Pain is a four-letter word….

Posted on September 1, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority.
By definition, there are already enough people to do that.”

~~ G. H. Hardy ~~

Random Kirk ~~ Greenock, Scotland

Hajime…. Evolution is an implacable process, regardless of what point on the scale at which one resides. Those who have the most experience in observing the process, as we all must, from the inside, have no distinct advantage over those brand new to its principles of reality based requirements, otherwise known as parameters. In short, age is no defense against the universe; the laws which regulate its operation are equally applicable to the young, the old, and the foolish. Go figure, eh?

During this most recent vacation from blogging, I’ve been forced to read more, stand more, and write less, as the time needed to transfer my thoughts onscreen has been too much to tolerate. This morning seems to have brought me a bit of space, hence this intro section, composed while I am able….

This inability to spend any consistent time at writing continues; what you see above is from two days ago. As is patently clear by now, it’s making it hard to keep the material from looking and feeling weird to me, chopped up & rustic, rather than smooth and elegant. Of course, elegance is a goal for which I often shoot, but, seldom hit; it sounds good though, doesn’t it?

The above, in retrospect, teaches me this; things will have to change, if I intend to continue blogging. How those changes look has yet to be discovered. For now, we’ll go with what I’ve managed to put together, and, hope for the best…. Without further discussion, we’ll go do that now….

Shall we pearl?….

“I leapt headlong into the sea,
and thereby have become better acquainted
with the soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks,
than if I had stayed upon the green shore,
and piped a silly song, and took tea and comfortable advice.”

~~ John Keats ~~

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Having listened to this concerto many times, I can attest it is perfectly suited for reading with blogs…. So, enjoy!…..

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W.A. Mozart
Concerto for Flute & Harp

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“All warfare is based on deception.”

~~ Sun Tzu (ca. 500 BC) ~~

For more than three weeks now, I’ve been unable to sit long enough to write. Moreover, it isn’t looking as if that is ever going to change; if it does, it won’t be soon. This acknowledgment of reality is hard for me, but, inescapable. Not being able to vent is, without doubt, a serious conundrum, about which I haven’t a clue as how to fix; the building pressure is becoming dangerous, & not just to me. Critical mass is approaching, and nobody likes nuclear explosions….

The quote you see above from The Art of War is, in many ways, always a good place to begin a rant, yet, I am unable to take advantage long enough to put anything together, thanks to the onset of excruciating pain after about three minutes of sitting, requiring me to get up, & move about until it passes, or, worse, to lie down until the pain is manageable. It’s making a serious dent in my serenity, to be sure. It is also making it necessary to once again transform Pearls of Virtual Wisdom into a new, or, rather, old configuration….

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

I cannot deny the pain; I must adjust. So, long story short, from this day forward, until further notice, the Pearls you see will resemble the first one published here; an introductory statement or two, followed by the day’s selection of pearls for your edification and glad consumption. Until my condition allows me to sit long enough to actually compose, that’s about all I can promise to get done. It’s not up to the standards I’ve since adopted, but, those standards no longer apply.

Otherwise, I would have to stop writing completely; I’m not ready to give that up, nor am I willing to give up the people I’ve met here, who have become like family…. So, I’ll be around, if less often, and less copiously…. All you can do is all you can do, as we know….

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s introspective, and hope y’all will continue to drop in now & again to say howdy, or just enjoy the pearls. For the nonce, that will have to do, for all of us….

gigoid has spoken….. So be it….

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A Seasonal Approach

Absolute stillness grips a frozen field,
anticipating dawn with such patient yield
morning burgeoning in dark winter’s hold
brings promise of tales yet to be told.

Lengthening days of pale sun unto night
slowly tell of time’s subversive flight
bringing such original songs of natural fire
with melodies complex in casual attire.

The months are certain they will always win
it is just the way it has always been.
None may argue, nor yet slow life down
Nor dim the eternal beauty of nature’s gown.

Winter evolves from fall into spring,
sending flocks and hearts ever awing.
Summer follows suit, t’other way ’round
Spring into fall, often without a sound.

Life is meant to be lived, beginning to end
choices abound, and change can be a friend.
Yielding with grace to reality’s compelling ploy
fills our plain existence with clean, honest joy.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/26/2012

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Naked Pearls

Notes on Life at Large

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“Our care should not be to have lived long as to have lived enough.”

~~ Seneca ~~

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“It is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

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“It is ridiculous to lay the blame of our wrong actions upon external causes,
rather than on the facility with which we ourselves are caught by such causes.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

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“Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Beauty.”

~~ Ancient Hippie proverb ~~

*******

“Really to see the sun rise or go down every day…would preserve us sane forever.”

~~ Henry David Thoreau ~~

*******

“Good enough is never good enough.”

~~ AB Guthrie ~~

*******

“Kindness is more important than wisdom,
and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.”

~~ Theodore Isaac Rubin ~~

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Well, it took two weeks to put this together, but, it’s done. Hopefully, with the changes in format I’m planning, more Pearls will be forthcoming. Our elegant invention, Time, will tell, I’m sure. Since I’m nearing my three-minute limit, I’m going to end this & go post, before I am unable to do so, again. I WILL be back; that’s a promise, which is never made lightly. Hopefully, I’ll also be able to go surfing soon, to make up for all the time I’ve lost visiting my friends’ blogs…. For now, we’ll take our leave, with our usual caveat, to wit: even reality has to take a breath now and then. Whatever that means…. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Buried in bullet lists….

Posted on July 27, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A friend is one who knows the song in your heart
and can sing it back to you
when you have forgotten the words.”

~~ Donna Twitchell Roberts ~~

George Orwell’s House, London

Hajime…. Weighed down, crushed under the dark, the light beckons, promising endless pain. The foul odor of death permeates reality, a miasma bringing tears, burning, each one a brand. In a vast landscape devoid of hope, fear lives, devouring rational thought in frighteningly vague dreams made real. The beast within is arisen….

Introspection is, for many of us, a valuable tool. It seems, however, there are a few idiosyncratic characteristics involved in its use, of which nobody bothers to inform us. In my own case, it seems there are times I shouldn’t bother, as it merely releases the Beast…. Today is such a time, I’m afraid. My morning thus far has been rather, hmm… hard to describe. Let us just say it’s been somewhat ill-conceived, and ill-managed. Still, I am sitting at the computer, typing, which is where I wanted to be by now. The angst and disturbing elements to which I have already been subjected are slowly fading, while the process of pearling I’ve developed manages to soothe the demon I inadvertently awoke.

I suppose I could spend a little time exploring the cause of today’s major melt, but, that, I think, would be unproductive, since there is an equal chance of reawakening the beast, which is apparently falling back to sleep the longer I type. I imagine I have embedded this process so deeply into my persona, the mere act of trying is enough to provide some relief from the sharp knives of self-denigration. Perhaps, when my mind actually wakes up & starts to think, I will be able to calmly address the cause; for now, let’s let it lie, as a sleeping dog. Instead, we’ll do this….

Shall we pearl?….

“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure.
We get very little wisdom from success, you know.”

~~ William Saroyan ~~

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George Harrison

Without going into superfluous detail, let is suffice to say, today, I want inspiration, and nothing will work any better than this…. Enjoy, please….

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Concert for George

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“Invincibility depends on one’s self;
The enemy’s vulnerability on him.”

~~ Sun Tzu ~~

I was planning to write a discussion of the refugee issue, using the above quote from The Art of War as a starting point. However, I can tell anything I wrote today would be, most likely, too inflammatory. Oh, not too much so for the purpose; too much for my current vulnerability… I’d be too tempted to follow up on the anger which would, no doubt, be generated by such a discussion. Instead, here is a somewhat extensive, but, thoroughly accurate, and, relevant, indictment of the Asininnies. If it isn’t clear to whom that term would apply, the following will make it clear as a crystal….

From 3/4/2014:

“Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sure sign he expects to be paid for it.” — H. L. Mencken

Does anyone else remember what Tom Jefferson had to say about “professional politicians”, and “bankers”, as being the most dangerous threats to a democracy? I remember the tone of it, and the meaning of what he expressed, in a number of letters to others of his contemporaries, even if even if I don’t remember the exact wording in the letters….. Believe me, every single one of the people who inhabit the halls of the White House, the Congressional House and Senate, and the Federal Court system would have been very lucky if Tom had only called them by their true name, that of TRAITOR….. As I recall from my reading about Tom, he was a bit of a hothead, by reputation, and he might have decided to start shooting before speaking, if I read him right…. and, I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment that might have prompted him to start firing away….

It’s funny, (ha ha AND weird, both types…) how the mind plays tricks on itself, even going so far as to use one’s own memories in manipulating to have its way…. however obscure that way may be…. Yesterday, in the rant in section three, (I think…. that’s how unsure I am of my own memory right now; memories as close as yesterday are currently suspect, due to the very issue under discussion IN THIS SENTENCE, thus, demonstrating once again how slippery our hold on Reality is, just all the damn time….), I mentioned the rant from the day before, in which, I was supposed to have spoken about the NSA, and its shenanigans…. That, of course, was either mistaken belief on my part, or just laziness in thinking about what actually was written, as I was writing at the time…. I know, it’s all very confusing, and maybe even moot, but, I have to explain this, or I’ll go crazy…

Crazy, as you know, is always a risk around here…. Anyway…. The rant to which I referred as being about the NSA, (as yesterday’s rant from the archives actually happened to be), was NOT about that, specifically, though that agency WAS mentioned…. No, that rant was about the Shrubs, and the events of 9/11/01 considered as a conspiracy to misdirect the public attention away from election results of the previous two elections, in which certain disputed voting irregularities “fixed” the election in favor of the Republican ticket…. A conspiracy, I will add, whose very existence, due to the very professional, comprehensive planning, and execution, by the elder Shrub’s minions, in eliminating and/or explaining away any evidence of such a conspiracy, is completely unknown to the majority of the American public…. That’s how good they are at this…

My intent in saying the above, long and complicated as it turned out to be, was to be honest, with y’all, and with myself…. and to keep things straight…. There are two different issues at hand in my rants from the last week or so, (Two, at the very least…. most likely more, if truth be told…), with the only connection being the fact that both issues are a result of previously clandestine, illegal, selfish, paranoid actions by the same set of shadowy corporate slave masters, and their political minions…. Thanks to the actions of a single patriotic citizen with a conscience, (E. Snowden), SOME of their actions are now a matter of public record, a fact which they are desperately working to remove from the public’s awareness….

Right now, they’re using the stone wall technique…. They aren’t making comments on any part of the issues, and they won’t address any questions they’re given by journalists on the subject. They’ve planted the seeds they wished to plant, with their lies about intended reforms to the NDAA regulations, and about Eric Snowden’s incompetence, and possible (fabricated) ties to Russian spies….

“All men can be led to believe the lie they want to believe.” — Italo Bombolini

Since that last outrageous, ‘ipse dixit’ proclamation from the House Intelligence Committee’s lead Republican, (….. Wow, talk about an oxymoron!…), about the infamous, totally made-up Soviet spies who “tricked” Eric Snowden into hacking those files, the White House, and every other public mouthpiece in DC, has been giving their best impression of an uncooked clam about the entire issue….. They don’t want to confuse the issue by introducing too many other ideas, especially if they might be found to be true….

They’re letting the lies they told sit and percolate, so it is the last discussion in the public mind; that way, when they come back to re-address the same issue again, those minds, of the mundanes among us, will have already been primed with the previous lies….. Hence, their next round of fabrications can not only be even more outrageous, but, in their minds, will have the additional advantage of being more easily believed by those parts of the public that bought into their previous (false) statements…. ‘Tis an unfortunate truth that it will probably work….

“These activities have their own rules and methods of concealment which seek to mislead and obscure.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower (1960)

Even if only a few people buy into their lies and machinations, they’re content…. They know that, because of human nature, the people who DO fall for that line of crap are generally the loudest, most stridently vocal of their supporters, those who have a strong investment in believing what they’re told by the talking heads on TV, primarily so they don’t appear to be so FUCKING STUPID to the rest of us….

Sorry…. didn’t mean to shout. I just get so frustrated, thinking about the lack of intelligence it takes to NOT be able to see how often these people are lying to us. This rant sort of evolved, all by itself. on Monday morning, as I sat reading the original line from Mr. Mencken, who happens to be one of the most prolific social philosophers of the twentieth century….

Mencken had a sharp eye, a nimble mind, and he wasn’t afraid to call a spade a spade, which, in the end, gets more done than calling it what it isn’t…. His honesty, and his willingness to “call ’em as he saw ’em” is why he was relatively unpopular with, and feared by, the governing elite of his era…. Too many sharp barbs and exposed truths for their taste….

I just wish I could figure out how to convince all the Numbnoids to use their minds, for something more than just carrying their bladders around from toilet, to table, to toilet…. Oh well, I’ll keep at it, and maybe, someday, one of the tabloids, or one of the mainstream papers, or even, GASP!, maybe a major player, like PEOPLE magazine, will pick up one of my rants, it will go viral, and the world will be saved from the all-too-frequently ignored effects of practicing ignorance, and the crushing soulless presence of Evil in our society’s most powerful denizens, who take advantage of that ignorance among the masses to maintain their own supremacy….

Or, maybe not…. Either way, I’ll keep on pointing out what I see, even if it doesn’t get very far…. Better out than in, I always say….

“Lord, defend me from my friends; I can account for my enemies.” — D’Hericault

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I feel a poem circling around in my head, but, it’s not anywhere near ready to bleed out. Here is one I wrote in March of this year, which is probably closest to my mood today…. I hope you enjoy the process of watching me find my balance as much as I hope it works….

Augmentation: Inner Aye

Distant, peals of thunder, vividly.
Closer, a patter of rain, falling gravidly.
Between the light and the darkness of fear
find merely the remnants of one lonely tear.

Do not hate us, though we have not sinned;
eager for courage, upon whom all hope is pinned.
Tales of insolence, hatred, or fallen virtue
fill us up, not down, in such pristine foreign venue.

Capable hands severed, able hands tied;
the future is angry, all but now denied.
Multiple times, warnings sounded across the pale
nobody heard, nobody came to tell the tale.

Gifted by time, salience fails in epic rhyme;
watchmakers watching, each a separate crime.
Logical solutions refuse to emulsify
forever pretending to cruelly crucify.

Blood will fly alongside pertinent composure,
never seeking, never finding tea, or closure.
Falsely laid trails on mountains of gold
imply no happy endings, no fortunes told.

Ages past have no time for repetition;
further chances only lead to perdition.
Destiny feels a shameful portion of guilt,
for a thousand sand castles, never built.

~~ gigoid ~~

3/2/2016

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Naked Pearls

Observations

*******

“In all the many-colored worlds of the universe
no single ethical code shows a universal force.
I am convinced that virtue is but a reflection of good intent.”

~~ Magnus Ridolf ~~

*******

“There is nothing in a caterpillar
that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”

~~ Buckminster Fuller ~~

*******

“If you have a skeleton in your closet, take it out and dance with it.”

~~ Carolyn MacKenzie ~~

*******

“Intellect annuls fate.
So far as a man thinks, he is free.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

*******

“To go forth and experience the myriad things is delusion.
That the myriad things spring forth and experience themselves is enlightenment.”

~~ Dogen ~~

*******

“If you can’t change your mind, do you still have one?”

~~ Caroline Malmgren-Davis ~~

*******

Nature, whose sweet rains fall of just and unjust alike,
will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide,
and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undetected.
She will hang the night with stars so that I may walk abroad
in the darkness without stumbling,
and send the wind over my footprints
so that none may track me to my hurt:
she will cleanse me in great waters,
and with bitter herbs make me whole.”

~~ Oscar Wilde — “De Profundis” ~~

*******

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Not too shabby for an hour and a half later than planned; I’ll take it. Moreover, I’ll do so without further nonsense, or, sense, for that matter. I’ll merely say, I hope it works, and let it go at that. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I’m pretty sure it will be relatively unavoidable….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

A familiar state of effusion….

Posted on May 6, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Abandon thought and let the dream descend…”

~~ The Phantom ~~

Lazy day on the creek….

Hajime…. ‘Tis morning again here in Northern California. Today, that’s more of a pill to swallow than a treat to consume, I’m afraid. I’ve got so much nothin’, I’m having a hard time keeping my feet on the ground, as there isn’t enough in me to attract any gravity. I know the problem, which can be traced directly to my PTSD, and, the absence of Leelu, who went into the vet’s yesterday afternoon for her spay appointment. I didn’t realize how closely we had bonded; it choked me up something fierce when I actually had to leave her there, compelling me to walk off the upset by hoofing it home, about 2 miles…. My sleep was disturbed, due to the aching hips produced by the longest walk I’ve taken in some time, and the tweak in my back, adding the glory of spasms to the mix…. A lovely night, reminiscent of far too many like it last year….

My resultant lack of energy is not being assuaged by this intro, and none of the sections below are done, to any significant degree. So, no Pearl today, other than the old-school group you’ll find below, which I’d already put together. I may not even be back tomorrow; hard to say, as I don’t pick up Leelu until tomorrow morning, and, don’t know yet how the day is going to go today…. Ambiguity is part of life, but, it sure sucks, y’know?

Ah, well, so be it. Below, you’ll find a pearl, made of pearls, and that’s all the Pearl you get today. To get the slow on the toad, we’ll go do that now, and be done with it for today….. Why look, here’s our opening right here! We’ll take it….

Shall we Pearl?….

“When anger rises, think of the consequences.”

~~ Confucius ~~

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Naked Pearls

Randomness is Truth

*******

“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds.
Things either are what they appear to be;
or they neither are, nor appear to be;
or they are, and do not appear to be;
or they are not, and yet appear to be.
Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.”

~~ Epictetus — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvii ~~

*******

“Invincibility depends on one’s self; The enemy’s vulnerability on him.”

~~- Sun Tzu ~~

*******

“My skin, my bones, my heretic heart are my authority.”

~~ Catherine Madsen ~~

*******

“A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth
the first time he bites off more than he can chew.”

~~ Herb Caen ~~

*******

“Don’t look back — something might be gaining on you.”

~~ Satchel Paige ~~

*******

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I know; it’s pretty short, isn’t it? Oh, well. So be it. I hope to be back tomorrow, but, time will tell. Time always does; it’s a gossip & can’t help itself. See ya ’round the planet, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Interview with an organic penguin groomer….

Posted on February 20, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.”

~~ Knights of Pythagoras ~~

Channeling New Ideas

Hajime….. As I sit to begin, I feel a sense of deja-vú, not particularly surprisingly, as this happened a lot in the past. Though most of the Pearl for today is finished, the rest promises to be a complete struggle, as my mind is blank as the proverbial clean slate. Oh, there’s plenty going on in there, it’s just not printable, or, even, shareable. The dega-vú just makes it worse, as it attempts to add guilt to the mix, which we don’t allow, thus muddying up the waters even further…

Rather than bore y’all any further with my issues with writing, let’s try the old cut-’em-off-at-the-pass technique we employ so well, to get us down to the meat of today’s post. ‘Meat’ may be an unfortunate euphemism, given the somewhat odoriferous state of what may follow, but, we’re nothing if not bold in the pursuit of our Art, if such title may be justifiably applied to what is found here. Me, I don’t give a crap whether it’s valid art, or just frank & earnest; it’s still better out than in, so there.

Okay, I’m getting grumpy, so, we’d best be on our way. I have no expectations for today’s Pearl; it’s on its own. And, so are y’all, once we hit the oyster beds…. Our insurance is going to lapse at noon, and, since we don’t actually HAVE any income, we won’t be supplying it in future posts. C’est la fucking vie, as we say downtown. We also say this, a lot….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Birth, copulation and death.
That’s all the facts when you come to brass tacks;
Birth, copulation and death.”

~~ T. S. Elliot, Sweeney Agonistes (1932) ~~

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The Three Tenors

Image from last.fm via Google Images

I am NOT a fan of opera. Never have been. There are a few arias sung by duets, or alto sopranos, that are inspiring and beautiful, to be sure, such as the one in The Shawshank Redemption. Mostly, it’s just noise, as far as I’m concerned. I could go with a few Twain quotes; he wasn’t much enthused by it, either. But, instead I will say this: I am a fan of the human voice. I love a Capella music, especially live on the street. I play guitar, having learned simply so I could sing along myself. Music is in all of us, but, isn’t always easily expressed, or felt. Whomever had the brainstorm to bring these three gentlemen together to sing, was guilty of an act of genius….

Just listen, & try not to drop your jaw too far when they start to hit the high notes on some of these songs….. It will send chills up your spine, I guarantee…. In case I forgot, and, I did, their names are Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti…. Enjoy!….

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The Three Tenors In Paris

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https://youtu.be/4IUcm3_aVTU

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“A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.”

~~ Robert Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long ~~

In general terms, a generation can be considered to be twenty-five years; some might say it is longer, as much as fifty years. To strike a logical, or, at least, reasonable balance, we will use the mean of the two, rounded off from 37.5 years to 40, for convenience of addition, etc. Given that assumption, I would estimate we have now gone at least three, and possibly four generations without paying the slightest attention to the lessons taught to us by our own history…. This period, significantly enough, covers about the same time as has passed since the advent of what is usually called The Industrial Revolution. For our purposes, this age of man began in earnest soon after, if not prior to, the birth of this nation, in the early part of the nineteenth century.

Now, one might think an author, or a character from a novel he wrote, is not the most appropriate judge of such matters; I contend this author is sufficiently educated as a historian, as a graduate of the US Naval Academy, to warrant some attention paid to his assertion, voiced by one of his characters. Robert Heinlein was not only an author, but, a scholar/historian/astronomer/engineer/pilot, and a number of other titles he earned throughout his life. He was one of the most cogent social philosophers of his time, though many of his ideas were considered radical…. a sobriquet commonly applied by mankind to all free thinkers….

In addition, this statement echoes the idea of many historical sages, in almost identical words. Thomas Jefferson made statements similar to this, when he wrote letters to peers in his time. He warned of the corruption he saw in the government almost immediately upon the signing of the Constitution, lamenting in one letter, “A monied aristocracy in our country … has already set the government at defiance.” He also warned of who he felt was the worst danger to the new republic, when he wrote, “Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.”.

If in no other way, this country has completely ignored this warning, allowing the interests of corporations and oligarchs to corrupt the halls of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Presidency of this nation, with the apparent full agreement of the populace, who embrace every economic principle spouted to them by those who have consistently preyed upon their ignorance. The checks and balances set up by the Constitution are useless, for those who make the laws now are in the complete power of the lust for money and power.

“History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion
— i.e., none to speak of.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

Lazarus’s wry observation, though tongue-in-cheek, nonetheless points out a good part of why those who care nothing about community, but, live only to fulfill their own narcissist desires for power have been able to keep the public in the dark about the true state of affairs in the halls of government…. These congenital liars are willing to say anything at all to convince the gullible they are working in their interests, while in truth, have been busily corrupting judges and legislators to pass and approve laws which favor business principles over those of people. This, in spite of any claims to the contrary you may hear from those predators, is absolute truth for anyone with any wit to see, right in front of their eyes.

What is it they refuse to see? Simply this: the entire human culture, in every country in this world, exists as it does while laboring under two delusions. First, people have come to believe money exists in reality, as something other than an idea, which we learned to use to represent our time and energy, by placing a value on it. Second, there is a completely false belief in the need to be governed. Governments do not perform any of the functions for which they originally were formed; instead, they merely act as a means for unscrupulous people to take advantage of those who do not understand their own nature, much less the nature of reality around them.

Of course, since the first step to learning is to admit one does not know, or is wrong, these people would have to first find the courage to overcome their fear of either of those states. Fear arises from ignorance, or, perceived danger without understanding. It is easier to accept what one is told, than it is to be strong enough to think for one’s self, a very common human characteristic, of which those who prey on others are well aware. In fact, they count on it….

As a scientist, with leanings toward social history and the nature of humankind, I cannot say there is any solution at this point. I can also say I don’t believe there is a need for one, as the situation in the world today is ultimately self-correcting, according to the now-proven laws of evolution. No species can long survive when there is no limit to their breeding; our world has rejected any such control over our reproductive characteristics. Simply put, there is not enough planet to support the number of humans currently living here; not for any length of time. In addition, our own short-sightedness is going to play a large part, as we continue to degrade the environment upon which our survival depends, with no thought to the future at all.

“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

Society has reached the point where we are cancerous, to ourselves, and to the planet. I can say what changes we need to make, but, I am almost certain they won’t be heeded, or made. So be it. As I mentioned somewhere, this is a rant to end all rants, for I am tired of singing to the choir. For a time, this section may/will exhibit some rather different material, not all from the archives. Also, so be it. For now, here are a few pearls to finish off this indictment of us all…. The last one tells us exactly what I mentioned needs to be done, if we are to have any chance at all of surviving as a species….

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

“We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry.” — John Webster

“A fish never thinks about water until he’s out of it.” — Robert Penn Warren

“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” — Sun Tzu (fl. c. BC 500)

“Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” — Denis Diderot in “Dithrambe sur la fete de rois”

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

The duties of the wind are few…

The duties of the Wind are few,
To cast the ships, at Sea,
Establish March, the Floods escort,
And usher Liberty.

The pleasures of the Wind are broad,
To dwell Extent among,
Remain, or wander,
Speculate, or Forests entertain.

The kinsmen of the Wind are Peaks
Azof – the Equinox,
Also with Bird and Asteroid
A bowing intercourse.

The limitations of the Wind
Do he exist, or die,
Too wise he seems for Wakelessness,
However, know not i.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Naked Pearls

Don’t forget…

*********

“In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don’t wobble.” — Yun-Men

“Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue.” — Confucius

“The best things in life are never rationed. Friendship, loyalty, and love. They do not require coupons.” — George T. Hewitt

“Full wise is he that can himselven knowe.” — Geoffrey Chaucer — The Monkes Tale, Line 1449

“Live dangerously and you live right.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust (1806)

“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” — Marcus Aurelius

“‘Truth’ never set anyone free. It is only *doubt* which will bring mental emancipation.” — Anton LaVey

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will.” — Jawaharlal Nehru

“Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.” — Walt Whitman

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

Such as it is, it’s done, And, so am I. Another long night, and a long day ahead, promises today will be a challenge. May as well get started. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided all goes relatively according to plan….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Seminal moments arrive randomly….

Posted on February 5, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Hate has a reason for everything.
But love is unreasonable.”

~~ V. Raiuhes Ahaefvthe ~~

Future and Past

Hajime….. Life has again become ‘interesting’, in many ways. Fortunately, I’m up to the task of being fascinated by all the different ways things in reality can screw with our heads, so, all is reasonably well, in spite of lots & lots of pain, and a cat entering her first season. (Yep, she beat me; went into heat before I could get her to the vet…. SIGH. Murphy lives here….) She makes up for her yowling by being extra affectionate, enough to have prompted a new haiku you’ll see below…. Since reality is not in tatters, we’ll go ahead and post today….

Today’s poem is a paean to my pain, written a couple years ago, after a particularly bad day, like yesterday & the day before. It passes, but, sometimes, it just needs to be acknowledged with a few epithets, y’know? At any rate, today is better, as happens, so, we’ll quit the personal journal in favor of getting the slow on the toad…. In support of that, we’ll forgo any further nonsense, which I’m afraid is about all I’ve got this morning, if truth be known. Oh, well, he said. Let’s cover our tracks by making some…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Who can all sense of others’ ills escape,
Is but a brute, at best, in human shape.”

~~ Juvenal ~~

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

Here is the latest release from Playing For Change, one of the few worthy organizations I know of working for peace. This one is a rather excellent duet by a couple of guitarists from different countries, playing the blues together under a tree outside…. Enjoy, then, send them some money…. it’s a great cause….

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

Fastock

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

https://youtu.be/4bmaz2s5YtM

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

“Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is.”

~~ Albert Camus ~~

“All warfare is based on deception.”

~~ Sun Tzu (ca. 500 BC) ~~

Our opening quote states the issue we face as a species; the second states the resultant outcome, in terms of the direction in which human society has evolved since the days of Plato and Aristotle, who are obviously arguing the points.

We humans have a rather large opinion of ourselves, in relation to our place in this universe. That is, no doubt, a direct result of having both more intelligence than we need as a living creature, and, an imagination which leads us to believe our own thoughts have power over reality. Both of these, sadly, have brought us to our current situation here on Earth, as both have been completely misunderstood, and badly handled by almost everyone who ever possessed both qualities.

Oh, sure, history relates the many wise men who have passed on their wisdom to us; our society, however, does not reflect ANY of the wisdom they shared. It reflects, most sadly, the second quote’s implications, which directly reflects our own nature, as beasts, and, as creatures of imagination. As a species, we have always been irritable creatures, jealous of our territory and possessions, constantly “at war” with the environment to wrest from it the necessary elements to survive. We learned to kill other creatures for food, as do many earth animals; we, however, raised the skill to a level at which no other species can compete, thus assuming, in our minds, the top of the food chain…..

How little we actually understand, of ourselves, or the world around us. Even if we are on the verge of space, and, the frontiers of many scientific discoveries, we know so little of how it all ties together, and, our own place in it, we are in danger of venturing into areas for which we are not equipped to handle, in such a way as to have any good result. I am not speaking of scientific breakthroughs, but, rather of spiritual inadequacies. How can we expect a species which preys upon its own members to be able to create life, or conquer a Universe, without first destroying themselves?

I don’t believe we can. It seems clear to me reality is giving us very clear warnings of late, that we have overstepped the boundaries of what we understand about our own planet, and ourselves. We are NOT as powerful as we think, and our fumbling around in this environment without such understanding is resulting in planetary changes of drastic nature, which very few people have the courage, or the wit to either understand, or admit. Not only do the assumed “leaders” of society refuse to acknowledge how little they actually know, almost every person alive is, because of societal prejudices and behavioral training, unwilling to use what intelligence they have to even examine the issue.

Society, since it first began, has viewed life as a ‘war’. This attitude is embedded in every culture on Earth, save a couple isolated from the rest for long periods in the beginning of civilization. Every human is taught to think of life as a struggle, a war against the universe, one which we can win, or lose, according to our beliefs. This, of course, does reflect the duality of our nature, which, though we mostly don’t know or admit it, War, as it were, became our society’s most used form of approaching life, and all its problems and issues…. including relations between people, at every societal level.

Thus, we see the Art of War, Sun Tzu’s brilliant summarization of the basic principles of successful campaigning against an opponent, with its primary assertion, as stated, becomes all the more important as a tool for evaluating and understanding human society. The statement with which we began is absolutely true; as such, it has been taken to heart by every human predator since we began interacting in a societal manner. Since every interaction, in the eyes of some, is an act of war, they will use every part of their imagination to deceive whomever they perceive as any kind of threat to their own self-importance.

Over the course of history, what is the most persistent theme? Empire. Conquest. War. The victors write the history books, and the world continues to suffer at the hands of humans with no sense of humanity, who are willing to use whatever it takes to achieve their own ends, which almost always includes the power to control others, regardless of the inhumanity or unethical/immoral results that may occur to those innocents. In their blind lust for power and self-importance, is hidden their true motivation, fear of life as it exists in reality.

The same fear our distant forebears felt when lightning struck close by, or, an earthquake struck, or, a vicious storm flooded the land; fear of reality, which leads to anger, which leads to hatred, which leads to darkness and death. Because we now have the technological means and knowledge to understand these phenomena does not prevent our apish nervous systems from reacting to fear of the unknown; this is our fatal flaw, for only by accepting fear can it be overcome. Only by accepting our ignorance can we learn to face the world without flinching, freeing us to live without the necessity of always being on guard against disaster and pain.

But, we don’t, mostly. The entire species forgets it exists on a bell curve, and not all will see, or understand the world as others may. This has led to confusion, and, ultimately, will lead our species onto paths where there is only one destination, where we join all the other failed experiments of the evolution of the universe into whatever it may become. I have a feeling, very strong, supported unfortunately by reason and evidence, we will NOT be conquering the galaxy, as so many would believe we shall…. Our own nature is our worst enemy, and that is a war we cannot win, without learning to view the universe in a completely different way than we now perceive it. Trying to fight a war with reality seems, to me, a pursuit without any real purpose, or chance of winning. Reality makes the rules….. and, one of the most basic of rules is, unless we all win, everybody loses.

Rather than beat this horse any more, we’ll finish off with a few pearls, to sort of drive the points home, as it were…. I only wish one, or more of them, gave us some clear indication of what direction we need to take, with a truly viable chance of working…. Oh, well, all we can do, is all we can do….

“Money talks, but it is not obliged to tell the truth.” — MBA Bee

“…this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.” — John Adams, Letter to Thomas Jefferson, 1816

“Do not be afraid of enemies; the worst they can do is to kill you. Do not be afraid of friends; the worst they can do is betray you. Be afraid of the indifferent; they do not kill or betray. Yet only because of their silent agreement, betrayal and murder exist on earth.” — Bruno Yasienski, contemporary Soviet novelist

“Veni, vidi, vici” [I came, I saw, I conquered]. — Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.) (See? How long before Caesar’s time was the Trojan War? Our history is rife with it…)

“If people get a kick out of running down pedestrians, you have to let them do it.” — Paul Jacobs, marketing director for a video game company

“The Book says BURN and DESTROY repent and redeem and revenge and deploy and rumble thee forth to the land of the unbelieving scum ’cause they don’t go for what’s in the Book and that makes ’em BAD.” — Frank Zappa

“25 states allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with no permit of any kind: some say it’s crazy. However, 4 out of 5 US murders are committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?” — Andrew Ford

I’d say we are all getting pretty crazy, wouldn’t you?….

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

Life is much improved
when I can be a cat tree
for an hour, or so.

~~ gigoid ~~

***********

Elemental, dear Watson….

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

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

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

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

Fuck.

It
hurts.

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

He isn’t?
Oh,
Well….

Ante up.
Deal.

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

I say,

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

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

because

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

I
will
take the complaints.

After all,
they
are
my bones.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/14/2014

“I have thought many times since that if poets when they get discouraged would blow their brains out, they could write very much better when they got well.” — Mark Twain

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

Today, we’ll finish up with my version of being silly….. A classic seven-star pearl, with no other meaning than to observe and enjoy the irony in life, of which there is no lack….

“Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere.” — William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night — Act iii, Sc. 1

“Universe, n.: The problem.” — Andy Tannenbaum

“I think my new thing will be to try to be a real happy guy. I’ll just walk around being real happy until some jerk says something stupid to me.” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

“How are we to know whether we actually exist or only think we exist?” — Curious Bee

“The grass is always greener over the septic tank.” — Erma Bombeck

“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, Where have I gone wrong? Then a voice says to me, This is going to take more than one night.” — Charlie Brown, _Peanuts_ [Charles Schulz]

“Sometimes, Number One, you just have to…bow to the absurd.” — Picard, “Up the Long Ladder”, stardate 42823.2

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

I’m glad I have learned to trust the process; this gets done more efficiently when I do. Not that the quality is in any way improved thereby, but, hey, we’re tryin’, right? Right. It’s close enough for me. It’s also done for today, so, without further machinations, contortions, or excessive verbiage (beyond the already copious quantities furnished), I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’m committed. Or, should that be, I should be committed? Ah, well, let me know later, okay?…. Ta, then…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Curious fractals or penny-wise mavens….

Posted on February 2, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Wherever I go, there I am,” Pooh mused.

~~ Philosopher Bee ~~

Early morning in Galway, post-championship game….

Hajime…. Up a bit late, & running smoothly, he sits to write, ever clueless in pre-coffee state…. “What are you doing, trying to type before the first sip?”, he cries, piteously. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?” Shuddering with the memory, he hunches his shoulders, rises, & walks off into the nether regions of the mortal coil, attempting to shake off the sense of foreboding sitting heavily on his left shoulder, trying to make him turn to look at his fears…. Moaning softly with the effort, he shuffles into the loo, to sublimate the blues….

Not too shabby, I’d say, for a first effort, pre-coffee…. We’ll play it as it lies, too, since it’s laid up so close to the hole. A tap in for a birdie, we can hope. Not that we’re concerned with our handicap; no, it’s more the challenge of playing a game in my head as I write I enjoy. Since, however, we are not here to enjoy ourselves….. Wait! That is what we ARE here for! What was I thinking? Oh, right….

Well, never mind, I’ve wandered & blathered sufficiently to soothe the monitors, so, we’ll just be off to the oyster beds without further fussing. In fact, we’ll get this slow on the toad with some style, and cruise over in the Tardis. Sound good? Good. Let’s do it, before the warranty expires….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” — Carl Jung

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

©Jay Blakesberg

50th Anniversary Show

The band needs no introduction. Suffice it to say I was at one of their concerts earlier in the year this show finished off, which I have on my computer to watch again whenever I like…. I listened to this show live, as well…. It’s a good one, as many were….. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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

Grateful Dead Live
New Year’s Eve 1987

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

https://youtu.be/ldiZ1pNA7us

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

The discussion I’m working on isn’t done, and I’m too late today to finish it before posting. Here is a discussion from 2012 to fill in for the day…. I hope you enjoy it; it’s from the early days of ECR, when I was still feeling my way to the form it now shows….

From 915/2012:

“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

See? There, now, I’ve been saying this for years, and here’s old Marcus Aurelius, that Roman cogitator extraordinaire, putting it straight out there way back around the time of J.C.’s failed attempt at societal reform. A very cogent, yet poignant description of human nature and the preponderance of Ego that drives most of humanity to act out of their own ignorance, rather than consider the veracity or usefulness of someone else’s ideas. This format for stating this answer to one of the great questions is one that all the best philosophers choose when creating aphorisms; clear, simple language and brutally honest self-examination provide us with true wisdom, like it or not……

What particularly gets me about people at large is the high percentage of folks who fall into the trap that Ego sets; for some reason, people seem to prefer the cozy blindness with which ignorance can cover them to the cold, harsh light of self-knowledge. The very ego that sets them apart from the rest of the animals who inhabit this planet becomes also the greatest threat to survival, when it is allowed to dictate how one views reality.

The state of society in today’s world rests on the brink of total collapse; any number of issues currently in play in the world can lead us to upheaval unseen since the last Ice Age. Pollution, created by mankind, is pumping tons of carbon monoxide into the air every minute, and all those precipitates are eventually bound to cause changes to climate that we will have no power to stop, or reverse.

The economy of the world is constantly on the verge of collapse in these times, due mostly to the unacknowledged crimes of the 1% of mankind who controls 99% of the money and resources. These crimes arise, again, out of Ego, as the elite of the world believe that they are “different” from the rest of humanity, and deserve to make all the decisions, which oddly enough, are only beneficial to themselves….. again, the power of Ego trumps virtue…..

I’m a smart guy, pretty much, but this is a problem for which even I cannot find a solution, other than the age-old, time-worn, and always ineffective war between the classes. That solution has been tried innumerable times throughout history, and each time the same structure of society re-settles into the same old shape, with a few people at the top, making all the important decisions for the rest of humanity. All because we, as individuals, and as a species, cannot learn to control our ego, to persuade it to act for the benefit of all, rather than just looking out for itself….. I figure that whatever happens will be what we deserve, and I can’t say that I think it will be very pretty, for the species….. or for a lot of individuals…..

Maybe there is a solution…. as a matter of fact, there is one that has been around for as long as mankind has been writing stuff down…. and it’s always the same little piece of advice, a little idea that can change one’s entire life and world-view….. but only if it is accepted, and believed, and applied to reality…… Everybody knows this, but, how many actually live it?…..

“Do unto all as you would wish to have done unto you, and reject for others what you would reject for yourself.” — Mohammed

That’s right, the Golden Rule…. a basic tenet of EVERY philosophy that Mankind has ever formulated; even most religions will acknowledge the wisdom of this, though it doesn’t serve their interests as well as they would wish. But, throughout history, we have always known what is the right way to act…. we’ve just always chosen not to apply the principle in interacting with others…. Instead, we allow our ego to dictate how we behave, thus bringing us to the current world, with all of its problems and dangers…..

SIGH….. It’s really quite easy, and it’s the only answer that will work, in the long run. It really is too bad that most of humanity isn’t buying into it, isn’t it?……

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

Between what I see and what I say
Between what I say and what I keep silent
Between what I keep silent and what I dream
Between what I dream and what I forget:
Poetry.

~~ Octavio Paz (1914-1998) ~~

*********

Visible life

Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,
leave marks of salvation, often in pain.
Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse
fight heavily to keep a straight course.
Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense
Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.

Still the night comes soft and eternally dear
to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.
Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest
lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,
Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain
Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.

Now come brave signs of chapter and verse
Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.
Gravid portions of in-between retaliation
leave only pale marks of initial gestation
With hope even pallid warriors grow brave
Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.

Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace
Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.
Cheerful faces yet shine out of time
for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.
Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort
life is ever visible, if only as last resort.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/15/2012

*********

Griefe brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,
For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.

~~ John Donne ~~

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

Naked Pearls

Human, done right….

*********

Between those who use their neighbors, and those who use a cane.
Between those in constant power, and those in constant pain.
Between those who run to evil, and those who cannot run.
Tell me which ones are the cripples, and which ones touch the sun.

~~ Ceili’s Muse “What you do with what you’ve got” ~~

*********

“There is only one nature
the division into science and engineering
is a human imposition,
not a natural one.
Indeed, the division is a human failure;
it reflects our limited capacity
to comprehend the whole.”

~~ Bill Wulf ~~

*********

“If you make a mess, clean it up.”

~~ Mom ~~

*********

“No man, for any considerable period
can wear one face to himself,
and another to the multitude,
without finally getting bewildered
as to which may be the true.”

~~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850) ~~

*********

“A possum must be himself, and being himself he is honest.”

~~ Walt Kelly ~~

*********

“A person is not given integrity.
It results from the relentless pursuit of honesty at all times.”

~~ Anonymous Bee ~~

*********

“Men can only be happy
when they do not assume
that the object of life is happiness.”

~~ George Orwell ~~

*********

“I searched into myself.”

~~ Heraclitus ~~

*********

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

~~ T.S. Eliot ~~

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

It will be okay; I know it will, if I can just wait. So, we’ll post it, and wait to see what happens. Trust the process, Luke! Okay, Ben, back off, now. And leave the pastries….. Hmph. I hate when my head goes all strange like that. Oh, well, tomorrow is another day, theoretically. I’ll see y’all then, unless I regain my senses before then…. Fat chance of that, right?…. Right….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

More chewy than pink….

Posted on January 16, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

~~ Abraham Lincoln ~~

Did you say ‘Tuna’?

As the day begins, wet and cold, I sit to try once more to make sense of a world gone mad, right before my eyes…. It seems even those with the most rational perceptions cannot bring order to the chaos sought so strongly by those ruled by fear and illusion, and the world climbs ever closer to a summit from which the only way down is a long fall. To maintain one’s own center is becoming increasingly difficult, when even those whom we believed to be rational are showing signs of falling prey to fear….

Doing this, organizing my life to include time to think, to write, to try to bring some of the order in my own mind out into reality, where it might be of some help to others…. But, even this self-therapy, to try to deal with my own inner demons, is getting hard to do each day, given the demands we place upon ourselves to live a certain way, to walk our chosen path….

I have met some wonderful people, people who give me hope there are enough with minds capable of resisting the craziness to, perhaps, make a difference….. It is only my own experience, and the propensity for human nature to assert its most base desires, which I have seen become the status quo for the average man, that demonstrates how small my hope must be; we humans don’t seem to WANT to know our own nature, unless by doing so we can fulfill that nature’s desires…

It’s always chancy when I become introspective first thing in the morning; I’m not sure my brain is functioning quite smoothly enough for such delicate work…. But, it’s done, and it’s real, so fuck it. The rest of today’s Pearl is done, so, I’m going to let this fly, so we can get on with it…. Perhaps, if I can work it, I’ll actually get something else done today…. Time will tell, I suppose…. it always does. For now, let’s go see what I dragged out of my head yesterday, and late last night, as I could not sleep well, due to a visit from our old friend, pain…. may it rot in deepest hell….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

********************************”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

With more than four hours of classical music, by the acknowledged genius of Wolfgang himself, how can one not be productive? Even Leelu likes Wolfie…. Trust me, she’s picky….

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

The Best of Mozart
Violin Sonatas

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

https://youtu.be/gTEn6SRVAE4

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

战争艺术

The Art of War

Most people seem to think that trampling individual rights is OK if it is “for the good of society as a whole.” However, society is but a large number of individuals, and how can harming the individual parts better the whole?” — Andrew Ford, forda@agcs.com

“Apparent disorder is a product of control.
Apparent fear is a product of courage.
Apparent vulnerability is a product of possession.

Control or disorder is a matter of Analysis.
Courage or fear is a matter of Direction.
Possession or vulnerability is a matter of Positioning.”

~~ Sun Tzu “The Art of War,” translation by R.L. Wing ~~

Yesterday, a friend sent a link to a very thorough exploration of one of the many organizations in the world attempting to force the rest of the world to adopt their own ideas, and laws; essentially, these people, like all of their ilk in every OTHER organization which tries to do the same, want everyone to submit to THEIR will, and their idea of how the world should be…. This, of course, is insanity. It is also why War has been the primary pastime of the human race almost since our species created a verbal language.

The words of Sun Tzu, therefore, take on new meaning, for they do not apply simply to war, but, also, to life. Human life can easily be viewed as one long war, a constant struggle to BE, while every other human is engaged in the same battle, with themselves…. It is little wonder this becomes our modus operandi for dealing with each other; conflict is a part of our nature, along with violence, fear, anger, kindness, compassion, and, the impetus driving it all, our imagination/intelligence, a product of our perceptive abilities, and the ability of our brains to process large amounts of sensory perceptions, then applying the imagination to organize and enhance it.

If one views their Self as the general of an army of one, the precepts included in the Art of War can be applied to both our internal struggle for selfhood, and, the outer struggle to maintain that self in a dangerous, complex world, inhabited by many of our kind, all of whom are as dangerous as we ourselves, though, not quite as dangerous as the Universe; we just tend to think so, due to the unlimited scope of our imagination…. Perception, we tend to forget, is not always Reality…. especially when our imagination is involved.

Having been made aware of this at a young age, I’ve been able, mostly, to place myself into advantageous positions, avoiding many of the struggles I observe others encounter. It has also made me aware of the absolutely essential piece of self-knowledge essential to any ‘victory’, which is to understand one’s own personal responsibility for their own security in life. Henry David Thoreau once said, “There is no method or system which can replace the necessity for remaining ever alert.” This is implicit in the Art of War, every line is imbued with the assumption of this necessity. We can never place that responsibility in the hands of another, not truly.

What did Sun Tzu place first? Analysis, which in the Self is the process of learning, and education. By these we learn Direction, given by knowledge and experience. With these tools, fear disappears, and courage becomes not just possible, but, necessary and right. With courage and knowledge, we lose our vulnerability, becoming in possession of the center of our being, which can only be affected with our consent. In real life, this means we cannot be terrified, no matter the issue presented to us by the universe, or other people, either of which can afford danger when misunderstood, or, when left to its own devices.

Having wandered into some rather esoteric territory, I’ll not bore us all with any further lamentations. With the above in mind, today’s world becomes, if not less complex, perhaps more understandable. That, I can hope, is the first step to losing fear, which is the beginning of much of the difficulty in life experienced by all of humanity. When we learn, and find the courage to confront fear, letting it pass without submitting to its irrationality, we become able to accept the universe on its terms, without losing our own Self….. Terror of imagined consequences is thus defeated before it begins….

“Confront them with annihilation, and they will survive;
plunge them in a deadly situation, and they will then live.
When people fall into danger,
they are then able to strive for victory.”

~~ Sun Tzu ~~

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Random Exposure

If I only knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.

Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.

Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.

Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.

Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/22/2013

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Naked Pearls

Death/Life

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“After the first death, there is no other.”

~~ Dylan Thomas ~~

*********

“It is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

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“Kindness is more important than wisdom,
and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.”

~~ Theodore Isaac Rubin ~~

*********

Do not confuse ‘duty’ with what other people expect of you;
they are utterly different.
Duty is a debt you owe to yourself
to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily.
Paying that debt can entail anything
from years of patient work
to instant willingness to die.
Difficult it may be,
but the reward is self-respect.

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

*********

“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.”

~~ Latin Proverb ~~

*********

“We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry.”

~~ John Webster ~~

*********

“Truth is an empty room.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

*********

“May you never know hunger
May you love with a full heart
The light burn in your eyes

May the fire be your friend
And the sea rock you gently
May the moon light your way
Till the wind sets you free”

~~ Shriekback, “Cradle Song” ~~

*********

“Do not stand by my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am a diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle Autumn rain.
When you awake in the morning hush.
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand by my grave and cry.
I am not there… I did not die.”

~~ Prayer of the Makah Indians ~~

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Well, I was right; it’s done, Being so, today, is serendipitous, indeed, as the portents foretell an ‘interesting’ time ahead…. I’m hoping that means we’ll see a bit of progress for rationality in the world at large, thought my hope is tempered with some trepidation. Ah, well, what is life, but a long, delicious ambiguity, eh? Enough for one day; see y’all tomorrow, if I decide to stay on this path…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Incidents of random iridescence….

Posted on December 30, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.”

~~ Walt Kelly, “Pogo” ~~

A Graceful Death

Hajime…. Not sure why, but, woke up today in a crusty mood; it must be the shoes. Who knows, &, moreover, who cares? I don’t, not today. In fact, it may not be possible to describe just how little a fuck I give today, so I won’t try. I’ll merely refer you to the previous sentence for an example, & be done with it. In point of fact, I’m in such a place right now to be done with this intro; being retired, I can damn well do what I please, so, I say, without caring at all about repeating myself, fuck it. I declare this intro section complete….

So be it….

Shall we Pearl?….

“We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics.” — Bill Vaughan

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

No intro needed, ffolkes. Y’all have been in this section before, when it reset to default…. Enjoy, if you please….

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Classical Music

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https://youtu.be/jgpJVI3tDbY

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Le Penseur ~~ August Rodin

I’m taking a break from ranting; the piece posted recently, on the Plague of Evil, used up quite a bit of the angst I’d collected for a while…. Here, then, is an excellent discussion of Reality and Life, from 2013…. It’s a lot shorter than y’all are used to, believe me….

From 3/26/2013:

“Commonly, physicians, like beer, are best when they are old, and lawyers, like bread, when they are young and new.” — Fuller

“As to Jesus of Nazareth…. I think the system of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, the best the World ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting Changes, and I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity.” — Benjamin Franklin

Well, as you can see, Smart Bee is being a bit recalcitrant, an event which, though usually not a good thing, did give me the opportunity to use the word “recalcitrant”; that doesn’t often happen…. Any who, I’m having a bit of trouble finding a pearl, or a group of pearls, that would be suitable for either a rant, or an old-school quest; the two above are the best I can find, in over an hour of searching. Though not too bad, they aren’t quite right for either process, and not strong enough to stand alone, in my opinion. So, I’ll cheat again, with another blast from the past…. this one will be a random choice, the first one I come across that will fit physically into this space, so I have no idea what it will be like….

From 4/10/12:

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”

~~ Proverb ~~

This sort of pearl is much, much deeper than it appears at first glance. (Note: It seems common to find the most complex and deep issues most often described or related in very short sentences. Hmm…. probably something to do with K.I.S.S., in which the universe believes, strongly….) Applied as a metaphor for human interactions with reality, it assumes an even greater degree of relevance, as it implies both choice and hope. Both are always present, but not always in view; such aphorisms as this can help one to find where they are standing, hidden in plain sight….

It is eminently clear to most people, by now, reality does not adjust to our desires; any adjustments made must be on our part, as we have absolutely no power to change any aspect of reality other than our response to it. A hard lesson, one many never learn, or come to terms with; such a failure almost guarantees they will find life to be one long struggle, as their days are spent futilely trying to make what is, into what they wish it to be. To use the analogy provided, they never learn to trim the sails of their vessel, thus, find themselves constantly fighting with, and cursing, the wind, never realizing their own lack of understanding is what sends them scuttling off in confusion, into uncharted waters, or, into the metaphorical rocks.

Thus, from simplicity does great wisdom arise; to reach one’s desired destination in life, one must learn to trim and adjust the sails of our vessel, to make the best use of the wind the universe sends in our direction. Or, more plainly, we can only make changes to ourselves, not reality. Learning this one simple lesson can turn a life out of balance completely around, giving it the direction and stability it has ever sought, allowing the most troubled soul to sail into the light, and out of the darkness that engulfs those who argue with reality….

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Pensive early and late…

Endings aren’t always a new beginning
I’m sad to say.
Sometimes it’s just an ending
there’s always a price to pay.

Still, it’s only money, he said
watching it piss away
Did everything ‘cept meet Fred
‘n had a good time the whole way.

Even the bad stuff turned out well,
life lessons are just that way.
Knowing what’s right, you can’t always tell,
we don’t always know the right things to say.

I’ll take all the hard times, without complaint,
learning isn’t always easy to take.
Kindness, patience, and compassion without restraint,
are still the best decisions we can make.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/26/2013

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Naked Pearls

Know Thy Self

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“Be what you is,
’cause if you is what you ain’t,
then you ain’t what you is.”

~~ Satchel Paige ~~

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

“Know the enemy and know yourself;
in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.
When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself,
your chances of winning or losing are equal.
If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself,
you are certain in every battle to be in peril.

~~ Sun Tzu (fl. c. B.C. 500) ~~

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“What’s earth with all its art, verse, music, worth
compared with love, found, gained and kept?”

~~ Robert Browning ~~

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“Life is more important than art;
that’s what makes art important.

— James Baldwin

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“A lie never lives to be old.”

— Sophocles — Acrisius, Frag. 59

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No teacher I of boys or smaller fry,
No teacher I of teachers, no, not I.
Mine was the distant aim, the longer reach,
To teach men how to teach men how to teach.

— A B Ramsay

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Drop the question what tomorrow may bring,
and count as profit every day that fate allows you.

— Horace

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“Do I look like someone who cares about what God thinks?”

— Zippy the Pinhead

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“The Journey is the Reward,
Not the Destination.”

~~ Zen Koan ~~

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That’s it, ffolkes. That’s all I got today. I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out the issue making me so grumpy, & will deal with it as best I may through the day. Hopefully, by tomorrow, it will, at least, not give me such a deep case of the grumps…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, with a bit of luck & perseverance…

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Inherent doubt = innate curiosity….

Posted on September 26, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”

~~ Socrates ~~

Artist’s rendition of the SpaceX Dragon Descending to Mars

Image from Space.com

Good morning…. I’m not one for taking advice too often; as a doubting curmudgeon, it’s an occupational hazard, one I’m generally happy to avoid. However, I recently received one piece of advice I’d be willing to try out, if nothing else, as it sounds like it would work for me…. It goes like this: “Start the day with a smile. After that you can be your nasty old self again.” Sounds perfect, right?

Okay, so, I’m being snarky. Chalk it up to the hour; it’s tough to be nice at 0400, having been up an hour already. But, I’m not complaining, as it’s my own damn fault, for sleeping well enough to sleep through the time to take the pill that would have kept the dyskinesia from starting up, strong enough to awaken me, and prevent falling back asleep…. Bozoid tendencies DO tend to strike at inconvenient times; it’s the nature of the beast…. Let’s try something a bit different here, shall we?….

That was certainly different; a two day hiatus between paragraphs…. Looks like the new paradigm has arrived, and is configuring itself, in a manner of speaking…. Here we are again, only it’s the day after tomorrow, at 0230….. which just slipped through another little time-warp, to bring us up to the relative present, to wit, now, Thursday, September 24, at 1235, shortly after noon….. The intervening eight-plus hours have slipped into the mire, without incident, or reportable event taking place, so, we can go on from here, should I feel like buckling down to work. Since I don’t, let’s see what happens next….

I’m not certain I like this new paradigm; perhaps I’d best shoot for a paranykuhl, instead. As half a paradigm, maybe, the transition process wouldn’t be as complicated. Nor as hard on my physical being…. For those who aren’t keeping up, (which, no worries, includes yours truly….), it’s now Friday, at 0145. That’s in the A.M. For the past three nights, in this last month of titrating off opioids, it seems the pattern is to include insomnia, to go along with the regular bouts of dyskinesia, as my body complains/reacts to the ever-lessening supply of medicine in the bloodstream. A true joy it is…. NOT.

Wait…. What was that? What the….? We dropped another day, somehow. It’s now Saturday, the 26th; last I knew, it was Thursday…. Hmm…. I’d better get the Tardis checked out….. We’re dropping days like they’re bad habits; not good. Handy, but, not good….

No complaints, though. So be it. I gotta say, though, it’s getting tough to avoid homicidal fantasies…. Ah, well, fuck it. Let’s go dive for pearls, okay? I always feel better for it…. Luigi, help us out here, will ya?….

Shall we Pearl?….

“He that feareth is a slave, were he never so rich, were he never so powerful. But he that is without fear is king of all the world.” — E. R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros

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LeeLoo in PK Mode

Rather than a video today, I’ve decided to show some pictures of my new familiar. As I’ve related, she showed up one morning a week or so ago, demanding to be let in the house, & emphatically informing me she would be moving in. She’s established herself as the soul of the house, and, little by little, we have been bonding, and learning each other’s habits & demands….

To give y’all an idea of her personality, below you’ll find pictures of her doing what she likes best, (like any cat, that, is, of course, sleeping….), as well as some shots of her playing and/or looking for trouble. She’s got a strong PK mode (that’s Psycho Kitty mode, for the uninitiated….). Oh, and, those crumpled up papers you see? Those are her prey; she is part Siamese, and has already learned how to fetch those papers for me to throw for her…. She also likes to sleep near my feet, or against my back, always wanting to be close… a true familiar…. Enjoy the pictures, ffolkes; LeeLoo’s a natural show-off….

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Preparing to edit documents as I type

Killing Paper Tigers

In her favorite sleeping pose…

Variations on the same theme….

Checking out the shredding pile….

The aftermath of destruction ~~ fatigue….

I’ll keep y’all updated on her progress, as we each explore the depths of our burgeoning partnership…. Here we go again, ffolkes; she’s just dropped her favorite piece of crumpled paper at my feet, and is staring up at me expectantly….. She wants to play fetch again…. wish me luck; this could go on for hours….

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“Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile!” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

One of the most common characteristics of fundamentalist religious fanatics is their denial of the effects of humanity’s insanity on the world’s environment, especially as a cause for the climate changes we are witnessing every day. This inability to use their imagination has been one of the major factors in our inability to make any progress toward a viable culture, one which MIGHT enable us to survive our own stupidity. Alas, I don’t see it happening; nor did I see it last year, when I wrote this rant…. Enjoy! It’s all still completely valid and relevant, if not more so than when written….

From 2/18/2014:

http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/John-Kerry-mocks-those-who-deny-climate-change-5239626.php

Wow…. I am, as much as I ever am, impressed, in a good way, by this statement from one of the administration’s most important lackeys…. I read what John K. said yesterday, or the day before, doesn’t matter…. and for once, the tenor and strength of the message, which is about the imminence of the environmental crisis we face in the near future, is nearly strong enough to get through to some folks, and any ffolkes who see or hear it will be encouraged, if somewhat bemused by this typical jump to join in the fight, onto a bandwagon they should have been driving TWENTY-FIVE FUCKING YEARS AGO, but, instead, act as if it’s a brand new model, which they, of course, claim as the first to seen driving in town….

Of course, so far, I haven’t actually SEEN any action on this by the administration, but, boy-howdy, when they decide to jump on the wagon, they do it with both feet…. He actually used the word ‘sacrifice’ I think, or maybe it was ‘danger’…. regardless, he made a good effort, for a first try, to get the message out there, that we have to act NOW, rather than later…. which is the most important key, if we are to have ANY chance to make any difference in the eventual outcome of events….

Personally, I don’t believe, not for a minute, that they’ll do enough, or be able to cut far enough into the influence of the corporate masters to make enough of a difference; no so far as to change the eventual outcome…. But, hey, they’re at least acknowledging that it needs to be done…. I just don’t think they can do it, not before they are blocked by those who hold the purse strings, and who are making a HUGE profit on global warming, as well as on the use of fossil fuels….

To be honest, I really don’t much feel like ranting today, even with the advent of good news about which to speak, or the importance of spreading the knowledge of the imminence of the problem…. I guess I’m in too mellow a mood, having slept long and well again…. Therefore, I’m going to finish this section with an old-school collection of pearls, to try to gain some perspective on this latest flip-flop by the political machine currently in power in Washington D.C…… Let’s see if SB has some good stuff in there for us today, shall we?…. But, hey, I know!…. Let’s let SB fire the shots randomly, so we can see some of the fat cat preachers do some dancing around, too, dodging figurative bullets alongside the politicians and corporate assholes….

“Capitalism did not arise because capitalists stole the land, but because it was more efficient than feudalism. It will perish because it is not merely less efficient than socialism, but actually self-destructive.” — J. B. S. Haldane

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” — George Orwell (1903-1950), “Animal Farm” 1945

“I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.” — Jules Renard

“We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.” — Aneurin Bevan

“Circumstances rule men; men do not rule circumstances.” — Herodotus

“The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance…logic can be happily tossed out the window.” — Stephen King

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.

~~ William Butler Yeats, “The Stolen Child” ~~

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Funny Bones

Dreaming the way home, lost, unseen,
from the dance, where
he felt so free, and clean.
Sorrow couldn’t find him there.

Waiting, filling up the hours, hoping,
some connection can be found
keeping busy as bees, coping.
Love creeps in, without a sound.

Fat days, skinny nights, passionate
visions of semi-conscious entities,
cannot seem to fully illuminate
or hide our innermost frailties.

Resolute, find the perfect sense, codify
simple rules with every breath
never waiting, anxious to modify.
fear nothing in life, not even Death.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 5/13/2013.

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It’s a bit esoteric, if not downright obfuscatory, but, it will do nicely, I think. It fits in well with the tentative nature of the rest of this mess…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

For a true master,
Sitting on a throne
Is no different than
Sitting on dirt.

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

“If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.” — The Cowboy’s Guide to Life

“Don’t try to have the last word. You might get it.” — Lazarus Long

“A good place to start is where you are.” — Charles Wolf, Jr.

“No harm can come to a good man in life or death.” — Socrates

“By doubting we come at truth.” — Cicero

“We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them.” — Titus Livius

“Indeed, what is there that does not appear marvelous when it comes to our knowledge for the first time?” — Pliny the Elder — Natural History, Book vii, Sect. 6

“Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible.” — Sun Tzu

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It’s only taken five or six days to complete this Pearl; ah well, so much for the best-laid plans. I don’t seem able to find any part of me that cares much; I’m still fighting my own battles, and can’t find any spare angst, or much of a shit to give. So be it. It’s done, and, at this point, that’s all that matters…. I’ll see y’all in a day or three, ffolkes. I’m making a little progress, so, there’s hope…. Ta for now….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Absent gestures of high regard….

Posted on September 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Man has made use of his intelligence, he invented stupidity.”

~~ Remy De Gourmant ~~

Cows is Cows ~ These are Irish Cows

Good morning…. I could, in view of the actual nature of Reality, express that sentiment much more accurately, but, what fun would that be? Nobody really wants to know, anyway, right? So, what’s the point? None. And, if we can do nothing else around here today, let us at least try to have a point….

Wait. Do we really want to set a precedent like that? Maybe we should rethink that for a moment; it’s not as if there’s any real money riding on the decision, so, nobody will pay any attention. In this society, money talks, bullshit walks, as it is said in many places, all of them financially certified as bankable, the ultimate test of reality for an oligarch. Oops…. How did we start ranting so quickly? I wasn’t even feeling any particularly sharp angst anywhere, were you? Hmm…. the urge must be getting pretty strong…

It will have to wait, though, as I’m not done here in the intro….. Or, wait a minute…. Am I? Let me just check this little gauge right over here, and…. well! I’ll be damned! (No doubt on that one, is there?…. Ha!) According to this, we ARE done! There’s a bit of nonsense, a greeting, of sorts, some mini-ranting, or facsimile thereof, and some general confusion. Yep. That’s all of them…. Okay, then. Luigi, it seems we are finished here; take it away, as soon as you…..whoa! Hang on, ffolkes…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“There is no sun without shadow and it is essential to know the night.” — Albert Camus

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Ireland’s Best Feature ~ The Irish

I’m not in the mood to search You Tube today, so, I’ll put in some of the pictures I took in Ireland/Europe…. I didn’t get as many as I wished, being a bit under the weather, and I’m grateful for the help I received in getting as many as I did…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

Galway B&B

Gaelic/English Road Signs

Common Sight on any walk in Ireland

Monument to the Famine Victims ~ White Strand Beach, Galway

Monument to the Famine Victims II

Abandoned Church in Galway

Typical Irish Colors for Buildings

Scenes from a train ~ Leaving Galway for Dublin

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I had thought by now I’d feel like ranting; I even let a bit of angst out in the intro as a precursor…. Now I’m here, it’s all gone, and I don’t even care. I’ve got a few little indictment style shots I’ve collected, which, if SB will cooperate by augmenting with a couple more, will serve our purpose ‘sufficient unto the day’, as it were…. And, if not, well, it will have to do, anyway….. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s all true as the day….

1. No matter what they’re telling you, it’s not the truth.
2. No matter what they’re talking about, they’re talking about money.

~~ Todd’s Political Principles ~~

“There is not enough love and kindness in the world to permit us to give any of it to imaginary beings.” — Nietzsche

“Any system of religion which has anything in it which offends the mind of a child cannot be a true system.” — Thomas Paine

“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.” — Albert Camus

“Make money and the whole nation will conspire to call you a gentleman.” — George Bernard Shaw

“It’s hard to decide if T.V. makes morons out of everyone or if it mirrors Americans who really are morons to begin with.” — Martin Mull

“Mankind… infests the whole habitable Earth and Canada.” — Ambrose Bierce

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Serendipity Morning

My mind wants to fly,
my soul wants to hold close, the source,
strong, the moments of time;
each as precious as golden thread,
binding together such elements of longing desire.

Love hovers, always patient,
   seeking the open heart,
reaching for the promise of tomorrow…..
   only for one, only for now, only what is real….
Dreaming, the morning calls,
   heavy with mordant belief,
replete, and eternally alive…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written April Fool’s Day, 2013.

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

In order to get this done, I’ve gone to the archives. Believe it or not, this Pearl has taken more than seven hours to produce…. Something must be done. Damn! Guess who gets THAT job? Yep…. SIGH… We’ll see how it goes; for now, this will do….

From 6/24/2013:

All things considered, it’s been a good morning…. This isn’t to say it hasn’t been without its difficulties, but, I’m trying really hard not to be a whiner, so we’ll pass over all that, and get on with it…. Here is a seven-star pearl for your delectation, lovingly selected over the last hour from Smart Bee, who has been a bit off, but, came through in the end. The point of this is related to the above rant, but, not so’s you could tell at first glance…. Don’t sweat it, it’s all good stuff, even without the point, and who wants a point that’s all belabored, anyway, right?…. So, make sure you have your chopsticks, the protective bib provided for your convenience is in place, and you should be able to get through it without any new laundry bills…..

“You can best serve civilization by being against what usually passes for it.” — Wendell Berry

“All things come round to him who will but wait.” — Henry W. Longfellow (1807-1882) — Tales of a Wayside Inn, The Student’s Tale

“Against those skilled in the attack, the enemy does not know where to defend. Against the experts in defense, the enemy does not know where to attack.” — Sun Tzu

“What matters today is not the difference between those who believe and those who do not believe, but the difference between those who care and those who don’t.” — Abbe’ Pierre

“If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; but if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.” — Don Marquis

“I don’t necessarily agree with everything I say.” — Marshall McLuhan

“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” — Eden Phillpotts

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

It’s done; no more can, or should be said of this one. I won’t detail all the weird stuff that kept it from getting done before this, but, it includes cats, and hats, and that’s that. Enough, I’m outta here, and I MIGHT explain tomorrow, should I make it that far…. See y’all then, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

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

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Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Sun Tzu

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