about unlabeled. The world regards such a person as the police do an unmuzzled dog, not under proper control.” — T.H. Huxley, 1893

“A sect or party is an elegant incognito devised to save a man from the vexation of thinking.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I cannot convince myself that there is anyone so wise, so universally comprehensive in his judgment, that he can be trusted with the power to tell others: ‘You shall not express yourself thus, you shall not describe your own experiences; or depict the fantasies which your mind has created; or laugh at what others set up as respectable; or question old beliefs; or contradict the dogmas of the church, of our society, our economic systems, and our political orthodoxy.'” — Jake Zeitlin

“Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place.” — Mohandas K. Gandhi

“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” — Albert Einstein

“Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.” — Bertrand Russell

“If people behaved in the way nations do they would all be put in straitjackets.” — Tennessee Williams

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

Historical Perspective

When all has been said, and all been done,
there really isn’t much to say;
we all come to the same place in the sun,
where darkness overtakes us on our way.

The road seems long as we trundle along,
our perception of time allows us this boon.
In truth, our time here is a short, sweet song,
ending far, far too soon.

There never seems to be all the time
we would wish to have for our own.
Right at the point we find reason in our rhyme:
“It’s for you; your friend Death’s on the phone.”

Yet we all keep moving along our chosen pathway
burning each moment in imagination’s hot fire.
Future and past are held well at bay
lest we are distracted from our desire.

‘Tis no wonder history is rife with pain, and fear;
we sang sweet songs, but the key was wrong.
The only real surprise, it seems crystal clear,
is why the darkness has taken so long.

Just an observation….

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 10/13/2015.

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

For some of our Gentle Readers, this pearl may be somewhat murky; it’s okay. It was constructed over a week’s time, during rare moments of lucidity, and, though I wasn’t certain it would work, it did. In fact, it came out rather well, which is why I chose to use the icon(s) you see above today’s final section. It’s a test, with no grade, just a minor thrill of discovery if/when the point comes clear…. and, yes, there’ a point. Sarcasm doesn’t become you…. Okay, it does, but, it’s unnecessary in this case, so, enjoy….

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

“Think for yourself and question authority.” — Timothy Leary

“Dialogue becomes pointless with someone who escapes the procession of the years. I ask those I love to be kind enough to grow old.” — E.M. Cioran

“A man would still do something out of sheer perversity – he would create destruction and chaos – just to gain his point…and if all this could in turn be analyzed and prevented by predicting that it would occur, then man would deliberately go mad to prove his point.” — Feodor Dostoevsky, “Notes From the Underground”

“It matters not how long you live, but how well.’ — Publius Syrus — Maxim 829

“Wilderness begins in the human mind.” — Edward Abbey

“If you love the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.” — Lin-Chi

“As Caesar was at supper the discourse was of death,–which sort was the best. “That,” said he,”which is unexpected.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Caesar

We chased our pleasures here, dug out treasures there.
Can you still recall the time we cried?
Break on through to the other side.

~~- The Doors~~

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

Today’s Pearl, as noted in the intro, somewhere, turned out special, if only for having taken damn near a week to complete. Ah, well, such is life in strife, as we say downtown, and, hey! It does have a new poem, right?. All we can do is all we can do, as I’m sure you know.

I guess I’ll try to do this again, hopefully by tomorrow. As those of us who have the powers of a Time Lord know so well, Time will tell. It always does. See y’all sometime during that Time; in fact, I don’t think anyone can prevent it now…. Nor would they, now, would they?…. Okay, I’m done.

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….

Planting truth in fallow fields….

Posted on September 19, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Within the oyster’s shell uncouth
The purest pearl may hide,
Trust me you’ll find a heart of truth
Within that rough inside.

~~ Mrs. Osgood ~~

Pluto as seen from the Dawn Horizons Spacecraft Mission Flyby

Image from the UK Guardian 9/17/2015

Good morning, ffolkes. I’m tired, even after having slept a solid 8 hours for the first time in ages. I am also way, way off center, due to a concatenation of circumstances, many of which were not in my control, though in my possible sphere of prediction (had I been, naturally, more centered to begin). As a result, I find myself in the position of needing to make some alterations in lifestyle and routine in order to return to, and stay at my center of being, such as it is….

All that said, (with some difficulty I might add…. LeeLoo’s newest trick is to lick my hand, then drape herself comfortably across my wrist, leaving my fingers free to type, literally, as I am typing this while she lays there, purring contentedly, as if she had nothing more important or valuable to do but lie on my hands watching me type….. SIGH….) I am going to make a few changes here on ECR, as well. For some days after today, you may see some re-blogs, complete Pearls, from the archives…. Those will be the days I am avoiding any outside contact, as I intend to hunker down again, drawing myself into myself, until I find my center, and nail it to my forehead…. Other days, you’ll see nothing at all; those days I’m hiding, probably from myself, as well as the world…

So, these posts may not be as fresh as usual for a while…. Who knows? Maybe it won’t take long, and I’ll be back on track by tomorrow….. More likely, based on experience, we’re looking at a few weeks, while I go through my internal contortions, those necessary to realign my self to the universe, as I understand it…. At least this time I won’t be carrying around a beach ball on my belly…. It’s all gone ffolkes…. I weighed 179.8 lbs today, for the third day running. That is a weight I haven’t seen in over 25 years, and I’m not stopping there; I’ll quit worrying about it at all when I get back to 160 lbs., which is my natural weight for this age and height…. I’ll be buff again!….

Or, a reasonable facsimile of buff; much healthier, anyway…. For now, let’s get today’s Pearl done, since the cat seems to have fallen asleep on my wrist…. Take it away, Luigi!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.” — Isaac Asimov

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

Not only am I far from center, I can’t even figure out what direction to start searching for it. So, here’s the deal…. I’ll put together one old-school pearl, with as many good aphorisms as SB will give me, and be done with this for a while…. Obviously, (to me), I need a break, to recharge my batteries, or some such odd analogy…. which just goes to show how much I need this…. Here’s what I could find, ffolkes…. The first one probably gives away where I am heading; the rest are for show, though not insignificant in their own right/light…..

“Nothing is more useful than silence.” — Menander

“Experience is the only prophecy of wise men.” — Alphonse de Lamartine

“Life without music would be an intolerable insult.” — Edward Abbey

“After I’m dead I’d rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one.” — Cato the Elder

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” — H.H. the Dalai Lama

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Essays: First Series (1841) “Self-Reliance”

“If you can see a thing whole… it seems that it’s always beautiful. Planets, lives…But close up, a world’s all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life’s a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful a life is, is to see it from the vantage point of death.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, Dispossessed

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

I’m done. Literally, and, figuratively. I may, or may not, post tomorrow; don’t be at all surprised if I don’t post for several days…. I need…. a lot. I want more…. Both are not good, and, thus, must be dealt with…. Not to worry, I’m tough, and I’ll be fine. I just need to NOT for a time. I’ll be back when I AM….

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….

Inexorable notions of impropriety….

Posted on September 16, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“We say the cows laid out Boston. Well, there are worse surveyors.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Wealth” ~~

Yep. It’s Luna.

Good morning…. Yet another day spent slipping into the mire…. As I sit here, I find myself having to defend the keyboard against the imprecations of a psycho kitty, who thinks she should have some input into what I’m typing today. Her main problem, I think, is not knowing the entire alphabet; otherwise, I’d probably be watching her type this, rather than the other way around…. Fascinating!….

Ah well, it’s just another adaptation, I guess, one I have to deal with if I’m to ever get this Pearl posted. I’ll not tempt Fate, nor will I push my luck; instead, we’ll just go on, as if I knew what I was doing…. Luigi is going to ‘gently’ convey us to the oyster beds, where we shall hope to find what we need for the day…. Let’s do it now, okay?….

Shall we Pearl?….

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

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

Image from arzapizza.com via Google Images

It looks as if I’ve given up on maintaining my reputation as a crusty, irritable old curmudgeon with these cute animal videos, doesn’t it? Oh, well, what the hell; I like them, so, fuck it…. Guess it won’t be too long before the new psycho kitty has company…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. and, for any Asininnies who MAY be reading, pay attention to how well our companions on the Trail of Life get along together when we don’t interfere with our own idiocy….

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

Dogs & Cats Playing Together

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

https://youtu.be/YSC9kKpmx40

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

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

I came across this statement from Edward Abbey last evening, while searching for pearls. It is the clearest statement of reality in this country today I know of, though. it was first uttered in the last century; I know not exactly when… I am compelled to say I would agree with each and every word….

This, ffolkes, is the statement of an American patriot. The only real kind I know of, a man the men who formed this country would understand. It’s also the statement of a man with whom I’d be honored to stand…. any time, anywhere.

Nothing I could add would say it any better, so, I’ll just leave it there…. After all, what else is there to be said?

So be it.

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

I am not sure why, but, this poem seems appropriate for today, as a representation of my recent ordeal overseas…. Too much of the trip was spent in a state similar to this, so, let all memory of that time be gone with this posting….

Dead Hands,Typing…

Puzzled anew by anomalous blocks of pain
caught, bemused, chained to routine, insane.
Stilled within breathless beauty
Engaging epiphany, insistent, called to duty.

Knees bent in lieu of a faithful rendition
suffuses, confuses, locked into stale perdition.
Clearing corrosion with hands encased in stone
Singular frozen follicles, masked by bone.

Partial focus brings unfiltered flavors to light
coloring each particle in simple delight.
Forlorn, novel conceptual artists singing in tune
nine notes in harmony, soft as the moon.

Honed blades of carbon steel flash in rhyme,
filling sensual receptors well past closing time.
Borrowed from neighbors in a week-old game
still bloody, without a proper name.

No flooded memories can justify such cost
no simple stationery, bilious, afraid, lost.
Ten times ten will never be enough
To fill so empty a stolen trough.

Bartering simplicity takes well into the night
solidly temporary pillars turned bright.
Unknown to all the pretty children who came
none were called, none had any remaining flame.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 2/25/2015.

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

A simple little pearl about Life at Large to finish the day’s effort…. Pay heed, and enjoy Life better!….

Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his own
Self in all beings, loses all fear.

~~ Isa Upanishad ~~

“The older we grow the greater becomes our wonder at how much ignorance one can contain without bursting one’s clothes.” — Mark Twain

“Don’t be ashamed to say what you are not afraid to think.” — Montaigne

“All is flux, nothing stays still.” — Heraclitus

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” — Saint Augustine

“Cease to be ruled by dogmas and authorities; look at the world!” — H.G. Wells paraphrase of Roger Bacon’s works

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

Well, there you go. Late again, thanks to the regularization of my life, and the literary advice of a small fur-bearing critic. Now, if I can persuade here to move long enough to post, we’re good to go…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, like it or not…..

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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