Boy, that is one sick puppy….

Posted on May 27, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.”

~~ Lord Peter Wimsey ~~

~~ Dorothy L. Sayers, “Gaudy Night” ~~

Mars Rover Curiosity ~~ May, 2015

Image from Space.com, via NASA Images

Good morning….

Today’s opening quote is a jab of irony at myself; quotations are lifeblood to me, and my mind…. For some reason, using quotations seems to make the wisdom they impart more personal, and more understandable to me, and, hopefully, to others…. It’s also damned entertaining, and a memory workout, to come up with the appropriate quote to cover any situation in real life…. In fact. that is where the irony exists…. Socrates, Aristotle, etc., all were noted for proclaiming their own ignorance, in order to deliver the lesson that only then can one be open to learning….

In the book, and in the movie, Gaudy Night, when Lord Peter makes the statement you see re: quotations, he is speaking at dinner, to the Warden and Fellows of Shrewsbury College, a fictional women’s College of Oxford University, during the investigation of a mystery there. The Warden, one Dr. Baring, says in reply to his statement, “I think you are excessively modest, Lord Peter. The apt quotation is no mere intellectual sleight-of-hand. It’s a form of wisdom.”

I like that sentiment, for it confirms my own thoughts, in a way which helps me justify this entire process… if only to myself. Lord Peter, bless him, added another reason, for reason, to wit: “The only kind of wisdom that has any social use, Warden, is the knowledge of one’s own limitations.”, thus paraphrasing Socrates, Aristotle, and other ancient and modern sages.

It also tells me, though I won’t go into it now, WHY doing this helps me stay sane…. which I am quite thankful for, to be sure…. For now, we will leave this little introspective discussion, for two reasons. One, I’ve no doubt bored some of y’all to tears, prompting the second, to get on with the business of the day, i.e., pearling our little hearts out….

Luigi, my good fellow!…. Would you be so kind as to hit it!…. Follow me, ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?

“A zygote is a gamete’s way of producing more gametes. This may be the purpose of the universe.” — — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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

Best Friends Forever

While looking at a story on this blog, https://makingsenseofcrazy.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/worlds-first-phodographer-dog-wears-heart-rate-monitor-with-camera-that-takes-pics-when-he-gets-excited/ , I found the video below, as one of the choices after the video in the article. The picture you see of the BFF’s is one I found several years ago on sfgate.com, but, could never find out anything about the two animals involved in the picture. Finally, I found them, and the story of their friendship is one that can melt the hardest of hearts…. Enjoy, ffolkes, these two show us all what life is all about….

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

Suria and Roscoe

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

https://youtu.be/MDStH49W5Hk

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

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

“Nature does nothing uselessly.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

Today’s idea for discussion seems, at first glance, to be either too vague, or, too simple. However, a bit more consideration provides the meaning a bit more clearly, when one realizes he is speaking only the simplest of truths; everything that happens does so, for, and with, a purpose, whether known to us, or not…. Our own understanding of what that purpose might be doesn’t seem to have any real effect on the ultimate truth of the assertion; when we act as if we believe it, bending our efforts to make it true, or, act as if we don’t believe it, working against it, the end result is the same, to wit:

All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 289 ~~

Unfortunately, a large number of people can’t deal with such ambiguity; it makes them uncomfortable, as it requires effort, especially in the direction of learning, to use the mind, and to understand as much of what we perceive as we can…. For many, that is as frightening as any other fear they have, for it means they must always be dealing with the unknown. In short, they find using their own mind tedious, difficult, and uncomfortable….

The resultant vulnerability arises from one simple fact; the Universe, and Life at Large, are ambiguous, by their very nature. As you see, a conflict at the most elemental level is generated, compromising their intelligence, and their ability to be anything other than what they are told to be…. Freud, who tended to think in terms of diseases of the mind, identified it this way….

“Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.” — Sigmund Freud

These unfortunates, clueless to understand themselves. or the world around them, thus, without ever realizing it, become vulnerable, to anyone with the boldness to assert their own ability to mitigate those fears, if only the fearful ones will accept what they say as the truth…. This willingness to trust, to believe what is told to them, fearfully driving them to act against their own self-interest, firmly fastens a slave collar on every person alive who gives in to gives in to their fear, without ever realizing they are fully capable of learning to cope with life themselves…

One of the ways those with no ethics, or compassion, who ignore any such niceties as justice, or equality, sublimate their fears into bending all their efforts to control others, to get them to believe in what THEY tell them… To accomplish their ends, they form rigid systems of belief, often offering supernatural protections, or rewards of immortality in exchange for implicit trust, and the surrender of will… These systems reflect the fears of their creators, in their own inability to tolerate ambiguity, i.e, the REAL nature of reality… Another author noted this most succinctly this way….

“Intolerance of ambiguity is the mark of an authoritarian personality.” — Theodor W. Adorno

Then, of course, we may find classic social commentary, cleverly disguised as whimsical fairy tales/children’s stories, such as The Wind in The Willows, a short animated film from the early twentieth century, produced by one Kenneth Grahame, in which one of the story’s characters, quite famous in his own right, observes….

“To the small of brain, Ambiguity is pain.” — Mr. Toad

The only hope many people have of ever breaking their collars, to learn to learn, as it were, to use their own minds to find their own truths, is with the help of a teacher, or, at minimum, some sort of personal epiphany, either of which may convince them they CAN learn, and, more importantly, they CAN control their own lives…. Though hard to find, such teachers still exist, not only in books, but, as hidden gems, often not in schools, though one may find more of them there; at least those in that field are people committed to learning, even if their own beliefs may hinder the complete liberation of their minds…. There are even those who try to teach other teachers how to help, as demonstrated by this:

“Part of teaching is helping students learn how to tolerate ambiguity, consider possibilities, and ask questions that are unanswerable.” — Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, “In a World of Ideas,” 1992

Staying free isn’t as simple as it may sound by our discussion; I’m not implying people can be free just by wishing it, or by suddenly becoming more aware…. A certain degree of courage, and will, is also required, which many people never find within themselves, though it it there, in all of us. Sadly, a great number of people never do find any sort of freedom, not the sort they have never known, as there are a number of people in the world who actively work to prevent the masses from ever realizing their own slavery….

Bankers, preachers, politicians, even many educators, all victims of the same asinine beliefs in supernatural entities who will protect them, all are controlled by a few, insane, sociopathic oligarchs, masters of deceit, who, for millennia, have hidden behind the scenes, manipulating others for the sole purpose of fulfilling their own personal agendas, all of which are based SOLELY on their own wishes and desires, with absolutely no connection to their shared humanity.

Of the wisdom that is the legacy of all mankind, these assholes (no better word to describe their true nature…) pick and choose from the highest sounding, to justify their own selfishness, using their own expertise at psychological manipulation, and lying with a straight face, to achieve their own, perverted ends…. For example…. the following piece of wisdom, though perfectly innocent in its intent (to share knowledge of how to make oneself safer), provides them with the perfect excuse for their behavior, based on lies….

“All warfare is based on deception.” — Sun Tzu (ca. 500 BC)

What is really a shame is that far too many Westerners, especially those of a financial or political persuasion, seem to have read a mistranslated copy of the Art of War, wherein this line was translated as, “All life is based on deception.” It’s the only explanation for how a perfectly good concept, an essential truth, can be perverted and taken to its logical extreme, all for the loss of meaning in one word…. In this case, here on Earth, which we see around us today, nothing seen, heard, or read can be trusted; the truth is considered a weapon of last resort, only to be used as a distraction from the ‘true lies’….

“There are some remedies worse than the disease.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 301

SIGH…. I’m getting tired, and I need to finish this off before it gets away from me, so, we come to this final idea…. To get rid of the oligarchs who have been oppressing the majority of humanity for centuries, the most obvious, and quickest method, is to become like them, showing no compassion or concern for the rights of anyone but themselves. The numbers would be, patently, on the side of humanity in such a conflict, but, to use their own methods of violence to usurp their power can only mean, ultimately, we will become the same as them, thus, turning any attempts at achieving liberty into a mere transformation of power. from one sociopathic entity to another….

So, what is the solution? Well, at this point, at (unfortunately) 2:23 AM, on an unseasonably cold night in California, after hours of sleepless tossing and turning, I can’t say I have one, other than, possibly, my own, which involves me, a large supply of arrows, and a map to the oligarch’s houses. I’d be willing to sacrifice my own honor, in that way, to save humanity, and wouldn’t even mind dying afterward…. It’s the stain on my soul I don’t think I’d care for….

I’m working on it, though. It’s a tough problem, to figure out how to get rid of the assholes without becoming one…. I guess I could spend my time watching reality TV….. But, since I don’t much care for TV, I guess I’ll figure out something else…. When I’ve got something workable, I’ll get back to you…. Until then, let me leave you with one final thought, one which points up the ultimate solution for our difficulties, provided for us by Reality. It is also one which everyone, masters, slaves, and rebels, must eventually come to know….

There is a reaper whose name is Death,
And with his sickle keen
He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,
And the flowers that grow between.

~~ Henry W. Longfellow ~~

~~ The Reaper and the Flowers ~~

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

Walt Whitman ~~ 1875

Image and poem from an article at: https://creativesystemsthinking.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/dismiss-whatever-insults-your-own-soul/

What is there left to say in admiration of this man. One of the Great Souls, Walt Whitman was an example of the best of mankind. If a solution to our problems can be found, it could well start by beginning with this man’s views on how to live…. We could do worse….

Dismiss Whatever Insults Your Own Soul

Love the earth and sun and the animals,
Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labor to others,
Hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,
Have patience and indulgence toward the people.

Take off your hat to nothing known or unknown,
or to any man or number of men,
Go freely with powerful uneducated persons,
And with the young, and with the mothers or families.

Re-examine all you have been told
in school or church or in any book,
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul;
And your very flesh shall be a great poem…

And have the richest fluency, not only in its words,
But in the silent lines of its lips and face,
And between the lashes of your eyes,
and In every motion and joint of your body.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

~~ Preface to Leaves of Grass, 1855 edition ~~

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

Okay, so here’s the deal…. Today’s final old-school pearl is kind of silly, but, it’s still a good pearl…. Moreover, at the end, you’ll find a method whereby you, and only you, can make it the perfect pearl for YOU…. Enjoy, ffolkes, whether it seems so, or not, it’s a pretty good set of ideas about Life at Large to consider, even if they’re without the usual degree of sobriety…..

“There is no opinion so absurd that some philosopher will not express it.” — Cicero

“Half of the people in the world are below average.” — Smart Bee

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There is no difference between theory and practice in theory, but there is often a great deal of difference between theory and practice in practice.” — Chuck Rei

“These days, the wages of sin depend on what kind of deal you make with the devil.” — Kara Vichko

“There are worse things than dying.” — Kalas

“Most of all, I’ve learned that a good time to laugh is anytime you can.” — Linda Ellerbee

“Take everything you like seriously, except yourselves.” — Rudyard Kipling

As a bonus, for today’s final pearl, YOU, the Gentle Reader, get to choose the final entry for this section… Choose one of the following; all have been cleared as perfectly appropriate finishing pearls for this pearl…. If you’re so inclined, tell us in the comments why you made the choice you picked…. Choose wisely, young paduans….

Z #1) “GOOD-NIGHT, everybody.. Now I have to go administer FIRST-AID to my pet LEISURE SUIT!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Z #2) “Hold the MAYO & pass the COSMIC AWARENESS…” — Zippy the Pinhead

Z #3) “I feel better about world problems now!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Et Voilà…. I keep telling you, and telling you, and telling you…. It’s all in the wrist….

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

It’s hard to tell at this point, but, I’m pretty sure this one turned out pretty well. Or not. Since it’s still shy of 3 AM, and, I’ve been in misery for hours, frankly, I could care less, because it’s done, and, now I can try to get some sleep. Y’all have a good day, I’m gonna be busy sawing logs, I hope. Until tomorrow, then, I bid thee a fond, if somewhat sappy, adieu! Or, as we used to say on the streets…. well, no, I’d better not. I will, however, be back tomorrow to try this again….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Hearken to the Call of the Mild….

Posted on April 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In the vacant places, we will build with new bricks.”

~~ T.S. Eliot ~~

Pastoral Urbanity

All euphemisms aside, I feel like crap. Nothing particularly vile going on; pain is a constant, of course, but, it’s not bad today. No, I believe it’s another of my physical ailments giving me its usual fits, which, though infrequent, are rather debilitating. Such being the case, this will have to go quickly, as I just don’t have a lot of energy…. SIGH…. I HATE starting the day tired & grumpy…. well, I don’t mind the grump so much, but, trying to get going when fatigued is a pain in yet another anatomical area of great renown….

Ah, well, such is life, as we say on the streets… Well, I say it a lot; other folks, not so much. Regardless, I’m losing my train of thought here, trying to decide whether to continue this farce, or throw it out & start over…. Instead, I think I’ll give up altogether. It worked so well yesterday, what the hell, eh? Let’ give it another shot….

I’m done. Go read the rest, such as it is….

Shall we Pearl?

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” — D.H. Lawrence

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

Image from You Tube via Google Images

This man wrote two of the best songs ever written in the English language, yet not many know his name, aside from every musician in the recording business…. For years he was what is termed a “studio” performer, only playing with others as a musician, and allowing others to record his songs…. Then, someone heard him sing; he eventually cut a couple of albums, before he became too uncomfortable in the limelight, which he never sought at all… Among musicians, he is a legend; to the general public he is a minor footnote…. Whatever he is, I consider him one of the best…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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

Fred Neil

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

https://youtu.be/FO6CNj5YVF8?list=PLBAAF803C0E45B369

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

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

Those who have been here a while will understand why Kokopelli graces the ranting section today. I’m incredibly late, besides struggling with debilitating physical issues; naturally, this means we go to the archives…. Here is an excellent rant, if a bit long….

From 12/21/2013:

Below, you will find the rant to which I referred above…. it’s another long one, thanks to the support I again found in the archives, but, it’s worth the read, for it will all point toward the rant I’m planning for tomorrow, one that will be a culmination, and a summarization, of all the rants I’ve done up to this point…. For today, please read, and pay attention to this, as it will end up being important for all of us…. a point which I hope to make clear tomorrow….

In order to achieve the proper understanding of this issue, and the following discussion, aka a ‘politirant’ of first magnitude, the article attached to the following link should be read first…. It contains some interesting information that is critical to the dialogue that may ensue, or, in any case, for a full data set to use for analyzing the issue at large…. Go ahead, we’ll wait here….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Judge-NSA-program-is-likely-unconstitutional-5068946.php

It isn’t often this happens twice in a row, but, since I’m always attuned to the possibility of serendipity, it did…. happen twice, that is…. Below, you will find a rant I posted back in early March of this year, which, given the information contained in the article attached to the above link, is astoundingly accurate as a response to the actions demonstrated by the administration in this entire scenario….

First, let me say that I’m very, very happy that a federal judge had the courage and integrity to stand up against the tide of administrative pressure, which, as we all should realize by now, originates from the dens of the shadowy corporate masters, and special interest groups who dictate society’s course to suit themselves…. If you haven’t noted this from what you see happening everywhere in the public sector, well, I can’t convince you, but, it remains, nonetheless, the truth, well-documented in the news….

The government, of this country, and just about every other in the world, is in the control of the corporate special interests who control virtually ALL the money, and, along with that, ALL the resources needed to keep society working. It has been this way for millennia, and they are only getting better at the controls they possess over the happenings in the world around us, honed by centuries of practice and deception…. They are so good at it, virtually nobody even realizes the true nature of their control, or the extent of it…. and, that is just how they like it….

But, there are moments when a bit of progress is made in keeping at least a minimum of mankind free of much of their influence, and this ruling in a federal court is one of those moments in history…. It still remains to be seen whether the rest of the federal courts, up to and including the Supremes, will continue to see the actual truth, or whether they’ll begin to color it, too, with the paint provided by the special interest groups, in whose best interests lie the abrogation of the amendments…. For the moment, though, we can be encouraged, at least a little bit…

I was especially heartened by two parts of this report…. First, the judge acknowledged James Madison, as one of the framers of the Bill of Rights, speaking of his obvious and well-placed mistrust of just this scenario, of corporate interests dictating the abrogation of civil rights, such as in this case, the Fourth Amendment, by those in power, and how Mr. Madison would be “aghast” at how far it has come true today….

Second, I was encouraged to see the steadfast dismissal of the reasoning by the administration’s lawyers on the basis of constitutionality, as it goes to prove the contention by Eric Snowden, that the laws and policies being perpetrated by the NSA would be found to be such, to wit: illegal according to the Constitution of the United States…. which would, in turn, prove his innocence under the laws of our country, which, theoretically, rewards those who speak the truth in defense of their fellows….

Good to know SOMEONE is paying attention in the judiciary system…. even if one of the Shrubs appointed him… That, apparently, didn’t turn him away from the Constitution, unlike the POTUS who gave him the job, who was on record as thinking some of the Bill of Rights went too far in giving people certain rights….

Further than that, the arguments presented below are the correct response to the above, which also goes to prove one small point, to wit: even nine months ago, I knew something was wrong in the pictures I was seeing out in the real world…. Enjoy!….

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

From 3/2/13:

He who imitates evil always goes beyond the limits of the example, whereas he who imitates what is good, always falls short.” — Confucius

Perfect! If ever a quote could be applied to fit one group of people, this one would; it fits the folks who occupy elected office in this country like the proverbial glove. Ooh! Ooh! Here’s another one….

“Ignorance: When you don’t know something and somebody finds it out.” — Jethro Burns

Okay, that’s a good start…. Now, we all know that politicians lie to us…. It’s what we’ve taught them to do, by our calm acceptance of all the other lies they’ve told, from the very beginning. We expect them to lie…. then, when we catch them at it, there is this huge public outcry, as if it had never happened before….. (Shakes head, sighs….)

Sometimes, the behavior of the American public toward the political beast reminds me of a shark…. to wit: no memory of the past to slow down their willingness to rush into dangerous situations…. For millions of years, sharks and dolphins have lived together in the oceans. For just about all that time, whenever a shark attacks a dolphin, it gets killed, unless the dolphin is injured in some way, or, it is a baby inadvertently left alone. Always, if things are even, the shark dies, because the dolphins are smarter, and faster swimmers.

After millions of years, you would think the sharks might learn to let them alone, but, they don’t, which is evidence of their lack of ability to learn. The American voting public has the same problem…. they never learn to expect to be lied to, and always seem surprised to learn that their elected officials are, shall we say, less than perfectly honest? It, quite frankly, drives me nuts…. What is it about people that does that to them? Why are they so unwilling to use the mind that sits between their ears, rather than just carrying it around from toilet to toilet, which is all most folks seem to do with it? I wish I knew….

“There is one way to find out if a man is honest – ask him. If he says yes, you know he is crooked.” — Groucho Marx

I’m starting to feel a bit of anger, actually, and I have a hard time not letting it out on the voting public, the idiots. But, it really isn’t all their fault, as the people who run for office are the ones who are actively imitating evil, and, obviously, exceeding the limits of their example. And the voting public can’t help never being able to quite reach the good for which they reach. This is why I get angry about it…. The folks who run for office tell the public they are going to work for the people when they are elected; we all know they are lying, but we elect them anyway. Now, how stupid is that? Pretty stupid, in my book….

On the one hand, the stupidity displayed by the politicians is deliberate, in its adherence to principles of theft and prevarication; on the other hand, the stupidity displayed by the voting public is, perhaps, not deliberate, but at minimum, misguided, and, ultimately, just as evil, in placing its trust in evil people. In the dispassionate view held by the universe, stupid is as stupid does, and the sentence of death is the same for both types of stupidity, deliberate and unconscious. It doesn’t care about why, it only looks at results….

What can be done about this? Not a damn thing…. Not only do I find that most people are unconsciously stupid, but they are stubborn about it, even when it is clear how being stupid is hurting them. Rather than use their minds to find a new way of dealing with these issues, they retreat into platitudes and dogma, and run right back out to vote for another idiot who promises them manna from heaven, or, more accurately, from Washington D.C. If confronted with their idiocy, they become even more stubborn, as they are unwilling to accept they might be wrong, and refuse to either examine any evidence of being wrong, or, will deny its existence altogether. (See quote # 4 in section one, above… Plato knew this about people, hundreds of years before Jesus was born….)

The politicians, who choose to live in stupidity, by lying and cheating and stealing from their own people, don’t even WANT to choose otherwise. Why should they? They’ve got it easy, with a ready supply of host bodies on which to practice their symbiotic parasitism, a body that not only accepts all their lies, but encourages them to even further depredations with their complete acquiescence with whatever the politicos want. All the politicians have to say is that the public is in danger, from this, that, or the other, and the public will allow them to do whatever they choose, as long as they feel safe from whatever fictional fantasy they have been told is dangerous….

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift; the rational mind is faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” — Albert Einstein

It’s an interesting spectacle to observe from the sidelines, but it arouses in me a strong feeling of sadness, with the anger underlying, as I watch, day after day, as so many millions of foolish people get taken advantage of by a few assholes. It definitely makes me want to buy a gun, even though I would only use it if pressed; I have a feeling I may get pressed some day, if I continue to make noise about all this.

I’m fairly well protected thus far by a lack of notoriety; the BRC and the PTB aren’t going to worry about me until I have an audience a lot larger than a couple of hundred folks, of which perhaps fifty regularly read my work. If what I am saying began to gain popularity, and was being read by millions, I’d be in danger; until then, I’m as safe as I can make myself with the tools at hand; which, if I say so myself, are not entirely inconsequential….. If I said any more, I’d be giving away my precautions, and that wouldn’t do, so, just rest assured…. I am ready to deal with anything short of assault weapons, with what I have on hand….

“Many, if not all, of my presidential opponents are certifiable idiots.” — Miriam Defensor Santiago — The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1993

See? I’m not completely alone! Actually, if you pay close attention, you will note this was uttered by a politician, about their peers, so it really doesn’t count as support of what I’m saying here. What, exactly am I saying here? Hmm, okay, since I’ve already written about 1200 words or so on this, it’s a good place to wind it up…. so, here goes….

Ffolkes, you are being lied to, daily…. hell, more like hourly, by those who have been elected to office to look out for your interests. I hate to tell you, but those folks never intended to do anything of the sort. So, it would be a good thing if everybody in this country would OPEN THEIR FUCKING EYES AND GET A DAMN CLUE!!!!!….. I don’t think I can say it any clearer than that…. That’s all, for now….

“Ignorance kills daily. “– Smart Bee

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

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 ~~

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

I’m not sure about this old-school pearl; the parameters weren’t set solidly before beginning to search. It seems my subconscious had something to say, but, it sure escapes me what that might be. The only thing I can figure is, all of them would produce the reaction you see in the above picture of the laughing monk, even if each one were told to Buddha himself…..

“All time in all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all bugs in amber.” — Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Slaughter-House 5

“Cato said the best way to keep good acts in memory was to refresh them with new.” — Francis Bacon (1561-1626) — Apothegms, No, 247

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” — Sigmund Freud

“I have a grip on reality, just not this particular one.” — Liberated directly from the subconscious mind of gigoid, the dubious, articulated by Smart Bee, in Telepathic Mode

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

“How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise!” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xiii, Line 375

“When the fox gnaws — smile.’ — Lazarus Long in Robert A. Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love

31. Read between the lines. — Instructions for life

“All mimsy were the borogoves.” — Lewis Carroll

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

Don’t ask me where I’m going,
Just listen when I’m gone
And far away you’ll hear me singing softly to the dawn

~~ Pippin ~~

Well, it’s done, thankfully…. Rather than dwell on whether it was worthwhile, I’m going to go…. elsewhere, to do something else. I will, most surely, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Spam-tested for your protection….

Posted on December 1, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“What is food to one man may be fierce poison to others.”

~~ Lucretius (95-55 BC) — De Rerum Natura, iv, 637 ~~

The choice of whether to write about the opening quote, or the picture that comes below it, can be a true conundrum, one I generally ignore in favor of my own silliness, or the random blather that so often marks these introductions. Today, I will choose the picture, one of my own, because of the thought that occurred to me as I viewed it this morning….

That thought centered on the church in the picture, surrounded, as it is, by the seemingly limitless row houses, each with its complement of flats and apartments, and each of those filled with a number of low-income Irish folks, who probably work in or around the water, attending the church on Sunday. I am struck, each time I look at these pictures of Cobh, the port town near the city of Cork, in Ireland, at the sheer opulence of the church, as opposed to the shabby houses that dot the hills all around it…

It makes a perfect example of what is wrong in our world, a place where the minds and efforts of the general run of men are focused more on the rewards they expect in the next life, and not on the problems we have in this one…. It makes a perfect visual metaphor for how we continue to have the same issues dog us, year after year, century after century, while we insist there is nothing wrong at all. The Asininnies and the Dogma Dogs have the population of the Earth so bamboozled, they will believe almost anything told to them, if it has the proper provenance, and is uttered by a talking head, either at the podium in church, or on a TV with a national flag behind them….

Ah me, I’ve stumbled again, haven’t I? Ranting before my coffee has settled in my tummy…. With nary a joke, nor a helpful cliche to smooth the way, I’ve no doubt already driven half my potential readers to another blog, without ever getting out of the intro section…. I must be an idiot, which would put me right into the same category with everyone else in the world wouldn’t it? Oh well, at least we didn’t sustain any serious injuries (unless y’all aren’t sharing with us….), or, for that matter, leave a trail of body parts behind us…. not yet, anyway. Nor do we plan to do so, unless, of course, we can’t avoid it…. Sometimes, the sight of the vehicle can cause a bit of panic among the denizens, and they’ll riot, but, as long as we maintain altitude, it won’t bother us….

I’ve about gotten to the desired point; in fact, we’re here. Since we have become more ruthless in our approach to these intros, it has made it easier, mostly, to get us where we need to go…. Well, mostly it just keeps us from getting off the track so far, but, that helps, too. For now, it’s enough to know, and to say, here we are, so, please hang on, while we navigate this rather tricky turn, right around the herd of peacefully grazing metaphorical logic bombs…. A beautiful sight, eh, what?…. Oops, better duck, ffolkes, low bridge a’comin’!….

Shall we Pearl?

“But the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” — Arthur C. Clarke (1917- 2008) — Profiles of the Future (1962; rev. 1973) — “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination”

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

Today’s video selection is another comic; this one is also a special kind of guy, like George Carlin. His approach is similar, but, entirely different, if you know what I mean…. If not, that’s okay. You’re gonna laugh anyway, because he’s funny as hell…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

Eddie Izzard – Dress to Kill

http://youtu.be/H8ItGMtTCuY

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

“Time has only a relative existence.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)

I’m afraid a fresh rant is out of the question today…. I spent most of yesterday, right up until arising today, buried in intermittent, damn-near=intolerable pain, mostly in my hands, and shoulder joints, with some help from the hips and lower back, just to keep it interesting for me, I guess… It pretty well shot the whole day, after posting in the morning, an event made more difficult by the pain, for sure…. The act of typing has become a struggle, to get my thoughts down on the screen, while nursing the fingers through the aching to get it done…. Not as easy to do as to say/type, trust me….

So, nothing fresh today, but, I have time, so I’ll try to find something not too long…. Ah, perfect…. ‘Tis not a rant, for sure. ‘Tis just an old-school pearl, actually a Pearl, taken whole from the post for the listed day….. This was the original format of the Pearls of Virtual Wisdom (they have gone through at least three format transformations over the three-plus years on this site…); what you see here was the entire post for the date…. It isn’t a rant but it’s not bad, and it takes up the appropriate amount of space and time…. so be it…

From 8/22/2011, entitled, “A Different Sort of Hermaphrodite“:

Ffolkes,

This is definitely a different sort….it floats. Of course if it didn’t we’d just have to find one, of fix one, that would show the same characteristics. It’s a dirty, lonely job, but, somebody has to hate it, so why not us? It’s not as if they aren’t paying us well, right?…..And if it was so bad we couldn’t take it, it would just fall to someone who didn’t know the right way to hold one. So let’s have no more nonsense; just get in there and grab it by the toe and start twisting…..right? Alrighty then…..

The foregoing was brought to you with support from a grant by a local drug dealer with delusions of adequacy. He’s trying to buy his way into respectable society; we don’t think he’ll ever be accepted, but that is no reason we can’t take his money, since we’re doing something about all the lost souls he creates. We turn them into body slaves for sick old men and women who have never been treated for their bipolar disorder. It’s just another public service that we don’t much talk about, because it’s embarrassing to have everyone fawning over us. People sometimes have no dignity…….

Okay, enough fooling around, let’s get down to some serious literature……well, I guess we would, if I could think of something serious. Somehow this morning my brain is refusing to wrap itself around anything too heavy; hence the above two short paragraphs of…….hmm, well of whatever they are. Can’t seem to come up with a description, which isn’t surprising; it’s pretty far out in left field. I suppose we should come in out of the cold now, so with no further ado, I give you today’s Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. Remember to wash up afterward…..

“I once wanted to save the world. Now I just want to leave the room with dignity.” — Lotus Weinstock (I can definitely relate…..)

“Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum — “I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any HOW.” — F. Nietzsche

“Just as a cautious businessman avoids investing all his capital in one concern, so wisdom would probably admonish us also not to anticipate all our happiness from one quarter alone.” — Sigmund Freud

“Genius is not a possession of the limited few, but exists in some degree in everyone. Where there is natural growth, a full and free play of faculties, genius will manifest itself.” — Robert Henri

” — Bother!” said Pooh. “Eyeore, ready two photon torpedoes and lock phasers on the Heffalump; Piglet, meet me in transporter room three.” — Smart Bee

So, I’m going to end on that note, so I can head down to the transporter room to see them off. Y’all take care out there……

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

Once again, to avoid splashing on anyone else, here is one of my older poems…. Since it’s raining again today, we’ll go with this one…. It’s a bit early, since winter won’t officially begin for three more weeks, but, it’s appropriate to the day, and the way I feel about it…. or, hope to, at some point during the day….

An Old Man, Snoring….

Winter arrives with gusts of wind and rain,
clover spreads green amongst the hedges.
Urban gardens quiver, and dream of spring again,
gargoyles stoically crouch on corniced ledges.

Umbrellas sprout over heads shrouded and hatted,
dotting the sidewalks in colorful profusion.
Urban denizens pose sketches, framed and matted,
adding casual beauty to fill the illusion.

Hissing tires, swishing along with the wipers
join nature’s orchestra smoothly, as percussion.
Dripping gutters sound gong tones, true pipers,
a sudden roar of wind hushes all discussion.

Dreams of summer heat form the crux of desire
as winter chills our souls from without.
Sitting in warmth, gazing into an imaginary fire;
content to know spring will come, no doubt.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Sometimes, putting together a pearl of virtual wisdom becomes an exercise in patience, as well as a perfect real-time example of the old saw, that speaks of how the journey is often more illuminating, and/or satisfying, than the destination…. This took forfuckingever to get done; it’s fortunate that a) I’m retired, and b) I’m stubborn. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have come out as well as it did….

Of course, such a value judgments are perfectly useless, but, nonetheless remain inevitable; we’re all humans here, nothing of which we should be ashamed. In fact, that might just be a good summary of our destination today…. You tell me, if you feel you should; don’t let any subsequent guilt keep you from indulging yourself…. It’s all in good fun, right?…. Well, I’m having fun, so, y’all can do as you like… First, though, read this, and let yourself flow with it to its proper conclusion, whatever form that may take for you….

“To conduct great matters and never commit a fault is above the force of human nature.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Fabius

“Most people would rather give than get affection.” — Aristotle

“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

“What the meaning of human life may be I don’t know; I incline to suspect that it has none.” — H. L. Mencken

“Blessed are the forgetful: for they get the better even of their blunders.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

FRIENDLESS, adj. Having no favors to bestow. Destitute of fortune. Addicted to utterance of truth and common sense. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“If possible, try to find a way to come downstairs that doesn’t involve going bump, bump, bump, on the back of your head.” — Pooh in Winnie the Pooh A.A. Milne, English author (1882-1956)

Well, there you go…. I don’t think I could have said it better myself…. But, then, how can one not admire a man who wrote both Winnie the Pooh, and the world’s first, and perhaps ultimately, best, murder mystery? (The Red House Mystery)…. He also was a playwright, and poet…. Gotta love those polymaths, eh?….

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

I think I’ll stop now; I don’t think I’ve got any more in me today. I will apologize in advance if I seem to disappear; I have a feeling I’ll be down and out much of the day, under the influence of copious quantities of pain relieving medicines…. SIGH…. Another day down the tubes, so to speak, though what the tubes may be, I haven’t a clue…. Ah well, that’s nothing new….. 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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Sweating the small stuff is a big mistake….

Posted on November 23, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Beware lest clamor be taken for counsel.”

~~ Desiderius Erasmus ~~

Floundering, half-asleep, he gazes with incomprehension at the blank screen in front of him, sipping vacantly at the coffee in his hand. As he magic of the caffeine begins to smooth out his system, deep in early morning shock, it occurs to him he is retired…. so, why is he flogging himself each day to get up at 4-5 AM, to begin the process of opening a vein, preferably in a spot that won’t drip on the keyboard, and allowing some of the dross and drivel that has built up in his system to slowly leak out, hopefully with some degree of literary expertise, if not brilliance?…. In sooth, though, he often shoots for acceptable, or even tolerable, with varyiable degree of success….

There that’s enough of THAT nonsense…. Y’all might get the impression we were going to stay in the third, (or maybe the fourth…) person view, with its concomitant difficulty to maintain proper perspective, since the view isn’t personal…. Removing one’s view to another place than right there behind your eyes is a habit we are encouraged to use when writing, though I’m not exactly sure why it’s considered any more valuable than the first, second, or fifteenth person view…. There IS something to be said for the community view, though how one is to write it, I haven’t a clue, nor do I want one, thank you very much….

First, and second person view is quite complex enough for me, ffolkes…. Hell, it’s all I can do sometimes to BE the second person; I have a tendency to feel the first person view is the most valuable, as it is the ONLY one controlled fully by OUR ego, and our will…. Those don’t have a handy an effect on other ffolkes, or folks, whichever the case may be…. Plus, I find it’s easier to ran when in first-person mode, and, since the ranting section is the one most important for the purposes of this blog, and blogger, that has to take precedence of any misguided (i.e., someone else’s idea….) concept of what is considered stylish, or even good….

I mean, this isn’t Ibsen, or Bach, or even Hemingway…. it’s just gigoid, the dubious, spewing his doubts all over the place, and laughing at the threat of insanity…. for around here, we don’t suffer from insanity, we revel in it…. We do this because, a) we want to, b) it’s legally binding, c) it’s cheaper than professional therapy, and d) we can…. What other reasons do we need? None, nor are any forthcoming, though we are getting close to bailing out…. In fact, I’m assuming command, now, and making a command decision to remove us from this section, at once…. There’s the opening…. Pilot, do your duty…. and, y’all, well…. y’all had best hold on to something….

Shall we Pearl?

“Everything has got a moral if you can only find it.” — Lewis Carroll

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

I’ve been mostly in love with this artist since I first saw her perform live, in 1969, on my first trip to Winterland in San Francisco, during its heyday. She was the second act, behind Alice Cooper, who was a megastar then, while Tina was still struggling to make the grade, and still being held back, by Ike, her abusive asshole of a husband, and agent, until she finally got the strength to kick him to the curb, where he proceeded to complete his cycle of self-destruction, while she went on to become one of the biggest stars ever to grace the musical stage…. with good reason….. Nobody gives a show like Tina Turner; she gives every ounce of her soul to the audience…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

Tina Turner – Live in Barcelona 1990

http://youtu.be/qFGu4Vz121o

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

“You have to realize that the government, any government, is insane. You have to treat it the way pagans treated their gods: As an irrational, capricious, and powerful entity which will mete out total destruction if not sacrificed to or otherwise placated.” — Mike Long (future Libertarian revolutionary)

About all I can think of to say to that is, yep…. Since that is ALL I can think of to say, here is a rant from early last year, but, on a subject currently on our list of rantable subjects…. It will, naturally, take the place of today’s scheduled rant, which is not happening…. Your guess is as good as mine, but, I’m going with “I’m lazy”, just so there is no argument from the critics, should this ever reach the public eye to any significant degree….

From April 21, 2013:

“A good indignation brings out all one’s powers.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ah, yes, it does indeed….. This is the principle of human nature I exploit when I rant…. Well, I try, anyway…. It seems as if Ralph Waldo had the inclination to rant strike him on occasion, and, competent observer that he was, he examined how it made him feel, and act when he was in ranting mode. When in full flight, ranting makes one feel ten feet tall, able to leap arguments with a single quote, impervious to sarcasm or belittling remarks, and capable of chewing up the toughest pundit and spitting him out, before breakfast….. Whether or not one could actually do so doesn’t matter in the slightest, for it is what we THINK we can do that determines what we CAN do…. Like the dragons of Pern, who could lift any weight when flying, as long as they thought they could….

“Whenever you eliminate the inedible, whatever remains, however unpalatable, must be food.” — Smart Bee

Now, this is a truism; much as it seems like levity, it is quite serious, being a disguised version of a truth uttered by Sherlock Holmes, about Truth, to wit: “As I have previously stated, Watson, when one has eliminated the impossible, what remains, however unlikely, must be the truth.” (God, I hope I quoted it right… I’m lazy, and used the version in my head, rather than googling it to make sure…. but, I’m 100% positive that my paraphrase, if it be such, is completely accurate, in terms of meaning…..) Ranting is an area where this principle is key; it really doesn’t make sense to rant about something that isn’t true, unless the falsity is the actual subject of the rant…. as the following aphorism implies….

“It is a substantial advantage for any philosophy to be based on the truth.” — George Santayana

Of course, this doesn’t mean that being right will make reality conform to how we wish it to be. Much of the world, if not all, is controlled by a group of people who lie, constantly, without shame, completely indifferent to how it affects others, as long as their own needs are met first. But, they only do so because most of the public believes their lies, for the simple reason that it is too hard to believe otherwise. If they begin to see the truth of how they are controlled, they become frightened, often to the point of violence, because they don’t want to know the truth…. unless it comes from a suit on TV…..

“Given a sufficient number of people and an adequate amount of time, you can create insurmountable opposition to the most inconsequential idea.” — Devyver’s law

This is truth, too, sad as it may seem…. The general public will believe just about anything they are told, usually without any sort of critical thought applied to testing its veracity, if it is presented in a manner to which they are accustomed to being told what to do…. If the guy on the six o’clock news says it will rain money, most folks in this country would start looking for a barrel to catch it in, and wonder if it would rain in bills, or in coins… I kid you not…..

This may seem as if I have a poor opinion of the average intelligence of the average American, and in that estimation you would be absolutely correct…. I can say this with complete confidence, as it is a proven fact that the average American’s IQ is below the average for the human race at large….. fact, ffolkes, not supposition…. Of course, I could be lying, but, if so, you can just chalk it up to their bad influence…. If they can use untrue ‘facts’ to prove their assertions, I can, too….

Besides, I can show you almost 50 MILLION pieces of proof of my assertion, without having to look further than the Presidential election last year…. In that election, almost fifty million people voted for Mitt Romney, proof positive that they would believe ANYTHING…. How else could they decide to vote for a man who was PROVEN to have lied during the campaign (independent fact checking organizations showed that he lied just about 50% of the time, or, put more simply, every other time he spoke, he lied…), and indicated, on tape, his complete disdain for over half the people in the country?

It is such an incredibly huge number, it just isn’t possible to understand how gullible people can be, when one sees this statistic, (50 million votes for an asshole….). It is equally hard to believe that so many of our peers are this incredibly dumb, but, truth will out, as it always does….. It also speaks to the number of truly bigoted, racist people that are still in this country, hiding behind their cowardice, and their misguided, ignorant patriotism…. but, that’s a subject for another rant….. (All stupid people aren’t bigots and racists, but ALL bigots and racists are stupid people…..)

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” — Lazarus Long

You won’t get a better, more clear warning than that; on that note, I proclaim this rant, such as it was, to be complete…..

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

As it always seems with Charles’ poetry, it is almost TOO real to be comfortable…. He had a very strong knack for describing life in no uncertain terms, none of which were comfortable, in spite of their close fit to reality….. Enjoy, if you can….

True Story

they found him walking along the freeway
all red in
front
he had taken a rusty tin can
and cut off his sexual
machinery
as if to say —
see what you’ve done to
me? you might as well have the
rest.

and he put part of him
in one pocket and
part of him in
another
and that’s how they found him,
walking
along.

they gave him over to the
doctors
who tried to sew the parts
back
on
but the parts were
quite contented
the way they
were.

I think sometimes of all of the good
ass
turned over to the
monsters of the
world.

maybe it was his protest against
this or
his protest
against
everything.

a one man
Freedom March
that never squeezed in
between
the concert reviews and the
baseball
scores.

God, or somebody,
bless
him.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

Today’s final section will be as fresh as it’s going to get today; all but three of these pearls were picked fresh from Smart Bee’s database, just for y’all…. Well, getting done had a little to do with it, but, really, mostly, it’s for y’all….. Honest… Come on, now, I’m no bloody politician…. I tell the truth well over half the time…. Besides, if this works out the way I’m intending, it’s all good advice, from one viewpoint, or another….

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

“Beware lest clamor be taken for counsel.” — Desiderius Erasmus

“You are all depending for your spirituality on someone else, for your happiness on someone else, for your enlightenment on someone else…. You have been accustomed to being told how far you have advanced, what is your spiritual status. How childish! Who but yourself can tell you if you are incorruptible?… I desire those, who seek to understand me, to be free … from the fear of religion, from the fear of salvation, from the fear of spirituality, from the fear of love, from the fear of death, from the fear of life itself…. You can form other organizations and expect someone else. With that I am not concerned, nor with creating new cages, new decorations for those cages. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free.” — Krishnamurti (1895-1986) From his last speech to the Theosophical Society

“Don’t take the bull by the horns, take him by the tail; then you can let go when you want to.” — Josh Billings

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” — Sigmund Freud

“Fool! said my muse to me, look in thy heart, and write.” — Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) — Astrophel and Stella, i

“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” — Francis Bacon

With the final words of Francis Bacon ringing in my ears, justifying all I do here, I shall take my leave….

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

I am still half-asleep, it seems, yet, I have completed this Pearl, in good time, no less. Go figure….. I am, as can be seen, clueless as to how that came to be, so, I think it’d be best for me to just fade quietly into the background, and let y’all get on with your day…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, probably with a bit more oomph available for use…. I still have Emily’s feathers….

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….

Hurling epithets at myrmidons seems insufficient….

Posted on November 16, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Doing it the hard way is always easier.”

~~ Murphy’s Paradox ~~

My routine seems to have altered itself to some degree; I find myself up a bit late again, having slept about an hour beyond my ordinary time to arise. This, of course, isn’t anything particularly new, or exciting, but, hey, something has to come first, right? Besides, for our purposes today, the opening quote from Murphy, which is a truism hard for many to accept, when taken together with the oh-so-poignant picture of the dancing bears of Grateful Dead fame, forms a most pleasant aspect, of deep wisdom, and snarky humor, that just gets me right in the old brisket….

But, that’s just me, and we all know I’m a bit odd, if not off, so, we’ll let that go by the wayside, where it will do the most good, and get on with the creation of today’s mess…. As usual in these cases, you may find some replacement text in some of the sections below, as I harvest from the archives to fulfill the tasks of today with the efforts of yesterday…. It works for me, and it’s all been tested for relevance and truth, so, you have no reason to worry that you won’t get your money’s worth….. and I don’t want to hear anything about having to pay at all….

The price you’re being charged, to wit: zero, has been scientifically determined to represent the EXACT worth of these Pearls, and is certified by the National Curmudgeons Bureau as a necessary part of your morning intellectual diet…. Plus, where else will you find all this, PLUS a toy in every box? Nowhere, that’s where….

On that note, I think I’ll use some of my new-found skills at ruthless decision-making, to take us on down to the first section, where you’ll find today’s video link and player, hopefully (Sometimes, and I wish I knew why, it doesn’t work as it should…. SIGH, I hate being ignorant of ANYTHING….)…. This should make the transition to the rant and poetry a bit smoother, if not any more savory. We’re working on that, in our research labs, but, not much progress so far…. Time will tell… At any rate, our insertion point is approaching rapidly, and a darn good thing, as my hands are getting more numb with each letter typed…. Watch your heads, ffolkes, this looks like a sharp turn…..

Shall we Pearl?

“You’re all insane and trying to steal my magic bag.” — Smart Bee

Really, ffolkes, I found it in SB…. it isn’t mine. I know better, because nobody can steal a magic bag. Everybody knows that…. It’s magic, right? Nobody but the owner can see it….

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

Today’s video selection link leads to Part 1 of a most excellent adaptation of a book, a murder mystery written by Dorothy L. Sayers during the first half of the twentieth century…. This version is in five parts, each of which makes an excellent hour (approximately) of superior entertainment, with Ian Carmichael in the role of Lord Peter Wimsey, the aristocrat detective, in a plot where Lord Peter’s brother, the Duke of Denver, stands accused of murdering their sister’s fiancé…. The last part, number 5, is a masterwork of the genre, with all the plot’s questions answered in elegant, satisfying fashion…. Enjoy!…

Lord Peter Wimsey – Clouds of Witness

http://youtu.be/b-Xw-uEY5kI

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

Since I’m late, and not really in ranting mode, here is an alternative set of short discussions, all semi-connected to each other, from the archives….

From 12/27/2011:

Ffolkes,

In my wildest, most disturbing dreams, I never thought the world would come to this juncture. We stand once again at a fork in the road ahead. Down one road lies extinction; it’s actually the road we are on now, but we have come to the last possible exit, onto a road that continues on into the future, bright with promise. On this road, humanity has new forms of transport, sustainable and clean. The air is clear, the ocean is blue, and all the creatures who share this planet have been welcomed into the circle of Life, wherein we now reside. Everyone is treated the same, and there are no more distinctions drawn between one man and the next. Resources are husbanded and shared equally, and economic manipulation is a dim memory.

Sounds pretty nice, eh? I think so too. I’m just not terribly convinced that the rest of humanity is going to come down that road with those of us who take it. I’d much rather we all went together, but I refuse to choose to continue on the road we have been traveling, just as I refuse to consider killing myself. It’s all so clear to me, I have a hard time understanding why others cannot see what I am seeing. If we don’t stop what we’re doing, we’re going to pay the consequences; that’s not a guess, not a theory. It’s truth. I hope y’all can deal with it….

I think I lost my mind. Please watch where you step.

——————

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

“I’m a man of my word. In the end, that’s all there is really….” — Avon

Too many young men and women are reaching the age of reason with no inner strength, no strong morals to guide their way; rather than cloaking themselves in honor and duty, they are approaching life armed only with an imagination whose scope has been severely limited by their moral shortcomings. It can be a tough world out there, and it’s only going to get tougher at time goes on, unless society can find a way to shore up the shaky underpinnings of our culture, before it’s too late to try…..

“Cowardice” and “self-respect” have largely disappeared from public discourse. In their place we are offered “self-esteem” as the bellwether of success and a proxy for dignity. “Self-respect” implies that one recognizes standards, and judges oneself worthy by the degree to which one lives up to them. “Self-esteem” simply means that one feels good about oneself. “Dignity” used to refer to the self-mastery and fortitude with which a person conducted himself in the face of life’s vicissitudes and the boorish behavior of others. Now, judging by campus speech codes, dignity requires that we never encounter a discouraging word and that others be coerced into acting respectfully, evidently on the assumption that we are powerless to prevent our degradation if exposed to the demeaning behavior of others. These are signposts proclaiming the insubstantiality (sic) of our character, proclaiming the hollowness of our souls.” — Jeffrey R. Snyder, Fall 1993 _The Public Interest

——————–

“The very emphasis of the commandment: Thou shalt not kill, makes it certain that we are descended from an endlessly long chain of generations of murderers, whose love of murder was in their blood as it is perhaps also in ours.” — Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Siggy had his moments of clarity amid the nonsense of a lot of his assertions exhibit. This is one of them. Part of what makes a man civilized is to be able to accept this part of his nature, and deal with it in the only honorable fashion; each morning a man must awake and make a conscious decision that, “Today, I will not kill.”, and then abide by it as best he can. Nothing else will work as well, and though it takes no small amount of courage to keep his word, a man of honor will do so, no matter the cost.

I think one of the most disheartening aspects of today’s culture is the lack of honor most people exhibit. When I was brought up, in the 1950’s, it seems like everyone believed in the concept of Honor; it was assumed one could expect others to behave in light of that. As time has passed, I have seen the concept fall further and further out of the public consciousness with each passing year, and selfishness and avarice have assumed the central position in most folk’s attitudes. SIGH……I really do miss it……

———————

“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” — Bertrand Russell, Autobiography

No man could ever hope for a more fulfilling existence, acting in service to those he loves, which includes all living creatures. One can only wish that this attitude was more prevalent in society at large; we might have avoided some of the troubles we’re having. No sense crying over spilled dairy products though…..you just have to hang on to your hope…..

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

From March of 2012, one of my better efforts…..

After the odyssey….

Portraits of iconic symbols, crashing, singing, forgotten;
evolving into mature innovation, as yet pale, and rotten.
Still water justly breeds, impenetrable primal verses resound;
unholy moments tarry, emotion swirls in passion unbound

Spiritual ovulation precedes each pregnant pause;
gravid, time moves on, following destiny’s cause.
Cast adrift on waves of confusion, to a final, damp landing;
salvation beckons sweetly, fed well on understanding.

Dreams directly fall, in night’s grey bower, unbidden;
lingering flavors in simple taste, lovingly, cleverly hidden.
Childish laughter sounds, joyful, bright, and clear;
no need ever to hide, no more monsters to fear.

Temper most foul arrives under unregistered mail;
forgotten taunts live on, lashed by an ancient flail.
Plain dealing delivers such lasting specks of honest hate;
savage in retrospect, never hasty, always running late.

Forever, cries an ambient lover of the pending night;
his pale, weak issue forms its own failing light.
Still, fortune favors such as those who apprehend;
Sweet love of Gaia, let it never end.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Well. Smart Bee seems to have something up its butt; it gave me the first six pearls for this section, quite nicely, and reasonably quickly…. It then decided to play nasty, refusing to cough up the final entry (not final in order of placement, but, in finally found…) in spite of three re-boots…. But, I killed that little rebellion with a bit of harsh decision making, and a bit of applied guilt, always a fan favorite…. Anyway, here ’tis, such as ’tis…. a good pearl for introspection, I’d say….

“Dreams are real while they last. Can we say more of life?” — Havelock Ellis

“We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting.” — Kahlil Gibran

“Don’t need to be born again – Did it right the 1st time.” — gigoid, Wednesday 1969

“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.” — Lao Tzu

“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” — Buddha

“Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger and we will make not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large.” — Mahatma Gandhi

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

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

Aside from a bit of pique from Smart Bee, this went fairly well…. In fact, it went well enough, I’m going to go with it, as is, trusting to luck, and the gods of grammar, to see me through without too many errors…. Fat chance, of course, but, I’ve always been a bit more optimistic than not…. Besides, now it’s done, and I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Are you sure? Forever and a day is a long time….

Posted on August 27, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The velocity with which time flies is infinite, as is most apparent to those who look back.”

~~ Seneca ~~

(B.C. 3-65 A.D.)

Today is a day pregnant with possibilities…. I have high hopes that when I return from my outing today, my life will have undergone some significant alterations, at least in one or two respects, and, all I can say is, it’s about damn time….. I feel as if I’ve been stuck in a rut for months, and have an opportunity to break free of whatever it is that has been keeping me from LIFE….

Hence, the quote from Seneca seems to me to be most appropriate, encouraging us, as it does, to look forward, to see what there is to see, and to learn, rather than wasting precious time trying to hold on to something in the past, expressing the advantage of keeping our eyes on the road ahead…. The most excellent photo doesn’t hurt, either, if only to please the senses with its incredible scope…. thus highlighting the quote by showing us a view of infinity, stretching through time and space, from the ancient stone dance, to the endless array of galaxies and stars….

Besides, who knows when I’ll actually find another pair of pearls, of different media, to fit together so well…. I’ve been putting these together now for a few weeks like this, and it works really well for its purpose, which is, essentially, to save my sorry ass from having to come up with something new to start with each day…. My brain informed me some time ago it was very close to becoming a completely dry hole, no oil, no water, and no more creative images or words…. I had wracked my brain too many times, and it was about to revolt….

That’s when I started adding the pictures up top, which had a dual purpose, of eliminating the need to find and/or include attribution for those pictures that I didn’t take, and to get me out and about to practice my photography skills, with the intent, naturally, to get better at it, as well as to increase my ability to walk around for greater distances…. A win-win-win situation the way I see it….

Hell, it even works on a day like today, when I just needed the intro to complete the Pearl, which I have worked on ahead of time, in order to be sure I don’t get held up today, heading out to my day full of potentially wonderful events….. I mean, there is always the chance the day won’t live up to my hopes (which I’ve been pretty successful at not allowing to become expectations….), but, I’m thinking that my odds are good enough, it’s well worth whatever risk of that there may be…. Murphy can’t be everywhere at once, can he?

Regardless, the new method has also allowed me the space and time today to sort of wander around like this without ever really getting into anything…. That’s okay, I got into plenty down below, believe me…. All good, of course, but, if not, well, I’ll refund every penny you paid, okay? Can’t say fairer than that…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Whatsoever that be within us that feels, thinks, desires, and animates, is something celestial, divine, and, consequently, imperishable.” — Aristotle (B.C. 384-322)

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

In keeping with the promise made, in the pearl that is now in section three, below, this section, and the second section, for poetry, will be kept to a minimum, to balance the weight of the last pearl…. I hate breaking my word, so, I’ve chosen to include only the two links, to different articles, below in this section, without adding any ranting, or any discussion beyond this introduction…

The first one is an EXCELLENT discussion of the events now taking place in the Middle East, concerning the war being fought, on several fronts, as the radical Muslim group, known as ISIS, attempts to form a caliphate, with their own interpretation of the Quran (Koran) as the basis of their laws, and directing their political identity…. Mr. Carroll gives us some intelligent perspective, and even more intelligent analysis….. It’s a fine read, with some very good points that often are overlooked in much of the coverage in the media…. I think you will enjoy it….

You won’t enjoy the second, I guarantee, though it is what I would consider to be essential reading; it’s a report, about a report from the UN, on a subject about which I’ve been ranting for a couple of years now, climate change and global warming, a report that demonstrates how nothing is happening at all to make any needed changes…. It’s a report that I am certain will achieve the self-same results as all my rants, in terms of what it may cause to change out in the real world, i.e., none… Nothing has changed, and this article makes it abundantly clear, it is most likely too late to do anything about it… Well, not this article, the second one….

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/Upon-further-re-reconsideration-5711550.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/UN-panel-Global-warming-human-caused-dangerous-5713478.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

In the beginning, God created the Earth and he said, “Let there be mud.”
And there was mud.
And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what we have done.”
And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man.
Mud-as-man alone could speak.
“What is the purpose of all this?” man asked politely.
“Everything must have a purpose?” asked God.
“Certainly,” said man.
“Then I leave it to you to think of one for all of this,” said God.
And He went away.

~~ Kurt Vonnegut ~~

Between Time and Timbuktu

Uh, oh…. too late…..

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

“Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite sea; reason seeks to cross an infinite sea and so make it finite… The poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.” — G. K. Chesterton “Orthodoxy”

Each life converges to some centre
Expressed or still;
Exists in every human nature
A goal,

Admitted scarcely to itself, it may be,
Too fair
For credibility’s temerity
To dare.

Adored with caution, as a brittle heaven,
To reach
Were hopeless as the rainbow’s raiment
To touch,

Yet persevered toward, surer for the distance;
How high
Unto the saints’ slow diligence
The sky!

Ungained, it may be, by a life’s low venture,
But then,
Eternity enables the endeavoring
Again.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Today, I’m extending the scope of the recent additions to section 3 with some old pearls from 2011, when each pearls is what we now call an old school style pearl… After that format got old, I changed to accommodate my desire to produce more, and practice different styles and techniques of writing…. so, I changed the look of each day’s Pearl, to include five sections, each with its own short pearl, and discussion based on that pearl… It’s an example of what I went through to evolve what now become my rants…

Each of these sections, as you see them below, in today’s format, would be treated with a more thorough discussion, but, for today, since together the five pearls make it long enough to stifle anyone’s enthusiasm for reading, we’ll just put it here in section one, then pick a short poem, and a short pearl for section 3, to save y’all some time & energy…. It’s the least I can do, considering I’m subjecting y’all to such a long foray into my my mind’s indubitably odd twists and turns…..

Obviously, we’ve had a change of plans…. it’s okay, though, as I managed to do so without adding any extra ranting, or long, involved discussions to the mix… As promised in the paragraph above, written BEFORE the change, unlike this one, I kept sections one and two to a minimum of material, though both of excellent quality… All of that notwithstanding, here you are, about to finish up for today, and didn’t even know it…. Funny how that works, isn’t it?…..

From 12/27/11:

Ffolkes,

I think I lost my mind. Please watch where you step.

(Note from 2014: Note the last line in the second paragraph…. then, remember what I said above, about having ranted for two or more years on that subject…. It seems it’s been even longer than that….. gigoid…)
___________________________________

You beat your pate, and fancy wit will come;
Knock as you please, there ‘s nobody at home.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Epigram

A gen’rous heart repairs a sland’rous tongue.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book viii, Line 432

Pope, living and writing in the 17th & 18th centuries, is apparently channeling Homer Simpson, 300 years in the future….. Doh! Even wonderful poetry can be turned into low humor; here is solid proof. These two short pieces of pieces were just irresistible, as they immediately brought to mind a clear image of Homer slapping his head. See, I can be whimsical!…..
___________________________________

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

“I’m a man of my word. In the end, that’s all there is really….” — Avon

Tough to argue with these; they both are basic elements of my own philosophy. It’s a shame, really, that society in general doesn’t buy into this more. Strong, silent men are in short supply in today’s world, and the twin pillars that hold up our culture, Duty and Honor, have fallen into sporadic use at best. Not enough children are being raised under the moral aegis these concepts provide, and the results are as predictable as they are ugly. Too many young men and women are reaching the age of reason with no inner strength, no strong morals to guide their way; rather than cloaking themselves in honor and duty, they are approaching life armed only with an imagination whose scope has been severely limited by their moral shortcomings. It can be a tough world out there, and it’s only going to get tougher at time goes on, unless society can find a way to shore up the shaky underpinnings of our culture, before it’s too late to try…..

A crucifix? Oy vey, have you got the wrong vampire! — Smart Bee

In my diving for pearls, over the years I’ve gone past this one several times (sometimes the randomness generator doesn’t quite live up to its’ name), and have just smiled and gone on. But today, for some reason, I finally got it…….and it’s fucking hilarious! What I wouldn’t do to see this character in an episode of Twilight (though I have to confess I’ve never watched it), or Buffy, the Vampire Slayer! They could call him Simon, pretender to the throne of Satan, master of Guilt, who bores his victims into a stupor, leaving them at mercy to his dark secret, a fetish for the blood of sons and daughters of mothers of the Tribe. If nothing else, the media frenzy in the religious world would be fun to watch….. You may be asking yourself, is nothing sacred? All I can answer is, “Nope.”………
___________________________________

I think one of the most disheartening aspects of today’s culture is the lack of honor most people exhibit. When I was brought up, in the 1950’s, it seems like everyone believed in the concept of Honor, and it was just assumed that one could expect others to behave in light of that. As time has passed, I have seen the concept fall further and further out of the public consciousness with each passing year, and selfishness and avarice have assumed the central position in most folk’s attitudes. SIGH……I really do miss it……
___________________________________

These are wonderful sentiments, and I can only hope that when I die, I can have put on my headstone some indication that I had fulfilled all three of these passions. The ability to share love, the passion for learning, and compassion for the weak and troubled are the highest expressions of the human spirit, and pursuit of them is an honorable task to take up as one’s Duty. No man could ever hope for a more fulfilling existence, acting in service to those he loves, which includes all living creatures. One can only wish that this attitude was more prevalent in society at large; we might have avoided some of the troubles we’re having. No sense crying over spilled dairy products though…..you just have to hang on to your hope…..
___________________________________

Now I understand how the little piece I found yesterday fits in to the puzzle. Not to replace the sig, but rather to join it……..yay, me….y’all take care out there….

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

(Note from 2014: See? We can learn something new every day…. Apparently, this is the Pearl in which I first used this particular part of the closing signature (sig) lines…. I did not remember that…. Huh….)

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

Incredibly, it’s done…. not only done, but, done early, using the famous, or infamous, powers of a Time Lord, which we managed to ~~steal~~ acquire some weeks ago, through some rather subtle, clandestine wand work…. For now, suffice it to say, damn, we almost pulled it off! See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, possibly in a completely new/old state of mind…. I know, that’s a bit unfair, but, hey, if the big studios can hand out teasers, so can I…..

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

(Today’s picture, of the stone dance under the stars, came from, I believe, Space.com, from a group of award winning astronomy photos…. a group I also saw at another site…. so, it’s probably not a copyrighted piece…. If you wish any further information, copy the picture, then paste that into the search box on the Google images page, so it can find it for you…. it will…. & I’m too lazy….)

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

I’ll take a glazed incumbent pundit, and two preacher pops….

Posted on April 16, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Having been supremely disappointed late last night, by the weather’s policy of non-cooperation with my desire to view the eclipse, followed by a less than stellar day trying, with little success, to treat a sick person, then hanging out in an emergency room for over 5 hours, I am a little less than my normal sharp self today….

In fact, I can barely keep my eyes open right now, though I imagine that will pass once some caffeine kicks in… Not that keeping them open will cause any significant change in the situation…. I’m tired, grumpy, and not at all sure I feel like doing this….

I am, however, also the son of a Master Sergeant, who would have merely laughed to hear me complain about having to get up early to complete a self-chosen task, so, I’ll just put my fatigue, and my lack of motivation, back into the area of my mind where they’ll be safe and happy until I need them for something, and get on with today’s Pearl…. The alternative would cause me enough self-induced guilt to make a politician break out in a fresh lie, or cause a preacher to solicit a donation….. Hell, it might even make me feel as if I had done something wrong, which, as we all know, is pretty much impossible, due to my sheer genius….

Of course, not everyone acknowledges that genius, but, hey, we genius’s don’t care about that…. All we need is some sort of self-induced challenge, a set of parameters, and some milk caramels, and we’re good to go for a the next few days….. Keep us poorly stimulated, however, and the consequences can be ugly…. People have been known to sustain serious mental injury, or, at minimum, copious bleeding, when exposed to our wrath in such cases…. almost as if we were an insulted cat. Of course, I’ve never pooped in anyone’s shoes, but, there’s always a first time….

If the previous paragraph is any indication, it might not be the best idea today for me to produce any fresh material beyond this sort of random babbling…. I might hurt someone with a rant, or even cause myself some minor injury, from trying to contain the explosive power of my built up angst in the confines of a simple paragraph, or even by exposing myself, and others, to the intensity of, say, a politically-oriented old-school pearl with quotes from more than one Founding Father in it…. That stuff can be pretty volatile, in some respects, and would necessitate more care in handling than I am, perhaps, capable of today….

Since that’s true, and I’ve run out of blather, it would probably be best to get on with this now, & quit trying to impress the Gentle Readership with my erudition, when such proof is subject to scrutiny under which it would wilt like a flower in the summer sun…. or maybe, like a….. no, I’m not going there, not even to salvage an intro…. I do have SOME standards, even if they’re not anything to write home about…… Since that is almost true, if not complete, let’s get on with it….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” — Mark Twain

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

Below is a rant from last year, which fits perfectly with the following pearl….

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” — Alexander Frazer Tyler (1748-1813), — The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic

From 6/6/13:

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

Well, duh….. As I get older, this principle, or, this observation of a principle, becomes more obvious, and less surprising. I first began to question government back around 1957 or so, the first time I ever got a look at Dicky Nixon, when he was running for VP behind Eisenhower. Even at that tender age, I couldn’t figure out why this man was so famous and admired; he looked like he wore too much Brylcream in his hair, and he smiled way too much…. (Brylcream was a brand name hair grease in 1957…)

Any kid under 10 is leery of adults who smile like that; they know it’s false bonhomie (though generally without knowing the word ‘bonhomie’ itself….), and generally avoid such adults at any cost, even to the point of speaking out, to say something like “Don’t touch me with that!”, when asked to shake their hand….. because we saw them run it over their slicked back hair, and didn’t want the grease all over our own hands….

It’s been a while since I wrote a politirant… This isn’t because the politicians have been idle, far from it. They are busily carrying on the agendas of their corporate masters and the BRC, weakening social programs, giving money to the rich and powerful, distracting the public with miscellaneous bullshit while they transfer more money to their own pockets, and go about their true business of making money off the rest of humanity.

No, I’ve just been too satisfied with my own lot to work up sufficient outrage, since my own actions right now are feeding into that whole trained consumer scenario, while I make up for the poverty of my existence over the last three years….

I know, it’s a little hypocritical of me, but, I don’t really care much what others think about it. All my life I’ve worked hard to get to where I am today, even if I’m a bit less capable, physically, than I had planned to be at this stage, and I don’t really give a shit if other folks don’t approve of how I’m living my life. I’m doing just exactly what I want to do, much as I always have done, and will continue to do so as long as I can.

Some of what I want to do requires that I engage in dealings with the BRC, politicians, and corporate slaves, and do so without biting off their appendages, because they are such gits….. Sociopathic gits, but gits nonetheless….

“Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don’t practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us — and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along.” — Carl Sagan, “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection,” Parade, February 1, 1987

In another sense, I’ve about given up…. Over the last three years or so, or just over two years of writing daily in this blog, I’ve ranted and raged against the machine on a regular basis, sometimes with a lot of vitriol and energy, which is completely justified, when one considers just how much the ruling classes act like vicious animals more than people…..

But, no matter how often, or how much, or how well I write, none of it makes a dent in the facade of respectability that cloaks those in positions of elected authority in this country. These politicians have been getting away with criminal acts for so long, by the old “make the laws ourselves” method, which makes their thievery legal, that they now believe it is their God-given right to plunder the public treasury, looking upon the structure of income in government like their own bank….

I’ve managed to acquire a comfortable retirement income, between my almost 30 years working for the State of California, putting money into their retirement system, and by putting money into Social Security for over 50 years. Together, it gives me enough room to breathe, financially, for one of the first times in my life…. To be honest, I’m enjoying it, little as I like money, or its demands on our psyches. Or, I guess it would be more accurate to say, I’m enjoying what money can do, when one has enough of it to be able to think beyond necessity.

Unfortunately for my angst, or perhaps, fortunately, this leaves me without the depth of feeling needed to rant successfully… It’s like Voldemort told Harry, in HP 5:TOOTP, “You’ve got to MEAN it, Harry!”, referring to using the Cruciatus Curse correctly, to give full effect to the one being tortured…..

So, I’ll just say this….

Politics is poopadoodle, and politicians are all sociopathic assholes….

I can’t put it more simply, or more effectively than that. (Thanks to, and kudos for, the creator of Odds Bodkins, and Fred the Bird, who first uttered the front half of the above truism back in 1969 or 70…) Anyone who WANTS to be in an elected position of authority in this world is, in my mind, insane, by definition. It takes a strong degree of insanity to WANT that kind of power over others, and it takes a sociopathic, rationalizing sort of mind to be able to steal from the rest of mankind without suffering a single pang of conscience… The same goes for the bankers, and the preachers, and the police, mostly, and for anyone else who makes a habit of fucking over other people….

Sadly, that’s a large percentage of mankind that preys on the rest, and they’ve been practicing for oh, about twenty-thousand years now, ever since people started to hang together in groups, and came up with the concept of barter, and/or money…. Ever since then, people have been trying to figure out new and improved methods of getting an advantage over their peers, using these concepts….. the rest we call History…..

“You have the right to remain an idiot.” — Smart Bee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Cake, or death” , as a manifesto, royally sucks wind….

Posted on October 9, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Fair warning, ffolkes…. Today’s effort could conceivably break me, and, in the current state of my mind, that event will (not COULD, but WILL…) produce an explosion roughly equivalent to the one dropped on Nagasaki in 1945…. Not the largest device ever used, but, close enough, and more than enough to level a city of about half a million people, killing at least half of them, reducing the city to a massive pile of rubble and bodies, for the most part, and creating the world’s largest conclave of radiation casualties outside Hiroshima…. If that isn’t enough of a ugly, scary image to start the day with, I can do another…. No? Okay….

I’m in a strange mood, (originally, I said “sort of a strange mood”, but, decided there’s no “sort of” about it; it’s strange….), half-glad, half-sad, and all pissed off, all due, for the most part, to the ongoing display of childishness and stupidity being played out on the national political scene, which, if it isn’t already clear, serves to offer complete and utter proof that NONE of those elected to any of the offices in this government have enough common sense to come in out of the rain, much less enough of that precious quality to be anything but disasters as leaders of a nation…. I’ve stated previously that I believe that ALL of the elected officials at that level are insane, clinically, and demonstrably, and the scenario being played out in Congress right now certainly goes a long way toward providing incontrovertible proof of that assertion….

A small group of disgruntled, (random query: what does a “gruntled” person look like?….) conservative, Tea Party fanatics, goaded on by even more fanatical supporters, who have more money than IQ points, has accomplished the complete shutdown of the US government, in a belated but ongoing protest of a law passed three years ago, without a single thought in their tiny little minds of a) how little what they’re doing will help ANYONE other than themselves, b) how stupid they appear, and c) how much damage to their own agenda they are causing, by their intransigence and stubborn desire to maintain a status that is no longer quo….

I mean, it’s ridiculous to me to see how hard these conservative fundamentalists struggle to deny the reality of the demographics of this country, which, no matter how they feel about it, no longer exists as a white, Christian majority, but, has evolved into a much more diverse collection of ethnic cultures from all over the world, with skin colors to rival the rainbow in their complexity. Caucasians are NOT the majority in America any more, and I say, it’s about damn time!….

The whole problem with these white assholes is they’ve become accustomed to having everything their way, because they have, previously, always had the voting power, and the law, on their side; no historian today will deny the facts of the matter, which clearly show how the last two hundred years in this country have exhibited a definite prejudicial bent, favoring the white, Christian subgroup in this country…. In turn, this ingrained prejudice has led us to some of the problems our society now faces, as that demographic, formerly a certainty, has become less definite, and the voting power has shifted away from its conservative roots, into a more diverse, and liberal outlook, that has evolved along with the mixing of the races….

This mixing, in spite of what the fundies would like to believe, has already happened, ON THE STREETS, although, not in the seats of power; this discrepancy is what is now causing many of the issues that continue to arise over time. As the power base shifts to reflect the more diverse population we now enjoy in this nation, the old forces, used to their entitlements, are throwing tantrums, and trying to maintain a status quo that is no longer feasible, not if reality is to match what we believe it to be…. and, regardless of how much they WANT it to be otherwise, that much social momentum cannot be stopped…

There are just too many powerful social forces at work, changing the face of the American demography, and trying to have everything stay the same only causes pain for those who try to keep from acknowledging the changes. Plus, it should be noted that attempting to deny reality, and fighting against it, are sure signs of insanity in humans, more proof of my assertion regarding political animals, and those who are determined to support them in their insanity….

To my mind, the issue of the sanity of those who seek public office was settled a long time ago; it is obviously quite crazy to believe that ANYONE at all has the ability to successfully handle the issues that go along with a nation of this size and complexity. It is simply too big a job, as are the other positions we elect people to fill, and only someone who has an unreasonable opinion of their own abilities would think they were capable of doing so…. If you believe there is anyone alive who is smart enough, or honest enough, or even cares enough, to be able to deal with all the details and responsibilities that go along with being President, or Senator, or any of the other positions we allow people to assume, then I am sorry to say that you have learned to deny reality as well as they do….

It isn’t a matter of whether what they believe is true or not; it is their BELIEF that they can that is the issue, because, quite simply, and quite demonstrably, they can’t….. But, they won’t admit it; to do so would mean admitting they were wrong all along…. and that is the whole problem, because they believe they can, and, sadly, they are able to convince others that they are right…. This kind of logic is what is called an eternal loop, a closed circle of false ideas that support each other by their denial of reality; in the field of psychiatry, we called it clinical INSANITY!….

Well, I see that once again, I’ve crossed over into ranting, without the slightest hesitation, and without realizing how early I was falling into venting mode…. I can only plead exigency, and a bit of emotional pressure…. All the above has obviously been in there, percolating, and had to come out in order to clear the decks for anything remotely creative to find its way into the light of day. Sort of like clearing the throat before singing, I guess… Oh well, that means that I don’t HAVE to rant in sections one or three, unless I want to, or see something that compels me to enter into ranting mode…. which is probably a good thing for y’all, in the final analysis….

Shall we Pearl?…. Though it’s repeating myself, it’s about damn time….

“‘If everybody minded their own business,’ the Duchess said, in a hoarse growl, ‘the world would go round a deal faster than it does.'” — Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
_____________________________

I see by the above that my ranting needs a bit of work…. I’m falling into the mode too easily, and resorting too often to general indictments, without much solid evidence to back it up…. Not that much is needed, or that it isn’t available; the news web sites, and papers, are full of plenty of stuff to support the points I’ve made in my rants…. I have been trying to supply links to such articles, that provide such evidence, when I can….

Howsomever, I don’t want to fall into the less than perfectly moral methods used by the opposition, which can and does regularly include flat out lying, and/or complete fabrication of the truth…. I mean, it is almost impossible for me to go through a single day of reading the news without finding another lie told by a politician, or if nothing else, a piece of truth that somehow got left out of whatever they said….

I also see that I am falling right back into rant mode, and I was trying NOT to do that, even though the current state of affairs out in the BBR (Big Blue Room…. that place outside the room where my computer lives….) is in dire need of being ranted over…. Things are so damn far off the track that we may as well just start building new tracks in the direction we’re going…. That may get us to our extinction faster, but, it couldn’t hurt any to be a bit more comfortable on the way to Hell, could it?….

Any who, I’m going to go with an old-school pearl here, if I can ever break free of this urge to take shot after shot at the politicos today…. Bloody assholes… I’ll try to sublimate by giving Smart Bee some strict parameters for selections today…. These will all point at elected officials, or appointed ones, as they are generally appointed by someone who was elected; taking my best shots, so to speak, in one way or another….

A moral, sensible, and well-bred man
Will not affront me,–and no other can.

— William Cowper (1731-1800) — Conversation, Line 193

“Modern diplomats approach every problem with an open mouth.” — Arthur J. Goldberg

“Prejudice is when you don’t hate an individual, but you hate what they stand for, when without knowing them personally, you decide they are worthy of your derision.” — Callan Williams
(Oops… I guess that makes me prejudiced against people who act stupid in public, doesn’t it?…. Oh, well….)

“Since when is “public safety” the root password to the Constitution?” — C. D. Tavares

“You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time,. And that’s sufficient.” — Rose King
(Ms. King was obviously the teacher of many, many politicians in her time…. and she taught her lesson well….)

“Can’t refute the message? Attack the messenger!” — Conservative Rule #9

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-Ts’an

Wow…. it took a while, but, I think it was worth the time spent looking for that final pearl…. which, to my mind, is damn near perfect….
_____________________________

Seamus Heaney was an Irish poet-laureate while he lived; I only heard of him after he died, earlier this year, but, since first reading his work, have come to realize how little that phrase says about his poems, or the way they affect me. It seems he felt many of the same sort of feelings as I do, feelings he was able to set into verse with much more panache and style than I have ever achieved, at least to my mind…. Any who, this poem seems to fit in with my mood today, so, I hope you enjoy it….

Exposure

It is December in Wicklow:
Alders dripping, birches
Inheriting the last light,
The ash tree cold to look at.

A comet that was lost
Should be visible at sunset,
Those million tons of light
Like a glimmer of haws and rose-hips,

And I sometimes see a falling star.
If I could come on meteorite!
Instead I walk through damp leaves,
Husks, the spent flukes of autumn,

Imagining a hero
On some muddy compound,
His gift like a slingstone
Whirled for the desperate.

How did I end up like this?
I often think of my friends’
Beautiful prismatic counselling
And the anvil brains of some who hate me

As I sit weighing and weighing
My responsible tristia.
For what? For the ear? For the people?
For what is said behind-backs?

Rain comes down through the alders,
Its low conductive voices
Mutter about let-downs and erosions
And yet each drop recalls

The diamond absolutes.
I am neither internee nor informer;
An inner йmigrй, grown long-haired
And thoughtful; a wood-kerne

Escaped from the massacre,
Taking protective colouring
From bole and bark, feeling
Every wind that blows;

Who, blowing up these sparks
For their meagre heat, have missed
The once-in-a-lifetime portent,
The comet’s pulsing rose.

~~ Seamus Heaney ~~

_____________________________

“The goal of all life is death.” — Sigmund Freud

Like the finest pearls, sometimes the smallest ones shine the brightest…. I’ve been thinking about death a lot recently; it’s not morbidity, merely the natural curiosity of all humans as we more closely approach our own end time on this old ball of mud. I don’t exactly fear death, though it’s not a comforting subject to consider…. but, I think that discomfort arises from a somewhat different source than is common for most folks…. You see, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever about what happens after we die…. I also have no clue as to what that might be, but, whatever happens to us after we die, our consciousness will NOT flicker out, like a candle in the wind….

This belief is not based on some ridiculous notion of supernatural intervention that will determine my “necrodestination”, as Frank Zappa called it…. Rather, it is based on a more rational idea, that, though logical in nature, is nonetheless good, solid reasoning…. My idea is that it doesn’t make any sense for us to assume that, when we die, we no longer exist as a conscious being, because that would be a waste of energy, most simply put, and the Universe doesn’t work that way, so far as all we know about it….

“There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. But there is no evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough you will know. So why fret about it?” — Lazarus Long, aka Robert Heinlein

One of the laws of the physical universe in which we live is the Law of Conservation of Energy. This law has been known to science for many hundreds of years, and has been the subject of innumerable experiments, ALL of which proved it to be factual. Simply put, it states, “Energy cannot be destroyed, only altered in form.” In other words, any part of this physical universe that can be defined as a form of energy is immortal, in the sense that it never goes away, it only alters its type…. Electric to kinetic, kinetic to electric, nuclear to atomic, magnetic to electric , and vice versa, etc, ad lib, ad nauseam….. It never goes away, it only changes form….

To my way of thinking, consciousness is a form of energy. It is one we don’t completely understand, along the lines of both magnetic, and gravitational energies, both of which, so far, have eluded our full knowledge, and remain mysterious in many ways… Consciousness is in a similar situation; we can perceive it, and define it. There are even some instruments that seem to register its presence, peripherally, if not precisely. We can observe its effect on reality, and we can understand, to a degree, how it behaves….

But, we don’t know anywhere nearly all about it, nor can we do anything other than observe it in action, and only from within its boundaries! We cannot observe consciousness in ourselves, only in others, and then only by perceiving their actions, not a direct perception of the energy that makes it act, or makes it real…

To a certain extent, this is a handicap, but, fortunately for us, the power of our imagination can assist us to understand its more complex characteristics, eventually…. So far, though, it is not a form of energy that we have under our complete control, and, at this point in our mental development, cannot perceive where it goes, or what form it takes, after we reach the end of our biological lives here on Earth….

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

All my life, my sense of curiosity, my knowledge of science and philosophy, and a healthy sense of doubt, has kept me from ever falling under the influence of any of the major religions of the world, and I generally tend to take Lazarus’ view of the matter as being the most reasonable one can assume. If people wish to believe in that stuff, well and good, as long as they don’t try to force it down anyone else’s throat, we won’t have any issues….

My own take on the whole matter of life after death is this: it seems to me, whatever happens after we die, it must be more interesting, and more complex than what we are doing here, as it seems to take much longer to be dead than it does to be alive… which makes dying just another adventure, for an inquiring mind….

“After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” — J.K. Rowling, The Man with Two Faces, — Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1997, — spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore

Getting all worked up about who has the biggest, most powerful imaginary friend in this world, and who will go to the most attractive place when we die, all based on a delusional system of rewards and punishments for desired, or undesired, behaviors, isn’t the way I intend to spend my time here on Earth…. There’s too much really cool stuff going on in other areas of human existence to make that very attractive as a way to spend time. Instead, I’ll learn as much as I can of what is real, and what is important, and maybe, when I die, someone will be helped in some way by whatever I’ve found out, and left behind as a legacy….

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

Blessed Be, ffolkes…. You may as well enjoy life; as the Scots are fond of saying….”Be glad of living, for you’re a long time dead.”….
_____________________________

Today’s Pearl is the result of a short night’s sleep, and a long morning’s meandering through the fertile, if confusing, fields of my imagination and will…. It promises to be an epic struggle to proof, so I’ll get right on that…. while I still have the wherewithal to do so….

“Epic” was certainly the correct word choice for this Pearl. I know I write a lot, and I know it’s a lot to take in at one sitting; keep in mind it takes me a number of sittings each morning to produce these missives, so don’t feel bad if it’s hard to finish it all at once. But, I think this one is well worth it, as I got a lot of stuff out that has been percolating, and feel like I’ve tidied up a lot of space in my head that needed it….

If nothing else, I feel as if I’ve gotten in a sufficient number of direct hits on the BRC, so, I’m happy, for the nonce…. At least, until one of them goes and does something stupid, again, right out there for all of us to see… Be sure, I’ll point it out for y’all, and do my best to help y’all see some of the humor, and stupidity, that runs rampant in our society….

There, I even got in a little mini-rant in the closing section…. how’s that for going overboard, eh?…. 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

Picking random numbers in a somber mood….

Posted on August 11, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

It’s been a good while since the sight of a blank screen in the morning scared me overmuch; I’ve learned to deal with that particular fear rather well, I think. This morning, though, I can’t help but feel a bit of trepidation…. it’s so blank, and so white! Just the color (or lack of it….) is enough to start the trembling and gibbering that usually accompanies my fears of this nature…. It’s not that I’m a coward; the hundreds of fights I’ve had to jump into, in order to stop a battle, or to control someone in a rage, gave me more than enough proof that I’m not afraid of physical harm…. No, it’s the threat of a blank mind that gives me the heebie-jeebies….

But, in the last few weeks, I’ve found the solution, for the most part….. It’s not always pretty, but, it’s always a legal document, at least, it’s legal once I’ve let my head wander, dragging along my fingers, prancing them around the keyboard like little martinets. I always manage to find four or five paragraphs of relatively useless information have been deposited on screen, fulfilling my needs for an intro, at least from a legal point of view….. Artistically speaking, it’s a whole different ball of wax, but, nobody’s giving me any prizes or salary anyway, so it matters little in the long run. It gets me into the first section, where I can allow my creative side, whether it wants to rant, or go old-school, have its head…..

Still, there’s a small part of me that regrets my inability to find a template, or something consistent that could be used in this section to get us where we need to go….. It would make life easier, to be sure, but, since it doesn’t seem like it will ever happen, I don’t think I’m going to hold my breath until it does…. So, y’all will have to continue to suffer through these little personal conversations with myself, occasionally laughing, occasionally groaning, and often ducking in alarm, as some pretty dangerous concepts get thrown around at times, without any warning to speak of….

Then there are those mornings when, Murphy notwithstanding, things go badly, and I have to resort to one of my emergency procedures to get us out of the intro… Those days can be pretty tough to handle, especially if I am forced to resort to any of the procedures numbered 3 or 7….. those are both somewhat disruptive to the space-time continuum, and it can take a while for normality to resume its customary shapes…. Of course, I offer extra doses of Valium on those days, so it all balances out, mostly….

Why, look! It’s happened again….. Here we are, four and more paragraphs in, and not a single coherent word to be seen…. Oh, I know, it all SEEMS to be lucid, and reasonable, but, you’re not the one in my head, and can’t see what is really going on in there, so, be happy that is the case…. Even the strong have been known to faint in horror when confronted with that stuff too early in the day…. Regardless of all that, we’ve reached the legal line again, so we are now cleared to take off…. Y’all had best return to your seats, buckle up, and take your medication, because the ride is about to begin….

Shall we Pearl?….
_____________________________

This is going to be a strange little pearl…. I started out trying to pick quotes that would create an image of our society, showing not its strengths, but its weaknesses, with the intention of making fun of how silly it all is…. Well, I got a picture like that, but, silly isn’t the word I’d use to describe the image…. “Sad”, or “pathetic”, would be more accurate, I think…. It doesn’t even hit all of the high spots, in terms of all the stuff that is wrong with our culture, but, it does give a good idea of how fractured and disorganized it has become over time, until today, when nobody alive can make heads or tails out of it….. So, being strange, and sad, it thus gives a pretty good picture…. or, at least an accurate one….

“A hundred years ago we were much smarter; then you lived until you died and not until you were just run over.” — Will Rogers

“In the beginning was nonsense, and the nonsense was with God, and the nonsense was God.” –Friedrich Nietzsche

“Forward goes the vanguard of the lunatic fringe, tickling the death clowns of normality.” — HealNorm

“I’d like to see people, instead of spending so much time on the ethical problem, get after the problems that really affect the people of this country.” — Richard Nixon

“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the bible is filled, it would seem more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.” — Thomas Paine — The Age of Reason

“When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘Present’ or ‘Not guilty.'” — Theodore Roosevelt

“Fortune is like glass,–the brighter the glitter, the more easily broken.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 280

I feel as if this is not quite clear, so, I will add one more little powerful quote, to put it all into the proper perspective…..

“It’s so clean. It’s certainly uncontaminated by cheese.” — Smart Bee
_____________________________

So far today, all I seem to be able to produce is crap, or a reasonable facsimile thereof…. To avoid splashing any of that onto any other artists, especially those who have my respect and admiration, I’ll put in one of my own poems today, and hope for the best…. Enjoy!….

How It Works….

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

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

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

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

~~gigoid ~~

_____________________________

I should probably rant here, and actually have a good subject on which to go off…. However, my mood is such that I don’t have the patience to sit and be logical right now…. Not to mention the stiffness in my hips and back that is making it hard to sit for long…. Already this morning, I’ve been compelled to take a number of breaks, to stop my legs from going numb, or to prevent stiffness from building up…. Any who, all my physical handicaps aside, I just don’t feel like ranting, as I’d probably not just go off, but would most likely go over the top…. which is something y’all should strongly hope you never have to witness….

So, I’ll fall back on an old-school pearl to save the day…. In deference to my own lack of purpose this morning, I’ll let Smart Bee pick the subjects, and see what is in its little mind to highlight for discussion…. On the greater majority of times I let it have its own way, it seems to do very well, so…. off we go… Where we will end up has yet to be determined…. I hope it’s funny, though, I’m in the mood for funny….

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” — Sigmund Freud

“And on the 8th day Man, unable to cope, discovered drugs.” — Smart Bee

A traveler at Sparta, standing long upon one leg, said to a Lacedaemonian, “I do not believe you can do as much.” “True,” said he, “but every goose can.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Remarkable Speeches

But it’s all right now.
I’ve learned my lesson well.
You see, you can’t please everyone,
So you gotta please yourself!

— Ricky Nelson

“The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul is: WHAT DOES A WOMAN WANT?” — Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

“Never underestimate the power of soup.”– Smart Bee

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

Well, I was right about one part…. it is strange, for certain…. I like it, though…. Kind of like the runt of the litter, y’know, it’s always the cutest….
_____________________________

Okay, that does it…. I’m done for the day, and nothing you could say or do could conceivably make me do it over…. Even before I go to proof it, I know it will be one of the oddest Pearls I’ve ever created, so, I’m a bit leery…. Oh, well, it ain’t getting done while I sit here moaning about it…..

I’m totally unsure of just how this got done, but, it’s done, and didn’t come out all that badly…. It won’t win any prizes, I’m pretty sure, but, it won’t hurt anyone in particular, unless they identify too strongly with one part or another, so, that removes it from the realm of being a public nuisance…. which, on a day like today, is the best I can hope for…. Tomorrow will be better, or different, whichever comes first…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

Luring nuns back into the habit….

Posted on July 12, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Whereas, the production of this blog is essential to the proper functioning of my mind, and, hence, my life, and, whereas, producing said blog has saved my sanity on numerous occasions, and, whereas, nobody has stepped forward to tell me to stop, it is hereby decreed that publication will continue until death, or, more appropriately, until someone cries for mercy……. gigoid has spoken… so be it….

Sorry, just have to make it official now and then, to appease the gods of bureaucracy, that, despite having been retired for about three and a half years now, still have some influence on my actions, volitional as they may be at other times. It’s kind of like knocking on wood, or throwing salt over your shoulder when you spill it; old habits and superstitions die hard, and one never knows when one of the elder gods will take offense at something we’ve done to unconsciously insult them. It’s best to cover all the bases, as it were, right? No point in taking foolish chances, not in reality; it bites……

Now that is out of the way, I can dive right into today’s display of temper, or outburst of creativity, or just plain drivel (as is usually the case…), searching for just the perfect pearl to start things off…. You see, it’s all a random process, and I never know beforehand just what I’ll be doing, or where we’ll be heading off to to find something worth writing about…..

I’ve been watching the news, and the usual suspects are busily carrying on the normal course of idiocy out there in the public venue; I’ve even seen a couple of items that stirred me to write, almost…. However, the afterglow of contentment I have in my attitude bag from the cruise seems to have blunted my rant mode, at least temporarily….

Who knows? Not me…..It could pop out at any time, so, we’ll see what’s up when I begin to peruse Smart Bee in a few moments…. The first viewing of that little gem is always a surprise, as I never know if it will cooperate, or pretend to be dumber than it looks. It can be a pain, fortunately infrequently, but still on a regular basis, and I have no way to determine how it will act beforehand…. yet another example of how metaphor is everywhere in life, once one learns to see and appreciate its immense variety, as well as its ubiquitous presence as part of the fabric of reality…. which brings us around once again to where we need to be, poised and ready to dive in and begin the search for pearls of virtual wisdom…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“When the ten thousand things are seen in their oneness, we return to the source to remain where we have always been.” — Seng Ts’un.
_____________________________

“Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

Since we were talking about metaphor, and the power of the Metaphorse in reality (well, I was talking about it…..), the above is a perfect lead-in to a discussion of the finer points of how to take advantage of this phenomenon, or, at the very least, minimize the damage that NOT knowing, or not caring, can bring to those who ignore its power…..

Fortunately for y’all, I suspect my brain is still a bit too fuzzy to get into the subject deeply enough to make the correct point, or, sigh, to make the point correctly, (for any grammar Nazis out there….); making it incorrectly could conceivably cause even more damage…. Naturally, I’ll resort to my tried and true method for hiding my own shortcomings, and use the very power of which I speak, to put the message into an old-school pearl…. The point of this one should, by now, be completely transparent…. if not, well, there’s always tomorrow….. To preclude any whining, this will NOT be on the Quiz…..

“Beware the man of one book.” — St. Thomas Aquinas

“The impression forces itself upon one that men measure by false standards, that everyone seeks power, success, riches for himself, and admires others who attain them, while undervaluing the truly precious thing in life.” — Sigmund Freud

“Force has no place where there is need of skill.” — Herodotus

“It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Cleveland Press, 3/1/21

“I don’t want to panic, but my alphabet soup says, “Forget about me … just try to save yourself.”” — Tom Wilson (“Ziggy”)

Don’t have it yet? Okay, okay, I’ll clarify…. but, you only get two more….. if you don’t have it by then, well, I’ve failed, and will go shoot myself….I don’t want to die, so, please, pay attention…..

“God may be in the details, but it is also important to know the big picture.” — Deng Ming-Dao

“There’s only one way to kill a rat…” — Robert A. Heinlein

There…. it seemed only fitting to finish with Heinlein, as I’m a firm believer in the old Irish adage of “Begin as you mean to go on….” Whoops, it’s another metaphor…. Okay, I’m done for now…
_____________________________

I offer no apologies for the poems I pick to include in this section, but feel I should explain why they sometimes don’t fit with the rest of the Pearl, attitudinally (if that is a word….) (hmm, must be a word, because the spell checker didn’t even flinch…)…. Actually, it’s quite simple…. I use the same random method for this as for picking pearls…. If it grabs my eye and my fancy, it stays, even when it has little or nothing to do with the rest of the post… In this case, it is not altogether out of line, but, no matter, because it is one of my favorite poems….. Enjoy!…..

And Death Shall Have No Dominion

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead man naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan’t crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

~~ Dylan Thomas ~~

_____________________________

Whew! For a moment, I thought it was time for a rant, and I don’t have one on tap…. but, then I remembered it’s time for the next installment of the Alaskan Adventures…. Good thing!

After the intense (NOT!) experience of exploring Icy Point Strait and the booming Alaskan village of Hoonah, the ship sailed overnight to Juneau, where we spent the 4th of July, sans any overt displays of either fireworks, or excessive celebration of the holiday in a formal sense…. (Who needs a party when you’ve got some guy on board wearing a sleeveless American flag t-shirt with his used-to-be-greyish-white Bermuda shorts and flip flops, sweating his way through the buffet line?….)

A formal party wasn’t necessary, as we were docked at 7 AM, with two other huge cruise ships anchored in front of us, and another pulling in behind just after breakfast…. There was another Princess ship, a Holland American ship, and a Norwegian Cruises ship (shown below). This meant that close to 12,000 people were in town for the day; our own ship wasn’t scheduled to depart until midnight, due to a miscommunication with the town authorities….

It seemed as if at least 5 or 6,000 of them were walking around at any one time, all hell-bent on finding another 3D magnet or Tanzanite necklace…. If I’d still been in my twenties or thirties, I might have joined in the fracas at the Red Dog Saloon, one of Alaska’s oldest taverns, but, being 62, I just went back to the ship and took a nap after my (for me) extensive walk….

It seems that Juneau sets off its fireworks display for the 4th at midnight of the night before, to ring in the day with the hullabaloo rather than end it that way. (Alaskans are different, trust me…. They work at it….) Unfortunately, this didn’t get into the memo that Princess received, so we were there for the duration, with only the local stores and bars in which to while away the hours (a mistake for which I’m sure they were eternally grateful….).

I went a bit nuts again on the souvenirs, but did find all we needed to cover everyone on our lists, finding some rather cool stuff (gotta love that fake snow!….). We also overdid it on the walking, going ashore twice, and hoofing it about 2 miles each time, walking down the pleasant wharf-side path past the ships, or passing among the crowds on the sidewalks in front of the myriad of shops, bars, and restaurants that lined the streets nearby.

Having looked over the last two posts, and this one, I have to say I’m a bit disappointed in my pictures. I had thought I got more, and that they were better, but, so far they’re not up to snuff…. The next couple of days, in Tracy Arm Fjord and Victoria, will show a little better, though, as I got the hang of the camera better, and took more shots… I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, and did while taking them…..

_____________________________

Very well, then…. I shall now go peruse my effort….. Not too shabby, but needed a bit of punch-up, now done. Therefore, with no further ado, I shall take my leave, to go forth unto the new day, hopeful…. foolishly, perhaps, but hopeful, nonetheless….. I am, after all, getting fairly adept at this living stuff….. Now, if I can only learn to do it well….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

View Full Profile →

	katiemiafrederick on Are those Foster Grants to blo…
	katiemiafrederick on Funk-o-matic accessories are o…
	katiemiafrederick on Dodge those taxes with dignity…
	katiemiafrederick on Dodge those taxes with dignity…
	katiemiafrederick on But…. but…. what a…

gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Sigmund Freud

Are you sure? Forever and a day is a long time….

I’ll take a glazed incumbent pundit, and two preacher pops….

“Cake, or death” , as a manifesto, royally sucks wind….

Picking random numbers in a somber mood….

Luring nuns back into the habit….

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: