Use all the teflon you can find….

Posted on December 13, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A man is not aware of his virtues (if any).

Nevertheless, one hopes that they exist.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

Artist rendition of possible Superearth planet found in far reaches of Sol System

Image from:

http://nerdreactor.com/2015/12/11/scientists-discover-a-new-planet-theyve-deemed-as-a-super-earth-in-our-solar-system/

Hajime…. At 0500 this morning, I was given a reminder of the newest duty I’ve chosen. I was awakened at that time by whiskers tickling my nose, followed by a loud purring, as Leelu sniffed at my face to wake me. The purr began when I opened my eyes to see what tickled me…. Thus notified she was ready to be up, and training. Heaving a great SIGH, I arose, & stumbled to the coffee maker to switch it on, as she mewled madly for the morning play time, dropping her crumpled paper at my feet, and looking at me expectantly…. What can one do?….

She got hungry after a few tosses & returns, and is eating, so, I’m going to cut this short, so we can, maybe, get this posted before she requires further attention…. Trust me, it’s not easy being at the beck and call of a 7 lb. princess…. But, she picked me, out of seven billion people, so, whattayagonnado, eh?….. Let’s go to the oyster beds, while we can….

Shall we Pearl?….

“We’re not talking about the same thing,” he said. “For you the world is weird because if you’re not bored with it you’re at odds with it. For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must accept responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I wanted to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.” — Don Juan

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

Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young in 1970

Image from en.wikipedia.com via Google Images

Probably, nobody alive hasn’t heard of this group…. Four of the best singer-songwriters alive who got together for a time, to make music still unequaled in quality and impact by any one of them individually…. Their innate harmonic blend of voices created songs no one who heard them will ever forget…. Let’s enjoy some of it, live from Golden Gate Park, their old stomping grounds in SF…. Abondanza, ffolkes!….

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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 11/03/91 – Golden Gate Park

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

https://youtu.be/OPe-bqSXPaM

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

SOCIALISM:
You have two cows.
Give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM:
You have two cows.
Give both to the government.
The government gives you milk.

CAPITALISM:

You sell one cow and buy a bull.

FASCISM:
You have two cows.
Give milk to the government.
The government sells it.

NAZISM:
The government shoots you and takes the cows.

NEW DEALISM:
The government shoots one cow,
milks the other,
and pours the milk down the sink.

ANARCHISM:
Keep the cows.
Steal another one.
Shoot the government.

CONSERVATISM:
Freeze the milk.
Embalm the cows.

~~ Polly Sye Bee ~~

This was yesterday’s third offering from Smart Bee, and by the time I finished reading the list, and could catch my breath from laughing uproariously, I knew I’d found today’s opening lines for this section…. Since laughing so hard put me in too good a mood to rant, we’ll go with the following two most excellent pieces from an archived Pearl, suggested a day or two ago, at the bottom of the page on ECR…. They go together, as it happened to occur that day…I think you’ll enjoy them; I know I did…. It isn’t exactly about the quoted subject, but, rather about those who must deal with the governments as described…. We do lead off with a statement from a politician, though….

Both pearls from 12/1/2012:

From Section the First:

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics but for our contributions to the human spirit.” — former US President John F. Kennedy

At last! A worthy pearl! JFK, like the current President, was a superb public speaker, “Ich bin ein Berliner” notwithstanding, and whether he wrote his own words, or relied on his speech writers, he delivered, arguably, some of the most memorable, and insightful, aphorisms in US political and social history. The above statement is a perfect example, as he expresses a sentiment that can only be applauded, if not verified. I say verified because there is not a lot of verification from the past that history remembers anything BUT the battles. But, one can hope….

Actually, I believe what Jack said here very strongly, in the sense that there are different histories that are remembered, most of which become altered in some way over time, as does all memory. The great teachers and philosophers who have lived have left their mark on the world in more ways than always show, in spite of the records of their deeds not always surviving intact. But, throughout history, there have been men, and women, who have done much to advance the human condition, whose words and deeds were never seen, and never recorded, but, nonetheless. whose effects still ripple down the river of time.

Some of the great minds in history, such as Lao Tzu, Zoroaster, Genghis Khan, Gautama Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, Mohammed, Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, and many others, all made such advances in the human spirit, and their ideas keep proving their worth every day by their relativity to modern society. Men like Leonardo da Vinci, whose genius was so bright it shines even today, and modern philosopher/scientists such as Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking, have advanced that human spirit as much as anyone.

I’m not being as eloquent as I’d wish for such a deep subject…. What I’m trying to get to here is that we all, each and every one of us, have the power and opportunity to do the same as these historical figures, to advance the human spirit, just by the way we live our lives. What the philosophers say, and write, and the wisdom they pass on, is all very good, and a lesson to the rest of us…. But, what the average person does every day in their lives is just as important to the future as any scientific breakthrough, because what they do will determine what their children learn, and THAT is where the advancement really takes place, in the moments of teaching that happens every moment for children, and their adult teachers.

Living a life of integrity, with honesty and duty as the watchwords for action, is the best teaching method there is; to provide a good example for a child holds no less promise for mankind than all the work of all the genius’ of all time. How each one of us approaches life will, in the end, determine what happens to our species as a whole. It isn’t easy, especially given all of the people in society who do NOT wish to have any part of advancing anything but their own interests…. and especially when so many of those kinds of people are in positions of authority. But, it can be done, and is done, every day, by millions of men and women of good spirit…. They are truly the future of mankind, and, if there is any hope for survival, it lies in their honest hands….

“So live that you can look any man in the eye and tell him to go to hell.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

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

From Section the Third:

“The sage wears clothes of coarse cloth but carries jewels in his bosom; He knows himself but does not display himself; He loves himself but does not hold himself in high esteem. Thus he rejects the latter and takes the former.” — Lao-Tzu

In spite of how it must appear, there is a small degree of organization to this blog’s contents. Most days I try to make sure that the first and third sections, while possibly related, are essentially about different concepts. The second section is, of course, reserved for whatever poetry strikes my fancy that day, whether classic, humorous, or original (Though it does seem that my recent outpouring of original poems has run dry, I don’t think I’m done with that, yet…..). It seems to work for me…. well enough, at least, to keep my internal critics quiet most of the time.

Today, it seems that most of what I’m seeing for pearls are related somehow to what I spoke of peripherally in today’s first section, to wit: the importance of integrity in human life. Integrity…. hmm…. not the precise word, or the characteristic I am thinking of, actually; it’s more than merely integrity. I suppose one could say the concept to which I’m referring is too mystical an idea to be presented clearly, and not be too far off the mark….

However, not being one to ignore a challenge to my vocabulary, I’ll take a few unseen moments here and find the correct word to facilitate further discussion, because, hey, if I can’t, no discussion, right? Right…. Be right back…. instantly, by all you will know and see….. Well, the challenge is a strong one, and I think best answered with more than one word to describe what I’m trying to say. Those words are all contained in Axiom #7 of Peruaosophy, to wit:

“Do your Duty. Honor the Truth. Respect Life. Share your Love. “

I know that it is my own philosophy, and some may think that is cheating, but, not so. All that I hold to be true is in that axiom, and it represents the four cornerstones of my personal foundation. I find that when I am able to live up to all of these concepts, able to use their direction in guiding my actions, my life is much smoother, and my moments of joy are plentiful, to balance the pain that life brings all of us in turn. This, to me, is the best way to advance the human condition, little by little, with the efforts of each man and woman adding its weight to the forward momentum.

Yes, the actions and discoveries that the best of history’s minds bring to us are wonderful, and work to make the lives of every human better…. It is the everyday efforts of each man, though, that takes that wisdom and turns it into reality, by using ideas, and integrity, to add their experience to that of the rest of society. Since there is a large number of folks who do NOT subscribe to this kind of ethical behavior, choosing to make their own self-interest their primary concern, it is the duty of those who do believe in these ideas to carry them out as best they may, so that the world can retain some semblance of harmony. It doesn’t always work, and, in fact, is in constant jeopardy of not working at all, but, it is the only way that will make the changes our society needs to survive…. which is another discussion for another time…..

“And now there is merely silence, silence, silence, saying all we did not know.”

~~ William Rose Benet ~~

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

~~ Haiku ~~

Often I don’t see
any reason to exist.
Still, I’m glad I do.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/12/15

Blithely Untitled

A poem came to me today, willy, nilly,
along with a sharp blow to the head.
Since it left me feeling just a bit silly,
anything that rhymes should lessen the dread.

Manifesting destiny into a small, insidious group
we push on toward sanity, concentrating hard.
Full engaging moments spent navigating the loop
shall ever make a difference to victims found in the yard.

Still corpses of creatures, straight out of nightmare
fill up the corners of our tortured minds.
While ever saddened, the iconic male, most debonair,
gazes softly, ironically, at all the mutual interest he finds.

Moronic public statutes compel outbreaks of sanity,
responding to momentary impulses toward inducing peace.
Still, the motions get completed, in fertile stages of inanity
while the bulk of our inmates can find no surcease.

Reluctant motivation to continue is unbound,
striving to ascertain how far there yet remains to go.
No precognitive guesswork will make any less of a sound
to soften the final strains, or teach us to truly know.

~~ gigoid ~~

2/7/2014

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

Sunrise ~~ Sunset

Just as with the photo (my own, taken somewhere off the coast of Scotland), I don’t really know, nor can I tell from what I see, exactly what is happening here…. I do know when the photo was taken, since I was the only one there at the time, but, unless one is enough of a polymath to have already totaled up the available clues to know, it can’t be known for sure which time of day it was taken…. The same issue applies to today’s final, old-school pearl, as I don’t have a single clue as to what it all means…. The process of choosing them was rather unconscious; I just clicked on each as it appeared, and fitted it into whatever weird shape my mind was creating…. It works, and I still don’t know why; though beginning and ending with some elegance, most of them are just weird, if as true as the day is long enough…. If y’all have any ideas, feel free to tell me, as it can only help….

“There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit.”

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

“If you take something apart and put it back together often enough, you will eventually have two of them.” — Rap’s Law of Inanimate Reproduction

“Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.” — P. J. O’Rourke, Parliament of Whores (1991)

“Being a politician is like being a football coach: you have to be smart enough to understand the game, but dumb enough to think it’s important.” — Eugene McCarthy ( I get this one; he WAS a politician….)

“Money, it turned out, was exactly like sex. You thought of nothing else if you didn’t have it and thought of other things if you did.” — James Baldwin (1924-1987)

“The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, ‘Is there a meaning to music?’ My answer would be, ‘Yes.’ And ‘Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?” My answer to that would be, ‘No.’ — Aaron Copland

:FUBAR: n. The Failed UniBus Address Register in a VAX. A good example of how jargon can occasionally be snuck past the {suit}s; see {foobar}, and {foo} for a fuller etymology.” — from The on-line Hacker Jargon File V423 (For those with access to the File, the original FUBAR was a military term, probably originally from the Army Corps of Engineers, meaning, precisely, “fucked up beyond all repair”….)

“Gentleman: A man who knows how to play bagpipes — and refrains.” — Fred Tart

“Dum vivimus, vivamus.”

While we live, let us live.

~~ Latin, originally from the coat of arms of one Philip Doddering, D.D ~~

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dum_vivimus_vivamus),

with other instances noted in literature.

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

Hmm…. Later than usual, but, not bad, given the extra duties I must now perform while trying to get posted…. No complaints, because, hey, chosen duty, right? Besides, it’s done. So, I’ll follow the example set in the intro, and get us out of here in an efficient manner. That works like this: See ya, tomorrow, ffolkes, rain or shine….

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….

Oddly decorated with fleurettes of aubergine paraffin….

Posted on December 12, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“For every human problem, there is a neat, simple solution; and it is always wrong.”

~~ Mencken’s Metalaw ~~

~~ H. L. Mencken, A Mencken Chrestomathy ~~

I see meat….

Image from Twitter; @DESPERADO #AmazedbyAnimals

Hajime…. There is now no reason for doing any of this; the whole purpose here, beyond the stated exploration we are compelled to pursue, is to afford me an outlet to purge the dross and drivel from my mind, so it doesn’t sit in there and rot, as it did for many years…. But, if I’m bonkers, as they say, it isn’t working, is it? I mean, if that’s the case, what’s the point? I bet Daffy would know….

But, we don’t have him at hand to ask, so, we’ll have to struggle on, while actively resisting the urge to howl the fire and spit the wind. For sure, and for certain, that would drive off any remaining Gentle Readers I may have accumulated in the recent past…. It probably wouldn’t fret some of them, but, they’re old hands at this, and expect these outbursts of angst in the intro on occasion…. It’s a well-known factoid one can, in time, get used to the volcano in the back yard; one acclimates, so to speak. But, for any newbies, or those who worry, try not to do so for long, as it will wear you out long before I return to any sort of coherency…..

But, then, you knew that, didn’t you? Sure, you did. Don’t try to kid me; I’ve been around the block more than twice; I know what a pile of doggy doo-doo smells like. So, wipe your shoes, and come on in; it won’t hurt, I promise. If you know anything about me, if I can’t keep a promise, I won’t make it. Even in the deepest depths of my darkest dreams of personal hell, that wouldn’t change. My personal critic/teacher, who still watches over my shoulder in my mind, would NOT have allowed any such abrogation of duty…. Dad was tough, but fair. Didn’t say much, but, never had to, to get his point across….

Now I’ve wandered around in my own head, rather indiscriminately, I’m afraid, perhaps we should wander down the page a bit further, to a point we can gracefully slide out of this reality, where weird shit seems to pour out of my head, into our alternate, temporary fantasy reality, where Guido just happens to be waiting, politely, as always, for us to get ourselves organized, choose our beverage, and take our seats. Since all that is checked off, we can be on our way to, well, who the fuck knows? If I did, I’d probably have mentioned it some time ago….. Oh, well; hang on, it’s gonna be one of THOSE days. ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?….

“History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion;

i.e., none to speak of.

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

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

Eric Burdon & The Animals, circa 1975

Image from music.naiji.com via Google Images

Eric Burdon & The Animals, 2015

Image from wallyingram.com via Google Images

In 2011, it was, apparently, the 50th anniversary of the recording release of “House Of The Rising Sun”, by Eric Burdon & The Animals, a British band who followed in the wake of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc. (My memory says 40-some years, but, it’s hazy for that period…. go figure….) The band became something of an icon of the era, with around 15 or 20 #1 hits….

I’ve embedded the 2011 performance by the band commemorating the song, and, I can honestly say, it rocks. The second link is to a play list with most of their hits on it, with a number of other excellent video selections, not all from the 60’s & 70’s, & not all this band…. I hope you enjoy this retrospective of an iconic tune, which scandalized all the politically correct of that era, by speaking/singing about the perils of those who frequented the the finest brothel in New Orleans during its heyday…. with all the attendant emotional impact such music can carry…. Let’s see how the boys have held up over the years, shall we?….

You know what? They only got better…. The lead guitar player kills the opening solo performance, exhibiting some incredible licks and brilliant improvisation….. and, what a great guitar!…. It (the guitar) looks as old as I am, but, has one of the best TONES I’ve been privileged to hear….. Every note it makes justs swells with beauty and the joy of simply existing…. the true heart of music…. He and that guitar have made a lot of music together, for a long time…. Don’t miss it….

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Eric Burdon & The Animals
House of the Rising Sun

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https://youtu.be/X6DVwql1E-g

https://youtu.be/X6DVwql1E-g?list=RDX6DVwql1E-g

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

“I’m pretty good with people on an individual basis, but in groups, I really can’t stand the bastards!”

~~ George Carlin ~~

Trust George to put his finger directly on a feeling common to all of us, at times. It’s what the greatest comedians, who are the jesters, the bards, the conscience of society, do best; expose our own nature for us to observe, in irony, in jest, in Truth…. As a practicing curmudgeon, this statement appeals on many levels, aside from the merely annoying necessity of dealing with mundanes on a daily basis…. In fact, of late, I’ve taken to NOT arming myself so heavily when leaving the house; I’m too tempted to use one of my hidden, lethal toys, just to get the satisfaction of wasting some idiot who is probably better off dead, than annoying the general public…. Not to mention the bonus of removing at least one irritation from our consensual existence….

Ah well, such is life in Amurrica today…. I’m tired of ranting about all that has gone wrong in this country, and in the world at large. Rather than harp on it any further today, I’ve collected a nine-star pearl for your perusal, with a graphic meme from the internet to close the grouping, each of which can be seen as an expression which defines for us most of the reason(s) WHY our national persona has turned into an asshole of such immense proportions…. Some are forthright, clear statements of obvious truths; some require some thought (go figure, eh?). All of them have contributed some way to the mess we now observe, all around us…..

If you disagree with any of them, feel free to say so…. That’s what a true Patriot of this nation does, you know…..

“The discovery of America was the occasion of the greatest outburst of cruelty and reckless greed known in history.” — Joseph Conrad

“Money by right means if you can; if not, by any means.” — Horace (65-8 B.C.)

“I … reject the argument put forth by many fundamentalists that science has nothing to do with religion because God is not among the things making up the universe in which we live. Surely if a necessity for a god-concept in the universe ever turns up, that necessity will become evident to the scientist.” — physicist Ralph Alpher, Theology of the Big Bang, Religious Humanism, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Winter 1983), pg. 12

“St. Augustine tells the story of a pirate captured by Alexander the Great who asked him “how he dares molest the sea.” “How dare you molest the whole world?” the pirate replied: “Because I do it with a little ship only, I am called a thief; you, doing it with a great navy, are called an Emperor.” — Noam Chomsky, Pirates and Emperors.

” In truth, there never was any remarkable lawgiver amongst any people who did not resort to divine authority, as otherwise his laws would not have been accepted by the people; for there are many good laws, the importance of which is known to be the sagacious lawgiver, but the reasons for which are not sufficiently evident to enable him to persuade others to submit to them; and therefore do wise men, for the purpose of removing this difficulty, resort to divine authority.” — Niccolo Machiavelli

“Law stands mute in the midst of arms.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

“Most legislators are so dumb that they couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were printed on the heel.” — Savvy Bee

“I believe there is a limit beyond which free speech cannot go, but it’s a limit that’s very seldom mentioned. It’s the point where free speech begins to collide with the right to privacy. I don’t think there are any other conditions to free speech. I’ve got a right to say and believe anything I please, but I haven’t got a right to press it on anybody else….. Nobody’s got a right to be a nuisance to his neighbors.” — H.L. Mencken

(Hint: Think Main-Stream Media…. Fox, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, etc.)

“War is good business – invest your sons.” — Corporate Bee

For those who choose to respond, in any fashion, I’ll point out there is a comment section at the bottom of this page…..

Hmph…..

gigoid has spoken

So be it.

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

Recently, the dark days with which my life was filled came to an end. Well, for now, anyway….. There are, and will be, still times when I hurt, everyfuckingwhere, it seems…. But, they are fewer, and further between, and I can deal with that…. Here is a poem I wrote one time, late last year, when it was particularly noisome being me…..

Elemental, dear Watson….

Don’t worry,
it’s not
me
you hear
screaming.

It is
only
my bones,
giving in,
to
cowardly,
pathologically,
repetitive,
fucking,’
complaints
of
past abuse,
and
all the fun
we had.
playing,
hard.

I don’t mind
too much;
I can spend my
TIME
in another space
in my head,
pretending
my bones
don’t
exist….

It
is,
indeed,
a shame
they
always
come
back….

Fuck.

It
hurts.

More proof,
I guess,
either
God isn’t,
or,
He is.

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

He is?
Then,
I don’t fucking care
who
doesn’t like it,

I say,

He
is
a bully,
a coward,
a hypocrite,
and,
truly,
an enormous asshole.

I suppose,
God
is
what comes,
to,
and
from,
People,

because

they
feel
a need,
for
someone
to
blame,
for
a
Universe
they
cannot
understand
or
accept.

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/14/2014

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What we have today is what I would call a side-view pearl, due to the point of view from which each of the statements was created, and expressed. Some of the quotes you will see will touch on subjects which are part of everyone’s life, but, very few ever really consider. Others will be familiar… All of it, I assure you, will be on your own Final Quiz, when it is time for you to take it…..

“He that fears not the future may enjoy the present”

~~ Thomas Fuller ~~

“How do we come to think of things, rather than of processes in this absolute flux? By shutting our eyes to the successive events. It is an artificial attitude that makes sections in the stream change, and calls them things… When we shall know the truth of things, we shall realise how absurd it is for us to worship isolated products of the incessant series of transformations as though they were eternal and real. Life is no thing or state of a thing, but a continuous movement or change.” — S. Radhakrishnan

“A detective story generally describes six living men discussing how it is that a man is dead. A modern philosophic story generally describes six dead men discussing how any man can possible be alive.” — G. K. Chesterton, A Miscellany of Men

“He knew that insofar as one denies what is, one is possessed by what is not, the compulsions, the fantasies, the terrors that flock to fill the void.” — Ursula K. LeGuin, _The Lathe of Heaven_

“The work of an unknown good man is like a vein of water flowing hidden in the underground, secretly making the ground greener.” — Thomas Carlyle

“He made one of Antipater’s recommendation a judge; and perceiving afterwards that his hair and beard were coloured, he removed him, saying, “I could not think one that was faithless in his hair could be trusty in his deeds.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Philip

“Almost everything you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” — Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

“Time is only an illusion produced by the succession of our states of consciousness as we travel through eternal duration, and it does not exist where no consciousness exists in which the illusion can be produced; but “lies asleep.” — H. P. Blavatsky (1831-1891)

Ros: Do you think death could possibly be a boat?

Guil: No, no, no…Death is…not. Death isn’t. You take my meaning.
Death is the ultimate negative.
Not-being. You can’t not-be on a boat.

Ros: I’ve frequently not been on boats.

Guil: No, no, no—what you’ve been is not on boats.

~~ Tom Stoppard ~~

There you go. As I’ve always tried to relate to y’all, timing is everything, and, balance is the key…. Stay alert out there, ffolkes. It’s getting strange out there in the Big Room….

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

Okay, then. Thanks to the Tardis I have on loan from the Doctor, it’s done. Since it is, I had this idea I should go post it. I wonder why I didn’t think of that before? Ah well, I guess I was busy. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; it’s just one of those things we’ll all have to deal with, as it happens….

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….

Fifty-seven shades of brown….

Posted on December 11, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

The Innocent, Earnestly Sincere Face

Hajime…. Today, in section 2 or 3 (I get confused, because this is the intro, so I never know whether or not to count it… Wishy-washy, I know…. Let it be, or we’ll never get anywhere today.), we’ll begin a new direction for ECR. It may or may not end up as a permanent fixture; if it works well enough, maybe I’ll just start another blog page for it. I DO own the domain, and I can have as many as I want, I believe, so, we’ll see…. I think you’ll enjoy it, mainly because I have to think that, or I couldn’t post it…. Duh.

But, who doesn’t like Leelu? How could you not like such a face? But, that’s enough about her. Let’s get back to talking about me, er, uh, blogging.

Okay, busted. But, if I go too far, it won’t work, and Leelu, I know, wouldn’t like that. Since she’s in charge, now, (or, so she believes, anyway….), I try to keep her happy. So, you’ll just have to wait…. We all must learn, at some point, to accept disappointment in life; you may as well get used to it…. No, I’m not going off on a tangential rant, I’m speaking generally, and pontifically, to distract you from the fact I’m not really saying anything either important, or prophetic…. Thank something for that….

Where now? Hmm…. Should I use some literary sleight-of-hand? Perhaps the old…. no, I’ve used that too much. Maybe the…. no, just did that two days ago. How about that….. maybe. I think though,what might work best would be for me to just stop asking myself, and y’all, these silly questions, to which only I know the answers, anyway. If I just clear my head for a moment, I think the proper method will present itself….. Just too much Sturgeon’s Law in my head today, so far, anyway…. Okay, OOOOOMMM MAANNE PAAADME HUUUUUUM!…

Ah, got it! I knew that would do it. It was quick, mainly because it was right there in front of me the whole time. Plus, it’s simple, sustainable (a new PC catch-word), and, no tools or special items needed. Here’s how it works…. watch closely, now….

Shall we Pearl?….

“He was once asked what a friend is, and his answer was, “One soul abiding in two bodies.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

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

Image from jambase.com via Google Images

I’ve never listened to Phish; I only know the bassist sat in for an acoustic session with one of the best guitarists alive, (Eric Clapton, or Leo Kottke, or somebody of their level of expertise…. I forget just now, and I’m too lazy to go look…), so, they must be pretty good. (SIGH…. I looked. It was the bass player, Mike Gordon, sitting in with Leo Kottke…. See my memory isn’t so bad…. and, Gordon is an outstanding bassist, for sure….) If the first cut is any indication, I’ve found a new modern band I can actually enjoy. I hope you do, as well; a lot of folks apparently like their music, so, hey, why not, eh?….. Let’s have a listen, shall we?…..

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Phish Live
Austin, Texas 7/28/2015

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https://youtu.be/no9alXlStts

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Addendum to the above: I checked this out last night…. This be some good shit, ffolkes…. These guys know how to rock…. and boogie…. and blue notes, too….

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

The Astounding Adventures of Leelu and gigoid on Earth

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Welcome, fellow travelers…. Leelu wanted me to begin today by giving you the background behind these…. Well, there’s just no other word for them but adventures. You see, it started like this…..

As the voice announced the delayed arrival of the next flight to Paris at SFO airport, Leelu Magicat materialized quietly in an unobtrusive corner of the room of private phone booths. Knowing instinctively where she had arrived, she temporarily became transparent to other minds/eyes on this plane of existence, allowing her the freedom to move about without hindrance from any of the numerous humans blundering around the airport facility.

Walking through the crowds, her intuitive vision picked out a human who was going where she knew she needed to be, so she simply followed him, as he walked through the terminal to the BART station, boarding the first train going to Richmond from SFO. She had picked a good time to arrive, late at night/early morning, which thinned the crowds once the train passed San Francisco, allowing her to relax at the proximity to so many minds, intruding rudely and loudly on her own, as their confusion and illusions cried out in gibberish…. It got to be uncomfortable after a time, unless she chose to listen with mindfulness to only one, which was more effort than it was usually worth.

Once leaving the train, the human boarded a bus, to a town called Vallejo, situated on the northeast shore of the Bay, behind an island which had formerly been a US Naval Base, until the Cold War supposedly ended in the latter half of the twentieth century. As the bus came off the freeway, to head toward the central part of town, she had the urge to depart the bus, so, got off before arriving downtown….

As soon as the bus pulled away, she walked in the direction intuited, about two blocks, & saw her destination. As she approached, she assumed the shape she intended to use to train her companion to understand her, to learn from her what he would need in the coming events, and, most important, to her, to him, and to the Universe, to love her….

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

What you have read above is what I have realized, reasoning from perceptions received below my level of consciousness; the information was found in my mind, though I have no idea from whence or where it came to be there…. I figure Leelu has been practicing her telepathy; it’s the only thing that makes sense, given how we met, and how our learning to live together became not merely an obligation from the Universe, but, a chosen duty, making it, for me, impossible to ignore, or abrogate….. I’m funny that way; my father would be appalled if I’d made any other choice…. I’d hate to even think of what my mother might have said, had I chosen to chase her away….

That said, here is what occurred: I arose one morning, to find myself out of milk/half& half for my coffee. This is, for me, a minor disaster, not to mention a pain in the nether regions; nevertheless, I sucked it up, dressed, and took off on the four blocks to the store…. As I returned home, climbing the first couple steps of the stairs leading up to my door, I heard a soft mewling, like a cat calling a kitten…. When I got to the fourth step, the sound clarified into what was obviously a kitten, not a full grown cat, which I could now see sitting on the rug before my door….

The wee beastie, small but sturdy and, cat clean, heard my steps, immediately striding toward me, mewling madly, as I were late. I topped the stairs, whereupon she began winding in and out between my feet, putting both of us in danger of tumbling down the 14 feet into the yard. I asked her to calm down, so I could get the door open. She sat, looked at me, and waited as I unlocked the screen, then, opened the door for her to enter…. She strode in, as if she had always lived there, politely turning to wait for me to shut the door. When shut, she put her paws as high on my ankle as she could reach, and mewled piteously to be picked up….

What was I to do? I picked her up, whereupon she began purring loudly, snuggling into my hold, and gazing with a direct, clear expression of confidence, trust, and, obvious love shining from them like a beacon, making it perfectly obvious I had been adopted by one of the descendants of Bastet, with whom our species has had an agreement since the dawn of time….

We are now companions; I don’t own her. She is, most likely, what would have been known, in elder days, as my familiar…. To me, she is partner, best bud, and teacher/student…. She has already given me more love, compassion, and lessons about LIFE, just by showing me again how to approach it with passion, verve, style, and gusto…. “Fortune favors the bold”, is one I’ve seen attributed to many sages/kings/warriors throughout history; she is living proof of that ancient adage.

Only Noah, my old heeler/shepherd buddy, who died at age 18 in 2012, taught me as Leelu has begun to show me…. It’s kind of funny, in an ironic way, because, here I am, a 65 year-old self-professed philosopher/scholar/warrior, who is, most happily, back in school, with a teacher who is, as far as I can tell, about five months old…. Go figure, eh?

By observation, confirmed by the veterinarian I had check her out, and give her the necessary inoculations to protect her, she is half Siamese, half Tortoiseshell Calico, a truly magical combination…. As the pictures I’ve included thus far show, she is, and will be, a gorgeous cat, strong, fast, smart as a whip, and, with mental and metaphysical powers we humans not only do not possess, but, often cannot even comprehend…. I’ve counted, and at this age, she already has 40 whiskers, many more than usual even for an older cat…. When she stares at things, alive or inanimate, they KNOW it…. I can feel it through the bathroom door sometimes, if I’m in there too long…

Needless to say, new magical things happen every day; I’ve already related how she saved the Universe once already. She has planted in my mind that she wishes to accompany me when I leave, and wants a halter and leash, so we can practice walking together…. She also wants a carrier she can see out of, so she can travel with me when I feel the wanderlust with which I am blessed/cursed….. It seems she refuses to consider being left alone for very long. If I have to walk four blocks to the store, I always find her, sitting right in front of it when I return, staring holes through it….. and looking at me with disappointment in her eyes…. which she always drops to run forward to greet me….

It’s going to be interesting, in much more than just the Oriental meaning. Life has become more interesting, more challenging, more…. well, just more…. And, I’m pretty sure it’s only going to get more interesting, as Leelu continues to reveal her powers, and tell me more of our actual work here on Earth…. You see, she is on a mission, and we have things we will need to do in the coming years to prepare to take up that challenge…. I can’t wait….

gigoid, the dubious

Leelu’s companion…..

12/11/2015

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

Justifiable Insanity

An incredibly insane, vivid abhorrence fills me up today,
because of a thought which occurred to me.
I was merely thinking about what all the headlines have to say,
when I was pushed onto a train of thought, you see.

I began to ride the train, resigned to wherever I went, as it willed.
I was directed by imagination, to consider for a moment or two,
to seek how many reasons a Man has given for when he killed,
count them, count them, curiosity demanded, or, suffer, you…..

So, I tried to count the words I’d seen, or read, or heard,
in the reports we see all over the news and TV’s.
I had to grab a dictionary, to check off each word,
my memory is good, but, not for such numbers as these.

It seemed so simple, when I began my chosen task,
how many could there possibly be?
I probably should have known better than to ask,
for every page had an example; look for yourself, and see.

How many did I come up with, many might ask?
Too many to count, as it turns out,
at least, for anyone of flesh and bone to complete the task.
Even a computer would simply freak out.

If you think I’m being funny, well, you are dead wrong.
Just like all the people who die each day, for ideas, principles, or religion,
or any of the tens of thousands who die each hour, because of delusion so strong,
Mankind’s entire history consists of little more than perverted contagion.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/10/2015

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

This may seem like an odd assortment of pearls; it doesn’t SEEM to have any direction, or purpose, or much of a message, other than, perhaps, “huh?”…. ‘S okay, we’ve been here before; trust the process, ffolkes. Just let your mind drift through with each quote as it presents itself; when you reach the end, it will all be clear…. And, if not, you can have every penny you paid for it refunded…. Not a bad deal, all in all…..

“Be ruled by time, the wisest counselor of all.”

~~ Plutarch ~~

~~ Life of Pericles (B.C. 495-429) ~~

“It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.” — Henry David Thoreau

“It was the saying of Bion, that though the boys throw stones at frogs in sport, yet the frogs do not die in sport but in earnest.” — Plutarch — Which are the most crafty, Water or Land Animals?

“He alone is an acute observer who can observe minutely without being observed.” — Lavater

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” — Johann Wolfgan von Goethe

“An ass is but an ass, though laden with gold.” — Romanian Proverb

“Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 22

“Baby, after considerable thought I’ve reached the conclusion that the only conceivable legitimate answer to the Universe as constituted is a peal of hysterical laughter.” — Keith Laumer, _Night of Delusions_

“Would I lie?”

~~ gigoid, the dubious ~~

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

Okay, I did it. Leelu seems to approve, as she is sitting calmly, watching me type this closing paragraph. Since other duty calls, and she now wants to play, I’d best be about the rest of today…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; who knows? Maybe there’ll be another chapter, or another new poem…. Never can tell around here….. As a blogger friend is fond of signing off…. I love you! Sappy, I know, but, hey, true enough, so, deal…. Ta, then….

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….

Sneering in bafflement, he punted….

Posted on December 10, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The cat would eate fish, and would not wet her feete.”

~~ John Heywood (c. 1565) ~~

~~ Proverbes, Part i, Chap. xi ~~

Leelu in Berserker Mode

Hajime…. Life sure can be funny. Since I’m a complex sorta guy, that’s actually a complex statement, as the word ‘funny’ can be construed to mean a lot of different sorts of things about life, not all of which are at all funny, or fun. It’s also why English is such a powerful tool for communicating, as well as a barrier to the same communication. Two people with a different understanding of, and, skill in using the language, may very well not be able to understand each other, at all, though they both share intimate knowledge of it, having grown up using it. Environment, background, education, intelligence, imagination, all can play a part in how the language is used by anyone, and, no two people share the exact same degree of similarity in ANY of those categories.

All of which being said, I am compelled by my own nature to wonder, how the fuck we ever wandered this far out of the trees? C.S. Lewis, I believe, once made the lament,

“Five senses; an incurably abstract intellect; a haphazardly selective memory; a set of preconceptions and assumptions so numerous that I can never examine more than minority of them – never become conscious of them all. How much of total reality can such an apparatus let through?” — C. S. Lewis

Add in this most-accurate assessment of the human mind’s ability to perceive the universe, and one has to feel a sense of astonished surprise, not only that we have created a world-wide society, but, have done so without ever achieving any sort of world-wide understanding of our own nature….. To observe the antics of the naked apes who infest the surface of this planet, is very similar, in “look and feel”, to watching an old Roadrunner cartoon on Saturday morning. In fact, watching the Roadrunner makes much more sense than much of what I see passing as socio-political activity around the world….

Did y’all ever wonder, as I did, about the two most puzzling things to me about Wile E. Coyote? First, why, when he was obviously the stupidest creature on the planet, was he called “wily”, a word which, even at age four, I understood couldn’t possibly apply to the stupid beast….. I mean, even if he WAS indestructible, (our first lesson in the fiction vs. reality issue…. How many of US could live through a 5000 foot fall, followed by the arrival of a five ton rock on our head? Hell, it would give Superman a moment of pain, if he couldn’t fly….

Second… Why didn’t the idiot ever just start ordering FOOD from the Acme Co.? It seemed to me, as a young, already half-trained consumer, if the company made that many different products, of such amazing variety and complexity, how easy would it be for them to deliver some fried chicken, or even fried rattlesnake, which, I am told, tastes like chicken… But, then, doesn’t everything but beef and lamb taste like chicken?….

But, NOOOO…. Mr. Smart Guy Coyote keeps ordering weapon after weapon, none of which ever worked the way he expected. Which comprised our second lesson in reality vs. fiction, though, as it turns out, that’s pretty much how ANY corporation operates….. S’trewth, swear to god….

SIGH…. I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Ranting in the intro, when I tried to start out looking for ironic humor…. See where good intentions will get you? Oh, well, next I’d have to move on to more lamentations about human nature, and how virtue has all but disappeared from the public arena… Hell, I even found the perfect pearl to go with such a discussion, showing EXACTLY what happened, at least, here in the US…. It is also from C.S. Lewis, one of the more flexible-minded, and, honest Christians to ever pick up a pen… He said, regarding virtue, this:

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful until it became risky.” — C.S. Lewis _The Screwtape Letters_

But, that’s a rant for another day, unless, of course, we pick this up in the third section. Who knows at this point? If I did, well, I’d say so; that means simply that I haven’t decided yet. Nonetheless, and, notwithstanding, such is now moot, as Guido has entered the cockpit (don’t even think it….), and we’ll be taking off any moment…. Let’s just do so quietly, and calmly, just as if we knew what we were doing here, okay?….

Shall we Pearl?….

“A gentleman is one who doesn’t demand a lady prove that she is.”

~~ Solomon Short ~~

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royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

Though I have plenty of energy, I’m lazy. Since that is true, I’m going with my own default choice of music, which, if you’ve been reading here for any time, you’ll know what that means; you’re gonna hear some classical music…. It was about twenty or more years ago I got fed up with the current crop of music bombarding the airwaves and musical venues. I began to listen to classical music, and have felt the rightness of the decision ever since. Rather than listening to the last 65-plus years of what has been produced (some of which is good, but, mostly, it’s crap…. see Sturgeon’s Law….), I now have several centuries worth of music to explore, from all over the world….. Sturgeon’s law still applies, but, the statistical universe of available music has been filtered for quality for a LONG time; what’s left is a much higher percentage of the good stuff….

Bonus!….. Enjoy, ffolkes…. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt, even if you have perfect pitch…… As is my habit, the compilation I picked simply had the most attractive picture, for my taste….

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gigoid’s Musical Default

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

https://youtu.be/R0kl9xFVSnI

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What do we do? We have lost our way.
From afar, the Demon cries out,
He is leading us astray.
…
Skyward soar the whirling demons,
Shrouded by the falling snow,
And then the plaintive, awful howling
Fills my heart with dread and woe.

~~ Alexander Pushkin ~~

Gee…. I wonder if that means more ranting about the present state of world affairs? What do you think? Should we continue in the vein in which I began today’s Pearl, or veer off in another direction? Hmm… Let’s see what the magic 8-ball says….

Oops. Forgot; broke my 8-ball a long time ago. Oh, well. I think I’m not in a mood to rant at the moment. Hang on, & I’ll go see if I can find something to tip the scale in one direction, or another… Don’t worry, I’ve got a Tardis, and this isn’t real…. so, it’s like, you’ll never notice I was gone….

Okay, got it. That actually didn’t take long at all…. Of course, I COULD be lying, but, we wouldn’t want to pick up any bad habits…. It took only a moment, to find this:

“The land of the free! This is the land of the free! Why, if I say anything that displeases them, the free mob will lynch me, and that’s my freedom. Free? Why I have never been in any country where the individual has such an abject fear of his fellow countrymen. Because, as I say, they are free to lynch him the moment he shows he is not one of them.” — D. H. Lawrence

Now, if THAT isn’t a great start to pick up where we left off above, I don’t know an oyster from a mussel. And, I do. Know the difference, I mean. In fact, I also know, being a chef, while mussels, steamed in white wine, fish stock, garlic, and a bit of butter, lemon juice, & parsley, is as close as people ever really get to heaven, only oysters, those ugly, yet somehow noble bivalves, can make pearls. Besides, the only way the oysters themselves are REALLY edible, is breaded, deep fried, and smothered with a LOT of Tartar, or seafood cocktail sauce. Otherwise they’re a lot like eating old shoe leather, unless eaten at ONE specific moment upon cooking. Before, or after that moment, they are virtually inedible… Even for those with ALL their teeth…

But, hey, pearls, you know? Which brings us back to the completion of this section today. I’ll quit fooling around, amusing as it may be, (or not; not my call….), and get to the meat of today’s piece. I’ll start with an old graphic pearl from one of my most consistent sources for wise, witty comments, to wit:

This statement is possibly the clearest I know, to describe WHY our world is the way it is today. Albert put his finger on the root cause of every problem we face today, i.e., courage in the face of evil. Personally, I have given up any hope of making enough changes in society to protect us from ourselves…. Hope, as Emily D. pointed out, is something that, being human, never goes away…. But, my hope is about gone, for I don’t see us humans finding the understanding which can save us before the planet itself kills us for our effrontery……

Rather than expose y’all to any more of my own negative conclusions, I’d like y’all to read the following article, which my news reader provided to me, and with which I can only agree wholeheartedly. It’s brilliant, to be honest, and, if there is any justice in the world, will go viral quite soon…… It’s by an author named Elizabeth West, and she has hit upon some strong truths…. Don’t try to decide from reading the title; just trust me, & go read it. You won’t regret it…. Not even if I close out the section with my own take/interpretation, (though voiced with a power of expression I can only dream of achieving some day….) of the most probable, ultimately final decision Reality is going to make about the human race… Ms. West might convince you otherwise…..

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/04/abandon-all-hope/

This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang but with a whimper.

~~ T. S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men” ~~

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

Choosing a Theme

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

10/21/2012

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

Naked Pearls IV

*********

“Everything you know is wrong.”

~~ The Firesign Theater ~~

*********

“Every action in our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.”

~~ Edwin Hubbel Chapin ~~

*********

“Virtue is beauty.”

~~ Shakespeare ~~

*********

“There are two kinds of egotists: 1) Those who admit it; 2) The rest of us.”

~~ Psyche Bee ~~

*********

“Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one’s horse as it is leaping.”

~~ Julius Hare ~~

*********

“In war and life, either fight to win or don’t fight.”

~~ Warrior Bee ~~

*********

“She [virtue] requires a rough and stormy passage; she will have either outward difficulties to wrestle with, …. or, internal difficulties.”

~~ Michel de Montaigne — Essays, Book ii, Chap. xi, Of Cruelty ~~

*********

“A misery is not to be measured from the nature of the evil, but from the temper of the sufferer.”

~~ Joseph Addison ~~

*********

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.”

~~ Hugh Downs ~~

*********

“Don’t worry about a thing because every little thing is gonna be alright.”

~~ Bob Marley ~~

*********

However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act on upon them?

~~ Buddha ~~

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

Well, it’s done. All that remains is to go post it, which will be harder than usual today…. I put a lot into this one, even though the poem isn’t new, and the major rant belongs to another author. Nonetheless, I don’t believe I can do this any better than this turned out, so, I hope y’all enjoyed consuming it as much as I enjoyed putting it together…. I’ll be back tomorrow, to see if I can do it this well one more time….Why not? That would make a total of at least four, over four years…. Not bad, for an amateur…

Spoiler alert: Things ’round here may change some in the near future…. Y’all stay alert, y’hear?…. It could mean your sanity, and mine…. Oops. Maybe not yours…. really. I mean that, or, rather, I didn’t mean that…. Well, never mind, you’ll see….. Just, be careful, okay?…. C Ya.

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….

Pollinated twisty bread, nicely packaged….

Posted on December 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

Laser-eye Leelu

Hajime…. ‘Tis indeed unusual for me to feel energetic, or, for that matter, less than homicidal, at this time of day. That’s a simple, obvious direct result of the severe insomnia I experienced for about 3-4 months. Now, after a night of 10 solid hours, again, I find myself feeling almost normal in the mornings, if with a bit more pain than in previous times in life. Hey, I accept, now, I’m 65, not 25; for a long time, like, I think, all of us, we try to deny the passage of time; that feeling of immortality we maintain for much of our youth carries over into middle and elder stages, unfortunately…. Then, something brings us up short, realizing, hey, that hurts! And, it’s something that never hurt before…. and, we realize, our life will never be quite the same….

THAT is, I believe, a moment which must come to us all, like it or not. Oh, we can continue to deny the effects of the passage of time on our bodies and minds; in my opinion, there’s a word for folks who try that…. corpses. Yep, that’s one of those really STUPID things we humans tend to do, and, every time, it will kill us, because, hey, the Universe just doesn’t give a shit about how we feel, about anything, much less a force of nature like aging, and dying…. After all, the process IS merely another example of how our lives are so connected to reality, for all of reality experiences the same aging process…. The Universe, however, doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as we seem to do….

Ah well, maybe if we’d try, as a species, to understand a bit more about death, perhaps we would handle living with a bit more style and elegance. As it is, much of humanity dies hard, and afraid; it’s considered a lucky man or woman who dies at an old age, in bed, with friends and family at their side. The major portion of life is spent trying to arrange a comfortable death, with the greater part of us failing miserably at that…. Or, at least, that’s the way I see it. I guess maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, for I see the ever-present battle in Reality being won by Chaos and Entropy, while the Order and Reason attempted by Man, falls into disuse and ill repute.

At this point in this narrative, I see it has already fallen into ranting mode, which is always dangerous here….. Y’know what else. I’m tired of all the doom and gloom I see all over the fucking world, including right here where I live, where every day I see falsely-entitled police forces hassling homeless and poor people, just because they can. I’m tired of the assholes who run this world thinking they can lie, cheat, and steal from everyone else, and get away with it. And, I’m tired of being lied to…. especially that. The so-called leaders of this country, and of every country in the world I read about, in their own words, suffers the same issue; the world is being raped, and pillaged, by just a small percentage, while the rest of us try to get by in a world gone mad….

Fuck it, let’s go find some pearls, to help get rid of some of this angst, and, maybe, in the process, find a bit of humor, and maybe even some hope….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Life is the childhood of our immortality.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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

The Grateful Dead

Images from an email from Dead.net

Last night I was listening to some of the music I’ve downloaded from You Tube. Specifically, I was checking out some of the bands who played covers of Dead music for the Dead Covers Project in 2014. The Project started in 2013, I believe, and has produced some of the finest home-grown, home-made music one can find anywhere. I listened to the one I’ve included, and can tell you, you HAVE to see, and hear the lead guitar solo in this song. About three or four minutes in, the band breaks into some solo breaks. The lead guitar player, like most of the band, is an obvious O.O.F., apparently about 70-75 years old….

I swear, the old fart NAILS the solo; not only does he nail it, he kills it! Fast, clean, and rockin’, he, and the other old farts in this particular band, rocked the house where they played, back East sometime in 2014…. It’s well worth seeing, as are any number of the other covers that amateurs sent in each year…. Check them out; there are a lot of surprises. Some are really bad, but, some, like this one, will amaze you at the musicianship of the players…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a blast from the past, right here in the future….

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BEGGARS TOMB
New Minglewood Blues
Dead Covers Project 2014

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https://youtu.be/KoALTQNFL7Y

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“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad, “Under Western Eyes”

What a wonderful beginning for a rant! Too bad I’m not up to writing one… Plus, I’m in too good a mood to go there, so, instead, we’ll go with this discussion from a very good early Pearl, about a year after coming to WP. I hope you enjoy it; I did…. and, hell, I wrote it, and I’m a harsh self-critic….

From 10/21/2012:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.~~ Rudyard Kipling ~~

~~ Just So Stories (1902) “The Elephant’s Child” ~~

I first read the phrase “feeding the Elephant’s Child” in a Robert Heinlein novel, many years ago, and enjoyed it as a metaphor for reading/learning, before I knew from whence it originally came. Once I did know (a moment of illumination whose exact placement in time is hazy….), I liked it even more, from an aesthetic standpoint. The above little ditty is brilliant doggerel, astute observation, and deep insight, all presented in a simple, straightforward style, with a powerful, basic lesson for any would-be philosopher, or any one who wishes to encompass reason as their modus operandi, so to speak. Besides which, I find that another piece of Bob’s advice fits well with this one, to wit: “Life tastes better in big bites….”

“Never wear anything that panics the cat.” — P. J. O’Rourke

I like this, a lot. It summarizes perhaps one of the most elemental rules of getting along in the Universe, in essence saying, “You can learn a lot by watching what happens around you…” It is the perfect companion to the concept of learning as presented above, as it contrives to speak to both sides of Reality, i.e., how you approach reality (the clothing you choose to show to the cat….) and how reality will change to react to your approach (the cat’s opinion of your clothing….) It also gives one a subtle warning about how the wrong clothing can produce unwanted consequences, and we all know how an offended cat is likely to respond…. as Mark Twain once remarked…. “A man who carries a cat by the tail is learning valuable things. He will never again be dim or doubtful. Chances are he’ll not carry the cat that way again, but, I say, if he wants to, let him!” You can’t say fairer than that….

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” — Buddha

One can always trust the Buddha to state the most profound thoughts in the simplest way…. I often wonder how he came to such a complete understanding of Murphy, whose presence is acknowledged in all of what the Buddha stated, but whose ministrations seem to have passed by the Buddha’s existence…. either that, or Murphy shows him a lot more respect than he does anyone else alive. At times, it seems that what the Buddha states, such as in this statement, is, in at least one respect, an answer to a question that is raised when Murphy intervenes in our lives…. in simpler words, he explains why Murphy is able to affect us as he does, by cutting through the bullshite we perceive to the truth of what is real….. SIGH…. one of these days, enlightenment will slap me upside the head, and I’ll be able to see Murphy coming…. I hope…

There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan

Often I feel as if not only is life a joke, but it is our duty and purpose on this plane of existence to codify that joke, to put it down on paper, or on screen/disc, to free ourselves from the prison of sobriety, achieving an understanding that everything in this silly universe is here for our amusement, and we have been taking it, and ourselves, seriously for entirely too long….. So seriously, we have begun to offend those parts of the universe that just want us to relax and enjoy ourselves, and the time is growing nearer when we will have to admit that the joke is on us, for not being able to change our inner selves enough to be able to handle the humor of our situation…. See, the universe thinks death is funny…. not because it is cruel, but because death is just another part of life, and it doesn’t care about one more than the other…. See, now, isn’t it funny how you never noticed that?…..

I once read a science fiction novel, whose title and author escape me completely; in all it was very poorly written, with prose that did not live up to the good ideas contained in the plot line. However, it was a great plot line, in all….Specifically, there was one chapter I liked, which had a super-genius taking on the task of finding the solution to a mathematical treatise, an equation so complex and advanced that no civilization in the galaxy had ever been able to completely solve it.

The genius/hero of the book shut himself up in his room for three weeks, working on the problem. At the end, he was thinking so hard he entered a trance-like state, computing while nearly dead…. after a week of this, he suddenly opened his eyes, gave a look of astonishment, and burst into uncontrollable laughter for approximately 25 minutes. When he could finally control himself, he simply said, “It’s a joke….” and would never discuss it again….

In a pearl such as this one has grown to be, there comes a time when I have to decide whether to continue on, to try to reach the conclusion that was nebulously hovering somewhere in my mind as I began, or to admit that I have once again wandered into uncharted territory, and might find it a bit tricky to find my way back to clarity. This is that time…. and I’m leaving it up to Smart Bee, as always…. If I don’t find a proper pearl to carry on the tenuous chain of thought I’ve created, then we’ll take the first one that will appropriately wrap it up as a lost cause….. all within a specified number of attempts…. so, here we go… You’ll know in a moment what will happen….

“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi

There, see?…. That didn’t take long at all…. and I managed to find the perfect pearl to cover both bases…. In this case, we will use it as an ending quote, since it sort of summarizes a lot of the discussion, after a fashion. It could conceivably also be used as a springboard for further discussion, but this has gone on long enough, and I wouldn’t want to lose anybody due to an injudicious application of excess verbiage, culminating in tedium…. Of course, we may have reached that point some time ago, but, hey, who’s counting?…. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into not very much….

🙂

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Today’s poetry choice is here simply for the final line; it fits perfectly with my mood, and, tells us everything we need to know to have life just the way we want it, if we are smart enough to take it….

Dreaming of Calliope

La belle dame sans merci speaks aloud through endless night,
torturing dreams, with powerful words and stentorian phrases.
Manifest visions bathed in unbearable grace and light,
destroying all direction, standing lost, in unfathomable mazes.

Fate plays a part, one that will never face denial,
as fear and courage eternally vie for ascendancy.
Conflict becomes valid, gifting strength in open trial,
but honest emotion wears no costume so fancy.

Blood, sweat, and tears stroll on avenues of gold,
unlikely heroines heralding as in ancient lore;
Sharp, competent knives cut through tales untold,
eternally shifting reality past the naked shore.

Drifting toward origin, bereft of mandate or cause,
finished, nay, abandoned, tied with a figurative bow.
No simple gift from muses to give comfort or pause,
save that all we need to know, we already know…..

~~ gigoid ~~

12/13/2012

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Naked Pearls III

“To know and to act are one and the same.”

~~ Samurai Proverb ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Happiness follows sorrow,
sorrow follows happiness,
but when one no longer discriminates
between happiness and sorrow,
a good deal and a bad deed,
one is able to realize freedom.”

~~ Buddha ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Do not eat your heart.”

~~ Pythagoras ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Truth is the summit of being,
justice is the application of it to affairs.”

~~ Emerson ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Learn or die.”

~~ Reality ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”

~~ Salvor Hardin, in Foundation by Isaac Asimov ~~

~~~~~~~~~

“Adversity is the first path to truth.”

~~ Lord Byron ~~

~~~~~~~~~

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

~~ Josh Billings ~~

~~~~~~~~~

‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the word.’
Already I stick, and who shall help afford?
The ‘word’ at such high rate I may not tender;
The passage I must elsewhere render,
If rightly by the Spirit I am taught,
‘Tis written: ‘In the beginning was the Thought.’ By the first line a moment tarry,
Let not thine eager pen itself o’er-hurry!
Does ‘thought’ work all and fashion outright?
It should stand: ‘In the beginning was the Might.’
Yet even as my pen the sentence traces,
A warning hint the half-writ word effaces.

The Spirit helps me – from all doubting freed,
Thus write I: ‘In the beginning was the Deed.’

~~ Dr. Faustus, Wolfgang Goethe, “Faust” ~~

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Well, gosh. It’s done, and I’m NOT exhausted. What a nice way to start the day! Without my usual mistrust of such good feelings, I’m going to take the money and run. Should be easy, as the money doesn’t exist. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’m afraid there’s just no way to avoid it; it seems to be written in stone…..

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….

Just the fax, Sam….

Posted on December 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Solitude makes a wonderful mistress but a terrible wife.”

~~ Emerson ~~

Three Moons over Vallejo

Hajime…. Over the course of time, Pearls of Virtual Wisdom/Exploring Consensual Reality, as a blog, has evolved in structure and appearance, as I became more accustomed to using the WP platform, until settling on the five-sections for each subject we use today. In the past two or three months, it’s shown itself to be flexible enough for me to use even when I am not completely whole, either physically, or mentally. Thus my luck with serendipity is made clear once again, as I chose better than I knew. Thanks, Me!

Oh! That hurt! I should know better than to pat myself on the back; with my shoulder’s arthritis, such a movement comes with a high price in pain…. Oops. Ah well, even the simplest literary trick can be, well, tricky, eh? That will teach me not to try those sorts of literary shenanigans before I’ve started on my second cuppa; I just don’t have the chops until then to make it work as it should. Now I’m stuck here, talking in real time, exposing my own ignorance, again…. As we who have lived on the street are fond of saying in such situations, FUCK!

Oh, well, sorry if I’ve offended anyone. That particular venting vessel is one that has probably kept me off the WP Freshly Pressed list ever since I began…. It seems even ONE word that MIGHT be offensive will keep a post off that page, so, I’ve never been there, even if I was ever nominated (a fact of which I have absolutely no clue…. especially as it doesn’t matter, since it’ll never happen…. I refuse to edit for PC in any form…). I don’t care, as I don’t write for fame, or money, merely for sanity…. or as close to it as I can get….

All that being said, in such honest, if boring fashion, I suppose we can just get on with today’s mess, and probably be better off for it. I won’t even pretend Luigi, or Guido is here today, nor that we are off to anywhere other than my imagination and ego trips. That’s okay, too…. at least it’s real, which I find to be always a good thing to observe…. really, I do…. So, without further ado, or adon’t, we’ll be off to the nether portions of the blog for today…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“”There’s nothing an agnostic can’t do if he really doesn’t know whether he believes in anything or not.” — Monty Python

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The Irish Rovers in 2010

Image from kpbs.org via Google Images

I hesitate to pull the covers of anyone, but, I remember listening to these lads when I was a lad myself. My parents had an album they enjoyed playing sometimes when I was young; I remember specifically listening to them, often during Christmas when relatives were over…. I still enjoy their music, so, here they are, for your enjoyment as well… If you don’t enjoy traditional Irish music, perhaps you’re ready for the ranting section….. Fair warning; you’d best be so. Ready, that is…. Section three can be a bit of a challenge if you’re not ready for it…… Why don’t you listen to the music while reading; it might help….

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The Irish Rovers

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https://youtu.be/cf0E_PJtJWg?list=PL86CC0AB0FBFD2CDF

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“The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.” — Socrates (BC 469-399)

In more modern language, the concepts Socrates has presented in this statement could be summarized thus: “The more you practice being honorable and real, the more real and honorable you become.” I’ve stated it thus, so simply, because, it seems to me, the modern person’s mind has not grasped the concept of virtue, or honor, or even reality, with any degree of actual understanding. This, of course, is just the way the people who govern the world, and those in their service, to wit: churches, politicians, lawyers, police, and military myrmidons, want the public to be, that is to say, as ignorant of their true nature as they can make them…..

Now, this sounds like a rant in the making, and, in the normal course of events, you’d be correct. But, I find myself exhausted, still, after my recent long physical ordeal; quite frankly, it’s all I can do in a day to write this blog. Any further activity is confined to keeping Leelu entertained, which takes up more time than one might think; she considers herself in training, and me to be her personal trainer. And, she’s really, really serious about it, so, whenever I pause in my typing, I find her sitting at my chair-side, mewling and crawling into my lap to ask me to play…. like right now….

Okay… I managed to distract her by opening her window, from where she can watch the birds and traffic on the street; it can keep her fascinated for a good twenty minutes, so, I’ll try to get this done before I’m once again summoned to throw crumpled paper about the house. We’ll sublimate my urge to purge my angst with a series of statements from various smart ffolkes, on the subject at hand, to wit, the Asininnies, and our Beloved Ruling Class, including the Dogma Dogs, the Highly Conditioned Uniformed Myrmidons, and the eternal butt of everyone’s favorite jokes, the scum of society, lawyers of practically every ilk…. Let’s see what Smart Bee comes up with today, shall we?…..

“The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy. Not for nothing was the revolver called an ‘equalizer’ Eqalite implies liberte. And always will. Let us hope our weapons are never needed — but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government — and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws.” — Edward Abbey (1927-1989)

(On a personal note, me, too, Ed….)

“A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the Lord in vain, then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?” — Robert A. Heinlein

“I honestly believe that the doctrine of hell was born in the glittering eyes of snakes that run in frightful coils watching for their prey. I believe it was born with the yelping, howling, growling and snarling of wild beasts… I despise it, I defy it, and I hate it.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

“– Bother!”, said Pooh, as he found a politician in his honey pot.” — Twisted Bee

“A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker.” — H.L. Mencken

“An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.” — Simon Cameron (1799-1889)

CORSAIR, n. A politician of the seas. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” — Charles de Gaulle

“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.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1972)

“The doctor is to be feared more than the disease.” — Latin Proverb

Okay, so, it’s a little light on shots against Big Pharma, the AMA, etc…. the last one summarizes that issue quite well, I think…. Okay, off we go, to something a bit more entertaining…. Well, I think so….

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For those Gentle Readers from around the world, who may not know who Joe Friday is, allow me to explain…. Joe Friday was a character in a TV cop show, called Dragnet, which played here in the US in the 1950’s to 60’s. It was, I believe, the first cop show of its kind, fictional, but trying to portray true-to-life situations. The lead actor, whose name I forgot until now, was Jack Webb, and he had absolutely NO acting ability, at all. He played Joe Friday as an emotionless, flat-voiced asshole, (a rather prophetic portrayal, given that the biggest percentage of modern ‘cops’ are quite simply, ignorant assholes with a badge….), whose favorite and completely over-used phrase was “Just the facts, ma’am.”…. Hence, the title of today’s lament re: the illusion upon which Western society is based….

Joe Friday’s lament

Life is short, and though I’m odd, they say
it really doesn’t bother me
to realize there is no God, per se.

Though other folks will disagree
and tell me I’m wrong
I won’t believe it, with naught to see.

Liars called padre tell me, have humility,
and do as the authorities say,
then fondle little boys with facility.

They also tell me to share the wealth
and give them a 10% tithe
so they don’t have get it by stealth.

So spare me the delusions, please
don’t bother with such a tale;
I’m nobody that needs such a tease.

Keep your fantasies under your hat
and out of my face;
I don’t need them, they’ll make me fat….. headed.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/6/2012

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“So then, these are the foundations, as they call them,
of all mixt bodies, and of all wonderful operations:
and whatsoever experiments they proved,
the causes hereof rested
(as they supposed)
and were to be found
in the Elements and their qualities.”

~~ Giambattista Della Porta ~~

~~ Natural Magick ~~

Today’s final old-school pearl is special. Why? Hell, I don’t know. It’s just the way it turned out. Those who are at all familiar with pearls here on ECR received a clue; there is seldom a quote above the picture in this section. Today, the statement from Natural Magick serves perfectly as both warning, and disclaimer…. Enjoy ffolkes, this will take your mind and turn it around so it looks you right in the eyes…. Are you ready to see?….

“All that we see or seem, “

is but a dream within a dream.

~~ Edgar Allen Poe ~~

~~ from “A Dream Within a Dream” ~~

~~~~~~~

“Are you the dreamer or just the dream?” — Alan Edgar Bee

~~~~~~~

“I do not want to die…
until I have faithfully made the most of my talent
and cultivated the seed that was placed in me
until the last small twig has grown.”

~~ Kathe Kollwitz ~~

~~~~~~~

“If a pessimist is always right, is he a realist?”

~~ Cynical Bee ~~

~~~~~~~

“Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.”

~~ Suzanne Necker ~~

~~~~~~~

“In this world, you have to be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.
I spent years being smart.
I recommend pleasant.”

~~ Elwood P. Dowd ~~

~~ played by James Stewart in “Harvey” ~~

~~~~~~~

“Silence is argument carried out by other means.”

~~ Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara (1928-1967) ~~

~~~~~~~

“Loosen up; the unaimed arrow never misses.”

~~- Zen Bee ~~

~~~~~~~

“Here pigs will fly, lightning will strike twice,

hell will freeze over, and eventually,

things will get really interesting…”

~~ Prophetic Bee ~~

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It’s done. Whew! Boy, Leelu will be glad; she’s been staring holes through me for twenty minutes. I’d best just close this out, and be off to make it up to her…. I shall see y’all tomorrow, I would hope in good spirits, as I am these days, much more often. True freedom is the release from pain…. believe it. I’ll be back, as Hollywood’s favorite assbite has said more than once…. but, I won’t try to eradicate the human race….. Ta, then, luvs…..

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….

No arguing, or it’s okra for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner…

Posted on December 7, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Follow it and you will not see its back.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

Mountainous ice shoreline on Pluto

Image by NASA via the New Horizons Spacecraft

Hajime…. Today, I’d like to begin with a paean. Don’t worry, context will let you figure it out, if’n you don’t already know. It’s a paean to people, of course, because, hey, people here, myownself. And, I don’t even care if my, or your, spellchecker hates that word. It’s not very many people, so it’s not a very big paean, but, it IS sincere, so, I have to do it. I’m funny like that, I guess….

I LOVE these people. Quite simply, and, quite truly. I’ve never met any of them in the flesh, yet I know of them, and their lives, their ideas, their families, just as they know mine, by having read their blog for more than four years, minimum; the reverse, naturally is true. There are about forty or fifty people I still see regularly, perhaps more, and, always some newbies.

These ffolkes, on the other hand, have been here every day they were healthy enough to be at a computer, or were otherwise prevented by simple non-access to the Net. They, of course know who they are, so I don’t have to say it; all I want to say is, I love you, and thanks for being. I’m old enough now to know there are never any wrong times to tell those you love that you do; how many times have you passed up the chance?

I try not to pass them up when I think of it, and, this paean of gratitude, and sappy emotional stuff that DOES count in the final Quiz, is for them, the people I consider my WordPress family….. May whatever light is left in the world shine on all of us, for as long as we can hold the darkness at bay…..

Now, you may wonder what prompted today’s emotional outburst, other than the PTSD I live with each day? Well, easy. I wrote a Haiku. That’s all. It’s a damn good one, and, it’s placed where it happened when it leaked out of whatever part of my brain had been holding it. You’ll see, if you’re strong enough; it’s not really hidden, just put where it has to be. It was prompted by two things, yesterday’s Pearl title, and, the sight of one of the aforementioned family friends icon appearance, from where I know he lives, across the world…. I had to smile, and, there it was, right in front of me… Trust me, it’s a good haiku….

So, how’m I doing with the new, mysterious intro technique? Is it holding your interest? No? Ah. Oh, well. ‘S okay, we’re done here anyway. Even if YOU aren’t dazed and confused, I certainly am, so, we’re good to go. Luigi has been practicing, because he heard what a good job Guido did while he was off on his vacay…. Let’s see if it takes…. Luigi! Let’s do it!…. Hang on, ffolkes; I’m a little nervous myself, if the first paragraphs didn’t clue you….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.”

~~ Robert Heinlein ~~

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Wolfie

Image from sumwear.com via Google Images

Whenever I experience my deepest moments of personal darkness, I turn to the music of this man, and, in particular, this piece. Some consider it the finest music anyone in our species ever created; I am not judge enough to say. All I can say is, listen, and enjoy…. If you don’t, well, you might consider joining another species….

I’ve included only one video version, but, two links. The second is to a longer version, written and recorded on a separate You Tube page. Enjoy either, or both, your choice…..

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Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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https://youtu.be/o1FSN8_pp_o

~~~~~~

https://youtu.be/Hp3SKP2fji4

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Le Penseur ~ The Thinker ~~ August Rodin

“Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth.” — H.L. Mencken

I knew there was a reason I liked Henry’s work; it appears his mind and mine traveled on some very familiar paths in our personal journey in search of the Truth. This statement is one I could have easily made myself, if he hadn’t already said it over a hundred years ago. But, I will happily agree with every point he makes in it, without reservation, and with absolutely no regret….. Should anyone, anyone at all, take umbrage thereby, well, all I can say to them would be, tough shit. It’s the plain and simple truth, so, deal with it. Or, shut up….. Oh, sorry, forgot one part…. Put up, or, shut up….

Sorry, don’t mean to be rude; I do get tired of fundies, who can shout anything except an actual thought of their own, and, it seems they all have some sort of religion. I know, strange, huh? To think, in this day and age, people still fall for that stuff…. I’m sure glad I don’t have to put up with it too often any more….. Okay, I’ll stop, I know it’s getting deep. But, I think y’all know of whom I speak, and if not, well, I can point you to a human representation, not even a religious figure, but, one who has utilized and perfected ALL of the same sort of sleight of hand language and outright lying to fool people into believing what they say…. Any politician would do as an example, especially in this year’s GOP crop, but, of them all, the Trumpette is probably the absolute worst example I can think of, showing what a dildo a human being can become, by living their lives completely on illusion.

SIGH…. I remarked recently to a fairly intelligent doctor I met, “You know, reason is losing the battle.” He just smiled & said, “I know what you mean….”

‘Ere you go. You know, that’s probably enough of a rant for one day. If I get any takers to my challenge, I can make it a piece for this section at a later date. Hmm…. not much, is it? Oh, okay, maybe a few pearls, just to fill up the space…. We’ll see what we can find on the BRC, or one of the categories of Asininny we use…. Ooh, ooh, I know! I found an old pearl, from the early days here on ECR, and it’s perfect as an accompaniment for today’s rantless rant….. It’s one of my finest older pearls, and I hope you enjoy it. It takes some nasty shots at the BRC…. Most of it is from our old friend, SB, since he’s a pretty Smart Bee….

From 9/4/2012:

So there I am, cruising along in the database, and all these little pieces of observational excellence from Smart Bee keep popping up in my face. I figure that he (Smart Bee) must have something he wants to get across to the readership out there, and who am I to argue. If I don’t do this, I could spend years trying to find a new quote there…. Smart Bee is very insistent when he gets a wild hair like this…. So, just follow the bouncing thought ball to the conclusion that is most obvious….

Sex! Lies! Drugs! Money! Power! Corruption! Man, I love Congress! — Smart Bee

Gun Control – the belief that government, with its great wisdom and moral superiority, can be trusted with a monopoly on deadly force. — Smart Bee

It has been determined that most teenage girls lose their virginity during the summer months. This stands to reason, since congress is recessed at that time. — Smart Bee

Vote Democrat. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee

Vote Republican. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee (honest, both are in there….)

Congressional National Bank. Ours bounce higher and farther! — Smart Bee

“Crime does not pay … as well as politics.” — Alfred E. Newman

That should get the proper point across…. you may now smash face on keyboard to continue……

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

Comedy_Tragedy

Today’s poem was written only recently, but, fits in so well with the apparent theme for today (which is never obvious until I’m nearly done), I couldn’t resist using it again. It’s a lamentation of current reality, thus, perfectly complements the rest of the Pearl…. Enjoy!….

Adjectives of Quality ~~ Bloody Friday

A baleful lump of ironic introspection
sits upon my shoulder today
leaving traces of fey reflection
with a smattering of true dismay.

Resistance may be futile, many have said,
belief didn’t necessarily follow.
Abnegation of fear marks all bills paid,
leaving such empty threats hollow.

Symbolic courage never sleeps so deeply
as when delusion holds sway.
Bartered virtue, sold far too cheaply,
stands in shame, until honor fades away.

Too many culprits exist to count just one;
all of us bear obvious blame.
Evil is as evil does, only, when it’s done,
it begins again, all same-same.

Nobody seems to care enough to deny the lies.
Ignorant fear rules humanity’s masses.
When evil passes unremarked, innocence dies;
silence equals guilt, leaving only hope’s ashes.

Reality screams; tales of terror unfold,
flames fanned with purposeful malice,
insidious dangers hide beneath atrocity untold
as Gaia weeps into an empty chalice.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/3/2015

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

Our final pear for today is old-school, as always. This one came out a little strange; it wanders around through a number of currently problematic issues in society, while still managing to describe reality as it is, and should be….. proving the ultimate lesson to be learned about reality, to wit: it is what it is, and that’s all it is….. Enjoy!…..

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

~~ Picasso ~~

“Humor is the best antidote to reality.” — Funny Bee

“There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year’s course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” — Carl Jung

“You must be either the master or the servant, the hammer or the anvil.” — Goethe

“It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.” — Voltaire

“That God is not other than the universe…does not diminish God but rather elevates the universe….those who choose to make an attempt to overcome their egoism find their efforts aided by forces outside their conscious control….the movement toward self-realization is inherent to the structure of the universe….The Mayhayana Dharmakaya radiates love and compassion to all, impersonally like the sun.” — David Loy

“I … reject the argument put forth by many fundamentalists that science has nothing to do with religion because God is not among the things making up the universe in which we live. Surely if a necessity for a god-concept in the universe ever turns up, that necessity will become evident to the scientist. “– physicist Ralph Alpher, Theology of the Big Bang, Religious Humanism, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Winter 1983), pg. 12

“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv

Mind Food

Lies can taste very
good sometimes. But the truth can
fill you up, always.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/6/2015

(for Ashi-san)

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

It’s a little bit of a bother lately; it seems my routine must alter itself, to become accustomed, again, to sleeping on a regular basis. Who knew one could completely destroy, or at least, ignore, our circadian rhythms so strongly? I had apparently become used to being up 24/7, and am finding it a bit of a struggle to fit sleep into the picture…. Oh, well, I guess I’ll get back to normal, some day…. Or, as close as I’ve ever been to normal, anyway, which, to be honest, isn’t terribly close…. In fact, I’ve never even been in the same room with normal, so, it should be a new experience….

See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I’d call it a promise, but, some might take it as a threat, so, we’ll just leave it alone, and say, see ya!…

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….

Lies can taste good, but Truth fills you up….

Posted on December 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

~~ Hanlon’s Razor ~~

A meeting of minds

Image of a Dukha tribesman,from themindunleashed.com via Google Images

Hajime…. I would trade almost any experience in my life, (save one or two…) to have the connection with nature, and the friendship of a bear. The man in the picture is a Dukha, a tribe which has lived in northern Mongolia since the dawn of time. They are so in tune with the land, and the creatures who live on it, I would consider them to be the highest example on the planet of the true purpose of being human, and how to live here in perfect comfort and harmony….. I don’t mean they are perfect; hell, they’re human, and I’m sure they have their individual faults, like all of us. But, the way they have learned to coexist with the total environment in which they live, to me, is how human beings SHOULD be, in attitude, with, or without technological advantages.

They ride caribou, for traveling, using them the same way other societies use horses and cattle. But, with some differences…. for example:

Attribution same as above

How many societies do YOU know of who will trust their farm animals to babysit for them? It seems to me, they have learned something that the rest of humanity passed by, to their everlasting disadvantage, I believe. What this tells me about their society is how well they understand their co-creatures, and, as well, how to create in those creatures the same sort of trust they place in their own species. Most societies have dogs to perform this sort of service, but, it seems to me, it might be to our advantage, as humans, to learn what it is this tribe has learned, to keep their connection to their natural side intact, a facet of personality which the rest of us seem to have lost….

Okay, subtle insult to the bulk of humanity thus delivered, as sugar-coated as I could make it, we can move on. That’s a good thing, because today’s Pearl is, if I say so myself, a good one. Without any spoilers, I can say it is one of my best efforts; I’ll let it speak for itself from this point…..

Uh, oh….. Shoot. (You will, of course, recognize as a euphemism for another word of similar spelling, and more odor….) Now what do I do with this intro? It started out as a sort of travelogue cum philosophical oddity, slipped over into honest discussion, and, now….. what? Hmm…. I suppose I’ll have to think up some weird, explosive literary surprise to distract everyone while we get the slow on the road. Damn, I knew I should have gone with the picture of Leelu!

Oh, well, okay…. Let’s see what we’ve got here in our bag of emergency exit methods. How ’bout a # 19? They’re always fun, though the dry-cleaning charges can get a bit steep. Okay, nope. Hmm, let’s see: hey, how about this one? It’s a # 23, and I don’t think I’ve tried this one yet. The only requirement is to make sure y’all have your thinking caps. Oh, you won’t need them ’til later on down the page, but, you WILL need them. Besides, this one is so fast, you might miss it, and then where would you be? Not at the oyster beds, that’s for sure…. Okay, here we go; hang on….

Shall we Pearl?….

“To regret one’s own experiences is to arrest one’s own development.”

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.”

~~ William Blake ~~

~~ Inspiration for the name of The Doors ~~

The Doors

Image from http://www.mirror.co.uk via Google Images

I am not sure anyone ever completely understood The Doors. To see the quote upon which their name was chosen tells a LOT about them, if one is able to see clearly into human nature. I’m not as familiar with the band members, but, Jim Morrison was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the band, and to observe him was to observe a very, very complex human being, subject to very little comprehension he did not wish to allow. The band’s music also reflected his persona; complex, deep, often erotic and more sensual than was comfortable. He lived life in ways no one had ever thought of, much as any true artist, such as Picasso, or Dali, or, Michaelangelo lived…. without compromise.

Enjoy, ffolkes; if nothing else, the music of the Doors makes you FEEL life…..

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The Doors

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https://youtu.be/tebaMuEyVKM

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“Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

When one considers the social background under which G.B. Shaw was raised and educated, much of what he wrote naturally demonstrates some of the prejudices common to his time. All in all, however, his thoughts on society, and human nature at large, were extremely accurate, and a better indicator of how his mind worked, and, in fact, how it excelled. In addition, short statements such as the one used today tell me he had a very sharp, and morally developed sense of humor about everything he witnessed in his life. He shows up a lot here, for that very reason, for his words are pointedly critical of Stupidity, Ignorance, and the sin of Expediency, which, even in his day, had become one of society’s most dangerous issues….

In his statement above, it is perfectly clear to me he could have been talking of the United States as it exists in 2015. Our country’s government is corrupted beyond repair; the bankers and corporate interests, such as Big Pharma, Big Oil, and the Angels of Death (Arms dealers & manufacturers), are in complete control of the White House, both Houses of Congress, and, to a significant degree, the Supreme Court….. If you doubt what I say, simply look at each of those persons mentioned in light of their yearly income. Then, tell me they represent the average man/woman in this country with a straight face. If you can do so, you are even stupider than they believe, which is pretty fucking stupid, believe me.

Harsh? Nah. Perfect truth. I can say, without fear of being wrong, 98% of the people in this country who are not involved in government, at any level, are completely ignorant of the degree to which their rights have already been taken away. Just ask anyone on the street if they believe they still have the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution and Bill of Rights; every one of them will tell you they do, without even pausing to think. The simple fact they are completely mistaken never enters their consciousness at all, a fact which the BRC, and the Asininnies in general not only know, but, take advantage of at every opportunity.

You could ask those same people on the street if they believed their leaders tell the truth to them, and they’d say “yes”, again without ever pausing to consider whether or not it might be true. They’ve been conditioned, by parents, by churches, by teachers, all their lives to accept what they are told by those in authority, and to believe them, NO MATTER HOW THEIR PERCEPTIONS DO NOT MATCH THE LIES! They are taught to adjust to whatever demands are placed on them, no matter how ridiculous or demeaning they may be, simply because their entire existence is based on maintaining the status quo, which they have never examined to even see if it can be changed for the better.

At this point, we will assume the mantle of a classic Jeffersonian, the political model which I have always preferred as my standard for judging today’s governmental participants, to wit; the BRC and the Asininnies…. I would like to begin this by noting how huge is the circle of ignorance that now comprises the American public, and, the first of many warnings of the consequences by Tom himself…..

“If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be … If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” — Thomas Jefferson

“I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.” — Thomas Jefferson

In today’s American cities and towns, we have libraries practically empty, in comparison to how many people SHOULD be using them. The American public, once graduated from school, never opens another book, contenting themselves with magazines, newspapers, and now videos, TV, and the internet, all of which, if not understood, are just another tool used to fortify and maintain their brainwashing, by directing their interests just where the BRC wants it to be…. which is generally focused on things to fear, or lust after.

Just today, I found how serious this issue has become. For the very first time in my life, I was requested to renew my library card, in the town where I live. In my entire life, I’ve never had a library request me to update any information; what is the need? Any citizen of this country, as far as I know, is free to walk into a library, and read, or use the facilities. There AREN’T supposed to be ANY conditions set on that freedom, (unless you wish to take a book home; then you must leave your name); yet, now, at the behest, I am sure, of the local police, with the power of the federal NSA organization behind it, want to know who has a card, their PHONE # (!!!), and where they live. This, of course, gives them access to my internet searches, all the books I check out, and a host of other information, NONE of which they have any right to gather……

But, that’s not the only front on which inroads against our rights are being made….

“Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.” — Thomas Jefferson

“A monied aristocracy in our country … has already set the government at defiance.” — Thomas Jefferson

Our country was warned, by Jefferson, Paine, Mason, Franklin, Adams, and others, about the very things we now face in our lives. They predicted the takeover of the government by the bankers and corporate interests, in letters they wrote, in articles they published, all of which still can be accessed in libraries. But, no modern Americans would believe it if told, because they will not make the effort to go see for themselves. Nor will they ever believe they are not free, because they’ve been taught all their lives to accept illusion as reality…. What chance do they have at this late date to overcome a lifetime of brainwashing? Very little, I would say….

This is why I rant. This is why I cannot stop harping on the lies told to us, or about the fear they want us to feel, fear of threats which simply do not exist, except in the minds of those who believe them. The governments of all countries want their citizens to believe they can make them feel safe and secure, when in fact, that is simply not true. Life IS insecurity; there is no safety from the Universe, if it chooses to come after you. You can’t dodge an earthquake, nor a flood, nor any other natural disaster…. Nor can you deny that humans are violent, and will BE violent in trying to attain their desires. It has always been so, and always will be, until we figure out how to change human nature.

The myth of safety in living, which governments would have us believe they can supply, simply does not exist in Reality. As long as we are alive. we are in danger, and that is a simple fact of Reality not even a government can change, not by any means. But, they get people to believe they can, and, thus, have them under their power.

The only true way in this life to be safe is to remove fear from your responses to anything you experience. Fear is a reaction to “not knowing” the nature of what is occurring; it is easily dismissed, or let go, if one is willing to LEARN. But, this requires first that one learn how to learn, and that is something our schools stopped teaching long ago. Knowledge kills fear, yet people seem to prefer to NOT make the effort to learn about what they fear, instead accepting whatever they’re told, which is only designed to increase their misunderstanding, and prolong the fear. A person who is afraid does NOT think, and the BRC and Asininnies know this. That is why they trumpet doom and danger every time something bad happens; it serves their interests to keep the public afraid….

Obviously, I can keep on about this for a long time; in my time I’ve observed the process I’ve just described happening, with governments becoming more and more corrupt and dishonest, and more of the people’s hard-won rights abrogated, in a consistent dismantling of the Constitution of the United States, by corporate interests, until the world in which we now live can no longer be called anything but a true oligarchy. The rich have won, ffolkes, and unless we, all together, do something about it, they’ll keep tightening the screws until we can no longer freely breathe….

In fact, that is a literal statement…. I can see a time, not so far off, when, because of the climate changes that are now occurring, for which we know no way to stop, the atmosphere we breathe will become tainted, and require treatment before we can use it. What does anyone wish to bet, if that happens, the oligarchy will try to CHARGE people for the air they breathe? I can see it clearly, can you? Is that what you wish for YOUR grandchildren? I can honestly say, I do not.

“Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebels against anything that does not deserve rebelling against.” — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to James Madison, stated, “The late rebellion in Massachusetts has given more alarm than I think it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in 13 states in the course of 11 years, is but one for each state in a century and a half. No country should be so long without one.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), in letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787

In what was probably the same letter, he also said, “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Madison, 1787

I know, it’s a lot of TJ, but, damn it! He WARNED us, and we didn’t listen! You see, to summarize, he also said,” God prevent we should ever be twenty years without a revolution.”

Guess what, ffolkes? It’s now been 229 years since our last revolution in this country. I have a feeling the next one isn’t far off, given the false sense of entitlement growing so fast in the monied elite, and amongst their myrmidons. I have a feeling they forget a simple fact when they are making up their plans and agendas to continue their oppression of the world’s people…. There are now more than SEVEN BILLION of those people…. If they aren’t careful, they’re going to piss off ALL of them. If that happens, I don’t believe their money, or their technology, or their sense of entitlement will save them from being shredded, limb from limb, by angry mobs of formerly downtrodden human beings….

But, then, when that happens, I’ll just sit back, and say, “Oh well….. Just desserts, assholes.”

Thanks fer listenin’. I’ll leave you with one last thought from TJ, and final word from Pope, to close the circle… Then, I’ll leave you be, to digest how to deal with the truths you’ve just absorbed….

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” — Thomas Jefferson to A. Stuart, 1791

For forms of government let fools contest;
Whate’er is best administer’d is best.
For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight;
His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right.
In faith and hope the world will disagree,
But all mankind’s concern is charity.~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iii, Line 303 ~~

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

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/10/2012

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

Today’s final pearl is a perfect reflection of the rest of the effort today. To be frank, it was intense, and satisfying. This one has a pretty standard structure, and message, for that matter. But, it’s such a profound one, it fits right in with all of the above…. I hope you enjoy it, just as much as I hope you ‘get it’…..

“Whatever happens at all happens as it should; thou wilt find this true, if thou shouldst watch narrowly.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 10

“Common and vulgar people ascribe all ill that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe to themselves; people of much wisdom, to no one.” — Epictetus

“A good man possesses a kingdom.” — Seneca (8 BC) — Thyestes, 380

“The reward of one duty is the power to fulfill another.” — George Eliot

” If you see a man approaching you with the obvious intention of doing you good, you should run for your life” — Thoreau’s Law

“What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more.” — Seneca

“Before teaching others, before changing others, we ourselves must change. We must be honest, sincere, kind-hearted.” — The XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, Address, 1982

“You’re not going crazy Arthur, you’re going sane in a crazy world.” — The Tick

“What then remains but that we still should cry

For being born, and, being born, to die?”

~~ Francis Bacon ~~

~~ The World ~~

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

Well, I did it. It’s done, and done as well as I can do it. Well enough, I shan’t trouble you here with any further nonsense, or sense, for that matter. I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow, and be done with it.

Sure I will…. I’ll be back, ffolkes. That’s not a threat, unless you fear the truth….. Ta, then…..

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….

Billy! Burn a couple bacon bagel dogs, pronto!….

Posted on December 5, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“It’s you and me against the world! When do we attack?”

~~ Brave Bee ~~

Leelu, putting the ‘lax’ in relaxation….

Hajime…. Today, even the presence and use of a Tardis may not help to save this Pearl. Not that it won’t happen, but, I’m afraid the quality of material may not be up to our usual standards. Of course, those standards are rather nebulous to begin with, but, hey, they DO exist, and we DO try to meet them, if only half-way. That’s today’s worry; half-way isn’t very far, and certainly not far enough to suit me.

Well, as those who live on, on even near the streets, are wont to say in such instances, “fuck it. Let ‘er rip!”, or sometimes, “what’s for dinner?” I suppose they do have some different priorities, but, we’ll go with the former, anyway. Since the reason FOR the condition in which we find ourselves is our fault as much as not, taking responsibility is de rigeur, not to mention the right thing to do. And, my dad is still back there, watching what I do, so, I need to do it right.

Since doing it wrong is no longer an option, it does allow me to focus on the available resources, any of which can, if naught else, provide us with sufficient distraction to get us where we need to go, before we’re even aware we’ve gone. Or, I could break out an emergency method, but, it’s still early to go that route; too many chances for injury. Perhaps it would be best to just go the straight route, without any frills or bells. Whistles would be, as always, optional, so, given our status, no whistles for us….

What this means in a practical sense is this. I’ve managed to wander around blathering for going on four paragraphs now, without ever actually getting any closer to action. This means it’s time for old # 4, that harsh but effective emergency escape unit, which has saved our ass innumerable times in the past…. and, before the Tardis, at that…. By now, y’all now how it works, so you’ll know enough to securely store your beverages, and tighten up those belts, because it’s pretty fast-acting…. Okay, hold on, I’m throwing the switch….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Simplicity is always a virtue. One kid on a riverbank working out a Stephen Foster tune on his new harmonica heard from the correct aesthetic distance projects more magic and power than the entire Vienna Philharmonic and Chorus laboring (once again) through the Mozart Requiem or Bach’s B Minor Mass.” — Edward Abbey

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

Hot Tuna

Image from examiner.com viq Google Images

Since we’ve covered the Airplane, and the Starship, I decided to finish off the third band of that iconic group of musicians/artists, a spinoff by the instrumentalists…. Jorma Kaukonen on guitar, Jack Cassidy on bass, Papa John Creach on fiddle, and Paul Katner on rhythm guitar were the core members, with a number of others who came and went to play drums, mandolin, and other instruments…. Having seen them a number of times back in the day, I can attest they were one of the best instrumental-based rock bands to ever play; their music never stopped getting better as the years went by…. Enjoy,ffolkes, these guys were special….

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

Hot Tuna April 5, 1975
Civic Auditorium, San Francisco

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https://youtu.be/Vq1XJ1cq_i8

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It’s been quite a while since I talked about Pearls, so, today’s rant will be replaced with an older discussion of said Pearls, from the archives….

From 3/28/2012:

“All art is autobiographical. The pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.” — Federico Fellini

It has been a while since I talked about Pearls, so when I stumbled upon the above quote, I knew it was time…. Pearls of Virtual Wisdom come with a caveat and disclaimer, to wit: These Pearls consist of ideas and concepts, and even procedures, that are Virtual Wisdom. They should never be confused with, or used as, Real Wisdom; the results can be somewhat unpredictable, have been known to cause injury, and in one case, (my own), have resulted in months of severe depression. (Of course, that depression may not be due strictly to the intrinsic differences in the Pearls themselves, but rather a direct result of inattention to which variety I was using at the moment) Regardless of how real Pearls of Virtual Wisdom may appear, or how shiny they look to the untrained eye, the author assumes no liability for failure to heed this caveat.

That being said, let us for a moment consider pearls as incarnations of jewels, as the precious gems of rare beauty and great value they become when freed from the oyster, the shelter which created each layer of the pearl’s beauty out of its own pain…. The soft sheen of a fine pearl, luminescent in the dimness, glowing in the light, has captivated the eyes and imaginations of men and women since the first oyster was plucked from the sea bed to become someone’s supper, and has inspired those who fall under its spell to acts of great sacrifice, and acts of great cruelty, in the quest to possess these timeless treasures from the sea.

Thus the metaphorical nature of the Pearls of Virtual Wisdom becomes apparent, as we see that although virtual wisdom looks just like real wisdom, the difference may be likened to the difference between naturally produced pearls, and those that are cultivated in laboratories. One is shiny, and of great value for its rarity and beauty, naturally endowed; the other is shiny, but of lesser value, due to lesser rarity, and a somehow lesser beauty, as made by the hand of man. The subtle differences are of little note, except to Reality, which always knows which wisdom is which, as it knows which pearl is which; hence the caveat and disclaimer, to avoid any conflicts with Reality due to negligence on my part…. so, please use these Pearls with appropriate caution, and they will bring you joy for years to come….

“Did an Italian CRANE OPERATOR just experience uninhibited sensations in a MALIBU HOT TUB?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Today’s poem is from Mari Sanchez Cayuso, one of my favorite poets. This one is full of her, and, thus, wild and beautiful and human…. Enjoy! I’ve included a link to her site, which is well worth exploring, if you enjoy poetry that will make you feel. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you will never forget….

A mole’s domain

Left upper quadrant

Above my spleen

Feel abandoned

Orphaned – delved

But in that nerve of space

Myself dreams of you

Mostly when awake

It is your silhouette

That corners my sight

Climbs out and into

My naked veins

Trying to glisten

Just as these flames

Strong enough to wait

With nowhere left to sit

For now; a vacancy

The myth of our love

Fuck – I am writing outloud

Time – difference and indifference

Inscribed on two memories

Between the things you taught me

And the anarchy of a grieving heart

– home

~~ Mari Sanchez Cayuso ~~

http://starsrainsunmoon.com/2015/12/02/a-moles-domain/

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About Hopi Indian Symbols

You needn’t bother asking, because I just don’t know. It’s just the way it came out; if I knew, I’d have picked a different icon for today. But, whatever this one is saying, it’s powerful, and it’s strange. Hence, Kokopelli…. Enjoy, but, remember the old Arab saying, “Trust God, but row towards the shore.”…..

[There are three classes]:

Those who see.
Those who see when they are shown.
Those who do not see.

~~ Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) ~~

“Intelligence is a function of imagination.” — Ontological Bee

“Each of us bears his own Hell.” — Publius Maro

“Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth. When perfect sincerity is expected, perfect freedom must be allowed; nor has anyone who is apt to be angry when he hears the truth, any cause to wonder that he does not hear it.” — Tacitus

“When you plant a flower of kindness, you will start a garden of friends.” — Zen Bee

“It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future, and impossible to live in the past. Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.” — Jim Bishop

“The smallest of good deeds exceeds the greatest of good intentions.” — Moral Bee

“Somewhere in Tenafly, New Jersey, a chiropractor is viewing “Leave it to Beaver”!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Extremes in nature equal ends produce;
In man they join to some mysterious use.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 205 ~~

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I often have trouble deciding whether or not a Pearl is adequately constructed to warrant posting. This is a direct result of the rather capricious nature of what occurs each day when I go through the process; some days it just works better than others. This one is so, well, unpredictable, I can’t even make that distinction. Hence, I’m going with my gut, which is gutless, and posting anyway, no matter how it turned out (I’m a coward, and don’t really want to go back and look, in case it becomes obvious it needs doing over…. that ain’t gonna happen). Since I am, I’d best get to it.

See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I have to, or the other Time Lords will withhold my medication, and everybody suffers. So, see ya then, by autocratic decree….

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….

Artful dodging: a retrospective…

Posted on December 4, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance.”

~~ Petrarch ~~

Main Thoroughfare, Swords, Dublin

Hajime…. As a student of human nature, history, and philosophy, as well as a practicing curmudgeon, it can be hard to summon up very much positive feeling about the future of humanity. This, naturally, will tend to carry over into one’s personal life, just as a matter of course, making it hard to find any peace within…. That being said, today’s Pearl is, in a manner of speaking, a harbinger of future events, which, oddly enough, brings with it a plethora of positivity, completely unasked for, or expected. I suppose that is the result of coming out of the mental fog in which I seemingly have been existing for longer than I care to contemplate.

Why, you may ask, should such a confirmed cynic feel so good about the future? Easy. I don’t hurt anywhere. It’s amazing to note how much power is in the short little phrase, “Sleep is a weapon.” Not only is it a weapon, but, it is a weapon of great power and flexibility, ubiquitous in the good it creates within our bodies, thus, by concatenation, our minds as well. I had not realized how much stress I had been absorbing, and ignoring, during this past two months, as I fought insomnia and my own brain’s rebellion at making changes to its chemistry. The major effect of ONE solid night’s sleep is, seemingly, incalculable. (The great massage beforehand didn’t hurt, either…. *grin*)

Pain is a familiar old friend, but, on those days when he/she/it takes a break, I can’t say I miss it at all. And, having that space from the pain leaves the mind free to perform functions much more pleasant than the constant effort to diffuse, distract, or otherwise obfuscate the pain and accompanying misery of insomnia. In short, hip, hip, hooray! About bloody time, too….

Without even thinking about any of the issues that surround this news, which in and of themselves have contributed to the difficulties, we will go forth into a new day, with the firm understanding that from this point on, I will only feel better, and stronger. and more clear in my mind, as I resume the scholar/warrior’s true path, from which I strayed so long ago. I know, a bit pompous, but, when giving one’s self a pep talk, enthusiasm is good, even if pompous….

Besides, I’m a pompous guy. I was trained thoroughly, as we all are, in how to observe custom, and whenever seriousness or sobriety is called for, the ability to fall into pomposity is a valuable tool. Sure keeps the mundanes off your back. As long as one doesn’t buy into the crap BEHIND the reason for the customs, they’re simple to follow. And the mundanes never know you’re strange….

Where was I? Oh, right. Harbinger, future, & all that. Well, I think that’s quite enough fantasy for one morning, don’t y’all? It’s probably best if we get this slow on the road, before I turn all maudlin or something. It can happen when I start rambling like this. Okay, Luigi ( Yeah, he’s back…. we had to take him back; he’s got tenure….), let’s get moving for the oyster beds…. Fire that sucker up, & let Zeke kick us up to the edge… Ffolkes, if I were you, I’d hang on…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Somebody who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world”

~~The Law of Thumb ~~

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

Jefferson Airplane

Image from tonedeaf,com.au via Google Images

A few days back, I put up a video here of the Jefferson Starship. A blogger friend mentioned that he had always preferred them as the Airplane version. So, here is the Airplane, just for chuq…

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

Jefferson Airplane
11/28/70 – Fillmore East

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

https://youtu.be/MQ63wryCqfI

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

Call to Battle by Nature’s H(e)art….

Image found without attribution.

I was going to rant today, freshly, but, in my archive cruising yesterday, I found this, which is just about what I had to say, anyway. It will do….

From 2/26/2013:

“We are going to have to find ways of organizing ourselves cooperatively,sanely, scientifically, harmonically and in regenerative spontaneity with the rest of humanity around the earth…. We are not going to be able to operate our spaceship earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common.” — Buckminster Fuller

Bucky said this some time around 1968 or 69; Google would know…. but I remember it well, as part of the argument that first convinced me of the imminence of the danger from overpopulation, pollution, climate change, and all of the other foolish, self-destructive behaviors in which our specie has engaged for millennia. The cumulative effects of all of these issues is approaching a flash point, a point that, quite possibly, may already have been reached, and passed, without anyone noticing….

Perhaps the worst example of the entire problem is the movie “An Unpleasant Truth” with former VP Al Gore narrating a summary of these issues, with all the then currently available evidence, all of which taken together was rather impressive, as well as unarguably accurate. In other words, it told the exact truth, and clearly….

I call this the worst example because this perfectly told truth of the matter was ridiculed, reviled, and dismissed, by the governments, and the public, one by ignoring it, and the other by refusing to listen, reacting instead to an unfortunate delivery style. Yet, every word Al spoke in this movie is true, and is being proved today, with the already extreme climate changes we are witnessing on a world-wide scale….

“What are the facts? Again and again and again — what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history” — what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!” — Lazarus Long

Sadly, the stupids keep on decrying any changes have happened, and blithely ignore the warmer, dryer winters, the cooler, wetter summers, the shrinking polar ice (at BOTH poles!…), the instability in the biosphere, the tons of carbon monoxide, chemicals, and particulates being added into the atmosphere every second, and all of the other evidence that PROVES them wrong. It isn’t a matter of there not being any real evidence, it is a matter of the evidence being ignored, or challenged, that is proving to be the hardest obstacle to be overcome, if we are to survive beyond the next 100 years.

Yep, that’s my estimate, based on all the different estimates I’ve read about, the evidence I’ve examined, and my take on how society is dealing with all of it….. I don’t see the changes needed happening, not yet, nor is there much indication that a way to stop the assholes in power from their insane intransigence, and selfish hoarding of resources for their private use.

The atmosphere is almost full, and the balance of the gases and elements that make up the air we breathe is, WITHOUT FAIL, going to begin to change, eventually changing into air that will not support our life form, meaning, we won’t be able to breathe it; we will suffocate….. This process, well understood by science, has already begun, and will happen faster with each passing day, once it reaches a certain critical point…. That point, if not already reached, is not far off.

“Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” — Lazarus Long

Now, I know there is hope, and that everyone who reads this will give me positive reasons for that hope…. and I agree with all of them. I don’t want to die, and I don’t want my children, or their children, to have to face the same issues in order to save themselves. To be completely honest, I’d much rather just shoot the motherfuckers who are causing all of it right now, and be done with it…..

Sadly, that won’t work, so we’ll have to figure out something else to do. I am not enough of a genius to be able to figure out exactly what that might be, though I have some ideas that would help, I’m sure. But, I’m not in a position now to have those ideas instituted, so they are moot, unless I can assume such a position….

Hope is, therefore, just about ALL I have left…..

gigoid has spoken

So be it.

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

I’m not sure, but, I may have used this recently. However, it fits in so well with today’s material, I made an executive (i.e. stupid & unpopular) decision, and will use it again today, whether it was used or not. So there. Try to enjoy it anyway, please?

Accentuated Lessons

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

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

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

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

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Today’s final old-school pearl is pretty standard, but for the relatively obscure reputation of those quotes we’ve chosen for today. Most of them are from people nobody heard of, at least, not on the streets. But, they all have a valuable little idea to impart about Life (hence the icon, inverted) at Large, so, ’tis best to pay close attention, lest you miss that one thing that might just turn your life around…. if it needs to. If not, well, save it for when it does….. Enjoy!….

“He who receives a good turn should never forget it; he who does one should never remember it.” — Charron

“Men are rewarded and punished not for what they do, but rather for how their acts are defined. This is why men are more interested in better justifying themselves than in better behaving themselves.” — Thomas Szasz “The Second Sin”

“It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.” — Virginia Woolf

“A little hobgoblin fools consistent minds.” — Witty Bee

“In adversity remember to keep an even mind.” — Horace (8 BC)

“Nae man can tether time or tide.” — Robert Burns — Tam o’ Shanter

“To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child. For what is man’s lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Orator

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” — Oscar Wilde, “Oscariana”

“It seems that nature has concealed at the bottom of our minds, talents and abilities of which we are not aware. The passions alone have the privilege of bringing them to light, and of giving us sometimes views more certain and more perfect than art could possible produce.” — La Rochefoucauld

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

Okay, right. So, here is where I stamp your papers, and tell you your application for admission to Utopia has been rejected. Sorry, we’re full up, so, until somebody dies (doesn’t happen often; we’re immortal), you’re S.O.O.L…. which is the correct way to write that particular euphemist abbreviation. But no worries, I’ll be back tomorrow, when you may submit another; there’s no limit to how many times you may apply, as there is no limit to how often you will be rejected out of hand…. Hah! Take that, sultry poltroons! Oh, wait…. Sorry, forgot this wasn’t the Daffy Duck cartoon….

Never mind. I’ll see y’all tomorrow. unless one of you is successful in your assassination attempts…. Good luck with that; I’ve got a Tardis, so, how are you going to find me? That means, I’ll be here, regardless of the legality….

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….

gigoid

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

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