Stealing candy from babies is trickier than it seems…. Ask any Senator…

Posted on February 17, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”

~~Buddha, paraphrased ~~

I would comment upon the most excellent picture and opening quote from the Buddha, but, it seems Murphy has picked today to reassert his bully persona; he KNOWS how much I hate it when he fucks with my coffee…. He must be pissed because I’m making changes which will make things harder for him to fuck with me at all; he might be getting his shots in while he can…. Whatever the reason, it pisses me off no end when I have to clean up a mess, complete with coffee grounds, before I even get a chance to drink any of it….. SIGH….. Assholes are everywhere these days….

They’re everywhere I look, anyway. Can’t seem to turn around these days without bumping into some sort of reminder of how such asininity becoming the norm in today’s world, obnoxiously pushing its way into every part of our lives. The restrictive measures society is taking to ensure the profit margins and safety of those who hoard all the resources for themselves are becoming Orwellian in nature, with the government trying to take over almost every facet of our lives…. for our own good, naturally.

Maybe this is why Murphy is so happy these days. The evil attitudes, and shockingly violent, repressive nature of what is taking place all over the world, as incident after incident of insanity is portrayed, to keep the public in a state of panic, so the elite may go about securing ever more power, and money, and control over the rest of the world, regardless of the suffering, and pain, and misery they cause, seem to be coming to crescendo, almost as if the species is beginning to realize just what kind of irretrievable mess we’ve created for ourselves, and the danger of extinction every one of us, including the assholes, will be facing in the coming SHORT time until it is too late….

Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? I’m not sure what prompted such a vitriolic rant so early, but, there it sits; we’ll all have to deal with it as best we may. What that means for the rest of the Pearl isn’t clear, nor may it ever be. Clarity may be well beyond our capabilities at the present time, so, I wouldn’t count on any improvement. Our only saving grace is in the very fortunate happenstance of having completed virtually all of this one yesterday, and the day before…. Lucky for me, I’ve been so worked up I can’t seem to stop writing…. At least it allows me to maintain a reasonable semblance of sanity….

Well, I think so; how about y’all? Have I been any less crazy? Or more? Who knows? Moreover, who cares? Not me, and certainly not the Asininnies; they’d just as soon people like me spend as much time in that state as possible; keeps me out of their hair…. Ah well, it’s all pretty futile, both in imagination, and in Reality, so, since there is little point in belaboring such an issue, let’s see if we can’t find a path out of this dark, boring place we’ve come to, and get the hell out of this intro…. I don’t like it anymore….

Shall we Pearl?

“Every day should be passed as if it were to be our last.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 633

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I’ve heard about this experiment before, but, hadn’t thought about it in a while. It’s a pretty clear explanation of one of the most effective tools used by those in power to keep the “monkeys” distracted, and busy in their cages, doing exactly what they are supposed to do, produce, while being manipulated into passive submission to custom, never knowing at all why they are doing what they do….. Pay attention, ffolkes, you see this every day on TV…. You didn’t even know you were being molded while watching, did you?….. Well, guess what? You are…. One of the basic reasons I don’t watch it at all anymore; I got tired of watching bullshit fly….

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

5 Monkeys

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http://youtu.be/KZeiSKnhOBc

found at:

https://talesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2015/02/15/five-monkeys-or-how-we-are-kept-in-mental-cages/

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

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

“History, although sometimes made up of the few acts of the great, is more often shaped by the many acts of the small.” — Mark Yost

This statement, while true in one sense, is not completely accurate in the modern world. Unfortunately, in today’s world, the few of great power have manipulated the many, many acts of the small to serve their own interests, with no regard for the welfare of those they manipulate. They do this with the aid of the ostensible leaders of society, who are also under the spell of lies they believe to be true.

These leaders, puppets themselves, act as the educational, administrative, and enforcement cadre for the real Beloved Ruling Class, those privileged elite who teach, organize society, and impose order upon each generation of new human drones, following the example of generation after generation of their ancestors. In truth, each generation offers up their freedom and dignity, for the promise of a chance at their dreams, which they can never fulfill in this life, but, are promised as reward, given to them after they die, in exchange for submitting themselves to the beliefs they are told….

In addition to the pundits, and the preachers, who control the parents, even more control is added by the tacit, unwitting complicity of the communications media. In today’s world of radio, TV, and computers, with the unlimited possibilities of the Internet, they become the front line for the monied elite, spreading the outright untruths, and reams of misinformation necessary to deliver their messages of manipulated truth, across the entire globe, within moments, pulling ever more people into their web of lies…. all with the unwitting help of people who believe they are doing the right thing, by telling what they believe to be true….

To be persuasive, we must be believable.

To be believable, we must be credible.

To be credible, we must be truthful.

~~ Edward R. Murrow ~~

Ah, Ed, such a fine sentiment, and very good for a reporter to believe, since any reporter who buys into this will always be popular, both with the public, and with the leaders of the political and religious worlds, all of whom dance to the tune played by those who control the money and resources of the world, the bankers, as they were called by Thomas Jefferson. Now, we call them “corporate persons”, the relatively small group of completely amoral, avaricious, sociopathic families who have, throughout the history of mankind, corrupted every level of society, convincing them to adopt the lies they have passed off as the truth, for millennia.

The first group, the public, with their gullible, misplaced trust in those in authority, (based on their desire to not think, or take responsibility for their lives… to take the EASY way….), will like such a reporter very much, often listening solely to him as their favorite source, (which they did for Mr. Murrow), for they will feel they can trust what he tells them; they firmly believe he tells them the truth because he believes it to be true, or he wouldn’t say it. If he tells them Commies are not to be trusted, they will refuse to wear red; if he tells them they are in danger, they submit to further loss of their freedom, in the name of security….

The leaders, will love such influential mouthpieces, because he will be one of their most effective tools of manipulation, for they do not abide by this credo at all, except to recognize how powerfully people will believe it, in their desire to remove the fear of the unknown fostered by those in charge. The manipulators simply follow the precept as far as the last word, then, instead of truth, they say exactly what they know will produce the effect they desire, whether it is remotely true, or not. For their purposes, if it is not true, so much the better, for it confirms their control of the media, the so-called political and political leaders, AND the public, to do their bidding, without ever realizing they are being controlled.

( If you want to know part of the reason those in power are able to achieve their ends so easily, read this graphic infogram: https://i.stack.imgur.com/MyQki.jpg) (Or, watch the video, above….)

I’m done. I’m burnt. To finish this off properly, (well, properly for this blog…), here are some pearls which speak to one part or another of the above discussion/rant/indictment/whatever it was…. sort of. I think. If not, well, forget the whole thing. Nobody’s really listening, not so’s it will make any real difference in what happens out there in the Big Blue Room, anyway….

“You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence; you were expected to make peace with mediocrity. Wherever you have turned, you have been told where you could go and what you could do ( and _how_ you could do it) and where you could live and whom you could marry. I know your countrymen do not agree with me a about this, and I hear them saying, “You exaggerate.” — James Baldwin,_The Fire Next Time_, 1964

“Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our own possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the _real_ object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?” — Patrick Henry

“Gun Control – the belief that government, with its great wisdom and moral superiority, can be trusted with a monopoly on deadly force.” — Smart Bee

“A right delayed is a right denied.” — Smart Bee

“We’re not doing it for money, we’re doing it for a SHITLOAD of money!” — The American Dream, rephrased to more closely resemble Reality….

“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.” — Montesquieu, 1742

Bigot? Fundamentalist? Love guns? The Republicans want YOU!” — Smart Bee, being downright vicious, but, pretty accurate, all things considered.

“When once infidelity can persuade men that they shall die like beasts, they will soon be brought to live like beasts also.” — South

“We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine.” — H. L. Mencken

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As I’ve previously mentioned, I think Charles is one of the finest poets to come out of the Twentieth Century…. His poetry is so real, it hurts….

Alone With Everybody

the flesh covers the bone
and they put a mind
in there and
sometimes a soul,
and the women break
vases against the walls
and the men drink too
much
and nobody finds the
one
but keep
looking
crawling in and out
of beds.
flesh covers
the bone and the
flesh searches
for more than
flesh.

there’s no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.

nobody ever finds
the one.

the city dumps fill
the junkyards fill
the madhouses fill
the hospitals fill
the graveyards fill

nothing else
fills.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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Hmm… As I constructed several of the pearls you have seen in the last few days, I collected a few extra pearls, & saved them in one file location for later use. When I came to work on this section, I found the following seven stars, each a pearl in good standing; together, they speak to us of Life, at Large…. Go figure…

“It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.” — G. H. Hardy

“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.” — Fred Allen

“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe. And what do we teach our children in school? We teach them that two and two make four and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are?” — Pablo Casals

HUMAN: The human being either evolved from the biologically very similar ape, or was created along with the rest of the world in a six-day creative spurt by an anonymous god. The human body is a wonderful thing. Well, most of them are. Humans have one mouth and a limited number of genitals, which is probably just as well. — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA

“Humans hardly ever learn from the experience of others. They learn – when they do, which isn’t often – on their own, the hard way.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“Change cannot be avoided….Change provides the opportunity for innovation. It gives you the chance to demonstrate your creativity.” — Keshavan Nair

“As long as you live, keep learning how to live.” — Seneca

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I don’t know. I’m not sure any more. But, since it’s the only thing currently working to save my sanity, I guess I’ll keep on doing this, at least, until I can figure out whether I can get the same sort of relief from hunting. I’ve never been one to enjoy it, but, it’s almost time, I think, to take it up, as has always been my plan…. We’ll see; big changes comin’, one way, or t’other…. Count on it, ffolkes…. Meantime, y’all stay alert out there, not just because the world can use all the lerts we can find; it could save your OWN butt….. See y’all tomorrow….

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Seven good reasons….

Posted on February 16, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west;

people create distinctions out of their own minds

and then believe them to be true.”

~~ Buddha ~~

The View Outside the Door Into Summer

(Thanks to Clifford D. Simak)

Alright. Admit it! You have no idea who I am!

But, then, the reverse is also true. Since we’re on even ground, perhaps we can just drop the whole matter, by agreeing to move on to some sort of mutually agreeable task, rather than such a controversial, ultimately unproductive interaction, which can only end badly. It’s way too early in the Pearl to even consider such a possibility; we’ve got a long way to go.

We also have seven good reasons to find….. Today’s title keeps niggling at my brain; I HATE that. As most of y’all are aware by now, the titles of these posts have no meaning, at least, not to me, and not in relation to whatever I write here. I merely string together words which make a compelling, funny, or somehow eye-catching title, with no intent to ever connect it to the blog post. Some days, such as today, the words I came up with, while exactly what I needed, seems to stick in my head, until I figure out why…. Very distracting, when one is trying to cudgel one’s brain into coming up with something more coherent than ‘ugh’, or Red’s favorite all-purpose word sound, ‘meh’….

It’s also a big waste of my time, efficiency-wise, as I’m usually trying to figure out just what to put in this section, my biggest challenge of all of those I’ve come to use as part of this blog. The ironic part of all this is, no matter how hard I try, or what I do, I still need an intro section, just to get to the rest. It is both logical, and real, ffolkes. You can’t start without a beginning…

One might think I’d finally gone off the deep end, wouldn’t one? One might be right about that. But, then, one can never tell, can one? Or, even two…. On that silly note….

Shall we Pearl?

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

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

Leonard Cohen is a truly iconic artist. When young, he made his initial impression on the public with what the public took for comedy, but, was actually philosophy in disguise. Later, he began to sing, and write songs and music to be sung; in this he also achieved a rather unique distinction, as a singer/songwriter distinctly unlike anyone else. Here is a compilation, made by You Tube, of his early comedy works, with some music mixed in.

As usual, following the link gives the Gentle Reader the option to choose their own videos to watch of his, as there are literally hundreds of related videos listed with each one playing on screen. Enjoy, ffolkes, he’s a REAL human artist, who made it his own way…. A true Singer, in the Samuel R. Delaney tradition… (See the S. R. Delaney story, “Time, Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones”)

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Leonard Cohen Standup Comedy

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http://youtu.be/cgiflcf4klM?list=RDcgiflcf4klM

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Okay, everyone out of the gene pool!

Y’all know, since I harp on it nearly every day, I’m pretty sure we humans don’t have a lot of time left, to find some way to avoid falling prey to the same issue to which so many other forms of life, (including, possibly, our own…), have succumbed to in the past, to wit: we just don’t have what it takes to survive in this universe. Since I’m not presently inclined to, yet again, preach to the choir in a fresh rant, here is one from the archives, which clearly demonstrates I’ve held this opinion for some time now, along with a great deal of evidence to support my theory/opinion…. Enjoy, ffolkes… If nothing else, it’s a good way to stretch those mind-muscles for a few minutes…. maybe more than just a few….

From 2/8/2014:

This pearl will be displayed in the new format I’ve been working on as a change of scene around here…. These are headlines from SFGATE, a news web site I use as an average news collector, as it tends to display a fairly even grouping of the world’s and nation’s news, without TOO much bias, though certainly not without any…. The headlines I’ve included below, viewed as a big picture, are, as we can see, downright fucking crazy in how they portray the insanity so prevalent in today’s society…. Here then are more indications we are currently living through Heinlein’s “Crazy Years” here in America…. My comments, as always, are parenthesized for clarity….

http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2014/02/07/tesla-driver-blames-fatal-crash-on-new-car-smell/

(I’m pretty sure I don’t need to make too many comments about this guy, or about how typically asinine he is, in as he cluelessly exhibits not only his selfishness, but, also his stupidity in public, without any idea of how ridiculous he sounds or appears to others….. “New car smell?” As the justification for running over a pedestrian? I suppose, in one way, it’s a perfect example of both the corruption so prevalent, and of the lack of any sort of system of ethics at play, in the lawyers who took the case to bring suit, as well as in the sense of entitlement that the average American asshole feels, to think that they can escape any consequences for their actions by finding a loophole in a law, or some weird psychiatric justification for acts that were at best, stupid, and at worst, deliberately, carelessly, and, feloniously, ignorant….)

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Elderly-woman-slain-in-Oakland-home-invasion-5215511.php

(Again, no comment is necessary to make any clearer how sick our society has become, when there are people in the world who can actually perform these kinds of acts, without any compassion, or any connection to how another person feels…. I didn’t read the article, as I’ve seen its like too often to need to put myself through that again… I already know, having dealt with them for many years, the depths to which the human psyche can sink in its pain and reaction to a lifetime of abuse by the world…. It still doesn’t excuse any of it, or justify it, to understand why it happens…. But, it sure does make me want to go out, buy a gun, and start picking off some of the names, on my own personal list of those the world would be better off without….)

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Russian-TV-shows-doctored-video-of-Olympic-rings-5214936.php

(More comedy from Russia and their current dictator, Vlad “Glad Impaler” Putin, trying to convince the world that hey, nothing wrong here, move along, nothing to see…. when, in fact, almost everything the world is seeing in Sochi points up another issue that the Soviet government has screwed up in its repressive attempts to maintain the status quo….. which, after all, is the ultimate purpose of any dictatorship, or essentially fascist government…. or ANY government, for that matter…. Democratic, Republic, Monarchic, no matter what form government takes, its bottom line priority is to maintain the status quo, to ensure the people stay out of the government’s way as they plunder, steal, and cheat…. The video to which the article refers is merely the latest symptom that shows exactly how the world’s society at large, and, Russian society in particular, is falling apart at the seams…..)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/SAC-Capital-ex-trader-convicted-of-insider-trading-5211174.php

“A monied aristocracy in our country … has already set the government at defiance.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

(Whoops, gosh, look here! A stock trader cheated! A bank(er) was involved, a large, shadowy, amorphous corporation was involved, a government agency screwed up their job, a rich businessman profited, and the poor scapegoat is the only one to go to jail…. Have we seen this story before? Isn’t this a rather familiar scenario over the last, oh, 120 years or so? Why, yes, yes, I believe that’s so…. I can remember seeing stories exactly like this one 50 years ago, back in the 50’s and 60’s, as well as many from history that would be classed as clones of this one…. But, the media has to present each one as if it is some sort of big surprise…. SIGH…. It’s almost too easy for me, when they act this stupid….)

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/02/07/senate-judiciary-republicans-blame-a-lawyer-adegbile-for-a-client-abu-jamal/

(Oh, right, this one…. This is SO STUPID!!!! So stupid, it caused me to go momentarily insane, with my fingers flashing out four exclamation points without conscious control, just to vent my frustration…. You know, it’s completely possible that commenting on this story could turn into a rant….

The Republican Party has become a conglomeration of some of the stupidest, most hidebound fools I’ve ever witnessed, even in American politics, and remember…. I was there when we had both Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon to push around, so, I KNOW about corrupt, greedy, amoral politicians….. This current group in the House, and the Senate, as well as spread throughout all the state’s houses of political machinery (chicanery?), are among the stupidest and most viciously ignorant that I’ve ever seen….

This particular set of idiots involved in this article are perhaps some of the most egregiously ignorant of the lot, and show the extent of how much the conservative mind has turned to mush over time, especially when dealing with issues that are, essentially, non-partisan in nature…. It seems to me that finding the most balanced people to be judges, or attorney general types, would benefit BOTH sides, more so than choosing biased people, who only make things worse for everyone…. Of course, I’m not stupid, I have no investment in pursuing my own agenda in this issue, nor do I desire to use the issue for any political gain, so, perhaps that would color my perceptions…. I certainly hope so….

Please note, I am certain, and have seen proof of the fact, that the Democrats are no brighter, in toto, or even, on average, but, somehow, they don’t seem to publicly stick their foot in it quite so frequently as the GOP pundits. I can’t blame the media for that, entirely, as they obviously have no more claim to intelligent design in their actions than do the politicians. Each of the political parties that dominate this country’s bureaucracy (it long ago ceased to function as anything else….) feels the media favors the other; that’s a typical reaction for a creature that suffers from paranoia, and the political scenario attracts schizophrenics like flowers draw bees…. (Actually, it would be more accurate to say that politics attracts the psychopathically insane like shit draws flies….. but, I won’t say that….) (Oh…. whoops….)

Nonetheless, it seems to me that BOTH of the parties that are currently ensconced in the halls of Congress in Washington have been taken over by a bunch of really, really selfish, more than stupid in their deliberate ignorance, rich, white, old men, with the random woman, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Latin-American tokens thrown in here and there to provide proof of our “diversity”….

The funny thing about those politicians of color or gender…. when they talk, they SOUND EXACTLY like a rich, white, stupid old man, no matter whether they are young, female, black, yellow, or brown…. Next time Ted Cruz puts out a sound bite on TV, close your eyes and listen…. He will not be distinguishable from any of his peers…. Note also, the terms to describe the token members of Congress deliberately set them apart as being ‘different’ Americans than the others, don’t they? They sure do, and that’s just fine with the old white dudes, as it provides camouflage for their inherent racism and bigotry, making them appear as if they welcome input, from those parts of society THE SILLY ASSES DON’T REALIZE ARE NOW IN THE MAJORITY IN THIS COUNTRY!…..

It’s too bad, really, and frustrating for those of us who can understand what is going on…. Intelligence is the only factor in our makeup that enhances our chances to survive, especially in the oncoming crisis in the environment of our planet, even though such intelligence has never proven its worth as a survival tool… These idiots are continually, and continuously, displaying behavior that is counter-productive to that survival…. and they don’t even have the wit to know it. In fact, most of them are so insanely wrapped up in pursuing their own agenda they refuse to even listen to anything that doesn’t fit in with their own preconceived misconceptions….. Idiots, every one of them….

Okay, that’s enough…. I could conceivably spend a very long time at this…. I’ve got a long litany of complaints about government, and those who indulge in that particular vice…. But, I’m getting worked up, and that’s making me tense, and that makes my back hurt…. So, for my health, I’m calling a halt to this rant…. (For my health…. right…. Can you see my skeptical expression?….) Since the entire rant, short as it may be, is in parentheses, I can do that without any permits, or even any hand signals….

gigoid has spoken…. So be it…..)

“When I think over what I have said, I envy dumb people.” — Seneca

Well, you know what they say…. Ignorance is bliss…..

Final note from 2015: Here is a fine, quite fitting closing pearl for the above rant…. (which is an interesting rant, in and of itself; the section below the last link used is completely parenthesized! What a brilliant concept! Once encased in parentheses, one may say anything at all, while enjoying perfect exemption from all standard rules…. of grammar, punctuation, syntax, logic, rationality, AND, common decency! Bonus!….)

Don’t open your eyes, you won’t like what you see;

the devils of truth steal the souls of the free…

don’t open your eyes, take it from me.

I have found you can find happiness in slavery…

~~ Nine Inch Nails, “Happiness In Slavery” ~~

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This poem is one I first wrote as random piece of prose, which came to me, unbidden, one day as I sat in front of the computer, trying once again to find something in my mind with which to begin a Pearl; that’s why it doesn’t rhyme. I think, even without the rhyme, it speaks of a vision that arose out of my inner eye, directly from my spirit….

Stray Cats

The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.

Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.

Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.

Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone, yet,
the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept…..

~~gigoid~~

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Today’s old-school pearl is one of my favorite types, because Smart Bee gave me quotes suitable for expressing my own thoughts and feelings on the subject at hand. Today, it will show you the path my mind followed to arrive at the set of beliefs I hold today, regarding what I consider the oldest scam in human history, otherwise known as creationism, or, the One God Fallacy….

“A man devoid of religion, is like a horse without a bridle.” — Smart Bee

“The history of the rise of Christianity has everything to do with politics, culture, and human frailties and nothing to do with supernatural manipulation of events. Had divine intervention been the guiding force, surely two millennia after the birth of Jesus he would not have a world where there are more Muslims than Catholics, more Hindus than Protestants, and more nontheists than Catholics and Protestants combined.” — John K. Naland, “The First Easter”, Free Inquiry magazine, Vol. 8, No. 2

“The major contribution of Protestant thought to the knowledge of mankind is its massive proof that God is a bore.” — H.L. Mencken

A religion is a cult with an adequate army” — Smart Bee

“Anybody who wants religion is welcome to it, as far as I’m concerned — I support your right to enjoy it. However, I would appreciate it if you exhibited more respect for the rights of those people who do not wish to share your dogma, rapture, or necrodestination.” — Frank Zappa, “The Real Frank Zappa Book”

“Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.” — Robert Lindner

Wearers of rings and chains!
Pray do not take the pains
To set me right.

In vain my faults ye quote;
I write as others wrote
On Sunium’s hight.

~~ Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864) ~~

~~ The last Fruit of an old Tree, Epigram cvi ~~

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All I can say at this point is, it’s a damn good thing this got done yesterday, mostly, or, it wouldn’t have gotten done at all. On that cryptic note, I’m outta here for another day. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, given a fair wind and a favoring tide….

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

How DOES it feel Tehachipi?….

Posted on February 15, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Our subjectivity

Is a mirrored,

Spiked casket.

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

Redwood in the City

Boy! Deng Ming sure can be harsh sometimes, eh? I usually enjoy his take on Taoist philosophy in the modern world, but, some of his quotes seem to have suffered in the translation, whether he performed it, or someone else. This one just seems to be a bit more of a “written in stone” sort of approach to a concept which seems to me to call for more flexibility, more fluidity, as does any idea used to express some part of the Tao in a way that helps others understand.

Oh, well. I suppose they can’t ALL be great aphorisms. Much like the picture today, one of my own, taken while waiting for a bus. I’m not sure whether the light patches are normal, due to light reflecting off morning mist, or, just another indication my camera is going to die soon. It’s given me other clues to warn me I’ll soon need a new one, if I wish to continue to take pictures to share. These days, that isn’t such a budget breaker as it formerly was; a good digital camera today will go on sale for under $200, with all the features an amateur such as myself can use…. I already have a tripod, and a USB cable which is industry standard, so, all I need is the camera….

Now, the trick is to find one on sale for the best price… Oh, right. Duh. Like a friend keeps pounding into my recalcitrant memory, AMAZON. Or, some other online store selling at discount prices, like E-Bay, and the ilk. Okay. I guess now I’ll have to actually do it, or suffer the embarrassment of having somebody bring it up a week from now, asking me where all the new pictures are? Oh, joy.

Now I get to go shop. Even shopping online, the whole process exhausts me; there are just too many choices, and not enough time to see them all. Since I always have a good idea of what I want, and what I want to pay, I tend to go for the first example I run across around that price, snapping it up like somebody else was going to steal it from me…. which, these days, means I probably missed a deal somewhere else for half price, of which I’ll be notified by a rapid inundation of email notices, all with free shipping, a week after getting the one I bought, at double the price, and full shipping…..

SIGH…. Now do you see why I am in the habit of saying, in full agreement with Arthur C. Clarke, there is no concrete evidence available to prove intelligence has any value as a survival tool? Even though I possess all the tools and knowledge to obtain a new camera in short order, at a good price, my own bozoid nature prevents me from utilizing those tools, or knowledge, to their best effect. At the point in time when I have the right amount of money available, I forget to go to one of the sites where I can get what I need; as soon as the money is used elsewhere, an email arrives with a good deal, or I see a picture I like, reminding me of the shortcomings of the deal I made in haste…

Ah well, at least it got me through another intro section, without having to actually strain so hard, my forehead bleeds. I hate when that happens; it runs all over my mustache. Blood is hard to clean from hair without yanking on it. Not that I’m a wimp, or anything like that, but, hey, yank on YOUR upper lip a few times, & see how YOU like it, eh?

So, do I sound Canadian? I’m thinking of visiting…. It’s getting to be the right time of year, for us warm-weather birds; I hear the spring, summer, and fall is nice up there, as long as one stays within a few hundred miles of the US border. Beyond there, it’s anybody’s ballgame when it comes to weather and cold. I’m a California boy, born and bred, (well, actually, I never asked, but, I think I’d have heard if the family was out of state a certain number of months before I was born…. but, to be honest, that part I can’t swear to…. I WAS born here, for sure, if my birth certificate is telling the truth….), in my world, cold, for long periods, or with accompanying semi-frozen water, is NOT my friend, nor anyone I enjoy spending time with…. at all.

Okay. I think eight full paragraphs of not a damn thing worth writing home about is enough for one day…. I’m outta here, before I find something else to babble about….

Shall we Pearl?

“. . is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood. It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness. It cannot be.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

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This lady has been one of my favorite comediennes since I first saw her, probably on Ed Sullivan, sometime in the 60’s. (Yes, some of us were there, and still remember it!) She’s fearless…. If you can’t find a smile watching her perform, I’m sorry, but, you are one of the seriously humor-impaired…. Enjoy, ffolkes, there’s nobody like Lily Tomlin….

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Lily Tomlin as Ernestine the Telephone Operator

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http://youtu.be/G0l9fE2RAj8

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“Love withers under constraint: its very essence is liberty:

it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear.”

~~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~~

Day before yesterday’s Pearl had the customary three suggested Pearls at the bottom of the page; I sometimes read them to look for appropriate pieces for those times I’m not up to ranting, as much of what I rant about are ongoing issues, still relevant in today’s world. This is one of them, from about a year ago… Since I am not particularly up for ranting today, I offer this in lieu of anything fresh, as a worthy substitute… I mean, after all, I AM the one making the judgment, right? S’okay, it’s allowed, it’s my blog…. I hope you enjoy it, depressing as it may be for those who continue to hold out hope the world will make any necessary changes, in time to save our sorry butts…

From 2/25/2014; Introduction section:

Terrible things could happen now…. they could, you know. And, we’ll deserve every second we experience of mind-numbing, soul-chilling, petrifying terror, because, hey, we’re the ones who left the door wide open, inviting it to enter our domain, bringing with it our ultimate doom…. Yes, it’s our own damn fault, and we will know the truth of the matter, because we have been warned, having previously been given wisdom such as this….

This is not new wisdom, that we’ve never before seen or suspected; history has provided us with innumerable instances proving the truth of this aphorism….. Time after time throughout our short span of existence on this world, we find examples of men or women who had prior knowledge of an issue, and, by their silence, allowed it to take place, to the detriment of all…. It doesn’t make it right, but, it is certainly not an uncommon issue for mankind…. Such issues are not, perhaps, of all those we are given by Reality, our favorite gifts, …. In fact, many don’t look on this, or any knowledge, as gifts, at all; THAT is a big part of the entire problem….

Our problem is a failure of spirit, one which has to do with a basic virtue, one that has been claimed as the basis for all other virtues; without this characteristic, none of our finer qualities are ever seen in the light of day…. That pillar upon which all other virtue rests, then, is Courage…. Yes, plain and simple, courage….

I have found, in my fairly long life, most of mankind, I’m afraid, are cowards…. I’m not an exception, though it IS something I’ve tried hard to mitigate…. Fear is a hard thing for most of us to admit, even though it isn’t considered abnormal; it’s strength, and the way it causes us to lose control frightens us… However, that power is also its saving grace; the guilt one feels, for having given in to fear, stimulates us to greater effort, whereupon we find that courage within ourselves, the next time we are in danger of giving in…. This is how almost everything we do, of an ethical nature, ever gets done…. because someone discovers they DO have the courage to act when there is danger to themselves, or to those for whom they care…..

That is what it takes, you see…. No virtuous act can ever take place, unless good people have the courage to act in the face of the Evil that exists, in spite of the fear they feel in the presence of that Evil. If they don’t summon, or find somewhere with themselves, the courage to act ethically, or morally, then, Evil has free rein to let itself out to play in human affairs, to the detriment of us all….

Each of us has to find our own courage, often deep within ourselves; the courage to put aside our fear, to carry on with what we know to be right, even though expediency and comfort are left behind in…. Living with honor and integrity is never the easiest path we can take; it is always fraught with danger, simply because it doesn’t avoid evil, claiming it’s too hard, but, rather, confronts it, endeavoring to deal with it in a straightforward, upright fashion…. thus, preserving one’s own honor, when one is forced to have truck with what always leaves us feeling a bit dirty….

All I have written above is true and complete, to the best of my knowledge. It constitutes a fairly accurate assessment of today’s situation here on planet Earth, as I perceive it…. Evil is out there, ffolkes; if we… that’s you, and I…. fail to stand up to it, look it in the eye, and tell it to “fuck off, you bloody sod!”, it will continue to manifest its existence, at will, causing untold pain and suffering for us all…. So, be brave, ffolkes…. Don’t let Evil have its way, without at least a token resistance, ‘kay?…. “Kay!…..

“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, “To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

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Ah well, what’s a Bozo to do, but, pull up his pants, pull down his shades, and smile, smile, smile? Why, he should use an old sort-of-love poem, only a day late for Valentine’s Day…. Well, that or bend over & kiss his own butt, which, at his age, is anatomically impossible…. thank goodness. Just read the poem, ffolkes, & don’t make me talk any more, okay? I’m losing it, fast…. But, I do hope you like the poem….

Time, and again….

Life, and/or love, will seldom fit
into any box we keep for them to sit.
Loose and limber, without any reason,
always somewhat out of season.

Surprise, surprise, they seem to say,
we can’t help it, it’s just our way.
If only you would learn, instead of know,
maybe you’d find yourself with one to show.

Deal, just the way it is, now and here,
follow the path, on the other side of fear.
Finding the future isn’t all blood, sweat, and pain,
far, far more than mere joy we stand to gain.

The sages all say not to try, just do,
sounds as simple as putting on a shoe.
I’d say we could really go places,
if we could but learn, to tie up the laces….

~~ gigoid ~~

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Below you will find a quite nice pearl, of the standard variety, stretched into a nine-star configuration…. Smart Bee has continued to perform its duty with excellent dedication, so, there is no lack of good stuff to include…. You might wish to take notes on this pearl; ALL of these little gems could conceivably be on the Final Quiz we all must take one day…. If not, they’ll be of good use getting you by, in Life, until it’s time to sharpen your pencils….

“Well begun is half done.” — Aristotle

“Many things do not happen as they ought. Most things do not happen at all.” — Smart Bee

“The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it. Death is a commingling of eternity with time; in the death of a good man, eternity is seen looking through time.” — Goethe

“All stressed out, and no one to choke.” — gigoid, the dubious, via Smart Bee

“The world is not to be put in order, the world is order incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order.” — Henry Miller

“I am only a rat in a maze, like you — only the dead go free.” — Smart Bee

“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

“Death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.” — Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

“What I like is when you’re looking and thinking and looking and thinking… and suddenly you wake up.” — Hobbes

See? Pretty good, eh? I keep telling you; it’s all in the wrist….

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I’m not entirely sure what may have taken place here today. I’ve been up for over two hours, having somehow regressed into a strong episode of tardive dyskinesia, which I had hoped to be done with until the next med cut…. An hour in a chair, trembling oneself awake every few minutes, jumpy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs is NOT fun, let me assure you…. Fortunately, I’d done a lot of this yesterday, so, it went smoothly enough; I’m merely unsure of how my brain is functioning. I can’t seem to feel it….

Oh, well. More proof we don’t really need our brains to get by, I guess. For now, I think I’ll just toss in the towel, and try to go back to bed, once the sun comes up…. Hmm… that’s completely ass backwards, isn’t it?…. Fuck it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t talk myself out of it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Faceted jewels, hidden in darkness…

Posted on February 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Too long a sacrifice

Can make a stone of the heart.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

Public House in Cork, Ireland, with freshly pulled Guinness waiting for your Valentine.

Who is NOT the blond bartender you see in the rear of the pub, more’s the pity.

Somehow or another, the idea of Valentine’s Day got planted in my consciousness this year. Most years, all it takes for me to forget all about it, is to think of how it began, back in the middle of the twentieth century, when that day, along with Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, President’s Day, and probably a number of others I don’t remember, were instituted as official national holidays. The entire reason, well known at the time, was to supply a holiday during those months of the year when there was not a religious, or other well-known date, like Halloween, Christmas, and Easter, to stimulate the sagging economy in those months, giving people a reason to buy gifts…. Not exactly romantic, eh?

This year, I don’t know why, the date keeps popping up in front of me, which is ironic, as I don’t have anyone in my life other than my kids with whom I’d share such sentiments… Plus, I HATE buying useless stuff just because some poor business person isn’t going to be able to keep their cash flow in the black for a day or two. They steal enough of my money, without my helping them out by falling for such egregiously avaricious tricks…. I wouldn’t want to lose my own good self-opinion, now, would I? No, I don’t believe I would…

Ah well, I have now given in to the extent of writing almost three paragraphs about the day, though I wouldn’t say they were particularly filled with joy and happiness at the day’s arrival on the calendar. In addition, in the next section, you’ll find a very indulgent piece, nicely done by some guy with a pair of breeding hamsters (probably wants to start a farm & sell the thousands of offspring to come in the few months they live…), and way too much spare time on his hands…. It’s pretty funny….

But, as far as I can make it so, that’s all the corporations get from me today…. Well, I might reconsider, break down, & buy a Hallmark card, should I happen to walk out of the house and be accosted by a gorgeous, sensual woman, who demand I give her the card, take her out to dinner, then take her home to teach her all I know of the Kama Sutra…. Yeah, sure, like THAT’s going to happen…. So, I’m figuring I’m done with it for the day…

“Now what”, he said, bemusedly. If only he had started out differently; if only some fantastic fictional passage had stormed through his consciousness, ripping control of his fingers from him, to pound the keyboard faster than he could read, filling the screen with gripping, violently graphic, yet, oddly romantic images of intense emotional drama, pitting human nature against itself in an eternal battle of good vs. evil, all the while laughing madly, gleefully drooling all over his own lap, until, finally, he slowed, considered what he had done, and, stopped typing…..

Slowly, he rose, walking calmly to the desk across the room. Opening a concealed drawer, he pulled out a leather case. Unsnapping the fasteners, the case opens to reveal a dark, shiny, evil-looking 9mm Glock automatic pistol. Picking it up, he chambered a round, placed the gun at his temple, and fired one shot right through to the opposite wall, taking quite a bit of brain and bone matter with it, forming a rather striking pattern across the rug and wall….

He then walked over to the computer, sat down, and, naturally enough, typed in the following words….

Shall we Pearl?

“.. I’m IMAGINING a sensuous GIRAFFE, CAVORTING in the BACK ROOM of a KOSHER DELI –” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Well, what did you expect? It IS Valentine’s Day, even if I don’t pay any particular attention to it. The following video, at least, puts it all into the proper perspective…. Thanks to Lou for posting it two days ago, thus, furnishing me with yet another fine pearl…..

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Tiny Hamster’s Tiny Date

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http://youtu.be/rPLiGyWy5bQ

first posted by Lou, at:

https://talesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/tiny-hamsters-valentines-date-200/

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“Things true and evident must of necessity be recognized by those who would contradict them.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Concerning the Epicureans, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xx

Ahhh! Bliss…. I’ve always enjoyed the way Epictetus expressed his thoughts. Somehow, his style speaks to me in a way I feel as well as see, and hear, telling me in the simplest, most direct way, how to understand life, and our fellow humans; his sense, apparently, shares commonality with my own. To me, this is an excellent way to show exactly how we can be sure we are being, well, screwed, by those in power…. It is proven true every day, any number of times….

Each day, those in power release some sort of blast of information, designed in some fashion to influence the public in some way. Even when the public KNOWS of this, they still tend to listen to those in power, as they have been trained to do so since entering this world. Still, there is so much of what we are told that isn’t even remotely true, those among the unwashed masses who have not been fully beaten down into slavish acceptance will take note of some obvious discrepancy between reality, and what they are told is reality by those in charge. On the internet, there are literally hundreds of places to find these discrepancies, which clearly show that what we are told is not always true….

Here is where Epictetus’ words come into play…. In order for the officials making the statement to contradict reality in this way shows how it is not possible for them to do so in ignorance of what they do…. By the very act of lying, they prove they know the truth, but, choose to withhold it, to serve some purpose of their own…. Often that purpose is apparent; more often it is not. Either way, I think you could easily say they weren’t doing it for OUR benefit, without feeling as if you were telling a lie yourself….

“Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do ingloriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple: who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?” — John Milton (1608-1674) — Areopagitica

This is MY solution to this question, and, my intention as one who rants. Given the simple fact of the degree of control already established over our society/world by those who would be king, the Truth is the only weapon remaining to us…. Those who rule have already perverted much of Truth to their own purposes, by the simple expedient of convincing almost everyone they have always told the truth, when they actually merely convinced people what is true was not…. If there is one thing I’ve always believed, with some trepidation, admittedly, it is the Truth will out; ultimately, it will make itself clear, usually in a painful way… I don’t think it LIKES to be hidden, or used to promote evil…. But, in time, it always wins out over a lie… I’m hoping, anyway….

Sounds complicated, but, it’s quite simple actually; the problem is this: once the lies are accepted as truth, the actual truth has no more power to be heard; those convinced they are right, possessing the only right answers, will not listen to any evidence otherwise, even if it slaps them right in the face….. It is one of human nature’s most destructive traits, in spite of also being one of its most endearing faults…. I only wish I knew another way to get through to them, but, they made the decision long ago, to never discover the truth of reality for themselves, but, to allow others to tell them what to believe, to mold the shape of reality for them…. To turn back now, for almost all of them, is impossible….

“It’s called EVIL, kid.” — Smart Bee

SIGH….. We had such promise, too….

What is wanted is not the will to believe,

but the will to find out,

which is the exact opposite.

~~ Bertrand Russell (1872-1967), “Sceptical Essays”, 1928 ~~

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A poem of mine is going to have to do for today. I hope you like it…..

Sharing the Wealth

Lucky are we who live with some adversity,
Such strife to bear leaves us strong and free.
Time is no better spent at a fine university
Teaching us the kind of person we wish to be.

We humans are such contrary creatures
Life lived in ease is our fondest intent.
New perceptions are our strongest features
Learning to cope with troubles we cannot prevent.

Lessons we learn at Trouble’s bent knee
Stay on top in the bag of tools we carry.
Knowledge so earned can keep us free
On our long, strange trip to Charon’s ferry.

Pain is the least favorite of our teachers
Yet such powerful lessons stay forever and a day.
No matter how life presents its features
Strength of will equals what life sends our way.

T’is well to consider such time-tested tools,
To carry them with us as we travel through Life.
Events are less likely to show us as fools,
as we deal with Reality, where peril is rife.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Back and forth, back and forth, like a damn tennis ball; Smart Bee must have been watching tennis on TV or something, during whatever moments this batch of pearls were chosen. All I did was ask for a simple old school pearl already made up, so I didn’t need to think too hard about parameters… This is what came back to me…. I can’t figure it out, other than maybe as a metaphor for Life as a Ping Pong Ball…. Oh, well, at least they’re all one-liners…

“A wise man never refuses anything to necessity.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 540

“If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in the library?” — Lily Tomlin

“Democritus says, “But we know nothing really; for truth lies deep down.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pyrrho, viii

“Those who do things in a noble spirit of self-sacrifice are to be avoided at all costs.” — N. Alexander

“Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” — Mao Zedong, “Quotations from Chairman Mao”, 1966

“Each of us bears his own Hell.” — Publius Maro

“Reality is a sandwich I did not order.” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Ffolkes, the world has gone mad; not just mad, but, stark, raving mad. I’m not certain, at this point, exactly what I will do about it, but, it’s not going to fix itself; it has made that perfectly clear. Thus, it leaves it to us to try to figure out what the hell we are going to do; given the options, I’m pretty sure what I’ll do; how ’bout y’all? Well, it’s late, or early, or something; you can think about it, and hopefully, there will be a tomorrow, when you might think about sharing that with us…. Meantime, keep your head down, and your powder dry, ffolkes; it’s a hard rain that’s gonna fall…. Hopefully, I’ll see you tomorrow; if not, fare thee well, until we meet 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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Off with their Keds!….

Posted on February 13, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Education is the best provision for old age.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

Supermoon over Germany, January 2015 (UK Guardian POTD Feature)

It’s nice to know I was already following Aristotle’s advice before I even read his quote. Sometimes, we get lucky…. In this case, I think what happened with me is the best, and most important piece of luck we humans can encounter in our lives, for it takes place before we have any real chance of understanding the bet, or the nature of the risk in gambling, much less the name of the game in which we are already involved…

Like all of us, we start out in the game without any idea of the rules, or who the banker/dealer might be, or exactly how we got into the game. We are playing a game with our very lives as the only currency, in a dark room, in a game with hidden rules, and a dealer who just sits there with his marked deck of cards, and most of the bank, smiling, smiling, smiling…. The game is rigged ffolkes, and most of us don’t know how to play anything more complex than 52 pick-up….. Even if we learn to play by whatever rules we can discover, the deck is marked, and the dealer has a mirror behind your chair. The odds are not good….

Cute, I suppose, but, hardly the way to life anyone’s spirits right off the bat, is it? It’s getting harder, each day, to keep from ranting here in the introductory section; the world has gone mad, mad, mad. I pride myself, generally, on being phlegmatic, when it comes to END GAME scenarios. An old scientific saying comes to mind a lot these days, as conspiracy theories abound; there is so much believable evidence of conspiracy, by the same group of people, over and over again, it’s hard not to bring to mind, to wit: “Never ascribe to evil what can be attributed to stupidity.” There are other variations, but, it is a concept that must be considered when coming to any conclusions.

Even that paragraph is probably too much for an intro, and, all it did was try to explain the paragraph before. SIGH, this sure can get out of hand quickly, can’t it? I’m not sure why; it must have something to do with writing left to right, and down… I think the “down” part influences reality in such a way that the first section of any piece tends to droop, as gravity pulls it down the page…. I don’t know for sure. but, that SOUNDS like it might be true, so that’s what we’re going with…. See, it’s not my fault!…. It’s gravity!

Okay, I apologize. That much pure, unadulterated silly is probably also too much. I guess I’ll give up again, and use #4 to get us out of here, before this goes somewhere we can’t get back from…. In fact, we’re bailing, NOW….

Shall we Pearl?

“In specifications, Murphy’s Law supersedes Ohm’s.” — Klipstein’s Law of Specification

Oh. No wonder, then….

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I found this video the other day when I used the one about the Pool Party, with all the Labradors having a ball in the water…. This one is even cuter, if possible….. and very relaxing, to boot…. We all need plenty of that these days….

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One Hour of Funny Dogs

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http://youtu.be/Vi8VKaOi2nc

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“Democracy is, by the nature of it, a self-canceling business: and gives in the long run a net result of zero.” — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish historian — Chartism (1839)

“I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” — Thomas Carlyle

“Three elements of modern civilization: Gunpowder, Printing, and the Protestant Religion.” — Thomas Carlyle

At first, when I first heard the latter quote, (literally heard; I first encountered it in a BBC mystery movie, quoted by characters in Gaudy Night), I thought Mr. Carlyle was being completely straight-faced and serious, marking him as one of those who partake in all three, which are the tools, and the means by which the elite ruling class has achieved practically complete domination of the entire world. However, given the first two quotes, also attributed to the learned gentleman, it may be he was speaking in a rather more critical vein, as it should be.

Those three elements provide all that is needed to control almost every person in the world, in one respect or another. For those who subscribe to the philosophy of those in power, with their ability to rationalize any action to suit their own needs, regardless of the effect on ANY other entity, no act of cruelty, manipulation, or abuse of trust is unthinkable. In point of fact, all three of those qualities are rewarded; the more one is able to assume, and collect resources and power by lying, cheating, or otherwise breaking trust with others, the higher in the echelons of court sycophants they rise, becoming ever more removed from other people, and their own humanity.

Gunpowder to provide the physical means to intimidate, to abuse, to kill, in the name of the state, or a religion, or other principle which serves the purposes of those who make the money by keeping the world in conflict. The more wars that occur, the richer they become, because the own or control the armories, the manufacturing plants, the marketing to buyers of weapons of mass destruction. One small statistic: the US spent $750,000,000 per day to bomb the ISIS group in the middle east. That is the amount for ONE day, in ONE war, by ONE country to wage war, which sounds like a fair number to use as a base line cost for a day of war between nations, UN recognized, or not….

First, who got the money our taxes were spent on to buy guns, bombs, etc.? Why, the arms dealers, and bankers, of course. Second, multiply that huge, insane number of dollars by the number of days in the year, and the number of wars happening around the world, to get a number that will astound you…. That’s just ONE year….., and ONE day’s take. If more than one war is going on at once, well, that might add up even faster, now, wouldn’t it? Or, is my math off somehow? I was always pretty good at basic arithmetic, which is all this is…

Printing has helped the predators in our species without limit. You see, they know the power of a lie, and they know how gullible the average human is…. so, printing allows them to spread their lies farther and faster than they had ever been able to do before, in all of recorded history. Now, with the advent of computers, the misinformation and obfuscation of which they are capable becomes literally incalculable… In this process, their most favored, and most efficient, AND effective cadre of supporters, sycophants, and, quite simply, snake-oil salesmen, and shills have always come in the form of religion, of which the Protestant Religion has done more to enslave mankind than any previous organization of that nature, except perhaps the Catholic Church….

Need some proof? Hell, one of them gave us a pretty clear example of how they do it, about a couple hundred years ago. It is a statement almost everyone has read, in school, yet, nobody ever seems to remember it as it keeps happening, over, and over, and over, and over, and, well, you get the picture…. This asshole, the highest ranking member of the Church of his time, after the Pope, said once:

“If you give me six lines written by the most honest man,

I will find something in them to hang him.”

~~ Cardinal de Richelieu ~~

Uh oh…. I think I just heresied on several important religions. Oh well, such is Life. Onward….

The Protestants, though, were the strong right arm of the elite during the Dark Ages, then, continued their complete over-mastery of the public mind in the Renaissance, into the modern era; no church has ever been so strongly allied with the governments of the time, save the aforementioned Catholics… but, the Catholic Church concentrates on robbing the poor, in such a way they remain such their entire lives, all for the promise of Heaven in the next life. The Protestants do the same for the middle classes, as well as for those of the upper classes, who are directly under the spell of those actually in charge, who manipulate them all…

I saw an interesting graphic picture the other day on my buddy Lou’s site, (https://talesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/impressive-vs-very-impressive-gates-and-rothschild/) showing the real story behind the story of the income gap we are hearing so much about these days; the monied classes, having secured as much power as they feel they need to secure THEIR future, are not hiding their machinations quite so much, (it has become a bit harder to do with the Internet available to so many people now, which can expose those pieces of clear evidence which indicate the true state of affairs).

Check out a rather scary piece of reality, ffolkes….

Click to enlarge, to read the fine print. You need to read it all.

I don’t know, what do you think? Is that obscene? Or nauseating? Maybe… No, most certainly, it must be BOTH obscene, and nauseating. As well as nauseatingly obscene. Obscenely nauseating also fits…. I swear, if either one of these assholes ever showed their face in my immediate vicinity, well, there wouldn’t be as MUCH of a problem left to deal with… except, I’m sure, the Baron, no doubt, has a relative or two that will also need to be evacuated from the gene pool…. The sooner, the better, if you ask me….

Enough for one day.Ta then, ffolkes….

“If it should become necessary to fight,

could you locate me some rocks to throw at them?”

~~ Riker, “Contagion”, stardate 42609.1 ~~

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

This isn’t a poem, in the traditional sense. But, knowing something about the Hopi, I would imagine the message is intended to be sung, in a ceremony over a course of time, with attendant sobriety and dignity. So, it probably SOUNDS like a poem, even if it isn’t exactly what we would think of in that way…. Of course, those of us who read this blog are, if not exactly all lily-white, we ARE English speaking; that does give us a handicap in understanding reality, from the Hopi/Anasazi/Aleuts/Apache/Chiricawa/Cheyenne/Cherokee, okay… a LOT of other tribes’. point(s) of view, which tend to be quite dissimilar to any Western European, or any other cultural point of view, from ANYWHERE else in the world….

Message from A Hopi Elder

Oraibi,Arizona

“You have been telling people that this is the eleventh hour.

Now you must go back and tell people that this is the hour!

And there are things to be considered:

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your Garden.

It is time to speak your truth.

Create your community.

Be good to yourself.

And not look outside of yourself for a leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing very fast.

It is so great and fast that there are those who will be afraid.

They will hold on to the shore.

They will feel that they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know that the river has its destination.

The elders say that we must let go of the shore,

push off into the middle of the river,

keep our eyes open,

and our heads above the water.

See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time we are to take nothing personally,

least of all, ourselves.

For the moment that we do,

our spiritual growth comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over.

Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones that we have been waiting for.”

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

Strange. Very strange, indeed. I’m not even going to comment on this one, at all…. Just play it as it lies; don’t work too hard at deciphering the meaning, and, all will be well…..

“It is more than a crime; it is a political fault,” — Joseph Fouche (1763-1820) — Memoirs of Fouche

“Get off the cross, Bob. Somebody else needs the wood!” — Smart Bee

“A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes.” — James Feibleman, “Understanding Philosophy”, 1973

“Rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice but to carry on.” — Steven Stills

“If you learn something by watching the mistakes of others, it just seems fair to make some effort to return the favor.” — Smart Bee

“Accomplishment is its own reward. Pride obscures it.” — Major Briggs, from Twin Peaks

“Every institution I’ve ever been associated with has tried to screw me.” — Stephen Wolfram

“I have found some of the best reasons I ever had for remaining at the bottom simply by looking at the men at the top.” — Frank Moore Colby

“Healthy mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are a genuine portion of reality; and they may after all be the best key to life’s significance..” — William James

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

One of my blogging friends sometimes laughs at me, calling me the champ of parenthetical remarks. Whenever she does, I think of this line:

“Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.” — Frank L. Visco, How to Write Good

I tell her, though, I’m not listening to someone who mangles English grammar & vocabulary so powerfully, (especially in ONE line), no matter how true the remark…. Also, I’m stubborn, (pretty damn serious about it, too….), so, no doubt, I’ll ignore it, and just plan on keeping her in stitches every time she stops by to read… So there…. Take THAT, milady!….

Now that I’ve completed the childish portion of the program, I’d best take my leave, before anything sillier comes over me. Y’all know how much Murphy enjoys spoiling my day. Before I become truly paranoid, let us be off, even further than we started the day…. Let us carpe that old diem!….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Contrary to all the research, it squeaks….

Posted on February 12, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Doing it the hard way is always easier.”

~~ Murphy’s Paradox ~~

“Oh, you said Tokyo! My bad…”

If the picture I took, above, is any indication, in the field of aerotechnology, the human race has made some startling advances since I last checked. The airplane, or jet, or whatever it was, to make a trail like that, had to be moving at least 2-300 mph. I was not aware we possessed the technology to make 90º turn at that speed. Oh, perhaps we have drones that will do it, but, the forces involved would make it hard for a flesh and blood entity to remain conscious, or alive, at the end of the turn. Kinda makes me wonder what we aren’t being told…. again.

Ah well, the intro isn’t the place for such conjecture, I suppose. I just keep stumbling across little pieces of evidence like this, which indicate there are a LOT of things those in charge are keeping from the public. A small item like this, when added to the visit from officialdom I received a couple of days ago, tells me a lot. Sometimes, to hear the music, one must pay close attention to the silences between the notes…. This is not something the mundanes of the world will ever realize, or, even consider, so, it becomes the DUTY of those of us who CAN make out the melody to make sure the orchestra is playing the tune on the program, and not one of their own choosing….

With that said, I will go on to bigger and, well, different things, with the full realization that very few people will ever see this, or even know they are clueless. SIGH…. It makes me want to cry, in sorrow, for all the folks out there who are being ushered down a path to their own destruction, never even knowing they are drawing closer to the edge of a bottomless pit with each step…. Hell, most of them aren’t even aware they are up and moving! They sit and watch their 60 inch TV, thinking what they see is Reality, when all it is would best be described as the mental equivalent of cotton candy, which they continue to stuff into their obese mouths, only to feel what they’ve eaten disappear into thin air, much like their dreams of a life worth living….

It’s a sad, sad world these days, ffolkes, and there are only a few people who are even aware that we are all in trouble, because, nobody in charge WANTS to know (there’s no profit in letting the public know….), and nobody who is going to die thinks it is real…. Some days, such as today, I’m convinced our species is not worthy of surviving…. not if we allow a few idiots to send the rest of us to hell right along with them, as they pursue their insane dreams of power and madness…

I think I’m depressing myself. I’m going to stop now, and go write something else, hopefully not as much of a downer. It will be hard, though, as almost everything I perceive these days, out there in the Big Blue Room, is enough to depress a clown on Prozac….

Shall we Pearl?

“A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world’s torrent.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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

It might be a futile attempt, but, if this doesn’t improve your mood, or mine, well, it’s too damn late for us…. Enjoy, ffolkes. This is what life COULD be like, if not for all the assholes in the world….

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

Cute Dogs And Adorable Babies: Compilation

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

http://youtu.be/ilMzs1UHEmw

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

It is entirely possible I will rant no more…. Ffolkes, it’s all gone. Whatever it was that held this world together is broken; we have gone completely and irrevocably insane, as a species, a culture, and, mostly, as individual human beings, a term that, from what I can tell, really has no meaning in a very real sense. Not for long, anyway. I am now convinced, even if a way IS found, to save our sorry asses from killing ourselves, and everything else here, or, at minimum, turning the world into a real life version of Dante’s Inferno’s vision of Hell, nobody would even turn off the TV to listen….

I tried to read the news today, oh, boy…. Ten thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire, it said…. along with a slew of other headlines, each displaying as much sense as these classic lines from the Beatle’s epic song, A Day in the Life. I sometimes use a news reader program that collects news articles from hundreds of sources, so I can pick and choose what to read by perusing the headlines in each category. I’ve been avoiding it, using just the articles and news I pick up in the little time I can spend each day on the blogs of my friends, and the email notifications I subscribe to from my most favored sources.

Well, there are also the emails I subscribe to from the people I feel need watching, like the White House, etc. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” is an aphorism all warriors are taught in the cradle. (Well, this warrior was, anyway. If not, they probably would have been better off if they had…) Not that the folks in the White House are necessarily my enemy, but, I certainly don’t trust them to look after MY interests very well. They’ve already proved, on too many occasions, no such intention exists in their world view; not if the emails I’ve received from them in the past seven years are any indication. As a matter of long-standing policy, I accept a lot of what I consider spam, just so I can see what they’re saying to all those who support them blindly…. Good intel, in my book…

As for ranting, daily doses don’t seem to get me much of anywhere that can actually help, other than to a place where I am not so pissed off all the time, simply as a result of the catharsis of writing. Plus, I have had some recent clues come to my attention which have made me reconsider my openness to a small degree. I expect you’ll note a few minor changes in what you see here, beyond the usual lack of regular structure to be expected in a place where we play with reality as if it were playdough, or even better, magic slime. Yeah, that’s the ticket, reality as magic slime…. Hey, anything would be better than the reality in which we all are currently trapped, right? Right….

Oops. I guess that could be considered ranting; I’d best be careful, as I’m not yet used to my new paradigm. Hell, I haven’t even named it yet; can’t change your paradigm unless you have a name for the new one. It just doesn’t work, they are like a vector in mathematics; the direction is required for it to have any real meaning…. Same with a paradigm; you gotta know its true name, or the magic won’t work….

So much for logic, eh? But, logic won’t hold up under the inundation of insanity, greed for power, and general loss of all sense of proportion, or dignity I saw in just a little part of today’s mainstream news…. You see, I only got half-way through ONE news site before I was overcome by a sense of utter futility. Every other article I stopped to read stimulated either amazed disbelief, or tears, from feeling both sorrow, and laughter, when confounded by reports of the antics of the latest form of cosmic vermin, we naked apes, as we caper about the planet, pretending we have a clue….

There are only two things left to say on this subject; consider them well. They MAY be the last of their kind….

“America!! I saw it all!! Vomiting! Waving!

JERRY FALWELLING into your void tube of UHF oblivion!!

SAFEWAY of the mind –”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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

“Inside, I’m already SOBBING!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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

I have a new poem, but, it isn’t quite ready for me to cut a vein open, and let it leak out. We’ll have to go with another of mine from the archives, to keep from spreading the blame for this…. Here is one I wrote back in 2013, that seems to go right along with the ranting section for today…. Enjoy, please, and remember, ffolkes… Metaphor is my thing….

A Dubiously Soft Morning

Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,
fill up the white, white screen on which I view
my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup
ambrosial remnants of anything new.

Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away
bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,
signs of one happy child, seriously at play,
blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.

Formidable cries of outraged simple justice
echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.
Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice
salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.

Creativity equals unquestioning farce,
often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.
Instead, a blow is felt that no joy will soften,
accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I’ve never gone for titling Pearls, or pearls, either. But, for this one, if I were asked to give it a title, it would have to be, “The Rise and Fall of Homo Erectus”

We shall never cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

~~ T. S. Eliot ~~

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” — Isaac Asimov

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

“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” — Demosthenes

“Expedients are for the hour; principles for the ages.” — Henry Ward Beecher

“If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had been there, and if he found that flower in his hand when he awoke – Aye, and what then?” — Coleridge, “Anima Poetae”

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,–
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground;
Another race the following spring supplies:
They fall successive, and successive rise.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ The Iliad of Homer, Book vi, Line 181 ~~

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

If I didn’t know, for sure and for certain, I’d say this was getting easier. But, since I do know, I’ll use the gift horse technique, and merely say I am glad it’s done, & be done with it. Not for nothing have I achieved such an advanced age, one none of us ever really considers, until it smacks us dead in the face…. On that uplifting thought, I think it would be best if I leave now. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided the powers of evil have not yet discovered my hiding place…. Be alert. The world needs all the lerts we can find….

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Are those Foster Grants to block out the bright light of illumination, or are they rose-colored?…

Posted on February 11, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Audemus jura nostra defendere…”

[Let us dare defend our rights.]

~~ Latin for everyday occasions, stolen by gigoid ~~

3D Art by Odeith

Click on image to enlarge, a little

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

Life certainly presents us with some rather interesting scenarios, doesn’t it? Without going into details that could conceivably tip things in the wrong direction (read: bad for ME…), let me just say, if it weren’t for human nature, none of us would be in this fix. With that said, I will also go on to say this: If the way I feel about the world right now is any indication, this old ball of mud is about to burst into flames, and go down hard. Just sayin….

But, we each have to deal with our own inner demons, regardless of how many of them are now outside of us, in our face, being rude. Often, they take the form of humans, working their demonic evil on those of us who refuse to participate in the madness, making Life much more difficult than it needs to be. Ah well, it’s all going to come out in the wash, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot any of us can do about it. The insane assholes who have created the scenario have lost control, and the shit is going to fly, soon.

Thus, it behooves those of us with the wit to see the shitstorm coming to do what we can to mitigate the worst of the misery to come, by making our time left here a little more fun…. Well, that’s the way I see it; it makes no sense to me to allow the assholes to determine HOW I die, even though it seems I can’t stop them from killing us all. We may as well have some fun while we’re on the road to hell….

So, let’s see what I can come up with today to bring a smile or two to all those morbid faces out there, eh? I may even try to write a new poem; who knows? There is a lot of crap, stuff, and maladaptive nonsense all running around my head, so, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a few that will bring a chuckle to a friend. If not, at least it won’t be the usual somber bill of faire…. I hope…. I can do more than try, as it is said…. Really, somebody said it; I heard them, at least once, back in ’63…. Ah, well, screw it…. Let’s go find some smiles….

Shall we Pearl?

“Nothing personal, baby…” — Uncle Frank.

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

Here you go, ffolkes. If this guy doesn’t bring a smile to your face now and again, it’s too late for you…. Enjoy!….

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

Weird Al Yankovic Playlist

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

http://youtu.be/w-0TEJMJOhk?list=PL6torJshqXqP6Hwo-nRHt81YWpD7-cHIi

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

INFIDEL, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in Constantinople, one who does. (See GIAOUR.) A kind of scoundrel imperfectly reverent of, and niggardly contributory to, divines, ecclesiastics, popes, parsons, canons, monks, mollahs, voodoos, presbyters, hierophants, prelates, obeah-men, abbes, nuns, missionaries, exhorters, deacons, friars, hadjis, high-priests, muezzins, brahmins, medicine-men, confessors, eminences, elders, primates, prebendaries, pilgrims, prophets, imaums, beneficiaries, clerks, vicars-choral, archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, preachers, padres, abbotesses, caloyers, palmers, curates, patriarchs, bonezs, santons, beadsmen, canonesses, residentiaries, diocesans, deans, subdeans, rural deans, abdals, charm-sellers, archdeacons, hierarchs, class-leaders, incumbents, capitulars, sheiks, talapoins, postulants, scribes, gooroos, precentors, beadles, fakeers, sextons, reverences, revivalists, cenobites, perpetual curates, chaplains, mudjoes, readers, novices, vicars, pastors, rabbis, ulemas, lamas, sacristans, vergers, dervises, lectors, church wardens, cardinals, prioresses, suffragans, acolytes, rectors, cures, sophis, mutifs and pumpums. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

This space left unused for anything.

This space used for gold.

This space folded over into a ring.

This space remained untold.

No, I have not a single clue where the hell that came from, nor will you ever catch me asking, myself, or anyone else. In fact, I am going to state here and now, I didn’t say that, and you can’t prove I did.

I actually did leave this space blank, but, that was because I sort of intended to write a fresh rant this morning; I’ve got plenty of angst built up, trust me, what with crossing blades with large soulless corporate entities, butting heads with power-hungry local yokels, and dealing with my own personal inner demons as a result, well… trust me., I have more than enough about which to rant. But I’m tired of it all, and want something a bit more light hearted…. Let’s see what happens if I do this…..

Soft, intimate notes of romantic violins fills the air, while cooling breezes lift curtains to swirl and wave against the cerulean sky, peeking brightly through the tall windows. Mellow voices murmur quietly, spilling through the balcony doors, standing open to allow the elegantly dressed crowd pass in and out, enjoying the night air. As a young couple strolled hand in hand through the open passageway, a sudden scream rang out, stilling the crowd, piercing through the music as a hot knife through butter. Silence fell over the room, until a loud voice rings out, “Don’t worry, folks. She saw one of the clowns….”

Hmm… No, I don’t think that’s going to do it…. How about we go for an old-school pearl? I think, maybe, it’s the only chance we have left…. Since this is the ranting section, let’s see if SB can find us some nice, funny pokes to take at some of our favorite targets, shall we? (That is SUCH a rhetorical question! Obviously, it’s now our ONLY chance…)…. Come on, we’d best get to it…. Oooh, here’s a good one to start….

We can’t really be wrong if we’re just following Gods orders
You know,
He wrote this book here
And in this book
He says that He made us to be just like Him
So if we’re dumb, then God’s dumb
(and perhaps a little ugly on the side)

~~ Frank Zappa ~~

Not too shabby for a beginner…. let’s see if we can finish this off with some style, or, maybe even some humor….

“I have no problem with God. It’s his fan clubs I hate.” — Smart Bee

“Yow! And then we could sit on the hoods of cars at stop lights!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Now playing: “Man of La Muncha”” — Hannibal Lecter Dinner Theater

“It is only the superficial qualities that last. Man’s deeper nature is soon found out.” — Oscar Wilde

(Oops. Sorry, Oscar slipped that one by me…. It’s not too far out there, so, it stays…)

“Rush Limbaugh: The Pillsbury Doughboy on acid.” — Smart Bee

“Ooops.” — Captain of Titanic

“If God is so great, how come everything he makes dies?” — George Carlin

Well. That was…. something. Not exactly your average mind numbing, brain-blowing experience, was it? Oh well. I guess we should go do something else now…. Oh. I see the problem now. How could I have forgotten THIS?

“When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people.” — Mark Twain

Duh….

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

Good news, ffolkes…. Milady Maggie Mae, over at her site, maggiemaeijustsaythis, has posted a new poem… Yay! It’s always a treat for me when that happens… I don’t know ’bout y’all, but, this one makes me shiver, on several levels of perception (believe me, that’s a good thing….). Enjoy; if not. well…. Loosen up, then, try again….. Look at it this way; it isn’t one of mine, again….

Personally, every time have I re-read this poem (so far, thrice….) I sit for longer, just shaking my head in amazement at the new depths I’ve plumbed with each repetition…. Remember, ffolkes, metaphor, and math, and pain, and pain, and metaphor, are everywhere, sometimes; other times, not so much.

Bella Donna

Death cherries flow in secret
places. I know them. I know how they reek
of the burgundy final curtain

for me. The sun takes from the dawn.
Every day, I sit twisted in worn lace;
the Devil’s rash bursting me
into deadly night shade. I go

willingly at times,
tangled up in Bella Donna’s
sweet hand shake,

but, God, when she inhabits me
with her thick, twilight witchcraft
I forget

that I am forged by what
has already been written.

~~ Maggie Mae ~~

https://maggiemaeijustsaythis.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/bella-donna/

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

Hmm… Smart Bee threw this group out for me to pick from, whereupon I noted no picking or choosing was necessary. I merely added one last correct pearl to the group, to bring it to the intended point, where we speak of Life, lived Large, with just a touch of symmetrical intentions….

“If you wish to succeed, consult three old people.”

~~Smart Bee ~~

“For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality. And the solution has been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue. But for the contemporary mindset the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of man.” — C.S. Lewis “The Abolition of Man”

“To defend one’s self against fear is simply to insure that one will, one day, be conquered by it; fears must be faced.” — James Baldwin

“As I look at your image, I see only the light which was not absorbed.” — Mark Middleton

“Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature”

“Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.” — Buddha

“Your reasoning is excellent – it’s only your basic assumptions that are wrong.” — Smart Bee

Art is long, and time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still like muffled drums are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

~~ Henry W. Longfellow (1807-1882)~~ A Psalm of Life ~~

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

As I sat down to start today, if anyone had offered me even odds I would NOT get done with this, I wouldn’t have taken the bet. The fact I AM done is, to be sure, a complete surprise to me. Since I have nothing else left in my head worth sharing, I guess I’ll go away now. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. If you can take it, so can I…..

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Funk-o-matic accessories are on aisle seven….

Posted on February 10, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Belief is not the beginning but the end of all knowledge.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

Picture Stolen from Linda Vernon

https://lindavernon.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/confessions-of-a-new-age-failure/#comment-24530

Yesterday, I was treated to a perfectly graphic demonstration of how today’s world works, in this modern world of digital communications, through the influence of our old friends, the National Security Agency. Oh, no worries; they aren’t quite convinced yet of the degree of danger I represent, so, they didn’t personally tip their hand. But, the casual disregard for privacy, in communication across then internet especially which the political pundits in this country display all too often was brought to my door in quite graphic fashion…. Allow me to elucidate….

As I was dealing with some stress and a great deal of arthritic pain, with a side dish of Tardive Dyskinesia, (all hail the mighty Kaiser, thank you very much!), by pacing the house and ranting to myself, I heard a knock at the back door…. Not in the best of moods, I went to see who knew where I live, whereupon I found two Vallejo police officers, who wished to know if I was Ned Moore…. Well! Since I hadn’t robbed any banks lately, or otherwise done anything illegal, not even a misdemeanor, I wasn’t real thrilled, to say the least….

I made two mistakes in the initial exchange, but, fortunately, didn’t do something that got me shot at…. I made the mistake of merely responding to their query with, “I’ll be right back”, then turning away to go get my phone, which I’d left in the other room. I also got a pen and paper, in case I needed to make notes. When I got back to the door, they were out of sight. I said, as I approached the door, “What can I do for you gentlemen?” When one of them said, “Mr. Moore, can you please let us see your hands? You made us a little nervous when you walked away. We can’t see you through the screen door, so….” Realizing my mistake, I quickly assured them I had no weapons, and we then proceeded to discuss why they came….

My other mistake was not asking to see their ID; I suppose I had already convinced myself of their official status, by my subconscious perceptions; I’d noted their uniforms, the cop shoes, and the cop eyes…. which, I had to admit, did contain more intelligence than is my usual perception. It turned out, once we’d gotten over the introductions, they were a captain, and a lieutenant in the Vallejo force, who came to ascertain my intentions regarding the City Council…. Here is where the demonstration of the extreme paranoia, and adversarial attitude adopted by those in public office comes into play….

The two officers (officers, indeed, not enlisted ranks…), told me they had read my emails to the city council, and were concerned about my statement of intention to come to the meeting, as I didn’t say exactly what my intentions were by coming…. I suppose what I wrote to the Mayor, and copied to the Council members, was too forceful in the opinions expressed, so one of the recipients forwarded the email to the police, for them to investigate whether I was so upset I was going to come to the meeting & go postal on the council!….

Talk about paranoia! From what I’ve seen in the video tape of the last council meeting, which I downloaded to watch, so I could find out the details of the issue I wrote to them about, it had to be the Mayor, who seems to be the only professional politician on the council, though there IS another lawyer sitting on the council, as well….

Thankfully, the two officers who came to see me, (both were actual gentlemen, to go along with their officer’s bars), only knew their boss had showed it to them. Being more intelligent and honorable than the usual run of police I’ve encountered, they approached it as a fact finding visit, not establishing an immediate adversarial attitude toward me, allowing real communication to occur, without turning it into an incident all of us would have regretted….

Ah well… All’s well that ends well, and now I have another question for the Council, to ask them who sent my email to the police, and why they did so, when I made no threats, nor used any vulgarity…. Having strong opinions is still allowed according to the Constitution; the Homeland Security Act made no mention of it, though it does eliminate just about all the ten basic rights as listed in the Amendments to that document. Fortunately, for me, and for the officers, the two gentlemen who came to see me still believed in the original version, so, we were able to have a meeting of the minds, rather than a conflict….

Happy days! But, of course, today is another day, and I haven’t heard of any great societal changes overnight, so, I don’t think I’ll hold my breath until things get better…. Instead, I’ll end this incredibly long intro section, and get on with today’s post….

Shall we Pearl?

“He declared that he knew nothing, except the fact of his ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xvi

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

“Everything has two handles,–one by which it may be borne; another by which it cannot.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Enchiridion, xliii

Okay, ffolkes. In the words of the Firesign Theater, “Gird your grids for a big one.” The following video is, quite simply, brilliant. It is also chock full of real information, well verified, that will do one of three things… 1) It will piss you off no end. 2) It will scare you worse than the thought of Rush Limbaugh throwing kisses at you, wearing a tiger stripe peignoir, or 3) It will piss you off no end. Did I say that already? Oh…. Watch it anyway, it’s not long…. Then, take out the trash, which should be overflowing with all of your previously held misconceptions of reality….

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

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Marketing to Doctors (HBO)

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

http://youtu.be/YQZ2UeOTO3I

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“Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me… Can’t sleep clowns will eat me…” — Bart Simpson

“Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” — Arthur Somers Roche

Together, these two taglines, one considered a joke, the other a sober observation of reality, give a strong impression of how living in today’s world feels for a great many people. The first demonstrates, in graphic clarity, exactly HOW the second line works, creating unreasonable fear in the human mind. This tendency, for worry to eat away at people’s inner serenity and feeling of security, is well-known to those who have usurped the course of human progress to serve their own ends, to meet the demands of their own ego’s wants and desires, to the exclusion of anyone else’s well-being. This unfortunate facet of human nature provides such sociopathic personalities with the perfect tool to assert mind control over anyone who believes them….

One of the clearest statements of how this principle works in reality was offered at the Nuremberg Trials at the close of WWII, when the German Reich Marshal, Hermann Goering, replied, with unusual candor, as well as apparent disdain, to a question put to him during his trial for war crimes against humanity…. He said, quite calmly, what you see in the picture of him below this line, to wit:

This particular human trait is well known not only to the ruling classes; many modern social critics and philosophers have noted how people can be manipulated by those in power, often pointing out these insane acts of aggression against their own species with humorous observations regarding those who engage in such evil…. Perhaps the most fearless, as well as most brilliantly perceptive of these social critics, the modern day equivalent to Jesters, a once-highly-respected class of Artists, George Carlin, once noted, for example:

In fact, George had quite a few things to say regarding these folks, not always with the restraint shown above… Here are more of his thoughts on modern society, culture, and the people who have so perverted this world….

To my mind, George Carlin was the quintessential patriot, a firm believer in personal responsibility, in himself, and in others, and, most especially in those who are supposed to be the MOST honest and responsible, by virtue of the public trust placed in them. He resisted all of society’s demands to fit into the narrow little jacket these would-be slavers wish us all to wear, always saying what he thought with no fear…. Such as this one:

George noted, and lamented with all of us who bother to think, the pitifully insane, shameful existence of the same evil people I do, those I’ve named Asininnies, a word I coined, to promote the proper mindset with which to view those who would make the world their plaything, at the expense of the entire rest of humanity, without a single dram of concern for the welfare of anyone but themselves. Sometimes, I consider changing the nickname I use, to reflect a bit more closely the true nature of these vermin wearing human skin; “Assholes” would be a very good choice, I think, for they are always passing shit around, which mostly stinks to high heaven…. It’s good to keep things simple….

Fuck ’em. They can’t have MY mind, or my freedom. They MIGHT be able to kill me, but, they’ll never make me submit to their demands to turn myself into a slave, or to believe a single word they have to say…. They have already proven themselves unworthy of respect, or consideration for anything beyond the fact of their pitiful existence, which I shall hope is a short one…. even if I must ensure that to be the case personally….

Enough said….

gigoid has spoken.

So be it….

“Well, here I am in AMERICA.. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE it. I HATE it. I LIKE.. EMOTIONS are SWEEPING over me!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Oh, going back to Hermann’s little share….

“In the USA, more people die from lightning than terrorism.” — Brenda, the Civil Disobedience Penguin

I hate to harp on this kind of thing, contrary to how it must seem, but, this is, if not absolutely true, much more nearly so than the situation in any other country in the world, especially in those in which the USA has business, or political (one and the same entity, in reality) interests. One good definition of terrorism is the explosion of large bombs unexpectedly on innocent non-combatants. I don’t think it would matter at all to anyone, even if it is for the alleged purpose of “saving American lives overseas, fighting terrorism at its roots, by sharing the benefits of freedom” with the people of that country.

Do you seriously think the people of ANY country, not involved in any of the nonsense being perpetrated by the insane leaders of EITHER country, are NOT terrorized when they see, out of nowhere, dropped from planes so far above they are nearly invisible, thousands of explosions as the natural results of dropping $750 million worth of explosive devices in ONE day? I don’t know about y’all, but, I think I’d be pretty terrorized, myself, freedom or no freedom.

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

Oops! Almost forgot a poem. I’m not sure why, but, this one seems appropriate for today… It seems long, but, it really isn’t….

Elemental, dear Watson….

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

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

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

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

Fuck.

It
hurts.

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

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

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

I say,

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

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

because

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

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Okay, this is one of the world’s quickest pearls…. I’m up late, thanks to a completely useless routine, which has been shredded to remove any consistency over the last ten weeks of fighting with my body, a direct result of the drastic, radical med reduction forced on me by a large, soulless HMO which shall, for this moment, remain unnamed, lest the sound of its sobriquet stimulate more rage…. These pearls were all chosen because they were the first, best ones I saw…. that’s it…. I hope this works….

“You can’t fight City Hall, but you can punch out the mayor …” — Smart Bee

“Remember, Big Brother is watching you – and Big Brother is paranoid.” — Smart Bee

“A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.” — Bertrand de Jouvenel

“Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.” — Vice President Dan Quayle, 5/20/92 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)

“Anyone can be great with money. With money, greatness is not a talent but an obligation. The trick is to be great without money.” — Italo Bombolini

“I keep hearing that Jesus Christ is coming, but nobody knows his tour dates.” — Michael Lucas

You may see me tonight with an illegal smile.
It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while.
Won’t you please tell the man
I didn’t hurt anyone.
No, I’m just trying to have me some fun.

~~ John Prine ~~

Hmm… not bad at all for the literary equivalent to instant coffee…. I’ll take it….

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

All things considered, this came out fairly well, I think. Well enough, I’m going to use some restraint, by not dumping any more tricks on y’all. I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided the Mayor doesn’t have me arrested for public shaming of elected officials, which is probably in the city ordinances by now…. he’s been in office a while…. (That’s a joke, for you dudes at the NSA….) Have fun out there, and remember to, always, Question Authority….. It’s a good idea, as mostly, Authority has no clue…. I was lucky enough to have met two who do…. have a clue, that is. Ta, then….

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Dodge those taxes with dignity and aplomb….

Posted on February 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Nature abhors a vacuum, but not as much as cats do.”

~~ Lee Entrekin ~~

Turn it off. Now.

Photo stolen from Wolfie, at:

https://europasicewolf.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/mewling-the-blues-to-the-ancient-mythological-cat-goddesses/

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

Anyone who has lived with a cat knows the opening quote to be an exact statement of truth. I have never met, or observed any cat, in my entire life, who did not absolutely resent the mere presence of a vacuum, even if not operating, with every fiber of their being. If even one of them ever acquired a set of tools to suit their paws, I suspect, one morning, we would all find our loud, offensive-to-the-nature-of-CAT cleaning appliances in a small neat pile of metal pieces, covered over lightly with dirt, somewhere outside the house…. That one cat would destroy all he found in his neighborhood, then pass the tools and skills on to the first cat he met, until every vacuum in the world was useless…. If they could use computers, it would happen all that much faster…. probably in a matter of hours after booting up….

Yet, still, in the quiet moments between heartbeats, the soft, lyrical sound of simple peace may steal through the rear window of each person’s mind, to fill the air with the almost-painfully somber melody of broken dreams. Nighttime brings panic and fear, not slumber; terror rules the hours until light. Light brings its own baggage, weighting down each one it touches, bearing them down, down, to the pitted earth, never again to rise with any degree of hope….

Boy, that turned a little dark corner there, didn’t it. I have no idea how what I started as a lyrical fantasy, grounded in peace and beauty, to the nightmare of the fight with inner demons…. I suppose I need to watch the road signs more closely; the turn I took was NOT into the street I thought I was headed for, by a long shot….. Of course, by logical concatenation, since the street signs are put up by the government, they could conceivably be a lie….

Okay, sorry…. I know it’s too early for such a drastically rude shot to the head of a pundit, but, I’ve never been one to pass up a good opportunity like that one. I promise, no more ranting in this section, for today, at least. Naturally, this leaves us once more in the clutches of the dreaded “What the fuck do we do now?” beast, with its slavering jaws of death, smellier than the filthiest asshole in creation. Whew! Powerful stuff! I think I’m going to make an executive decision; this intro has gone completely off the wire, and out of the dimension. There’s no hope now of ever getting back on any reasonable track down the page without some sort of drastic intervention…. Hang on, ffolkes, I’m pulling the switch on #4…..

Shall we Pearl?

“It’s a bit hard to bullshit the ocean.

It’s not listening, you know what I mean?”

~~ David Crosby ~~

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

One can never watch too many cartoons, I say. We all need regular doses of fantasy to balance out the extreme levels of bullshit that permeates almost every level of our lives in this sad old world…. Besides, it’s always good to spend time with old friends….

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

Heckle and Jeckle

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

http://youtu.be/0Yvdxk9jxOQ

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

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

Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land?

All fear, none aid you, and few understand.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 261~~

Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, as a blog, continues to evolve, along with me, as I become more competent at formatting the text and pictures, learning to take advantage of how they can work together to strengthen whatever points I’m trying to get through to people. Today, rather than a rant, I’m going to use the principle of “a picture is worth a thousand words”, to deliver my usual indictment of the Asininnies, those who have perverted human culture for their own aggrandizement. You’ve seen all of these before on this site; I seem to have collected enough of them to form a pictorial old-school pearl, filled with my entire pantheon of issues about which to rant….. I don’t think I’ll need to say anything more; from this point on, it’s pretty self-explanatory…

Enjoy, ffolkes; it will be a nice break from the 2-3000 words I could have used to speak to all these pictures, each of which highlights part of the problems we face today, threatened with extinction as a species by the ignorant, cruel, selfishly self-centered actions of a precious few extreme assholes, disguised as human beings….. I might add, all of these pictures are taken from REALITY; there’s no speculation involved in any of these issues…. Remember that, next time you hear one of the Asininnies speak about “conspiracy theories”, or, try to deny culpability for all of their chicanery…. It isn’t a fantasy if it comes straight from reality, to slap you in your very real face….. or, shoot you in your very real heart…..

Flulaval-vaccine-insert-no-controlled-trials-640

There you go, ffolkes. The first ever fully-pictorial pearl. Not too shabby, and, it certainly saved y’all a shit load of reading, didn’t it? I kind of like it, but, it’s going to take a while now to collect enough pointed bamboo sticks to create another punji pit, placing some nice atropine on the points of the sticks, to provide that extra touch of agony to their deaths… Then, we’ll need to find a good spot to put it, where it can catch any stray Asininnies passing by, concealed well enough to ensure they take their final fall, about 12 feet down, to meet their chosen fate.

I find it to be only justice to consider such a cruel method of eliminating these human vermin, justice provided by most efficient bamboo stakes, tipped with a poison to paralyze the diaphragm, adding a touch of terror to their agony, hopefully for a good long while, until the numerous holes in their body bleed sufficiently to allow them to die the death they so richly deserve…. This has the added advantage of reducing the number of targets left to destroy in future revolutionary outbreaks, which I consider a pretty sure thing, given today’s state of world affairs…. It’s always a good policy to get a running start on unpleasant tasks, such as vermin control….

Gee! Do ya think I’m a little pissed off? Well…. you may be right…

gigoid, not speaking much, but, enough….

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

After such a compelling graphic rant, only one poem of mine will do….

Geezer to Congress, with Love

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

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

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

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I suppose the only proper way to describe what follows would be to call it a tongue-in-cheek pearl. Each one, which SB gave up in its inimitable style, isn’t actually as shallow as it may seem at first, once one gets past the flippancy, or in some cases, the simplicity…. No matter, they’re fun, and there are plenty of them, so, enjoy…. or not. I like to give everyone a choice, as you know….

“Sinners can repent, but stupid is forever.” — Smart Bee

“Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)

“What is becoming is honest, and whatever is honest must always be becoming.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

“Anything may be divided into as many parts as you please.” Commentary: In this case, ‘everything’ may be viewed as a subset of ‘anything.'” — Law of Arbitrary Distinction

“A closed mouth gathers no feet.” — Finster’s Law

“Ah say, son, you’re about as sharp as a bowlin’ ball.” — Foghorn Leghorn

“Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing can ever be made.” — Immanuel Kant

“Immanuel doesn’t pun, he Kant.” — Smart Bee

Doh! Sorry, ffolkes, I couldn’t help myself. SB threw them out there, & I fell right into the trap…. Okay, here is the correct final pearl for this particular group…

“Never refuse to do a kindness unless the act would work great injury to yourself, and never refuse to take a drink- under any circumstances.” — Mark Twain

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

Thankfully, most of this got done yesterday; getting it all done this morning would have been impossible, given the state of affairs in my body. Though my refusal to submit to any further med reduction has finally reached a point where I am able to get some sleep, I still awake in more pain than I’ve had to deal with for over seven years. Any thanks I may feel for this gift can be delivered directly to the door of a large soulless corporation, care of two doctors/slaves who are carrying out their draconian policy of punishing anyone who may not wish to submit to wearing a collar.

However, rather than continue to rant here in the closing section, I’ll make a 90 degree turn, and merely say, “See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, when we’ll fire off another round of shots, at those insane fools who would kill us all in their cowardly, insane quest for power….”

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

But…. but…. what about the little bunnies?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“History… a distillation of rumor.”

~~ Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) ~~

Snow in Ireland, January 2015

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

I won’t do it! You can’t make me! I don’t wanna write any more! No…..! Well, okay, maybe this once.

Morning, ffolkes. I just thought I’d give y’all a quick picture of the kind of stuff I go through each morning to get started. Depending on how much sleep I haven’t gotten (I’ve begun to keep track that way, rather than trying to keep track of all those fractions, of hours of broken sleep I’ve managed to steal….), this is a fine example of the usual degree of reluctance and angst I suffer before getting started….

. For the record, and to take another dig at Kaiser P, the corporate ghosts, and the doctors who are enslaved by them, I’ll note that I am STILL feeling the effects of withdrawal; about an hour before the next dose of medicine is due, the jumpy nerves and twitchy muscles begin to hum, and I find myself keeping time with my legs to a fast, salsa-like rhythm…. If I have music on, it can take a while to notice, as I think I’m just keeping time with Jesse Colin, or Bob Marley’s songs…. It’s not quite as severe, because I’m cheating on them, and using the meds at the higher rate I used to take, in order to try to get a bit of sleep, and space from the withdrawal symptoms….

Fuck ’em. I’m done submitting to this society’s constant attempts to fix me with a slave collar. I’ve fought against having one for 60 some years now, at every turn. I’m becoming more and more angry at those who will not see how they are serving the forces of evil, having been brainwashed for their entire lives to believe anything told to them by a talking head. I intend to spend the rest of my life shouting at them, picking at them, hurting them as often as I can, however I can. I will hold them up for public ridicule, or, if necessary, find a way to remove them from this plane of existence, But, I will no longer sit quietly, going my own way, & keeping my head down.

I’ll be just as aggressive to them as they try to be to me; I didn’t spend my life learning martial arts so I could let bullies have their way; from now on, I intend to take the battle back to their doors, to hold them up into the light of exposure, for their lies, for their bully attitudes, and for their constant lies. On Tuesday, I’ll be taking on a local city council, led by a bully of a mayor, a man of color determined to get back at the man by becoming a caricature of a politician, resembling nothing more than a rich, old, white cracker, spreading lies and acting like a bully toward the public. It doesn’t surprise me at all to find he is a lawyer by trade….

Okay…. That worked well…. Nothing like a good mini-rant to get the juices flowing, is there? The only problem with it is finding a good place to stop, as it’s so easy to just go on, and on, and on, when one begins railing against the lies…. there are just so MANY of them!…. Ah well, enough for one day. I’m going to grab this box, marked with a big #4, & get us out of here, so we can get on with the rest of this mess…. You’ll probably recognize the number, which works like this….

Shall we Pearl?

“Bushido does not mean what it sounds like.” — Smart Bee

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

Currently, though it’s Sunday, & the world is turned off, so to speak, my mind won’t seem to settle, wanting to pick at the two issues confronting me. So, we’ll go with some silly, to break the pattern in our customary fashion. Here are some cartoons, which, naturally, should be watched with a cookie or three and a nice glass of milk…. Enjoy!….

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

Goofy Cartoons

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

http://youtu.be/KhPEdQ-XOII

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

“Tell someone the sun is millions of miles away and they’ll believe you. Tell them the fence has just been painted and they’ll feel it to check it out.” — Smart Bee

Why do you think this is true? (Even if it isn’t, (which it isn’t, er, is… it’s true, by my reckoning…), it must be a behavior so frequently observed as to be considered worthy of note, as if it is a truism, a piece of common wisdom….No matter the source.) Any who, for the purpose of our discussion, we’ll assume it to be true (sigh… okay. Look. If you DON’T agree, can you wait to discuss it until we get further down? I’ll leave room…). If we can assume it to be so, I think I can guess the reason it is such a commonly held belief….

That’s because you’re human, and, they’re human. Consciously, or not, both are aware of this. Most people, if told the first, since they have no way of knowing for sure if you are right or wrong, will opt to trust, as the truth of it has no direct effect on them. The paint, however, is a part of their immediate environment, so, with another human present, the state of the paint becomes of more direct interest. There is an old saying in the Arab world, that says, “Trust in Allah, but row for the rocks.”…. if you get my drift. The Western world would more likely be familiar with a statement such as “Always cut the cards.” In the case of wet paint, any human over the age of two will check to see if paint is wet, when told, as a knee-jerk reaction….

How does this relate to the ranting section? Oh gosh, if you’ve been here before, you’d already know…. We’ve already used the word true, which is rooted in Truth, so, obviously we’re going to talk about those humans who seek elected office, at what I now know from PERSONAL experience, to be ALL levels, from international, to national, to state, to county, to local. Hell, I’ll bet the perversion of human spirit that pervades our culture seems to be not merely ubiquitous, but, cancerous in its aggressive intention of consuming all members of our society, regardless of their wishes in the matter.

I’m speaking, of course, of the complete loss of integrity in public office, where every person seems to be convinced their own personal beliefs should be used to determine the course of events in their immediate sphere of influence. From President, all the way down to mayor, and often, Grand Poobah level of government, ignorance, bigotry, and the use of power for personal gain is not merely rampant, but, glorified…..

In my personal observation of public life, as I have seen, heard, or read about, the events and information about the march of history since 1950, when I was born, (available for anyone of my age to still view, via a number of different media), the world has become more and more a mirror image of the nightmarish society depicted in George Orwell’s novel, 1984, than I ever believed was possible…. If you really want to be scared silly, read, or, re–read the book, then compare what you have just read to modern society. The congruency is close to 100%; it seems Mr. Orwell was more accurate than even he knew in his vision of the future, a time at which WE have, seemingly, arrived….

In truth, it would be easy to list all the ways our supposed leaders display their total disregard for anyone’s agenda but their own, which is centered on their own avarice for power and control…. too easy. It would also take a VERY long time, which, as is apparent, I’ve already taken to get to this point, where we could get down to brass tacks, so to speak… (Why brass? Do they hurt more when you step on one?…. I wonder about these things….)

Any who, I’ll be nice today, sparing you the extra work and depressive mood swings. Instead, we’ll fill the rest of the time allotted for this with some very fine pearls of virtual wisdom, which highlight the very qualities of which I have been speaking…. Please remember, ffolkes….. VIRTUAL wisdom, not real. Don’t try to use them as if they were. They’re good for a snack, but not for a main dish, speaking, of course, metaphorically…. Enjoy!…

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

Democracy, n.: A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic… negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.” — U. S. Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), since withdrawn.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” — Thomas Paine

“The land of the free! This is the land of the free! Why, if I say anything that displeases them, the free mob will lynch me, and that’s my freedom. Free? Why I have never been in any country where the individual has such an abject fear of his fellow countrymen. Because, as I say, they are free to lynch him the moment he shows he is not one of them.” — D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)

” To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child. For what is man’s lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Orator

“Asking a Republican Senate and Democratic House to make a law is like trying to fry a single egg in two pans.” — New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981

“Now we have a Republican House AND Senate, with a Democrat in the White House. The problem here is obvious; no Republican in either body ever held so menial a job as cook. This means we’re likely to end up with is two eggs, burnt to a crisp, resembling nothing so much as a rubber replica of themselves, but, chewier, and not as tasty. A lame duck of either party makes poor fare for any table….” — gigoid, the dubious Saturday, 2015

“Well, here it is, 1983, so it won’t be long before you start reading a lot of boring stories about people like Vance Hartke. Hartke is a governor or mayor or something from one of the flatter states, and the reason you’ll be reading about him is that he’s one of the 50 top contenders for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. These men will spend the next 18 months going around the country engaging in the most degrading activities imaginable, such as wearing idiot hats and appearing on Meet the Press. Meet the Press is one of those Sunday morning public interest shows that the public is not the least bit interested in. It features a panel of reporters who ask questions of a guest politician, who wins an Amana home freezer if he can get through the entire show without answering a single question …” — Dave Barry, On Presidential Politics

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

Knowing my mood to be in a rather fragile state, I won’t even bother trying to find a poem from someone else; it’s best to not involve anyone else today…. It could affect their reputation negatively; wouldn’t want that…. Here’s one from 2013….

Pure Truth: Elsewhen

Everything I say and do, I’m sure,
only comes from what I know.
If what I’ve said or done is good, and pure,
I can say it’s not just for show.

Sometimes people don’t quite get me.
It can be a pain, for sure.
I try not allow it to keep me from being free,
especially when my thoughts may be impure.

In fact, I try quite hard most of the time,
to keep from hurting folks.
If any culture more often approached sublime,
I wouldn’t have to take so many pokes.

Now I’ll make another sacrifice, for y’all,
not for karmic advantage, not merely so….
But, to save me from yet another downfall,
I’ll stop here; ensign, make it so….

~~ gigoid ~~

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

I’m not sure what’s up with Smart Bee; the process of finding pearls has been smooth as silk lately, compared to what has been the case for quite some time. Since I’m not one to look in ANY mouths, we’ll accept this metaphoric gift as if it were of an equine persuasion, and just hop on for a ride…. I’d suggest you climb on behind, or you could get run down…. No worries, mates, it’s all in good, virtual fun, real as these pearls may be….

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.” — Roy Goodman

“That humanity at large will ever be able to dispense with Artificial Paradises seems very unlikely. Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, at the best so monotonous, poor and limited that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and has always been one of the principal appetites of the soul.” — Aldous Huxley’s “The Doors of Perception”

“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv

“I say that a man must be certain of his morality for the simple reason that he has to suffer for it.” — G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, 8/4/06

“As long as anyone believes that his ideal and purpose is outside him, that it is above the clouds, in the past or in the future, he will go outside himself and seek fulfillment where it cannot be found. He will look for solutions and answers at every point except where they can be found–in himself.” — Erich Frohm

“Aren’t you glad that everything is going so smoothly?” –Smart Bee

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” — Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Little Prince

“Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.” — Lois Bujold

“The most important thing in a man is not what he knows, but what he is.” — Narciso Yepes

Yep…. That about says it…. all of it, I might add….

Well, trust Smart Bee to fall under Murphy’s spell, ffolkes. As soon as I finished this pearl, SB came up with the following, which, obviously, belongs here as a nearly perfect closing thought, to tie the group together with unbreakable twine…. Allow me to show y’all what I mean:

“The world is what it is, no less and no more,

and therein lies its entire and sufficient meaning.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

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

I’ve already expressed the problematic nature of the issues we’re facing today, though not in any great detail…. Suffice it to know, we’re done, and I’m outta here, taking my chance to escape while it’s fresh and hot. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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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