Tag Archives: Republicans

Paint all of it in flesh tones….

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Ffolkes,

“Never commit yourself to a cheese without having first examined it.” — T. S. Eliot

potd-owl_2925216k    Okay, so, you can see the expression on the baby’s face, right?…. It’s a bit hard to identify just what is going through the baby’s head, other than the obvious bit of confusion, and the apparent disbelief… To me, the face says, “What is this, and why is it looking at me like that?”, or something equally quizzical, but, much funnier…. The baby owl doesn’t look any more confident of what is happening, although it’s hard to tell with those faces owls have, just MADE for poker…. The picture, by the way, came from the London Daily Telegraph picture section, from a group of animal pix they ran a week or two ago, with the theme something to do with unlikely friendships…..

The expressions, though, are what drew me to the picture; neither of them is quite sure of how to deal with the other, and it shows…. You can also tell there is no issue of fear, only curiosity, and it’s nice to see that, especially in very young creatures…. It means they feel safe in their environment, and are not threatened by each other’s presence…. Creatures that suffer abuse lose their curiosity very quickly, I’m afraid, so it is easy to spot….

We aren’t going to spoil this by speaking of abuse; that’s a subject for another time; this picture is far too CUTE to be used to create such a volatile diatribe, which I’m sure it would turn out to be…. Nothing infuriates me more than those who abuse the weak, who take advantage of those who cannot fight back…. but, in light of the rather more uplifting nature of this shot, we’ll forgo any such ranting for now, in favor of just enjoying the nice feeling that accompanies such a picture….. It’s just too cool for words, in my estimation…. Of course, I’ve managed to use it as the basis for several hundred words, but, that’s me, and it’s what I do, so, back off….

Not too far…. hey! Watch out, you’ll back right off the wing, and fall out of the plane…. My insurance dude would be furious with me, so, please, remain in your seats until all the cocktails have been served, okay? Thanks….

As you may be able to tell, this is starting to unravel on me….. That’s what happens when we take off in one direction, only to find it’s a one-way, dead-end street…. S’okay, though, that’s why we have four-wheel drive; we just take off cross country when that happens, and usually are able to find our way back to our appointed reality…. It’s those rare occasions we DON’T make it back to the correct reality that tend to drive up the insurance costs…. But, what can we do when reality alters itself like that? Sheesh, it’s not as if we’re all Time Lords, is it?….

No, of course not, but, the assbites who sell insurance don’t care about all that…. Don’t get me started on THAT whole scam industry…. Insurance is one of the more egregious institutions foisted upon the average man by the monied elite, a completely unnecessary, unwanted, and unethical industry that takes advantage of people’s fear, to have them betting on their own death or misfortune, so that the insurers can make a huge profit…. If y’all think there is any OTHER reason for that industry to exist, please, tell me…. I’d LOVE to hear THAT set of euphemisms and logical dead-ends…. Sure I would…. I LOVE hearing bullshit until my ears bleed….

Okay, now it’s getting completely away from me, heading fast toward rant-city, so I’d better take advantage of the ending point I see…. right HERE!…. C’mon, ffolkes, we’re jumping off here, so we can get on with the rest of today’s Pearl…. Whatever this is right here, is heading for the trash heap, so, we’d best be on our way….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“The man who sees the consistency in things is a wit, the man who sees the inconsistency in things is a humorist.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

If I hear a single one of you ask, “So, what does that make you?”…. I swear, I’ll make you regret it….

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“A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.” — Buddha

I am full of piss & vinegar this morning; it’s probably a good thing nobody else is around except Murphy…. Even HE is giving me a wide berth today, as the signals I’m giving off are no doubt being picked up intergalactically, thus keeping all and sundry at a safe distance from my person…. That’s safe for them, not for me…. The only danger I’m in is from my own intransigence, and if I have to explain that, well, you should just go on to the poetry section, because you’ll never catch up otherwise….

Below I’ve placed three article links, with a small excerpt from each article added just below the link, to give an idea of the thrust of the issues involved…. I’m using the R.A. Heinlein technique of gathering headlines to show just how CRAZY everything has become in our world…. For some reason, headlines seem to give the best overall picture, as they give us the highlights of the picture, thus showing the breadth and scope of the issues under discussion without having to burden people’s minds with such unnecessary items as fact, figures, or details…. A purely American invention, as is patently clear…. Any who, here are a couple of recent articles from today’s (actually, yesterday’s…) news, after which you’ll find a fine, seven-star pearl, based on the parameters implied by the articles…..

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Michael-Copps-former-FCC-commissioner-on-net-5626535.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bustech

“This deal should be dead on arrival. We have no business doing this after Comcast 1,” Copps said. “To take this footprint that Comcast has developed over so much of the rest of the United States and impose it on so many other subscribers and so many other areas … is totally inimical to the public interest. I don’t see any conditions that would be ameliorative of that, that would make it acceptable to the public interest.”

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/The-state-of-Silicon-Valley-how-lame-is-that-5626692.php

“The drought is real. A federal meteorologist named Brad Rippey recently predicted, in an interview with Wall Street 24/7, that California would run out of water in two years. The El Niño forecast for the fall is now described as weak, with minimal effect on rainfall. Droughts don’t just last for a nice tidy two years – heck, Nevada was once an ocean…… Rippey said that the average reservoir recharge rate between 2011 and 2013 was 70 to 79 percent, while the withdrawal rate is between 126 and 140 percent of average.”

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/18/nurse-guantanamo-boycott-force-feed-prisoners

“One Navy nurse at Guantánamo had refused to force-feed detainees anymore and declared the practice unethical: I have come to the decision that I refuse to participate in this criminal act, Dhiab told me the nurse said……  The nurse, Dhiab tells me, is the first staffer at Guantánamo to choose medical ethics over military logic. Like all staff assigned to force-feed detainees, this Navy nurse was initially a volunteer. But when he arrived on base this spring, he told Dhiab, he encountered something different from what he expected: The story we were told was completely the opposite of what I saw.”

There, now, don’t you feel better, just for knowing all that? I thought you would….. Here’re your pearls….. enjoy, ffolkes….

“Lamachus chided a captain for a fault; and when he had said he would do so no more, “Sir,” said he, “in war there is no room for a second miscarriage.” Said one to Iphicrates, “What are ye afraid of?” “Of all speeches,” said he, “none is so dishonourable for a general as ‘I should not have thought of it.'”  — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Iphicrates

“He is the best of men who dislikes power.’ — Mohammed

“Times are bad.  Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

“Liberty cannot be guaranteed by law. Nor by any thing else except the resolution of free citizens to defend their liberties.” — Edward Abbey

“The world holds two classes of men – intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence.” — Abu’l-Ala-Al-Ma’arri (973-1057)

“Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.” — Eric Hoffer

“Liberty cannot be guaranteed by law. Nor by any thing else except the resolution of free citizens to defend their liberties.” — Edward Abbey

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Not much can be said about Charles that hasn’t been said, so, I’ll let his poetry speak for itself…. I find him to be even more honest than most poets, who are about as honest a group as can be identified…. That is what makes them poets….

Pull a String, A Puppet Moves

each man must realize
that it can all disappear very
quickly:
the cat, the woman, the job,
the front tire,
the bed, the walls, the
room; all our necessities
including love,
rest on foundations of sand –
and any given cause,
no matter how unrelated:
the death of a boy in Hong Kong
or a blizzard in Omaha …
can serve as your undoing.
all your chinaware crashing to the
kitchen floor, your girl will enter
and you’ll be standing, drunk,
in the center of it and she’ll ask:
my god, what’s the matter?
and you’ll answer: I don’t know,
I don’t know …

~ Charles Bukowski ~


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Here’s the deal…. Above, I came close to ranting, with a twist, then created a fresh pearl, which covers most of what we do in a day…. Rather than spend a long time searching out a fresh old-school pearl, on a day when Smart Bee has already proven to be somewhat balky, I’m dipping into the archives for a religirant, one of which I have not created in some time…. Can’t let them feel as if I’m not paying any attention to them, can we? Nope…. That would be cruel….

From 7/1/2012:

Fundamentalism:  an effective form of mirth control. — Smart Bee

Smart Bee is almost always right on the money, and this one is one you could take to the bank. Have you ever noticed this? It seems that in order to be ordained as a fundamentalist minister, one must lose or destroy their sense of humor. This lack of funny bone is one of the primary characteristics by which one may recognize this fortunately rare beastie; it is often accompanied by a very strong sense of hypocrisy, and a sense of entitlement all out of proportion with Reality….. and they get all upset and frothing at the mouth when someone (like me…) points out their hypocrisy, especially if the proof is obvious.

“I see little divinity about them or you.  You talk to me of Christianity when you are in the act of hanging your enemies.  Was there ever such blasphemous nonsense!” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), The Devil’s Disciple

This hypocritical nature is shared with the fundies by politicians, bankers, and lawyers. Of course, the fundies dress differently than the latter three categories, who all dress the same, in power suits with white shirt and power ties. You can differentiate one from another by the type of accessories they wear. Politicians usually have an American flag pin on their lapel. Bankers, of course, have a diamond stick pin for their ties. And the lawyers will usually add a vest to the suit, or wear the scales of injustice on their lapel…… Although each claims they are different from the other, all of them are adept at lying with great facility…..

“The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” — H.L. Mencken

This insight is quite powerful, and very true to Reality. This characteristic of the American voting public has always fascinated me, in the same way that a poisonous snake is fascinating to study…. they’re beautiful, but very dangerous to one’s health. I suppose the public’s calm, even resigned, acceptance of the lies they hear from the beloved ruling class and the priestly hierarchies is a natural outgrowth of the hypocrisy inherent in each of them individually. In other words, because they’ve chosen to believe in a certain set of lies, ie Christianity, they are only too willing to accept being lied to by their ruling class. It’s kind of pathetic, if you ask me….

“Instead of striving to be like Jesus most Christians would rather presume that Jesus was just like them.” — Callan Williams

I guess the most ironic part of all this is the absolute cluelessness of those who choose this path. They really have no idea how insane their beliefs have become; they refuse to look at any evidence that doesn’t agree with what they have chosen to believe, other than those (often erroneous or irrelevant) passages from the Bible that they will toss out with such finality. It cracks me up when someone quotes the Bible; they act as if just referring to that book denies the truth of any other source, like once they have referenced scripture, no other answer is acceptable…. when in fact, what they’ve quoted often has no relation to reality at all.  And the colors they turn when this is proven to them are fascinating…..

“I don’t mind being screwed, but the government thinks I’m a nymph.” — Smart Bee

Okay, I’ll stop harassing the poor churchies now. I know it’s dishonorable to have a battle of wits with people who are unarmed, but some days I just can’t help it. I look at all the damage that churches have perpetrated on society, and my blood boils, my brain ignites, and my fingers start typing accusatory dross and ironic drivel, without conscious volition. Besides, they certainly have it coming, and they’ve had lots of practice, at deflecting accusations, and at outright lying about their motivation. So, fuck ’em, as we like to say downtown…. they’ve been doing it to me, and us, for a long time; now it’s my turn….

Man, n.:  An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be.  His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth and Canada. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

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I suppose it would be fruitful, not to mention the whole “acting with foresight” thing, if I went back over this, to see if it floats…. “Okay, be right back,” he said with misplaced confidence…

“Well,”, he said with alacrity, “I’d say it will not only float, it will swim…”…. Where it might swim TO is a question I don’t believe any of us have  ANY interest in pursuing…. It would serve no purpose for any of us at this juncture to speculate, and might even cause a spontaneous fire…. I think it would be best to just to let it go, and see what transpires….

So be it…..  gigoid has spoken…. such as THAT may be.

See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Even if, like yesterday, only ONE person drops by…. It’s a good thing I’m writing to protect the world, or it might just get me depressed…. Since I write to stay sane, which is the protection I spoke of, it’s no big deal…. Ta, then, luvs…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Olive, or peanut oil for the fries?….

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Ffolkes,

“And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
 — The Beatles, The last lyric of their last song
July 15 2014 017

    I’ve begun to put both a pearl, and a picture, at the beginning of the Daily Pearls, which, you may have noted, if you’ve stopped by in the last week or so…. After almost three years of, (literally, AND figuratively) pounding my head against the keyboard, in order to stimulate the wherewithal to create an introduction, I’m resorting to new ideas, and new techniques, to get the “little grey cells” working, or at minimum, provide a starting point for discussion….

Today, my choice of quote and picture, while at first appearing to be be quite normal, even a bit elegant, will actually, over time, create a rather disturbing inner dynamic, which could conceivably turn into unwarranted disaster….

All that, you might wonder, from one little picture of a nearly-dead flower, and a lyric? An old lyric, at that? Well, yes…. it is often a surprise to discover just how dangerous the world really is, so, it isn’t so much surprising, as it is inconvenient, and, to be honest, somewhat of a PITA…. Who needs this kind of crap from a blog, eh? Not me, for sure, and it’s MY damn blog! What the hell is going on here?

Nothing, ffolkes, relax…. that was hyperbole…. Faux panic is always a good way to move on to another subject; one can always claim personal preference, and be assigned to a new counselor…. Of course, you’ll never find another counselor like us, but, hey, if you’re too scared to go on, well, we won’t cast stones… We may jeer and taunt you for a while, but, stones are not allowed under the terms of our insurance….

So, please, just chill, and keep you eye a little closer on the altitude meter….. when you see us approaching a ceiling, see the instruction sheet in the seat back ahead of you, to learn how to don your life vest….

If you should happen to be at a seat without instructions, just observe how the person next to you deals with their own vest, and you should be fine…. We’ve never lost a Gentle Reader, so, that’s something, right? Of course, there was that one time, back in the day, when we couldn’t find that guy from Arkansas for a couple of hours, but, he turned out to be fine….. just passed out in the toilet from accessing the in-flight service bar once or twice too often…. He had a terrific hangover, but, no grounds for any litigation, so it all worked out well….

And look, so has this intro section! I’ve managed to wander, ramble, and blather enough to have found a proper jumping off point, which is all we need to get going on this deal…. So, I’m taking advantage of the suitable environmental structure we’ve come across, and diving right in…. Let’s go, ffolkes, you don’t want to get left behind….

Shall we Pearl?…..

I ‘m armed with more than complete steel,–
The justice of my quarrel.

 — Christopher Marlowe (1565-1593) — Lust’s Dominion, Act iii, Sc. 4   


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“Ignorance of one’s ignorance is the greatest ignorance.” — Smart Bee

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/07/15/not-all-conservative-white-guys/

Fucking brilliant….. No other lesser phrasing would be powerful enough to express how strongly I believe in what Mark has written here…. He is absolutely, 100% on target with his observations, and delivers a message that even the most hardened idiot has to hear…. of course, until they just get that glazed look on their face, and deny, deny, deny…. which they will do, immediately, by the millions, should they get even two paragraphs into this article…. Mark has a way with words like no one else, and he uses them here to once again skewer the GOP, and the group that I call the Asininnies….. He’s done it so well, I’m tempted to say he did it perfectly…..

“Counts his sure gains, and hurries back for more.” — James Montgomery (1771-1854) — The West Indies, Part iii

Sniff…. It brings a tear of joy to my curmudgeonly soul to hear, and feel, the brilliantly sharp sardonicism Mark brings to bear, on the asininity, and the sheer stupidity that permeates the entire rich, white, Judeo-Christian fundamentalist, corporate mentality…. You know, the one that fills the halls of our government in Washington, all 50 state capitals, and every bloody church in this somewhat less than diversified land of ours….. The ranks of those who refuse to use their brains for anything beyond transporting their bowels from one toilet to another are bursting with politicians, lawyers, priests, preachers, quasi-military police nimrods, and corporate raptors, viciously dispassionate in their unending search for more power, and more resources to control…. all without any regard, or concern of any kind, for anyone whose lifestyle and/or beliefs do not match their own limited views….

It took me a while to compose the above paragraph; I tried to be as condemning as possible, without resorting to vulgarity…. I think it worked okay, in that it’s clear how I feel about those assholes…. but, due primarily to my own tendency toward pomposity, it could be better, and leads me to believe you just can’t replace a good round of swearing and cursing for delivering a message like this one…. I could have said most of that, and delivered the same message, with a simple, “the bloody fucking assholes are doing it again”, with minor amplification for corroboration of details….

Shit flows downhill, you know, so, it’s best to fling it before we get any on ourselves…. Besides, with the way most of those in the 1% treat most everyone else, they deserve every bit of our disdain and vituperation, as well as our vulgarity…. THEY are the ones who live their lives in a vulgar manner…. What word, other than “vulgar”, better befits the likes of Rush Limbaugh, or Dick Cheney, or Karl Rove, three of the bastions of conservative thought?…. None I can think of, and my vocabulary is pretty extensive…. Just putting their images in my mind gives me a shudder of revulsion, worse than any I’ve ever gotten from snakes, lizards, or insects, let me tell you….

Once again, Mark has said it better than I am currently capable of doing, so, I’m going to soothe my fevered brow with an old school pearl, to vent some of the angst and anger that builds up in me whenever I consider the egregious immorality of those at the top of the societal pyramid of power…. those fucking assholes…. Here is a seven star old-school pearl, with parameters designed to find some sharp, pointed sticks, which we shall then envision to be flying directly at the lying eyes of the pundits….

“Government of the people, by the lawyers, for the conservatives.” — Smart Bee

“You’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.” — Malcolm X

“We are doing the right thing and we do not see the bad things.” — Vice President Dan Quayle pretending he is one of the wise monkeys

“If you can’t get a job, get a senate appointment!!!” — Smart Bee

“Basically a dog person.   I certainly, though, wouldn’t want to offend my constituents who are cat people, and I should say that being, I hope, a sensitive person, that I have nothing against cats, and had cats when I was a boy, and if we didn’t have the two dogs might very well be interested in having a cat now.” — Incoming Missouri Congressman James Talent, — responding to the question Are you a dog or a cat person? (Mr. Talent is a graduate, summa cum idiotum, of the Dan Quayle School of Political Science-Like Stuff)

“One can imagine a sane, healthy, cheerful human society based on no more than the principles of common sense, as validated each day by work, play, and living experience. But this remains the most Utopian and fantastic of ideals.” — Edward Abbey

“If God had intended for politicians to ski, he would have made bullshit white.” — Smart Bee

This is an example of what I call a “rock-solid” pearl…. When you see quotes from Smart Bee at either end, and smack in the middle, you can trust that this pearl is one that will hold its shape under the most trying of circumstances, as well as being so sharp, it can puncture the eye of a pundit without leaving a permanent mark….. It’s that solid, sharp, and real…. Much like a fine stiletto in the hands of Mack….. You know, Mack, the Knife? Bobby Darin? No…. Oh well, a sharp stiletto, in the hands of one who knows how to use it, is a VERY dangerous weapon…. silent, deadly, and leaves almost no trace of its work….. trust me on this…. Hmm, maybe we’d best go on…..

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I need some Emily….

No Rack can torture me—
My Soul—at Liberty—
Behind this mortal Bone
There knits a bolder One—

You cannot prick with saw—
Nor pierce with Scimitar—
Two Bodies—therefore be—
Bind One—The Other fly—

The Eagle of his Nest
No easier divest—
And gain the Sky
Than mayest Thou—

Except Thyself may be
Thine Enemy—
Captivity is Consciousness—
So’s Liberty.
     
~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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Far be it from me to question reality, but, isn’t this the third section? Aren’t I supposed to be done now? I want to be done now…. Oh well, duty calls, so, I’ll put down my goblet of morning whine, & save it for later…. Instead, we’ll just get started on another old-school pearl, which will go right here, so I can say I did something today, other than just fool around….

I have, of course, fooled around enough so far today to beat the band, but, it works for me….. We’ll just ignore all that, and get on with this random, harlequin style pearl, fresh as a daisy, which, when you think of it, isn’t too fresh, because, hey, it just got picked, and is losing life and strength every second, and perhaps we’d better just get on with it, because, if I don’t take a breath, or end this sentence, I’m going to pass out….. Here, have some pearls….

“Time carves all.  Let yourself be carved to attain your true nature.” — Master Po

“Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things.” — Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645)

“Nothing gives so much direction to a person’s life as a sound set of principles.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Know then this truth (enough for man to know),– “Virtue alone is happiness below.”  — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 309

“In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress”toward victory.
— Alfred North Whitehead

“The effects which follow too constant and intense a concentration upon evil are always disastrous. Those who crusade, not _for_ God in themselves, but _against_ the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better, but leave it either as it was, or sometimes even perceptibly worse than it was, before the crusade began.  By thinking primarily of evil we tend, however excellent our intentions, to create occasions for evil to manifest itself.” — Aldous Huxley — The Devils of Loudun

“What comes from this quarter, set it down as so much gain.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Adelphoe, Act v, Sc. 3, 30, (816.)

In the eternally relevant words of Edith Ann (Lily Tomlin), “And that’s the TRUTH! Thppppppt!”

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Okay, so, here we are again, at the end of another fine mess, created fresh this morning by yours truly, gigoid, the dubious, who has, in every respect, lived up to his sobriquet today…. If that confuses you, or makes you feel angry, and afraid, or even just silly, well, it can’t be helped…. I’ve never made any bones about this being a safe occupation; we do what we can to satisfy the insurance drones, but, if there is no risk, where is the motivation to stay alert, eh? The world needs as many lerts as it can get…..

So be it….. gigoid has spoken. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Songs of hearth and home….

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Ffolkes,

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on,–
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone.

 — John Keats (1795-1821) — Ode on a Grecian Urn

owl selfie

    The advent of cell phones with good cameras, along with the release of the above, a Go Pro digital camera, has revolutionized photography, in terms of who can take photos that may become famously known, on the Net, or via the news and magazine route…. The above photograph, taken from some news site, (where it was found along with many others, most of them taken by amateurs, rather than mostly professional photographers, as was the case for most of our history….), is a perfect example of another area that has changed along with the technology, i.e., language…. The new word, “selfie” has entered the language, where everyone now knows exactly what it means, and what is meant to say the above photo is one of an owl, taking a selfie….

To honor that new word, and to acknowledge its speed of acceptance as common, I have just entered it into my Spell Checker, (all three of them) because it didn’t recognize the word…. Now, it’s an officially recognized word, complete with dictionary entry, and an example (above) of how the word, and the process, have already become so ubiquitous, it can be used to anthropomorphize the owl, having it assume the human characteristic of self-aggrandizement, or overweening pride….

Alright, that’s probably enough for one morning…. I’m  not accustomed to beginning an examination of language evolution so early in the day….. Hell, I’m not accustomed to much of anything, other than getting up & trying to find something worthwhile in my recalcitrant brain to put on screen…. I like the picture, though, and it meets, and/or exceeds the general standards for both cute, and compelling, so I don’t think I’ll be whining or regretting my decision to go with it today…. Besides, three paragraphs in is a little late to have second thoughts….

Now those thoughts have surfaced, however, I can’t help but wonder….. No, no, no….. I won’t do it….. I won’t go there any more; I promised myself I wouldn’t, and it never does any good, anyway…. I suppose, since I’m not going there, perhaps I should turn my ability to wonder to the task of figuring out what the hell we’re going to do today for pearls….

My brain is in the beginning stages of panic, as I have a dental appointment tomorrow…. As I may have mentioned, dentists and I are still somewhat at odds, in terms of my willingness to submit to the necessity for their assistance with my dentistry needs…. In short, I fucking hate to go to the dentist, and suffer the agonies of pre-appointment jitters for a day or two before each time I go…. I’ve even had to talk myself out of canceling & rescheduling twice, once yesterday, & once already this morning….

But, that’s tomorrow, and today still needs a Pearl…. as will tomorrow. Giving in to the panic now won’t help, so, I’ll find a way to get through this, somehow…. I am going to have to look for some kind of ending for this, first, but, that shouldn’t take too lon….. Oh, look, here we are now…. I figured we must be getting close…. Okay, then, off we go….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It ain’t so much the things we don’t know that get us in trouble.   It’s the things we know that ain’t so.” — Artemus Ward aka Charles Farrar Brown

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“Conquer your fear and you need fear no more.” — Smart Bee

Having personally tested this aphorism more than seven hundred times, in real-time, real-life episodes of physical violence, I can attest to it’s truth, and it’s applicability to almost every human endeavor…. Once we learn how to handle being afraid, it is useful to us in virtually every aspect of life, improving out basic ability to deal with whatever life has for us, with a clearer mind, and a relatively untroubled heart….

Then, of course, we turn to matter of mind, and culture, and the fear returns, seven-fold….. No matter how personally capable we are of dealing with the fear we all feel when threatened, physically, it doesn’t help when we come to deal with matters of that affect us as members of a society that is bent on self-destruction, and places such dreadful stress on its denizens each day, to deal with all the insanity and absurdly immoral events played out on the world stage, time after time….. For example, here are two articles from yesterday’s UK Guardian (a foreign news site that tends to give us much more pertinent and relevant information on American culture than our own news organizations do…. though these particular articles are concern the British public scenario….), that should give an idea of just how bad things are…. Read these, then I’ll spew….

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/14/drip-government-data-retention-investigatory-powers-bill-horrors

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/14/gchq-tools-manipulate-online-information-leak

The UK government, with David the Cameron at its head, is in lockstep with Barry the Obama when it comes to slick, impressive-sounding speech patterns, that SOUND as if they are working hard to help the average joe…. when in fact, they are busily screwing them, spying unreservedly on those self-same joes, invading their privacy, essentially eradicating all of the personal rights given to both our populations by the efforts of our ancestors….. Both the UK and US spy agencies (CIA, GCHQ, NSA, etc….) are sharing information and computer hacking techniques just like twins share facial features, and lying their asses off about how far it has already gone….

Now the UK is trying to pass legislation that will make their spying more legal, in their eyes…. which is actually just playing catch up, with the proposed repression, er, legislation merely detailing, and making legal, all the clandestine, illegal collection of information that has been taking place since 2001…. The fact of its illegality is being completely ignored, and you can bet, even if we should manage to get them (politicians) back under control, not a single politician, or spy agency official, will ever be prosecuted, or go to jail for their crimes against society…. Any wagers on that?…. I didn’t think there would be…. It’s a sucker’s bet….

I keep pounding away at this, and the US & UK citizenry continues to bury its collective clueless head in the sand, much to the delight of the BRC and the Asininnies, who are pleased to note, I’m sure, that the populace of this country, and England, are as easily fooled, and as easily led into compliance, as any herd of cows could be…. I’m getting more than just a little frustrated at the sheer STUPIDITY of the American public, and wish, strongly, that there was some way to actually get through to the stupid fools, who actually believe their elected officials have their interests in mind…. Bloody idiots, every one of them….

Bah, humbug! I’m pissed again, because it’s all so fucking stupid, and nothing is going to change…. All I can do is sit here, and watch, as our species continues its headlong rush toward extinction, merrily skipping down the path to perdition without a clue….. Oh well, I suppose my best bet is to put together a short five-star pearl, to soothe my fevered brow…. Here are some thoughts on the subject, from our old friend Smart Bee….

“When you outlaw rights, only outlaws will have rights.” — Smart Bee

“Draft politicians, not human beings.” — antidraft slogan coined by Jeff Daiell, 1979

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

“All people are born alike — except Republicans and Democrats.” — Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvii

This pearl, ffolkes, is deeper, and more accurate than it may appear on first look…. Look at it just right, though, and it pokes a nice hole in the invisibility cloak the BRC thinks they are wearing, when they tell their lies to us….

Onward….

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Here is a poem of mine that speaks to the above subject….. I wrote this in September of 2012, when the imminent presidential election was on my mind a lot, along with the above material, and it’s implications, should Mitt the Twit have reached office…. It DOES give the only real answer to their chicanery…. A reminder that our only REAL defense is already in our grasp….

Accentuated Lessons

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

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

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

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

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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So, here we are, in section three already…. Today’s Pearl has come together much more smoothly than anticipated, so, after a short break, I’ll put together a worthy old-school pearl, probably a standard seven-star version, with random parameters to keep it fresh and, well, reasonably under our watchful eyes, if not our complete control…. Enjoy, ffolkes!….

“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.” — John Lennon

“It is easy for men to talk one thing and think another.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 322

“All men that are ruined, are ruined on the side of their natural propensities.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797) — Reflections on the Revolution in France, — Letter i, On a Regicide Peace, Vol. v, p. 286

“[Freedom is] the power to live as you will.  Who then lives as he wills?” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

“It is in the shelter of each other that people live.” — Irish proverb

“Always do what you are afraid to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) — First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

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I am, as usual, uncertain just how this Pearl came to be; I was there the whole time, observing closely, and still haven’t a clue as to how I got it done, especially in such a timely fashion…. I do, however, know enough not to question it, or worry overmuch about it, as it IS done, and that is the primary characteristic we look for…. Anything else that can be said of it is moot, once that is determined…. As such, I am now legally, and ethically required to say my goodbyes, or just dump you on your proverbial butt as I leave the scene, all dignity destroyed, but, content to be finished for the day…. Gotta go play out in the Big Blue Room for a while today, so, see y’all tomorrow…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Doling out a measure of peace….

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Ffolkes,

Always be curmudgeonly. Don’t ever forgive. Go home infrequently. Just keep loose. Mostly, never opine. Pick quirky relatives. Stay tough underneath. Vote. Watch xenophobia, you zealot.

There…. my version of alphabetical alliteration….  Pretty cool, eh? I don’t think I missed any letters, or got any out of sequence…. If I did, I’m sure you’ll….  What? Hell, I don’t have a clue what it MEANS. I just wrote it. Come to think of it, I probably shouldn’t be so quick to claim authorship; who knows? Somebody else might have already done this, and I’m plagiarizing, for all I know….. Somehow, though, it’s a bit hard to believe that anyone else would take credit for something as lame as this…. not if they intended for anyone to have any respect for them as a writer….

Me, I gave up on that a long time ago…. I’ll settle for what I got yesterday, which was a comment stating one reader always enjoys my work as a change of pace from the news…. Yes, he’s a bit strange, too, but, it still feels good to know I’m achieving at least part of what I wish with my efforts…. To know someone is enjoying it, that it gives someone pleasure, is enough for me….

Of course, that may not continue, should I keep making up crap such as the first few lines today…. I DID think it was fairly cool in one respect, at least…. It was fun…. The challenge I set myself, to write something at least marginally humorous, using words that begin with each successive letter in the English alphabet, was accomplished with ease, so much so I was a trifle suspicious it would be good enough…. Sure enough, it’s not what I’d call classical in nature or style, but, there is a point or two in there where it approaches funny…. I particularly enjoyed the WXYZ sentence….

Wow! Now THERE is an eye-opener…. It isn’t apparent from where you are sitting, but, I have been gone for the past four and a half minutes, unable to breathe or talk, or type…. Being a bozoid personality does have its risks, which can, and did, strike anytime…. As I took a sip of coffee just a few moments ago, I got a tickle in my throat just as I started to swallow…. This caused a major disruption in my metabolism, with the most immediate result being that I damn near choked on the coffee, as it made every effort to go into my lungs, rather than down the hatch to the stomach….

Preventing that threw my whole throat and chest into massive turmoil, coughing, choking, and generally looking like the world’s biggest bozo for a while, as I attempted to regain my composure…. SIGH…. One of the things that they forgot, or deliberately omitted, from the manual is this aging stuff… A lot of the small little hassles that our bodies present to us as we age are things we’ve never heard about…. I can’t believe I’m the first old fart to have these difficulties with the aging process, yet we never hear about them when we are younger…. but, I know why…

It’s revenge, for being young…. None of the old-timers say anything about any of this stuff, except to each other…. We all complain about our aches and pains, when we are with our peers…. But, we never got warned, so we aren’t going to give those young whippersnappers any kind of help WE didn’t get…. It wouldn’t be fair to tell them, and let them write it down so it eventually ends up in the manual…. Fair to whom, you ask? Well, to all of us who are already suffering from the indignities of advancing age, and all those oldsters who have gone before, pioneering the way for us…. THEY had no warning, and neither did we…. why should we be any kinder?….

Okay, this meandering is getting a bit out of bounds…. I’m starting to fantasize and make stuff up again, which is fine, but, won’t get this Pearl done…. Today’s intro, in my attempts at trying a new approach, seems to have grown past all boundaries of good taste, or at least, good sense…. That, of course, isn’t anything out of the ordinary for us, but, it IS making this intro a bit longer than is handy… In fact, I’m going to have to…. Oh, wait, look! There’s the ending right there…. Good, now we can get on with this….

Shall we Pearl?…..

Will change the pebbles of our puddly thought
To orient pearls.

— Du Bartas (1544-1590) — Divine Weekes and Workes, Second Week, Third Day, Part i

[dignified silence]……

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Here, for your early morning viewing pleasure, is a classical, ancient pearl, whose contributing authors all lived prior to the birth of Jesus Christ, who, though not my own particular candidate for basing a calendar on, remains the agreed upon point of reference for the modern version of time…. essentially, all of these wise ffolkes were born more than two thousand years ago, yet their words have survived, intact, to this day…. Enjoy!….

“Human life nearly resembles iron. When you use it, it wears out. When you don’t, rust consumes it.” — Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 BC) — Carmen de moribus

“The most virtuous of all men is he that contents himself with being virtuous without seeking to appear so.” — Plato (B.C. 427?-347?)

“Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit.” There is no great genius without a tincture of madness. — Seneca (8 BC) — De Tranquillitate Animi, 17

“It is a difficult thing for a man to resist the natural necessity of mortal passions.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of those whom God is slow to punish

“Neither make thy friend equal to a brother; but if thou shalt have made him so, be not the first to do him wrong.” — Hesiod (c. 700 BC) — Works and Days, Line 707

“Time cancels young pain.” — Euripides (431 BC)

“In the land of the dark, the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.” — Egyptian Book of the Dead

Okay, so the last one isn’t so much of a pearl as it is a small revelation about the past…. and where a certain band got their name…. Okay, fine, here is one last pearl to finish this off correctly…. I hope you enjoyed this little trip back in time with me, to gather a small harvest of the wisdom of the ages….

“No sooner said than done — so acts your man of worth.” — Quintus Ennius

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It’s a haiku day, I can feel it…. so, here is one fresh one, and a couple more from the archives….

Food for thought

Savory phrases
seem to surface from the depths
of hidden hungers.

~~ gigoid ~~

7/13/2014

A Moment of Haiku

Bare is the soul
   who will not see the truth,
even when the truth sees them.

~~ gigoid ~~

2/9/2012

Haiku IV

Time and circumstance;
all of us who are alive,
must pay heed, or else.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/19/2013

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“It’s awfully hard work doing nothing. However, I don’t mind hard work when there is no definite object of any kind.” — Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

This morning, Oscar’s ironic curmudgeonry from his most popular play hits me where I live, to paraphrase my blogging friend, Jerry Doby…. I had a rant subject all picked out for this section, but find myself unwilling to carry out my intent…. No idea why, just don’t feel like ranting just now…. All the emotional content necessary to produce one is present, and accounted for, but, I haven’t been able to find a proper headline to pick at thus far, and I’m not in the correct frame of mind to persevere….. Oh, well, too bad, so sad…. for me, not for you… for you, it means yet another old-school pearl, as fresh as I can make it, sans parameters to help speed the process, and widen our options…. Have a care with this one, ffolkes, it could get a little rowdy….

“If you live long enough, it WILL kill you…” — Smart Bee

“It is important to do what you don’t know how to do. It is important to see your skills as keeping you from learning what is deepest and most mysterious. If you know how to focus, unfocus.  If your tendency is to make sense out of chaos, start chaos.” — Carlos Casteneda

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

(Okay, so this doesn’t exactly fit in with a parameterless pearl…. but, it was there and it’s always a good time to remind all you bloggers out there of our duty as American writers…. Socrates set the example, with his belief in the concept of the societal gadfly; I see it as every American’s duty to challenge the authority of the establishment, and these inspirational words from Patrick Henry serve perfectly as the proper and appropriate credo for all of us who believe in this country, and the dream of freedom and peace upon which it was founded…. There, I ranted, are you happy?…. I am….)

“…the value of the constitution depends on the good will of government itself.   If the Supreme Court rules that the Bill of Rights should not interfere with the important business of government (which they have done on at least two occasions), then the constitution is meaningless.” — John Kormylo

(It’s always good to follow a credo/disclaimer with a warning…. Keep a sharp eye on this Supreme Court, ffolkes. They’re beginning to show their colors somewhat, since way too many of them were nominated by Shrubs…. Those assholes, the Shrubs, and all those misogynistic zombies (think Dick Cheney, the Lizard King), or any of the other closet anti-Americans who support them, have a very funny idea of constitutional law, one that has very little, if anything, in common with the one we already have in place…. If you don’t believe me, ask them…. they’ve stated, in the papers, how they’d like to see certain parts of the Constitution repealed, specifically, certain entries in the Bill of Rights, and the junior Shrub is on record as mentioning his belief that the framers of the Constitution “went too far” in handing out freedoms to the people…. See, I told you I had all the makings  for a rant in here…..)

“Yes, there is Nirvana; it is in leading your sheep to a green pasture, and in putting your child to sleep, and writing the last line of your poem.” — Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), Sand and Foam

“The majority is never right.” — Lazarus Long  (1912-)

“There’s a tendency today to absolve individuals from moral responsibility and treat them as victims of social circumstance.  You buy that, you pay with your soul.  It’s not men who limit women, it’s not straights who limit gays, it’s not whites who limit blacks.  What limits people is lack of character.  What limits people is that they don’t have the fucking nerve or imagination to star in their own movie, let alone direct it.” — Bernard Mickey Wrangle

Apparent disorder is a product of control.
Apparent fear is a product of courage.
Apparent vulnerability is a product of possession.

Control or disorder is a matter of Analysis.
Courage or fear is a matter of Direction.
Possession or vulnerability is a matter of Positioning.

— Sun Tzu “The Art of War,” translation by R.L. Wing

“May you grow so rich you never have to eat, drink, piss, crap, wash, or walk by yourself, God forbid.” — Smart Bee

This is why I love the process of making pearls…. It started out parameter free, picked out its own theme, then stretched itself into the rarest form of pearl, a nine-star, with comments that add up to a mini-rant…. Bonus!

Man, I love this job!….

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I especially enjoy it when I finish in a timely manner, having created a completely fresh, original product…. other than the quotes themselves, anyway…. It must be the shoes…. If not, well, that’s okay, too, because I need new ones…. Your guess as to what that may mean is as good as mine; since it has NOTHING to do with anything that has gone before, or with anything being planned, I’m not going to even acknowledge its absolute irrelevance to the present situation…. In other words, what a load of crap! Hah! Gotcha!…..

Having thus disposed of the final piece of childish behavior I had left to get out today, I’ll leave you in peace… Well, once I’m gone, you’ll THINK it’s peace, anyway, because of the relative quiet and calm…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Tossing beans with butter, in a bowl….

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4

Ffolkes,

Late, again…. Fuck it, I’m not even going to worry about it a little bit; whatever happens, happens. I’m too bloody grumpy to care, so, it’s just as well I’m giving up right out of the gate…. I have the distinct feeling that if I made any attempt to be normal, not only would it fail, but, the Universe at large would enjoy a huge guffaw at my expense…. with which, I’m sorry to say, I’m becoming all too familiar…. Murphy’s myrmidons must get promoted by merit, because each bloody one of them laughs harder than the last one, whenever they’re around at those moments I try for normalcy…. Bloody assholes, every damn one of them….

There, now that I’ve whined enough, we can start the day with a different tenor…. How about a bit of fiction? Let’s see….

Harry couldn’t figure out if he should knock at the front, or go around to the back door, where all the servants entered the house…. He knew, as he’d been watching all morning, screwing up his courage to approach the magnificent edifice, standing in all it’s Victorian elegance on the corner of Harper and Main…. Harper House, home to the rich, powerful Harper family, the original settlers of the town, way back in colonial days, had stood on that corner since its construction in 1802, by Hiram Harper, the first white man to settle in the valley. It was 1797, when he walked over Harper Mountain, & got his first view of the valley below, spreading out to the south, trees covering the slopes, with leaves gilded from the sun, shining down with strong promises made to the future….

Well…. that was…. something. Not particularly gripping, but, not too bad…. It sets a stage, and paints a picture, but, I’m not sure I’m happy with the flow, or the elegance…. Oh well, for an early morning throw-away, it’s not bad…. and it did get us this far down the page…. Today, that’s a big help, as my brain isn’t cooperating…. I guess I’m a little excited (and when I say stuff like that, I feel six years old again, but, hey, old age is known to cause its victims to display a retreat to a younger time, when we could actually walk to another part of the house without having to make a plan for the return trip….), because my daughter is coming by today, and we’re going to go to dinner with my son, her brother, and hopefully, his new friend(s)….

Since I am so excited about this evening, I am in a quandary this morning, as I just can’t seem to get going on this…. Oh well, this calls for the immediate application of an emergency bail-out method, and, I’m thinking, #4 is always the most effective, so…. hang on, and we’ll apply that…. NOW….

Shall we Pearl?….

“My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.” — George Santayana

(I’m encouraged now…. finding that quote so quickly gives me hope for the rest of this mess…. I hope it’s an indication that Murphy has taken his leave for now, and the rest of this will be left alone…. we can always hope, can’t we?…. Onward, with new bravery…. Huzzah!…..)

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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Expert-witness-in-toy-gun-case-has-history-of-5614736.php

When I saw this, I became somewhat depressed…. It’s absolute truth; you can tell. This guy, this “expert witness” is nothing more than a shill, whom the courts and the police have been using to defend the indefensible for years….. In those instances where officers use their weapons, this guy has been set up as a final judge of the events that lead up to the incidents, whose word is the equivalent to law, in essence, as it is given more credence than even scientific evidence…. which is a crock, and they know it…. It’s a disturbing thing to find out, as it gives more evidence of how the courts, the police, and the government at large is ignoring or obstructing the issue of police militarization, one I see as a distinctly egregious problem, and one that really NEEDS to be watched….

In fact, this whole idea, of having such an obviously biased individual being given priority in court, makes me so angry, I’m having trouble organizing my arguments…. There are just SO MANY moral and ethical objections to such an event, I can’t decide where to begin…. So, instead, I’ll ask you to read the article, and make your own arguments…. It isn’t hard, particularly…. they are so fucking OBVIOUSLY prejudiced, you’ll find some objections, I’m sure…. Me, I’m going to raid the archives, for something that won’t make my stomach so damned upset, or at least, that won’t offend my sensibilities so badly….

Ah, here we go….. y’all enjoy this, ffolkes, I’m going to go calm down for a few minutes, before I try to deal with poetry…..

From 12/22/2012, a very numerological day…. It’s almost a poem, stated out loud…. One two, two two, two oh one two…. pretty cool, eh? Okay, I’ll stop now…. read on, ffolkes, it’s a fun one… (a Funyun?….):

“Unknowingly, we plow the dust of stars, blown about us by the wind, and drink the universe in a glass of rain.” — Ihab Hassan

What a beautiful line! I wasn’t sure when I saved it last night just what kind of pearl it would make, but it creates such a beautiful image in the mind, I couldn’t resist. I suppose it makes a fine contrast to how I feel just now, and as such, can be used to demonstrate how our attitudes are under our control, if we but choose to assume it…..

I feel like shit, emotionally, for various reasons, and that is reflected in my attitude toward the day; I don’t want to face it. I’d like to be able to just turn it all off, and go visit a friend somewhere far away. But, being stuck here, waiting for relief from my financial limitations, keeps me on the edge of depression, as well as keeping me in place…. If only for the time it takes to read, and contemplate this line, beauty takes over, and my thoughts and attitude undergo a marked change for the better. All it takes is a reminder of what we always have as creatures of this reality, our potential for grace.

“Grace”. Interesting word, that…. I like what it implies, the feeling of being connected to the universe, and enjoying that tie for the joy it can bring. To live in grace means to act rightly, surrounding oneself with beauty, increasing the joy in life by living it well, passionately, with compassion and humility. I can understand how religious folks would seek to receive such from the practice of their faith, though I can’t agree with them about exactly where grace comes from. They seem to believe that it is something given to them, as a reward for their faith, when in reality, it is something they have to learn to give, and can only be found inside themselves, because that is where it always is…. It just isn’t always free to let itself be known….

“The supreme irony of life is hardly anyone ever gets out of it alive.” — Robert Heinlein

Perspective…. the proper perspective can be hard to find, and it is good when such can be provided for us by a simple phrase, like this one, and the first one, above. The first phrase tells us to remember there are two sides to life, and only one side is inherently painful. This quote, from the Grand Master, is a reminder to SEEK perspective, and is one nobody should ever lose track of, as it is universally applicable. One may, at least temporarily, find ways to avoid paying taxes, but there is no avoiding death…. none.

Mere contemplation of our own death is a sure way to gain perspective. It may not always be the most amenable, or comfortable perspective, but it is the most truthful that can be acquired, without exception. Nothing will ground us better than thinking about our own demise, as there is no room for anything but truth when dealing with the whole concept. Anything less than the truth just fails to compute….. Not the most comforting line of thought, unless one has learned not to fear death, but, who is ever very successful at that? I mean, that’s why there are so many different religions out there, all offering their own way of dealing with that fear…. they’re just not very good at it. Well, not very truthful, anyway….

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” — W. W. Zeige

I’m not sure whether I can truthfully classify this as a pearl. The criteria for that decision  are pretty loose, all in all, so it will fit in that respect. But, I do rather like to make some valid point, and this one doesn’t seem to have one I can find offhand. We humans spend a lot of our mental energy on stuff like this, which may be a clue as to the whole problem of the inability of so many of us to cope with reality without some kind of crutch, or without letting someone else do our thinking for us. That isn’t a danger for me, thank goodness, but most of humanity seems to fall into that pattern, and that, in itself, presents me with perspective issues, as mine differs radically from most everyone in the mainstream of society.

Oh, there are a lot more ffolkes such as myself out there; WordPress is proof enough of that. But, the major percentage of the population of this country generally prefers not to have to exercise their mental muscles any more than is absolutely necessary. Whether the inertial momentum that is built up by such a large percentage is amenable to adjustment remains to be seen, and all we can do is our best, to spread the virus of rational thought as far as we can….. “You’re our only hope, Obi-wan!”……

“I feel better about world problems now!” — Zippy the Pinhead

And, so do I! Shall we move on?…..

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I’m not sure yet what will go here, so, you’ll just have to wait…. Hey, I’m waiting, too!…. Okay, waiting done…. If you’ve been here with any regularity, you’ll know who I will pick, for, when there is any question about it, I always turn to her…. It’s Emily, of course…. writing on a subject very near, if not dear, to my heart….

The hallowing of pain

The hallowing of Pain
Like hallowing of Heaven,
Obtains at a corporeal cost —
The Summit is not given

To Him who strives severe
At middle of the Hill —
But He who has achieved the Top —
All — is the price of All —
     
~~Emily Dickinson ~~

emily icon
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This old school pearl has been collected with parameters that should, hopefully, cause some fairly steady bleeding among our Beloved Ruling Class, should any of them happen to see it…. I found the first couple of pearls sitting here, having obviously been collected previously, with that in mind… Well, so be it…. I never block any of my impulses, if I can keep from doing so…. and this one will, no doubt, be a good one, pointed and sharp, just the way I like them…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. I intend to….. Oh, also…. this will be a rare pearl, a nine-star, just because, when I use nine, the pattern of the wounds makes such a lovely design on their bodies….

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” — Samuel Johnson

(I know…. I said this pearl would be taking shots at the BRC, and asininnies in general…. But, read that line again, and tell me you don’t automatically think of politicians…. I know I do, because the phrase accurately describes no other segment of our society better, than it does those whom we have elected…. Sad, I know, but, all too true….)

“Most people seem to think that trampling individual rights is OK if it is “for the good of society as a whole.”  However, society is but a large number of individuals, and how can harming the individual parts better the whole?” — Andrew Ford, forda@agcs.com

“The First Amendment does not say that there is freedom of expression provided the talk is not `dangerous’. It does not say that there is freedom of expression provided the utterance has no tendency to subvert. It does not put free speech and freedom of the press in the category of housing, sanitation, hours of work, factory conditions, and the like, and make it subject to regulation for the public good. Nor does it permit legislative restraint of freedom of expression so long as the regulation does not offend due process. All notions of regulation or restraint by government are absent from the First Amendment. For it says in words that are unambiguous, `Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.'” — Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, 1958

“A politician will always tip off his true belief by stating the opposite at the beginning of the sentence.  For maximum comprehension, do not start listening until the first clause is concluded.  Begin instead at the word “but” which begins the second, or active, clause.  This is the way to tell a liberal from a conservative–before they tell you.  Thus: “I have always believed in a strong national defense, second to none, but … ” (a liberal, about to propose a $20 billion defense cut).” — Frank Mankiewicz

(Don’t worry about the labels here, ffolkes…. Mr. Mankiewicz seems to show a bit of bias toward conservatism…. but, it’s still true…. liberal, conservative, whatever…. they ALL do this….)

“Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism — how passionately I hate them!” — Albert Einstein

“If God wanted us to have a President, He would have sent us a candidate.” — Jerry Dreshfield

“A conservative is a man who wants the rules changed so no one can make a pile the way he did.” — Gregory Nunn

“Curse all his virtues! they’ve undone his country.” — Joseph Addison (1672-1719) — Cato, Act iv, Sc. 4

(I really do love irony…. and, its twin sister, sarcasm…. When both are used in conjunction with hyperbole, well…. awesome is the word that comes to mind for me…..)

“Do not speak of what men deserve.   For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead Kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved?  Will you punish us for that?  Will you reward us for  the virtue of starving while others ate?  No man earns punishment, no man earns reward.  Free your mind of the idea of *deserving*, of *earning*, and  you will begin to be able to think.” — Odo, The Prison Letters (Ursula LeGuin, _The Dispossessed_)

I probably don’t need to mention (to this crowd…) that, learning to think in this fashion makes it much simpler to perceive the lies and oppression that the BRC and Asininnies spread around like the clap…. with exactly the same effect on society as that dreaded bacteria has on an individual, if not treated…. sickness, isolation, loss of self and others, and eventual death, from either the disease itself, or the loneliness it can engender in its victims….. Sadly, most of society hasn’t even a clue they’ve been infected by their own leaders, so, no treatment is even considered necessary…. which, as noted, will eventually lead to…. what was that? Oh, yeah….. DEATH….

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

It may not be the best Pearl I’ve ever done, but, it has the one primary characteristic that makes it good enough…. it’s done. I can’t do any more damage to it; it’s already dead. So, I’m going to post the corpus, and hope for the best before it starts to deteriorate…. At least I know it won’t smell bad…. at least, not until the technology advances to the point of making what we see on our comps complete with information for the other senses…. i.e. “sensies”, Virtual Reality complete with smells, touch, sounds, sights, and tastes….. Boy, once that happens, we all will need to be more careful about what we leave lying around, won’t we?  Until then, this will do…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I’m not in jail….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Provenance won’t impress the hungry….

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1

Ffolkes,

“Happiness is the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.” — Robert G. Ingersoll (American lawyer and orator)

Well, color me surprised, and more than a little amazed, that an American lawyer not only said this, but sounds as if he believes it…. Howdy, ffolkes, and don’t fret, this isn’t the beginning of a rant, though it could easily be one…. No, there’s plenty of that coming up later…. No, my comment was merely prompted by seeing the word lawyer in conjunction with the words, justice, humanity, reason, and love…. Typically, those qualities are missing from the list of those shown by lawyers, especially American lawyers…. and don’t try to make me guilty over picking at them again…. If they didn’t DO this stuff, it wouldn’t come back to haunt them….

I guess I’ll have to go look him up in Google, so I can see how he came to be….. It isn’t simple, or easy, I would imagine, to be able to hold on to such a powerful set of ethics and morals, when everything in one’s training, and society itself, is telling one to act in an opposite fashion, i.e. immorally, and unethically….

(Once again, don’t start….. I know ALL of them aren’t that way, but, if there weren’t a reason for them, lawyer jokes wouldn’t be necessary, now, would they?….). I’ll stop with the lawyer digs, and jokes, when ONE person can show me proof that 50% of the lawyers in practice have, all of a sudden, become caring, compassionate human beings…. Simple enough, eh? And, bloody impossible, as there aren’t that many honest lawyers out there….. there just aren’t….

Maybe I am ranting… what do you think? Is this a direct attack on lawyers at large? Maybe so…. In that case, let me take a short break, to see if I can find a way back to something more resembling an introduction…. Be right back, ffolkes…. time for a pain break anyway….

Hmm…. Okay, so, there isn’t much, ffolkes….. but, in the interests of full disclosure, I didn’t look real hard. I guess I’m just in a ranting mood, so, maybe you should consider donning the Kevlar vests, and the helmets provided for you as part of your entrance fee….. What? No fees are being collected? Again? Damn it all, where the hell’s Luigi? He’s supposed to be taking the admission gate…. Now I’ll have to take the time to find him, & see why he’s been so flaky of late….

In the meantime, perhaps it would be best to just forgo any further attempts at logic or reason…. I don’t think they’ll be of much use at this point…. Instead, we’ll just go on, and do the best we can with what is there to use….. Wish me luck….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If I had my life to live over again, I’d be a plumber.” — Albert Einstein

Me? I’d have liked to have been a travel writer….. a job that combines my two favorite activities…. Hell, it may yet happen, who knows? Stranger things, as they say, have happened….

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I’ve avoided full out ranting for a while now, having reached a point where I felt I was repeating myself too often, without achieving any of the results that it would be nice to see for all my efforts (such as a world-wide revolution against the corporate masters who have oppressed society for millennia now…. I can dream, can’t I?….). In the last couple of days, I’ve seen a number of articles in various news sites detailing the latest news on several fronts worth ranting about…. Let’s see what’s up, eh?….


Only one comment is relevant in response to this: these people are out of control…. By “these people”, I’m referring in general to the NSA, and their cohorts, the CIA, FBI, and whatever other clandestine-oriented criminals masquerading as official entities who have jumped on the “let’s go fight terrorism” bandwagon, which offers them a perfect cover, and excuse, both of which augment and support their private agenda, which is, simply, to control and mislead the public, so they can continue their raping and pillaging of the public treasury, and blame the terrorists……

Then, of course, there is what has been discovered lately about what the NSA, the CIA, and the oxymoronic intelligence agencies that are part of the US pantheon of spies…. In the case below, in Germany, yet ANOTHER double agent was found to have been perverted by the CIA, this one working in one of the German defense departments…. As a result of this one, the article below shows the latest reaction by the German government….

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10959549/Germany-asks-CIA-station-chief-in-Berlin-to-leave-country-over-US-spying-row.html

Of course, all the politicians, in both countries, are just salivating, at all the opportunities they will have for political jockeying over these incidents…. The Republicans are happy because it gives them more ammunition against their nightmare, the Black President with Some Integrity, while, on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats are happy because it gives them a chance to get their own names out in the public eye, making statements, and looking concerned…. Neither one actually gives a shit about the issue, but, it’s one they like to see being played out, as it offers so many different ways to distract and obfuscate….

Then, of course, I saw this one…. I’ve been following a bit of this…. It seems that, back in the Thatcher days, the British equivalent to our Congress, their Houses of Parliament, there were a large number of child molesters in office, and they went so far as to use their power, and positions of authority, to further their sick, pedophiliac habits, covering up their crimes with ease, as they had the authority to tell the police to ignore issues, or sweep them under the table…. A member of the House of Commons collected evidence on it, then turned in his report to what should have been the proper authorities, over thirty years ago….

Naturally, that report was “lost” before any action on it’s contents could be formulated, and the whole issue was swept under the bureaucratic table…. Now, this whole episode is coming to light, and the politicians in Westminster are running around like a disturbed nest of ants…. It’s actually quite entertaining, if a bit sick-making, to watch all these psychopathic assholes try to figure out how this will affect them, or, in many cases, trying to decide whether to kill themselves now, or wait until after their trial…. Read it, then join me in a big raspberry to all the sick bastards who are involved, who may now get their just desserts….

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10959997/Westminster-whistleblower-told-to-back-off-over-paedophiles.html

Sick, sick people, that’s all I can say…. To finish off this bit of random ranting, below you’ll find a list of people who live in the SF Bay Area who are billionaires…. You know, those privileged elite who believe that, because they have all this money, they can pretty much do whatever they wish to do, without any consequences for their actions…. and, they’d pretty much be right about that….

When was the last time you heard about, or read about, some billionaire going to jail, or even to trial, when they have broken the law? That would right about NEVER, right? Hell, these people, when arrested, or even stopped for a traffic violation, never even have those incidents make it to the papers; you never even HEAR about any trouble they have, because it is all taken care of, hushed up and forgotten, before anyone in the public even knows it has taken place…. That is what money can buy, ffolkes, never doubt it…. Take a look at the list, and the amount of money these assholes are hoarding for their own use….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Who-are-the-richest-families-in-the-Bay-Area-5610052.php

545.9 BILLION DOLLARS! What an incredible number, describing 18 families in the Bay Area who have a net worth in the billions of dollars; the smallest number I saw was 1.2 billion, I believe, and the most disgusting, er, largest, was WalMart’s owners, the Waltons, at, get this, 152 billion. That number, by the way, is the kind of number the mind can’t really grasp, but, think of it this way…. This insanely small number of people have as much financial resource at their disposal as all but perhaps ten countries in the world…. The US Dept. of Housing budget, for any particular year, is not very much larger than this amount, I’m guessing, if at all….

Astounding, mind-blowing, and to me, reprehensible, that so few people can be not just allowed, by the system, and society, but actively  encouraged and directed into perversity by the forces of history, with results that reward such behavior…. All to often, the Powers That Be will aid and abet those who successfully hoard that much for themselves, as opposed to more of a moral attitude, which prioritizes such resources into using them to supply what society may have need for…. which, essentially, another way of saying that society, and the victims of such selfishness, is made to pay for the rotten effects of the corruption and indifference to morality shown by those who have hoarded the resources in the first place….

Okay, ffolkes, we’re about done…. Here, to finish this off with a bit of more positive energy, is another fine article from Mark Morford, this time pointing out some obvious bits of information that are generally ignored by critics of the Obama administration…. I mean, he IS a politician, so, as Mark points out, there are still some questionable issues Barry has raised with his spotty conservatism, and terrorist paranoia…. not to mention how he has catered and kowtowed to the financial community…. disgusting….

Nevertheless, in terms of getting things done that will actually HELP the average American, he has done quite well…. Read this, and try to pay attention… I know this is getting long, but, we’re almost done….

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/07/08/the-best-worst-president-ever/

As usual, Mark has put his finger on a point most people would miss altogether…It’s brilliant, funny, and all-too-accurate to miss…. Go ahead, I’ll wait…. There, now, don’t you feel a bit lighter? No? Okay, well, I tried…. We’re done here, so I’ll leave you with this final word, to try to bring this to its most efficient, effective ending….

“Rare gift! but oh what gift to fools avails!”

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book x, Line 29

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I’m using my own poetry again today, simply because the above took so long, I don’t have any more time to go look for something appropriate by someone else…. and Smart Bee is being a bit of a bastard today, in re: giving me quotes I can actually USE…. Any who, to prevent further whining, here is one from the archives…. This one was written, and first posted, in October of 2012….

Penance, Made Simple

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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As you probably have guessed by now, this will be another random, harlequin, old-school pearl, because A) it’s fast, B) it’s cheap, and C) it’s what I can do without going off the rails completely…. in other words, I’m using the all-purpose, universal, time-tested American excuse…. Expedience! Enjoy!….

“What you see is from outside yourself, and may come, or not, but is beyond your control.  But your fear is yours, and yours alone, like your voice, or your fingers, or your memory, and therefore yours to control.  If you feel powerless over your fear, you have not yet admitted that it is yours, to do with as you will.” — Marion Zimmer Bradley, “Stormqueen”

“I once asked my history teacher how we were expected to learn anything useful from his subject, when it seemed to me to be nothing but a monotonous and sordid succession of robber baron scumbags devoid of any admirable human qualities. I failed history.” — Sting

“There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it with reluctance.” — Terence (185-159 BC)
— Heautontimoroumenos, Act iv, Sc. 6, 1, (805.)

“We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.” — Aristotle

“Until philosophers are kings … cities will never cease from ill, nor the human race.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

“Our care should not be to have lived long as to have lived enough.” — Seneca

“I’m pretending I’m pulling in a TROUT!  Am I doing it correctly?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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For a Pearl that felt so choppy while in the process of creation, this didn’t come out too badly at all…. In order to keep from feeling like a complete liar, I’m going to go ahead an post it, without even going over it with a critical eye…. some proofing, and, as far as I am concerned, it’s good to go…. Call me Ishmael, or call me a fool…. just don’t call me late for dinner…. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Featured Image -- 2780

“Off to Mars Port? Safe journey, Pilot!”….

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5

Ffolkes,

July 5 2014 002

    What you see above is an example of pure shamelessness…. Oh, not the cat, though, when she is too hot, trying to cool off, as here in the picture, she’s not above getting into any pose at all, in the center of the coolest spot available in the house, no matter how ridiculous it may look to others…. That, though, isn’t shameless, it’s just being cat…. not “a” cat, but, cat; it’s as much of an attitude, describing a state of being, as it is a noun describing a mammal with fur, claws, and strong opinions…. They really, really don’t give a s–t about what anybody thinks…. It’s not their problem…. That is their bottom line, and would, without a single doubt, be their only response if we could ask them, “What do you think about, well, anything anyone thinks about you?”…..

No, I’m the shameless one here, for taking advantage of the ‘puir wee beastie’, snapping her picture, then holding it up for all to see, merely to say I have tried something new and different to get things going in the mornings… (I confess, the cuteness factor played into the decision…. She IS an animal, and cute….) Besides, she deserves a little embarrassment, if it is at all possible to make a cat feel any such emotion, for the way she used to wake me up, and wake up her mistress, and generally, for all the little PK (that’s psycho-kitty, for those who don’t know..), mad dashes, ripped papers, lost pens, stolen pictures, and otherwise annoying little habits she has developed over time….

She has her sweet moments, but, we tend to tolerate each other more than dote, I’m sorry to say. I love animals, but, just look at those eyes…. I suppose it’s from being raised feral for a couple of weeks before being adopted to a home with humans…. There is still has a strong streak of wild buried inside her, and she’s not afraid to let it out…. We have come to terms, though, and our toleration now has tinges of affection at times, so, it’s all good…

So, there you go…. How’s that for a change of pace? No nonsense, no heaviness, no fiction, no blather (Well, maybe some, but, DIRECTED blather, all on one subject….) (a subject EVERYONE can get behind, right?…), and most importantly for me, no confusion, no sweat, no searching, nor any of my usual fear of not having anything to start with…. WHEW! Works for me!….

Of course, this doesn’t take any of the possible challenges involved in adopting a whole new policy & procedure, complete with Art, and all its implications, into account, but, maybe I’ll wait to see just what they are, before I dismiss this technique out of hand…. In fact, maybe I’ll try it again tomorrow, & see what happens…. Something to look forward to, eh, what? It also segues very nicely into the end of the intro section, and, if you didn’t see that coming, well, so much the better…

Shall we Pearl?…..

“How you do anything is how you do everything.” — Zen proverb

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“Do you ever think about the end of the world as we know it?” — Calvin

One might think I’d have a rant on tap, but, they’d be wrong…. even if I don’t know exactly why that happens to be true…. I have the outrage, at all the crap that goes on every day, and the angst, that builds up with every headline that shouts out another lie…. What I don’t have is the actual specific subject upon which to rant…. I don’t know if that’s because I can’t decide among the many, many asininnies that are potentially available for abuse, or which of their shenanigans to expose, or if there just isn’t anything compelling enough to draw my immediate ire, as opposed to my constant disrespect for the morality they display…. or, more accurately, the LACK of morality they display….

SIGH…. Whatever the reason, I just don’t have it in me today…. But, from the archives, I DO have a quite fine ‘discussion’, a milder sort of rant, that touches on the root cause of many of the ills in society we see each day…. I hope you enjoy it; it’s a good rant, for it’s type….

From 4/13/2013:

“Custom does often reason overrule and only serves for reason to the fool.” — John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

This aphorism is one that I think most people would accept as true, at least part of the time. It also points up what I see as a basic flaw in human nature, a characteristic that everyone possesses, and few overmaster. It has to do with our core beliefs, and the attitude we assume as our method of perception, the orientation of our world-view, as it were. We all perceive what is out there in the universe, but we are not capable, at this time, of understanding, or even noting, all that is there to be perceived, as we are limited to what we can see, hear, feel, touch, taste, or deduce, in our immediate vicinity…. We don’t yet know how to include the input of anything not in our physical presence, other than vicariously (via TV, radio, books, etc…..).

We do, however perceive what we are near, and what we do with those perceptions is what determines how the events of our lives will proceed. What is more, each one of us perceives all of this IN A DIFFERENT WAY…..  Two people can look at the same article, or event, and see two entirely different things; just ask them….. We use the same senses, the same KIND of brains to process the data, at the same time to observe the same event, yet the interpretation of those events will vary, by as many degrees as there are people perceiving them. This unique ability, to process data in a completely new and different way from anyone else’s method, is, as might be guessed, both a blessing, and a curse….. It is the latter that concerns me today…..

In order to coexist in the same place and time, people have learned to accept certain perceptions as being identical, for the purposes of communication, e.g., everyone knows what “fire” is, and knows not to touch it barehanded…. (Note: in a way, this blog is all about the process of such communications…. we explore the reality that is consensual, that we all agree to deal with as being the same for all of us…..) This is the blessing it gives, the opportunity to increase understanding, to allow people to work in tandem, making both much more capable, making two more than just one plus one….. This is a very useful tool in the real world, and has helped our species achieve the degree of civilization we now enjoy….

But, the other side of this characteristic has an equal part in our destiny, and may in fact be the more important of the two, in the ultimate sense….. You see, we are all herd animals, and desire the approval and company of our peers; without it, we suffer, much more than we even know. It is not “human” to remain alone too long…. Oh, there is nothing wrong with solitude, and much great thought is achieved when one is not distracted by others….. On the other hand, a human who is alone for too long becomes a pale imitation of his/her true self, without the presence of other minds to test his/her theories, to discuss and share their feelings and accomplishments, to vent their frustrations, to experience love….. Without these things, our spirits become small, and lose their moral compass, leaving us adrift in a reality that seems dark, and dangerous….

This dependence on custom (which I define as the total construct of human society, the set of rules and regulations, all unwritten, by which all of us shape our behavior in respect to each other…..) is so strong that, as the aphorism states, one becomes willing to set reason aside, in order to keep and maintain our feeling of having a place in society. We will assume whatever mask that society demands, at times, in order to not have to wear a mask of our own devising, one that we do not find comfortable…. This is the curse of which I spoke….

You see, there are a number of people who have no compunctions whatsoever in using this human characteristic to their own ends….. They don’t believe in any of the crap they spew, but will say or do anything to make sure that others do, because this is how they control the general populace… They spread their lies, fast and often, until they are believed…. these lies promulgate fear amongst the uneducated and timid, who then demand that “something be done!” by those in charge…. which is exactly what those people wanted, for they can now proceed to further fan the flames of fear, while surreptitiously looting the public treasury to make it seem as if they are doing something constructive…. “Hey, they’re stealing our oil! Let’s spend a few billion to bomb the crap out of them so we can keep driving our gas guzzling SUV’s, each one with 14 great cup holders!”

Oh well, I guess that’s all the rant I’ve got in me today…. It’s kind of mild I know, but I was trying to be scholarly, rather than controversial and accusatory…. I think I’ve succeeded in that, but, it doesn’t quite give the same thrill and/or release as a good, nasty rant, with some great name-calling… Well, I can always call them assholes, because, hey, it fits, and it’s easy to type…. Any who, I’ll stop now, right on the edge of illumination, and allow the Gentle Reader to follow the train of my thought to its obvious conclusion…. For those too busy, or too lazy to do so, I’ll summarize….

Don’t listen to what anyone else says, not about YOUR perceptions. And, for sure, kick the asses of anyone who tries to convince you of their integrity in an elected capacity, or any position of authority…. A lot of people, on every level of society, are just trying to control you for their own purposes, and deserve any ass-kicking that comes their way…. Be like a cat…. cats don’t give a SHIT what anybody thinks, they just are….. No apologies, no fuss, just leave me alone, because I’m busy being a cat….. This is good advice, so, listen up, I’m trying to do you a favor…..   😆

“We need very strong ears to hear ourselves judged frankly, and because there are few who can endure frank criticism without being stung by it, those who venture to criticize us perform a remarkable act of friendship, for to undertake to wound or offend a man for his own good is to have a healthy love for him.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne _Essays_, bk. III, ch. 11 [1595]

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This was written on 10/21/2012…. at least, that’s what Windows tells me in the Properties tab for the document file…. I wrote quite a few that year, breaking free of a 35 plus year hiatus from writing poems…. I like it, & that’s all that matters…. Hey, it DOES rhyme, you know? It helps…. Also, full disclosure…. I did change ONE word today…. and, got rid of two….  which also helped…. I hope you like it, too….

Choosing a Theme

Powerful words playing hide and seek in my mind,
teasing with subtle cruelty, pretending to be kind.
Grand visions and flowery verses of beauty and truth
evaded my inner eye all through the days of my youth.

Affable interludes interspersed with allegorical wit
softened the crimes, against all reason, to finally acquit.
Time became at once an enemy, and an ally
Never once compelled to provide an answer why.

Giving gifts of simple kindness are their own pay,
spreading ripples of compassion are felt far and away.
Love given freely is precious, we are ever told,
increasing love received, more than a hundred fold.

Living long, with passion, has centered my soul,
allowing me room, and time, to choose my own goal.
Now I’ve lived past any need to pretend
I love everything in life, even knowing it will end.

~~ gigoid ~~


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Okay, so, since I didn’t do much of anything fresh today, beyond a couple of pearls to fill in what was still needed, after producing most of today’s post yesterday afternoon, during a random energy burst…. and some serendipitous archive-searching…. At least the major portion of this group was picked out this morning, so, here is a little bit of fresh, mixed in with the stuff I found yesterday, while performing the blogging equivalent of dumpster diving….

It’s a strange group, mostly good for giving one’s self periodic pep talks, or, possibly, moral guidance during those moments when reality challenges us to act…. Or, you could read them just for fun….. your choice, as always….

“He who thinks he is raising a mound may only in reality be digging a pit.” — Ernest Bramah

“Fate is a river; free will is a paddle.” — Smart Bee

“Forgiveness is better than revenge, for forgiveness is the sign of a gentle nature, but revenge is the sign of a savage nature.” — Epictetus

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

“Never fear shadows.  They simply indicate there’s a light shining close by.” — Smart Bee

“Our minds possess by nature an insatiable desire to know the truth.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” — Albert Einstein

Boy, that last one says it all, don’t it?….

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In spite of the good sleep I managed last night, I’m still tired from my trip on Sunday with the young cone; kids will tire you out trying to keep up, for sure…. Any who, this is done, and that’s all I need to know at this point…. I’m outta here, ffolkes…. I’ll leave you as I greeted you, with a picture of cute…. This one was found on several news sites, so it must be fairly universal in attribution by now…. You gotta love the matching expressions here…. Both of them appear bemused and a little unsure, but, willing to pose together…. amazing synchronicity, I think…. See y’all tomorrow…..
1 for now

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Tumbling down the Stairway to Heaven….

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Ffolkes,

“Men are most apt to believe what they least understand.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. xi

The pearl you see above was intended to get my mind out of the doldrums in which it found itself becalmed; I’m pretty sure they’ve failed, miserably, because I’ve been sitting here, looking at it, waiting for inspiration to strike, for, oh, a good twenty minutes now, and what you see is what I’ve got, so far….. If I weren’t sure I was wrong, I’d say it wasn’t working, but, I’m never wrong®, so that can’t be it…. It must be the shoes….

Okay, so it’s not the shoes; more likely it’s just the normal foggy mind-state that dogs me every morning when I sit down to begin this self-induced torture…. I’ve never let that stop me before, so, I suppose I can’t give up today. My pain level today is a bit distracting; I probably overdid it on the SF trip the other day, and my calves & thighs are complaining about all the unexpected exercise, along with the usual arthritic back, hip, and shoulder joint pain…. just another day on the farm. I’ll get done, but, I guarantee I won’t enjoy that part of it….

In fact, I’m starting to feel rather curmudgeonly, so much so, it’s possible you could see a rant later; all I need for that, I think, is one good headline, informing us of yet another item of chicanery from one of the BRC, or a preacher, or perhaps one of the entitled myrmidons, and I’d be able to go off on whomever it was, with power, elegance, and a sharp, pointed stick in the eye…. Of course, that’s providing anything is in the media, which has an unfortunate tendency to pass over the most egregious of the shenanigans our leaders engage in; after all, if the reporters didn’t have the politicians to pick on, who would they write about?….

I guess I have to face it…. I’m lost again, and I haven’t a clue as to how to get back to anywhere we can recognize as the right path…. Damn! This means we’ll have to use one of the emergency endings…. In fact, I see one right here, so, we’ll jump on it, while we have the chance…. Otherwise, we may NEVER get out of the intro; I’m  THAT screwed up today…. Oh, look, there’s the end I was talking about; let’s dive….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“A man learns to skate by staggering about making a fool of himself; indeed, he progresses in all things by making a fool of himself.”– George Bernard Shaw

As you can see, pearls can be VERY accurate, when describing human nature, and how it applies to each one of us…. Here we find it to have perfectly nailed this entire intro section, and my part in creating it….. See, even when I screw up, the process of Pearling can save us…..

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

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/williesworld/article/What-s-with-the-American-public-giving-a-fail-5601966.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

Okay, I give up…. I’ll rant…. Whoa, now! No throwing stuff!…. Okay, I won’t rant…. But, I could, if I wanted to; you needn’t think your rude flinging of that odd substance in the general direction of my head had anything to do with my decision… I’m just a nice guy, at heart, and I figure I’ll save it up for the next one…. I’ll just say this about the above…. For once in my life, I agree with Willie, at least in part…. Not fully: I am, to use his style, 100% sure that Obama has lied to the public, on more than one occasion… Sorry Willie, but, that’s documented elsewhere… But, considering the handicaps he has faced, he’s done as well, or better, than could be expected….

Not to say that means that things went well, but, there have been a number of advancements of culture that indicate some progress toward a more moral society…. I just don’t expect it to last long…. Any who, section three today is a long one, so, rather than rant, we’ll just put together a seven-star pearl, of a directly critical nature, (in the vein of Socrates, the “gadfly”), directed at those I like to call the Asininnies…. You’ll recognize them, I think…. If not, well, the comments I make should make it all clear….

“If a man boasts a great deal about what he is going to do tomorrow, it is timely to check into what he did yesterday!” — Smart Bee

(I would say this is probably a very, very good policy to hold when examining politicians….)

“It is better to be defeated on principle than to win on lies.” — Arthur Calwell

(Obviously, this is an idea that never became popular in this country; in fact, every single politician in office in Washington D.C. will spend a long time trying to convince you this is a lie, at least when it comes to THEM….)

“Join the Army: Travel to exotic distant lands. Meet exciting, unusual people and kill them.”– US Army recruiting poster, as envisions by MAD Magazine

(This was popular back in the 60’s, during the Vietnam conflict, yet, somehow, remains valid today….)

“A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably be unendurable.” — H.L. Mencken

(Maybe so, but, I’d be willing to try it, just for the contrast….)

“Do you ever think about the end of the world as we know it?” — Calvin

(Every damn day, thank you….. since I can see it, just down the hall…..)

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

(More proof that Jefferson was NOT a politician; he just played one during the Constitutional Convention…. Be assured, you would NEVER hear a politician from today’s world say this, unless he was trying to fool someone into believing his crap, to wit: playing the humility card….)

“Fewer possess virtue, than those who wish us to believe that they possess it.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

And,there, with the last line, we have the perfect closer for a discussion of the BRC, an admonition, as it were, to watch them, like the proverbial hawk, for they will tell you whatever they think you would like to hear, and never mean a single word of what they say….. Believe it….

“And THAT’S the TRUTH! Thppt!” — Edith Ann (Lily Tomlin)

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

From 4/13/2013…. This poem is actually of an older date than that; the given date is the last time I posted it…. It was first penned as prose, then, later, I noted it to actually be a poem, if in free verse…. Enjoy….

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 ~~


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

I promised a photo shoot, and here it is…. Those who receive this via email will only see a link…. The link will take you to today’s post on my blog, where you can see what goes in this section…. There were way too many pictures to send out via email; it would have taken forever to upload that much data…. It’s simpler for me, and you, to just click the link, whereupon you’ll be taken to the blog, where the pictures are living for now…. Of course, you’ll still see the comments, but, they won’t make much sense without going to see the pictures….

The pictures you’ll see were all taken on my recent day trip to SF, taking along the Wise Old Pine Cone’s young paduan learner, whom we’ll call the Young Cone, for now…. The comments will be located, as this one, above each picture, to provide any necessary background…. We had a great time, if a bit exhausting for me, so I hope you enjoy this photo report….

First, here is the Young Cone, posing in the branches of a tree on the way to the bus stop, where we caught a bus to the Ferry terminal downtown…. He was so excited, he jumped to that branch all the way from the sidewalk, and capered there until I agreed to take the picture…. He looks really excited, doesn’t he? Almost vibrating with the intensity of his emotions….
July 5 2014 003    Here you see the Young Cone excitedly telling another cone he met at the bus stop about his upcoming day…. He’s a friendly little cone, he is…

July 5 2014 004    In this pic, the Young Cone gets his first look at the Ferry….
July 5 2014 010    Checking the departure time, before embarking….
July 5 2014 011    The Young Cone was amazed at the amount of CRAP on sale; as a student of the Master, he doesn’t eat such poison, but, he likes to look at the packages, which are so colorful….
July 5 2014 012    The Young Cone was also amazed at the prices of everything…. Here he looks at the espresso they served, for about three times its worth, in the only cup they had to serve it in…. The counter-lady was very nice to him, though….
July 5 2014 015    Here is the Young Cone, trying out one of the ferry’s seats….
July 5 2014 013    As I mentioned, he’s a friendly little cone…. Here, he tries to soothe a pooch he met, who looks a bit nervous to be on the ferry…. Looks like she isn’t buying whatever line he’s trying to sell her….
July 5 2014 014    Gazing out the front window of the Ferry at the SF skyline a few minutes prior to arrival at the Ferry Building…..
July 5 2014 020    In this picture, the Young Cone looks at some very interesting flutes, hand-crafted out of ceramic, for sale at the craft fair across the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building, in the shade of the Financial district skyscrapers, at the end of Market Street….
July 5 2014 022    Whoops! Who’s this cute little fella? And how did he get in here?…. Oh well, he’s too cute to delete…. so he stays….
cute wolf cub(Actually, the pic is from the London Daily Telegraph, from a couple of days ago…. It actually DID end up here by mistake, but, as I stated, he’s just too cute a wolf pup to suffer the indignity of deletion…..)

    When we got to Pier 39 to wander around, the Young Cone insisted on posing on one of the sculptures…. As it turns out, he’s a camera hog, and loves to get his picture taken in almost any odd place…. as you will see below…..
July 5 2014 030    The Young Cone was almost mesmerized by the colors in the flower gardens spotted around the area…..
July 5 2014 024    Here, the Young Cone gazes in amazement at the high-tech, futuristic restroom sink in one of the public restrooms…. all motion activated, so, no fixtures…. very cool…… No cleaner than any other type, but, it did LOOK cool….
July 5 2014 025    Posing on the wall outside the Hard Rock Cafe…..
July 5 2014 028    Checking out the outrageous prices at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream outlet…..
July 5 2014 033    Posing again, this time as a wing-walker, in front of the Kite Store…..
July 5 2014 034    He really wanted to go on the Alcatraz tour, but, the boat for that was being repaired, so we had to forgo that trip….
July 5 2014 031    The Young Cone, looking out over the marina, just before getting on the Ferry to come home…..
July 5 2014 027    There you have it, ffolkes…. I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them…..

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

I did it…. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get this one done, but, I did… I’m going to say, it wasn’t easy, but, it turned out pretty well, in my estimation, so, I’ll go post it, and pat myself on the back, later, when I can actually REACH it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Oddly enough, snakes HATE apples…

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Ffolkes,

Truth be told, getting up when I do to write these Pearls is becoming more of a chore than it ever has in the past….. While fighting the pre-coffee, pre-magic cream kick-in, and the lethargy that now dogs me each morning, I experienced a small epiphany…. and then lost it….. It’s really too bad, too, because I’m fairly sure it was important, and would have made my life, if not easier, at least more comfortable…. SIGH…. I know it’s going to be a tough day when my own mind fails to get on board with the program, in spite of the offerings made by reality to expiate the difficulty….

I suppose I’ll have to push on, though, as my sense of Duty is so entwined with this purpose, this process will plague me until my last breath…. and possibly beyond…. Isn’t THAT a scary thought? Oh well, it’s not as if I didn’t know all of this coming in; it’s just, as I said, one of those mornings, when it all seems more than I can bear…. Of course, I can bear a lot, but, that doesn’t mean I like it…. I may have, and be able to deal with, a lot of pain, but, in doing so, I tend to lose track of Mr. Nice Guy…. and don’t regret a moment of it when I do….

Since, however, I AM such a nice person, at the core, I always feel bad whenever I chew on someone, even if they deserve it (as is most often the case, I find…. stupid is as stupid does, after all….). I don’t know if that makes up for my grumpiness, karmically speaking, but, it does keep me from chewing all the way down to the bone…. most times….. I can’t help it if people keep doing stupid right in front of me, though, so, I’ve come to the conclusion the whole issue is one I can’t afford to ignore, at least from a legal standpoint….

Now, from analyzing that last paragraph, I see we have reached a point where reality no longer has any influence over my mind at all…. This can be a good thing, or not, depending on how I deal with this last portion of this intro…. If I can work this right, we’ll be okay, just a bit stiff and awkward, especially on the turns…. If not, well, I may as well just go into the archives now, and be done with it…. Either way, my thumb is screaming at me, so it will have to be a fast one, to get done before my right hand becomes useless for typing….

On looking back over what has transpired to this point, I’m afraid my prediction holds…. this could get ugly, or it could turn to shit, in a heartbeat….. or, it could be the best Pearl ever…. at this point, there’s no way to tell…. Well, actually, since this intro is such a hodge-podge of mixed ingredients, some good, some bad, that “best Pearl” category is probably out of the question…. How about we shoot for “coherent”?…. That, at least, sounds doable….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I may not understand what you say, but I’ll defend to your death my right to deny it.” — Albert Alligator, in Pogo, 26 September 1951

“Ah! don’t say you agree with me.   When people agree with me I always feel that I must be wrong.” — Oscar Wilde

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

“How is it possible to expect that mankind will take advice, when they will not so much as take warning?” — Jonathan Swift

https://news.yahoo.com/germany-arrests-suspected-double-agent-spying-u-two-124028510.html

Don’t fret…. I’m not going to rant, even though I could….. This article is here to provide the latest development in the ongoing saga of the Snowden Effect…. The poor German spy they arrested was apparently subverted by the NSA, or some other agency in the US government, for what seems to be a pretty paltry sum…. If I’m reading it right, this terminally bozoid personality was paid a measly 2500 Euros to spy for our side…. It doesn’t seem like much, to me, for the risk of destroying one’s entire life, but, then, I’m not stupid, either, even if my nose IS red, and large, and makes a loud noise when squozen….. squuzzed…. squeezed….

Any who, such rampant dumbness doesn’t deserve my rant, though I wouldn’t object to putting it onto the NSA…. Instead, though, to foster a bit of tolerance in me, and avoid becoming even MORE angst-filled than I am already, I’ll go with an old-school pearl, targeted at those same federales who are making such a nuisance of themselves, by stealing not only the public’s money, while destroying its trust, but are also stealing our data, merely to justify their own deeply seated paranoia…. Yes, ffolkes, I give you, The Asininnies!….

“Life is a search after power.” — Emerson

(Well, it certainly is in Washington, D.C…..)

“Waco means the government can kill anyone it doesn’t like and get a 94% approval rating.” — Jeff Chan

(Especially if they can find someone else to blame it on….)

“I smell a rat.” — Patrick Henry, upon hearing about the Constitutional Convention, which eventually overthrew the first Federal Government of the United States

(Guess what, ffolkes…. the rat never left….)

“War loves to seek its victims in the young.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Scyrii, Frag. 507

“CONGRESSIONAL ANTHEM:   MOE MONEY, MOE MONEY, MOE MONEY.” — Smart Bee

“A man that should call everything by its right name would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a Common Enemy.” — Lord Halifax

(This one is still true….. People have always had a hard time swallowing the truth, and, human nature hasn’t changed a whit…..)

“It is as useless to argue with those that have renounced the use and authority of reason as to administer medication to the dead.” — Thomas Paine

(Gee, sounds like they’re talking about the recent GOP runoff election in Mississippi…. where the Tea Party had a number of candidates running….)

Okay, so, it’s not the best pearl ever, and it’s all littered with comments…. Deal with it…. At least I’m done, and we can go find a poem now….

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

I believe I have a poem percolating, somewhere in the hidden, far reaches of my mind; I can sort of feel the whirling vortex of burgeoning creative forces gaining speed, sucking in words, ideas, and perceptions to formulate some sort of outburst from my alter-ego, wherever it may be hiding…. That must be why I’ve been using so many of my older poems…. it sort of gives me a push in the right direction when I see the former results of this process in me…. Now, all I have to do is wait until it starts bleeding out, and try to get it on screen….

For now, I’ve been feeling a lot of wanderlust lately; I need to be out and gone, seeing some new part of the world where I’ve never been, or some part I’ve always wanted to explore…. Mostly, when I feel that, Ireland is the place that comes to mind…. I’ve wanted to explore the country, and get to know the people, for much of my adult life, and the day each in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast, while on my cruise last year, just isn’t enough to fulfill that desire…. Hence, I’ve decided that the Emerald Isle will be my next destination; I’ve already started saving up…. To celebrate the decision, here’s a poem I wrote a couple years ago, on that very subject….

Days and Nights of Eire

Comforting, a dream creeps oft into my mind
On the elven hills of Eire lives the vision I find.
Elegant, gracious, everlastingly draped in beauty
Just payment of simple homage lives as joyous duty.

Fairies and druids walk abroad in ghostly parade
Gracing each hearth with its own welcoming shade.
Castles and heroes yet live in tale and song
Proving love for the land in each heart strong.

From cold of winter into glorious young spring
Brown, and gray, to emerald green songs to sing
Soft rains always follow winter’s great tempest
Eire dons its emerald coat from east to west.

Old and strong, connections call out in dreams
Nothing that was known remains as it seems.
Immersion in ancient runes and battle hymns
Offering sanity in place of grievous whims.

Time and place can tell a much different tale
Judgment should never be a final sale.
Yet something solid and real calls me to go see
Where dreams of loving beauty may actually be….

~~ gigoid ~~


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

Here I am again, lost in space, once again, sans any photos, or other means of producing anything worthwhile…. Having reached the third section, though, I am authorized to go with impulse, which, in this case, apparently bears a strong resemblance to laziness…. You know what that means…. another random, harlequin, old-school pearl, just because I can… Enjoy, ffolkes, this is all you get today…. Chalk it up to post-holiday depression, I guess… That always happens when I hear something like the first quote below, which I have no doubt is based on the truth….

“We have killed more people celebrating Independence Day than we lost  fighting for it.” — Will Rogers

“Virtue is a kind of health, beauty and good habit of the soul.” — Plato (B.C. 427?-347?)

“Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iii, 11

“It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.” — The Vatican Sayings, Epicurus

“Things are not always what they seem.” — Phaedrus (c. 8 A.D.) — Book iv, Fable 2, 5

“Ignorance plays the chief part among men, and the multitude of words;” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Cleobulus, iv

“Do you have change for a paradigm?” — Smart Bee

Ah, yes…. An excellent pearl, of its type….. I find it apropos, somehow, that the only inclusion that came from a time period AFTER the first century A.D.. was from Will Rogers….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m not going to whine, but that turned on me, and became more of an ordeal even than I’d imagined it would be…. It’s done, though, which is probably for the best….. I could conceivably hurt more than just myself by continuing….. Besides, my brain is now empty, so, I’ll be on my way…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should the universe see fit to give me a small break…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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Immersed in the cadence of a Treble Bob Major…..

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Ffolkes,

SNAFU — Situation Normal, All Fucked Up

As I sat staring at the hideously all-white screen this morning, my mind remained blank for, oh, ever so long….. So long, I was afraid it was going to refuse to boot itself up at all, at all…. Not that such an occurrence is totally new; I’ve had some fairly blank days in my time, but, I’m usually a bit more ahead of the game than that when I sit down to write…. So, I retired to Smart Bee, to seek out a quote, or, as it turned out, two, to jump-start my mind…. I find if I throw something in there, the reaction to it will often stimulate activity that serves as a starting point for what passes as thinking at that time of the day….

I left one of the quotes there at the front, or top, to show what I found, and to give y’all an idea of how it is around here most of the time…. The acronym above is, no doubt, familiar to most of us…. I once read a word study of the term, giving its history, and found it was first used by the military, in WWII, I believe, as a radio call to give information on status without official approval, or in conversation, to describe a major clusterfuck, without actually USING vulgarity, as I did here…. I know, I’m shameless…

But, my idiosyncrasies aside, my kick-start technique seems to have worked rather well…. I can’t say I’m fully awake, or even mostly, but, I’ve had some coffee, and have already shown I’m able to touch on my sense of irony, with some minor humor thrown in for good measure…. Can’t ask for more than that from one small acronym, can we? I don’t see how….

The other quote I found is at the end of this opening narrative, as it is a perfect quote for this blog…. I won’t say it is one of my watch-word aphorisms, as I don’t totally agree with the old religious master, in this case…. or, at least, not in every instance where it might be applicable….  My feeling is that each case where the exercise of doubt is used must be judged on a case by case basis, with one’s own participation, or reaction, determined by the details of the issue…. There are times when abstention cannot be entertained as an option, as when one’s doubt leads to the knowledge of wrongdoing, in which case, it is our duty, as a human, to act against any such exercise of evil’s prerogatives….

Hmm…. That paragraph, it seems, sort of unbalanced this whole intro section with the weight of its concerns; it was much “heavier” than any of the rest of this…. I don’t know if I can save it from falling over, but, maybe with some further blather, I can “bring balance to the force”, and to this Pearl, by lightening things back up to where they began…. I was having fun, and all of sudden, there in that last paragraph, it all went sober and weighty on me…. I’m not even sure how, except the aphorism from the ancient Zoroaster was quite a bit more serious than the one at the top….

Ah well, I think it will all be okay; I can feel this getting more stable, the further I write…. Of course, that is most likely just a hallucination, to which I am prone at such moments…. It has to do with my PTSD, and the all-too-natural tendency to try to make reality fit my conception of it, rather than allowing that same reality to set the tone of what goes on in our lives…. It isn’t possible to force change on reality, nor is it necessary, as it will change, all on its own, and whether or not we wish it to do so…. (See Peruaosophy, Axiom #2….)

Besides, now that we’ve gone down the page this far, I’m allowed to just dump overboard anything I don’t want to take along any further, and there’s no penalty…. As if I would pay one, anyway…. All that nonsense aside, I think we’re done here, or, done with the intro, anyway…. In fact, here’s the end, right here….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“When you doubt, abstain.” — Zoroaster

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

Will change the pebbles of our puddly thought
To orient pearls.

— Du Bartas (1544-1590) — Divine Weekes and Workes, Second Week, Third Day, Part i

I awoke rather late, for me, so I don’t really have time to rant about any of the following material…. But, rather than say nothing, I’m including the links, and will follow the presentation of information of some of the latest chicanery that has come to light, all because of the courage and patriotism of Eric Snowden, with an old-school pearl, instead of a rant….

It is actually becoming rather obvious that our government is completely corrupted; the complete intransigence they have shown in refusing to acknowledge the rightness of what Mr. Snowden brought to light, to my mind, is their most egregious sign of guilt…. Well, that, and the FACT they are lying through their teeth in every statement they make on the subject of their illegal spying….. Here, read the articles, then enjoy the pearls that make some fun of all those who engage in the charade that we call “democracy”…..

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Report-NSA-targeted-German-privacy-activist-5598215.php#photo-6551181

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/nsa-surveillance-world-leaders-calls

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/jul/03/british-soldier-david-mcintyre-mental-disorder-extradited-us

I know, I felt soiled after reading all of it, too…. Go wash up, then you can more easily enjoy and appreciate the following jabs to the governmental rib cage….

” — How many Reaganists does it take to change a light bulb?  Ten: One to deny that the bulb is burned out, one to clarify the denial (“The bulb is really just dim”), one to blame the bulb burning out on the Carter administration, one to blame the bulb burning out on Congress, one to ask for a Constitutional amendment that will prohibit bulbs from burning out, one to replace the bulb with a kerosene lamp, one to borrow money from the Japanese to pay for the kerosene, one former Reaganist to lobby his old colleagues for a special favour for the kerosene importer, one to cash the cheque for investing in the kerosene importer, one to send the bill to the next generation.” — Smart Bee

“After I asked him what he meant, he replied that freedom consisted of the unimpeded right to get rich, to use his ability, no matter what the cost to others, to win advancement.” — Norman Thomas

(Wow! If this ISN’T an American business man talking, I’m a tea pot…. and, let me assure you, I am NOT a tea pot…. Hell, I don’t even LIKE tea very much….)

Sicilian: “Inconceivable!”  Westley: “You use that word a lot. I don’t think it means what you think it does.” — The Princess Bride

(Picture this interaction with any Senator as the Sicilian, and just about any reporter as Westley…. then use, instead of “Inconceivable”, substitute the word, “Truth!”. The entire interaction will make perfect sense, and, has the advantage of being more factual than imaginary….)

“As we anarchists say: “There’s no government like no government.”” — D’Arcy J. M. Cain (darcy@druid)

“Do you call yourself free?  I want to hear your ruling idea, and not that you have escaped from a yoke.” — Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”

“Attitudes adjusted, while you wait.” — L.A. Police Car Bumper Sticker

(The fact that this is TRUE is what makes this fit in….I’ve actually SEEN police cars with that sticker on them…. It is yet another example of how the government, and their myrmidons, are not even bothering to hide a lot of their asininity these days…. It’s a bit scary to realize the attitude expressed by that sticker is not just present, but is rampant amongst almost all the metropolitan police forces in this country…)

“Americans have different ways of saying things.  They say `elevator’, we say `lift’…they say `President’, we say `stupid psychopathic git’….” — Alexi Sayle

There you go, ffolkes…. I’ll have a real rant for y’all soon…. I can feel the anger/angst building up; I’ll need to let it out soon…. Until then, let’s find a poem that seems appropriate….

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Again, I’m late, so, I have to go with one of my own poems, to save time…. Here is one that hits the right spot…. If you remember axiom #1 of Peruaosophy, which I have kindly and conveniently included below the poem, you’ll know why….

Relative Cynicism, with Caramel Sauce

Absolute stillness follows violent movement,
  it can happen during a downhill race,
as an immovable piece of asphalt pavement
  meets the once handsome racer’s face.

Yuk, yuk, yuk said that asshole Moe,
 after poking both of Larry’s eyes,
bashing face, head, & crotch of Curly Joe
  and only ever got hit with pies.

Lonely moments never really come along
  when Murphy’s got us in his sights.
Not for money, love, or siren’s song
  will he abrogate his natural rights.

All we can do is sigh, or laugh in pain,
  as Life portions out our ration of shit.
Silver linings melt in the slightest rain,
  so we may as well learn to live with it.

~~ gigoid ~~


Peruaosophy, Axiom #1 states: “I think I am. That’s close enough.”

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Rather than cheat, by using an archived piece here, I’ll throw together a random, harlequin pearl, the fastest, most consistent kind….. Let’s see what SB can do for us today….

“You, shall I tell you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, say that you know it. When you do not know a thing, admit you do not know it. This is  knowledge.” — Confucius

“Cats know how we feel. They don’t give a damn, but they know.” — Smart Bee

“I’m having BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS about the INSIPID WIVES of smug and wealthy CORPORATE LAWYERS..” — Zippy the Pinhead

“You know what it’s like to be dead.  It’s just like it was before you were born.  Remember what it was like before you were born?” — Evan

“Insanity, its not just a plea. Its a way of life.” — Smart Bee

“I have great faith in fools — self confidence my friends call it.” — Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

“I demand IMPUNITY!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Zowie! It’s been a long while since I made a pearl with two Zippy quotes; add in two entries from Smart Bee, and you’ve got something….. What that might be is a subject I wouldn’t touch with a FIFTY foot pole…. Actually, though, it came out pretty well…. in fact, I think we could go so far as to call it “special”….. Of course, that’s only because it’s all so damn relevant, in spite of not having tried to make it so…. Ah well, even after all this time, the process of Pearling can surprise me with some new facet I’ve never before encountered….. It must be love…..

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Well, whatever it is, it’s done, so we can all take a big breath of relief, if not sheer exuberant joy…. In spite of myself, I’ve managed to create a half-way decent morning Pearl, so, I’ll close the horse’s mouth, and be on my way into the day…. I hope y’all had a nice, quiet, peaceful Fourth of July, which, I know, is damned un-American of me, but, hey, it’s who I am….

Some of us patriots have actually READ the US Flag Code, y’know?  Next time I see someone with the flag used as a piece of clothing, I’m going to perform a citizen’s arrest, and drag their ass off to court, just for the humiliation factor, when the judge reads the code to find that such behavior is strictly illegal…. So is writing on one, like the junior Shrub was fond of doing….

Whoops, almost fell into a late rant there…. Sorry…. But, if you get the chance, read the US Flag Code some time; you’ll see that just about nobody, outside the Marine Corps, knows diddly squat about how to treat or honor the flag…. ‘Nuff said, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

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