Tag Archives: Sir John VAnbrugh

Four is a very friendly number….

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Ffolkes,

“Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

POTD-baby-gorilla_3149579kFrom The London Daily Telegraph Pictures of the Week Feature


When I sat down to begin today, I had intended to start with the opening paragraph of another fanciful fictional piece, which come to me when I allow my mind to flow along certain lines…. However, plans changed when I was struck by the need to write my doctor a summary of an issue we are discussing re: my treatment, as part of the ongoing battle with my HMO to get the treatment I want, not what THEY want…. Battling with large, soulless corporations takes time, so, all of what I intended for this time has been usurped….

What does that mean for us now? Simple…. you win. No nonsense, no blathering, (other than what you are now seeing….), and no long, involved rant or introspection in this section…. I don’t have time now, as it’s already close to the time I generally try to get posted. So, this paragraph is the last one you’ll get today, almost as if it were a REAL introduction section. It’s funny how that works, isn’t it? I write copious amounts of, occasionally, good stuff, and, it’s mostly useless… Oh well, I suppose I’ve stumbled across another metaphor for my life…. SIGH….

Shall we Pearl?

“Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.” — H.L. Mencken

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11-15-2015 004They’re everywhere, they’re everywhere!


Today’s video choice is designed to take me back in time, to a simpler, more innocent age…. Wait…. No, that’s a different video…. This one takes us back, but, not to a time with any more innocence than is present in the world today…. It does, however, take us to some pretty good music, so, it will do for our purposes here today, which may defy description, but will nonetheless fill the bill… or the charlie, or the mary ellen…. Probably won’t fit in your pockets, though…. Maybe we should just go watch it….

Grateful Dead 9-30-89 Shoreline Amphitheater Mountain View CA

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“And today’s generation – growing up in a mess of a world created for them by the baby-boom generation, often has little respect for political authority.  They do not trust – and often rightly so – political leaders, and bear a cynicism previously unseen in this country and around the world.  How can they have any respect for governments trying to control the flow of information about bombs on the Internet, when those same governments are responsible the sale of arms and the subsidization of arms industries worldwide, resulting in the death and destruction of countless innocent people worldwide?” — Jim Carroll, 1997 Canadian Internet Handbook

http://talesfromtheconspiratum.com/2015/01/13/brilliant-idea-to-stop-police-brutality-citizens-engage-in-a-new-form-of-crowd-funded-direct-action-against-police-state/

Ffolkes….. I am afraid. I’m very afraid. The world is going to shit, and the only people who might be able to do anything about stopping it have any means to do so…. The inertial power to resist changes in society is not subject to manipulation by small, individual forces, other than by how they can affect the majority to make changes; there is no one alive today who has enough influence over enough people to stop the forces at work that will lead us to the End Game….. This is NOT speculation on my part; it is a logical, organized belief, based on the events transpiring today in the world, and an extensive knowledge of history, and human nature…. If you look at the signs from the past, and at the base flaws so obvious in our nature, it becomes obvious that we are a species destined to join the dodo, and T-Rex among the failed experiments on this planet….

There are, occasionally, signs of hopefulness among the populace; the above article outlines a very good sign, though one that holds its own dangerous elements of predictability…. How long do you think this society can last, when the vast majority of the population has been oppressed by a minority for millennia, and, because of advances in technology, finds out how they have been fooled for so long? The quote at the beginning of this section is all too true, boding ill for all of us when that mistrust comes to a boil….

The reaction by the people of Stockton gives us a clue, which, if extrapolated to suppose the effect on a world-wide basis, would indicate that a massive upheaval of the society of the entire planet is imminent, possibly even BEFORE the coming environmental crisis, which is completely unstoppable by any means we possess. It is entirely possible that revolution in society will take place at the same time we are fighting for our very lives as a species, as the planet’s ecosystem goes bonkers from all the chemical crap we’ve been depositing in the air, in the sea, and in the land, for centuries….

Won’t THAT be fun! You betcha!….

“Don’t look back, the lemmings are gaining on you.” — Smart Bee

I’ve stated this belief previously; I’m sure it’s getting to be old, at least in terms of the freshness of the material. But, I can’t seem to help myself; I’m afraid it’s already too late, and I can’t seem to keep from trying to wake people up to the danger we face…. Heinlein’s Crazy Years are upon us, but, we don’t have the advantage of being fictional, and our survival is NOT as simple as writing a new plot that solves all the formerly unsolvable difficulties we face, right here in REALITY…. I am afraid that, this time, we are not going to see a happy ending to our story…..

This makes me sad…. so sad, I am done ranting, and have begun to weep….. We are all going to die; that is something we all must come to terms with,at some point in our lives…. It makes me sad to know that our entire race will be faced with that, sooner than most of them realize, and all of our BEAUTY, all of our HOPE, all of our DREAMS are going to die with us…. and, as far as I can see, the people who could do something about it not only don’t seem to know of it, they wouldn’t care, as long as they could figure out a way to keep it from happening for THEM…. I guess the justice of life is that they are wrong, and they cannot escape their fate; I just wish they hadn’t taken all of us along with them on their ride to Hell….

I shall leave you now, probably with your thanks for cutting this short ringing in my ears…. That’s okay…. At this point, I’m feeling rather useless, anyway…. I’ll just leave you with the most appropriate thought I can find, which comes, naturally, from an old friend….

“Life is full of surprises when you’re up th’ stream of consciousness without a paddle…” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Since I’m late, you get Emily…. Or, make that, I get Emily; you get something other than my own poetry, always a bonus, I’m sure….

Because I could not stop for Death–
He kindly stopped for me–
The Carriage held but just Ourselves–
And Immortality.

We slowly drove–He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility–

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess–in the Ring–
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain–
We passed the Setting Sun–

Or rather–He passed us–
The Dews drew quivering and chill–
For only Gossamer, my Gown–
My Tippet–only Tulle–

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground–
The Roof was scarcely visible–
The Cornice–in the Ground–

Since then–’tis Centuries–and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity–

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~


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One thing I’ve learned over time; a pearl will fly if there are at least three of the key concepts present. Key concepts, of course, are the characteristics of human nature or existence which make for a life well-lived. There aren’t many of them, but, they’re powerful… They are also easy to identify, but, each person must figure out their own methods for doing so; that is what makes us all different…. Well, other than the simple fact of inhabiting different bodies, and positions in space…. In this pearl, those three necessary components are listed right there, in the pearls, for all to see…. but, just to be clear, if you look for thought, duty, truth, and virtue, you’ll figure the rest out, I’m sure…. Enjoy!….

Remembrance and reflection how allied!

What thin partitions sense from thought divide!

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 225 ~~


“Perish discretion when it interferes with duty.” — Hannah More

“We accept many notions because they seem to be the logical answers to our questions. But have we asked the right questions?” — Harold L. Klawans, MD

“A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently.” — St. Augustine

“Truth has not special time of its own.  Its hour is now — always and indeed then most truly when it seems unsuitable to actual circumstances.” — Albert Schweitzer

“Virtue is its own reward.  There’s a pleasure in doing good which sufficiently pays itself.” — Sir John Vanbrugh, The Relapse

Though man a thinking being is defined,

Few use the grand prerogative of mind.

How few think justly of the thinking few!

How many never think, who think they do!

~~ Jane Taylor (1783-1824) ~~

~~ Essays in Rhyme, (On Morals and Manners, Prejudice, ) Essay i, Stanza 45 ~~


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Though I’m not as late as it might seem, to my sense of propriety, I’m in White Rabbit mode. Don’t fret, that merely means I gotta go now… See y’all tomorrow ffolkes, as long as the internet stays up….

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

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
That’s not a real basilisk, is it?….

			
						

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Ffolkes,

It’s morning, and I mean that in a good way…..of course, I could be lying. Or, alternately, I could be telling the truth. There’s no way to really know, is there? All human communication revolves around that one little question, to wit: Is this idiot telling the truth, or is he living up to the poor expectations of the world around him, and lying his little butt off?  I never thought about it before, but it turns out that when we sit down to read something, we are expecting the truth. 


We just naturally assume (or perhaps not so naturally at all….) that the person of whom we have requested information, or are merely conversing with, is going to deal fairly, and tell the truth. But, you know something? The person to whom we are speaking has given no guarantees of the that, not usually. We don’t walk up and begin by saying, “Where is the men’s room, and please don’t lie to me….?”, now, do we? No we don’t. We just assume we’re getting the real deal, when in fact, we could be wandering around in a daze, looking as confused as we really are….

___________________________________


“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.” — G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, 9/11/09


Here is a line you probably won’t see in the letters to the editor section these days, though I see it did at least get published. It’s a pretty good example of how the beloved ruling class runs things; they tell the public what they should be afraid of, and shroud their lies in partial truths. They make demons out of the regular folks who live in another country, telling the public how they want to kill us and take away our freedoms, of which they are supposedly jealous. 


I’ll tell you what, I don’t think they’re jealous any more; I think they’re afraid of us, because we keep coming over and dropping bombs on them when they won’t sell us enough oil, or try to jack up the price too much. I think this country has no moral justification for the way we treat other nations; there can be none when the primary motivating factor is so obviously the money. Where’s the money? Just ask that question and watch them scurry around like the little parasites that they are…..

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As I learn to trust the Universe, I no longer need to carry a big stick, semiautomatic pistol, and bowie knife.


This process is running backward for me. The more I experience, and the more I observe in the world around me, the stronger becomes my urge to arm myself in more than merely a figurative sense. And if one intends to obtain arms for use, there’s no sense in them being of second rate or smaller caliber. 


I figure a 16 gauge pump action over & under, a good rifle or two, two or three different range handguns, and assorted peripheral weapons of a sharp nature, for both hand-to-hand (daggers, stilettos, bayonets, swords) and at-a-distance fighting (shuriken, throwing knives, blowguns; maybe a slingshot with explosive pellets, or a crossbow with explosive bolts, just in case). That list ought to allow the flexibility for me deal with most situations. If not, well, it won’t be for lack of planning, or fire power, on my part…..

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“Virtue is its own reward.  There’s a pleasure in doing good which sufficiently pays itself.” — Sir John Vanbrugh, The Relapse


….A few days ago, we (that’s the royal ‘we’, meaning me, or I, or both of us in here…) discussed the reverse of this proposition, to wit: “Stupidity, like Virtue, is its own reward.”–David E. Williamson. It was the contemplation of this subject from which the inspiration for axiom #4 of Peruaosophy sprang. That axiom reads, “Excellence is its own reward”, and remains as one of the lynch-pins of my personal beliefs. 


I discovered the truth of this proposition at a young age, and the attitude served me well enough over the years that I was adjudged as valedictorian of my high school graduating class. Mind you, that’s not a guarantor of success in life; there aren’t any guarantees issued to any of us for that. But, it sure is a good way to give what one actually does the greatest possibility of succeeding. It is certainly more effective than just doing the minimum required, with the bonus of feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that never accompanies a half-hearted effort……

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“The hardest part about gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche. As long as that niche is occupied, evidence and proof and logical demonstration get nowhere. But once the niche is emptied of the wrong idea that has been filling it – once you can honestly say, “I don’t know,” then it becomes possible to get at the truth.” — Robert A. Heinlein


Bob obviously sees this in a clear light. But the way he said this seems to imply that emptying out a false belief is not extremely difficult to do, and can even be useful in assisting others to see the light. That just isn’t so. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more difficult than getting someone to give up on a false belief, especially if it has been held since childhood. People treat these types of beliefs as if they were carved into stone, sent down from heaven on a tablet carved by the hand of God, because they were led to believe in its truth at an age when they had no preconceptions, or any defense against them, and accepted everything they were told by their parents as valid information, with no need for verification.


As social creatures, we need to be able to make that assumption, that what others tell us is true. But reality often differs from our assumptions, because a lot of humans don’t abide by the same rules as everyone else does. A significant proportion of people, knowing that others tend to believe what they’re told, will use that characteristic to take advantage, lying their little hearts out to achieve the goals on their agenda, not caring at all whether they have used the other person selfishly. 


It is therefore in our best interests to submit any information from others to our own personal crap detector, to determine whether the data can be trusted…. everyone has one, everyone is issued one at birth. Most folks tend to forget it is there, so it gets rusty from disuse; it’s there, though. One merely needs to learn to use it on a daily, or even hourly basis….. and don’t be afraid to use the delete button with joyful abandon……

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A rabbi spoke with God about heaven and hell. “I will show you hell,” God said, and they went into a room which had a large pot of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious, but around the pot sat people who were famished and desperate. All were holding spoons with very long handles which reached to the pot, but, because the handles were longer than their arms, it was impossible to get the stew back into their mouths. 


“Now I will show you heaven”, God said, and they went into an identical room. There was a similar pot of stew, the smell was delicious, and the people had identical spoons, but they were well-nourished and happy. “It’s simple,’ God said. “You see, they have learned to feed one another”. — Medieval Jewish story


Now, see, isn’t that a fine little parable? Another piece of evidence, in my mind, that all of the major forms of religious belief have their roots in the truth, even if the reality of life they observe and pursue is based on unjustifiable faith. When one stops to think about it, that is actually a pretty good description of how most, if not all, of the major religions operate. The basic truths they espouse are the same, for the most part, (humility, honor, compassion, justice, charity), but the method of expressing those virtues varies widely, according to cultural habits that dictate the specific form it takes.


In simpler terms, people invariably distort the basic premises upon which religions were founded, turning the articles of faith into a tool for manipulating other people, for their own personal gain. It has happened time after time throughout mankind’s short but eventful history, and continues to this very day. It’s also the primary reason that I avoid most churches and religions as I go about my business; the interactions invariably turn into dangerous neighborhoods of discussion, often ending in clashes of discordant argument, and mutual resentment. Better all around that I just leave them to their own devices…..which I tend to do, religiously….

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Not a bad morning’s work, if I do say so…. it’s certainly more than good enough for government work, a beast with which I am all-too-familiar. Brr, makes me shiver, just remembering….. well, another day out there to explore. Let’s see what trouble we can stir up today….. Y’all take care out there…..




—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!