Scruff, the tragic flagon….

Posted on January 23, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The living world is a continuum in each and every aspect.”

~~ A. C. Kinsey, The Kinsey Report ~~

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside….

Hajime…. Okay, so, here’s the deal. I’ll write ’em, you read ’em. Deal? Deal.

Of course, this presupposes I will be able to come up with something to write. Since that, at the moment, seems a rather remote possibility, we’ll cut this intro off before it gets rolling, keeping us trapped here again. So short, you’ll need to keep the oxygen handy…. It looks like this…..

Shall we Pearl?….

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

~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~

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I’m in a mood, & when I’m in a mood, this is who I listen to…. Today, you can listen, too…. Even if you’re not in a mood…… Enjoy!….

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Mozart Symphonies

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https://youtu.be/Mv6J25zOanw

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“Grown men do not need leaders.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

The quote from Ed Abbey is a perfect lead for a rant on a subject I can write about endlessly, apparently. I’ve related any number of times how humanity needs to grow up, give up the illusions of their fearful youth, and learn to face the damn universe with some courage…. But, has anyone listened, other than the choir who end up here, listening to me preach? No, not really, for they don’t wish to hear they need to stop acting like children….

To save y’all from any further haranguing on this, I decided to sublimate, with some thoughts from historical figures, all of whom have seen the same issues during their own time on Earth, and wished to give warning to those who will not see…. There are only nine, so, don’t fret too much; besides, I know my Gentle Readers could, using these aphorisms, create the same rant I might have written, had I gone with the urge to do so…. Enjoy, if only for its brevity…..

“I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: ‘The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that’s fair.’ In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.” — Bertrand Russell, Education and the Social Order

“There are more stars known to exist right now than the total number of all the grains of sand on every beach in the entire world. With those kinds of odds, it would seem downright naive for someone to go to a beach in, say, some out-of-the-way inlet in Baffin Bay, stoop to pick up only one tiny grain of sand, and declare that that grain alone was the only place where life could exist.” — Hugh Downs

“If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” — Anatole France

“Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.” — Noah Webster

“In this world of sin and sorrow, there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.” — H.L. Mencken

“Instead of giving money to found colleges to promote learning, why don’t they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as good as the Prohibition one did, why, in five years we would have the smartest race of people on earth.” — Will Rogers

“Held to be a crime when committed by individuals, homicide is called a virtue when committed by the state.” — Obvious Bee

“Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on them [public offices], a rottenness begins in his conduct.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1799

“The purpose and function of government is not to preside over change but to prevent change. By political methods when unavoidable, by violence when convenient.” — Edward Abbey

“Is it not a noble farce, wherein kings, republics, and emperors have for so many ages played their parts, and to which the whole vast universe serves for a theatre?” — Michael de Montaigne — Essays, Book ii, Chap. xxxvi, Of the most Excellent Men

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As noted above, I’m in a mood. In this mood, only one poet will do…. In fact, we’ll overdo, with two….

Had we our senses
But perhaps ’tis well they’re not at Home
So intimate with Madness
He’s liable with them

Had we the eyes without our Head —
How well that we are Blind —
We could not look upon the Earth —
So utterly unmoved —

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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Said Death to Passion
‘Give of thine an Acre unto me.’
Said Passion, through contracting Breaths
‘A Thousand Times Thee Nay.’

Bore Death from Passion
All His East
He – sovereign as the Sun
Resituated in the West
And the Debate was done.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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Easy money here, ffolkes. It’s just a classic nine-star pearl about living life large…. Well, I think so; if not, you tell me what it says….

I care not, Fortune, what you me deny:
You cannot rob me of free Nature’s grace,
You cannot shut the windows of the sky
Through which Aurora shows her brightening face;
You cannot bar my constant feet to trace
The woods and lawns, by living stream, at eve:
Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace,
And I their toys to the great children leave:
Of fancy, reason, virtue, naught can me bereave.

~~ James Thomson. The Castle of Indolence, Canto ii, Stanza 3 ~~

“Let honor be as strong to us an obligation as necessity is to others.” — Pliny the Elder

“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.” — Marcus Aurelius

“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.” — Robert Cody

“True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.” — Halifax

“Once, I read that a man be never stronger than when he truly realizes how weak he is.” — Jim Starlin, “Captain Marvel #31”

“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.” — Confucius

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations.” — George Bernard Shaw

Listen to the MUSTN’TS child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVE’S
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

~ Shel Silverstein ~~

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That went well, don’t you think? No? Well, I do, and guess who’s driving this bus? Yep. To keep with the tone set in the intro, I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, given the proper set of Time/Space coordinates….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Oh, Jim, where’s your squeegee?….

Posted on December 25, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Work is not an end in itself; there must always be time enough for love.”

~~ Robert Heinlein ~~

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Oh, right. Christmas…. which means most everyone in this country is on holiday mode, and most likely won’t be dropping in to spend a lot of time reading my nonsense, or even my somewhat better than nonsense prose. This is probably a good thing, as I’m feeling pretty lazy myself, though not for the same reasons, obviously. I’ve made no bones about how I feel about Christianity, and the people who go in for such delusional systems; in my mind, they are all living a lie, one they’ve chosen to believe in, rather than having the courage to face up to those parts of reality they don’t understand, and, thus, fear…. In short, they are living in fear, allowing fear to control their every decision in life….

What a waste! But, nobody wants to listen, especially to the kind of real wisdom that means they would have to actually think for themselves, such as the quote at the end of this section…. Such insight into human nature, sadly, presupposes the one using it will have the courage to become lost; in my experience, the greatest proportion of humanity does not wish to ever become lost in this way. They would rather buy into a set of beliefs someone else has told them is true, in spite on never once being able to present any physical, or even logical, reasons to do so…. But, that is the way of the world, the same way it has been wobbling along for over 5000 years….

Ah well, it doesn’t do me any good to rant here in the intro; it’s just so hard NOT to say what I see as real…. I spent most of my life keeping these thoughts to myself, as they always tended to cause difficulties with other folks; after a while in Life, I decided, if they WANT to live in a delusional state, who am I to stop them? So, I said nothing, and allowed people to wander through their lives, in the dark, never realizing there is an entire universe of beauty and grandeur out there, just waiting for them to see it, if only they would take off the blinders they put on at age 5…. I guess that silence was my own adjustment to compensate; in short, it’s my way of giving in to expediency, a very bad habit, and one I no longer cultivate.

This probably explains why there are only about 20 people who come by to read this on a regular basis…. and, since I have over 463 followers on WordPress, and another hundred or so on Twitter, that number is a good representation of the breakdown of humanity’s state of mind re: laziness, and wisdom…. I know that reading this blog take time, and effort, and I know it isn’t the easiest task to take on, not on a daily basis…. Hell, it’s hard enough writing it all; it CAN’T be much easier to read it all every day….. But, I don’t worry about it; I just appreciate the ffolkes who come by regularly, a lot….

That is no doubt enough rambling and complaining for one day…. I did manage to cut off the rant, but, this still grew beyond its original intended size, so, I’ll break out the ol’ ruthless bone, and hit myself over the head with it, so we can get on with the rest of this mess…. Hold on, while I smack the pilot on the head with this ruthless bone, so he’ll take this next exit point, okay? Here now, stay in your seats! We’re going in!….

Shall we Pearl?

“For a man needs only to be turned around not once with his eyes shut in this world to be lost….

Not ’till we are lost…. do we begin to find ourselves.”

~~ Thoreau, Walden ~~

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Since we’ve started the day so soberly, let’s move to an entirely different domain, shall we? Here is some of the finest nonsense ever to come out of Hollywood, with four of the world’s greatest comedians filling the screen with their particular brand of sarcasm and wit…. Speaking of wit, we’re referring, naturally, to the one, the only, Marx Brothers, ffolkes…. Enjoy….

A Day at the Races (1937)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVapaUAyiiU

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

Boy, what a great opening for a rant! I sure wish I had the wherewithal to write this one; it could take me a long way…. But, I don’t have such, so, we’ll have to go with an archived piece…. Enjoy, ffolkes, I tried to find a good one; it’s definitely worth a read….

From January 20, 2013:

“Nothing unreal exists.” — Kiri-Kin-Tha’s Law of Metaphysics

For the uninitiated, this is from Star Trek, a line from the fourth movie, The Voyage Home. It is the answer, and question, posed to Spock by the computer, near the beginning of the movie, just before it asks him, “How do you feel?” Though the quote, and its author, are part of a fictional story, and do not, as far as I know, exist in real life, the idea is nonetheless a potent philosophical assertion, and deserving of some meditation upon its implications, and ramifications. I like it, as it creates a series of doorways, one after another opening for welcome, inviting me to come in and examine its furnishings for their value…. A bit fanciful, perhaps, but then, it IS from Star Trek….

“Trekkies” have always taken the concept behind the show and movies much more seriously than most of us, and have created an entire panorama of alternate universe stories, legends, and characters as an adjunct to the original tales. I am certain that some fan, somewhere in the world, has put together a book that lays out Kiri-Kin-Tha’s philosophy for study, complete with Laws, Axioms, and Arguments. They probably even included material from other fictional works from the ST venue, weaving them into a coherent treatise, all of which is completely fabricated…. People can be pretty amazing when they are obsessed, indeed….

“Nothing unreal exists.”….. fascinating, as Spock would say. It is reminiscent, in a backwards fashion, of the question posed by the door to Ravenclaw Tower, in the final Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows, when Professor McGonagall is queried, “Where do Vanished objects go?” by the door, in order to gain entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. “Into non being, which is to say, everything.”, she answers immediately. “Nicely phrased”, replied the door…. I say backwards only because the ST movie came first in real time, by about 25 years or so…. As can be seen, however, the concepts involved in the two similar episodes are more than mere ideological throw-aways, but have some valid basis for their existence….

This is the power of Imagination at its finest, in my mind. People will take a good idea, and run with it into landscapes where it has never before been conceived, turning it into passionate variations on the original theme whose quality rivals that of it progenitor. At the height of the frenzy over the Harry Potter movies, a few years ago, I visited a site called MuggleNet.com, curious as to what the fans of the movie and stories were doing.

I was completely astounded by the prolific writings by fans, who wrote entire novels, short stories, and alternative plots by the dozens, all populated by the characters from the books by J.K. Rowling. Romances between the various characters abounded in the imagination of the fans, as well as the creation of new characters, and inventive new kinds of magical spells, objects, and creatures. The variety and depth of talent displayed is incredible, and goes to show how powerful is the influence of obsession on our imagination.

And hence one master-passion in the breast,
Like Aaron’s serpent, swallows up the rest.

~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 131 ~~

Of course, obsession has the unfortunate tendency to go beyond the bounds of reasonable action in pursuit of its object of attention. It can easily consume all of the mind’s available store of common sense, submerging it in the raging river of passionate belief in whatever idea has emerged as the passion of choice. Pope was speaking no more than simple truth when he wrote these lines, which point again to the same fatal flaw that exists in other areas of human nature, the weakness of will that makes us choose paths that are self-destructive in their intensity, or in their ultimate logical end. Too many of us tend to make our choices in life without using even the most basic of mental tools we have, including imagination; the use of those tools can be hard, in the sense that it is harder to think than it is to allow others to think for you….

Thus, we come to another point where the subject under discussion can be expanded, and further explored. Or, we can leave it here, with the ideas already discussed as a springboard for private consideration. I have a feeling it could get a bit esoteric from this juncture, and I’d lose a lot of ffolkes to the fatigue factor. I am feeling that a bit meself, having now been sparring with this Pearl for a bit over three hours. I should have eaten some philosophical oatmeal, to increase the fiber content of my output, I guess….

Rather than go any further down that road, we’ll bring this pearl to a close…. Perhaps you can take a bit of what we discussed with you, and chew on it later…. it doesn’t seem to get any less crunchy over time, so it can’t hurt…. Fewer calories than jerky, and it won’t require flossing afterward….

“You can get anything you want, at Alice’s restaurant (‘ceptin’ Alice).” — Arlo Guthrie

Note from the future, i.e. 12/25/2014: Since it’s Christmas, I’ll be nice and only say this, in support of the above, and, as a final word on the subject for the day….

“A physician is not angry at the intemperance of a mad patient, nor does he take it ill to be railed at by a man in a fever. Just so should a wise man treat all mankind, as a physician treats a patient, and look upon them only as sick and extravagant.” — Seneca

That is EXACTLY how I feel when writing these rants….

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As mentioned, laziness is the order of business today; hence, a bit of whimsy, as it were, from a poet OTHER than me…. Enjoy!…

The Loser

Mama said I’d lose my head
if it wasn’t fastened on.
Today I guess it wasn’t
’cause while playing with my cousin
it fell off and rolled away
and now it’s gone.

And I can’t look for it
’cause my eyes are in it,
and I can’t call to it
’cause my mouth is on it
(couldn’t hear me anyway
’cause my ears are on it),
can’t even think about it
’cause my brain is in it.
So I guess I’ll sit down
on this rock
and rest for just a minute…

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

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Okay, so, what we have here is a fresh pearl, with some strange parameters…. Looking in general for comments on Life at Large, SB gave me the following seven stars, which seem to hold together well, with some flexibility on your part…. Along with these it served up five or six other pearls which were perfect for other pieces, either planned, or completed… I guess it’s Smart Bee’s way of apologizing for the recalcitrance shown over the last week or so…. Whatever, it works for me, as it gets this done…. Yay!….

“One should always prefer the probable impossible to the improbable possible.” — Aristotles Dictum.

“Good generally conquers evil. Unless, of course, good is stupid.” — Smart Bee

“Books aren’t written to be believed in, but to be questioned.” — Umberto Eco

Narim: What your mind doesn’t know, your heart fills in.
Carter: I don’t know what that means, exactly, but it’s beautiful.
Narim: Which is exactly what it means.

— from Stargate

“The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make.” — Smart Bee

“A good reputation is more valuable than money.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 108

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” — H. L. Mencken

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Well, there you have it…. Time has become the enemy, for the moment, so, we’ll leave it as it is, and get on with the day…. See y’all after the holiday, ffolkes….. Hope you have a good one….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Waffles, drenched in butter, syrup, and love….

Posted on June 29, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Having failed, miserably, to wake up in a timely fashion, I sit now, pale and trembling, to make one last attempt to gain even a smidgen of rationality, or, if that isn’t possible, just a little portion of normalcy. If this attempt fails, we’re going to need to find some other way to make this happen; otherwise, it’s back to the choice between a re-blog, or hitting the archives, a recent habit of which I’m sure the Gentle Readers are getting tired….. Not me, though; it’s kind of fun to go through my older material; it’s been so long since I wrote some of it, it’s like reading something fresh and new….

Today’s instance of obstruction is brought to you by that iconic force of nature, Murphy, who asked me to also mention his myrmidons, who do most of the actual work involved in screwing with people…. In the last few years, Murphy got so busy trying to cover it all himself, he decided to hire on some apprentice assholes…. This gives him more time for planning his little strategies, and once they’ve learned most of the appropriate spells and methods of adjusting reality to suit Murphy’s plans, he is actually planning a vacation, his first in millennia…

I also have to report, with great reluctance, that the Wise Old Pine Cone blew me off for our photo session…. Oh, he called to cancel, but, I was counting on having those pix today, and now I won’t, so, it’s a bit bothersome. I know he couldn’t help it; it isn’t every day one’s favorite niece’s tree reaches their majority (however THAT gets figured; I’m not a pine tree, so, I’m not aware of how they decide that….). Plus, he promised to be back in time to re-do the shoot today; since it’s Sunday, I guess we’ll have time to get it done…..

As might be surmised, I’m wandering again, blathering and spewing nonsense and/or silliness, to fill up this space so we can get on with the rest of whatever this might turn out to be…. It’s certainly not going to be your normal Pearl; it’s already broken out of that mold. Hell, this intro, though resembling others from the past superficially, is far from normal, as is patently obvious, once one tries to look at it through normal eyes…. It is, no doubt, somewhat fuzzy-looking, confusing to read, and causing a vague uneasiness…. Well, that’s how it’s affecting ME, anyway….

I suppose I’ll have to use #4 again today; there doesn’t seem to be any other way to get this done, or even to bring some relevance to what otherwise would fall into the “totally useless” category. This, of course, could never be put directly into that box, as it DOES serve a purpose, even if that purpose is vague and generally undefinable. Everybody needs a hobby, right? So, I’m going to apply #4 now, so, stand back, or stand still….

Shall we Pearl?….

— Shel Silverstein

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“Lust of power is the most flagrant of all the passions.” — Tacitus (55?-120?)

This particular pearl is an experiment…. I don’t know what else to do to try to save this, so, I’m picking out pearls, along with articles I’ve read in the last day or two that caught my eye, and either stimulated my ire, or gave me hope…. The part of that which annoys me the most is the fact that these articles are all about MY country, the USA, but, none of this stuff is being covered by any of the American papers or news outlets online that I look at…. and, I try to hit more than one, to get a spread of sources…. The UK Guardian, and the London Daily Telegraph, both publish far more articles than their American counterparts, about issues that concern Americans as well as British citizens.

I’ve noted this for some time now; the American media displays all the symptoms of being controlled by the government, because nothing in the news seems to ever really criticize the idiots who run things….. they merely parrot whatever the pundits say, and report their most ridiculous statements, which are demonstrably fabrications, as if they are gospel truth. I have to go to Europe, it seems, to find anyone willing to be critical of our government, at least to any REAL degree…. The stuff you see in the American press never actually condemns the actions they report; they don’t want to lose whatever sources within the halls of the bureaucrats that they have, so, they toe the party lines, just like good little reporters…

Here’s the experimental part…. I’m going to pick out some pearls, and put them around and between the articles, with the hope that the quotes will bring some clarity and/or open mindedness to the reader, thus enhancing the pearls, and the pearl. I know, it’s a bit confusing, but, hey, what else is new?….. Enjoy!….

“I believe that ideas such as absolute certitude, absolute exactness, final truth, etc. are figments of the imagination which should not be admissible in any field of science…This loosening of thinking seems to me to be the greatest blessing which modern science has given us. For the belief in a single truth and in being the possessor thereof is the root cause of all evil in the world.” — Max Born

There… keep that in the forefront of your mind as you read the articles below, and you’ll be much more comfortable with the resultant conclusions…. Each story is preceded by a pearl that seemed to fit its paradigm…. and the whole mess is closed perfectly by our old friend Pooh, in his evil-twin persona….

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,”

~~ Emily Dickinson

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/28/leg-government-spying-supreme-court-decision-cellphones

“The child is the father of the man.” — William Wordsworth

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/27/nsa-queries-phone-data-2013-report

“As far as the men who are running for President are concerned, they aren’t even people I would date.” — Nora Ephron

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/28/uk-rendition-flights-diego-garcia

“Ambition is in fact the avarice of power.” — Smart Bee

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/28/illegal-spying-below-blimp-flies-over-nsa-data-centre-in-surveillance-protest

There you go…. I’m pretty sure the experiment failed, though it’s hard to tell from the vantage point of the present time; only the future gives us that sort of value judgments…. But, in the final analysis, a pearl always depends on the final entry to make or break its value point…. and this one is a beaut!…..

” — Bother! said Pooh, as a woozle bit his bottom.”

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This poem of mine seems to fit the ambiance that we’ve stumbled into today, so, here it is….

Ah Ain’t Sho, but Mebbe So….

Fried eggs got nuthin’ on me
Ah’m not even sure of mah name,
or how Ah come to be;
no idea from where Ah came.

Ah does like a mystery tho’,
puzzlin’ things out so’s Ah knows,
good from bad fo sho,
Ah sho don’t want no rock pillows.

If’n Ah cain’t figure out what’s best,
Ah just falls back on mah Daddy’s words,
seems he knowed just whut’d stand the test,
‘n how to gentle the scaredest birds.

‘Course, he’d lived a good long time,
‘n had lots of stuff go on by;
Went to a war, n’ lost a piece or two,
never once used it fer an alibi.

He tol’ me once Ah’d best learn to learn,
school’s only cool if ya ain’t already a fool.
Yer own good measure you can earn,
by startin’ yer learnin’ with the Golden Rule.

Always seemed to me as Ah growed up,
he mostly only spoke if it wuz true,
‘n by doin’ that clued me to what’s up,
kept me from stuff that’d a made me blue.

Without ever sayin’ the word itself,
Ah learned ’bout honor, ‘n helpin’ others
not some fake stuff from some shelf,
but, knowin’ whut’s right, ‘n that we’re all brothers.

Ah’ve been around long enough now, Ah think
to get around the block at least two times.
I s’pose long as my head don’t shrink
Ah’ll keep on doin’ right, ‘n makin’ these rhymes…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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Okay, so, to make up for the failed experiment, and for the absence of the Wise Old Pine Cone, here are a group of pictures guaranteed to make you go “Awwww”, no matter how grumpily you woke up…. These pix might even be stronger than the need for coffee, so you might want to grab yours FIRST…. All of them were found at the London Daily Telegraph, in two of their photo features, called the Day in Animal Pictures, and Best Animal Photobombs…. all from June 27 or 28, I forget…. I guess that’s close enough for attribution….
There you have it, ffolkes, a plethora of cuteness to take with you wherever you go today….. I know, it pulls my curmudgeon covers, but, hey, I do what I must to make this a valuable experience for the Gentle Reader, even if it means resorting to pandering….

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This has to be one of the weirdest, most fractured Pearls I’ve ever created…. It is, however, a testament to my dedication to this purpose, because, obviously, I wasn’t much into this today…. not from a creative standpoint, anyway….. Probably has a lot to do with my current mental state, which is somewhat muddled…. No worries, the good thing about this is, I get another chance tomorrow, to try to improve…. Given today’s results, that shouldn’t be too hard to do…. See ya, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

In the final analysis, partial hydrogenation was a key factor….

Posted on June 17, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)

I used this tagline yesterday, as an apology, sort of…. In retrospect, I’m thinking this may just be something I could have tattooed on my forehead, as it seems to be one of the most common phrases I use, in a figurative sense…. This entire blog demands that I express some sort of explanatory excuse quite frequently, just by the nature of my chosen subject matter, and my chosen manner of discussion…. Well, in my world, it demands an explanation, anyway; just because other folks don’t live by what my daddy taught me gives me NO reason to do so. In fact, a big part of what he taught me is the concept of Duty, which precludes any sort of shirking, or abrogation of responsibility for our words and actions…..

In conjunction with that thought, came another…. It had to do with something else my father said to me one time, a piece of wisdom that, as it does at one point or another in every father’s life, occurred to him, and prompted him to share with me; I have since shared it with my own children, as part and parcel with the other important lessons I felt they should be taught, as I was…. He said to me, in so many words, “I have taught you all that you know; I have not taught you everything I know.” He smiled as he said it, to take some of the pain from its delivery, but, he couldn’t hide the truth of it, which often causes pain to those who insist on having it, straight up with no ice….

That being said, I have, at least in one respect, tried to do a bit more for my own children, as I am aware of my own failures as a father (we all have them…. we just try not to dwell on them….), and can’t hope to emulate the example he set, in some respects…. But, I have left a legacy for my two kids my father never had time to create, if he so desired…. and that is this blog, along with all the years of Pearls of Virtual Wisdom I created before 2011…. a history that goes back to 1997, when I was first in computer school, and chose my user name, gigoid…. The first Pearls came out, via email, a year or so later, when I got my first computer & Internet hook-up, slow as it was….

The rest, of course, is history, sans any editing by the winners/losers of any societal issues that may determine whose version lasts any length of time…. In the past three years alone, in putting out the Pearls for this version of the Follies, I’ve written well over two million words, all in my own inimitable, irritable style…. These words, and those yet to come, are what I leave my children as my legacy…. With these words, I am trying to transmit to them all the things I’ve never had the time to relate to them, thus giving the lie to that old saw about not teaching all I know….

It may not be the most lucrative legacy ever left, but, it’s what I’ve got, and it ain’t bad…. To further the process, I’d say I’ve wandered around this idea long enough for one day, and now decree it is time to get on with today’s business…. I’ve been working on this one for a while now, as the idea for the first section today struck me solidly in the forehead about two days ago, and I’ve been trying to find periods of time without major spasming to work on it….. my walk around the pirate conclave on Sunday was a bit more draining than I had first imagined…. I’ll live, but, it’s been a bit of a struggle to keep wanting to do so….

Ah, the hell with it; if I don’t get on with it, it’s going to explode, or dissolve in its own tears…. Shall we Pearl?….

“Language is the apparel in which your thoughts parade before the public. Never clothe them in vulgar or shoddy attire.” — George Crane

Oops! Now what?…. Oh well, we’ll just go on, as if we hadn’t seen this at all….

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Welcome, gentle readers, to another episode of the Life and Times of the Wise Old Pine Cone…. Like me, you’ve probably heard stories all your life, telling happy tales with magical, happy endings, filled with anecdotes and descriptions of the Old Cone, and how his wisdom and understanding of The Way, and the Force, as well as the Metaphorse, helps him, and all who hear of him….

I know, I didn’t expect to find him here, in this somewhat bedraggled excuse for a city, either, but, I was waiting for a bus one day, and, there he was, just hanging out, waiting to catch the same bus…. We got to talking, and one thing led to another…. He came home with me, to continue our conversation, and further explore how he could help me, and I could help him, to leave a record of his words, and actions, for generations to follow…. Of course, I was humbled, and honored, agreeing at once…. We tried a couple of forays out into the BRC last week, and now are heading out for another walk, just to stretch a bit after the Pirate Festival I attended, and ended up walking A LOT more than is normal….

First, here is the Wise Old Pine Cone himself…. basking in the morning sun, looking forward to the day….. For all I know, he was meditating, as well, on some esoteric point of philosophy beyond my comprehension…. or not…. He looks content, though, doesn’t he?….

As we walked, we came across some of his friends from the tree, a married couple, the Burleycones, (I know, they’re HUGE, aren’t they? The WOPC tells me they’re examples of a certain strain of cones, who are all much larger than the rest of them…. kind of like a whole sub-species of giant sized cones….), who apparently had something very serious to discuss with him, to which I was not privy…. All I know is the Old Cone was a bit withdrawn for a while, kind of thoughtful…. Here he is talking with the two towering Cones….

You can see from the Wise Old Pine Cone’s expression, he’s got a lot on his mind…. He sat on this bench, staring at a small congress of crows, for over a half-hour before we set off for home….

When we got back to the house, I found out we’d been followed…. by a young pine cone I’d never seen before…. It seems the Burleycones have a son, and the Wise Old Pine Cone agreed, after much inner turmoil, to take the youngster on as his new paduan learner cone…. It’s a big job, for both of them, from what I know of the tradition…. As well, knowing what I do about the Wise Old One, it promises to be a very long, arduous, involved, and challenging time for the young cone…. He looks pretty sturdy, though, and seems to have an intelligent look about him…. We’ll see how he fares, at the Art of learning the Way…..

Here we see the Wise Old Pine Cone giving the Paduan his first reading assignment…. It’s a book written by a blogging friend of mine, Jeremiah Stephen, titled, “Sphere(s)” (as you see below….)….. Jeremiah’s blog, where you can find a link to purchase the book, (I did, and consider it well under-priced for the value of its work, and the worth of its contents, which is virtually incalculable….), is located here…. http://knowthesphere.wordpress.com/

Having read portions of it, (thus far; I’ve only had it a couple of weeks, and Jeremiah’s work is DEEP…..), I know that the young learner has his work cut out for him; it’s a challenging book, excellently written, full of solidly based, well-thought-out, and eloquently presented points of philosophy, all using a metaphor connected to spheres, which allows him to display his deep insight into reality…. He does all this in a fresh, innovative style of writing that engages the reader without becoming overwhelming….. Heavy praise, I know, but, which doesn’t even mention the accuracy and sheer, instinctive rightness of the conclusions he presents, as the logical, and meta-logical, results of his arguments. It will be interesting to see what our young paduan makes of it….

Here we see the young pine cone meeting Guan Yin, the Chinese goddess, aka the Empress of Heaven…. The Wise Old Pine Cone, in his wisdom, knows there are many things the young paduan can learn from her, things only she can teach him…. If you don’t know what they are, you don’t want to know, or it would do you more harm than good, thus negating the purpose of sharing the knowledge…. Trust me, the WOPC knows what he is doing, and so does Guan Yin….

Below you see the paduan meeting another of his teachers…. The Wise Old Pine Cone, having learned long ago to not try to do it all himself, assigns much of his paduan’s learning to other teachers, to provide more than just one point of view of the same material…. and, since Buddhism is an inherent part of what he teaches, why not go directly to the source to obtain the needed instruction?…. Wise, indeed….

In the picture below, we see the young paduan learner being introduced to a peer, one of the students of the Buddha…. Scrappy-Doo found out about the school, and figured out he would benefit from the calming effect the teachings have…. You see, Scrappy has entered puberty, and would like to meet some girls…. but, his aggressiveness and scruffy manner puts them off. So, he’s trying a bunch of different things to improve his chances of meeting a girl…. which, when you think about it, isn’t stupid….

Here you see the two famous teachers relaxing with an adult beverage, (or, perhaps, two or three of them….. they’re adults, after all….)….

The kids are tucked in bed, & Guan Yin doesn’t drink, so the two enlightened Ones have the place to themselves…. I hope they don’t go overboard, like they did last month…. The school had to shut down for three days until they recovered…. Oh well, we’re all bozos on this bus…. or, so I have come to understand…. which means that everyone, even the driver, gets more than just one chance…. After all, we are all bozos, right? Right….

I hope you enjoyed today’s little foray into silliness… I did…..

“A little nonsense, now and then, is cherished, by the wisest men.” — Willie Wonka

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Since we’re being silly today, here’s a poet who does silly better than most anybody…. Enjoy!….

A Boy Named Sue

Well, my daddy left home when I was three,
and he didn’t leave much to Ma and me,
just this old guitar and a bottle of booze.
Now I don’t blame him because he run and hid,
but the meanest thing that he ever did was
before he left he went and named me Sue.

Well, he must have thought it was quite a joke,
and it got lots of laughs from a lot of folks,
it seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I’d get red
and some guy would laugh and I’d bust his head,
I tell you, life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue.

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean.
My fist got hard and my wits got keen.
Roamed from town to town to hide my shame,
but I made me a vow to the moon and the stars,
I’d search the honky tonks and bars and kill
that man that gave me that awful name.

But it was Gatlinburg in mid July and I had
just hit town and my throat was dry.
I’d thought i’d stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon in a street of mud
and at a table dealing stud sat the dirty,
mangy dog that named me Sue.

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
from a worn-out picture that my mother had
and I knew the scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old
and I looked at him and my blood ran cold,
and I said, ‘My name is Sue. How do you do?
Now you’re gonna die.’ Yeah, that’s what I told him.

Well, I hit him right between the eyes and he went down
but to my surprise he came up with a knife
and cut off a piece of my ear. But I busted a chair
right across his teeth. And we crashed through
the wall and into the street kicking and a-gouging
in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell you I’ve fought tougher men but I really can’t remember when.
He kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laughin’ and then I heard him cussin’,
he went for his gun and I pulled mine first.
He stood there looking at me and I saw him smile.

And he said, ‘Son, this world is rough and if
a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
and I knew I wouldn’t be there to help you along.
So I gave you that name and I said ‘Goodbye’.
I knew you’d have to get tough or die. And it’s
that name that helped to make you strong.’

Yeah, he said, ‘Now you have just fought one
helluva fight, and I know you hate me and you’ve
got the right to kill me now and I wouldn’t blame you
if you do. But you ought to thank me
before I die for the gravel in your guts and the spit
in your eye because I’m the guy that named you Sue.’
Yeah, what could I do? What could I do?

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun,
called him pa and he called me a son,
and I came away with a different point of view
and I think about him now and then.
Every time I tried, every time I win and if I
ever have a son I think I am gonna name him
Bill or George – anything but Sue.

~~ Sheldon Allan Silverstein ~~

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Well, it’s been a productive morning…. We’ll finish off today with, of course, an old-school pearl, just as if we had it all planned out that way….. which, of course, we didn’t…. but, serendipity is our friend around here….

“I spent hours trying to come up with the perfect tagline. This isn’t it.” — Smart Bee

“After things have gone from bad to worse, the cycle will repeat itself.” — Farnsdick’s Corollary to the 5th Corollary

26. Read more books and watch less TV. — Instructions for life

O! If I were a fish
I’d lay hap’ly on my dish.
Yes, that’s my one and only wish —
To be a fish!

For fish don’t ever mish;
They needn’t flush after they pish!
Yes, and life’s just swish, swish, swish,
For all the fish!!!

— found in Smart Bee with no attribution, other than the essential quality needed, to wit: it’s damn silly….

“Facts are stubborn little bastards, be careful with them.” — Smart Bee

“One useless man can be called a disgrace. Two really useless men can be called a law firm. When you get more than these together, you have all the essential ingredients for a committee. And after the committee has made one or two criminal errors which are against the law, you have all that is deemed necessary for the formation of a congress. Our country has two separate bodies of these people, no one room being quite large enough to contain them all. And then there is the executive branch, but we shall discuss this later under the heading: “Extreme Absurdities You Would Not Believe!””– parts attributed to John Adams (though I suspect the last sentence or two were added sometime after the new millennium began….)

“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes, Dreams

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

“In dealing with the State, we ought to remember that its institutions are not aboriginal, though they existed before we were born: that they are not superior to the citizen: that every one of them was once the act of a single man: every law and usage was a man’s expedient to meet a particular case: that they all are imitable, all alterable; we may make as good; we may make better.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1802-1882)

This is an unusual pearl, ffolkes, but, that fits right in with today’s essential theme…. This one went from silly to sublime, in nine (mostly) short steps…. I hope you enjoyed it….

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Ffolkes, I just don’t see how I can do this any better than this…. and, if so, I’m not sure I want to…. The best part is, I get to try again tomorrow… Well, that’s the best part for me…. y’all have to take your chances, as we all do when surfing…. I’ll make it worth your while, though, you can be sure of that…. Until then, stay silly, ffolkes, it’s a good excuse….

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

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

Which is Why….
—

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

gigoid the dubious

NOTHING begins until AFTER coffee….

Posted on May 25, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

As a matter of both policy and custom, the title of these Pearls each day has nothing to do with what is inside; that is a deliberate act on my part, from the early days of Pearling, when I made the decision to not connect the title and text. This decision, of course, gave me license to make up titles out of my head, willy-nilly, without being constrained by the subject matter…. If you watch my titles closely, you will have noted this quality, I’m sure, as they are ALWAYS a bit strange, and (almost) never have anything to do, directly, with the text of the blog…. Oh, once in a Blue Moon, the title will reflect some part of the body subject, but, 99.99% of them are not connected, at all, at all…

Today, of course, is one of the exceptions, at least in the sense that the title makes sense, AND is connected to the material inside… indirectly, but, connected…. Any who, I just wanted to clear that up, as it sometimes will confuse the Gentle Reader, especially the newbies, who are not yet accustomed to the idiosyncrasies that abound on this site… Well, there was that…. plus, it got me this far down the page, without ever suffering any angst, or upset at not having anything to put here…. Bonus!….

Of course, NOW I’m stuck with it, at this painfully awkward point, where I again try to come up with something more than just nonsense to get this started…. Now, I know that nonsense is useful, and is well-used around here, for sure…. but, somehow, it just doesn’t seem appropriate this morning…. I haven’t a clue as to why that may be; it’s not as if nonsense isn’t well-known in this venue. Maybe I’m being too stringent this morning; that has been known to happen, especially before I’ve sucked down enough coffee…. If that were actually the case, though, I probably would have found a body or two on the way to my chair….

I don’t know, ffolkes…. it all seems so futile some mornings…. I write, and write, and spout off about stuff that should be important to many people, yet, nothing changes out in the BBR, not in any significant way…. If I weren’t so damn concerned about the state of the world, and about how long that world is going to last, I wouldn’t be writing at all… I’d be traveling, and making sure I see all those places on this beautiful old planet I’ve always wished to see, before it is all sent down the proverbial tubes by our common stupidity, inflicting upon us the near-certain species extinction we have courted with our ignorance, an event that is now all-but-unavoidable, according to all the evidence….

Well, that was fun…. NOT!

Having thus put myself into a semi-deep depressive state with that mild diatribe, I think I’d better get on with today’s Pearl…. I’m not certain exactly how I got myself to this point so quickly…. I didn’t start out to be so depressive, or feel such a depth of futility…. but, within five paragraphs, I managed to kill any good mood I had going, from having slept fairly well for the third day in a row…. I think, in fact, I’m going to forgo any further attempts to rant, or be serious…. I feel more like having fun today, so, from this point forward, there will be no further ranting allowed…. Instead, we’ll go seek out some fun….. gigoid-style……

That means, of course, that y’all will need to make sure your seat belts are well-secured, and that all of the provided safety devices are deployed (that includes the Kevlar vests, and the emergency stash of Valium included in the first aid kits…. In fact, if I were you, I’d just swallow the Valium now….); we’ve been known to use ALL of them on such days as this… and THAT includes the transgender disguises….

Oh, stop worrying; usually we only need to use about half the included protective devices; it’s not as if we seek out those carnivorous predators…. It’s just that they live nearby, and have learned the signs that we are going to be there, thus giving them ample warning to plan surprises for us….

But, not to worry, nobody has ever died on one of our nonsensical quests for a lightened spirit; it’s come close a few times, but, those were the times we had a replacement pilot, who didn’t know all the ropes…. Also, this is all a load of crap, so, all you really need is your earplugs, to be able to ignore the tour guides spiel when it gets tiring, or actively boring… a state of affairs that this intro is approaching rapidly…. Hmm, maybe we should go for a dive…. In fact, I believe that is becoming imperative….

Shall we Pearl?….

If you want to get the plain truth,
Be not concerned with right and wrong.
The conflict between right and wrong
Is the sickness of the mind.

— Seng-T’san

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Since this Pearl, and these pearls, are dedicated to fun stuff, here is something I found yesterday on a random mouse-click, an interactive web site that is really neat…. and that phrase just gave everyone a big clue as to my age, I’m sure…. Any who, here is a link to the site, so, check it out, and enjoy… then we’ll go into an old-school pearl with parameters set to nonsense, or, funny, or whatever SB thinks might fit in with those concepts….

Really cool website and picture from a project completed by NASA, with the help of the people of the world…. ….. http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/155294

“I resolved no to be offended easily by human nature, but I think I blew it.” — Hobbes

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.”– George Bernard Shaw

“Puritanism — The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” — H. L. Mencken

(Well, I think it’s funny….)

“Although war is cruel and brutal, it is also dangerous and stupid.” — Yakko Warner

(I know, marginally funny…. but, it stays, because it’s all-too-true…)

Brutha: “What could I say?”
Om: “Believe in the Great God Om.”
Brutha: “And then what?”
Om: “What do you mean, and then what?”
Brutha: “…Believe in the Great God Om or be stricken with thunderbolts.”
Om: “Sounds good to me.”

— How to be a prophet (Terry Pratchett, “Small Gods”)

AND NOW ANOTHER WORD FROM THE PENTAGON: “Oh, and by the way… about those 45,000 body-bags we had shipped to Saudi Arabia. They’re actually going to be used to smuggle booze in to our troops; otherwise we couldn’t get it to them. Honest. We’re not really sure what we’ll carry back in them though. Any ideas?” — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA.

Lister: Love is what separates us from animals.

Rimmer: No, Lister — what separates us from animals is that we don’t use our tongues to clean our own genitals.

— Red Dwarf – ‘Confidence and Paranoia’

Okay, well, that was…. well, that was…. okay, I have no idea what that was…. I thought it was funny, though, so, it will have to do for now…. Let’s go on, & see what happens…..

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When one wishes for light hearted poetry, Ogden Nash, or Shel Silverstein will always come through for you…. But, I’m going to go with one of my own today, just because I can…. I’ll try to make it as light-hearted as I can…. In fact, I’ll try twice, as one is really short….

Striking Gold

Madness comes and goes, it’s true,
whenever it chooses to do so.
Living’s much like wearing a shoe,
when all you are is a toe.
~~ gigoid ~~

Roses for Noses

I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
Or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst?….

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
The world is full of humor, but not always easy to find
so laughing at myself I learned never to mind….

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows….

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face….

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop….

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid ~~

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I found this the other day, and put it here…. without any clue it would be perfectly appropriate for the day’s theme… (which is because I don’t generally have a theme….)…. Any who, it fits right in, so, it can stay, too…. By the date, this was written just before leaving on our trip to Alaska, so, I must have been in a pretty good mood, if a bit hyper…. not an unusual state for me, at least, not in my head….

From 6/28/2013:

I confess to feeling too hyped to write…. I have a lot in there that wants to come out, but, a bigger part of me just wants to dance, or fall asleep to pass the time until we leave, tomorrow in the early afternoon….. So, I’ll cheat again, and dip into the archives…. This is a short little piece I wrote the day before Halloween in 2011, as part of a pearl created using a really old format, one that encouraged ranting a bit too much…. History aside, I like this one, just because, and it’s a good one to finish with on a day like today…..

_____________________________

“His philosophy was a mixture of three famous schools: the Cynics, the Stoics and the Epicureans – and summed up all three of them in his famous phrase, ‘You can’t trust any bugger further than you can throw him, and there’s nothing you can do about it, so let’s have a drink.'” — Terry Pratchett, ‘Small Gods’

Laughter is probably my favorite part of Life; I can’t think of a single time in my life when laughter was unwelcome. Conversely, I can think of any number of times when it was not only welcome, but life-saving, or at the very least life-preserving. In its way, it also affirms life; it lets you know that you are alive, and that life is good.

The sound of a child’s laughter can bring a smile to the grimmest curmudgeon, and the laughter of a beautiful woman can be either joyous, or cruel. Laughing is our best defense against the tyranny of repressive thought; it can bring a tyrant to his knees, for tyranny lives in fear of ridicule. Laughter cannot cure pain, but can ease it, and make it more bearable.

In its way, laughter prolongs life, actually reversing many of the effects of time. When laughter is in our lives, everything is more colorful; vision, hearing, touch, smell, all are more acute when under its influence. And, when it is long absent, the world turns dreary, washed of all color. Without laughter, our lives become drudgery, merely a time to survive, in silence and despair.

The Universe is one huge joke, and the punch line has yet to come. We can spend our lives in black and white, trudging along the dusty road of Time with head hanging down and steps heavy as sorrow. Or, we can look for the brighter side of Life, and laugh at ourselves and everything around us, marching ahead with eyes up and seeking new vistas, hopeful for the dawn of each new day.

Your choice…..

“Excuse me, but didn’t I tell you there’s NO HOPE for the survival of OFFSET PRINTING?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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I’m not sure what to think about this one; it FEELS as if it got away from me, but, it LOOKS okay…. Maybe I’ll read it, to see how it came through the ordeal…. Be back in a few….

Okay, so, it must be okay, because I’ve read it, and STILL don’t have a clue as to its value, or even its nature…. which makes it completely typical…. That, of course, means I’m outta here, having done all the damage I can do for one day…. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Further remonstrances should be unnecessary….

Posted on May 19, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Realizing such an overreaction would draw attention, I put away my weapon, and proceeded to thrash the idiot with my bare hands….. Having thus protected the next poor slob who tried to buy one of the asshole’s fake watches, (The fool didn’t even bother to put works in them, or set them to the right time….. just tried to foist off a fake Rolex on me, without any real idea of what a watch like that would cost, or look like…. What an idiot….), I walked out of the alley where I left his groaning carcass, giving him the opportunity for a leisurely introspection, wherein he could contemplate the error of his ways…. I turned south, toward the waterfront, where the ship that would carry me on the next leg of my journey only waited for me to board….

As I strolled down the Avenida del Revolucion, other, more honest vendors hawked their wares, to the early tourists and locals who crowded the narrow sidewalks, jostling each other in the crowded spaces between the shops and the street-side displays for each….. All the stalls were colorfully crammed with hundreds of items for sale, handy to the cars that crawled past, filled with other tourist groups and possible buyers…. The street vendors, each hawking the wares of the shop in front of which they stood, joined their cries to each other’s, almost a sing-song of prices and salutations, a commercial music that blended with and through the noise of the cars, and the blaring mariachi music from the speakers every fifty feet….

Then, of course, I woke up, and lost all sense of proportion, staring into the darkened room, wondering whether I was still in Mexico, shivering slightly in the cold air from the open window, behind me…. Pulling on a t-shirt, I arose, grabbed the essentials, and came out to try to start this Pearl….. The above two paragraphs are the best I can do, ffolkes; on looking it over, it’s not bad, but, it isn’t the best I’ve ever done, either….. Given the handicap under which I’m operating, I’m fairly content, as it is better than I’d hoped, given the level of spasming and pain I’m currently ignoring….. well, as best as I can….

Regardless of that, I’m not going to whine…. What I WILL do is try to put out a complete Pearl, fresh, (other than poetically…. I’m afraid I don’t have THAT in me right now…. but, I’ll pick something worthwhile to make up for any lack of freshness or originality on MY part….), and as compelling as I can make it…. It may not be quite up to snuff, but, it will have to do, because, well, it will….

On that note, I’m going to forgo any further folderol, or nonsense from my darker side, & jump into the rest of today’s effort….. which, as I can already tell y’all, is an effort, indeed….

Shall we Pearl?….

Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.

It has no future but itself,
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

“Monarchies, aristocracies, and religions are all based upon that large defect in your race — the individual’s distrust of his neighbor, and his desire, for safety’s or comfort’s sake, to stand well in his neighbor’s eye. These institutions will always remain, and always flourish, and always oppress you, affront you, and degrade you, because you will always be and remain slaves of minorities. There was never a country where the majority of people were in their secret hearts loyal to any of these institutions.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910), “The Mysterious Stranger”

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/17/government-lies-nsa-justice-department-supreme-court

Is there any more question? Can it be laid out any clearer? It’s pretty clear to me….. Our world has been usurped, pirated by the myrmidons of the paranoid übermensch, the sociopathic monied elite, who seek to control every aspect of life on this planet, to further their own pathetic need to control and manipulate the rest of mankind for their insane personal ends….

Now, some might think that’s a long stretch of the imagination, to extrapolate such dire accusations from the shenanigans of one federal agency, or even two, apparently turning it all around into blaming the poor, faceless gazillionaires who control the resources of the planet; after all, most people now are inured to being lied to, stolen from, and getting their fannies reamed by those in charge of society, having endured that sort of treatment their entire lives.

Given that sort of background, what could be LESS surprising than to hear that someone in the government had lied, to protect someone else in another governmental branch?…. (Please note: both the liars, and those they lie about, are UN-elected officials, having been appointed to their positions….) Or that the Justice (?) Department was no longer bound by the Constitution, or, apparently, any other laws that are contrary to their purpose, thus giving them the legal right to lie, to the public, and to the SUPREME FUCKING COURT?….

Sadly, I’m not sure they needed to lie to the Supremes; that particular batch of lawyers, who, after first indicating which path to glory they preferred, mutated into judges, of such obvious degrees of corruption they became worthy of the attention of one or more of the Shrubs, those blatant corporate/spook soldiers who appointed them…. (Notice again how voting doesn’t come into this picture?…)…..

This particular current batch of Supremes seems to be more than ready to fuck things up all by themselves, casually casting aside numerous laws set, over time, as legal precedents by previous Supremes, laws designed to guard against societal discrimination, as being “no longer an issue of law”…. meaning, they are changing the law themselves, sans any need to ask for, or receive, approval from anyone else, such as Congress, the Executive Branch, or god forbid, the people of this country….

It’s pretty clear in this case, it all connects at a deeper level, where the inner workings of a clandestine organization are merely the tip of the iceberg, compared to how the ice is being used….. which is, begad, a terrible metaphor. But, I think it’s clear that ALL of the branches of our government are now corrupted by this attitude, of entitlement and the absolute belief that whatever rights we, the people, may have had, are not relevant to their goals…. all of which, in their eyes, makes those ‘rights’ immaterial, pathetic obstacles to be brushed aside, in the interests of expediency and paranoia….

Ffolkes, I don’t like to join hands with the ranks of those who believe in all sorts of conspiracies; most of the time the evil that we see is not a matter of conspiring to take over the world…. there’s no need for that, because it has already happened. It actually happened thousands of years ago; the problem has always been that not many people are willing to look directly at the evidence, or able to accept the FACTS…. which are, to me, relatively clear.

“By all means, let’s not confuse the issue with facts.”– Smart Bee

The 1% (which, actually, is a misnomer; 1% of the total number of humans alive is actually a rather large number, in relation to the small number of people who actually have real control of the resources of the entire planet…. 1% of 7 Billion is actually 70 Million people; there are many times many fewer people than that who are the actual masters of this society…. Planet wide, the true figure of people who are in the true ruling elite is probably closer to 7000, or perhaps, 70,000, not millions…. Sorry, ffolkes, but, numbers CAN’T lie…. and, remember, these people DON’T share…..), are perfectly aware they don’t NEED a conspiracy, when the controls they require have been in place for centuries…. As long as people are susceptible to money, or power over others, as long as they are subject to their own fear and ignorance, no real planning is required, as people will, all-too-often, freely give their freedom away, to those who promise to remove their fear…..

This has always been true, ffolkes…. The weak and ignorant, of which there are so many, spend their lives in fear of not being able to succeed, of being confronted with the harsh realities of life without the means to deal with any of it. The unprincipled rulers of mankind, with the willing and able assistance of the religious fanatics who support them, don’t actually conspire against the rest of humanity….

They merely live up to their own standards, which are based on expediency and self-promotion, and the ignorant masses fall right into line, giving their allegiance and obedience to temporal authority, while both the church and the rulers steadily, and thoroughly, empty their pockets of all they don’t require for basic living…. and more, if they feel they can get away with it….

I don’t profess to have any special knowledge of what is going on behind the scenes; all of my opinions are based on what can be seen right out in the public arena, based on what I read, what I see, and what I can deduce from that data. Everyone alive has the same opportunity as I do to see what is going on….

Sadly, most people don’t seem to have, or, to use if they do have, the simple intelligence required to put the pieces together, into a picture they can understand…. which, in turn, means they cannot control their own destiny…. Nor will they ever be able to do so, as long as they continue to give up the right to control their own minds, to the Beloved Ruling Classes, including the priestly hierarchies, and all the faceless myrmidons (police and military…), who do the bidding of the powered elite, the corporate snakes/monied assholes, (sorry, I decided elegant doesn’t work when describing these pricks, but, short, pithy Anglo-Saxon slang works just fine….), who prey on the rest of mankind….

I think, personally, it’s time for me to buy a gun…. and lots and lots of ammunition…. As an American citizen, I can only say that, I’m tired of my ass being continuously threatened with impalement, on the shaft of government indifference, or corporate immorality, and, I don’t intend to have it go on that way forever…. I’m sure we can find something that will work better, and won’t constantly be a pain in our collective ass….

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” — Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) — Churchill’s Commentary on Man

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

There are times when the mere act of reading a poem, if done honestly, paying attention & trying to put oneself into the author’s mind, to fully understand the metaphor of life being portrayed, is a worthy experience in and of itself, with no more justification needed, or required, by either the universe, or the monitors of this blog, who are, as we know, non-existent…. Well, I know it; if y’all still have doubts, just submit another claim….

In the meantime, here is a poem, which long-time prisoners, er, readers, will probably recognize as having been seen here previously…. That’s just because it’s a good one, and, because I can…. Enjoy, please, as millions of history’s readers have done for a long time…..

A Dialogue of Self and Soul

{My Soul} I summon to the winding ancient stair;
Set all your mind upon the steep ascent,
Upon the broken, crumbling battlement,
Upon the breathless starlit air,
‘Upon the star that marks the hidden pole;
Fix every wandering thought upon
That quarter where all thought is done:
Who can distinguish darkness from the soul
i{My Self}. The consecretes blade upon my knees
Is Sato’s ancient blade, still as it was,
Still razor-keen, still like a looking-glass
Unspotted by the centuries;
That flowering, silken, old embroidery, torn
From some court-lady’s dress and round
The wodden scabbard bound and wound
Can, tattered, still protect, faded adorn
i{My Soul.} Why should the imagination of a man
Long past his prime remember things that are
Emblematical of love and war?
Think of ancestral night that can,
If but imagination scorn the earth
And interllect is wandering
To this and that and t’other thing,
Deliver from the crime of death and birth.
i{My self.} Montashigi, third of his family, fashioned it
Five hundred years ago, about it lie
Flowers from I know not what embroidery —
Heart’s purple — and all these I set
For emblems of the day against the tower
Emblematical of the night,
And claim as by a soldier’s right
A charter to commit the crime once more.
i{My Soul.} Such fullness in that quarter overflows
And falls into the basin of the mind
That man is stricken deaf and dumb and blind,
For intellect no longer knows
i{Is} from the i{Ought,} or i{knower} from the i{Known — }
That is to say, ascends to Heaven;
Only the dead can be forgiven;
But when I think of that my tongue’s a stone.
i{My Self.} A living man is blind and drinks his drop.
What matter if the ditches are impure?
What matter if I live it all once more?
Endure that toil of growing up;
The ignominy of boyhood; the distress
Of boyhood changing into man;
The unfinished man and his pain
Brought face to face with his own clumsiness;
The finished man among his enemies? —
How in the name of Heaven can he escape
That defiling and disfigured shape
The mirror of malicious eyes
Casts upon his eyes until at last
He thinks that shape must be his shape?
And what’s the good of an escape
If honour find him in the wintry blast?
I am content to live it all again
And yet again, if it be life to pitch
Into the frog-spawn of a blind man’s ditch,
A blind man battering blind men;
Or into that most fecund ditch of all,
The folly that man does
Or must suffer, if he woos
A proud woman not kindred of his soul.
I am content to follow to its source
Every event in action or in thought;
Measure the lot; forgive myself the lot!
When such as I cast out remorse
So great a sweetness flows into the breast
We must laugh and we must sing,
We are blest by everything,
Everything we look upon is blest.

~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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

Okay, finally, a bit of fun for us all…. I’ve been working hard to get this done before the pain gets to the point where someone has to die, and it’s going fairly well, all things considered…. Let’s see if Smart Bee is up to a bit of cooperation this morning, shall we? I’ve got my wet suit on, and my scuba tank is full…. Let’s dive, ffolkes…. Oh, yeah, take your knife; no parameters today….

Hug O’ War

I will not play at tug o’ war.
I’d rather play at hug o’ war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Madison, 1787

“To think contrary to one’s era is heroism. But to speak against it is madness.” — Eugene Ionesco

“One must never precede any maneuver by a comment more predictive than, “Watch this!” (Keep ’em guessing.) — The Third Commandment of Frisbee — Dan Roddick

“Fear is the lock and laughter the key to your heart.” — Steven Stills

“That which leads us to the performance of duty by offering pleasure as its reward, is not virtue, but a deceptive copy and imitation of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

“What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?” — Ursula K. LeGuin

I really love this job….. too bad nobody will pay me to do it…..

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

Well, ffolkes, (and that’s a deep subject….) (Sorry, really…. I’m an incorrigible punster, so, don’t incorrige me…) (Okay, sorry, I’m done….), here we are again…. I’m still uncertain as to whether or not I’ll continue to try to keep myself unblooded today; I suppose it will depend on how much pain I’m fighting when some idiot tests my resolve. But, at my age, I don’t really give much of a shit whether it does, or not, and if things get out of hand, I’ll just blame Murphy…. it’s about time he took some of the heat he dishes out…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

All of that, in marmalade shoes?…..

Posted on January 8, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Hey, mister!”
“Yeah, kid?”
“What time is it?”
“Crying time….”

What? What’s that you say? Hold on, let me turn this off…. Okay, that’s better…. Now, what was that? Oh, that? I don’t know…. some random bozo left it on screen, and it kind of fit in, so…. Huh? No, not me, no way…. Oh, alright, I’ll confess, I did it…. I actually kind of like that little conversation at the beginning…. I don’t know, it just appeals to me, and it seems to be fairly flexible, as I’ve used it several days now, and it’s still coming across okay…. I’d ask y’all for opinions, but, I’ve never done well working by committee, and I don’t play well with others most of the time, so, it’s probably best for me to NOT ask for help with this….

I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing up this morning, anyway….I’m up way early…. I lost track of my pill timing in the night, and ended up missing a dose of my pain pill… This is not a good thing, generally, and tonight was no exception…. I wake up, with my pain increasing slowly, and a feeling of disturbance, a kind of edgy feeling, as if my nerves are vibrating…. This, of course, is the precursor to the dreaded dyskinesia, a side effect that occurs when the medication level in my blood falls too far below the optimum level, lasting until a pill is taken, and the blood level rises again into a therapeutic range. Until it passes, I am unable to do much but pace, or sit and vibrate…. Grand craic…. NOT….

Once I had figured it out, and taken the pill that went AWOL, all I had to do was get up, and try to keep from moaning and groaning so much I wake up Pat…. Well, and wait for coffee, so I don’t bite the cat…. Actually, I think it might be a good time to start a rant, as my anger level is perfect for letting out on some deserving asshole… I’ve got beau coups material below, what with the re-emergence of the Asininnies from their year-end hiatus from the news….

The politicians are starting to talk again, so we’ll have some good stuff to go over later…. Then there’s the news from the courts, regarding the half-hearted attempts to curb the bankers, trying to make them toe the line the rest of us stand on…. Of course, then I won’t have anything to do later, so, maybe I’ll wait on that…. Actually, I’m sort of wandering around in my head as much as I am on screen, trying to find some sort of direction… Maybe, the routine will need to adjust this morning; I can see now, this is going nowhere, and getting there fast….

Instead of any more of this nonsense, lovely as it may be, Shall we Pearl?…..

“It matters little what you believe, so long as you don’t altogether believe it.” — Bertrand Russell

“Thought and theory must precede all salutary action; yet action is nobler in itself than either thought or theory.” — William Wordsworth
_____________________________

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/01/06/house-democratic-leader-nancy-pelosi-says-edward-snowden-should-come-back-and-face-the-music-for-leaks/

Sometimes, I really do wonder how these people get to be as old as they are, much less understand how they go about convincing other people they are competent, intelligent human beings, who can count all the way to three without stopping, and tie their own shoes, in those cases where they are allowed to have them…. Nancy Pelosi, echoing the bullshit rationalizations that the administration has spewed from the start, yesterday made the completely idiotic suggestion that Eric Snowden should come back to the US and surrender himself for prosecution, or, in the words of the people who have been lying, and spying on their own citizens, he should “face the music”….. Music THEY want to play, and you can bet it is a funeral march….

What a completely asinine, idiotic statement! It’s as if they don’t have a clue as to their own duplicity and hypocrisy, to make such a suggestion, knowing full well that this man could no more receive a fair trial in this country than Bradley Manning got, or, everyone’s favorite whistleblower, Julian Assange, of Wikileaks, who, though admittedly an asshole himself, at least TRIES to help the common man, rather than siding with the Powers That Be automatically, as they would like us to do…. Nancy Pelosi, especially with quotes like this, and her compatriot, Dianne Feinstein, who has been parroting the exact same talking points, are becoming excellent examples of how out of touch our Congressional pundits are with their voting base….

I would wager that over 60% of the American voting public, especially here in California, is grateful to Mr. Snowden, considering him to be a whistleblower, a patriot, and a brave man, if not a hero…. Yet, in spite of the almost universal support for Mr. Snowden’s actions, both of the elected Senator bozoettes from California continue to parrot the administration’s rote message, one of revenge, with no mercy, on this “outlaw” who exposed them as the criminals they are…. I know of very few people on the streets, those that I speak with, anyway, who believe he did wrong…. If anything, most folks I speak with feel he is a very brave man who made a tough decision, and is now paying the price….

The thing is, how stupid do these people have to be? How can Pelosi make such a completely obtuse statement, and expect it to have any positive effect at all? This whole scenario seems to have locked all of them, the politicians, into the same, inflexible mode of mind, where they just keep on saying the same thing, over and over, no matter how many times it takes, until they get their way…. I know that experience has taught them they can do this, and it will eventually work, but, it seems so foolish to me to continue the charade, especially when the opposition is so strong in his favor….

A lot of very influential people and organizations have already come forward to support the idea of clemency for him, and it seems to me that the administration would have the commons sense to see the way the wind is blowing, especially when it is blowing against their chosen direction…. But, then, they’ve had a lot of practice at getting people to ignore their chicanery in the past, and they have no doubt they can do so in this instance as well…. However, I think, this time, they may have underestimated the depth of the anger that many Americans feel at being spied upon, and lied to, by their own elected officials….

You see, THAT, to me, is the core principle here, and one that the public needs to stay aware of….. These assholes, the POTUS, the Congress, the bankers, and all those shadowy supporters of the status quo are spying on you, lying to you about that spying, and about almost everything they are doing, supposed on your behalf, and in your name…. The administration of this country is in the hands of 545 people, men mostly, who have ONLY their own agendas to follow, and have no interest whatsoever in any of the things that the American people want for themselves…. All they want is to secure their own power, their own entitlement, and their own control over everyone else….

If you believe anything else to be the case, I’d welcome hearing your evidence…. But, I’ve looked at all of it, and what I see is a small group of selfish, greedy assholes who are running the world for their own benefit, and leaving the scraps for everyone else…. In this case, they’re angry at a man who pulled their covers, and they want their revenge on him for daring to show them up….

This entire scenario is just that simple, ffolkes; anything else you read, or hear, from almost anyone in the public eye, will make a bit show of outrage and indignant blather, in a blatant attempt to draw your attention away from that simple FACT…. They’re mad because they got caught, and now they’re scrambling around in anger, and will stop at nothing to bury the one they hold responsible for that, for they will never admit any of their own responsibility….. Hell, not only do they NOT take responsibility for what they’ve done, they’re trying to convince everyone they were RIGHT to do what they’ve done…. Assholes, every one of them….. and, now, they’re talking through those self-same defecatory orifices, if what is coming out is any indication…..

When I saw the following quote, I thought to myself, “I didn’t know Bertrand Russell was a seer.” This comment from the past could very well be taken as a very accurate description of the Obama administration’s response to the revelations about their spying…. It’s a perfect ending pearl for this rant, summing up a large part of my argument in one line….

“Conventional people are roused to fury by departures from convention, largely because they regard such departures as a criticism of themselves.” — Bertrand Russell “The Conquest of Happiness” (1930)

There you have it for now, ffolkes, another in a long line of indictments of our Beloved Ruling Class, all polished up for your enjoyment…. As a retired chef, I can tell you, these rants will go best with a blueberry muffin, and a strong cup of coffee, sweet & light, as they say back East….
_____________________________

On ranting days, I often turn to this poet, to soften the mood a bit….. Enjoy!….

The Loser

Mama said I’d lose my head
if it wasn’t fastened on.
Today I guess it wasn’t
’cause while playing with my cousin
it fell off and rolled away
and now it’s gone.

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

_____________________________

http://news.yahoo.com/jpmorgan-chase-pay-2-0-bn-madoff-probe-100825763.html

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/JPMorgan-settles-Madoff-fraud-claims-for-1-7B-5120459.php

Normally, I wouldn’t rant twice in one day, but, these two articles made it imperative that I respond, at least to one part of what I read in there…. That part was this….. This is two quotes, both from the second article, on SFGATE….

“The nation’s largest bank will forfeit a record $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges, plus pay an additional $543 million to settle civil claims by victims. It also will pay a $350 million civil penalty for what the Treasury Department called “critical and widespread deficiencies” in its programs to prevent money laundering and other suspicious activity.”……. “The settlement includes a so-called deferred prosecution agreement that requires the bank to acknowledge failures in its protections against money laundering but also allows it to avoid criminal charges. No individual executives were accused of wrongdoing. ”

2.5 billion dollars….. Two point five billion dollars…. Two and a half BILLION dollars! That’s it…. They were responsible for allowing over 300 BILLION dollars get ripped off from the public, and they only have to agree to give up 2.5 of the profits they made to get out of any prosecution for their part in the scheme…. There was another point in the first article, in Yahoo, that mentioned that Chase had “put aside” 23 Billion dollars for legal defense funds on this issue alone…. 23 billion dollars folks, just to make sure none of their precious money-makers would be sued, or for that matter, be discomfited in any way…..

Now, normally, this wouldn’t set me off, as it’s a pretty common tale, but, what with all the other shit going down in the world today, the fact that these corporate assholes can buy their way out of trouble, well, it makes me pretty angry…. especially when a solitary brave man has to suffer persecution, and possible prosecution, for telling the truth about a government gone mad, while the corporate masters who have manipulated the whole world scenario to suit their own agendas can hide behind their mountains of money, and never suffer a moments angst or worry over what may happen to them….

The world has gone mad, ffolkes, and there isn’t a damn thing any of us can do about it at this point…. There are just too many battle fronts, too many serious issues, any one of which can, and will, bring society to the edge of either revolution, or self-destruction… According to all the evidence I can gather, and all I can extrapolate from that evidence, one of those two actions is pretty sure to come to pass in the next few years, if not months, and I’m getting a bit worried about how far I’ll be able to jump when the bang comes…..

Ah well, so much for one day’s efforts…. All I can do today is rant, and cry…. Cry for my people, and for a future that will never be…..

“If God hadn’t wanted me to be paranoid, He wouldn’t have given me such a vivid imagination.” — Smart Bee
_____________________________

“They seem to have learned the habit of cowering before authority even when not actually threatened. How very nice for authority. I decided not to learn this particular lesson.” — Richard Stallman

Well, nobody can say that today’s Pearl isn’t fresh…. It’s also probably enough to get me arrested, if anyone from the government really worried about my blathering indictments…. I haven’t read EVERY word of the NDAA regs, but, the administration seems well able to bend those regulations as they see fit, if they wish to do whatever it is they wish to do…. If they wanted me, they’d probably have enough legal reason to come and get me, or try, anyway….

Fortunately, the quote above is the perfect truth, and I’m ready and willing to discuss the matter with them, ANY WAY, ANY TIME, as long as it is in public… If they want to make me disappear, well, they may be able to do that, too, but, I guarantee, it won’t be as easy, or as simple, as they might think…. and, in order to maintain the security of those precautions I may or may not have taken… (they’ll never know, will they?….), that is all I’ll say on that…. other than, come on down, folks…. let’s dance….

As for this Pearl, it’s done, in every respect, and in every way I can make it done…. Hence, my decision to take my leave makes perfect sense, yes? You betcha…. See you mañana, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Paltry measures yield no benefits, milord….

Posted on October 8, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

As far as I can see, the only effect the shutdown of the government seems to have produced, is a reduction in the overall amount of noise we must endure, noises normally supplied by the busy lips and tongues of politicians…. Oh, they’re all running around, having meetings, giving interviews to whomever will listen, whereupon new articles appear, to explore the latest load of bilge that has come down the pike, shouting how this one dissed the other one, or what that one said about this, that, or, even the other…. It all gets a bit loud, for my taste, so, I’m glad the shutdown has caused a bit less of it to assault my/our tender ears….

I went to look for something to rant about this morning, but all the news writers are apparently avoiding the budget mess, in favor of other stuff clamoring for attention, such as the BART strike being threatened for this week, or Jerry Brown’s baldness, or the baseball playoffs… All of which is important stuff, I’m sure, but, not very rantable for those of us who require a bit more actual drama, rather than mere vicarious curiosity, while having no actual need to engage in celebrity worship.

I guess it goes to show that we really DON’T need the government; all of those things that we get from it are actually not essential to our existence on an everyday basis, and NOT having it around, constantly creating issues and problems, seems, to me, to be rather peaceful…. I find it rather heartening, as well as comforting, to have heard not a single stupid remark by a politician yet today, even though I’ve already gone over the headlines once, to see if there was anything worthwhile to pick at…. I suppose you could call that serendipity, as it is certainly a boon, and certainly unexpected…

Actually, the fact that there is NOT any real news to pick at is NOT a good thing…. I know, as does everyone else, that the nation is rushing headlong into another financial crisis, spurred on by a small group of self-styled martyrs, who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves, and, who have no clue that they have signaled their own demise as a political force in the future, by their intransigent insistence on pursuing this farce…. The American public is well aware of who is responsible for this mess, and they WILL make their anger clear in a month, when a number of elections will bring home to the Republicans just how stupid this has been, and just how far their alienation of voters has progressed…. They’ll be lucky to still have a functioning organization by the next national election….

The lack of news articles right now, though, points out to me an even more disappointing aspect of the matter, which has been, and continues to be, the absolutely piss-poor job done by the print media in covering all of this…. They have avoided taking shots at the people responsible, and have studiously ignored much of the public’s reaction to what is taking place. They also haven’t looked very hard at any of the stuff the whole budget mess is designed to cover up, like what is happening in Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Iran, or Guantanamo Bay, or any of the other areas of the world where our political presence has led us into immoral, illegal acts of war, against people who are NOT the responsible parties for the events, far in the past now, for which we are allegedly seeking vengeance. But, hey, what’re a few deaths in the third world, if it means the politicos get the breathing room to plan their next great theft from the public?….

Okay, I guess I’ve ranted enough for one day…. I’m pretty disgusted with the entire BRC right now, and though that is nothing new, the degree of outrage I’m experiencing this go-around is much greater than usual…. Obama, Boehner, Mitchell, Pelosi, Biden, McCain, Bachman, all of them are assholes, and there isn’t a damn thing to do about it, other than be glad that, for the moment at least, they’re not making as much noise in their posturing, meaning there is less for us to have to endure…. They haven’t ceased their lies, or their delusional beliefs, or trying to fulfill any of their private agendas, which have NOTHING to do with what is good for the public….. They’re just not making as much noise at it, as they are supposed to be SHUT DOWN….. which we are supposed to believe is a big deal….

Me? I’d rather go do something worthwhile…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“It is no disgrace not to be able to do everything; but to undertake, or pretend to do, what you are not made for, is not only shameful, but extremely troublesome.” — Plutarch
_____________________________

Having ranted above, before I was really ready, I’ll avoid the same mistake here, and go directly to an old-school format, saving us all time, and energy that can best be used later, for something actually productive in the real world….. Well, a man can dream, can’t he?….

“Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.” — Samuel Johnson

“It is a good thing to be rich and strong, but it is a better thing to be loved.” — Euripides

“The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.” — Daniel Webster

“If 150,000 people do something really stupid………it’s still stupid.” — Smart Bee: gigoid agrees….

“Reason obeys itself; and ignorance does whatever is dictated to it.” — Thomas Paine

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” — Norman Cousins

“All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free.” — Lennon & McCartney
_____________________________

I picked this poem out yesterday, when it happened to jump up in front of me, while searching for pearls for the Pearl posted then…. It just seemed appropriate, given the current issues being played out in the public arena, and Shel Silverstein’s poems are always welcome here…. Enjoy!….

Hug O’ War

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

_____________________________

I could rant. There is enough going on right now in the public venue to provide more than enough angst for me to get started again, though, this time, I think I’d switch over to picking on the priestly hierarchies rather than the talking heads; I’ve been neglecting them of late, and they must be getting lonely for some of my charming accusations and deliberate taunting. I know I would…. be getting lonely, that is….

Any who, I’m choosing, instead, to be a nice guy today, and NOT rant any more…. Though it doesn’t necessarily make any difference in the long run, I’m feeling a bit mellow this morning, so I’ll let you, and the preachers, off the hook for today… We’ll go with a random, harlequin pearl, with little or no direction for SB on how to pick the entries…. It usually comes out well when we go that route, so…. enjoy!….

“Logic: an instrument used for bolstering a prejudice.” — Elbert Hubbard

“If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall ere long be surprised to find how little remains that we cannot do.” — Samuel Butler

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

“The sages put great stock in saying that every ending is truly a beginning, or every beginning an ending, or insisting that there are no endings or beginnings, or remarking that there is nothing new, and we are doomed to endlessly repeat ourselves. Or have I said all this before?” — The Teachings of Ebenezum, Vol. LXXXVII

“A man who dares waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” — Charles Dickens

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

— Ellen Sturgis Hooper (1816-1841) — Life a Duty

“And so it was, later,
as the miller told his tale,
that her face, at first just ghostly,
turned a whiter shade of pale.”

— Procol Harum
_____________________________

One of the best parts about creating these Pearls for me is that each one is a surprise…. I have no plan, or direction when I sit down to write, only to write as long as I can before taking a break to ease the pain… The resulting lack of consistency, while not hobbling my imagination or ability to find words, does make each day’s output as new to me as it is to y’all (a hopeful, friendly word, y’all….). I kind of like it, as it is always fresh, in that sense, if in no other…. Let’s see how this one came out…

I find myself to be unable to make a coherent decision about the quality of this Pearl; it’s much more complex than I imagined it to be, especially given the fact that I wrote it…. Since I’m unsure, I’ll do what comes naturally, which is to post it, and hope for the best….. I don’t think it will cause any significant damage, to my reputation, or anyone else’s, (more’s the pity….), so I can ask the lawyer for my retainer back in a few days, if no further lawsuits are threatened…. If nothing else, we’ve struck a blow or two against the oppressors in the name of revolution, which, after all, merely means “change”…. and, if you hadn’t noticed, change is how the Universe works…. For better, or for worse, change will happen…. see ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Wait! Don’t shoot, it’s Bob’s uncle!…..

Posted on September 14, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

The life I lead now is much different from the one that I had back in the day, prior to the advent of the chronic pain with which I now live. For example, before the pain became a contributing factor, I could pretty much do anything, physically, that I wished to do. Sports, martial arts, camping, driving, cooking, virtually all of the activities I once pursued without a thought to how it might affect me are now proscribed, as being too painful to pursue.

Even activities such as walking are now limited to how long I can go without stimulating more pain, or becoming fatigued, which is the most common precursor to the upper realms of pain, otherwise known as pure agony, a state clearly distinguishable from any ecstasy, let me assure you….

I am not relating this to garner sympathy; thanks, but no thanks. I’ve had plenty of that, and would rather just get on with things, sans any more of it. No, I’m apologizing, in my own roundabout way, for my inability to sit and read the blogs I want to read, which I would very much LIKE to do….. I find, however, if I take that time to read, for more than just a few minutes, the pain takes over, and I have to get up and move around, or lie down until the spasms go away…. neither of which gets it done….. I have been hoarding the time I can spend at the computer for producing these Pearls each day; unfortunately, that is usually about the limit of what I can do, so, I end up posting, then having to shut down, or go do something else, because I am done with sitting comfortably….

Actually, sitting comfortably is what can be called a memory; there is no chair, and no position that can justify using that word, as it applies to sitting. It just doesn’t feel good after a couple of minutes, even with slight position changes every few seconds., and, unless some miracle happens to completely heal, or cure, the torn ligaments that are at the core of the issue, I can pretty much count on sitting comfortably again oh, say, in my next life, not in this one….

I’ve learned to be okay with that; I don’t piss and moan about it all the damn time, as I used to at first. I’ve accepted it as my lot, for having been so damn physically active when younger…. Yep, that’s right….. there is such a thing as being TOO active, according to my doctor…. Anyone who pursues a lifetime of sports or martial arts is TOO active, and, according to him, will pay a price in their later years for going too far when younger…. It’s not in the manual, but, it’s true, nonetheless….. and, if I am a typical case, then, he is right….

This is where the apology part comes in, to all of the bloggers I follow, and can seldom read…. It’s not as if I don’t want to read them, I just can’t sit long enough to get caught up to all of them I wish to get to…. I know there are a few ffolkes who make it by here every day, or nearly, and I really appreciate their custom…. Those who do come by often are also some of my favorite authors, so it burns my ass big time that I cannot get to their sites as often as I wish….. and, for this, I am sorry…. I keep hoping for a clear spell of pain-free time, but, since that hasn’t been fulfilled for over 8 years now, I won’t be holding my breath…. and neither should they…. I do hope they understand, though…

Now that I’ve bared my soul long enough to thoroughly embarrass myself, I’ll get on with today’s post, hoping I can last long enough to get some of it done before having to take a break from sitting…. I’ve been up 3 times already in composing this intro, so, it’s a bit dodgy today…. I’ll get it done, but, won’t be a happy camper for a while…. C’est la vie, reader-san!

Shall we Pearl?…..

Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.

It has no future but itself,
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.

~~ Emily Dickinson
_____________________________

Obviously, ranting is out of the question when my back is like this; can’t sit long enough to get the outrage out onto the screen. But, Smart Bee has been pretty cooperative of late, so, we’ll let it pick out some nice pearls for your consideration…. We’ll make it a random, harlequin style pearl, with no set parameters, and see what happens….. Good luck, and don’t forget your lobster bibs….

I see my life go drifting like a river
From change to change; I have been many things –
A green drop in the surge, a gleam of light
Upon a sword, a fir tree on a hill,
An old slave grinding at a heavy quern,
A king sitting upon a chair of gold –
And all these things were wonderful and great;
But now I have grown nothing, knowing all.
Ah! Druid, Druid, how great webs of sorrow
Lay hidden in that small slate-coloured thing!

— William Butler Yeats, “Fergus and the Druid”

“All things are the same,–familiar in enterprise, momentary in endurance, coarse in substance. All things now are as they were in the day of those whom we have buried.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 14

“Half the work that is done in the world is to make things appear what they are not.” — E. R. Beadle

“Rights” is a fictional abstraction. No one has “Rights”, neither machines nor flesh-and-blood. Persons… have opportunities, not rights, which they use or do not use.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

Warning: Politicians can damage your wealth. — Smart Bee

The thief
Left it behind —
The moon at the window.

— Ryokan

“At this precise moment, no reproach proceeding from men or gods can affect me: I have as good a conscience as if I had never existed.” — E.M. Cioran

“The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon reason, observation, and experience merits everlasting pain, is too absurd for refutation, and can be relieved only by that unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance called “faith”.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

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

Wow…. a nine-star pearl! I’ve never made one of those before, but, I think it came out pretty well, especially for the harlequin style…. I hope you enjoy consuming it as much as I did producing it…..
_____________________________

So far today, we’ve had Yeats, we’ve had Dickinson, we’ve had Ryokan …. it must be time for someone equally spirited….

The Loser

Mama said I’d lose my head
if it wasn’t fastened on.
Today I guess it wasn’t
’cause while playing with my cousin
it fell off and rolled away
and now it’s gone.

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

from the book “Where the Sidewalk Ends” (1974)

_____________________________

I’ve just taken a quick look at the news, and nothing outraged me enough to start a rant…. thankfully, as I’m currently not in the condition to do that without more sacrifice than I’m willing to endure…. This means y’all are the winners again today, as I’ll be going with another old-school pearl, which, though less straightforward in their approach to cognitive stimulation and/or attempted thought manipulation than are rants, they are patently less pompous by a factor of infinity; moreover, they’re guaranteed to provide fewer instances of mental heartburn…. In fact, a good group of pearls will actually cure baldness in adult males, given the right amount of faith…. or, so I’m told….

“You don’t fool me!! You’re not really an idiot!!” — Smart Bee

“The improver of knowledge absolutely refuses to acknowledge authority, as such. For him, skepticism is the highest of duties, blind faith the one unpardonable sin.” — Thomas Huxley (1825-1895)

“I’ll tell you what kind of guy I was. If you ordered a boxcar full of sons-of-bitches and opened the door and only found me inside, you could consider the order filled.” — Robert Mitchum
(My hero!…. It has always been one of my life’s goals, to achieve this degree of “badass”….)

“I would far rather be ignorant than wise in the foreboding of evil.” — Aeschylus (525-456 BC) — Suppliants, 453

“After a while he realizes that she is beautiful – he just hadn’t noticed it at first.” — Lazarus Long

MAD, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence; not conforming to standards of thought, speech and action derived by the conformants from study of themselves; at odds with the majority; in short, unusual. It is noteworthy that persons are pronounced mad by officials destitute of evidence that themselves are sane. For illustration, this present (and illustrious) lexicographer is no firmer in the faith of his own sanity than is any inmate of any madhouse in the land; yet for aught he knows to the contrary, instead of the lofty occupation that seems to him to be engaging his powers he may really be beating his hands against the window bars of an asylum and declaring himself Noah Webster, to the innocent delight of many thoughtless spectators.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.” — Gore Vidal

Some days, SB is just better than others…..
_____________________________

I do believe I’ve done it, Olly! It’s another fine mess, just rarin’ to get read….. well, ready to be read, anyway. Let’s see how that goes….

Well, it’s definitely a Pearl, and, until someone disabuses me of the notion, I’m going to consider it to be a relatively good one…. I like it, anyway, so that’s something…. Y’all can make your own decision on that…. See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Consistently exceeding the limits of surreality….

Posted on September 6, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Into each of our lives, there comes a time when the frightening face of our own mortality confronts us, whether we are ready or not. Depending on our individual beliefs on that subject, our reaction to this confrontation can vary quite a lot. Some of us turn to the comfort of religious beliefs, to provide the comfort those may give; others turn to whiskey, or gambling, or some other outbreak of youthful defiance in the face of it. Some ignore it, preferring to postpone any such confrontations to the last moment. Some of us may turn to philosophy, of a non-religious nature, to find an answer that will assuage the fear of the unknown that such encounters will inevitably produce…..

No matter what our own reaction may be, there remains the question in everyone’s mind, as to what happens AFTER we die….. Those with religious beliefs have such answers spelled out for them by the dogmatic representations of whatever church, or synagogue, or temple, or whatever, that they choose to believe has the correct view. Others choose to avoid entangling themselves in organizations based on a delusion, and try to find some other way to deal with whatever fear they may feel about death, and what may, or may not, happen afterward….. But, no matter which method one chooses, there is no avoiding the issue, since there is, to date, no way to avoid dying…..

I’m not really going anywhere specific with this discussion; I already know how I believe, and, just now, I don’t really much care what other folks believe… A friend of mine, Carole, a high-school classmate, has been fighting cancer for almost two years now, and her battle is about to end. Her doctors have done all they could, but the cancer is winning, and she will not last much longer. She will be entering hospice care, if not already there, and only receiving pain management therapy. It is a difficult time for her family, and for all of us who care for her, as she is one of the finest human beings I’ve ever known, whose passing will affect the spirits of the many, many people whose lives she touched….

Later, I will be writing a memorial of her, to tell the world what a fine woman it has lost…. I visited her last April for a short time, and promised her I would come to see her again, to celebrate her victory over the Big C, or, if not, to say goodbye before she passed on. So, on Monday, I’ll be zipping down to Houston again for a couple days, to try to see her one last time, and wish her a happy trip to wherever the afterlife may take her…. Since she has been a devout Christian for all her life, in addition to the benevolence of her spirit, I don’t doubt she’ll have a straight shot to the Pearly Gates, and a pass inside by St. Peter, without any delays…..

Any who, I just wanted to get that off my chest, so I’m not blubbering all over the keyboard while trying to write this morning….. I’ll be writing more on this subject in the next few days, as it will be foremost in my sphere of attention much of the time…. In the meantime, I believe this little outburst has completed the intro requirements, so we can get on with the rest of today’s effort….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Be cheerful while you are alive.” — Phathotep (24th Century B.C.)

He who hath bent him o’er the dead
Ere the first day of death is fled,–
The first dark day of nothingness,
The last of danger and distress,
Before decay’s effacing fingers
Have swept the lines where beauty lingers.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — The Giaour, Line 68
_____________________________

“I have short-term memory loss, though I like to think of it as Presidential eligibility.” — Paula Poundstone

Back in 2008, I was encouraged by the election of a black man to the office of POTUS; it seemed, at the time, to be a positive note for our society, and a good omen for the future….. Blinded temporarily by my hope, I had forgotten that the BRC, (if you’ve forgotten, that’s the Beloved Ruling Class….), and the corporate masters who control them, would not have allowed anyone in that office whom they could not control, or did not trust to serve their interests. Since first entering office, the President has gone on to prove his allegiance, which, in spite of how it may appear, remains with those who pay his salary, and I’m not talking about the citizenry at large…..

Obama’s reaction to this whole issue of spying on the public, that has come about since Eric Snowden sacrificed himself for the American people, by telling the truth, has clearly shown just how much he has been hiding from the public with all his talk about helping the middle class…. It turns out that, as always, that talk is a smoke screen, to obfuscate the issues they (the administration…) don’t want to be discussed, replacing them with other issues, that make them look like they actually DO care about the middle class, or the lower class, or, wait…. I thought we were supposed to be a ‘classless’ society? Oh, they must have meant that our society has no class, not that is lacks classes…. Makes more sense to me….

The administration is pissed, not because they are breaking the law ( which they are, to wit: the Constitution….), but because they got caught at it. They are trying to discredit, vilify, and bury Eric Snowden, all because his actions have caused them to run around like idiots, scrambling on a daily basis to come up with rational, or even reasonable explanations for all the crap they’ve been doing to the public for years on the sly. It makes them look exactly like what they really are, which is a bunch of criminal assholes, caught red-handed trying to burn the Bill of Rights, unable to explain what they intended to do with that book of matches, or the lit match they were caught holding….

So, instead of admitting their chicanery, they are trying to get Snowden back so they can make an example of him, for others who may wish to expose their machinations and illegal actions. This is typical of the political mind, to ignore all criticism, and act as if you have the right to do whatever you want…. I am appalled by the statements that Obama is now making, about his belief that he needs no approval from anyone, not Congress, not the courts, and certainly not the public, to wage war on another country…. which, as I happen to know (because I READ it!….) is NOT what it says in the Constitution of THIS country….

Yesterday, I found an article tucked into the back pages of the news, with yet another revelation about the spying that the NSA and the government at large has been perpetrating on an unsuspecting public…. This particular little revelation makes it clear that the NSA, and other agencies, have been gathering data about the general public to a much greater degree than previously thought, and certainly more than they are willing to admit….. Read the following article, to get an idea of just how little your privacy means to the BRC’s political hacks, and just how little concern they have for protecting your rights…. This is some eye-opening, and ultimately frightening, information, ffolkes, and you need to know how much your rights are being stepped on…..

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Report-US-military-cracked-most-online-encryption-4790443.php

Okay, I’m done ranting for now, though there will be more later, I’m sure…. The civil war in Syria isn’t going away because we wish it, nor will our intervention solve any problems there, other than to eliminate one of the players, who will immediately be replaced by someone else, who may or may not be crazier than the one being removed….. That, or we’ll be supporting the rebels, who are connected to Al Qaida, our sworn enemy….

Oh well, I don’t expect it to make any sense, so I’m not disappointed…. It does, however, make me sad, and mad, and once again, disappointed in the BRC, and its constant war on society, which, if you will recall, consists of you, and me, and all the other ffolkes, and folks, out there in reality, just trying to get by……

“When the bosses talk about improving productivity, they are never talking about themselves.” — Dilbert, Scott Adams

“There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum.” — Arthur C. Clarke
_____________________________

I can’t think of a better way to provide contrast to the above rant, than with a bit of Shel Silverstein….

Hug O’ War

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

_____________________________

When I was perusing the news yesterday, I also found the following, published by John Cleese, of Monty Python fame…. I don’t know about y’all, but, IMNSHO, he’s a funny guy…. and right on the mark… It’s only too bad he didn’t try to define the position of the USA along with those of Europe….

“The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Syria and have therefore raised their security level from ‘Miffed’ to ‘Peeved.’ Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to ‘Irritated’ or even ‘A Bit Cross.’ The English have not been ‘A Bit Cross’ since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from ‘Tiresome’ to ‘A Bloody Nuisance.’ The last time the British issued a ‘Bloody Nuisance’ warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

“The Scots have raised their threat level from ‘Pissed Off’ to ‘Let’s Get the Bastards.’ They don’t have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front lines of the British army for the last 300 years.

“The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from ‘Run’ to ‘Hide.’ The only two higher levels in France are ‘Collaborate’ and ‘Surrender’ …

“Italy has increased the alert level from ‘Shout Loudly and Excitedly’ ‘Elaborate Military Posturing.’ Two more levels remain: ‘Ineffective Combat Operations’ and ‘Change Sides.’

“The Germans have increased their alert state from ‘Disdainful Arrogance’ to ‘Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.’ They also have two higher levels: ‘Invade a Neighbor’ and ‘Lose.’

“Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

“The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.”

~~ John Cleese ~~

If I were to take a shot at creating one of these for the USA, it would have to be along the lines of “The US raised it’s security threat level today, to its next to highest rating, Schizophrenia, Paranoid Type, characterized by deliberately planted delusions, technologically produced hallucinations, extreme rigidity of thought, and a constant state of diffuse anxiety……” I firmly believe that this is exactly how the BRC wants the public to feel; they’re much more manipulable in this state than in any other….
_____________________________

Well, that was over all too quickly; I’m almost embarrassed…. I haven’t had that problem in years; premature ejaculation, whether of words, or sperm, has been under my reasonable control now for many years, and having it happen right out in public is a bit of a facer…. But, this all came out so fast, I must have been percolating it for longer than I imagined…. So be it. Let’s see how it came out….

Okay, so, I’m a little concerned about the world political scene; that comes through pretty clearly…. In my mind, there is good reason to be on alert; these fools don’t seem to realize how close to the edge the world is right now….. Stay alert, ffolkes, the balloon could go up any time….. See ya, tomorrow, hopefully….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

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

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Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Shel Silverstein

Waffles, drenched in butter, syrup, and love….

In the final analysis, partial hydrogenation was a key factor….

NOTHING begins until AFTER coffee….

Further remonstrances should be unnecessary….

All of that, in marmalade shoes?…..

Paltry measures yield no benefits, milord….

Wait! Don’t shoot, it’s Bob’s uncle!…..

Consistently exceeding the limits of surreality….

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