Nuke those gum drops before they’re served, please….

Posted on November 18, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“No falsehood lingers into old age.”

~~ Sophocles (406 BC) ~~

In response to the quote, from Sophocles, I would say, “except, perhaps, those we tell to ourselves.” That simple fact may be part of the problem, wouldn’t you think?….. Ah well….

In coming centuries, should we survive to see them, the Philae lander, (which you see above in an artist’s rendering of its descent to the comet on which it tried to land, taken from Space.com’s coverage of the event), may become the subject of a number of jokes, described as “Philae, the Bouncing Bot”, or other such inane nicknames, a result of the comical way it managed to complete its landing sequence…. Thanks to the unknown physical demands of the landing, onto a comet moving at great speed, the silly thing managed to bounce three times before coming to a complete rest on the surface, a sequence of events not realized until the pictures from the mother-ship had been analyzed….

What a ride, eh? Zooming along through space, trying to land on a rock, only to find itself on a make-shift carnival ride…. Too bad it didn’t have any human riders to give us a play-by-play description of how it felt to be bouncing over the surface of a speeding rock through the depths of space… As it was, we were barely able to find the poor wee ‘bot where it ended up on the surface, finally spotting it shortly before its batteries gave out. The information it was able to transmit to the scientists at the EU Space Center, of the single drilling sample it was able to perform, was sent to the center just before it said “Nighty night”, and went to sleep, perhaps never to wake again….

Since there is only a small chance of it ever doing so, we’ll leave our species’ latest technological wonder to rest in peace, and hope it passes through enough sunlight on its trip around the Sun to be able to wake up & reestablish contact with Earth. Until then, we’ll just tell it, “Well done, little ‘bot!”, and get on with today’s Pearl…. Hey, we’ve got to get started some time, right? Right…. Now seems like a good time….

Since we’ve already come down the page a ways, I think we’ll take what we’ve been given, and run to the bank to deposit what may be left by the time we get there…. Not that we’re going to sweat much over an imaginary deposit in an imaginary bank, but, it deserves a mention, if only to fill in just a few more lines…. Pretty cool the way I slipped those in there, isn’t it? I’m getting fairly adept at this, I think…. Other times, I’m sure I’m deluding myself, and, since I haven’t a clue as to how to figure out which is true, we’ll pretend I never said anything about it, and take the opening into the rest of the Pearl that is looming just ahead…. In fact, DUCK!….

Whew, almost hit the overhead lights on that pass…. Oh well, we made it, and we’re here, so, lets’ get on with it…..

Shall we Pearl?

“In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong.” — John Kenneth Galbraith, Guardian (London, 28 July 1989)

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I don’t know about y’all, but, I love Van Morrison’s music, always have…. Here’s a bunch of it…. Enjoy this little trip through the past, ffolkes, or else….

Van Morrison- BBC Four Sessions 2008

http://youtu.be/p-lOyh5wBEk

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I’m not late, but, the news is currently pretty boring, and, more importantly, I AM quite lazy…. Hence, another blast from the past…. This one isn’t a rant, per se, though it shows some rant-like qualities…. I think we’ll label this one a ‘discussion’….

From 10/22/2012:

“Don’t ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun — and neither can stop the march of events.” — Lazarus Long, from Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein

As with many important truths, this one does not comfort one to know it; a common attribute of remarks by Lazarus, who has a tendency to voice the truth regardless of its potential, or even certain, effect on the audience. And, damn it, it is just so much simpler to let all the bad stuff hold sway on our attention, and give in to the depressive urge to berate and chastise the universe for its lack of tact and consideration for human sensibilities. It never listens, anyway….

My semi-rant in section one today is a perfect example of this principle at work; I do try to maintain some optimism in the face of reality; I even have learned to try to explain away all the weird stuff, as being outside the statistical universe under consideration. It’s a lie, but it’s my lie, so I usually can buy into it, long enough to allow denial to set in, and thus preventing the otherwise inevitable depression over how bad things have gotten…..

Actually, right now, it’s fairly simple to stay completely distracted, as we always have the election, and all the shenanigans taking place on that stage, to draw our attention away from the imminent demise we face as a species, or even, more importantly, our personal concerns of everyday living. It’s easy to deny the inevitability of carbon monoxide pollution when we have Mitt the Twitt’s lies to chase down, or Biden’s latest zinger to admire, or Lyin’ Ryan’s latest example of elitism to watch with dropped jaw….. It’s a veritable circus, and the clowns are in full swing….

(Note from 2014: This was written during the 2012 campaign leading to the national election, with Mitt, the Twit, Romney, cluelessly running against Barry the Obama, who was seeking his second term at the helm….)

It’s not just the candidates providing the entertainment, either…. every Tom, Dickwad, and Mary is chiming in with their two cents, on TV, radio, and, most prodigiously, on the Internet, all trying to get SOMEONE to listen to them during the run-up to the election. Those two cents can get very, very strange, as each commenter tries to make the most outrageous statements and/or claims/accusations about all the actors on stage, providing a whole new package of entertainment for us, each one vying for our attention at the top of their lungs, figuratively speaking…..

This is where the metaphor of the circus gains its credibility, although, more accurately, I am reminded by this, most emphatically, of just about any carnival at the County Fairs I’ve been to….. Disheveled, sinister-looking barkers, complete with suspenders and a cigar in their mouth, yelling out the prizes they promise, each one grander than the next, and easy as pie to win: exotic visions that promise endless satisfaction of desires, enormously valuable jewels and objet’s d’art for virtually nothing, and endless illusions to draw the eye away from the seediness and underlying, almost frenetic despair permeating the air….

Yes, indeed, the political scene here in America has always reminded me of a carnival, and the events and activities that prompt my impression of the election as an illusionary device, designed to fool the public into thinking that things will change if they vote, has never been stronger than it is now. I have hope that by voting against the obviously evil side of the campaign, the overall effect on the immediate future will be mitigated to some degree. But, I can find within me very little hope that the eventual outcome is in doubt, and that outcome is not one that anyone is going to like…. at all.

My optimism is fairly natural to me; I’ve always been a hopeful kind of person, and I continue to hold hope that mankind’s future will extend beyond this century, groundless as it may be. My pessimism, unfortunately, has the advantage of having the most evidence in it’s favor right now, even if Obama wins the election, as I expect he will. He is only one man, and the course of human events is very difficult to change once it is headed in a particular direction. My hope is based on the wish that more than just he will learn to make the inner changes needed for us all to survive the storms that are coming…. A slim hope, yes, but hey, it happens to be all we’ve got…..

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Here is a piece of my own poetry, written during a period of contemplation of current events, (of that time, of course….), of the most personal kind, in which I managed to include much of my own philosophy, truncated into verse, right in the very last stanza…. Go figure….

Raging at Aging

As old as you feel, we are told, is old as you are,
custom assures such vision will carry us far.
Reality begs to differ, may it be so bold
it’s really quite painful, and very, very cold.

The power and strength felt in our halcyon youth
desert us with age, yet another unwelcome truth.
Irony rules our time here on this bountiful earth
as we reflect the changes over time since our birth.

As physical powers fade from this fragile shell,
we learn our mind can serve us quite as well.
The strength that once filled our bones and hearts
is now applied by our will, to more arcane arts.

Life’s greatest gift is our freedom of choice
no matter how often we forget, we still get a voice.
Energy, or apathy, by our will we may choose,
failing to do so, our only way to lose.

Each of us lives in the grip of time and space,
always seeking our balance, our own chosen place.
One must accept reality, for it’s true at the core,
all we can do, is all we can do, and nothing more.

~~ gigoid ~~

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As I begin to write this section, I have no clue as to what I’ll find today in SB…. In fact, that may be the way to go…. Right, we’ll do it…. This pearl will be ALL Smart Bee’s choices, on any subject it cares to pick, as long as it makes a point of some kind…. Let’s see what happens with such a loose set of parameters….

“In everything one must consider the end.” — J. de La Fontaine (1621-1695) — The Fox and the Gnat, Book iii, Fable 5

“A multiple personality is in a certain sense normal.” — George H. Mead

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Better be ignorant of a matter than half know it.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 865

“It is not love of self, but hatred of self which is at the root of the troubles that afflict the world.” — Eric Hoffer

“The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.” — G. K. Chesterton, TREMENDOUS TRIFLES

A soldier told Pelopidas, “We are fallen among the enemies.” Said he, “How are we fallen among them more than they among us?” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Pelopidas

“Even while a thing is in the act of coming into existence, some part of it has already ceased to be.” — Marcus Aurelius

“This and a great deal more like it I have had to put up with.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Act iv, Sc. 6, 8, (746.)

Hmm…. Well, I’m not entirely sure what it means, but, I like it. It’s done, too, making it perfect….

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Whew! That went fairly well, all things considered…. Today’s Pearl has been brought to you by the number 2, by the letter J, and by those generous folks three houses down whose internet service I’ve been stealing for weeks…. Just kidding, but. hey, it isn’t unusual for me to be a bit giddy when I’m finished…. Perhaps this would be a good time to make my break for freedom…. Say goodnight, Gracie….

See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Officer, that rhinoceros is winking at me!….

Posted on October 23, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Earth has it’s boundaries, but human stupidity is limitless.”

~~ Flaubert ~~

I’m thinking Mssr. Flaubert was in a bit of a stinky mood when he wrote the above aphorism…. It does have the advantage of being fairly well true, if a bit lacking in scientific approach…. Yes, human stupidity is unlimited in scope; however the Earth is a finite object; as such it has actual limits. But, given the incredible beauty our world can display, there is no limit to how much it can stimulate our imagination, which IS infinite in scope as well… We are creatures of duality; our nature, our perception, and our emotional makeup all reflect that duality, which, by the fact of it’s nature, provides the universe with balance, and permanence….

It’s amazing, isn’t it? To look at a picture such as this one, of a plant thriving in the midst of urban blight, providing a source of beauty even the depressive nature of its surroundings cannot dim, and know how beautiful the world is, if it only gets a chance…. In the midst of sorrow, and pain, and the depression of poverty, one may always find beauty, which, by its mere existence, gives people hope, and the strength to live on, to keep struggling toward the light, using what is at hand…. just as this plant has done….

Enough early morning philosophy for one day; when I started I didn’t plan on going into that; it evolved as I began to type, pretty much writing itself…. Given the history of introductory sections on this blog, I find that to be a good thing. It’s given us a decent set of opening lines, and thoughts, with the bonus of not falling into a rant, right out of the box. I’m sure y’all can appreciate such restraint; I know this blog can get to be a heavy read, but, I really do try to think ahead in that respect…..

My tendency toward bozoid behavior, though, often causes me to forget my good intentions, and ranting becomes the order of the day. Today, however, you’ll note we are almost far enough down the page to make our escape…. In fact, we’re going to bail out by the end of this particular paragraph, as I see the opening coming up ahead, there at the side of the worm hole…. Again, I have to ask y’all to fasten your seat belts securely, as the cabin may experience some turbulence while the pilot is unconscious; no worries, it’s only a temporal effect, passing in seconds, and we’ll come out the other side without a problem…. Trust me….

Shall we Pearl?….

“We are more sensible of what is done against custom than against Nature.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Eating of Flesh, Tract 1

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I’m in the mood for some soothing, cerebral music today…. In this particular group of musical pieces, I suggest you skip past the first one that plays; it’s a bit slow for a morning piece…. but, it gets better, believe me…. Enjoy, ffolkes!

The Best in Classical Music: Part 1:

http://youtu.be/wLkjMLdLf3s

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“When you are sure you’re right, you have a moral duty to impose your will upon anyone who disagrees with you.” — Robert W. Mayer

Think about that for a moment….

When I think about this, beyond my initial gut reaction, which involves severe disdain, not to mention disgust, for such unwarranted arrogance, I am struck with two thoughts, each more depressing the the other….. First, I want to say that it is my firm belief that any time someone, anyone, uses the words, “it is your moral duty”, you can be sure they are speaking about THEIR morals, not anyone else’s….

This kind of discriminatory bigotry is damn near invisible to anyone who suffers from it, as it arises out of what can only be faith-based assumptions, thus ensuring that NO argument will be entertained…. In other words, no matter HOW ignorant, or bigoted, or INSANE their beliefs, if they think they are right (and, they will never entertain any other thought), it guarantees their fanaticism, and rejection of ANY evidence to the contrary….

That being said, it depresses me that, most of the people in this country, ESPECIALLY those who end up in politics, would, if asked, express their belief in this sentiment, right down to the bone, no matter how insane it truly is…. It is also a de rigeur position for anyone who buys into ANY of the religions out there, for they all operate with this sort of illogic as their primary method of exposition and thought…. You see, it doesn’t actually require any thought to believe this stuff; it’s all laid out for them, so all that is needed is to say, “ditto”, position the blinders comfortably, and resume their clueless existence….

“As one reads history… one is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted.” — Oscar Wilde

This attitude is the reason the government, and all the assholes who do their clandestine bidding, are able to continue to do whatever they wish to do, no matter how the public feels about it…..

Secondly, when I see that statement, (above, by R. Mayer) claiming moral infallibility by right of belief, I get depressed because, not only do most people believe it in the case of this issue, they also tend to carry the self-same attitude over into every area of their life, until every original thought is quashed before it ever formulates in their minds…. They become the nightmare of any honestly ethical man, as an entitled hedonist, believing they have the right to anything they desire, whether filling that desire affects, or even harms, anyone else, or not. With the mandate of faith, they are invulnerable to reason, and to criticism of any sort…

This attitude, of entitlement, becomes the societal norm after a while, until our culture resembles nothing so much as a jungle, where everyone believes in the theory of ‘dog eat dog’, with the eventual result we see now, where no one is able to trust anyone else…. All because lying, cheating, and stealing have become the norm, the primary way everyone turns to in order to get what they want…. and, nobody cares, because that kind of behavior is mirrored at all levels of society, right up to the very top….. This all-too human trait has been recognized for a long time, but, has resisted all attempts to root it out of human interaction; hence, we see war, after war, after war, since the beginning of historical memory….

Below, you will find the evidence I found, straight from the horse’s mouth, that shows exactly how we humans REALLY view life…. Real life, that is, not the ideal life everyone talks about…. These nine statements/aphorisms/quotes tell it like it is…. and how humans, especially our Beloved Ruling Class, looks at reality…. Please note, this is all RECORDED evidence, with attribution, so, it’s not like I made any of this part up on my own…. It’s all down in black and white, on paper, somewhere…. so, this is all stuff people really do, and believe….. or, want us all to believe….

“Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.” — B.F. Skinner

“Necessity has no law.” — Francis Rabelais (1495-1553) — Works, Book v, Chap. xv

“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” — Exodus 15:3

“The only very marked difference between the average civilized man and the average savage is that the one is gilded and the other is painted.” — Mark Twain

“A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.” — Saul Bellow

“Democracy is the name we give the people whenever we need them.” — Arman de Caillavet

“Even though Federal health officials are promoting less tobacco use, the tobacco industry should continue to expand in foreign markets.” — Vice President Dan Quayle

“People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.” — Otto von Bismarck

“If you can’t drink a lobbyist’s whiskey, take his money, sleep with his women and still vote against him in the morning, you don’t belong in politics.” — Speaker of the California Assembly Jesse Unruh

In a manner of speaking, I rest my case; they are hoist on their own petard, condemned by their own words…. I’ll leave you with one final thought on the matter, to wit:

“A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.” — P.J. O’Rourke

So be it…..

gigoid has spoken.

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

I’m in the mood for Yeats….

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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Today’s old school pearl is relatively fresh; it does, however, seem to lack a certain degree of intensity…. Oh, it’s all true, and good stuff, but, there just isn’t a lot of OOMPH to it…. Oh well, I guess they can ALL be compelling…. It’s a good pearl, anyway, so, just allow it to lead your mind to where it’s headed, and you’ll be fine…. maybe a small bit wiser, too…. maybe…

“An intelligent mind is a mind which is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind, a mind that is watching, learning, studying.” — J. Krishnamuti

“If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives.” — Robert South

“Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as food to the body.” — Cicero

“Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.), [quoting Plato]

“Of all the strange “crimes” that human beings have legislated out of nothing, “blasphemy” is the most amazing–with “obscenity” and “indecent exposure” fighting it out for second and third place.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“Kindness gives birth to kindness.” — Sophocles

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

A bit general, but, tidy enough…. I’ll take it….

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I have done my duty, and that’s all I can say…. Since, however, duty remains my core belief, that’s good enough…. Today is a day with a lot of possibilities…. as Gilda Radner once said of life, “delicious ambiguity!”….. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Four plastic tug boats and a waffle iron….

Posted on September 21, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Thoughts are mightier than strength of hand.”

~~ Sophocles ~~

(496-406 BC)

— Phaedra, Frag. 854 —

Okay…. the quote? It’s a good one, but, hey, duh! As for the picture, you may have seen it; I’ve seen it two places on the web, just in the three days since it was released; this copy came from Space.com… It is a picture of an artist’s rendering of a massive black hole, found by astronomers in a dwarf galaxy near another larger galaxy it orbits, or, more accurately, is part of in a eons long dance of exchanging materials….. Just a little reminder of how small we actually are, in relation to the Universe…. Of course, when one speaks of the Universe, and the stars, one must also think of the music of the spheres, so real, yet invisible to any as-yet-known instrument, our Home rings with music, pouring out of everything that exists, with most only as silent witness…

Music….. It’s a huge part of me, which, for too long, I haven’t allowed to be as much a part of my life as I’d prefer, for a number of reasons… or, if I have let it in, it hasn’t been to the degree I’ve recently come to realize is important to my health, in more than merely a physical sense. How much it CAN be has yet to be determined, but, I’m going to give it more of a chance to fulfill the need in me, to listen to it, to play, to sing, to dance, even if only in a chair. It has always been around, it seems, but, not always at the times I, perhaps, needed it most…. which is a bit mysterious, as music is pretty readily available anytime, anywhere…. Fortunately for all of us, it will have to remain a mystery, as I don’t have time to go into long, sad stories, especially to start the day….

Ever since I managed to stumble onto the method for posting music videos here on the blog, I’ve been listening to some of the stuff that first got me involved in playing my own music, through the simplest expedient at the time, learning to play a guitar, singing the lyrics, and, quite simply, freeing my spirit…. which had not even realized there was a sky, much less that it could fly in it…. Since that time, making it, along with listening to it, has almost always been a part of my life; always, but for the last few years, at least, not to a degree I would like it to have been…. But, my passion for it remains, dormant for now, until the urge to play hits…. “Then I’ll pick up my guitar & play…” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera to paraphrase Pete, and Yul….

In addition to its power to affect each of us individually, music can be a powerful teacher, to all those who hear it…. Ideas (freedom, liberty), attitudes (patriotism, loyalty, community spirit), language (slogans, songs, poems), all are susceptible to modification under the magic auspices of music, affecting people on a society-wide basis, merely by a popular song, or a series of articles, or movies starring heroic actors….

Witness the US government movies prior to, and during WWII, and the Korean ‘conflict’…. (Do fewer people die in a conflict than in a war?…. Just wondering….) Many Hollywood musicians, singers, dancers, actors, and all the supporting people in the studios worked diligently to pass on the government’s key ideas and attitudes that would support the war efforts…. Very strong stuff, some of it, hidden in most excellent swing band style, complete with singing sisters…

See how easily I can fall into a rant…. Ah well, I am in too good a mood to worry about all that right now…. besides, I’m sure there is plenty of THAT going on down below…. For now, just know that I love music, and, most likely, so do you…. so, I’ll give you a tip, that may help you, or not…. Most of the videos I’ll be adding in the new second section, inserted after the intro (where I’ve decided the video pearls will live here on ECR….), if you let them run to the end, no matter how long, will offer you choices of similar videos, by the same, and other artists…. So, merely by stopping by to read, you can, if you wish, have the entire day’s play list right at your fingertips…. as long as there are more music choices you enjoy…. after each of which, more choices show up…. Cool, eh, what?….

We’re all about public service here at ECR, as y’all well know…. so, I’ll also take this moment to mention the Walk the Walk for Climate Change that is happening right NOW in NYC, and in cities all over the world, to tell the leaders there at a summit on that subject, that the people want to see real changes made, and no BS….. I’d be there if I could, but, since I can’t, I’m sending all my curmudgeonly outrage into the airwaves to them, and letting y’all know you can do the same…. Give the asininnies and the BRC a loud THPPT!, and tell them to get off their duffs, and get to work saving our asses before it’s too late….

I for one am probably too old to make it to the first Mars or asteroid colony, or even the second, if it works…. but, if that looks like our only hope, well, I’ll be pounding on the air lock door before they take off; hell, I’ll ride on the outside, if I have to…. Just give me a space-suit, a rope, and a strong magnet or two, and I’ll get there if I have to tie myself to the radio disc….

Probably enough fantasy for one morning, wouldn’t you say?…. Well, too bad; I would. No, just joking, fantasy is always in order, almost anywhere but on a space ship, where mathematics works better…. It did get us this far, though, which will do for our purposes…. In fact, we can just turn right here, and….

Shall we Pearl?….

“It may be true that my desk here is really “nothing but” a transient eddy of electrons in the flux of universal process. Nevertheless, I find that it continues to support my feet, my revolver, and my cigars all day long. What happens when my back is turned I don’t know. Or much care. That’s no concern of mine.” — Edward Abbey

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“Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:

Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

~~ Marcus Tullius Cicero ~~

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Officials-demand-criminal-probe-of-PG-amp-E-s-5767564.php

I had originally thought to put an older rant here, and shall do so, forthwith…. The above link is to a current article, from a day or so ago, talking about the most recent corruption shown by PG&E and the Public Utilities Commission, which is, ostensibly, a public entity charged with overseeing the utility company…. As the article shows, the relationship they’ve developed has gone beyond that, into a symbiotic state, showing quite well how businesses work to corrupt government agencies….

But, rather than rant on that today, I’ll give you an older rant, that deals with the same issue, to wit, lies, lies, and more damn lies from the people who are allegedly working for us, the people, but, who, in fact, have been looting the treasury, giving most of our money to the bankers and shadowy corporate interests (most significantly, the arms dealers who make such a profit on all the wars the governing assholes engage in….), who give not the slightest shit for anyone but themselves, for almost the entire history of this country….

Below, you will find a small temporal anomaly, but, as long as you don’t try to keep up with where in time you may be at any particular point in the piece, you’ll be fine… In other words, suspend your normal hold on reality, and just go with the flow…. believe me, you DON’T want to actually try to know when you are; it could cause problems in the space-time continuum that might get out of hand, potentially resulting in an explosion to rival the FIRST Big Bang…. It would be better, all around, if you just didn’t even bother to try….

From 6/3/2013:

I have a lot to do today, and need to get started early to get it all done,,, so, I’m cheating here, but in a good way. This is a Pearl from November of 2011… Much of it is apparently written around the same subject as discussed in section one of today’s effort, so I’m including it here, to save myself some time, and give y’all a bit of contrasting text to compare…. You can check for me to see if what I wrote then is consistent with what was done today, or if it was better, or worse…. Whatever it was, it’s a bit long, so, here it is, so you can get started….

11/16/11
Ffolkes,

Good morrow to you…. let us begin as we mean to go on….

“Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” — Gene Fowler

This line is included today merely to give y’all an idea of what I go through every morning to produce this…. whatever it is. It is a pretty good description, actually, because when I’m done, I actually feel battered and bloody. Bloody well used up is what it is. Maybe it’s easier for other writers; I don’t know. But for me, to produce something that my standards will allow me to publish for others to read, is much like having a piece of my soul ripped out. The funny thing is, though it hurts a lot, I wouldn’t stop doing it, even if I could. The pain of creation, which after all requires destruction first, is a worthy payoff for the sense of accomplishment I get when I see one of my pieces online for all to see. Quite a rush, actually….

“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.” — Aldous Huxley

This observation, as far as I can tell, is 100% accurate, and because it is, many of the problems society is facing are easily explained, if not easily resolved. For example, when was the last time you gave a thought to what else besides oxygen is in the air that you take into your lungs on the average of 15-20 times per minute.? When you last got a glass of water from the tap, did you stop to think about what was in the water you use to drink, cook with, and bathe in? As Mr. Huxley pointed out, most folks, yourselves included, seldom think about or appreciate such simple necessities, or what might happen if they were no longer available.

What will we do when the air is so full of carbon dioxide that the amount of oxygen in it is decreased below the point where it will sustain life? Will we all have to wear breathing apparatus in order to brave the outside world? What will happen to all the other animals if there isn’t sufficient air? What will you do when the water you drink is no longer safe to consume? We need water as much as we need air; our chemical make-up is 90% water, and not having enough of it to replace what we lose is a sure path to the grave within a matter of days.

There are other issues connected to this subject; the consistent degradation of our planet’s ecosystem has a great many negative effects, small and unnoticeable at first, but growing larger over time until they are added to the list of processes that will eventually lead to extinction of all of this planet’s life forms. Part of the problem is that it is a slow, insidious process, this degradation, and the deleterious outcomes are not evident until too late to reverse.

Remember, the Universe doesn’t care, one way or the other, whether we survive or not; the rules are the rules, and fighting against the natural laws of our space-time continuum is a fool’s bet. Like it or not, we, as a species, are going to need to make some serious changes to the way we do things, if we are to survive at all. And we will need to do it starting yesterday….

“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” — Albert Einstein

I really admire Albert Einstein, and not because he was a great scientist, as well as one of history’s shining examples of men and women who greatly advance human knowledge, and do so out of their love of mankind. Albert’s wisdom was not restricted to the principles of physics and math; he had a unique way of looking at the world, and the ability to share their deep insights into life and the universe for the benefit of others. He was an eternal optimist, and as the above quote demonstrates, had a firm grip on the concept of living with honor and dignity.

He believed in the inherent goodness of every man, and lived his life in a way that it stands as an example for the rest of us. I cannot wholly agree with what he states above, because I have a much darker view of what human nature is capable of, and less faith in mankind’s willingness to submit to natural law. But what he said does show with clarity where our salvation lies, and in his own inimitable manner, he shares his deeper knowledge with the rest of us in the hope it will inspire others to act honorably….

“To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give of oneself; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sing with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier: this is to have succeeded.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

From what I gather in my study of 19th century American writers, a lot of the best were what I would call masters of advanced curmudgeonry. Emerson, Walden, Thoreau, were all libertarians living in compromise with a democracy, and spent much of their time either complaining about society, or hiding from it in their forest retreats. This is not to say that what they wrote was bad or mistaken in premise, necessarily, but if you read their work with this in mind, it becomes apparent that they didn’t much like other folks, or put much trust in their rationality.

But, as the included quote indicates, being a curmudgeon doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t understand humanity, or what it takes to make life complete. This paragraph from Mr. Emerson demonstrates this perfectly. One cannot argue with conviction that all of these attributes listed, and experiences from a long life, are positively rooted, and make perfect sense. Whether or not we actually have all of these characteristics is unimportant; the list remains valid even if incomplete. And it provides anyone with a good map and directions that can be useful to us in our pursuit of happiness….

So much for another day…. Hopefully, you have consumed a fair portion of food for thought, and found it palatable enough. If not, feel free to let me know, and I’ll see if I can come up with something more savory…. in the meantime, y’all take care out there….

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Today’s music video will be classical, because I like it, and I’m feeling the need for something uplifting, to go with the change of pace….

Enjoy!…..

Classical Music for Spring : Vivaldi, Strauss, Schumann

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Today, I feel like one of the classical romanticists…. Ah, here’s a good one….

He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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This section normally holds an old-school pearl, and, it shall… but, first, a bit of artwork that will drench your eyes in beauty….. The web site at Space.com held an astronomical photography, posting the winning photos here: http://www.space.com/27197-astronomy-photo-contest-winners.html?cmpid=558274 The photo you see is the overall winner; I’ve included the link so you can go see the rest of them…. some are incredible, like this one….

Gorgeous, yes? Now, here is the pearl that was originally to go here…. This one is DEFINITELY random….

“The most important thing in acting is honesty. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” — George Burns

“If a person offend you and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures. Simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick.” — Mark Twain, Advice to Youth Speech, 1882

“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

“Give me a place to sit, and I’ll watch.” — friend of Archimedes

“You say you want a revolution, well you know, we all want to change the world.” — (Beatles) Revolution

“Now is the time for all good men to come to.” — Walt Kelly

“Do not try to live forever. You will not succeed.” — George Bernard Shaw

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It’s a bit of an epic, but, it’s done, and I’m not going to second-guess myself at this point….. In fact, I’ll be unusually brief, and merely say, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

“The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.”

À bientôt, mon cherí.

Perhaps he’ll wait for the proper moment….

Posted on September 14, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Whenever a thing changes and alters its nature, at that moment comes the death of what it was before.”

~~ Lucretius ~~

What you see above is a digital map, with colors added to provide clues as to the composition of the surface it represents… The surface in question is located on an asteroid, orbiting around the sun, off in another part of our solar system, in an orbit that will take it close to the sun in the next few months, before sending it out and away again, in its long elliptical orbit…. It’s name, given in hopes it will give us the same sort of history-changing data as the original bearer of the name, is the Rosetta asteroid, as in the Rosetta Stone….

The European Space Agency, nearly, or, perhaps, even more than a year ago, launched an unmanned, automated probe rocket to catch up to the asteroid in its orbit, taking many months to do so, with the intention of establishing itself in orbit around the small planetoid object, to collect data from close by, and to eventually send a small probe, loaded with instruments for collecting samples and performing tests, down to land on the surface, where it will perform various scientific procedures to collect even more data about the asteroid’s composition and structure…

This data will tell us what is made of, how old it is, and many other pieces of information, all of which will advance our understanding of asteroids, and the solar system, in general, and specifically, in much greater detail than we could ever find out by just observing from afar…. In the process, unknown and unacknowledged, except by a very few people who can see the bigger picture, this mission is the first step in what may be the ONLY possible way for our species to survive into the future….

This landing on another piece of real estate in our solar system signals the advent of the true Age of Space for our species, and, with the rapidity of the coming environmental crisis here on Earth, colonizing the asteroids, and/or Mars, or, potentially, the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus, may be our only hope of keeping ANY of us alive…. I hate to be pessimistic, but, as far as I can see, this is not something that is debatable any longer…. our time is coming, and sooner than anyone wants to believe….

Yes, we’ve walked on the Moon, and we may yet also colonize that planetoid, as it is so close to Home…. but, the possibility of not being able to live on the surface of the Earth any longer is a distinct threat to our having any future at all…. We may be too late already to save the Earth from becoming toxic to our lungs and metabolism, not to mention the effects of the rising of the seas on our fresh water supplies, and ability to grow the foods we eat….

Our ONLY hope is, quite possibly, to establish colonies on the nearest bodies we can get to, as fast as we can muster the resources and technology to do so, then, when established as self-supporting, spread from there into the rest of the system…..The material resources are there; the asteroids, many eons ago, were another planet, larger than Earth and Mars, that broke up to form the belt between Mars and Jupiter we see today.

These orbiting chunks of rock, some as large as some of our smaller continents, some as small as dust, are chock full of all the metals, minerals, and substances, including water, in the form of ice, we would conceivably need to keep civilization functioning (Saturn’s rings, for example, are supposedly made of ice..) Power is more than plentiful, in the form of sunlight, as well as nuclear fission (much safer to produce and handle in the vastness of space), or, nuclear fusion, if and when we discover its secrets, as well as the chemicals needed for rocket fuels, all are to be found, relatively easily, in the asteroids….

So, the map above, a digital image made from composites taken AT THE SITE, represents the first exploration into our solar system, beyond the Earth/Moon/Mars neighborhood, with the specific intent to explore the possible uses of the rest of the solar system in saving, and continuing human existence…. as such, it is much more significant, and important, than many people are aware of…. and, less aware than they NEED to be, if they want to secure a place in that future….

Unless, of course, y’all hang around here, where, you can be sure, I’ll be keeping a weather eye on all of it, and will let y’all know how the countdown is progressing, whether it means counting down to the time when Earth is no longer able to serve as our Home, or counting the time until we will need to be gone elsewhere, if we wish to make a new Home, in Space…. at all…… Count on that, for sure….

Gosh, look Ma! It’s an intro! Why, so it is Bubba! Let’s tell gigoid, so he can….. Never mind, I’ve got it…. Hold on, ffolkes…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Any certainty is a delusion.” — Smart Bee, with gigoid’s full agreement

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On a normal morning, I’d use the article below to begin a rant; today, that just isn’t going to happen. The above was done prior to getting up today, without knowing I’d wake up in a world of hurt at 1 AM, again, at 3 AM, with me, exhausted, but, giving up on sleep about a half hour ago…. Add some plumbing issues, first thing, and you’ve got an interesting morning shaping up….. Without descending into whining, let’s just say that this Pearl will be the fastest ever posted, start to finish, and leave it at that, without going any further into why I need to get done so fast…

This article actually is good news, as a Federal Court put aside a conviction of a citizen, because the military had used their technology and ability to hack into PRIVATE computer systems, in the homes of American citizens, justifying it by claiming they were looking for evidence of criminal (collection of child pornography, etc.) activity by naval personnel, and for evidence of terrorist activity, simply because they have a naval base in the state where it took place, to wit: Washington state….

Read the article, it gives a chilling account of how the government, and the military, is spying on its own citizens, without their knowledge, and, even more disturbing, have software already in place that allows them to access any computer, in anyone’s home, as long as it connects to the internet… I hate to say I told you so, but, I did…. they are spying on us, looking right into our homes to find out what we are doing…. because, quite simply, they can, and they feel they have that right, since nobody is stopping them….

This attitude has spread so deeply into the entire government of this nation, now, the president (note, no capital, as that would show more respect than he deserves….) thinks he has the power to wage war, whenever he feels it would politically expedient, such as now….. He wants to be remembered as the president who fought terrorism…. when what he is, is the president who pulled the covers off the charade being carried out by all of our branches of government, of turning this country, officially, and permanently, into the oligarchy it has actually been for many years…. Now, they aren’t even bothering to hide their disdain, and complete dominance of the American public…

I hurt, so, it’s natural to rant… but, it hurts so much, both physically, and emotionally, I can’t do it any more today…. This article makes note of a hopeful sign, but, also signals the advent of a time when the rich, powerful assholes in charge of the world’s governments are not going to bother to hide their control much longer…. Mark my words, they are going to have to assume tighter control soon, or the possibilities for revolution offered by the Internet will cause them to have to fight out in the open to maintain their position…. and, unfortunately, except in this country, THEY have most of the weapons in the world, and, if recent history is any indication, they won’t hesitate to use them on their own people…. witness Ferguson….

Enough, read, and weep…. then, I’d suggest you do what I plan to do, which is to stock up on ammunition, for ALL the weapons I possess…. I’ll add a few pearls afterward, to help soothe the angst that surely will follow….

http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2014/09/12/porn-conviction-tossed-over-militarys-surveillance-role/?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

Mostly, the following ended up being stuff that our Beloved Ruling Class would believe, or, describes them, or is something one or more of them has actually stated at one time or another… or, in a couple of cases, shows what they would have said, if they were in the habit of telling the truth…..

“Why bother building any more nuclear warheads until we use the ones we have?” — overheard at the lunchroom mess in the Pentagon

“The Bible is an opiate to keep the beasts of burden patient.” — Pope Leo X

“The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.” — Sophocles

“In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.” — Mark Twain

“After he got good at school boards, he finished up by making Congress.”– Mark Twain (found later, in his notes, as originally intended as part of the previous quote…) (Okay, I made it up…. if he’d thought of it, he would have….)

“It is our duty to make the best of our misfortunes, and not to suffer passion to interfere with our interest and public good.” — George Washington

“How dieth the wise man? As the fool.” — Smart Bee

Quick after-note: Look at the somewhat out-of-place-with-the-others quote by Georgie W., our first president. In response, I have two short questions…. First, can you think of a single national-level elected official in this country who could, or would make such a statement? I don’t think I have to answer that; you can do it yourself to find the only response, to wit: no way. Second, what the fuck happened?….. Where did they go wrong? Okay, that’s three, so, we’ll just go on, leaving this to fester….

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Today, for reasons given, y’all will have to have one of mine, for the simple sake of speed…. I do hope you enjoy it…. Here is one I wrote on a morning much like this one, about three years ago….

Denial of Comfort

Baleful chairs become the enemy, heralded in red
seemingly welcome softness beckons with a smile,
waiting, content with slaughter, they are finally led
screaming in agony, deluged in venom all the while.

Desperate distraction becomes such a friendless fire
for all the patterns of autumn’s pale dismay,
leaving sincerely latent trails in spirals of twisted wire,
while memory insists, again, upon failure, palpably evil, and fey.

Fat, jaded tears would have fallen in good time,
if only the suitable suitor had scaled the garden’s wall.
Credence for discounted prices luckily in their prime
bring only fascinated eyes into such a hallowed hall.

Searching for answers is ever a clever portrayal
with studious accouterments to fulfill each common rule.
Arguably patient pictures of science and honest betrayal
shall evermore languish, in light of passion so elegantly cruel.

~~ gigoid ~~

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The following pearl is an odd one, and I’m not sure exactly what point SB, or my subconscious was trying to make…. but, it’s not bad, if you look at it with the thought in mind, it is merely a series of comments on life, without expecting any of them to actually mean much in terms of how to live life, or what to expect from it…. It just sort of says, “Here, look at this for a minute… interesting, eh?”

Hey, they can’t ALL be perfect necklaces made up of gorgeously matched gems; some of them are the artificially induced sort of pearls, which, while beautiful in their way, and of value, when viewed with proper appreciation, are not going to have the same effect as the more compelling sort…. which, if you think about it, is just like life itself…. maybe they’re deeper than they seem…. Whatever, they work, so, here they are….

INTRODUCTION, n. A social ceremony invented by the devil for the gratification of his servants and the plaguing of his enemies. The introduction attains its most malevolent development in this century, being, indeed, closely related to our political system. Every American being the equal of every other American, it follows that everybody has the right to know everybody else, which implies the right to introduce without request or permission. The Declaration of Independence should have read thus:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, and the right to make that of another miserable by thrusting upon him an incalculable quantity of acquaintances; liberty, particularly the liberty to introduce persons to one another without first ascertaining if they are not already acquainted as enemies; and the pursuit of another’s happiness with a running pack of strangers.”

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“While my BRAINPAN is being refused service in BURGER KING, Jesuit priests are DATING CAREER DIPLOMATS!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“The emperor has no clothes.” — Michael, my former neighbor’s “odd” son, pointing at the POTUS (Obama, at the time….) on TV…. (It isn’t my label in that description…. Micheal, about 7 years old, is considered a “problem” child in school, for two of his behaviors they can’t understand…. First, he has little impulse control, and whatever he sees, or thinks, or does, or. or… he tells the nearest person about it, whether he knows them or not…Second, he is considered different because he “sees” things other people don’t, and can’t…. Some are of things far away, and patently outside his experience, that, somehow, always turn out to be true visions of future events, or just stuff he shouldn’t be aware of, logically, as it happened elsewhere in the world, a week after he shared it…. Spooky, but, damn fascinating, isn’t it? People are strange…. thank goodness…)

“Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.” — Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), Musician, the Grateful Dead

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 7/16/10

“For the record, pot, like the “Reader’s Digest”, is not necessarily habit-forming, but both can lead to hard-core addiction: heroin, in one case, abridged bad books in the other. Either way you look at it, a withdrawal from a meaningful life.” — Mordecai Richler, “Going Home Again”

“It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

For the life of me, I can’t do it…. Moreover, I’m going to ask y’all not to try, either, as it’s given me a headache just trying to follow that path…. The above pearl’s meaning, or directed train of thought(s), is, as far as I can figure out, completely inscrutable to the human mind, or, mine, anyway… and my subconscious ain’t talkin’, more’s the pity. Good thing it’s over…. and, please, don’t go back & read it again…. Once was probably enough for this one…. I guess it IS cute, though, with a smirk or two in it, in spots….

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“As I grow older I find I don’t have to avoid temptation any longer–now temptation avoids me.” — not attributed in SB…. however, I can testify….

“The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.” — Albert Einstein

“A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.” — Oscar Wilde

Well, ffolkes, I’ve done all the damage I can do for one day, especially today…. I’m outta here to go drug myself into insensibility…. Provided I wake up by then, I’ll see y’all tomorrow…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Sacre bleu! Houp la! À bientôt, mon petite cherí….

Oddly enough, snakes HATE apples…

Posted on July 6, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Truth be told, getting up when I do to write these Pearls is becoming more of a chore than it ever has in the past….. While fighting the pre-coffee, pre-magic cream kick-in, and the lethargy that now dogs me each morning, I experienced a small epiphany…. and then lost it….. It’s really too bad, too, because I’m fairly sure it was important, and would have made my life, if not easier, at least more comfortable…. SIGH…. I know it’s going to be a tough day when my own mind fails to get on board with the program, in spite of the offerings made by reality to expiate the difficulty….

I suppose I’ll have to push on, though, as my sense of Duty is so entwined with this purpose, this process will plague me until my last breath…. and possibly beyond…. Isn’t THAT a scary thought? Oh well, it’s not as if I didn’t know all of this coming in; it’s just, as I said, one of those mornings, when it all seems more than I can bear…. Of course, I can bear a lot, but, that doesn’t mean I like it…. I may have, and be able to deal with, a lot of pain, but, in doing so, I tend to lose track of Mr. Nice Guy…. and don’t regret a moment of it when I do….

Since, however, I AM such a nice person, at the core, I always feel bad whenever I chew on someone, even if they deserve it (as is most often the case, I find…. stupid is as stupid does, after all….). I don’t know if that makes up for my grumpiness, karmically speaking, but, it does keep me from chewing all the way down to the bone…. most times….. I can’t help it if people keep doing stupid right in front of me, though, so, I’ve come to the conclusion the whole issue is one I can’t afford to ignore, at least from a legal standpoint….

Now, from analyzing that last paragraph, I see we have reached a point where reality no longer has any influence over my mind at all…. This can be a good thing, or not, depending on how I deal with this last portion of this intro…. If I can work this right, we’ll be okay, just a bit stiff and awkward, especially on the turns…. If not, well, I may as well just go into the archives now, and be done with it…. Either way, my thumb is screaming at me, so it will have to be a fast one, to get done before my right hand becomes useless for typing….

On looking back over what has transpired to this point, I’m afraid my prediction holds…. this could get ugly, or it could turn to shit, in a heartbeat….. or, it could be the best Pearl ever…. at this point, there’s no way to tell…. Well, actually, since this intro is such a hodge-podge of mixed ingredients, some good, some bad, that “best Pearl” category is probably out of the question…. How about we shoot for “coherent”?…. That, at least, sounds doable….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I may not understand what you say, but I’ll defend to your death my right to deny it.” — Albert Alligator, in Pogo, 26 September 1951

“Ah! don’t say you agree with me. When people agree with me I always feel that I must be wrong.” — Oscar Wilde

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“How is it possible to expect that mankind will take advice, when they will not so much as take warning?” — Jonathan Swift

https://news.yahoo.com/germany-arrests-suspected-double-agent-spying-u-two-124028510.html

Don’t fret…. I’m not going to rant, even though I could….. This article is here to provide the latest development in the ongoing saga of the Snowden Effect…. The poor German spy they arrested was apparently subverted by the NSA, or some other agency in the US government, for what seems to be a pretty paltry sum…. If I’m reading it right, this terminally bozoid personality was paid a measly 2500 Euros to spy for our side…. It doesn’t seem like much, to me, for the risk of destroying one’s entire life, but, then, I’m not stupid, either, even if my nose IS red, and large, and makes a loud noise when squozen….. squuzzed…. squeezed….

Any who, such rampant dumbness doesn’t deserve my rant, though I wouldn’t object to putting it onto the NSA…. Instead, though, to foster a bit of tolerance in me, and avoid becoming even MORE angst-filled than I am already, I’ll go with an old-school pearl, targeted at those same federales who are making such a nuisance of themselves, by stealing not only the public’s money, while destroying its trust, but are also stealing our data, merely to justify their own deeply seated paranoia…. Yes, ffolkes, I give you, The Asininnies!….

“Life is a search after power.” — Emerson

(Well, it certainly is in Washington, D.C…..)

“Waco means the government can kill anyone it doesn’t like and get a 94% approval rating.” — Jeff Chan

(Especially if they can find someone else to blame it on….)

“I smell a rat.” — Patrick Henry, upon hearing about the Constitutional Convention, which eventually overthrew the first Federal Government of the United States

(Guess what, ffolkes…. the rat never left….)

“War loves to seek its victims in the young.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Scyrii, Frag. 507

“CONGRESSIONAL ANTHEM: MOE MONEY, MOE MONEY, MOE MONEY.” — Smart Bee

“A man that should call everything by its right name would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a Common Enemy.” — Lord Halifax

(This one is still true….. People have always had a hard time swallowing the truth, and, human nature hasn’t changed a whit…..)

“It is as useless to argue with those that have renounced the use and authority of reason as to administer medication to the dead.” — Thomas Paine

(Gee, sounds like they’re talking about the recent GOP runoff election in Mississippi…. where the Tea Party had a number of candidates running….)

Okay, so, it’s not the best pearl ever, and it’s all littered with comments…. Deal with it…. At least I’m done, and we can go find a poem now….

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I believe I have a poem percolating, somewhere in the hidden, far reaches of my mind; I can sort of feel the whirling vortex of burgeoning creative forces gaining speed, sucking in words, ideas, and perceptions to formulate some sort of outburst from my alter-ego, wherever it may be hiding…. That must be why I’ve been using so many of my older poems…. it sort of gives me a push in the right direction when I see the former results of this process in me…. Now, all I have to do is wait until it starts bleeding out, and try to get it on screen….

For now, I’ve been feeling a lot of wanderlust lately; I need to be out and gone, seeing some new part of the world where I’ve never been, or some part I’ve always wanted to explore…. Mostly, when I feel that, Ireland is the place that comes to mind…. I’ve wanted to explore the country, and get to know the people, for much of my adult life, and the day each in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast, while on my cruise last year, just isn’t enough to fulfill that desire…. Hence, I’ve decided that the Emerald Isle will be my next destination; I’ve already started saving up…. To celebrate the decision, here’s a poem I wrote a couple years ago, on that very subject….

Days and Nights of Eire

Comforting, a dream creeps oft into my mind
On the elven hills of Eire lives the vision I find.
Elegant, gracious, everlastingly draped in beauty
Just payment of simple homage lives as joyous duty.

Fairies and druids walk abroad in ghostly parade
Gracing each hearth with its own welcoming shade.
Castles and heroes yet live in tale and song
Proving love for the land in each heart strong.

From cold of winter into glorious young spring
Brown, and gray, to emerald green songs to sing
Soft rains always follow winter’s great tempest
Eire dons its emerald coat from east to west.

Old and strong, connections call out in dreams
Nothing that was known remains as it seems.
Immersion in ancient runes and battle hymns
Offering sanity in place of grievous whims.

Time and place can tell a much different tale
Judgment should never be a final sale.
Yet something solid and real calls me to go see
Where dreams of loving beauty may actually be….

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Here I am again, lost in space, once again, sans any photos, or other means of producing anything worthwhile…. Having reached the third section, though, I am authorized to go with impulse, which, in this case, apparently bears a strong resemblance to laziness…. You know what that means…. another random, harlequin, old-school pearl, just because I can… Enjoy, ffolkes, this is all you get today…. Chalk it up to post-holiday depression, I guess… That always happens when I hear something like the first quote below, which I have no doubt is based on the truth….

“We have killed more people celebrating Independence Day than we lost fighting for it.” — Will Rogers

“Virtue is a kind of health, beauty and good habit of the soul.” — Plato (B.C. 427?-347?)

“Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iii, 11

“It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.” — The Vatican Sayings, Epicurus

“Things are not always what they seem.” — Phaedrus (c. 8 A.D.) — Book iv, Fable 2, 5

“Ignorance plays the chief part among men, and the multitude of words;” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Cleobulus, iv

“Do you have change for a paradigm?” — Smart Bee

Ah, yes…. An excellent pearl, of its type….. I find it apropos, somehow, that the only inclusion that came from a time period AFTER the first century A.D.. was from Will Rogers….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m not going to whine, but that turned on me, and became more of an ordeal even than I’d imagined it would be…. It’s done, though, which is probably for the best….. I could conceivably hurt more than just myself by continuing….. Besides, my brain is now empty, so, I’ll be on my way…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should the universe see fit to give me a small break…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

How to train predator birds with vertigo….

Posted on March 31, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A word is dead
When it is said
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

Was Emily channeling the future with this poem? With the correct tilt to the head, with a slight look around the corner of the eye, this ~~would be~~ IS a very good statement to support the concept of blogging…. Each of us bloggers MUST abide by this feeling, in order to continue to post….

Well, I do, anyway…. But, I’m an Emily fan, so maybe that has something to do with it….. We all tend to fall back on the words of our favorites when it comes to justifying our own existence, or, in this case, our own continued presence on the web….

Okay…. So, was that a bit more comfortable? I thought a bit of a different opening might be in order….. Not that I feel the old way wasn’t working, but, I’ve never been quite satisfied with that part of the Daily Pearl…. Breaking past the morning block that almost everyone’s mind suffers upon first awakening has become, if not easy, at least doable….. But, the fear of the blank white screen still hovers in the background, always ready to jump up, freeze my brain’s connection to my fingers, & generally put a complete halt to the morning’s process of writing….. Damned neuroses!….

In the last few months, I’ve managed to NOT feel the fear so consistently, by using a combination of trickery, cheer leading, and flat out lying to myself, which seems to be working fairly well…. we haven’t had a freeze-up in close to a year. But, it’s never been an easy process, and I’ve never felt fully engaged in how it gets done….

I’ve always felt that somewhere, deep inside the back reaches of my brain, there is a structure, a building of words, so to speak, that I will someday find, establishing a solidly constructed edifice here at the beginning of each Pearl, to mark the beginning of another fine piece of work….

That is probably just another of my fantasies, but, hey, it’s MY fantasy, so leave it alone, okay? We all need our illusions to keep us going…. I know this; otherwise, why would we put up with so much fictional bullshit from our leaders? I’ve always known, and been saddened, by the knowledge that our leaders are liars; congenital, trained, or just naturally glib, it doesn’t matter, they’re all a bunch of self-serving assholes who would lie to their own mother if they thought it would buy her vote….

Oops! Ranting mode…. stand clear, please…. Okay, I turned it off, you can relax….. Almost started in on the BRC there…. I guess they just make too attractive a target to leave them alone too long…. I’ll not start that here in the intro today, though, for which I’m sure you are thankful….

I suppose, given we’ve managed to wander through a number of paragraphs already, we could conceivably call this completed, and get on with the day’s business…. Since I’ve had eight sold hours of sleep, and my pain meds are currently ahead of the pain, score-wise, I think I’ll go ahead and do that…. I suppose there are worse ways to start the day….

In fact, I KNOW there are, as I’m familiar with just about ALL of the different ways one can start badly….

Shall we Pearl?….

How good is man’s life, the mere living! how fit to employ
All the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!

— Robert Browning (1812-1890) — Saul, ix

_____________________________

As iterated above, ranting is on hold…. Since it is, and I want to keep going, we’ll put today’s old-school pearl here…. It will give me something easy to do, and pass the time until I am ready to go find something in the news upon which to focus my vitriol…. a waste bin, as it were, for the angst I wish to throw away…. For now, let’s find a group of pearls that says something about Life At Large….

“You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a realist, he is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing.” — Sydney Harris

(Side note: When applied to politicians, the accuracy of this statement approaches 101% validity. — gigoid….)

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) –Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

“Wisdom outweighs any wealth.” — Sophocles (406 BC)

“I never resist temptation, because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me.” — George Bernard Shaw, “The Apple Cart” (1929), Act II

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” — Beverly Sills

“In morals, what begins in fear usually ends in wickedness; in religion, what begins in fear usually ends in fanaticism. Fear, either as a principle or a motive, is the beginning of all evil.” — Mrs. Jameson

“Why does there have to be an end to the rainbow? Can’t we just let beauty exist without trying to prove that it dies?” — Spite, The University of Akron

PERFECT! Q.E.D., mon amis….
_____________________________

Here is one of my favorite poems; it’s been here before, and, no doubt, will be here again…. This time, it has the name of the translator, who does an excellent job of creating a compelling English equivalent from the ancient Chinese verses….Enjoy!….

Drinking Alone

I take my wine jug out among the flowers
to drink alone, without friends.

I raise my cup to entice the moon.
That, and my shadow, makes us three.

But the moon doesn’t drink,
and my shadow silently follows.

I will travel with moon and shadow,
happy to the end of spring.

When I sing, the moon dances.
When I dance, my shadow dances, too.

We share life’s joys when sober.
Drunk, each goes a separate way.

Constant friends, although we wander,
we’ll meet again in the Milky Way.

~~ Li T’ai-po ~~

tr. Hamil

_____________________________

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” — Richard Cardinal Cushing

“If you call a dog’s tail a leg, what do you have? A dog. Calling a tail a leg, doesn’t make it a leg.” — Abraham Lincoln

Aren’t these complementary pearls great? They’re the perfect lead-in for a rant about politicians, most of whom are of the type of person (I use the word liberally….) who regularly attempts to convince the public they are NOT a duck, or a dog, when, in truth, they either quack, or bark, quite clearly…..

The subject of politicians lying to the public is one I spend a lot of time writing about here, so it would fit right in with all of my other rants very well…. Unfortunately, the news is currently being usurped with a story that makes it far to EASY to show how wide-spread the issue is in our government….

Leland Yee, a California State Senator from San Francisco, and Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, a Tong leader from SF’s Chinatown district, (Kinda makes ya wonder, don’t it? “Shrimp Boy?”….. Personally, I get all SORTS of weird mental images popping up when I say those two words to myself….), have been arrested, and are being charged with a number of counts related to their (alleged….. 🙂 …) long-term involvement in drugs, gun-running, political corruption via voting, murder-for-hire, and just about every crime against society that exists, save for, perhaps, stealing from babies….. and that one isn’t out of the question for these two…. I just didn’t see that among the charges for which they were indicted….

It seems that for over twenty years, Yee was selling votes and political influence to Chow, and others, for lucrative economic advantage, for him, and for those who benefited from the programs he voted in to being. He also laundered millions of dollars of ill-gotten gains, by using his political campaign accounts to accept donations, for the Chinese Tong, run by Chow….

This money was collected from prostitution, drug, and racketeering enterprises, all run by the Tong. An undercover FBI agent infiltrated the Tong organization, establishing trust by posing as an ex-Mafioso of high repute, whereby he was able to gather tons of condemning evidence of their corruption, for over four years before the arrests were made…

But, it’s all too easy a target…. In fact, the focus being placed on these two will, long-term, have the opposite effect that it should….. These two clearly criminal individuals are providing too obvious a target for the public’s ire, thus taking it AWAY from all the other, less obviously corrupt politicians out there, almost ALL of whom are hard at work raiding the public treasury, but are much better at hiding their machinations than these two clowns appear to be…

Putting all the public’s attention on a couple of bozoids, who managed to get caught, literally red-handed, with their fingers in the public till, will ultimately have the effect of making other politicians appear to be more honest than they actually are…. That’s human nature, and the pundits, who all know this, will be using it to their advantage for a long time to come….

So, rather than waste a lot of my time and angst-driven energy on ranting about the corruption they are exposing, I’ll just remind you that what you are seeing is NOT atypical for politicians, and shouldn’t be thought of as an anomaly, but, rather, as an omen of things to come, when we expose ALL their asses, and throw them ALL out of office, and out of our lives…. (Picture an iceberg, 90% unseen, floating on the ocean…. Yee & Chow are a small part of the ice visible above the water line….)

Then, when I know you’ve realized that, in spite of all the nonsense in the news, detailing the shenanigans of what they’d like us to believe are swans swimming in the public pond, you now see they are really only ducks, stealing food from the swans, and the dogs, to wit: from you and me… Once you’ve realized how the politicians of this government are NOT in the business of helping us, but are only in Washington to steal as much as they can during their term of office, is the absolute truth, with a capital T, we can go on…..

Now, since y’all have put up with my blathering for so long on such an obvious issue, I’ll reward your forbearance by throwing together a set of pearls to further illustrate and/or enhance my points, to close this off with a flourish…. which, though not particularly common here, is, no doubt, warmly welcome when it occurs…. Enjoy!…..

“The seeds of our own punishment are sown at the same time we commit sin.” — Hesiod

(Sin, otherwise defined as voting…. the two words are interchangeable when politics are involved….)

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

Gerald Ford: In the Bob Hope Golf Classic, the participation of President Gerald Ford was more than enough to remind you that the nuclear button was at one stage at the disposal of a man who might have either pressed it by mistake or else pressed it deliberately in order to obtain room service.” — Clive James

“If they become politicians they were switched at birth.” — Mom’s Hint #096

“A kitchen in every pot. I mean, a pot in every — I mean, a chicken in every…” — George Bush, 1988

“All a man needs to be elected President is the kind of profile that looks good on a postage stamp.” — B.B. Franklin

“We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans…” — President William Jefferson Clinton, USA TODAY 11 Mar 1993

“As Athenodorus was taking his leave of Caesar, “Remember,” said he, “Caesar, whenever you are angry, to say or do nothing before you have repeated the four-and-twenty letters to yourself.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Caesar Augustus

“Now I’m having INSIPID THOUGHTS about the beautiful, round wives of HOLLYWOOD MOVIE MOGULS encased in PLEXIGLASS CARS and being approached by SMALL BOYS selling FRUIT..” — Zippy the Pinhead

Damn, that was close…. I thought for sure I’d NEVER get out of there!…. Smart Bee took me at my word, and proceeded to inundate me with pearl after pearl that just fit into the group seamlessly…. I managed to keep it down to eight, then got lucky, and found the perfect Zippy quote for closing it off with just the right touch of nearly-coherent insanity…. “He was bigger than me, Ma, but, I took ‘im down!”….. Now we can all go get some rest….

You, you, and you, panic. The rest of you, come with me….
_____________________________

I suppose we will be forced at this point to declare a moral victory…. We only had to leave behind three bodies in a state of panic, but, the rest of us made it through to here, so, I have to count that on the positive side of the scale…. Otherwise, they’d close me down….

Besides, one of the three bozoids we left behind was a trained bozoid, so they’ll all eventually stop screaming & jumping around like idiots, whereupon the bozo will get hungry, and the others will follow as he goes off to find the exit door behind the nearest banyan tree….

On that phantasmagorical note, I’m outta here…. and, none too soon, I’m can tell…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

One sure thing we know for certain about Life…. it’s always fatal….

Posted on March 6, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Dreaming permits each and everyone of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.” — Charles William Dement

Wandering through endless halls of wondrous elegance, with classical paintings adorning the walls, and chandeliers providing brilliant light to bring out the beauty of the surroundings. I try to avoid bumping into any of the what seems like millions of people, all naked from the waist up, but wearing slacks, skirts, shorts, etc. with shoes…. A few even wore hats, though we were indoors…. All very odd looking, but, not at all off-putting, except, perhaps, for the gang-bangers, whose sagging pants and sideways cap are as stupid-looking in dreams as they are on the streets….. Everyone was dancing, to an old waltz, familiar, but just out of memory’s reach….

I knew somehow, (as we always seem to know, in our dreams…) if I could just find one person, all the others would be okay, and no harm would come to them…. but, as it usually goes in dreams, I didn’t know who I was to look for…. I also knew that, if they didn’t dance, they’d never be given back their shirt tops, coats, and/or their blouses; why the dancing was supposed to kept their hopes alive, I have no clue….. As I moved from one massive ballroom to the next, the haunting, melancholy music that had been playing changed to a rag-time tune, whereupon all the half-dressed, frenetic dancers began jumping around in something that resembled the Charleston…..

This went on for hours, it seemed, until I turned in my sleep, and a stab of pain in my back woke me up, bringing me out of the dream, and into full awareness…. All in all, it was one of the strangest dreams I’ve ever had…. That is actually saying a lot, because my dreams, when I remember them at all, are ALWAYS strange…. I once asked the psychiatrist I was seeing, when I was off work due to the incident that shattered the last remnants of my sanity, why my dreams were so infrequent, and yet so strange when they came…. He said nobody understands dreams, and I was just lucky I didn’t dream more often….

I believed him, this time, without having to perform any further research into dreams, as I had done that already, when I was in high school… In our sophomore English class, the teacher assigned us to write a term research paper, college style, due at the end of the year…. He taught us how to do that type of paper, then let us go to whatever libraries we wished to use for our research….

The subject I chose was Telepathy, Dreams, and Paranormal Activity, which, though actually too large a subject, worked out well for one so unpracticed at the paper’s method of construction…. It gave me enough range of subject matter that the length of the paper (A minimum of 25 full pages, with footnotes and bibliography… the whole nine yards….) became moot; there was PLENTY of material to choose from…. at the University of California, Berkeley’s main library…

This was because I talked my father into driving me to Berkeley, to the UC there, so I could use their main library, which gave me a LOT of books to pick from, as well as extensive help from the librarians…. I used the reasoning that I would be able to look around the campus with him for living spaces and resources, as I had made up my mind, even in my sophomore year, that UCB was going to be my school…. I had known that ever since I learned that they had the best reputation in astronomy and sciences degrees in the world, along with a few others such as MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, and a very few others…. I figured, why not go for the BEST?….

To bring us back toward some kind of rational end point here in the present, I’ll merely say that I already knew a lot about the subject of dreams, or, at least, more than most people, so it wasn’t really a surprise to hear a well-educated psychiatrist admit to ignorance in the field…. Since the medical pundits DON’T claim to possess a lot of knowledge about how the brain works, especially in sleeping mode, I really asked for rhetorical purposes, to see if he could perhaps shed some light….

Alas, no; I still wonder why my dreams are so infrequent… I suppose their infrequency is a factor in why they are so vivid in my memory, as they certainly create an impression on my unconscious mind…. Oh well, this is one of those things we can’t do anything about, so, I’ll take the advice of Epictetus, and not worry about it….

I will also note at this point that we shot right past the legal minimum for an intro, so we’re good to go for today… We even have enough coffee on board to make anything I write more coherent…. Glory Be!….. I think, maybe, y’all had best fasten those belts, tight, and hang on, because this could be quite a ride…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“I don’t think it would have all got me down quite so much if just once in a while- just once in a while- there was at least some polite little perfunctory implication that knowledge should lead to wisdom, and that if it doesn’t, it’s just a disgusting waste of time.” — J.D. Salinger, Franny & Zooey
_____________________________

I’ve made an executive decision regarding the format of today’s Pearl…. I’m tired of ranting every day, and I’m positive ffolkes are tired of me ranting every day about the same stuff, relevant as it may be…. Anything gets old after a time, and it isn’t as if I were writing short, easy pieces…. No, I have to go all verbose, and saddle my poor readers with seemingly greater portions of angst every day…. “BASTA!”, he cried…. “Enough! Let them eat cake!”

Okay, well, no cake, but what I WILL do is create TWO old-school pearls to go along with the most excellent poem I found for this morning’s missive…. For those of my Gentle Readers who come by often, it will be what I’m sure will be a most welcome change, as well as a little break for me, and my arthritic fingers… In this first pearl, let’s see what Smart Bee can come up with when I ask for quotes about Asininnies, and their jobs…. (e.g., doctors, lawyers, judges, police, etc…. you know, the Asininnies…)

“A thing either is what it appears to be; or it is not, but yet appears to be; or it is, but does not appear to be; or it is not, and does not appear to be.” — Epictetus

“A physician, after he had felt the pulse of Pausanias, and considered his constitution, saying, “He ails nothing,” “It is because, sir,” he replied, “I use none of your physic.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Pausanias the Son of Phistoanax

“He is running for Congress … Do you know why he will be elected? Because all the gun owners will vote for him. Why will they vote for him? Because he is against any new law which will require registration of firearms. He claims that if there is a war, we might be invaded by Communists. And we will all need guns. With nuts like that in Congress, it could happen.” — Larry Siegel

“Of the various executive abilities, no one excited more anxious concern than that of placing the interests of our fellow-citizens in the hands of honest men, with understanding sufficient for their stations.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) — Letter to Elias Shipman and others of New Haven, July 12, 1801

“There is no happiness where there is no wisdom.” — Sophocles

“As the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on Christian religion…” — Joel Barlow (1754-1812) — Treaty with Tripoli (signed 1797)

“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

I couldn’t have said it better myself….
_____________________________

Today’s poem is from an author who is new to me…. I like the rhyming in this poem; it reminds me of more than one of my own poems, in that respect…. I also enjoyed the sense of metaphor, and the use of imagery that uses such metaphor to make it’s point…. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did….

The Alchemist in the City

My window shews the travelling clouds,
Leaves spent, new seasons, alter’d sky,
The making and the melting crowds:
The whole world passes; I stand by.

They do not waste their meted hours,
But men and masters plan and build:
I see the crowning of their towers,
And happy promises fulfill’d.

And I – perhaps if my intent
Could count on prediluvian age,
The labours I should then have spent
Might so attain their heritage,

But now before the pot can glow
With not to be discover’d gold,
At length the bellows shall not blow,
The furnace shall at last be cold.

Yet it is now too late to heal
The incapable and cumbrous shame
Which makes me when with men I deal
More powerless than the blind or lame.

No, I should love the city less
Even than this my thankless lore;
But I desire the wilderness
Or weeded landslips of the shore.

I walk my breezy belvedere
To watch the low or levant sun,
I see the city pigeons veer,
I mark the tower swallows run

Between the tower-top and the ground
Below me in the bearing air;
Then find in the horizon-round
One spot and hunger to be there.

And then I hate the most that lore
That holds no promise of success;
Then sweetest seems the houseless shore,
Then free and kind the wilderness,

Or ancient mounds that cover bones,
Or rocks where rockdoves do repair
And trees of terebinth and stones
And silence and a gulf of air.

There on a long and squared height
After the sunset I would lie,
And pierce the yellow waxen light
With free long looking, ere I die.

~~ Gerard Manley Hopkins ~~

_____________________________

Okay, so…. Lately, I’ve been bringing up old religirants from the archives, since I seem to have covered most of the bases at various times in the past…. It saves me time and energy, and the rants I’ve revived were all still valid in terms of what they bespoke…..

Bully for me, but, in the long run, boring for y’all…. So…. Here is a link to another of Mark Morford’s brilliant takes on religious dogma, and the stranglehold with which it has gripped the throat of humanity for thousands of years…. After the link, I’ve created another old-school pearl, which will focus on those deluded asininnies who insist on sharing their ignorance with everyone else….. or else….

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/03/04/how-to-sucker-a-billion-christians/

“Yeah, God is dead, he laughed himself to death.” — Smart Bee

“Science does not promise absolute truth, nor does it consider that such a thing necessarily exists. Science does not even promise that everything in the Universe is amenable to the scientific process.” — Isaac Asimov

(Which is the very reason it is superior to religion as a means of understanding the Universe, AS IT IS, without the unnecessary inclusion of supernatural forces to control our destiny…. thus, handily relieving us of all responsibility for our own actions…. Nice scam, eh?….)

“Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof.” — Ashley Montague

“There is nothing so stupid or dangerous or painful that people won’t eagerly do it, if by doing it they will make others believe they are better or stronger or more honorable.” — Jason Worthing (Orson Scott Card, “The Worthing Chronicle”)

(This concept includes going along with a delusion so one will be accepted as part of the flock….)

“Humility is a virtue all preach, none practice, and yet everybody is content to hear. The master thinks it good doctrine for his servant, the laity for the clergy, and the clergy for the laity.” — John Selden (1584-1654) — Humility

“I figure that if God actually does exist, He’s big enough to understand an honest difference of opinion.” – Isaac Asimov

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

A perfect Pearl is one that fulfills all of the rules and regulations in my mind for how a blog with my name on it, user- or real-, OUGHT to be…. Those rules and regs, of course, are somewhat amorphous, but, they DO exist….

Today’s Pearl may just be one of them, if I’m any judge, and, who better? Except, of course, you, my Gentle Readers…. If you enjoyed today’s effort more than usual, please feel free to leave a comment, & let me know… I’ll enter that data into the records, along with my own for today, which will give us…. GASP, why, look at that! It’s a consensus!….. Right here on Exploring Consensual Reality!….

Hmmph….. Riiiight…. See ya……

🙂

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Feedback ISN’T good for electronic circuits…..

Posted on February 13, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Do you ever wake up feeling as if you’re stuck in a Disney movie? Neither do I…. Just thought I’d ask. Actually, more often, I feel as if I’m stuck in what might be called a senior film noir, wherein all the old, feeble, average looking characters spend their time moaning and groaning about getting old….a pastime which, of late, seems to happen here a lot…..

I suppose that’s due to my own comeuppance in the aging contest, a test we all fail, ultimately; I’m harvesting an extensive crop of physical issues that are the direct result of mistaken policies regarding exercise that we were taught all of our lives…. You know the spiel, we all heard it, from JFK on…. “Exercise a lot, stay fit and healthy, you’ll feel better and live longer if you do…” Followed, of course, by that all-purpose, deliberately misleading lie, “you can trust ME!”…

We all got this message drummed into us all of our youthful days, while constantly being encouraged to join a sports league, or find some activity that simultaneously taught us life skills, worked our bodies until they were exhausted, and kept us out of our parent’s hair for as long as possible, so they didn’t have to try to figure out how to actually CONVERSE with their children, as well as to teach them to respect the authority of teachers, coaches, and “officials”…. i.e., brainwashing for later control by talking heads on the TV….

Now, of course, we know that the encouragement to exercise hard, and keep the body in prime condition, is a load of bilge water; in truth, such fanaticism about exercise is a good way to ensure spending your later years in misery and pain, as it turns out…. My doctor told me a few years ago that the medical field has changed its tune, and now encourages only MODERATE amounts of exercise, and no fanaticism about conditioning to the extreme… They’re coming to find just how many age related issues now being treated among the population are a direct result of a lifetime of overworking the skeleton and musculature…. Hence all the issues we have with muscle and ligament strains and breaks, arthritis, myalgia, neuralgia, and joint replacements, as our bodies continue to wear out from their life-long workout…..

SIGH…. Actually, this sort of ignorance is typical of society, as the people’s attention is pulled and manipulated by all the different forces in reality that seem to have the answers, but, in reality, are merely more folks who want a) to manipulate you into doing whatever it is THEY want, thereby, b) tricking you into giving them most of your money….

They’re very good at both of those things, since they’ve been practicing their deceptive messages for thousands of years…. There are a lot of evil people making a LOT of money off of the healthcare industry (Have you looked at the latest figures on the pharmaceutical makers, and how much they’re pulling down these days?…. It’s enough money to choke a horse, and, in reality, doesn’t leave a lot for the rest of us to share….)

But, that’s life here in Consensual Reality, as the forces of evil that have controlled this world for its entire history continue to rush us all down the path to extinction with their eyes wide open, staring hard at all the money they think they’ll be making off the global warming issue (see the link below….)…. and never realizing they are signing their own death warrants at the same time…. It’s the only piece of justice we have to focus on, ffolkes, but, at least we’ll know that when we humans die, they won’t be the only ones to survive…. They’ll be dying, too, and I’ll be enjoying immensely their sense of disbelief….

If that isn’t the oddest little intro/rant I’ve ever created, then I don’t know dick about anything…. No comments needed from the gallery, either…. No, it’s a bit strange, but, it’s all valid, and true, so, I guess it can stay…. Don’t know what set me off, but, hey, it got an intro done while I was busy ranting, so, I suppose it’s all good…. Enough for me to say….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It is not necessary to light a candle to the sun.” — Algernon Sidney (1622-1683) — Discourses on Government, Chap. ii, Sect. xxiii
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In looking over the news, I find that there is still somewhat of a moratorium in place in Washington D.C….. I think the BRC is taking a short break, doing some planning for their next little round of media manipulation…. They’re going to need some rather distracting issues to bring up, or find to deal with, in the coming months, as the weather continues to force upon us just how idiotic we’ve been, with it’s newest configurations of nasty storms and unpredictable changes in patterns to give us plenty to deal with…. (When was the last time the South had an ice storm? Sometime in the nineteenth century, I believe, or perhaps, once, early in the twentieth…. This is NOT normal , ffolkes….)

However, I did see this article in Rolling Stone, an article that provides a LOT of evidence in support of a theme I’ve been espousing for some years now, to wit: The shadowy corporate masters continue to lie, cheat, steal, and do whatever they feel they need to do to keep the rest of the world completely under their control….

The link leads to an article in Rolling Stone Magazine, which provides page after page of recorded instances of how the corporations and banks conspired, and continue to conspire, to control as much of the money and power in the world as they can possibly gather into their hands to control….. Read the article first, then, we’ll talk…. It’s rather long, but worth the effort…. I’ll wait here….

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-vampire-squid-strikes-again-the-mega-banks-most-devious-scam-yet-20140212?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

Y’know….it occurs to me, belatedly, when it comes to money and/or power, these people are like junkies…. These are people who would steal your wallet, then lie to you about it; then, when it is discovered missing, they have the enormous chutzpah to offer to help you look for it…. for a fee…. Mark Twain used to say a banker was a fellow who would offer to lend you an umbrella when the sun was out, then demand it back as soon as it began to rain…. This, I think, was his way of being nice to them, because he could be a LOT more antagonistic than THAT….

They deserve all the antagonism that we can pile upon their shoulders, though, so I don’t feel bad at all about anything I say about them; the actual reality of their existence is far more ugly and evil than any name I could ever call them…. It’s difficult to insult a pig, because they enjoy being the way they are…. and, these assholes are the same way…. They feel no guilt, no compunctions at all about all the pain and suffering that their actions cause in the real world…. They could care less, as long as they get what they feel they’re entitled to, which is damn near everything….

As proof of the assertion that they have no conscience, follow this link to a page that gives you an idea of just how low people will sink in their quest for money, and the power over others that they so desire…. They are so lacking in compassion or any sort of humanity, they will go so far as to gleefully seek to make a profit off the process of global warming (helping you to look for the wallet they stole…), which, you will remember, is pretty much their fault to begin with….

https://www.google.com/search?q=windfall+amazon&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

These corporate masters, these evil, self-serving sociopaths, rich beyond all dreams of avarice, are the assholes who have bought out and hidden from sight all advances in technology over the last 100 years that would have allowed us to NOT become so dependent on the internal combustion engine, or fossil fuels, to keep society running…

We could have been switched over to solar and/or electric power 75 years ago, had these corporations allowed the appropriate research to continue; but, they were making too much money on cars, and oil, and all the dirty technology that went with it, to consider allowing things to change…. So, they bought up all the companies working on it, and stuck them on a back shelf, never to be seen again….

Hence, we have global warming, and no way to stop it, or to fix it…. If I had a solution, other than killing all them and starting over, I’d promote it, or go about trying to make it happen…. But, the fact is, I am currently of the opinion that there isn’t much hope of making the necessary changes in society, not in time to keep us from being extinct in about a hundred or so years….

All of us, the entire human race, by that time, will have to figure out a) how to breathe methane gas, or b) go somewhere else to live, because there is no stopping the processes, now well begun, that will spell our doom. I am referring, of course, to the melting of the permafrost that is NOW taking place all over the world, as the planet continues to get warmer and warmer, thanks to our ongoing contribution of several million tons of carbon mono- and dioxide into the atmosphere, ( http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks/worldclock/ At this site, you can watch as it happens….), every hour of every day we continue to operate automobiles…

Once a certain level of methane has been released by the melting permafrost into the air, it will proceed to act as a catalyst, causing unpredictable changes (more changes!..) to the ecological balance of the atmosphere of the entire planet, and to the weather that is the result of that balance, or, in this case, the “altered” balance…. Eventually, it will alter the overall chemical make-up of our atmosphere, rendering it unbreathable….

This is simple chemistry, and we know of nothing, no theory, no method that will stop the process, once it has begun…. In fact, our ignorance of the involved processes is so great, we know only that once a certain point is reached, the process will become what is called “hyperbolic” in nature, meaning the changes will begin to happen faster, and faster, and faster with each molecule added, until it is happening at maximum speed, approaching infinity….

There you have it, ffolkes… I wish I could pretty it up, or say there is a chance I’m wrong…. But, that chance is so slender, I hesitate to even mention its existence at all, because it is so small, it is not at all visible, or worthy of engendering hope…. I wish I did have a solution, but, all I have is speculation, which, at this point, isn’t going to cut it…. SIGH…. I guess I’ll go eat some worms…

“No falsehood lingers into old age.” — Sophocles (406 BC)
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After ranting in the above section, I found myself still vibrating with angst and outrage at the BRC, and especially the SCM (Shadowy Corporate Masters…)…. So, I’m adding an extra section today, with an extra pearl, ranting on much the same subject, with a bit of a different focus…. It made me feel better, so, deal with it, ‘kay?…. I can’t help it, I’m an asshole, too, remember?…. All part of being human, y’know?….

First written early in 2012, posted on Triond, and in a Pearl on WordPress sometime that year, this is one of my all purpose rants on the BRC, so, enjoy, ‘kay?…..

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“What is politics, after all, but the compulsion to preside over property and make other peoples’ decisions for them?” — Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs and All

Absence of Honor: The Untimely Death of The US Constitution

“Ignorance can be compounded, made denser, until the light of our spirits is smothered.” — Deng Ming-Dao

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, how does it feel? Does it physically hurt to be so stupid, as to be part of the crowd that continues to buy into all the bullshit lies that our own government heaps upon us every day? To keep going to the polls, just as if it really matters who gets elected? Get real, folks. You will not find a name on the ballot that belongs to someone who is not a willing tool of the powers of oppression, the money-changers who are the power behind the scenes of every government in the world. Not going to happen; they’ve been the real power in the world for centuries, and they’re not about to give up all they have, just to be nice, or because they’ve all of a sudden grown a heart.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty fucking tired of being lied to, and cheated, and looked at as just another idiot for them to shit on….. and I’m not going to put up with it for much longer, without some kind of return fire….. Believe it…. I don’t think I am alone in this, either…. No way to tell for sure, but I find it hard to believe that EVERYONE is falling for all of it…. but, even if I’m alone in this, I refuse to knuckle under any further, and can only say that I will do all I can to see things turn in a direction that will return my Rights, and those of the rest of the American people…. or at least those not stupid enough to hand them over without a fight….

“He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“The best mirror is an old friend.” — George Herbert

In my second year at UC Berkeley, I lived in a cooperative housing facility, called Cloyne Court, an old wooden hotel one block off campus on the north side, just a few blocks from the Greek Amphitheater. My roommate in that second year, before gaining the seniority to attain a more private, single room, was a young man named Mark Gary…. We lived together in harmony for some months, then, after getting more private personal quarters, remained close friends for the rest of the time both of us lived in Berkeley, a matter of 3 or 4 years…. As my BFF of that era, I knew him as well as I did my own family….

We met numerous times for years after college, then fell out of touch in our late twenties, as can happen when one person moves into the wilderness, becoming a mountain man, while the other remains solidly employed, married, and pursuing such dreams as are based in urban/suburban society. (I have to confess, most of them concerned the process of finding, and trying to keep love…. but, that’s another story….)…. But, as late as 1999, or early 2000, we still conversed, and kept in light touch…

Our last meeting, in either ’99, or 2000, I forget exactly, was a double date, blind on his part, with my then-girlfriend/partner, and a friend of hers…. We had a great time, but, nothing came of the relationship for him after the date… My own relations with that woman ended some years ago, as well, but, we had lost touch again before then…

Last night, on a whim, Mark crossed my mind, so I Googled him, using what I knew from our last visit to locate him, only to find a posthumous personal tribute, after his sudden death in March of 2001, written by one of his archaeological associates, another close friend, who wrote of his long acquaintance with Mark through their work on Indian sites…. Mark entered the field of Archeology when he discovered a Native American village archaeological site on his property in the mountains, a village that showed evidence of occupancy going back several hundreds, if not thousands, of years…. He went back to school, got his PhD, and a driver’s license, just so he could protect the site from development, along with other sites in the Western US that needed such protection…. for which, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the State of California, for his work with the California Division of Forestry as their resident archaeologist for northern California…

Today, as I sit here, I am remembering Mark, but, it has been long enough that my feeling of sadness isn’t quite enough to bring tears…. only a feeling of loss, and sorrow that we didn’t keep in better touch at the last…. For example, I didn’t know he had married, much less married a woman who worked with him in his own field; he must have met her right after I saw him in 1999…. It makes me want to look her up, but, that would probably cause more pain for her, than would be justified by the fulfillment of my curiosity…. Instead, I wrote a haiku in his memory, and here ’tis, such as it is….

Requiem; 1950-2001

My old friend Mark passed.
I’d have cried, then, had I known.
Now, I’ll say goodbye.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Whew! If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a break, and so do I…. As a needed change of pace, and a bit of a treat, in that this won’t make you think any harder than you want to, I’ve put together an old-school pearl, with the only parameter being that it make me smile…. which it will hopefully do for you, as well…..

“If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler.” — Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile, — Commenting on the Almagest, by Ptolemy

“There’s no room in the drug world for amateurs.” — Raoul Duke

“The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow’s reality.” — Edward Abbey

“After the lawyers are all dead, kill the Politicians!” — Smart Bee, egged on by gigoid

— Bother! said Pooh, as he seduced Christopher Robin’s mother. — Anonymous SB contributor…. (I don’t WANT to know who writes these, funny as they are…. They’re just a little bit too strange, even a bit evil, for me to need, or want, that information….)

“Ever notice that fifteen minutes into a Jerry Lewis telethon you start rooting for the disease?” — Jim Sherbert

“If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.” — Herodotus

Well, that’s an unusual pearl…. all at least mildly humorous, but, apparently, completely without a final conclusion, other than what is asserted in the final pearl… which, given its age and proven wisdom, isn’t exactly unworthy; it just doesn’t quite reach hilarious…. Simple, elegant, not too bad for a throw-together on impulse, though…. I’ll take it….
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If y’all know me at all, you’ll realize what an ironic statement the final line in the above section is, for me, in relation to whether or not I would take the pearl as it sits…. You see, I say it just as if there is any other decision that I’d make…. see, irony?

Not for the first time, I believe I just lost all hope of coherence, so, it’s probably just as well I’m done for the day…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Fold the strawberries gently into the partially whipped cream….

Posted on February 10, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Such, I suppose, is the lot of those of us who live with pain; occasionally, we lose a day to the fog….. Yesterday, after writing the morning Pearl, I did something to my back, (no, I don’t know WHAT that something might have been….), which caused it to go into full spasm mode for the rest of the day, sending me to bed twice during the day, just to give myself a break from fighting gravity, a task of greater than normal effort when this happens…. When it does, the gravity of Earth feels more like that of Jupiter, where I’d weigh over 500 lbs…. After a while, trying to move under that handicap becomes more than just a little tiring…

It seems to be pretty well done now, though today’s back feels as if it WANTS to retreat back to that state; if I’m careful, and don’t do anything to tweak it again, it should calm down enough to at least finish this Pearl, a process that, under these conditions, becomes threatened with being dumped for the day…. I’ll do my best, but, I’ll probably have to resort to another archived rant, because I just can’t think very straight when I feel this much pain…. it’s a little distracting at times, y’know?…

Oh, not that I can’t do it…. One can ignore just about ANY level of pain, when necessary…. But, at 0350 in the AM, writing a Pearl isn’t a task that would allow that sort of adaptation; it’s just not THAT important…. But, if I had to save a baby, or my kids were in trouble, then, I could throw it off for as long as needed to finish the task…. But, if there isn’t any sort of that type of emergency, then, it’s not going to get done, until the back is done with its snit….

Well!…. I’m sure that little discussion of my pain levels was simply fascinating, but, I think we can do better…. and I think we SHOULD do better, if only to get me out of this chatty, too-much-information mode I seem to be in… It’s all a result of waking up at such a weird hour this morning…. 0245 is early, even for me…. I’m a bit out of sync, I guess, but, determined not to let any of my own shit get in the way of completing what I have taken on as my duty, to wit: the completion of a Pearl, every day…. It is, perhaps, not the most dignified, or lucrative, or even uplifting of tasks, but, it’s mine, and I’ll do it….

With that said, for better or worse, shall we Pearl?…..

“Hmph! Seriousness. Hmph! Sobriety. A Jedi craves them not.” — Yoda

(Okay, well, he MIGHT have said it!….. Sounds just like him, doesn’t it?….)
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“Uh-oh — WHY am I suddenly thinking of a VENERABLE religious leader frolicking on a FORT LAUDERDALE weekend?” — Zippy the Pinhead

The following is a public service announcement, with which gigoid fully agrees…. I would have the banner on my site, but, I couldn’t figure out how to do it using the WordPress widget they provided…. I’m a geek, but apparently not up to date on the way to do this task… But, this definitely needs to be spread around, and shared…. so, please do… I HAVE included a link to the main site for the protest, where you can go to sign the petition…. Please do that…. Let’s all join together to give the Asininnies the finger, and let them know we won’t stand for any fucking around with our Internet….

“On Tuesday, February 11th, EFF (the Electronic Frontier Foundation) will join thousands of other websites in demanding an end to mass surveillance through an Internet-wide digital protest.

Visitors will be prompted to contact members of Congress or sign a global petition opposing mass surveillance with a banner that can be inserted into any site This is a critical moment in the NSA surveillance fight.

Worldwide outrage at NSA spying helped pressure the Obama administration into making a few key concessions toward reform. But Obama’s reform plan falls woefully short.

That’s why we’re turning the heat up on Congress to finish the job. Help us end NSA mass spying. Use your website to join the protest, and help us spread the word on February 11th through social media with the hashtag #StoptheNSA.”

https://thedaywefightback.org/?r=eff

This is an extra pearl today, and, will appear again, tomorrow, the day of the protest….. Your three standard entries follow below…. For those of you wondering what the Zippy quote at the top of this section has to do with the content below it, the answer is, not a damn thing….
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“The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” — Oscar Wilde

It’s almost certain now…. I’m convinced the government is actively restraining themselves in this past week, deliberately trying to NOT do anything that makes the news…. The only articles in the past few days are all just follow-up stories on other older news, or what are called ‘fluff’ pieces, designed merely to take up space on the page, without actually serving up any real information about anything important…. Kind of like the “Dumb” Starbucks story today in the SFGATE headlines…. You know there is probably a conspiracy to control the news when the primary article on a Monday morning has to do with a corporate logo dispute in Southern California….

Now, one might surmise that this means that the psychopaths who inhabit the halls of government in this country are busy carrying on the business of the nation, out of plain sight in order to avoid distractions…. It would be more accurate, I’d think, to say they are definitely involved in the hatching of new schemes, er, making of plans, plans for making progress in their chosen task, that of total world domination…. Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh…. But, you can bet your bony ass that whatever they’re up to, will benefit themselves more than it does anyone else… They can’t help that, it’s a genetic imperative for them…. They are preconditioned to selfishness, and a complete lack of compassion for others….

Oh, these sickos we have in our elected offices are slick, though, aren’t they? To look at them, and to hear them talk, you’d think they did nothing but sit around all day and worry about how tough things are for you, and the rest of the common masses over whom they preside, with the implied purpose of spending all their time looking for ways to improve your lot…. It often astounds me just how many idiots in the mainstream of society will talk as if what I just described is the gospel truth, and goes to describe their own chosen heroes in the public eye…. They will go to any lengths to convince others of their candidate’s sterling qualities, often going so far as to claim a touch of nobility upon the brow of their champion….

I no longer bother even telling those folks how stupid they are, because they’re already addicted to the sugar that is poured into their ears, to take the place of real information, or actual intelligent ideation…. Hell, even when one speaks to them, they refuse to listen to anything that disagrees with their own misconceptions…. I used to try to convince them of how they were hurting themselves with their blind obedience to a shadow, but, I got tired of bandaging my forehead, after beating it against the wall of their stubborn ignorance….

Instead, I started making Pearls, and, in the solace of that task I found the peace my mind needs to continue to think clearly, as well as the means to say what needs to be said, even if I’m the only one who knows what the hell I mean…. Hence, it becomes clear that I have once more completely pulled wool over the eyes of those present, as all of this is merely a way of introducing the following group of pearls, forming a pearl, whose parameters, if I’m lucky, will match what I’ve written above…. and, if not, well, we can always shoot for funny…. Enjoy!…..

“Those who are clever, who have a Brain, never understand anything.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.” — David Searls

“It is the mark of our whole modern history that the masses are kept quiet with a fight. They are kept quiet by the fight because it is a sham-fight; thus most of us know by this time that the Party System has been popular only in the sense that a football match is popular.” — G. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England. 156

“Don’t confuse me with the facts – my mind is made up.” — Joe Average, NYC

(In a 1998 study, in which random people on a street in New York were asked to pick, out of four statements, the one that described their Congressman the best, this was the favorite, by a factor of 28…. Truth…. Yes, it is…. no I’m not lying, trust me….) (Okay, yes, I am…. but, it SOUNDS true….)

“The NY Times is read by the people who run the country. The Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country. The National Enquirer is read by the people who think Elvis is alive and running the country…” — Robert J Woodhead (trebor@biar.UUCP)

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

“All cruelty springs from weakness.” — Seneca

Okay, so it came out a bit more comprehensive in scope than I first intended it to be, but, it works anyway…. The politicians are in there, for sure (See the first, third, fourth, and fifth pearls above for proof of that)…. But, the parameters widened up on me, mid-search, so, a few more ideas are included than we bargained for…. bonus!
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Most of today’s Pearl will, apparently, consist of a series of volleys fired at the Asininnies at large, and the BRC specifically…. Therefore, to keep from splashing on anyone else, here is one of my poems, from 2012, essentially written with those (left blank for lack of an adjective sufficiently nasty to apply) people who inhabit the labyrinthine halls of government in mind….

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 ~~

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Apparently, the month of February of 2013 was a good one for ranting….. Here is the third old rant from that period that I’ve used in this last week or so, and each one is as valid today as when I first vented them…. This one, a politirant, is not so much an indictment, as it is a lament….. As is apparent above, ranting today would not be difficult for me to engage in, but, I have a feeling I’d get just a bit more vituperative than would be good for me right now…. I’d probably get so worked up I’d get up and stomp around on my break, and end up hurting myself good and proper…. Hence, this indulgence, and a rant that I know won’t draw blood….. Enjoy!….

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PRESIDENCY, n. The greased pig in the field game of American politics. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

You can’t see me, but I have this big smile on my face…. It has been there since I first read this, this morning, and has flashed on each time I see it…. I had forgotten just how funny, and how eerily accurate, as well as wonderfully sarcastic, the Devil’s Dictionary could be….. In either case, this is some funny stuff, and is a perfect example of how the Dictionary’s author somehow obtained a direct line to the future of this country, in order to be able to so exactly describe how our modern system has evolved, and demonstrate how it has become, rather than high comedy, an example of low farce….

Of late, you’ve seen me put out a lot of words on the Beloved Ruling Class (BRC), and the priestly hierarchies, those two entities I hold responsible for the miserable conditions that most of our society is forced to endure, and whom I also hold responsible for the danger of species extinction that we face… It is their narcissistic insistence on having it all for themselves that has put our entire species at risk, along with a large number of other species, who will also be affected by the mess we’ve created in the environment. I keep on shouting, even though it mostly feels as if I’m shouting into the wind, because, in all honesty, I don’t want to die, and I’d like my kids to have a chance to live their entire lives, too, and perhaps even have some hope of a future for their own children…. Currently, there isn’t much hope of that…..

Yes, ffolkes, there isn’t much time left to get this done…. Every second, more and more tons of particulate matter are being poured into the air, and the cumulative effects have actually, finally, reached the critical flash point that ecologists have predicted for years…. Soon, plants that provide oxygen to the air will begin to die, (actually, they are dying as I write this…. as I said, it is late in the game….) and the balance of oxygen and carbon monoxide in the air will start to rapidly change, until it is unbreathable for us, and for all the other mammals, sea creatures, and plant life-forms that are dependent on the levels of those substances as they are now…. This process isn’t unknown….. we have been warned about it, now, for going on 50 years, or more, since the effects were first noted….

But, nobody who cared to do anything about it was listening, and still today, there aren’t anywhere near enough of our BRC who are convinced of the risk, so virtually NOTHING has, or is being done to resolve the issue…. Instead, it is subjected to massive denial on the part of almost every government in the world. They, and most people, have no idea that the bill for our idiocy is about to be presented, and we left our wallet in our other pants….. I think it’s obvious the Universe doesn’t take checks, or give credit…..

I wish I knew the proper sequence of words to use, the words that would inflame the masses, that would inspire the world to rise up, and throw off the yoke of oppression that the 1% has fitted us with, to finally give them their just desserts, and save our own asses in the process…. Alas, I don’t seem to have them in me…. not yet, anyway…. There are probably a few ffolkes out there who agree with me, and would help, if they also knew what to do, or say, to get things started…. But, mostly, I think I’m either shouting into the wind, or preaching to the choir….

In either case, it doesn’t seem to be helping much, other than keeping me from losing my sense of perspective, and actively going out hunting, to try to at least thin the ranks of the ones who are causing the problems…. That would make me feel better, for sure, but, I’m not ready to live the rest of my life on the run, so, I’ll save that option for when things are even worse than they are now….

I’ll also keep shouting, even if it’s into the wind, because I’m also not ready to give in to despair, and loss of hope. Call me stubborn, call me irresponsible (you’d be wrong in that, but, hey, it’s a free country…. mostly….), but don’t call me late for dinner. Also, don’t call me to help you further any of the agenda items that I see on the part of those in power, because I can guarantee that would put me over the edge, and you would be right there, in the explosive field of destruction when I went off…. If you want help to work against anything they’ve started, I’m there…. In the meantime, keep your powder dry, and your field of fire clear…. This final pearl explains why….

“If we don’t survive, we don’t do anything else.” — John Sinclair

And one more, just because there must always be hope, or life isn’t worth living…

“In a just cause the weak o’ercome the strong.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Oedipus Coloneus, 880
_____________________________

Now I’ve done it….. I’m done with today’s Pearl, such as it may be, and it’s still only 0515 AM (I know, the AM isn’t necessary when writing the time in military/24hr format…. but, not everyone knows that, do they?…. The AM is for those who don’t…. See, I can be nice, and think of others at times…. I’m no Asininnie, you can be sure of that!….)

This means I have at least three hours before most of the world will be functioning, four for most of the business world, and no books on tap to read…. That’s a bit more time than I can do, surfing-wise, and going back to bed will only awaken the others who are asleep (dog, cat, one other human…), whereupon, we’d all be up, and they’d be (rightfully) displeased with me for waking them up in what is essentially the middle of the night…. Ah well, I suppose I’ll just take some drugs to quiet down the spasms, and lay on the floor for a while….

Who knows? I might even fall asleep…. wouldn’t THAT be a treat!….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Bloody, but unbowed, he staggers on….

Posted on February 7, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

There are some mornings here on ECR when I’m no longer sure of what I’m doing, or exactly why. I’ve been doing these Pearls so long now at this time of the day, the routine of it will often pull me through any reluctance or fatigue that may manifest… We’ve discussed previously the power of routine in our lives, but, I don’t believe I explored how often routine is ALL we have to maintain the appearance of normalcy…. Our inner world can become so preoccupied with issues with which it is struggling, that the outer world, and all of ITS problems and issues become of distant, secondary concern to us, in terms of our priorities….

For example, today, I awoke with both a great deal of pain, and the full gamut of PTSD symptomatology, in full swing…. I’ve related how I am currently having to switch from one pain medication, upon which I’ve depended for my most complete pain relief for the last 8 years, to using strictly medical marijuana to treat my chronic, severe back and hip pain….

For some time now, I’ve used the marijuana products to augment the prescribed pain killer, as it is the most effective way to treat both the pain, and my PTSD symptoms, (consisting primarily of emotional lability, including ongoing anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia), all without causing any side effects, no risk of overdose, and no known negative interactions with other substances. However, since the federal government’s laws concerning that substance are antediluvian in nature, the doctors turn into myrmidons, and insist on following “policy” rather than honoring their Hippocratic oath to treat the patient, not the society….

This morning, my physical and mental states decided to rebel against the changes that are being forced upon me, as I try to wean myself off the addictive drug they’ve been giving me for 8 years, thereby insuring that I will suffer the lovely group of symptoms of withdrawal from a narcotic, including some rather vicious dyskinesia that is affecting me today….

That is the condition where your muscles are vibrating, you can’t sit still, and the entire body feels as if an electric current is running through the musculature, causing each muscle to spasm in turn…. Oh, it’s a lovely condition, and I’m just glad there are certain of the mj products that help soothe the symptoms when they occur….

Okay, so, how’s the Pity Party going? Anybody else want to chime in?…. we’ve got a lot of whine, to go with any cheesy complaints YOU might have, if you wish to join in the fun….. No? Okay…. It’s probably best if I discontinue any further pairings of whine and cheese, and get on with what I’m ostensibly here to do…. which isn’t complain about my conditions, which is something everybody out there has to deal with, one way or another…. I’m not alone, in that my medical issues aren’t any worse or better than anyone else’s….

But, they’re MINE, and they do take up more of my attention than I like…. I’ve never been “sickly” or even particularly weak in any way…. just the opposite. Which is why I really, really HATE not being able to do just about anything I’d like to be able to do anymore, and end up complaining about it…. I can’t say you’ll never hear about this again, but, I’m done for today…. Let’s get on with our regular business, okay? Okay….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“There is an ancient saying, famous among men, that thou shouldst not judge fully of a man’s life before he dieth, whether it should be called blest or wretched.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Trachiniae, 1
_____________________________

I have to say, (one last bitch), this process isn’t as much fun when I’m having PTSD issues…. The mental effort to remain in disguise, as a normal, intelligent human being, is huge, and when one throws in the pain, it’s enough to have me in tears every few minutes, as I try and try to throw off the unwelcome, and unnecessary feelings of sorrow, from whatever source they’re bubbling up to torment me…. You see, I don’t even know WHY I’m sitting here with tears flowing freely down my face as I type…. I have no big issues of import at hand, at least, not any emotional ones, that I can think of, that would cause any such degree of angst, so, it HAS to be rooted in the past, somehow…. Nothing else makes any sense….

So, anybody have any suggestions, as to how I can get rid of all this shit that keeps coming up to haunt me, when I haven’t a single clue as to what the hell it’s all about?

No?

Well, I don’t blame you for not wanting to get involved…. mental health issues come under the heading of NIMBY for most folks, and, even for some ffolkes, who know a bit more about the issues involved, and are less judgmental…. It’s okay, though, because I have a sure fire way, at least of a temporary nature, that will do just fine to throw these feelings back behind the screen of denial where they generally reside; it’s called a random harlequin old-school pearl, a creative process that never fails to cheer me up…. So, I hope you enjoy the following group of pearls, because they’re definitely going to save my ass this morning….

“It is odd, is it not, that a person’s worth to society by is measured by their wealth, when instead their wealth should be measured by their worth to society.” — A. Cygni

“Belief in God? An afterlife? I believe in rock: this apodictic rock beneath my feet.” — Edward Abbey

— ‘Shit Happens’ according to… Waitress: “You want fries with that shit?”

“Even very young children need to be informed about dying. Explain the concept of death very carefully to your child. This will make threatening him with it much more effective.” — P. J. O’Rourke

“He hoped and prayed that there wasn’t an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn’t an afterlife.” — Douglas Adams

“Whoever invented the eraser had the human race pretty well sized up.” — Smart Bee

“Euripides was wont to say, ‘Silence is an answer to a wise man.'” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Bashfulness

Those of y’all who have seen a number of pearls in your time reading this blog will recognize this one as damn near perfect….. If you don’t get why, not to worry…. It’s all good advice, or good concepts upon which to spend time considering, and, thus, is worth reading…. If the point it makes isn’t clear, don’t push it, it will come to you in time…. If you are like me, it may wake you up late at night, out of your sleep, to say a loud “AHA!”….. And if not, well, you didn’t waste much time, and it DID improve your mind, know it or not….
_____________________________

I really wish…. Well, why not? Let’s see what happens….

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, to teach us to really know.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Well, it came out… such as it is…. I think it may get some editing done on it, some day… for now, it’s fresh poetry, so treat it nicely, ‘kay?…. In the meantime, my ranting ability for today is rather limited, I think, since I can’t sit very long before having to get up to take a break… makes it hard to follow a close line of reasoning, necessary for a good rant…. So, we’re going back to an old-school variety pearl, just because I can, and I want to…. Besides, I think today, it’s for the best….

On previous occasions when I’ve tried to rant after writing a poem, or, in the mood I’m in, terrible things have happened, and regardless as to whether or not it may or may not happen again, I don’t care to take that risk today…. mostly because I’d be tempted to just leave the dead bodies where they laid, giving them no respect or burial…. Then, two days from now, I’ll regret it because of the irrevocable odoriferous nature of dead bodies after two days…. With THAT lovely image in your head, allow me to just move out of the way, as y’all stampede the bathroom, to give it up at the throne….

All back? All serene? Good, sorry ’bout that, won’t happen again…. Just enjoy the pearls, ffolkes, it’s the best way to get this done so you can get out of this mess….

“A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.” — Henry Ward Beecher

“For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together. Our friends seldom profit us but they make us feel safe… Marriage is a scheme to accomplish exactly that same end.” — H. L. Mencken (1928)

“Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.” — Pythagoras (BC 582-507)

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“One should always be a little improbable.” — Oscar Wilde

“A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires sooner or later always leads to bitter disappointment.” — Albert Einstein

“It’s a lot of fun being alive… I wonder if my bed is made?!?” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, well, I like it…. so, it stays….
_____________________________

Today’s Pearl is, as are most of them, unique…. But, if something can be MORE unique than any other thing, if only by connotation, then, this Pearl is more so than any I can recall…. and my memory is VERY good…. Legally, I can’t go back and even start over, as it has a completed poem in it, so, we’ll just have to let it fly as it is, and hope for the best…. I hope y’all enjoy it, and aren’t turned away by the personal nature of a lot of it, or by the unreasonably huge amount of whine and cheesiness that was served up front…. I guess all I can do is all I can do, and I’ve done all I can do…. So be it, gigoid has spoken…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

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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