Tag Archives: Serendipity

We’ll gate crash the Vatican….

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Ffolkes,
Once again, the WordPress community stepped up, and came through to help when someone asked…. My mild whining yesterday morning, regarding site statistics, prompted my regular readers to respond with a veritable avalanche of support and intelligent, compassionate advice. Virtually all of the regulars, minus a couple, commented on yesterday’s post, and all of them were positive, and encouraging. This is, I think, the third or fourth time I’ve had this happen, when I’ve asked a question in the intro,  or commented on a difficulty I was experiencing with my blog, or my life…. each time, the ffolkes who read here often, took the time to comment, with answers and emotional support… it’s actually a very humbling experience.

So, I want to take a moment here to say a big, huge thank you to the ffolkes who wrote in yesterday…. Coming to blog at WordPress has been not only beneficial for that part of me that has to write, and the part that has to read, but also for my heart and soul, simply because of the people like you all who also participate in the WP community. It is people like you who will end up saving this sad old world, if it can be done, with your intelligence, your compassion, and your willingness to spend the effort to help your fellow man, without any thought of reward or gain, merely out of the passion in your heart. I am humbled, often, at your giving natures, and consider it a huge honor to call all of you Friend….

With that said, I should probably start diving for pearls, before I start blubbering like a baby…. my PTSD will do that sometimes, embarrassing me to death by making me burst into tears in the middle of a conversation….. quite degrading to the soul…. rather than have that happen, we will go now to the WWW to start our search… which could take a while, as I don’t have anything saved up, other than some Shakespeare…. hmm, maybe a bit of flaying his hide will serve….. Shall we Pearl?…..

Asking for aid here
always brings hope and advice.
Empowering friends.

gigoid

“Is that you reading me, or is that me being written?” — Smart Bee
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“We are inclined to confuse freedom and democracy, which we regard as moral principles, with the way in which these are practiced in America — with capitalism, federalism and the two-party system, which are not moral principles, but simply the accepted practices of the American people.” — Sen. James J. William Fulbright

I remember this Fulbright guy…. he was still spouting off when I was a teenager. I don’t recall any particularly strong feelings of approval at what I heard then from him, other than the normal disdain with which I greeted almost all politics back then. But, what he says here appeals to my current self much more than what I remember from back then. This is a very accurate description of reality in American politics, and the condition of the world in which we now find ourselves can be attributed in large part to this observation’s veracity….

The beloved ruling class has been pounding the minds of the public with manipulative lies for a very long time, and it can be a difficult task to separate the truth and the lies they put out at such an alarming rate. In addition, even doing so is made more difficult by the derisive attacks they make on anyone who dares to question their lies. It’s typical for them to call anyone who questions them a Communist, or a Socialist, or some other -ist, which they think is evil whenever their lies are exposed. Or, like dear Mitt the Twitt said the other day, the people who want to see his taxes are “small minded”… the names they use don’t matter, as they are only calculated to draw attention away from the lies that are being exposed to the light of day….

“The liberal of any species is always more dangerous — because he always seems so much more rational.” — Solomon Short

This statement from Mr. Short is also perceptive, describing accurately the danger of listening to ANY politician…. even the most liberal pundit, by the act of seeking office, gives away their true purpose, not to help the downtrodden, but to gain power and influence for themselves…. They are more dangerous because their lies are designed to make the public believe that they are acting in their interests, looking out for the little guy, when in reality, they are just picking the little guy’s pocket…..

Reduce taxes on rich = trickle down prosperity. — Conservative idea #4

Never cooperate with conservatives. — Liberal Rule #34

Taken together, these two little aphorisms show why, or rather, how, it can be a confusing task to sort the truth from the lies that are served up on a daily basis. Both of these are true, in at least one sense, yet both are also outright lies, made up to demean the opposing party’s position and reputation. It’s kind of funny actually, because not only are these lies, but they are lies that can be fitted to either side like a tailor-made suit. To my way of thinking, both liberals and conservatives are wrong, so it’s easier for me to tell when they are lying…. quite easy, in fact…. if their mouth is open, they’re lying, count on it…..

“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” — T.S. Eliot

This, from our old friend T.S., can be considered to be a fact, even a natural law, and for proof, just go back and read any historical treatise from any century. It has always been clear, especially to the beloved ruling class, that most folks have no real desire to deal with reality as it is…. they would much rather have it behave as they would like it to do. This tendency toward mental sloth is well-known to our rulers, and they exploit it mercilessly….

The political pundits are constantly telling the public what they want to hear, even though that has nothing to do with what will really take place when they are elected. The weird, sad part for me is that the public falls for it all so easily, and the rapacious and the greedy are constantly rewarded with new terms in Washington D.C., or London, or Sydney, or wherever in the world the election may take place…. If it weren’t so damn depressing, it might be entertaining….

“George Washington said to his father, “If I never tell a lie, how can I get to be President?” — Red Buttons

In any culture, one can ascertain the true state of the society by listening to the comedians…. Red Buttons wasn’t known particularly for his political humor, but with this one he struck closer to home than he knew. Right from the very start of this country, the bankers and the rich have conspired to control the government, and have been singularly effective in that quest. Even the stated fears of the founding fathers were not sufficient to keep them from insinuating themselves into the political process at every level, manipulating the laws, and the courts, to establish themselves as the true rulers of this country. Nobody gets elected who isn’t supposed to be, for they won’t willingly give away any of the control they have gained over time, and the surest way to guarantee that control is to control the elections….

“There cannot be a nation of millionaires, and there never has been a nation of Utopian comrades; but there have been any number of nations of tolerably contented peasants.” — G. K. Chesterton, Outline of Sanity CW. V. 192

SIGH…. I don’t know…. it’s all so tacky! G.K. has probably got it right, but I don’t think I want to settle for tolerable contentment. I can stand a bit more excitement than that, I hope. I’m just so tired of having to watch, as society dumbs itself down further and further with every election, sending the worst possible candidates into the spotlight, and making all of us who want more from life nervous at having to spend another four to eight years keeping our heads down and our defensive strategies up-to-date… I know I am, and I don’t even care much about politics (you wouldn’t know it, by how much I write about it….). Ah well, at least we’ve got cable TV, and the Internet…..

“Politics is poopadoodle!” — Fred the Bird, from Odds Bodkins
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A Thing of Beauty (Endymion)

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkn’d ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

John Keats

“….. is a joy for ever.”  Truer words were never written, and now I know the origin of the phrase…. true serendipity….  🙂    Enjoy!
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“A can of ASPARAGUS, 73 pigeons, some LIVE ammo, and a FROZEN DAQUIRI!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

At last…. I may have been looking for this all my life. Or not. Either way, it has just jumped into my head, and established itself as the proper combination of plot ingredients for my new book of fiction. What a delightful set of possibilities are opened up by these four little metaphors-to-be! It’s enough to make a grown man sniffle in joy…. Here, watch this….

“It was hot. Damn hot, and the frozen daiquiri looked as cool and refreshing as the smile of the girl who served it. I watched appreciatively as she bent to set it down, giving in to the tempting invitation to gaze at her….. face.   🙂   Just as I was about to ask her where I could get some live ammo, I was distracted by a huge rushing sound, as if an entire flock of pigeons had begun to circle my head; it sounded like at least 73 of them…. I couldn’t be sure. It might have been only 71; it was a very loud bar. Bending my head to read the menu, I had gotten no further than, “We proudly serve canned asparagus” when my cell phone rang….”

There, now isn’t that riveting? And that was just one outline…. using another outline, putting the metaphors in different order, will give me at least 12 other plot lines, no sweat. I love it when a plan comes together, especially when there was no plan. It just dropped right into my lap….. Uh oh…. I just realized something….. Dropped into my lap…. by whom? Shit. I was so damn pleased at finding such a brilliant stimulus package, I forgot to examine it for traces of Murphy…. Hang on a moment while I run this through the wonk-o-meter….. It will only take a minute; it warms up fast….

I should have known….. This has Murphy’s mark all over it. Damn! Now if I use it, it will end up causing me no end of controversy and embarrassment…. SFPCCC!  (They’re swear words… you don’t want to know…..)  Just when I thought I was done…. True to his habit, and his nature, Murphy has waited for just the right moment to slip this into my head, right when I was primed to not look at it too closely….. Whew! I dodged a big bullet that time! I’m glad I caught it before it went any further… my keyboard would probably have exploded the next time I wrote something that used it as a basis for a plot. Ah well, it was enough to count as the pearl for this section, so I guess all’s well that ends well…..

Though I am young, I scorn to flit
On the wings of borrowed wit.
— George Wither (1588-1667) — The Shepherd’s Hunting
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Well, this is another one…. it’s not like the other one. Much…..I hope….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

A predictable failure to perpetuate…..

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Ffolkes,
The hardest part is over, so I can now relax….. I suppose I could apply that statement to my life at large, as well as to my current situation, wherein I have to find a new dwelling… the hardest part is over….. Wow, what a nice feeling that carries with it! I hadn’t really stopped and looked at things exactly like this; it’s a nice little change. Now I can relax….

In so many ways, I am a lucky man…. I was lucky enough to be born in this country, where, regardless of how rigged the game is, there is still ample opportunity for people to make their way, and to succeed in building themselves a comfortable existence…. If it isn’t always easy, well, that is to be expected….

Now, after working for a large portion of my life, I have the opportunity to kick back and enjoy the fruits of my labors, in a manner of speaking. The effort I put in at my jobs, from age 14 to age 60, will, when fully in place, will allow me to support myself without strain… I won’t be affluent, by any stretch of the imagination…. but I’ll have enough to live on, with enough left over to do some of the traveling I’ve always wanted to do…. and you can’t beat that with a stick….

The last two years of living with much less than is called for has taught me, or re-taught me, some valuable lessons on how to live cheaply. One learns fairly quickly which expenses are necessary, and which are not, and, at the same time, one learns to get by without those things we thought we needed, but found we didn’t…. and these lessons will come in handy after my full retirement kicks in, allowing me to live comfortably, while still allowing me to save up to travel. So put away the stick, we won’t be needing it….

It’s good now and again to look on one’s life and reflect upon its events; it keeps life fresh, and like today, one may find that things are much better than they look at first…. It makes that old saw about stopping to smell the roses more attractive, as in those times when you find a huge red one, just bursting with beauty and the smell of springtime….. On that note, shall we Pearl?……
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“It is not the possessions but the desires of mankind which require to be equalized.” — Aristotle

Life is tough, but not as tough as it used to be. It’s been a long time since we humans had to actually go out and be responsible for our own survival, a pastime that, up until about 2500-3000 years ago, was pretty much a full time occupation for the majority of people. Very few folks back then could be spared to sit around doing nothing, using up resources that were acquired by the others of the group; everybody had to pull their own weight, or they starved…..

But once the species figured out farming, and how to produce food more efficiently than having to go out to find it, life got a lot easier, at least from a physical standpoint. Farming kept folks from needing to move around so much to look for food, so cities began to form, and civilization began to organize into its various strata….. beloved ruling class, priestly hierarchy class, warrior class, and, of course, the patsy class, also known as the worker bees, or peons, depending on one’s particular degree of sliminess….

To look at what Aristotle says above, one might think it speaks to the upper classes, suggesting that, perhaps, if they wanted less than they have, which is more than they need, then there might not be as many folks who want only enough to survive, but can’t find even that. It isn’t as if they don’t have enough…..However, thanks to the priestly hierarchies, who act as the protector of the ruling class, the less fortunate are lied to, and are told that THEY are being tested, and not to want more…. The priests have them all convinced that all they should want is just enough, in reward for which they will be compensated IN THE NEXT LIFE!  It’s one of the most egregious scams that has ever been perpetrated on the masses, and continues today….

“Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man.” — George Gaylord Simpson

The problem now is that it has gotten to the point that almost all the available resources of the planet are used up… only by reducing the total number of people drastically can the species continue to survive…. and we all know who is going to get the short end of THAT stick, don’t we?

Once people realize that the available resources needed for the species to survive are being hoarded and manipulated by the powers that be, all to favor themselves, the unwashed masses are going to be, shall we say, less than happy with the beloved ruling class, and even less happy with the priestly hierarchies who prop them up. It will be Mother Nature’s way of saying “you wouldn’t play nicely with others, and now you’ll have to pay the price for that failure….”  Of course, she would, and will, probably make it sound less pompous than I do….

Being able to control one’s desires is a very valuable skill, and one worth learning, for certain. But when the desire is the simple desire to survive, it is not one that either can, or should, be eliminated…. For many centuries, the beloved ruling class and the priestly hierarchies who are in league with them have been lying to the general populace for their own benefit; history, even when written by the winners, makes that very clear.

“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” — Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

Soon, they will have to come to terms with that treachery, as the planet’s resources, and its ability to support our form of life, are reduced to where we can no longer grow enough food, or breathe the air due to the addition of far too much carbon monoxide…. When the general public realizes that the PTB are the assholes who have put us in this position, I don’t think they are going to be very happy about it…. and my only hope is that they don’t take so long to come to that conclusion that it is too late to make the needed changes…. which is a distinct possibility…. Small hopes are better than none…..

Jesus is coming, everyone look busy. — Bumper Sticker
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À Bas Ben Adhem

My fellow man I do not care for.
I often ask me, What’s he there for?
The only answer I can find
Is, Reproduction of his kind.
If I’m supposed to swallow that,
Winnetka is my habitat.
Isn’t it time to carve Hic Jacet
Above that Reproduction racket?

To make the matter more succinct:
Suppose my fellow man extinct.
Why, who would not approve the plan
Save possibly my fellow man?
Yet with a politician’s voice
He names himself as Nature’s choice.

The finest of the human race
Are bad in figure, worse in face.
Yet just because they have two legs
And come from storks instead of eggs
They count the spacious firmament
As something to be charged and sent.

Though man created cross-town traffic,
The Daily Mirror, News and Graphic,
The pastoral fight and fighting pastor,
And Queen Marie and Lady Astor,
He hails himself with drum and fife
And bullies lower forms of life.

Not that I think much depends
On how we treat our feathered friends,
Or hold the wrinkled elephant
A nobler creature than my aunt.
It’s simply that I’m sure I can
Get on without my fellow man.

Ogden Nash

Serendipity, by definition, is always a surprise, and usually a good one… in this case it was a great surprise…. The poem I posted a couple of days ago by Mr. Nash reminded me that he is one of my all-time favorite poets, because of his masterful use of the language, if nothing else…. But this one seems to have been written while reading my mind, as it complements the previous section perfectly, giving a poetic statement very similar in intent, and content, to the prose above. See, Fate CAN be our friend!…. Enjoy!….
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“Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.


But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please — this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!


So learn to say No – and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.) “

~~ Lazarus Long, “Time Enough for Love” by Robert A. Heinlein

Once or twice a year, I like to pull this out of my old posts and run it again. It is as perfect a description of Duty as I have ever seen, and matches up exactly, point by point, with what I was taught as a young boy by my father…. It is well worth reading, and even more well worth adopting into one’s personal philosophy….
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Finding the last Pearl took, seemingly, forever…. well over an hour. But, perseverance paid off, as always…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you……

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

 

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

The cashews don’t usually complain….

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Ffolkes,
So, the weather here is showing signs of the effects of global warming, by altering the normal pattern for this time of year. Yesterday was sweltering, relative to the past few weeks… not too hot, only around 90 or so, but it felt like descending to the upper levels of hell after all the mild weather of late. I still had the fan on when I went to bed last night. This morning, I had to get up & shut the windows, and turn on the heat for a bit to warm it up, as it was freezing inside and out. I looked outside and found a completely overcast sky, & chilly temperatures.

Now, that in itself is not unusual for Northern California’s SF Bay Area;  nightly fog acts as a sort of air conditioner most days, lasting until about 1100 before burning off for a normally warm summer day. But, prior to global warming, the switch from spring weather to summer generally took more than one day…..

“I’ve developed a new philosophy… I only dread one day at a time.” — Charlie Brown

Ah well, the intro is too early to rant about global warming, or anything else. I’m kind of getting a bit discouraged anyway; my ranting, while cathartic for me, and possibly enjoyable for those few who read it, isn’t having much of an effect.

It would be nice to wake up one day, and see that things have changed….. the government issued emission control guidelines strict enough to work, or a Republican came out for gay marriage, or General Motors announces it is converting to all electric vehicles running on solar power. You know, just some small token, to let me know that my rants are not just shouting into the wind.

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

Alas, I’m afraid that will never happen, unless by some fantastic turn of chance my blog goes viral, and the ranting I carry on reaches the ears of a significant number of people, a number large enough to be able to have a real effect on reality. I’m still waiting…..

Ah well, since that probably is out of the question as well, I suppose I’ll just get on with today’s effort…. shall we Pearl?…..
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“Control of the dissemination of information (or misinformation) is one of the principal sources of political power. Political power is what the discussion of the Internet is really about, not home-made bombs or pornography.” — Michael Goldsby — Letter to Communications of the ACM, Nov 95

Mr. Goldsby has hit upon a very significant piece of information here, one that is completely accurate, and is sure to be the target of the beloved ruling class, as something to deny, and/or distract away from the attention of the public. The people who seek to hold political power have a lot of practice at hiding what they are doing from the public, and the Internet, because of its currently unregulated nature, is a distinct threat to that policy.

Numerous political talking heads have been introducing legislation to Congress in attempts to curtail the free flow of information on the Internet, seeking to prohibit all sorts of exchanges of files and information between people over which they have no control. They do, of course, hide their true intentions behind some other reason for wanting to control that flow….

The bills they will introduce will say that they want to protect intellectual property rights, they want to protect the rights of corporations to make a profit, they want to keep kids from having access to pornography, they want to protect National Security…. all these are the reasons they will give for the legislation, but the true purpose remains there, behind all the distracting BS…. They want to control ALL the information that is sent out; only then can they be sure that the public will only see what they want us to see….

Silence is the language of complicity. — Smart Bee

They won’t stop trying to establish their own controls on the flow of information; it is against their nature to allow the “sheep” to determine where they will go to pasture. If we are to continue to enjoy the Internet as it is, with no restrictions to the flow of information, we will need to be alert to the attempts by the beloved ruling class to take it away.

Recent attempts have been defeated, partly due to the power of the Internet itself, as millions of users emailed their legislators, or signed online petitions, urging them to vote against the legislated attempt at shackling the Net…. and it worked! The response was so strong that even the legislators who supported the bill were forced to vote against it, or face the wrath of their constituency….. It was a beautiful example of how the public can fight back….

The Internet is now the best tool the public has to maintain awareness of those threats to our liberty that are being carried out on a daily basis by those who would have us believe they are acting in our interests. It is also the best tool we have to make sure that those same narcissistic power-mongers can’t hide from us; when the information is flowing freely, there is no place for them to hide. They know this, and that is why they are working so hard to neutralize the Internet, to pull its fangs, so they will be free to continue their program of lying, cheating, and stealing from the public….. and I say FUCK ‘EM!…….
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“Is this the region, this the soil, the clime,”
Said then the lost Archangel, “this the seat
That we must change for Heaven, this mournful gloom
For that celestial light? Be it so, since he
Who is now sovereign can dispose and bid
What shall be right: farthest from him is best,
Whom reason hath equaled, force hath made supreme
Above his equals. Farewell, happy fields,
Where joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors! hail,
Infernal World! and thou, profoundest Hell,
Receive thy new possessor – one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
A mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what should I be, all but less than he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence;
Here we may reign secure, and, in my choice,
To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”
— John Milton, “Paradise Lost”

Ironic, is it not? This is merely a piece of the epic poem by Milton, with its most famous line. The entire poem is one of the most revered pieces of literature in all of Mankind’s history, and the last line is indubitably one of the most well-known, and most often repeated, lines of all.

The irony, to me, is to note that, almost any priest/preacher would find the last line to be extreme heresy, yet it remains the favorite of all man’s works to date. This indicates to me that the inner spirit of most people knows crap when it hears it, and the dogma that most religions embrace most certainly falls into that category. Our innermost selves can see this, in spite of all the indoctrination into the dogma it may have endured, and can only agree with the sentiment, “Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven…..

SIGH…. I know that pieces such as this one tend to disappoint certain members of my family, on those rare occasions they actually read this many words at once; many of them are firmly ensnared in the dogmatic trap of born-again cultism. (I always have to wonder what was wrong with the first time they were born?….. I mean, it’s kind of disrespectful of our Mom to regret one’s birth…..)   But, that’s okay, they never understood me very well anyway, but they are family, so they make an attempt to love me, heretic that I am….they have to, they’re family…. But they don’t have to like it, and they don’t…. Así es la vida loca, si?
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All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

Richard Brautigan

Richard Brautigan wrote much of his poetry about, and during, the time when he, and I, lived in Berkeley, in the Sixties. (I know, but I’m atypical…. I was there, and I remember all of it, even though I partook of EVERY activity that characterized the time…..) He was a few years older, but what he wrote destroyed any differences that might have existed between our spirits; I recognized him at first read.

The title line of this poem produces an image in my mind that offers me a lot of solace, for it is an image that could only become real if Mankind manages to keep from devolving into extinction, as we seem hell-bent on doing. A lot of his poems are the same, with a very strong, real connection to the current world, to reality, colored by the mind of a genius….
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Well, that was satisfying…. I remembered Richard at the last moment, just when I was getting discouraged at the lack of pearls to be found…. Serendipity strikes again….. I’m hoping the fog burns off this morning, as that will ensure a nice, comfortable afternoon; I’ve been trying to get a walk in each day in the afternoon, in hopes of conditioning myself well enough to stand up to the traveling I want to do…. Having to take a nap each day like a four-year old is fun, and feels good, but, as the Scots say, it’s time to be living, for I’ll be a long time dead…. I’ll have plenty of time then for naps…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

On the trail of corrupted plankton….

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5

Ffolkes,

How It Works…..

Retreat, retreat, he cries in vain
we cannot stand such pain!
Another battle, another day’s fight
Eternally at war, both day and night.

Storms within, crashing and thrashing about,
filling each moment with fear and doubt.
Cries of anguish, hopes for a swift end
Denied with wounds that will not mend.

The crisis approaches, time will not wait.
It marches on, driven madly by fate.
We have no recourse, no other road to walk,
No great power to whom we may talk.

Morning arrives, seemingly mild and free
Until one considers all that must be
An intro, some pearls, a photo or two
Today’s magnificent Pearl, created just for you…..

–gigoid

Well, I don’t often try my hand at poetry, but this came out pretty well, I think. It’s certainly a change of pace for this blog, and if nothing else, I didn’t have to come up with another interesting introductory section.

Well, I did, but with a new technique…. enjoy it, ffolkes, you won’t see it often. I believe this is the first poem I’ve written in a great many years, and it will most likely be another few years before another one works its way out into the light of day….

I’m kinda proud of this one…. it actually rhymes, and has cadence and everything! Not sure how that happened, but, I’ll take it…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Let us, then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind.  Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.  And let us reflect that having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of a bitter and bloody persecution.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

See! They warned us, and we still didn’t listen! Almost every one of the men who were involved in the writing of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, at one time or another in the ensuing years, wrote a letter or essay discussing this very idea. They had just fought a long, hard battle to set up the safeguards for the freedoms we now supposedly enjoy, and were nervous that what they had accomplished would be lost in the future, due to the machinations of those among the human herd who make it their habit to prey on the rest of the group.

Corporations, and the politicians who take their money in return for legislation favoring those corporations, were considered just as dangerous to liberty as were religions; Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Mason, Adams, and a host of others all wrote their own version of warnings to their ancestors, naming rapacious corporate entities among the most dangerous enemies against which to guard. These men, who had already risked everything to create the nation we live in, had no desire to see that nation fall to internal enemies, and were careful to make sure that we would know…

But, nobody listened, and now we are reaping what we have sown. Corporations control Congress. If you believe otherwise, you are delusional, quite simply. It is only necessary to go down the list of those who have been elected, and tally up how their votes go on issues that concern the control of corporate activities. It becomes perfectly clear that NO legislation that seriously hinders what corporations are allowed to do in their pursuit of profit will ever be enacted.

If something that appears to be beneficial to the public does get voted in, you can bet there are codicils and amendments to the bill that essentially emasculate any attempts to curtail profit. Congress hasn’t enacted any laws beneficial to the public in over 75 years, that I can see, and I invite anyone to show me one bill that did so. Just one…. then we can discuss how long it took to find it…. and what THAT little item of information means….

Back in the mid-nineteenth century in America, a corrupt Federal judge was paid by corporate interests to make a ruling that, in essence, gave corporations “person-hood”, making them legal entities entitled to all the protection of the laws that govern individuals. Essentially, this gave these businesses the “right” to a profit, and allows them to charge their customers for any expenses they wish, no matter how egregious or outlandish, and their right to that is protected by law.

Every legal decision challenging that person-hood has been defeated in the intervening years, on those few occasions when anyone has tried to throw off the chains the law has placed on us all. The amount of money spent on lobbying, to control the laws that get made, far exceeds what is spent on education, healthcare, or almost any other publicly beneficial programs, (not war, you’ll note; war is good business…) and in the eyes of the 1%, it is money well-spent…..

Now, PAC’s for both the Democratic corporations, and the Republican corporations (yes, they are…. there is no real difference between the corporations and the pundits they have paid for; they’re speaking the same language, and have the same goals….) are all set to spend BILLIONS of dollars, dollars originally ripped out of YOUR pockets for stuff you don’t really want or need, to spread lies, misinformation, accusations, and prestidigitation around the public airways until we are all sick of it…..

Well, until some of us are…. I’m sick of it already, and they haven’t really ramped it up yet….. I think I’m going to go buy some aspirin to go along with my other pain medications; I can feel a headache coming on, and I don’t think it will let up until December….

“I speak truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare; and I dare a little the more as I grow older.” — Michael de Montaigne
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FAIRY, n.  A creature, variously fashioned and endowed, that formerly inhabited the meadows and forests.  It was nocturnal in its habits, and somewhat addicted to dancing and the theft of children.  The fairies are now believed by naturalist to be extinct, though a clergyman of the Church of England saw three near Colchester as lately as 1855, while passing through a park after dining with the lord of the manor.  The sight greatly staggered him, and he was so affected that his account of it was incoherent.  In the year 1807 a troop of fairies visited a wood near Aix and carried off the daughter of a peasant, who had been seen to enter it with a bundle of clothing.  The son of a wealthy _bourgeois_ disappeared about the same time, but afterward returned.  He had seen the abduction been in pursuit of the fairies.  Justinian Gaux, a writer of the fourteenth century, avers that so great is the fairies’ power of transformation that he saw one change itself into two opposing armies and fight a battle with great slaughter, and that the next day, after it had resumed its original shape and gone away, there were seven hundred bodies of the slain which the villagers had to bury.  He does not say if any of the  wounded recovered.  In the time of Henry III, of England, a law was made which prescribed the death penalty for “Kyllynge, wowndynge, or mamynge” a fairy, and it was universally respected. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Life just wouldn’t be worth living without esoterica…. I love finding stuff like this. From a purely rational standpoint, it is a waste of intellectual energy to spend even the amount of time it takes to read in reflection of fantasy. But being human means that rationality is not only NOT mandatory, it is easily disregarded in favor of such charming nonsense.

When I read this, I like to think that it is strictly true, that the references quoted actually exist in some English or Irish library, that the peasants still walk around “fairy hills” to show respect, that the law protecting fairies is still actively enforced by the English people. Even if it isn’t true, it feels good to consider, and to me, that makes it worthwhile…. Anything that stimulates the imagination is okay with me…..
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A Code of Morals

Now Jones had left his new-wed bride to keep his house in order,
And hied away to the Hurrum Hills above the Afghan border,
To sit on a rock with a heliograph; but ere he left he taught
His wife the working of the Code that sets the miles at naught.

And Love had made him very sage, as Nature made her fair;
So Cupid and Apollo linked , per heliograph, the pair.
At dawn, across the Hurrum Hills, he flashed her counsel wise —
At e’en, the dying sunset bore her busband’s homilies.

He warned her ‘gainst seductive youths in scarlet clad and gold,
As much as ‘gainst the blandishments paternal of the old;
But kept his gravest warnings for (hereby the ditty hangs)
That snowy-haired Lothario, Lieutenant-General Bangs.

‘Twas General Bangs, with Aide and Staff, who tittupped on the way,
When they beheld a heliograph tempestuously at play.
They thought of Border risings, and of stations sacked and burnt —
So stopped to take the message down — and this is whay they learnt —

“Dash dot dot, dot, dot dash, dot dash dot” twice. The General swore.
“Was ever General Officer addressed as ‘dear’ before?
“‘My Love,’ i’ faith! ‘My Duck,’ Gadzooks! ‘My darling popsy-wop!’
“Spirit of great Lord Wolseley, who is on that mountaintop?”

The artless Aide-de-camp was mute; the gilded Staff were still,
As, dumb with pent-up mirth, they booked that message from the hill;
For clear as summer lightning-flare, the husband’s warning ran: —
“Don’t dance or ride with General Bangs — a most immoral man.”

[At dawn, across the Hurrum Hills, he flashed her counsel wise —
But, howsoever Love be blind, the world at large hath eyes.]
With damnatory dot and dash he heliographed his wife
Some interesting details of the General’s private life.

The artless Aide-de-camp was mute, the shining Staff were still,
And red and ever redder grew the General’s shaven gill.
And this is what he said at last (his feelings matter not): —
“I think we’ve tapped a private line. Hi! Threes about there! Trot!”

All honour unto Bangs, for ne’er did Jones thereafter know
By word or act official who read off that helio.
But the tale is on the Frontier, and from Michni to Mooltan
They know the worthy General as “that most immoral man.”

Rudyard Kipling

Ah yes, the eternal curse of writing…. once the words are gone, they can never be called back…. This is kind of spooky in a way, as it could easily be seen as a prediction of the future…. Just imagine the idea of texting in the poem, instead of the heliograph, and it could have been written yesterday… or even tomorrow…. History is full of little ironies, isn’t it?
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Well, there you have it. I don’t think I can do any better than this, so it will have to do. It is certainly unique, for the poem by gigoid, if for nothing else. As for the rest, well, you’ll have to make your own decision as to that…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Negotiations broke down early this year….

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7

Ffolkes,
Today’s offering is a tribute to the power of procrastination. Or will be, if it ever gets done. Of course, to get done, it would be well to get started, but we don’t want to rush into anything, now, do we? In order to become a master of procrastination, as I am, one must learn that timing is everything. Work cannot be completed until JUST the right moment arrives, and there is no way to tell ahead of time when that might be. It all depends on the Wild Hair Syndrome, which, as we all know, can strike at any random moment….

But, once the Wild Hair has been combed, the words can flow, and another Pearl can find its way out into the cold, cruel world for all to see and enjoy. (Well, hopefully…) We’re expecting our own Wild Hair to show up any second now…. If you like, while we are waiting, we can discuss the weather, or, how ’bout them Giants, eh?…. No? Hmm…. politics?… No?…. a little rant?… No?…. oh, wait, here it comes now. Just look at it! Shiny and tall, with fresh color! It really duded up for this occasion…. Well, let’s get ‘er combed, so we can be on our way…. hand me that soldering iron, would you?…..

There, that should do it…. Okay, we may now proceed to our regular order of business, and end this period of professional procrastinating. It has been brought to you by your favorite Dutch uncle, gigoid, who hopes that you have enjoyed the interlude, and invites you to come on back any time you want to hang out awhile & accomplish absolutely nothing…. shall we Pearl?….
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A monk said to Joshu, “I have just entered this monastery. Please teach me.” 

“Have you eaten your breakfast?” Joshu asked. 

“Yes, I have,” replied the student. 

“Then you had better wash your bowl.” — Smart Bee

This little story, a typical Zen lesson, is a good example of why the Eastern philosophies have always appealed more to me than the typical Western mode of thought. The student is led to a point in the story, then left to find the actual lesson for themselves, forcing them to use their ability to reason in order to reach the teaching point. The lesson is thereby much more strongly reinforced, by the experience of searching for the answer to the puzzle, teaching both the lesson in the words (take the first step first, then the second….), and the lesson in the act (stretch your mind to find the truth…).

This method of teaching, and of learning, is much more effective, as well as more efficient than the typical formats that Western society tends to use. Here in the Occident, the teacher stands before a group of students, and gives out structured lessons, with a lot of memorization and rote learning of long passages from religious texts.

The students then take tests that determine how many factoids they have remembered, thus indicating how much they have learned…. to conform. Of course, they don’t learn how to reason, but you can’t have everything, and the ability to reason among the general populace is not highly prized, nor encouraged, among the hierarchy of Western leadership. They much prefer their subjects to be ignorant and pliable, thank you….

Irony: Limbaugh saying that dittoheads think for themselves. — Smart Bee

Hmm…. this is developing rant-like characteristics, and I don’t wish to go there… but it’s hard not to. It’s getting really difficult to not pay attention to the degree of craziness currently present in society. For goodness sake, Romney is going to be the Republican candidate; it’s a numerical lock now. Romney….

Here is a man with no integrity whatsoever, none. A man who has spent his entire life pursuing wealth at the expense of the taxpayers, and been very successful at it, too. He grew up privileged, was an elitist bully all through school, and has spent his entire career in public office changing his story to fit whatever he felt people needed to hear to get elected.

Not only has he lied time after time, often just making things up on the spot, but he doesn’t hide any of it. It’s all there for anyone to see, AND NOBODY SEEMS TO CARE! It’s like, “oh well, he’s all we’ve got, so we’ll overlook his dishonesty, his lack of self-control, his bigotry, his lack of qualifications, and his obvious lack of compassion for women, immigrants, gays, blacks, latinos, and almost every American that isn’t a white Christian”….. None of that stuff is being counted against him, and I don’t get it…. It’s like all of his worst features, as a human and as a politician, are completely invisible to his supporters, while simultaneously being all-too-obvious to the rest of us…..

It’s hard to trust the American voting public; I’ve seen too many instances in my life of them voting the worst possible way (Nixon, for one, two Bush’s for another…. and let’s not get into Reagan this morning, I don’t have THAT much time….)  I’m hoping, for sure, that some rationality will break out on the first Tuesday in November, and we will elect the incumbent for another term.

Barack’s made some bad moves, but mostly is trying pretty hard to get some good stuff done. Now, if he would only step away from those Executive Orders on National Security, I could feel a lot more comfortable with him…. as it is, he remains in the “not to be fully trusted” category due to his political pundit status…. He did, after all, seek the office, and that is a strike against him in my book. 

NONE of the beloved ruling class can be fully trusted, and if you don’t believe that, well, you are living in a different world than the rest of us…. You should probably think about upgrading your security…..

And don’t forget to wash your bowl….
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As further proof of Serendipity…. one never knows where good advice can be found, until it hits you in the head….

    Be like Han…. damn good advice, in my world…. of course, in my world, Donald the Trump would play the part of Darth Vader…. eerie resemblance of spirit there, isn’t it?….
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While Europe’s eye is fix’d on mighty things,
The fate of empires and the fall of kings;
While quacks of State must each produce his plan,
And even children lisp the Rights of Man;
Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention,
The Rights of Woman merit some attention.
— Robert Burns, Address on The Rights of Woman, November 26, 1792

Now, here is something you don’t see every day…. support for Women’s Rights written by a man. A pretty famous man, at that. It’s very heartening to me to find this, as it indicates some hope. Apparently, even 200+ years ago, there were men around who were able to throw off the indoctrination all males are given from birth, in conjunction with the oppressive set of behavioral rules set for women, and be able to see how unbalanced our patriarchal society has become. 

For centuries, men with no honor, and no integrity have been the ones who make the laws of our society; those laws, naturally, favor men, assigning women to a lifelong position of subordination. Anyone who feels that this is inaccurate is welcome to provide examples of the opposite viewpoint; I am confident there are none of significance, having made a careful study of the matter for many years.

As of this year, the issue remains volatile, and relevant. Congress is considering, at this very moment, a bill to make women’s pay more equitable in comparison to their male counterparts in the workforce. In fact, looking at those who support the bill, and those who do not, is a pretty good way to see just how divided society remains on the issue. Rationally speaking, equality for women isn’t something debatable. Even hardened conservatives hesitate to come out and say they don’t support women’s rights, though they continue to vote that way.

To me, it is incomprehensible that it should still find supporters outside the church hierarchies of most religions; they are the ones with the most to lose, should things change. But, in reality, there would be no net loss to society if women had equal status with men in a legal sense. The only effects would be positive, at all levels; that much is obvious to anyone who looks closely at the possible outcomes.

Alas, Mankind is not in the habit of making decisions rationally; if we were, we wouldn’t be in the fix we’re in. Maybe, maybe, things are changing a bit, and this bill will tip the scale toward a more sane reality. “Free our sisters, free ourselves…”  It was true when I first heard it back in 1968, and it’s true now…. and I still have hope, fool that I am….
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Once again, procrastination wins…. a bit later than some, earlier than others, but, I’ll take it. Doesn’t matter now, anyway, as it’s done, and I can’t get it back in the bottle….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Pale signs of obligatory horses….

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6

Ffolkes,
Far be it from me to fuss with a system that works…. For close to 11 months now, I’ve posted here every day, sometimes twice a day. Though the introduction is often strange, it has always been the most normal aspect of the entire process, as it is always done first, before I begin the search for pearls, and it provides the impetus for completing the rest.

I can’t say why it happened that way, but evolution is often more complex than we can see from our limited perspective. However it came about, it has always been the anchor post for the rest of the Pearl, pointing out the path we will be taking, or, at the very least, warming up the arthritic old fingers….

Introductory paragraphs also are important for setting the tone of one’s written offerings, whether humorous, serious, or somewhere in between. And, as noted here previously, the opening words of any tome are the most important words in the piece. The beginning must grab the reader’s attention with a fist of iron, and refuse to let go, or one takes the chance of losing them a few pages later, which rather eliminates the whole reason for being there….

Thus, I try to make the intro section special in some way…. sometimes it is a story opening; other times a litany of complaints. Often I’ll discuss personal ennui, or comment on some outrageous thought I’ve had, or some silly news story. Occasionally, like today, I will bore you to tears discussing the process of creating Pearls, which, though interesting enough to me, probably is putting you back to sleep as I type…. not good….

So, we’ll jump off this wagon, and dive into the water to search for some appropriate pearls…. about damn time, I’d say….
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To make a long story short:  Once upon a time….It was a dark and stormy night……..and they lived happily ever after. — Smart Bee

And I oft have heard defended,
–Little said is soonest mended.
— George Wither (1588-1667) — The Shepherd’s Hunting

As he sat staring into the screen at the last two seemingly unconnected pearls, he began to laugh, slowly at first, then rising in pitch and volume until the walls rang with the maniacal cacophony. “Madness!”, he thinks, “madness is here, and owns my wretched soul!” Caught in the maelstrom of his own inner conflict, he felt as if he were a drift of snow, blowing away in the howling winds, scattering to all parts of creation, never to be connected, or whole, again….

Yet, even more terrifyingly, Murphy’s henchman, the unthinkable terror of dissolution, holds him prisoner here, refusing to yield the pleasure of devouring every last bit of agony that can be dragged screaming from his beleaguered existence, keeping him anchored to the endless Now, with fear and loathing. Tears flow freely, long undefended by social convention, tears of grief for the lost possibilities, and tears of sadness for the loss of the years gone past.

Yet all things must pass….Remembering at last that the existence of pain is only confirmed by an equal amount of joy, the scale tips, and the duality of reality severs the hold of entropy on his emotions. The clouds disperse, as Murphy, well-pleased, slips laughing into the remaining mists….. Shattered and bloody, he sits, and thinks….

There you go…. long story short….

As long as we’re going insane, we might as well go the whole way. A mere shred of sanity is of no value. — Smart Bee

“Insanity destroys reason, but not wit.” — Nathaniel Emmons

I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘AAAUUGHHH’.
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One of the greatest joys of my life is finding new stuff to read, and learn; here is a poem by someone I’ve never heard of before, in a wonderful modern style, and obviously from a very down home American standpoint, pre-idiocy period…. enjoy!

Knee-Deep in June

Tell you what I like the best —
‘Long about knee-deep in June,
‘Bout the time strawberries melts
On the vine, — some afternoon
Like to jes’ git out and rest,
And not work at nothin’ else!

Orchard’s where I’d ruther be —
Needn’t fence it in fer me! —
Jes’ the whole sky overhead,
And the whole airth underneath —
Sort o’ so’s a man kin breathe
Like he ort, and kind o’ has
Elbow-room to keerlessly
Sprawl out len’thways on the grass
Where the shadders thick and soft
As the kivvers on the bed
Mother fixes in the loft
Allus, when they’s company!

Jes’ a-sort o’ lazin there –
S’lazy, ‘at you peek and peer
Through the wavin’ leaves above,
Like a feller ‘ats in love
And don’t know it, ner don’t keer!
Ever’thing you hear and see
Got some sort o’ interest –
Maybe find a bluebird’s nest
Tucked up there conveenently
Fer the boy ‘at’s ap’ to be
Up some other apple tree!
Watch the swallers skootin’ past
Bout as peert as you could ast;
Er the Bob-white raise and whiz
Where some other’s whistle is.

Ketch a shadder down below,
And look up to find the crow —
Er a hawk, – away up there,
‘Pearantly froze in the air! —
Hear the old hen squawk, and squat
Over ever’ chick she’s got,
Suddent-like! – and she knows where
That-air hawk is, well as you! —
You jes’ bet yer life she do! —
Eyes a-glitterin’ like glass,
Waitin’ till he makes a pass!

Pee-wees wingin’, to express
My opinion, ‘s second-class,
Yit you’ll hear ’em more er less;
Sapsucks gittin’ down to biz,
Weedin’ out the lonesomeness;
Mr. Bluejay, full o’ sass,
In them baseball clothes o’ his,
Sportin’ round the orchad jes’
Like he owned the premises!
Sun out in the fields kin sizz,
But flat on yer back, I guess,
In the shade’s where glory is!
That’s jes’ what I’d like to do
Stiddy fer a year er two!

Plague! Ef they ain’t somepin’ in
Work ‘at kind o’ goes ag’in’
My convictions! – ‘long about
Here in June especially! —
Under some ole apple tree,
Jes’ a-restin through and through,
I could git along without
Nothin’ else at all to do
Only jes’ a-wishin’ you
Wuz a-gittin’ there like me,
And June wuz eternity!

Lay out there and try to see
Jes’ how lazy you kin be! —
Tumble round and souse yer head
In the clover-bloom, er pull
Yer straw hat acrost yer eyes
And peek through it at the skies,
Thinkin’ of old chums ‘ats dead,
Maybe, smilin’ back at you
In betwixt the beautiful
Clouds o’gold and white and blue! —
Month a man kin railly love —
June, you know, I’m talkin’ of!

March ain’t never nothin’ new! —
April’s altogether too
Brash fer me! and May — I jes’
‘Bominate its promises, —
Little hints o’ sunshine and
Green around the timber-land —
A few blossoms, and a few
Chip-birds, and a sprout er two, —
Drap asleep, and it turns in
Fore daylight and snows ag’in! —
But when June comes – Clear my th’oat
With wild honey! — Rench my hair
In the dew! And hold my coat!
Whoop out loud! And th’ow my hat! —
June wants me, and I’m to spare!
Spread them shadders anywhere,
I’ll get down and waller there,
And obleeged to you at that!

James Whitcomb Riley
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Christ says, “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”  — C.S. Lewis  _ Mere Christianity_

I cannot think of anything more terrifying than this concept! The thought of giving up one’s entire Self in order to be someone else, ANYONE else, gives me the serious willies, to use the vernacular expression for abject loathing. It doesn’t matter if the other Self one proposes that I assume is purportedly “better” than my current Self, or rather, it shouldn’t matter, and to me it doesn’t. To make the assumption that I’d be better off as Christ demeans me, and if one is actually a believer in a God, then that demeans God. Either way, I’m not copping to it without some protest….

I’ve spent a lot of years on this planet, trying to make myself into the kind of person I’d be proud to know. I can’t say that I’m perfect, by any means…. we’ve all made mistakes. If one hasn’t made any mistakes, then one hasn’t really been living. But I am also not entirely unhappy with myself the way I am, and I can’t see any logical, or even any illogical, but justifiable, reason to want to become someone else, even Christ. Besides, if I become him, who does He become? Me? Whoa, there, big fella, that doesn’t seem like a fair trade…. I lose out on my laptop, and I hate wearing sandals!

Generally, C.S. Lewis makes fairly lucid sense in his writings about Christianity and his faith, which was strong, by all evidence. But this concept is, to me, part of the explicit danger of faith without evidence. That danger lies in this surrendering of will, to what is construed as a superior power. It has never made ANY sense to me; even as a child the idea made me uneasy (I forget who said “Any religion whose basic concepts frighten the mind of a child cannot be true…”, but he was right…). Giving up free will not only turns a person into a sheep, it also provides the rationalization for much of the absence in modern society of virtues such as honesty, or compassion for others, since any acts made by a saved sinner are forgiven, as long as he/she has signed on the dotted line, and confessed….

I am perfectly aware of how virtuous Jesus himself was, at least according to the written reports. His actions toward his fellow men were compassionate and open, given the constraints he placed on himself to try to give his knowledge away with honor, and in a way it would be remembered by a species that is mostly afraid to think.

Yet even this most puissant human being, truly an enlightened soul, has had what he taught twisted and perverted to suit the purposes of the dishonest, indifferent human predators who took immediate control of the organization he started, using those teachings to manipulate the less perceptive into a governable herd….

The perversion has continued to the present day, and in fact has evolved, as any human institution will, into even more viciously bigoted, elitist sects, each of which is convinced it is the true path to salvation. And each one of them, from the mighty Holy Roman Catholic Church to the Western Baptist Fundamentalist Church, depends on people buying into the mind-set described above by Mr. Lewis, surrendering all their free will to the “will of God”, thereby placing their feet on that road of good intentions….
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I’m guessing here, but I think it’s probably a good thing I never know when a rant will strike…. it seems to come out unexpectedly every time. Ah well, probably a defense mechanism set up in my unconscious to prevent any pre-censorship…. so be it. I’m happy with how it came out, so we’ll all have to live with it, such as it is…. Like Philip K. Dick said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”

Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Dignity is not guaranteed by law nor custom….

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3

Ffolkes,
Serendipity is perhaps my favorite word in English, as it is only applicable when something good happens. If one stops to consider, it is exactly the opposite concept of Murphy’s Law, and balances the work done by that most unwelcome of visitors, showing us the nuggets of gold hidden in the pile of crap that Murphy often leaves us with. As a bonus, the appearance of Serendipity always comes as a surprise, by definition….

So, you may ask, what prompted that? A moment of fright, as it turns out…. When I sat down to begin this morning, the following is the first thing that showed up in my quote database….

“Hi there!  This is just a note from me, to you, to tell you, the person  reading this note, that I can’t think up any more famous quotes, jokes, nor bizarre stories, so you may as well go home.” — Smart Bee

Well! A bit scary, for me, since quotes, jokes, and bizarre stories are the meat and bones of this blog, and not having any more would put a serious curse on my ability to write. It only took me a moment to realize that Smart Bee was kidding, but it was a moment spent in panic, for sure…. I’m convinced that Murphy is the one who placed it there for me to find right away, but Serendipity saved my ass again, by popping up into my awareness just when I was starting to pull out what’s left of my hair….

So, armed with the love of Serendipity, we will now Pearl….. Secure your masks and breathing apparatus, and let’s dive in…..
___________________________________

In lazy apathy let stoics boast
Their virtue fix’d: ‘t is fix’d as in a frost;
Contracted all, retiring to the breast;
But strength of mind is exercise, not rest.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 101

Once again, a poem makes a point that, if written in prose, would tend to put the reader to sleep. In modern society, strength of mind is a virtue that has fallen out of favor. Moreover, it is so out of favor that it isn’t even missed; the general population has no idea what true virtue consists of anymore, for the most part. In fact, the major forms of entertainment…. TV, movies, music, sports, religions… all are designed to keep people from using their minds, encouraging sloth, and never, ever challenging the citizen to think beyond how to obtain the next beer….

This tendency is not merely encouraged by the beloved ruling class, it is one of their primary functions to keep the citizenry from ever becoming educated enough to see what they are up to. Cuts to education are a part of every politician’s budget proposals, from both ends of the political scale…. Democrats, Republicans, they all know that an educated populace is much harder to manipulate, and much harder to fool, so they are constantly limiting the ability of the education process to function at a level that would make any difference. The worst nightmare of a man like Mitt Romney is a voter with the facts….

I’m going to limit this rant somewhat today…. This is a subject on which I can spew for a long time, without really trying very hard, but I’m having a lot of pain this morning, so sitting is hard. But, the point is made, I think…. Use your heads, for goodness sake…. don’t let the powers that be have it ALL their way.

Get the facts, and throw them up in their faces… if they are going to manipulate us, at least make them work for it…. Besides, exercising your mind may have other effects you were not aware of, effects that can have a profound influence on your life…. Like being able to make an informed choice, instead of settling for the apparent lesser of two evils…. which, if you will remember, still leaves you with an evil choice, lesser thought it may be…..

“Things true and evident must of necessity be recognized by those who would contradict them.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Concerning the Epicureans, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xx
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BIBLE:  A bible is a book which one or more religions consider to be holy, and to be something that they should follow. It is, of course, generally rather impractical to follow books, not just because they don’t often go anywhere, but also because they are not very good at public speaking, decision making, problem solving, or any of the other qualities recognized as being an advantage for leadership. A religion based around the teachings of any compilation of Toxic Custard would be very strange indeed. To subscribe to this new cult following, send $15 now. — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA

“Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on “I am not too sure.”  — H.L. Mencken

“So as this only point among the rest remaineth sure and certain, namely, that nothing is certain. . .” — Pliny The Elder

Philosophy, means, first, doubt; and afterwards the consciousness of what knowledge means, the consciousness of uncertainty and of ignorance, the consciousness of limit, shade, degree, possibility. The ordinary man doubts nothing and suspects nothing.” — Henri Frederick Amiel

This is an old school pearl…. or group of pearls, I should say….. Taken alone, each of them states a good point of information, or view of reality, or way of looking at life. Taken together, they make a statement that teaches a lesson…. and in the old school style, the lesson is left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader to find…. It’s not hidden very deep, and shouldn’t afford too difficult a task to uncover…. and it is well worth considering….. Just in case it is too obscure, I give you the following, to drive you right up to the take out window, where you can pick up your pearl….

“Creation science” has not entered the curriculum for a reason so simple and so basic that we often forget to mention it: because it is false, and because good teachers understand exactly why it is false.  What could be more destructive of that most fragile yet most precious commodity in our entire intellectually heritage — good teaching — than a bill forcing honorable teachers to sully their sacred trust by granting equal treatment to a doctrine not only known to be false, but calculated to undermine any general understanding of science as an enterprise?” — Stephen Jay Gould
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TO A CHILD DANCING IN THE WIND

by: W. B. Yeats (1865-1939)

Dance there upon the shore;
What need have you to care
For wind or water’s roar?
And tumble out your hair
That the salt drops have wet;
Being young you have not known
The fool’s triumph, nor yet
Love lost as soon as won,
Nor the best labourer dead
And all the sheaves to bind.
What need have you to dread
The monstrous crying of wind?

A bit of classic to finish the morning with…. I don’t know about you, but it sure makes my day go better if I read something like this before going out to deal with reality…. It probably works to keep the blues away the same way garlic works on vampires….   🙂
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I feel like I just went through the motions this morning; it all went too smoothly to have been real. It’s been such a struggle lately that if it doesn’t fight back, I start to think something is wrong…. ah well, the hell with it. It’s going out the way it is…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Even running amok requires proper attire….

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3

Ffolkes,
Mmm, coffee…… coffee good. Want more….. there, that’s better. Focus now achieved, thanks to the life giver….. There are a lot of folks who don’t drink coffee. So they say….. I myself don’t believe it; they may hide it from everyone else, but I don’t believe that anyone in their right mind would deny themselves that morning shot, that moment of truth.

There is an instant every morning, right before I take the first sip, when I hate everything in the universe passionately; that hatred is immediately dismissed, eliminated completely and efficiently, as the benign jolt of divine caffeine strikes my bloodstream, and all is suddenly well with the world. That moment is highly addictive, leading as it does to a happier, more stable frame of mind, and I flat out disbelieve anyone who says they don’t like it, or can do without it once tried….

But, that’s okay, we’re all allowed a delusion or two, and if they want to insist on perpetuating such a lie, even such a white one, well, hey, it’s their karma, neh? As long as they don’t proselytize to me about it, or make any attempt to sell me something better, they can live…. Awfully big of me, I know, but I’m a nice guy most of the time, as long as I’m not crossed….. and even then, I’m very neat about my mayhem, and try to be accommodating by offering folks their preference as to landing spots, i.e. “Which wall would you prefer to fetch up against?”……

It is interesting to note that J.S. Bach wrote a Cantata to Coffee, complete with poetic text by a collaborator, in the early 1700’s, when Europe was first discovering the magical beans, and assimilating them into European culture, especially in Vienna, where some of the world’s finest coffees are brewed…. A noble bean indeed……

Now that we are completely off the track, let’s try to get back into Pearling mode, shall we? Without further distraction, we will now enter the world of deep knowledge known as the WWW; watch for the oysters, and try to spot the ones with pearls….
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If you lie, you’ll cheat. And if you cheat, you’ll steal. — Smart Bee

Though there is no attribution for this statement, I regard it as a truism, having been demonstrated in reality uncountable times. Not only is it true, but has been adopted as the cultural definition of a required skill for politicians. If one can assume that the latter sentence is as true as the first, then both of the major political parties in this country are guilty of acting this out on the public stage.

Democrats, thanks to the President who had the unforgivable temerity to get caught lying, are generally regarded as being subject to this “stretching” of truth, but Republicans have the unique skill of uttering lies, with a completely straight face, then denying not only the lie, but the utterance itself. (Hence, G. Bush denying a statement from two years earlier, a statement that had been recorded…..)

It’s hard to say whether the other parties out there, the ones who never get elected (Libertarian, Independent, Socialist, etc.) are as devoted to this principle as are the major parties, but, if they wish to ever get elected, they’ll have to buy into it…. it seems the public demands that our politicians lie to us.

There certainly hasn’t been any evidence forthcoming that might indicate that the public WANTS to hear the truth…. no one is ever rewarded for telling it. Usually, a person who stands up to tell the truth is shouted down by the liars, who use all sorts of tried-and-true techniques to draw attention away from, or to de-legitimize, anyone who dares wax eloquently for the truth of any matter.

“Things true and evident must of necessity be recognized by those who would contradict them.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD)

This is the worst part of the process of lying; those who do so in public CHOOSE to lie, deliberately. As well, it sometimes it seems as if the whole idea of truth is one that the common man ignores completely. It doesn’t seem to matter to him whether or not some talking head is telling him the truth…. all he cares about is that what is being said feeds into his own desire to be left alone, and doesn’t cost him any money, or thought, or extra work. If it meets those requirements, it is acceptable, and anything that doesn’t, anything that makes him think or sweat, becomes an object of dislike, and even hatred….

How many of the men who went after Clinton for his Oval Office BJ’s were doing so because they wished it could have been them? A lot, I’d say…. Many more than the number who actually cared at all (most of the entire European continent still remains confused about why that whole thing happened, as in their cultures, sexual affairs are not considered inappropriate behavior for public figures….) , and far, far more than those who actually cared about the truth of the matter…. Ah well, all one can do is SIGH……

“We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme.  It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are more concerned with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent, nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today.  Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive.  We are sorry if this impression has come across.” — Monty Python

In truth, I have to say, sorry, I’m not sorry, and this is exactly the impression I’m trying to give you….. I wouldn’t want to lie to you, now would I?…..
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“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.” — Alan Watts

One of the less comfortable aspects of having a lot of time to think is just that…. having a lot of time to think. Since there is a lot more past to remember than there is present to think of, our minds linger in that unforgotten but never recoverable time. It is all there, the good, the bad, the ugly, and it can be a tricky task to keep from becoming maudlin when one lingers too long in the past, too easily turning to regret, and that is as useless as it is painful, in the long run.

At my age, the future is, of course, an uncertain, yet delightful unknown, so the present becomes, as Alan observed, all there is. And regret in the present is foolish, for there is no solution to it, other than resolve to change whatever produced it in the first place.

This was driven home to me this morning (whatever morning it is…. they’re all sort of blurred together….) when I opened the door outside for the first time. I was a bit under the weather, and full of the angst the above serious inner debate had brought. The sheer beauty of the sky, and the light, and the colors of the grass and buildings, all overwhelmed and made insignificant whatever burdens I had been carrying. I took a deep breath of air, stretched a bit in the sunshine, and felt a new man emerging….

Why you look so sad when the sky is perfect blue? — Smart Bee

When this popped up before me, after experiencing the jolt of universal connection I just described, I realized that the entire experience felt even better when I look at it as a lesson…. When I had opened the door, the Universe had seized my perceptions, and forced me to exist only in that moment, absorbing the visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli, and the feelings those produced in me, creating a form of experiential gestalt of Now that I would never forget, no matter how far from Now I may find myself…… I have no doubt it will come in handy at some point….    🙂  

But I’ll settle for what I have Now….. for Now….
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“I cannot here avoid giving my most decided suffrage in favour of the moral qualities of maniacs.  I have no where met, excepting in romances, with fonder husbands, more affectionate parents, more impassioned … than in the lunatic asylum, during their intervals of calmness and reason.” — Philippe Pinel, ‘Treatise on Insanity’ 1801

Mssr. Pinel relates an interesting observation here, one that parallels my own experience with those who struggle with mental illnesses. The only difference between us is that he is surprised by this observation, while I am not. I observed mentally ill folks for many years, and have come to the conclusion that those who suffer from long periods of insanity have an intense, strong attachment to those types of feelings that give them relief from that mind-storm, much more so than the “sane”, and love of family certainly tops the list of effective sources for those feelings.

Those who have only periodic forays into the world of sanity tend to appreciate those times most avidly, as they are often few and far between, and offer them the only moments of peace that can be found in their all-too-active inner lives. I believe it is this appreciation that drives them to love so strongly, to give so much to those they love when they are feeling well. They are aware, if only peripherally, that their time with those they love is limited, and they make their best efforts to show what they truly feel.

Those who are considered sane, I have found, tend to take such feelings for granted; this is one reason that there are so many divorces in modern life, as people don’t seem to want to do the work that is necessary to maintain a relationship. In this sense, their feelings are less important to them, or at least less in their attention, and they suffer the consequences that follow as certainly as a sunrise.

In fact, relationships are not the only area that so-called sane people could learn valuable lessons by copying what insane folks do. I’ve found that a lot of folks who can’t handle reality very well are very good artists, and studying their techniques and mind-sets can be a tool of some value for other artists, who don’t necessarily suffer from insanity. This is true even though a lot of artists are accused of it because of their art, and what it makes them do….. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, “he’s not insane, he’s an artist….”   That’s me all over…..   🙂

“Insanity — a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.” — R. D. Lang  ( R.D. Lang was a psychiatrist who lived in the twentieth century, and wrote a lot of material on mental health, in individuals and society. I like this statement, as it is a perfect representation of reality.)
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A Lecture Upon The Shadow

Stand still, and I will read to thee
A lecture, love, in love’s philosophy.
These three hours that we have spent,
Walking here, two shadows went
Along with us, which we ourselves produc’d.
But, now the sun is just above our head,
We do those shadows tread,
And to brave clearness all things are reduc’d.
So whilst our infant loves did grow,
Disguises did, and shadows, flow
From us, and our cares; but now ’tis not so.
That love has not attain’d the high’st degree,
Which is still diligent lest others see.

Except our loves at this noon stay,
We shall new shadows make the other way.
As the first were made to blind
Others, these which come behind
Will work upon ourselves, and blind our eyes.
If our loves faint, and westwardly decline,
To me thou, falsely, thine,
And I to thee mine actions shall disguise.
The morning shadows wear away,
But these grow longer all the day;
But oh, love’s day is short, if love decay.
Love is a growing, or full constant light,
And his first minute, after noon, is night.

John Donne

No worries…. morning poetry break…. enjoy!….
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We all do some of our best thinking in places that otherwise might not be considered particularly conducive to deep, complex subjects; serendipity comes where it may, though…. and it just occurred to me, in another room that shall be nameless for the sake of delicacy, why I’ve been struggling so hard of late to produce these Pearls.

Over the last few weeks, it seems as if quotes/pearls are hiding from me. It’s been taking me up to three hours a day just to find five pearls worthy of being explored in writing. Very frustrating, even though I read so fast I can cover literally thousands of quotes in an hour…..

What occurred to me is that one of the things that makes me what/who I am is reading books. At the age of 10, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was put in a situation where reading was just about the only form of entertainment available. So, I read, and practice, practice, practice pushed my reading speed up to a point where I could actually read as fast as my mind could absorb the material.

This works out to about 1200 words/minute, basic speed. Deeply complex material, of course, slows it down, and light material allows it to run free, but on average, that number is about right. It works out that it is a perfect speed for consuming one 250-300 page book in one day.

So, I did. I started reading a book a day, and the habit became not merely fixed, but unbreakable. If I go too long without reading, I get physically ill, seriously. Headaches, malaise, distraction, all are caused by not reading enough, and are cured by just a few minutes spent in a novel I’m currently absorbing.

Just letting my eyes work their way over the “words in a line” is soothing; any words will do… cereal boxes, magazines, comics, anything, but a book is best. My mind NEEDS the stimulation that taking in the concepts, ideas, and stories that a book supplies; it’s like breathing to me, I don’t feel right when its smooth functioning is interrupted, and I’ll do almost anything to put it back to rights…..

Thanks, however, to the lasting effects of PTSD, I’ve been unable to concentrate long enough to sit and read. It has been hard, as well, to sublimate by visiting my co-blogger’s sites to read what they are thinking about. And this inability to read sufficiently is what is behind all my difficulties here…. For me, this is an epiphany, for it is a problem with a simple, sustainable solution, easily and immediately applicable.

All I have to do is set aside more time to read, and use a bit of tough-self-love…. I’ll tell myself whatever I need to in order to sit and finish a few books (which, of course, I’ve already got lined up…. it’s not like I haven’t thought of reading, just haven’t dug in to do it….), and all dysfunctional habits, or at least the underlying cause, will disappear like the illusions they really are….

This also, in short order, should act as a spur toward being able to read more blogs, which will be good, too. I’ve been feeling some guilt, something I almost never give in to, because I’ve been unable to get to a lot of sites where I’ve become attached to the authors and their work…. But, I’ve been instructed by at least one of them that I am not to feel guilty, so I won’t. I’ll just be glad I can get back to reading some of them….   and back to eating, er, reading, a book a day….
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There is something to be said, I guess, for falling asleep at 6 PM and sleeping straight through to 4 AM. This process went much more smoothly this morning, after a couple of rough starts. More proof that “sleep is a weapon”, no doubt…..

As usual, after a good effort, I’m a bit let down, not yet having finished the technical aspects of publishing, but done with the creative part. Good practice for learning to enjoy even the negative experiences in life, if only for being the precursors to all the good…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

For lovers of panache, a film noir…

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Ffolkes,
As I walked to answer the knock at the door, I wondered who could be disturbing the usual quiet of my retreat; my granny unit house isn’t generally reachable from the street by the casual seeker. The door opened to reveal a suit, with some dorky looking white guy about 5’10” filling it up to the point of nearly-bursting buttons, standing, hip-cocked, and holding a clipboard (what else?….), sweating in the 85 degree afternoon sun.

He had a pleasant enough, if a bit vacant, expression, and immediately launched into his obviously memorized by rote routine, “Good afternoon, sir, I am a college student….” I interrupted him to demand, “Who let you in here? How did you find this house?” in my most intimidating voice. If this guy was really a college student selling magazines, he should be easily intimidated, and demanding they stop their spiel always disturbs their timing. Usually…..

This young man, however, had a different reaction…. he smiled, and started to reach into his jacket…. without thought or hesitation, the knife that I keep by the front door was in my hand and at his throat while he was still lifting the hand. I spun him around, knife still in place, and pulled him inside the door, kicking it shut with  my foot. Reaching up, I grabbed his head and rapped it sharply, once, against the door (looks like nice wood, but it’s metal…), and my unwanted guest slipped silently to the floor, out like the proverbial light.

I started to gasp a bit, in reaction to the adrenaline now surging through my bloodstream, but keeping my wits, bent down to frisk my faux collegian. My instincts were rewarded as I pulled out a very lethal-looking Glock 9mm from a shoulder holster, a deadly stiletto from the lining of the coat, and a few other little surprises from his pockets, one of which was an ID card. This surprised me, and worried me as well…. if he is carrying ID, he’s probably from my own government, and I’m now guilty of assaulting an officer of the so-called Law…..

Alright, that’s enough of that…. You can see from the above just where my dreams have been going of late… One might get the impression from this that I don’t trust my government.    You’d be right in that….. The only part of the above that isn’t true is the guy in the suit…. The rest of it is exactly how my place is arranged, and how I have it prepared for unwanted visitors…. Of course, it doesn’t mention the subtly placed web cameras watching the yard, or the little buttons here by my computer, that lead to the small, shaped charges in random spots around the grounds…. or any of the other little surprises that may be encountered if one is an uninvited guest…. I wouldn’t want to scare away any real visitors…. But then, of late, there aren’t any of those anyway, so it’s all moot….

Probably enough fooling around for one morning…. It’s time to get to the Pearl, so I’ll quit screwing about, & bragging about my setup… probably a good idea not to advertise it too widely anyway…. shall we dive for Pearls?….
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“Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of other persons.” — Mark Twain, “Notebooks”

Sounds as if Sam nailed me again…. Though I make no claims as to the first part of the above statement, I think I’m too-often guilty of the latter. I can’t help it; people just keep on doing really dumb stuff, right in front of me. Not just in front of me, in front of the whole world! Hell, let’s just take a moment, and go over to a news site, and pick out a random headline to demonstrate this point…. be right back….

“UC Berkeley adviser fired after affair”  This is the headline of the first story under the three feature articles on SFGATE, so it is considered to be pretty hot news…. Apparently, a female at UCB doubled the salary of her paramour during their 15 month affair while she worked as an assistant vice chancellor. This is just one example of the chicanery that is typically part of what we see each day, as the human circus performs all around us in way more than just three measly rings. Finding this article took about 30 seconds, but choosing which of the many examples that presented themselves took about five times that long…. I opted to avoid any articles that entailed bloodshed, to respect pre-breakfast sensibilities…

I don’t think I’m especially good compared to most folks; I know exactly what goes on in my head. I know that most folks are just regular folks trying their best to get by without trouble, a commodity life presents all of us with without any help. But there seems to be a lot of folks out there in the world who just don’t have a clue as to what is right and what is wrong. Or, if they do, they don’t seem to care that they consistently choose the wrong, or even admit that they do so.

I don’t get it. It’s like head-banging is becoming a national sport; I wouldn’t be surprised to see a reality game-show where young idiots would sign up to run full tilt into a wall, head first, with no helmet. The winner would be the one who could do it twice…. and he would get $10,000 for his survivors, and free coma-care for what was left of his life…. Nope, wouldn’t be surprised at all, considering some of the game shows I’ve seen, such as the one where they do extremely dangerous stunts for cash prizes…. fucking crazy, is all I can say….
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“All men possess in their bodies a poison which acts upon serpents; and the human saliva, it is said, makes them take to flight, as though they had been touched with boiling water. The same substance, it is said, destroys them the moment it enters their throat.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book vii, Sect. 15

Interesting idea from Pliny…. Not having read the entire work listed, I can’t say whether he presents any evidence to support this assertion… I can only say from my own experience that though it may not be true, it is useful as an operating principle, at least in one respect. Though not poisonous to them, I am sure that our odor, and especially that of our saliva, is somewhat repugnant to snakes, if only because it indicates our presence, which is not usually very healthful for them when it occurs; they tend to get bashed with the nearest big stick or rock if they don’t hasten elsewhere….. a fact of life that I am sure gets widely distributed among the snake population….

Thus, even if one is confronted with a large, even poisonous snake, spitting at them first can be an effective defensive maneuver, at least initially, and may surprise the snake as much as he/she surprised you…. It is also good to remember that, as a human, you are not completely without defenses against a snake (such as the aforementioned rock/stick combination), and need not freeze in fear. In truth, with focus and concentration, that movie trick you see where the martial artist hero snatches the snake out of the air, mid-strike, by hand is not all that far-fetched. The human hand is MUCH faster than a snake, even in full strike, when not restricted in its speed by fear.

Mongooses use this kind of speed when they fight snakes (not just cobras, they hate them all….). They are amazing to watch, allowing the snake to strike at them, fading back just a half-inch from the snake’s snout to the end of its length, then smoothly and wickedly fast, swerving around to bite them just behind the head, killing them instantly. In tests, the human hand has been clocked at a speed 6 times faster than that of a snake in full strike…. more than fast enough to catch them, if one can move past the fear…. Pliny may not have been completely correct in his assumptions, but he at least approached the subject objectively, and didn’t let fear affect that study….
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“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.” — Leonardo da Vinci

Even when invasive events smash this concept upside their heads, there are people who do not understand this principle of reality. In truth, I would say that very few people at all even think about such concepts as the subtle difference between perception and knowledge, much less use it as a coping tool in their lives. I’m not certain why, though my cynicism could certainly supply some reasonable theories, since, unlike those folks, for me it has long been an obvious signpost that shows the path to successful living.  Knowing the difference can make all the difference, you see….

Knowledge originates in perception, but does not end there, and that is what many do not see. The mere act of perception is only the beginning of what is needed to make right actions arise from right thinking. What we have perceived must be evaluated, for truth, for accuracy, for intent, for its relative importance in many different lights, all before it can be effectively used to create action. Acting only on the perceptions, without evaluation, can be more than just erroneous; it can be deadly.

With this last piece of understanding, it becomes more clear just how the beloved ruling class uses this misunderstanding of perception and knowledge to their advantage… for it is said that, “True power is control of the routes of perception…” (gigoid, 1974) That same ruling class is in full control of the media, and assiduously applies its influence to reduce and/or control the amount and quality of the information available for the general public to perceive.

We only hear what they want us to hear on TV and the radio…. only in the last few years, since the advent of the internet, has their control of this source of data been challenged. Even here, on the information highway, the Powers That Be continue to try to pass laws that will allow them to control what is put out there for publication, because they know they are doomed if they cannot achieve the control over information that they have thus far enjoyed. Only an ignorant public is easily manipulable…. Ffolkes need to remember that all one sees and hears is NOT all there is to see and hear, and to remember to always check out any perceptions you may take in for their relevance and truth…. it is for your own good, believe me….

“It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive.” — C. W. Leadbeater

“Take away the right to say ‘fuck’ and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government.'” — Lenny Bruce
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“Ah, you know the type.  They like to blame it all on the Jews or the Blacks, ’cause if they couldn’t, they’d have to wake up to the fact that life’s one big, scary, glorious, complex and ultimately unfathomable crap shoot — and the only reason THEY can’t seem to keep up is they’re a bunch of misfits and losers.” — A analysis of Neo-Nazis, from “The Badger” comic

I’m using this as a form of a cheat-sheet…. I could rant for days, and not come up with a better way to describe the motivation that drives our beloved ruling class (those lovely political thieves…), the 1%, the clergy and the churches, the bankers and megacorp CEO’s, and all those who choose deliberate ignorance over the pain of original or independent thought. Not only does this save me a rant, it saves you the time and energy to read through it… I should get a medal or something….

But, being the modest, unassuming sort of fellow that I am, I’m just going to leave it at that…. You may consider yourself ranted upon, minus the spew….   🙂

According to Descartes, Rush Limbaugh doesn’t exist. — Smart Bee
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…The Universe is thronged with fire and light,
And we but smaller suns, which, skinned, trapped and kept
Enshrined in blood and precious bones, hold back the night.
— Ray Bradbury

Ah, serendipity! I was lamenting the lack of poetry that so far had passed before me this morning in my search for pearls, when this perfect gem from Mr. B popped up, and ended the search. The poem itself is such that my comments won’t add to its beauty, so I shan’t make any other than to say that this is a very nice way to look at our place in the universe, nice being, of course, totally inadequate to express its power… but, nice it is, nonetheless… Enjoy!
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Another day, another Pearl… it works for me. This has taken an inordinately long time this morning…. good thing it’s Sunday, and there’s nothing much of importance going on, so all is good….

Oh, and for those bloggers I follow…. I have had some problems accessing sites, not just here on WP, due, I think, to a browser update from Mozilla that isn’t quite up to snuff… beta versions can be that way sometimes… So, please don’t think I haven’t tried to get by to read anyone’s work… I’ve been limited to a few sites that don’t seem to have the difficulty, but I’ll keep trying, and will catch up eventually…. thanks for your patience….

Enough dithering…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

Kowabunga!

She rides swiftly through dark shadows, pale and grim….

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10

Ffolkes,
I should know better…. Having applied for my SS Disability, I had thought that, since my last job let me go as “unfit for duty”, and since I AM unable to work due to back pain and my other physical challenges, the Federal Government, in the guise of the SS Administration, would be able to see that yes, I do need to get paid all the money I put into SS ahead of my 66th birthday.

However, in spite of my clear presentation of the facts, they denied my claim, having in their wisdom, without ever interviewing or seeing me in person, decided that I am well enough to work, able to stand for 6 or more hours a day (I can’t stand for more than 5 minutes before pain increases in my hips and back), lifting up to 50 lbs. on a regular basis, (which I can do, once, if I want to spend the next three days in bed, writhing with spasms all over my back), and working at a job for 8 hours/day (all I do now is sit in my chair, and I can’t go 8 hours without a nap being hard NOT to take….by the time I’m up for 5 hours or so, I’m exhausted, generally, from fighting against pain…).

Ah well, it isn’t unexpected, and I already have a lawyer who will no doubt be appealing the decision today. It just means that it will be probably 4-8 more months before I see any relief for the near-poverty level income I’m now living on…. oh, well, it’s a good thing I like Top Ramen……

There, whining finished for the day… no sense in worrying too much over stuff I can’t change… time will tell the tale, and all will be well…. I just have to survive until then, so, no worries….. and, it does leave me lots of time to dive for pearls. Now that my email is under control, in fact, I’m swimming in extra time. Hell, at this point, I have no idea what to do with myself once I’m done here for the day….

I guess I could be a good citizen, and get my tardy taxes done (I did finally get the forms from the library….)…. who knows? Maybe they’ll owe ME something this year…. though it would be a surprise. I haven’t found the IRS or the tax laws to be my friend in the past, so why should I expect any different now?  Oh, well, I suppose I won’t know until I do it, so…. now I have a project for the day…..

But not until I Pearl, which I have now delayed significantly with this little personal chatty session…. sometimes I just can’t shut myself up…. handy for a writer, but inefficient at times….. let’s Pearl, okay? Okay…..
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“Ignorance can be compounded, made denser, until the light of our spirits is smothered.” — Deng Ming-Dao

As I read this pearl, my immediate thought was that it is a very clear, very accurate take on the 2012 election process that is currently unfolding before us in the daily news. The end of the political scale that is represented so raggedly by what is left of the Republican Party, and the mislabeled liberal end of the scale who claim to be Democrats, are both engaging in ongoing battles to see who can display the deepest ignorance.

The leading candidate for the “loyal opposition” to the party in power, Mr. Romney, seems to have a proclivity for alienating the very people from whom he is trying to win votes; women, immigrants and Hispanics, animal lovers, seniors, teachers and students, all have been told, in no uncertain terms, that they matter not at all to him. His plan? We’ll stop taxing the rich altogether, and that will fix everything…. Sometimes I wonder if he is getting all of his information on voter wants and issues of importance from old newspapers from the 1980’s, or the 1890’s, because he certainly hasn’t a clue as to what is happening out in America in this century….

The other party, led by our first Black President, is busy hiding what the left hand is doing by distracting everyone with the tax and healthcare issues, to keep them unaware of how few of the Bill of Rights are left to us. “Executive Orders” signed by the POTUS this year, beginning on New Year’s Eve, while the voters were all busy celebrating the advent of the new year, include provisions that allow police to stop, search, and arrest any citizen of this country whom they suspect of any form of terrorism, or even of protest against the provisions of those orders.

These same police are not required to tell ANYONE that they have arrested and imprisoned a citizen, nor are they ever required to provide any evidence of their suspicions in a court of law. Even though there may be no evidence, they can subject these CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY to torture, to obtain a confession, or whatever it is they are after. There is no oversight to these orders; they don’t go before Congress to be approved, nor are they reviewed by the courts. Both of those particular checks on the power of the Executive Branch are completely out of the loop on this…. and they aren’t even complaining about it!

Does it physically hurt to be that stupid? — Smart Bee

My guess at the answer to this is, No. It can’t hurt very much to be that stupid, as we continue to go out each time there is an election and vote these same lying, cheating, avaricious assholes back into the same positions from which they have been oppressing the American people for oh, a hundred or so years now. I’d say that around the time of the Great Depression was when the first real strangle-hold on the national throat was first achieved…. the pure bullshit that was spewing back then can be seen to have been the first real time that the government’s outrageous lies were swallowed whole by a reluctant public, who had nothing else to eat, and thus nothing else to risk…

“He was born stupid, and greatly increased his birthright.” — Samuel Butler

So, how does it feel? Does it physically hurt to be so stupid as to be part of the crowd that continues to buy into all the bullshit lies that our own government heaps upon us every day? To keep going to the polls, just as if it really matters who gets elected? Get real, folks.

You will not find a name on the ballot that belongs to someone who is not a willing tool of the powers of oppression, the money-changers who are the power behind the scenes of every government in the world. Not going to happen; they’ve been the real power in the world for centuries, and they’re not about to give up all they have, just to be nice, or because they’ve all of a sudden grown a heart.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty fucking tired of being lied to, and cheated, and looked at as just another idiot for them to shit on….. and I’m not going to put up with it for much longer, without some kind of return fire….. Believe it….

I don’t think I am alone in this, either…. No way to tell for sure, but I find it hard to believe that EVERYONE is falling for all of it…. No matter; even if I’m alone in this, I refuse to knuckle under any further, and can only say that I will do all I can to see things turn in a direction that will return my Rights, and those of the rest of the American people…. or at least those not stupid enough to hand them over without a fight….

“He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“A modest little person, with much to be modest about.” — Winston Churchill

Churchill is one of my heroes. His devotion to the principles of curmudgeonry is legendary among those of us who believe in those principles of interaction. This little insult is what I like to call “classic” in its simplicity. No extra words, just those needed to jab the sharp point right into the eye of the beholder, while the speaker steps back to avoid the blood splatter. Not only is it a perfect insult to use in cocktail conversation when discussing anyone who isn’t there to defend themselves (always a clever way to avoid being fired on unexpectedly….), but it is quite an accurate description of many of our beloved ruling class.

A number of public figures come to mind if I consider this, and all of them are wearing a blue suit, a white shirt, a red tie, and a flag pin on their lapel. Many of them are still breathing, and giving us the dubious benefits of what passes for wisdom amongst that mystical group who are the ancient enemies of the Illuminati, the all-knowing, all powerful, and very rich, order of the Ignoramitae…. an organization so secret, so powerfully capable, that most of Mankind has never even heard of them.

Hell, I wouldn’t have known of them, if their existence weren’t a mathematical certainty. There is no other explanation for the course of human history…. only a powerful force, acting behind the scenes, could have achieved such a long-term effect on the events that shaped our culture. Ignorance HAD to exist in such a form; nothing else makes sense….

Then, someone like Winnie comes along, and provides a sure-fire way to spot them…. just think about those folks who are always around in the background when you see photos of world leaders making nice…. the powers that truly be wouldn’t let their charges get together without at least a couple of their “handlers” present…

Well, I wouldn’t, if it were me, so I’m betting that they are nearby, just in case one of the beloved ruling class gets a wild hair, and tries to say something that actually makes sense…. I guess, if nothing else, it makes for good TV….. But, don’t count on ever getting a glimpse of one of the actual rulers of this planet… they avoid the light, like the creatures of the dark they are….
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JABBERWOCKY

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And thou hast slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
— Lewis Carroll, “Through the Looking-Glass”

It was time…. I haven’t used this in several months, I believe, and every once in a while it’s good to bring it out for perusal, just to give everyone that little jolt of joy that good, solid, sheer nonsense gives. I love to have this read aloud while I close my eyes and envision the Jabberwock, whuffling through the wood, the vorpal blade going snicker-snack, and the beamish boy galumphing back with the head…. absolute bliss! It is particularly effective after reading the daily news, to give one a sense of balance…. enjoy!

“Universe: All-purpose poem.” — Ray Hand
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“My girlfriend was crushed by Bambi meets Godzilla…” — Smart Bee

Well, I don’t blame her…. so was Bambi…. (You will only get this if you’ve seen the actual film short, “Bambi meets Godzilla”, which, IMNSHO, is quite possibly the best cartoon short ever made…. seriously….) (If you have seen it, well, convince me I’m wrong… )    😉
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“He had come to that time in his life (it varies for every man) where a human being gives himself over to his demon or to his genius, according to a mysterious law which orders him either to destroy or to surpass himself.” — Marguerite Yourcenar

Hmm…. a nicely expressed observation by Ms. Yourcenar (No, I have no idea who she is… give me a moment to commune with Google….)

It turns out she is a very interesting person, of whom I have never heard…. just goes to show we all have a lot to learn… Here is some information from Wikipedia on this literary jewel from the twentieth century….

“Marguerite Yourcenar (8 June 1903 – 17 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie française, in 1980.

In 1951 she published, in France, the novel Mémoires d’Hadrien, which she had been writing with pauses for a decade. The novel was an immediate success and met with great critical acclaim. In this novel Yourcenar recreated the life and death of one of the great rulers of the ancient world, the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who writes a long letter to Marcus Aurelius, the son and heir of Antoninus Pius, his successor and adoptive son. The Emperor meditates on his past, describing both his triumphs and his failures, his love for Antinous, and his philosophy. This novel has become a modern classic, a standard against which fictional recreations of antiquity are measured. ”

Fascinating, and a whole new author to read…. Serendipity strikes again! Before I became distracted by the author, I was going to say this about her statement….

I find myself feeling both sad and glad that I have not yet come to this point in my life. Sad because it is unfilled destiny, yet glad for the same reason, as it means that it is still something that I have to look forward to experiencing, all but guaranteeing that I have enough time left on my clock to come to that point in my journey. Whether it is truth is not clear, but it is certainly a reasonable observation, insightful as it is in looking into the nature of Man, and this gives me hope…. for as long as I can keep my cynical side from looking at it too closely….   🙂
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Whew! Made it…. it was looking a bit chancy there for a little while, but I think it all came together pretty well. It’s a moot point, anyway, because no way in hell I’m starting over now…. This will have to fly under its own power, or not. I’m confident it will miss the ground, thus achieving its basic task…. and if not, well, there is always tomorrow…..

Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!