Flagrant passions arise from mundane roots…

Posted on March 9, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Take away love and our earth is a tomb.”

~~ Robert Browning ~~

Break Time

Hajime….. Good morrow, ffolkes. As I sit to write today, I find myself more than merely reluctant to begin, for I am, alas, unsure of what to say. Not to say that’s ever stopped me before, but, today, I am suffering from the aftereffects of a major battle, complete with increased pain, fatigue, and, the natural accessory for those, a major grumpfest. Oh, good, spell-checquer doesn’t like my coined words; how droll!…. To continue, as is probably clear by now, I’ve got nothing significant to say, other than to inform you today’s Pearl will be severely truncated, because I’m taking the day off. I may even take tomorrow off; if I do, you won’t know until then, because I feel like it.

When I say severely truncated, I mean it, too. All you get today is a rant, and this intro. I know, I know, cruel, but, necessary for my own sanity, trust me. The mood I’m in today, nobody really wants to hear what I have to say, (even though they might find out anyway, if I find the energy to visit any other blogs, and have the urge to let this out on a politico, or a neocon…. but, that doesn’t count anyway, not even karmically….), and, I really would prefer to avoid any lawsuits today…. It would only make things worse, and the world isn’t ready for worse…..

All that said, to little point, or use, I’ll get on with this mess, and leave y’all be for now. I could use one of the Tardis toys to get us onward, but, it seems a waste for so little result, as we are witnessing today. Perhaps I’ll just let this die a relatively natural death, by saying I appreciate the courtesy y’all show us in these lesser states of being; there is still hope in the world when people like those I find here, and on the Net, share the compassion they have with each other…. as they do on a regular basis. It does make this a much more fulfilling experience…. On that pleasant note….

Shall we Pearl?

“Human progress is furthered, not by conformity, but by aberration.”

~~ H.L. Mencken ~~

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Sandra, the Free Orangutan

As advertised, one rant. This one is in belated honor of International Women’s Day, which was yesterday. I sort of missed it, as I didn’t catch any of whatever advance notice there was, or wasn’t. Regardless, this is a rant on a subject which is perfectly suited for that day, as it speaks of what I call The Plague of Evil, an issue which has contributed to our species’ complete lack of moral growth for our entire history….

From 3/8/2013:

Smart Bee is having a tough morning, pearl-wise; I can’t seem to find a single worthy quote…. so, I’m going to fall back on my vast repertoire of Past Pearls, which I try not to abuse by using too often. In fact, I think this is only the second time in almost two years I’ve done so…. Any who, this particular pearl is a tough one… I wrote it last July, on the third of that month, and it remains as valid today as it was then…. Perhaps more so, as the situation has changed not at all, nor will it until people start to realize the extent of the problem…. I won’t say “enjoy”, as you won’t…. I will say, “listen up, please”…..

“I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.” — Chang-tzu, Taoist

So, as it turns out, I am a coward. What I mean by that is, when it comes to emotional pain, I will go through all sorts of contortions to avoid it. I will distract myself, I’ll deny, I’ll forget…. all time-tested methods of putting something unpleasant aside. I can say in my own defense that a) I’ve already experienced enough turmoil in my life, and don’t need more, and b) I have yet to start lying to myself about being a coward in this area…..

How does the butterfly koan apply? That’s for me to know, and you to figure out…. No, really, sorry, I didn’t mean that, just fooling around. It applies because the world exists in duality; we perceive that universe by defining and evaluating those dualities according to their relation to each other (light/dark, etc.) as well as according to our own preconceptions and/or preferences. Sometimes what we perceive is clear and readily defined, while at other times, one can make no “heads or tails” of what we see, hear, taste, smell, or feel. And sometimes, the perceptions are just so powerful that we cannot easily deal with what we are perceiving, so we retreat from them. Or I do, anyway….

Now, my cowardice in this respect is, perhaps, justifiable. I put myself through a lot of hard times during certain periods in my life, and the emotional toll was heavy. I am now more in balance, but the feelings and thoughts I had can come back in full force, at unexpected moments… Such is the case when I read about the sex trade, and think about how many of my sisters in the world are still being abused, physically and mentally, by the misogynistic assholes that perpetrate the atrocities so prevalent in that trade.

I have previously re-blogged several articles from blog sites written by women who have survived, and left, the sex trade. The stories they tell, and the insights they have come to have, are incredibly powerful, and wrenching to the emotions. It is a rare thing for me to be able to stop myself from crying after reading the first paragraph, and it can take me ten minutes to read a two page article, as I have to stop and compose myself before returning to the story being related. I am always astounded by the strength of mind it took for them to get where they are, and I grieve for the pain and misery they still must contend with, as survivors of Hell, burdened with PTSD (my old friend….).

Reading their stories also have the effect on me of wanting to buy a gun, and start eliminating some of the traffickers from the planet. This urge arises out of my anger and guilt, for it is males who perpetrate the atrocities, and I am ashamed of how low others of my gender can sink. But, alas, until I CAN afford to buy one, that little dream will have to wait…..

All I can do is to try to make people aware of the extent of the problem, by directing them to the stories told by the women who have lived through that Hell, with re-blogs and pearls such as this one. That is why I say I’ve been a coward, because my mind cravenly hid the awareness that connects to the outrage I feel when I get started on this issue, not being brave enough to put my emotions up on that higher level….and used the technical glitch I’ve been having with WordPress as an excuse (I’m currently unable to connect to any other WP sites if I’m signed in… I just get sent to a blank page while the browser falls into an infinite loop….).

Hence this somewhat dispassionate discussion of the issue. I’ve managed to get through this without bursting into tears, so I’ll consider myself lucky, and make myself a promise to re-blog for them as soon as I can get there to do so…. and I’ll not let myself chicken out…. This is an issue that will not go away; we men will never be free until we free our sisters from this bondage….

To read some of these articles yourself, use the WordPress search function to find these three sites, by blog titles…. Diary of A Dublin Call Girl; rmott62- Are We Not Human?; and Stella Mar, a Manhattan Call Girl…. all three have powerful messages that need to be spread around the planet….

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Okay, that’s all I’ve got today. I’m not sure, at this point, whether I’ll be any better off by tomorrow; hard to say at this point. But, I’ll be here, if only to let y’all know I won’t be here. Meantime, y’all stay chill, and be happy, as best you may…. I’ll be back, as somebody once said. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Fill in with plastic adobe….

Posted on March 3, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

Winter Blooms

Hajime….. I’ll need to proceed with some caution this morning, I think; I feel a certain looseness, an instability, and could conceivably turn introspective at the slightest provocation. I’ll try to save it for the ranting section, but, sometimes, it just gets away from me, y’know? Since I managed to notice it before it hit me too hard, we do stand an even chance of getting through this without getting maudlin, or, fate forfend, sentimental. Makes me shiver to think of it… Brrr….

Of course, such an unstable portion of my soul can also lead to severe outbreaks of nonsense and/or blather, which, as you see, is showing signs of some leakage into this missive. Uh oh. Though I AM up a bit early, I don’t think we can afford to allow too much blather, or we’ll never get out of the intro. It’s already threatening to burgeon into more than bargained for, so, I should probably start to think about hitting the road for the oyster beds, soon. Better soon than never, right? Right…. Okay, let’s see what’s in this drawer over here….

Oh, look! I haven’t seen this one before…. I wonder what it does…. I know, I’ll just push this butt…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.”

~~ Les Brown ~~

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Norman Blake, Doc Watson, & Jerry Garcia, among many other famous bluegrass players of the day, performed at the Bluegrass Festival in Marin in the year 1974, turning in performances which became legendary…. I found it on YT, and have included here today for your listening pleasure…. Enjoy!….

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Marin Bluegrass Festival
1974

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https://youtu.be/dNAP8jP0pzA

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The World Is Too Much With Us: Late And Soon

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune,
It moves us not.–Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

~~ William Wordsworth ~~

Y’all are, in some cases, probably scratching your head in puzzlement, wondering why a poem from Wordsworth would be, in the first instance, at the top of a section generally devoted to ranting, or, at minimum, examination of an idea of some sort. (That’s a clue, by the way….) In the second instance, you may wonder why it is used in conjunction with a picture of Plato and Aristotle, those prototypical philosophers. For those who are puzzled, relax, I’m gonna tell you. For those who have become used to our oddness, well, you’ve already girded your grid for a big one….

Let’s begin with the first lines, which, oddly enough, contain the words which prompted this treatise. “Getting and spending we lay waste our powers; little we see in Nature that is ours. We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” To my way of thinking, one need not be a poet, or a scholar, to feel the truth of these words, for they hold an indictment of the majority of humanity, for the crime of refusing to be human, denying their own nature in favor of living in fear and delusion. A bit sweeping in scope, but, pretty clearly true, to my mind…..

Wordsworth uses the brevity of poetic expression to put his finger very precisely on that part of human nature which we have abrogate, to wit: our connection to Life, and the rest of the natural world. By “getting and spending” we de of alter our own perceptions to suit our feelings, has made us both powerful, and, afraid of that power…. This leads to an inner confusion, which is reflected in how we choose to deal with reality. For thousands of years, most people have chosen, in the name of expediency, and, in deference to their own inner conflict based on their fears, to embrace three delusional ideas, which have been drummed into their consciousness by unscrupulous predators from birth….

By accepting what they are told is truth, these unfortunate slaves have been easily manipulated, until we are now seeing a world rapidly approaching complete totalitarianism in government, as the few take advantage of the ignorant many, to foster the completion of their own paranoid vision of the universe, which gives them control of others, so they can feel safe. A pathetic dream, to be sure, but, all too real for comfort….

I’m growing both angry, and pedantic; I can feel both getting stronger as I think of these matters. I see little hope for our species into the next century. There are already climatic issues occurring which could conceivably end ALL life on this planet, in the next FIVE years. This sounds unreal, and, perhaps, unduly speculative, but, I can assure you, as a scientist, it is NOT speculation. Physical processes of a chemical nature are occurring, as I type, and we humans have no knowledge of how to stop the chemical process taking place, since we don’t really understand our own planet all that well. But, we keep pumping particulate matter into the air, anyway, even though it has become abundantly clear that doing so will lead to disastrous consequences.

See, that is the other face of our fatal flaw; we humans have the ability to deny reality, to pretend it doesn’t matter to us what may happen in the future, as long as our desires of the moment are being met. Every human I know, myself included, has this power, and it is a power that will, in the end, be our undoing….

SIGH…. I intended to rant on this for a while, but, seem to have reached a point where it’s best to move on…. Look around you, ffolkes; see what is REALLY going on in the big picture, and, I think, if you can be honest with yourself, you will see just how badly we humans have fucked up our chance at life…. and, how little time left we have to try to mitigate some of our foolishness, before it kills us all….

So be it. gigoid has spoken….

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“Emily Dickinson didn’t even publish books, she just wrote these demented little poems with a quill pen and hid them in her desk, but they still fought their way into the world, and lasted on and on and on. It’s damned hard to get rid of Emily Dickinson, she hangs on like a tick in a dog’s ear. And everybody who writes from then on in some sense has to measure up to this woman. In the art of book-writing the classics are still living competition, they tend to elevate the entire art-form by their persistent presence.” — Bruce Sterling

Augmentation: Inner Aye

Distant, peals of thunder, vividly.
Closer, a patterr 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

Random Gems

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“If you never assume importance you never lose it.”

~~ Lao-Tzu ~~

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“Courage is the ladder on which all other virtues mount.”

~~ Clare Booth Luce ~~

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“Set the cart before the horse.”

~~ John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part ii, Chap. vii ~~

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An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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“Time destroys the speculations of man, but it confirms the judgment of nature.”

~~ Cicero ~~

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“Where there is much light there is also much shadow.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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“Be and not seem.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

*******

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Sorry ’bout the rapid removal up in the intro section, ffolkes. That was pretty radical, wasn’t it? I guess from now on I’ll test those devices out before employing them on a group; the insurance folks will like that. In the meantime, we have finished, and, not too shabbily, I’d say. Hey, it’s not every day you get a fresh poem, right? Since doing so rather fagged me out (the bleeding is copious until it gets down on paper/screen….), & I’ll need some time to recover…. 24 hours seems about right, so, I’ll see y’all right here tomorrow, if nobody aims straight….

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….

Defined by overt self-interest…

Posted on February 26, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“And it’s just a box of rain
I don’t know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it’s just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there”

~~ Box of Rain by Phil Lesh, & Robert Hunter ~~

~~From American Beauty, 1970, The Grateful Dead ~~

Catnap while gigoid works…

Hajime….. There is a lot to be said for sleep. Mostly, it’s all been said, but, my appreciation for it has again been highlighted by its presence in my life again last night. I fell asleep early, and slept, fairly naturally, for eight solid hours, with only the usual interruptions for visits to the porcelain throne, as is normal at my age…. All in all, a grand night’s sleep, for the first time in what seems like ages…. I’m not sure just what to do with all the energy. SIGH…. Ah, well, it’s a nice conundrum to face, even so early, and I’m sure I can figure it out….

Well, now what? Gosh, it’s weird to have this much energy in the morning; the usual application of will to the morning routine isn’t even close to the usual degree necessary to type. Now, if only ideas were as plentiful as energy, we might get somewhere. As it is, I’m afraid a bit of brain-cudgeling will be needed to produce anything readable, and the odds on that are slim. I guess we’ll just have to trust the process again, and see if Leelu will give me enough time to get it done….

That said, let’s get to it. Let me at that ranting section, I’m ready to rumble….. In fact, let’s do it now, so I don’t lose any time or energy to vacillating, as we often will do here in the intro section. Today, we’ll use this little device from the Tardis, and move us right along to where we should be by now…. Watch closely, or you’ll miss it….

Shall we Pearl?….

“As war and government prove, insanity is the most contagious of diseases.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

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

We are going with classical music again today, just because I want to. I find it is the simplest solution to conundrums, since it’s music that has been filtered through the ages, until all we have to listen to is what is considered the best…. Enjoy, ffolkes… As usual, the mix you’ll hear was picked solely because I like the picture it showed….

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Classical Music

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https://youtu.be/tAkHdB77u2c

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“The older we grow the greater becomes our wonder at how much ignorance one can contain without bursting one’s clothes.” — Mark Twain

Though there is sufficient energy, and angst, built up to rant, I’m going with an archived piece, simply because it is on the subject I wish to address, and says what I would have said, anyway…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s all still as true as the day….

From 4/18/2013:

MORAL, adj. Conforming to a local and mutable standard of right. Having the quality of general expediency.

“It is sayd there be a raunge of mountaynes in the Easte, on one syde of the which certayn conducts are immorall, yet on the other syde they are holden in good esteeme; wherebye the mountayneer is much conveenyenced, for it is given to him to goe downe eyther way and act as it shall suite his moode, withouten offence. _Gooke’s Meditations_

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

A reader commented to me recently that my rants have gone soft; she enjoys it when I rake someone over the coals, figuratively speaking, and asked me when I was going to get back on my white horse, or my soapbox, as the cliché may be…. I told her it is most likely a result of having some of the pressure of living removed, by the acquisition of my SS benefits, so much so that I’m finding it hard to summon up the outrage needed to rant effectively…. Like Voldemort told Harry, when he tried to use the Cruciatus Curse against Bellatrix Lestrange, in HP5-The Order of the Phoenix, “You’ve got to MEAN it, Harry!” Funny how not worrying about where the next meal is coming from takes some stress out of one’s life, isn’t it?….. Ha Ha…..

So, anyway, then I saw the above entry from the Devil’s Dictionary, and thought to myself, “AHA!” (I do that a lot…), “Now, here’s a subject worthy of a rant!”…. This is absolutely true, even though morality is sort of like reality…. there are as many versions of what it means as there are people…. of which, each and every one believes that what they perceive is the only correct version, obviously…. Right….

So, you can see the problem right away…. As a society, we have an unfortunate tendency to try to legislate morality, so that everyone is compelled to behave according to a commonly accepted pattern of behavior…. Supposedly, this legislation is supposed act as some sort of magic bullet, that will stop all the bad things from happening, like stealing, killing, and general misbehavior that is upsetting to the rest of society…. It never works, at all, but, we keep on passing laws designed to enforce a common morality anyway….

Such a drama is now being played out on the national stage, as the Senate just defeated the new gun control reforms that 90% of the populace wants in place. Out of a hundred Senators, it only took 45 Republicans to bring the proposed law down, meaning that once again, a very small percentage of people have forced their views on the rest of the public, to suit their own morality, and, more importantly, to suit their own special interests, who paid good money for their votes, dammit!…. I am somewhat piqued about this, but see little in the way of anything to be done that will make any difference, in the big picture…. No matter how stringent the laws, people who want guns will get them, and use them on other people…. The new laws would have made that a bit more time-consuming, but no less possible, or even less probable….

Since I can’t thing of anything positive to suggest, other than to stay alert to what may end up as a critical issue, I will fill out what should normally be a rant, with a number of cogent pearls, to try to jab the stick into the appropriate eyes…. and my friend will have to wait a bit longer for a good, old-fashioned brouhaha, as I get nasty and vicious in my denouncement of the BRC, the churches, and the corporate masters….. I will say this to her….. have no fear, my outrage isn’t gone, just temporarily dormant, and I WILL be back to rant….. meanwhile, enjoy these tasty gems…..

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.” — Sir Winston Churchill

Linear Model: An assumption concerning the nature of reality applied unquestioningly to every relationship as though God had determined that truth must always run in straight lines. — Smart Bee

“The clinching proof of my reasoning is that I will cut anyone who argues further into dogmeat.” — Sir Geoffery de Tourneville (ca. 1350)

“Has history ever recorded a time when the majority was right?” — Lazarus Long

“He would be the finer gentleman that should leave the world without having tasted of lying or pretense of any sort, or of wantonness or conceit.” –Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 2

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

“If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.” — Carl Schurz

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Haiku VIIA

Making it all up
I go merrily along;
waters of Lethe.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/18/2013

Unsolicited Gratitude

Fear becomes familiar when reality bodes us ill
pain assumes first position, no matter our will.
Powerless, we founder, no strength to prevail
anguished and afraid, against unwanted Fate we rail.

Still, a grain of hope deep inside, hidden well against need
gives us reason to survive, our starving souls to feed.
Failure of courage burdens time, of being bested,
until our souls, in submission, become foully infested.

Bitter tears wash through us each day, with little care,
no thought, no feeling, no wish, or need to be fair.
Rendered clueless, confusion falls upon us, as prey,
we surrender a piece of our soul, little as we may.

Yet, always, a bright beam of hope is seen from afar,
no matter how dreary, or dark, it may seem where we are.
None knows, nor would consent to tell, it seems
from whence it hails, or why it so brightly gleams.

Saving our sanity, absolving our unwanted fears,
dispelling the myths and lies that come with the years.
Each man has known the precious gift that hope may give
And gives glad thanks, as long as he may live.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/12/2012

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I had not intended to use so much archived material today, since my energy is so strong. However, SB has apparently gone on strike, and won’t give me anything worth sharing. This one is a good one, so, it will do for today….

From 4/19/2013:

As you may have noted, my brain is broken…. and I am not sure which tool is going to work to fix it…. What this means in terms of today’s Pearl is that you will have to put up with more than the usual degree of smarm, and the occasional random insult, as I try to cope with creating a Pearl out of what is laying around in my brain, rather than a true creative episode, building and sharing images of grand eloquence, made up of just the right words….. Today, though, those words are hiding from me, so I have to allow Smart Bee to have its head, so to speak, because anything in mine has to be viewed with suspicion, and handled with care, lest it explode, whereupon, we get blamed for an act of terrorism…. Of course, that last word is probably what comes to mind when y’all think of this blog anyway…..

Nevertheless, I’m going old school, and you can’t stop me…. (Believe me, you don’t WANT to stop me today….. just let me have my way, and everything will work out fine….)…. Here is a group of pearls, all of which are pointed in a certain direction, which SHOULD be obvious…. If it is not, well, I guess you’re S.O.O.L., as they say downtown…. well, they said that when I hung out there…. any who, here….

“Critics quarrel with other critics. With an artist, no sane man quarrels.” — George Santayana

“Our discontent begins by finding false villains whom we can accuse of deceiving us. Next we find false heroes whom we expect to liberate us. The hardest, most discomfiting discovery is that each of us must emancipate himself.”– Daniel J. Boorstin

“Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.”– Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Rape of the Lock, Canto v, Line 34

“There’s a lot of stupid people out there. Just to prove it, think of how dumb the average person is, and then realize that half of the people out there are stupider than that.” — George Carlin

“A man that expects to train lobsters to fly in a year is called a lunatic and is locked up. But a man that thinks people can be turned into angels by legislation is called a reformer and allowed to walk free.” — Mr. Dooly

“All things that are born must die. Work hard for your own freedom from sorrow.” — Buddha

“Do not speak of what men deserve. For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead Kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of *deserving*, of *earning*, and you will begin to be able to think.” — Odo, The Prison Letters (Ursula LeGuin, _The Dispossessed_)

Oooh…. now, THAT’S a pearl of virtual wisdom, if I ever saw one….. Print it!…..

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Done, and, in jig time…. I’ll take it. Let’s print it, post it, and be gone, shall we? I, myself, will be off for a spin around the Big Blue Room today, to take advantage of all the extra energy….. I will, however, issue the usual warning, & remind y’all, I’ll be back tomorrow…. Nobody big or bad enough seems to want to try to stop me, so, I’ll be here…. 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….

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) ~~

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

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!….

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

The Three Tenors In Paris

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

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….

Instant gratification on sale tomorrow….

Posted on February 19, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape,
then a cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air”

~~ Doris Lessing~~

I deleted ALL your files….

Hajime….. If there were any method available to tell, I would tell you. Since, however, such a method has yet to be discovered, we’ll have to make do with the older version, where I just say it out straight and clean…. Okay, here goes….. Hang on…. Wait for it…. Alright, here you go….

It’s too late. I’m sorry, but, in spite of everything I was able to do, and, in direct opposition to every effort made by a number of compassionate volunteers, it’s just not going to happen…. The sign says we’d have it on sale tomorrow, but, the vendor just couldn’t get his shit together to ship it on time, so, it’s going to be late, again…. I guess that’s what we get for trying to obtain the instant gratification of desires everyone in this plane of existence seems to have to have; such a rare item is, as you can see, a bit hard to come by…. Ah well, maybe next week…

That, you might wish to note, is one of the very rare occasions in which you will ever see a reference to a title of a Pearl IN the actual Pearl it graces. I decided when I began this process, almost twenty years ago now, to never connect the title and the material in the piece. Don’t ask me why; I didn’t know then, and I care less now. Such is life with a self-defined curmudgeon of relatively advanced years, who has, through a lifetime of practice, become quite adept at doing exactly as he wishes, and reality be damned. It can get a bit crusty, but, it suits me.

I think that’s quite enough blather for one day. If I don’t stop here, this could get a bit top-heavy. Since I AM driving this bus, what I say must go, so, we’ll just pretend it’s the right thing to do, and do it. I would suggest, given the return of Luigi to the pilot’s chair today, you secure your personal safety restraints, and put your adult beverage down in the holder provided for that purpose. You might also wish to call your insurance guy, to make sure you’re up to date….. The rest of you…. look busy, the proctor’s on board today…. Hit it, Luigi!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“He should not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.”

~~ Elrond ~~

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

Tom Waits

One of my Gentle Readers mentioned their fondness for this artist. Let it never be said I ignore the wishes of my readers…. I do, but, let it never be said, for I didn’t do that today…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is another Original…. and, it’s an album I haven’t heard yet…. Yay!….

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

Tom Waits
Mule Variations

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

https://youtu.be/c_OkcVLBB9A

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

I’m working on a rant to end all rants (so to speak), but, it’s stalled for the moment. Here is a set of rules which I haven’t posted in a while, but, is worth a repeat every once in a while. It’s a list I try very hard to live by, as it was all stuff the Sarge embedded in my persona, to my endless gratitude… These rules, if followed by ALL men, would make the world a very different place than the one in which we actually live…. Read them, and, I think you would agree…

Last posted on 11/18/2013:

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

Unheralded Sagacity…

To many, who will not see beyond their nose
the world becomes a dangerous place,
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,
no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.

Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years,
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.

Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt
Strength is found in an unfettered mind,
Cry “freedom” with a great shout.

No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

4/17/2013

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

Today’s final old-school pearl is a bit esoteric, but, not so much it’s obscure…. Mostly, it’s just good stuff to know about Life, Reality, and All That Stuff…. Enjoy!….

“By letting go, it all gets done.”

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~

*********

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

*********

“Silence speaks with eloquence.”

~~ R. Reiley ~~

*********

“Je me presse de rire de tout, de peur d’etre oblige de’en pleurer.”
(I make myself laugh at everything, in case I should have to weep.)

~~ Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais ~~

*********

“Unless you love someone, nothing else makes any sense”

~~ E. E. Cummings ~~

*********

“One of the sayings of Diogenes was that most men
were within a finger’s breadth of being mad;
for if a man walked with his middle finger pointing out,
folks would think him mad,
but not so if it were his forefinger.”

~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Diogenes, vi ~~

*********

“All authority is quite degrading.”

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

*********

“Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt.”

~~ Clarence Darrow ~~

*********

“Life without learning is death.”

~~ Cicero ~~

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

At this point, undue confidence would be out of place; I’ll merely say, it’s done, and, I’m glad, for it looked a bit shaky there during the process. Since this ain’t go gift horse, we won’t peer too closely into its mouth, lest we see things we should regret. No regrets, ever….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, unless my insanity assumes a more significant role in reality before 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….

Little balls of inert gases….

Posted on February 16, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“We need wilderness because we are wild animals.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

Beauty

Hajime….. The Space/Time Continuum in which we live is pretty big. So big, even our imagination, which seems unlimited in scope, has a hard time grasping just how much of Space and Time there is… we use words like ‘infinity’, ‘eternal’, ‘vast reaches’, to try to describe the nature of what we perceive, but, we still don’t really have a complete understanding, down in our gut, where reality is connected, in ways we cannot perceive, but, instinctively know are there, for we feel their presence, even if we don’t quite comprehend their nature.

For many of us, this lack of comprehension produces a feeling of fear, our natural response to the unknown; this fear often becomes the driving force behind all they do, for they do not, or can not, find the courage to face the unknown, to learn how & why it works as it does, thus replacing fear with knowledge…. It is a rather simple task, but, far too many of our species never find the courage to face their fears, preferring to accept the false explanations given by others, which seem to give relief from the fear, but, in truth, merely reinforce it, using it as a means to manipulate them, using the guise of a ‘moral authority’.

Hmm…. I suppose the intro section isn’t exactly the best place for a discussion of ‘moral authority’, other than as a passing fancy to fill in a bit of space…. which we have accomplished, quite adeptly, if I do say so myself. Since there is little point in carrying this discussion further, unless we are planning on being here all day, I’ll chop it off right there, without going into the obvious solution to such ignorance, to wit: a bit of courage to face the fears…. We’ll leave those poor saps to their fate for now, and get on with our chosen task for today, which is to get the fuck done….

In light of our newly found purpose, I’m going all executive again, and removing us post haste to the oyster beds, so we can get this slow on the toad, where it belongs. How does that work, you may ask? Well, it works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

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

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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

Today, I want smooth, and hot. Who else?…. Enjoy, ffolkes; he just keeps getting better as the years go by…. He was the very first artist I saw live on a stage in SF, back in 1968 or 69 (naturally, it’s all kind of blurry, exact-time-wise….); even then, he was not merely the best, he was the most uniquely himself, in every note he rips from his guitar, straight out of his soul…. He remains as unique today, 47 years later…. approximately…. What can I say, ffolkes? It was UC Berkeley, the year after the Summer of Love hit its zenith…. anyone who says they remember it in specific detail wasn’t really there…

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

Santana Live
Las Vegas 2015

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

https://youtu.be/6GzUFbWXLDc

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

I had a nice quote from Ovid to rant on today, but, having bled out a poem last night, the driving force isn’t quite what it needs to be to do it right…. Here is a rant from 2013 about our old friends over at the NSA, those valiant guardians of your morals who so blithely steal information for their own paranoid purposes…. Enjoy!….

From 10/31/2013:

Well, I waited until now to begin ranting, which is probably a good thing. Perhaps this will be a bit more effective as a call to action than in the usual position, or wherever it’s been of late that has kept it from at least making me feel a bit better for having ranted…. What a mouthful! And so on topic, too! Gotta love us amateurs, eh?….

At any rate, I found this article yesterday, buried back a few pages, probably because everyone is so tired of hearing of yet ANOTHER outrageous instance of the NSA breaking the law, by once again going far beyond the scope of their legal mandate, in the ever-widening quest by our own government to become the true Evil Empire…. I know, that’s some pretty high-powered language to use to in discussing an agency of our own government, but, as always, I believe in calling a spade a damn shovel, not an indigenous individual digging device, type 2…. and you may as well get used to it….

These assholes over at the NSA have gone completely bonkers; they assumed that because they got practically all they wanted in the way of legal coverage by the administration, they may as well just go ahead and do whatever else they wanted, believing that the people who set them loose on the trail of ostensible terrorists would protect them from any critical attention and/or interference by something as mundane as the law, or the will of the people….. and, for a long time, they were justified in that belief…. But, now that their clandestine activities are being brought to light by that national hero, Eric Snowden, the rats are deserting their ship, and leaving them to their fate without any real support….

Talk around Washington is that the President is going to, belatedly, stop spying on the leaders of our allies, and will move to put limits on what the agencies are allowed to access in the data that is generated by the general public. This is a complete reversal, and I can only hope it is in response to the pressure put on them by the public’s obvious displeasure, and not as a temporary measure to appease while they figure out a diversion in some other area of the public venue, where they can cause some problem that will draw our attention away from this issue, allowing them to continue their illegal, but, in their eyes, oh so necessary theft of the people’s identities….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Report-NSA-broke-into-Yahoo-Google-data-centers-4939585.php

In the article, the most significant part of what is there, to my way of thinking, is that the companies involved say had no idea that they were being compromised, even though their own security measures are considered to be nearly impenetrable… Well, they SAY they had no idea; one must remember they ARE a corporation, and, thus, are very familiar with telling the public what they wish to hear….

However, it appears that the American and British spies went in, got their data, and left, without ever notifying Google, or Yahoo, of what they were taking, though such activities are still illegal, according to the laws in place…. (Not to mention rudeThe spying mandate they have doesn’t extend to what they stole, theoretically…. Of course, they can say they didn’t KNOW that, but, then, lying is their entire purpose, and the single most critical part of their entire modus vivendi, is it not?…. Even in the Art of War, Sun Tzu acknowledged the importance of the spy in warfare, calling them the most powerful of all types of warriors…

Of course it is, just as lying and cheating come naturally to anyone in a nationally elected office; it’s part of their job description these days, even if it is written in invisible ink….. Since Google, and Yahoo, and the other agencies that were hacked, are all corporations, and have pretty much the same characteristics as shown by the BRC pundits, (i.e., a tendency to lie at the drop of a cliche…), it’s a bit hard to tell who is more guilty here….

Is it Google and/or Yahoo, who are gathering all sorts of data about its users without their knowledge or permission (I don’t regard those passive advertisements that one can “control” what data is gathered by adjusting their “preferences” as real permission…. they take whatever data they want, and tell you about it later, if at all….)….? Or, is it the government spy agencies, who are stealing that same stolen data from the corporations, that fit the bill as the villain?

It should make for an interesting contest, to see how this fake argument plays out….. I mean, I can’t really believe that the BRC, who is controlled and supported by the corporations (go ahead, disprove that!….), will continue to try to take data from them without their knowledge. It’s more likely they are playing out this faux-dispute in the public venue in order to confuse the public about who is on their side in this issue… It seems to be working, as always, as the public is pretty much ignoring these latest revelations, and looking around for almost anything to take their minds elsewhere for a while… I’m almost interested, in a resigned, doubtful sort of way, to see just what they come up with next to draw the public’s attention off this issue…. Probably more to do with the recent roll-out of health care reform laws, which seems to be a hot button for a lot of people….

For me, all of it is dross and spittle…. I believe, absolutely, that if there is an official statement made by anyone in the government printed in the news, it needs to be examined in the light of what it is NOT saying, to ascertain about what it is lying, or what it is trying to hide by distraction, not merely for what it says…. Their motivation in making ANY public statement is manipulation of public attitudes; they’re not trying to make anything better. They lie, they leave stuff out, they point us in all kinds of useless directions, but they almost NEVER tell us what is actually going on, unless we’ve already caught them at it… In those cases, we see all sorts of backing and filling, as they come up with all sorts of “plausible deniability” in order to convince the public that their lies are really the truth…

What a crock! If it wasn’t so damn sad and depressing, it would be amusing…. SIGH… Enough is enough…. Stay alert, ffolkes, because they’re lying to you every day, and doing all they can to improve THEIR lot in life, not yours…. Let them know you’re on to them, at every opportunity…. If nothing else, it will make them nervous, which they deserve….

“You can fool all of the people some of the time; you can fool some of the people all of the time; and that should be sufficient for most purposes.” — Smart Bee, quoting from the true bible, used by both politicians and preachers…..

“The ideal robot, after all, is simply a properly processed human being.” — Edward Abbey

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

Increments

Meaning fades to distant reality
while gazing at such triviality.
An insane world, where utter finality
is reward for disability.

Metaphorically, as a matter of course.

Moment to moment, passion blooms,
swells, and fades, swept by new brooms.
Bitter dreams catch fire in empty rooms,
waiting for broken time, which never resumes.

Superficially, with great force.

Dire wolves stand snarling at the door
called to existence from a distant moor;
discordant strains sound a mad, sad roar,
a dirge for those who went before.

Morbidly, without vital recourse.

Honest effort fades from human ken
until entropy finds home in every when.
Illusory fear inundates imagination, then
buries hope, in its own ashes, hidden.

Cruelly, absolutely no remorse.

Silence falls until it shatters the night.
The universe has refused the fight.
Illusion is now reality, such a fey sight.
Who has courage to live in the light?

Really? It could be worse.

~~ gigoid ~~

2/15/2016

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

Naked Pearls

*********

“We pardon in the degree that we love.”

~~ Francis, Duc de La Rochefoucauld — Maxim 330 ~~

*********

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin,
but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

~~ Harper Lee ~~

*********

“Purity engenders Wisdom,
Passion avarice,
and Ignorance folly, infatuation and darkness.”

~~ Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400) ~~

*********

“Don’t hold to anger, hurt or pain.
They steal your energy and keep you from love.”

~~ Leo F. Buscaglia ~~

*********

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

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

*********

“There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win.”

~~ Elie Wiesel ~~

*********

“A man’s happiness,–to do the things proper to man.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 26 ~~

*********

“Since everything in life is but an experience
perfect in being what it is,
having nothing to do with good or bad,
acceptance or rejection,
one may well burst out in laughter.”

~~ Long Chen Pa ~~

*********

“Nobody ever promised it would make sense…”

~~ Sarge ~~

*********

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

Well, there you go. It’s a Pearl, and, a damn good one, too. Now we’ll see if reality can match my expectations. Since the odds on success are dead even, we’ll just leave it at that, & be on our way, so we can try again tomorrow… Hey, fresh poem, right? It will do. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if my calculations are correct….

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….

Epic questions of no import….

Posted on February 12, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.”

~~ Terry Pratchett. ~~

The Road Goes Ever On….

Hajime….. The process here at ECR has become a bit choppy, in terms of how smoothly it progresses. This, in turn, may, or, may not have an effect on the Pearls. Either way, I don’t really care, as long as they’re done. Quality, as you know, is NOT job 1 around here; we leave shit like that to Ford. I do make every attempt to make it as good as I can, but, hey, I’m human, and definitely bozoid, so, I know better than to expect reality to match my expectations…. Hell, I’m damn close to having none, anyway, what with the state of affairs on this sad old ball o’mud…..

Without going into THAT subject, which would, no doubt, keep me here relatively indefinitely, we’ll go for some brevity again, & cut this short. In fact, we’ll cut it REALLY short, & end it here. Surprise!…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other.”

~~ Euripides, Orestes (408 BC) ~~

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

We’re going default today, because, for some reason, I am now running quite late. Don’t know why, but, what is, is. This compilation comes from page seven of the You Tube list of choices in this venue, with the picture that drew my eye…. Enjoy!….

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

Classical Music

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

https://youtu.be/Ne48vhEhCBI

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

I’m not late, particularly, but, the piece I’m working on for this section keeps growing on me. Here, to sublimate, is an older piece, from the day after my 63rd birthday, that came out pretty well…. Try to enjoy it, ffolkes; it’s all we’ve got today…. Oh, and, don’t fret about the time/space anachronisms you see today; we were shameless in using the Tardis to get this done, so, I don’t believe ANY of the times will match, or even resemble each other…. Oh, well….

From 11/2/2013:

According to my usual modus operandi, this section would, and may yet be, a rant of some nature. It’s been a while since I took any real shots at the churches, but, then, they are a bit less of a worthy target than are the politicians of the world. Let us not even begin to think about how the shadowy master class of corporate vampires deserve all the disdain, vituperation, and vicious criticism we can heap upon their nasty little heads; whatever we do will never be enough to pay them back for the damage they’ve done to others, and to our world in general…. No, I’d say I have no real lack of usual targets for my critical regard…. What I have is a lack of angst and/or emotional drama to drive that big ol’ truck…. The one I’d like to flatten them with, as they cross my road to the future….

It would be simple to cruise over to a news site, and pick up a current headline or two to work with; there’s no lack of material there, for sure. Even that doesn’t attract my interest; I guess my birthday gave me a good enough chance to get a lot of that out, and there’s not enough left today to drive any further attempts at ranting…. Too bad, actually, as I did have some rather interesting introspective moments yesterday, as the import of my increasing age grew in my thoughts, taking on a deeper meaning than is usual for me during my day…. I love when that happens, though, even if the contentment and serenity it brings me is such that I don’t want to write about it…. It feels too good to talk about it…. Kind of how a joke is like a frog; if you take either one apart to try to figure it out, they both die….

Since I wouldn’t want anyone with the discrete sensibilities of my Gentle Readers to be confronted with that kind of issue, I’ll just fade back ten yards, and punt…. Here is another old-school pearl for your delectation…. Since I’m not ranting about anything today, I’ll let Smart Bee pick out which pearls it thinks should be included, with, possibly, a few comments of my own, in parentheses to avoid any further confusion….. Remember, ffolkes, this is VIRTUAL wisdom…. don’t try to use it as if it were real….

“If you dig a deep enough hole, someone will want to jump in.” — Smart Bee

(It’s always good to start off strong….)

“My indignation, like th’ imprisoned fire, pent in the troubled breast of Aetna, burnt deep and silent.” — Thomson

(SIGH…. if only it had, we’d have a rant today….. 😦 ) 😆

“The silence drew off, baring the pebbles and shells and all the tatty wreckage of my life. Then, at the rim of vision, it gathered itself, and in one sweeping tide, rushed me to sleep.” — Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar

(At first I thought this was here just because it’s so bloody brilliant, in both content and style of execution… Astounding imagery, and powerful yet simple language, expressed with such beauty, the heart aches with it….. It also stretches beyond that, into the outer reaches of credibility and connection, to form a tenuous bond with reality, right here in this pearl…. Amazing, isn’t it?….)

“When great changes occur in history, when great principles are involved, as a rule the majority are wrong. The minority are right.” — Eugene V. Debs

(Mr. Debs, a political activist and reformer in the early twentieth century, had a lot of interesting things to say, many of them equally as true as this one…. If you have the time, look him up; smart guy…..)

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.” — C. G. Jung

(Yep….)

“We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme. It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are more concerned with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent, nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today. Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive. We are sorry if this impression has come across.” — Monty Python

(Actually, this sums up my opinion of 99% of the politicians I see in public, with incredible accuracy….)

(No apology from me is, or ever will be, tendered for making these assertions, either…. fuck ’em all……)

(When I say, “fuck them all”, I’d like to be clear that I don’t intend that in any positive way at all…. What I mean is, FUCK THEM ALL!!!…. and the white horse they say they rode in on, too…..)

“And never, ever cut a deal with a dragon.” — Smart Bee

(I’m with SB on this one…. The last pearl brings all the rest together perfectly, while at the same time reminding us that we already know the important stuff… I mean, it’s just common sense, right? Any dragon master knows this…..)

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

Time, and again….

Life, and/or love, will seldom fit
into any box we keep for them to sit.
Loose and limber, without any reason,
always somewhat out of season.

Surprise, surprise, they seem to say,
we can’t help it, it’s just our way.
If only you would learn, instead of know,
maybe you’d find yourself with one to show.

Deal, just the way it is, now and here,
follow the path, on the other side of fear.
Finding the future isn’t all blood, sweat, and pain,
far, far more than mere joy we stand to gain.

The sages all say not to try, just do,
sounds as simple as putting on a shoe.
I’d say we could really go places,
if we could but learn to tie up the laces….

~~ gigoid ~~

11/1/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Getting There….

*********

“The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.”

~~ Mencius ~~

*********

“You can easily judge the character of others
by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.”

~~ Malcolm Forbes ~~

*********

“They may forget what you said,
but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

~~ Carl W. Buechner ~~

*********

“It costs so much to be a full human being
that there are very few who have
the enlightenment or the courage to pay the price…
One must abandon altogether the search for security
and reach out to the risk of living with both arms…
One has to embrace the world like a lover…
One has to accept pain as a condition of existence…
One has to court doubt and darkness
as the cost of knowing.
One needs a will stubborn in conflict,
but apt always to total acceptance
of every consequence of living and dying.”

~ Morris L. West, “Shoes of the Fisherman” ~~

*********

“The highest condition takes rise in the lowest.”

~~ Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 781 ~~

*********

Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind;
and indeed cannot endure it. .
Happiness is not the object of life:
life has no object:
it is an end in itself;
and courage consists in the readiness
to sacrifice happiness
for an intenser quality of life.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw, Letter, Dec. 1900, ~~

*********

“I exist as I am, that is enough.”

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

*********

“Soon you will have forgotten the world,
and the world will have forgotten you.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” ~~

*********

Happily may I walk.
May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.

~~ Navajo Night Chant ~~

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

It’s done. Beyond that, deponent sayeth naught. Not only that, but, I’m dropping y’all like a hot penny today, right here, and right now. Well, now…. no, make that now…. Okay, so, when it’s done, it’s done, and I’m outta here…. Bye! See y’all tomorrow, should I survive my own chutzpah until 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….

Purveyors of indolent platypae…..

Posted on January 27, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Justice is truth in action.”

~~ Benjamin Disraeli ~~

What’s your issue?….

Hajime…. Most days like today, I’d be rushing, typing like mad to get done. Not today. I am serene, in spite of my lateness, for I finally slept well for a night. Yay, me. Crowing over, and, having enjoyed the use of a weapon I thought I had misplaced (Sleep is a weapon, you know….), I greet the day with aplomb, if not joy. Even Leelu is being patient with me, sensing, perhaps, my serenity…. Well, perhaps, contentment is closer than serenity, but, I’m sure y’all know what I mean…. and, who cares, anyway? Not me….

Even though I’m not in a hurry, I’ll be nice, & cut this down to workable size this morning, by taking our leave right here and now. Some day, y’all will thank me, I’m sure. For now, let it be enough to know it won’t hurt, particularly, unless, of course, you fight against the restraints. Everybody set? Got your favorite adult beverage at hand? Okay…. let’s do this, before we lose our nerve….

Shall we Pearl?….

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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

Today’s music is our default selection, classical music. The particular compilation chosen was random, simply for the picture that caught my eye today…. Enjoy!…..

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

Classical Music

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

https://youtu.be/1rlU2WQ_Wf4

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

I don’t feel like ranting this morning, as I feel so energized…. Plus, I am saving up all my angst to take with me on Monday, when I go to deal with one of our corporate terrorist organizations, to wit: PG&E, the energy giant. I have a few things to dump on them, so, I want there to be plenty of emotional pressure built up; I’m planning on blasting them good and proper…. So, here is a somewhat philosophical discussion from the archives, which will keep me from working myself into a dither while proofing it for consumption today…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

From 10/29/2012:

“It is a misconception that spirituality brings everlasting happiness. There is no such thing. Sadness still comes to the wise, but, unlike most people, their clarity of mind allows them to see beyond the temporal emotionalism of the moment. They are farseeing, and so happiness and sorrow become the same to them.” — Deng Ming-Dao

This is a very subtle and difficult concept for anyone, of Western or Eastern orientation to reality, to fully understand, and even harder to put into action in everyday life…. It is also an idea I’m not sure I can completely hold to be true, in one sense at least. I can see how learning to accept both happiness and sorrow as being equal in value, in terms of how reality is structured is important to understanding. The very fact that we perceive them as opposites reflects our way of seeing the universe, as a dichotomy, with each characteristic balanced by its spiritual opposite, its mirror image, as it were; it follows that being able to recognize this without experiencing any discomfort or imbalance would be a valuable approach.

But, I cannot say that they are the same to me, for as a human, it is part of my nature to “like” the happiness, and “dislike” the sorrow; as people, we are going to have an emotional reaction to what we perceive, regardless of any other factors. It seems to me that the lesson to be learned, then, is to not allow our emotional preferences to influence our inner state, beyond the state of acknowledging it. Our task then becomes to learn to accept it, and appreciate it for its place in reality, without letting our feelings about that place bring us to imbalance within our own spirit…. As I said, subtle and difficult, and more easily said than done, to be sure…..

The events surrounding this morning’s Pearl, as outlined in the intro, serve well to demonstrate how this principle can be useful to us in a very real sense….. I am unbalanced this morning, with my physical being complaining in no uncertain terms that it is displeased with the current state of my diet. This imbalance takes the form of severe discomfort, with some pain located in specific areas of concern. In addressing how I would deal with the feelings it generates, in the above section, it could be said that I was attempting to see past the event itself, into the meaning of it. This encourages some distance between the mind, and the actual events, and consequently, some distance from the feelings. With the sense of panic that accompanies such feelings abated, it is possible to adjust one’s attention to other places in the mind, and the imbalance of the negative feelings is brought back into proper alignment….

As with most types of pain, the feelings we have in reaction make the pain worse, if only by forcing our attention onto it. By creating some inner distance from those feelings, we take control of our attention, and by doing so, reduce the amount of pain/discomfort by a significant factor…. The pain doesn’t go away, but it is reduced enough so we can deal with it in a more productive fashion. It is by no means easy; the pain/discomfort doesn’t like giving up its position in the forefront of the mind’s attention. But, as can be seen by this very pearl, it can free us from the tyranny that our own bodies may try to impose upon us…. In a very real sense, learning this lesson, and how to apply it to the real world, can free our minds completely, to exist in a place where good and bad do not affect our inner balance….

“If you regard discomfort as a normal condition you are not likely to be troubled by want.” — Ieyasu’s maxims

This maxim points to one of the important attitudes one must cultivate, in order for this principle to work properly. It reminds me of the old story about the colonist and the Indian, walking through the forest in winter, sometime in the late 1600’s. The colonist is fully dressed against the cold in leathers, sweaters, jackets, furs, boots, and full beard; the Indian is in moccasins, breech cloth, and skin, despite the snow all around. The colonist says to the Indian, “Aren’t you cold?” The Indian asks in return, “Is your face cold?” “Well, yeah, but I’m used to that,” is the reply….. The Indian just smiles, and says, “Me all face….”

Put most simply, it’s all in what you are used to…. So, get used to learning to adjust your own mind, teaching it to control its reaction to events of all types, rather than letting the world, and its unwelcome events, adjust it for you….. Me, I’d hate to have the words “willy nilly” apply to me in ANY respect….. I prefer having some say in the matter…. and I’ll tell you, it has been an invaluable tool this morning, else there would be no Pearl today…..

And if I laugh at any mortal thing,
‘T is that I may not weep.

~~ Lord Byron, Don Juan, Canto iv, Stanza 4 ~~

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

Unsolicited Gratitude

Fear becomes familiar when reality bodes us ill
pain assumes first position, no matter our will.
Powerless, we founder, no strength to prevail
anguished and afraid, against unwanted Fate we rail.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/10/2012

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

Still More Naked Pearls

What’s Important?

*********

“Learning isn’t a means to an end; it is an end in itself.”

~~ Robert A. Heinlein ~~

*********

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me
and turn my inner eye to follow its path.
When the fear is gone, there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”

~~ The Litany Against Fear, Frank Herbert, “Dune”, 1965 ~~

*********

“Being good at being stupid doesn’t count.”

~~ Realist Bee ~~

*********

“…the path without a Heart will turn against men and destroy them.
It does not take much to die,
and to seek death and to seek nothing.”

~~ Carlos Castaneda, “The Teachings of Don Juan” ~~

*********

“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.”

~~ Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ~~

*********

“Always do what you are afraid to do.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

*********

“To a rational being it is the same thing
to act according to nature and according to reason.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations, vii, 11 ~~

*********

“Clay is moulded to make a vessel,
but the utility of the vessel
lies in the space where there is nothing.
Thus, taking advantage of what is,
we recognize the utility of what is not.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

*********

Not chaos-like together crush’d and bruis’d,
But as the world, harmoniously confus’d,
Where order in variety we see,
And where, though all things differ, all agree.

~~ Alexander Pope, Windsor Forest, Line 13 ~~

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

I’m not sure why, but, some days, like today, when I’m done, I feel like jumping up, kicking my heels, and sitting back down. I don’t, of course, do that, simply because I’d be liable to end up on my face, unconscious from the fall. Ah well, I’ll just consider it as done, & save myself the trip to the ER. I’ll also end this here, and now, to save y’all from further mental bludgeoning, which I know this resembles far too often. C’est la fucking vie, as we say around here. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, unless somebody catches me…..

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….

The thirteenth of always….

Posted on January 26, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If we find what is unique to each day,
we will have freshness
and the greatest fulfillment possible.”

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

Where’s my lap?….

Hajime…. There are days here at ECR when we have to trust the process; today is such a day. The Pearl is done, such as it is. It’s been a tough night, and morning, due to the night; ’nuff said on that, so, we’ll leave it in the past. Moving on, we have an archived politirant from 2013, unproofed, so it may be a bit pedantic, as I’ve learned a bit about writing since then. There’s a decent poem, and a decent old-school pearl. The music is a nod to the weather being suffered this winter by our friends in the Eastern US & Canada…. Thus, as you see, done, but for the blurb here, and at the end….

So be it. We’re gonna let it fly, as is….. This is how that looks….

Shall we Pearl?….

“There is nothing a man can do to guarantee success,
but there is nothing that can defeat him if he won’t give up.”

~~ Greg Praino ~~

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

The Original Parrot Head

Today’s music is for those Gentle Readers locked into their homes by the snow this winter…. Changes in latitudes, as this man knows, results in changes in attitudes…. Hopefully, this will warm y’all up a bit…. Enjoy your trip to the tropics….

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

Jimmy Buffet
Live in Anguilla

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

https://youtu.be/yR8FvDDhBv0

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

Running late again, so, here is a politirant from the archives…. I have not re-proofed it, so it’s liable to be a trifle pedantic; it’s a gift….It’s also just a filler, ffolkes; if you decide to skip it, I won’t be hurt….. Disappointed, as, in the process of moving what I’ve been working on, I lost all of it…. C’est la fucking vie…. Try to enjoy this one, if you can, while I weep in the background….

From 3/7/2013:

“It is useless for sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion.” — William Ralph Inge, D. D. 1860 – 1954

I’ve seen this little statement before, and like it a lot, for its honesty in describing our Beloved Ruling Class in relation to the flock of sheep that comprises most of mankind. And, yes, this is the beginning of another politirant….. This one is prompted by the most recent activities that our leaders, if such word applies, have been shown to be engaged in by the news outlets I watch…. to wit: the legislation under review and up for vote in the House of Reps that is concerned with the economy, to wit: the “sequester”, and the recent comments by the POTUS re: global warming and climate change…. Let’s see what we can note about these issues, shall we?….

I have noticed that the Congress, and the POTUS, are currently at odds, as usual, over the economy, and arguing over how to address an issue over which they have absolutely no control…. I just don’t get it, actually…. There is no evidence whatsoever that anything the government does, or has ever done, about the economy has any effect at all on it…. none. Zero. Zilch. Nada damn thing…. The economy of the world, or even just this nation, is not subject to any manipulation by us; it’s too big, too amorphous…. It’s like trying to herd cats…. a lot of effort for small results, and you end up with a bunch of pissed off felines… If you know anything about cats, you will realize that this is never a good thing….

Yet, because the public demands that something be done, the politicians start their idiotic posturing, pontificating, and, otherwise polluting the airwaves with nonsensical suggestions as to what should be done to fix the problems. NONE of those ever work, nor will they ever work; the economy does not move according to any rules that we can control, or even know, and any action we take is just as liable to have a bad effect as a good one….. But, the public wants the government to fix it, so they try to make noises as if they actually could do something helpful, when in fact, anything they do is as liable to hurt as to help….. Sad, but, true as the day is long….

It’s actually kind of fun watching the contortions they go through for issues such as this; since I know for a fact that none of it will have any real effect on the issue, I can enjoy the parade without worrying about whether it will actually do anything useful…. It is a bit depressing to watch, since I am aware of just how little can be done, but, the show can be entertaining, and it does pass the time… The depressing part is knowing that the public is actually buying all of what they are saying, and really do expect something to change for the better… But, then, I am always amazed at the depth of human stupidity. I don’t know why, as I KNOW how dumb people can be… I am one, you know…. but, it always is a surprise to see just how deeply that stupidity is ingrained in the human condition…

Of course, this stupidity is part and parcel of why we are experiencing the second issue I mentioned above… global warming and overpopulation. I will be very interested to see exactly how the POTUS intends to address the issue, as he has promised to do, several times now since his inauguration. Since the issue is well advanced beyond the point that most people think it is, it will be a telling factor in deciding how seriously the issue is being taken, and whether or not it will have any chance at all of being either enough, or soon enough… Both of these are critical factors, as the point of no-return for the ecological balance of this planet is so near, it may have already been passed some months ago…..

I’m not sure how scientifically minded many of y’all are, but, I am… scientifically minded, that is, and I can tell you without fear of contradiction (from anyone with any reliable scientific knowledge, anyway….) that the atmosphere of this planet is, without doubt, and without evidence to the contrary, on the very edge of becoming unbreathable for humans…. The millions of tons of carbon monoxide and other toxic substances that are being pumped into the air EVERY SECOND, and that has been pumped in now for over a hundred years, has reached the point where it will begin a process of leaching oxygen from the air, and the balance of gases we need to survive will change, hell, IS changing, and fairly rapidly, until it is no longer of a balance that we can safely breathe… This is scientific FACT, not speculation, not a guess.. the process has already begun, the only question remaining is, how quickly will it happen?

“In the game of life you get to choose where you keep your brain – heads you win, tails you lose.” — Smart Bee

So, we’ll see where the POTUS keeps his brain, as he speaks in the next few days about this issue… Whatever he decides to do, you can bet that it won’t be enough, and it won’t make a damn bit of difference, other than in a few Presidential approval polls, perhaps. After all, even though he is a fairly reform oriented politician, he is still a politician, and you can lay good money, without fear of losing, on the fact that whatever he does is designed to benefit him and his Presidency, and any benefit for the public is a secondary concern….

He IS a politician, after all, and his primary concern is for his own success; it’s NOT the welfare of the people… He has merely discovered that being the “People’s Champion” is currently a good political stance to take…. if it ever becomes too itchy a coat to wear, he will take it off in a heartbeat…. Count on it…. You don’t get to that level of the game without being a complete asshole in some respects, and I don’t think anyone who WANTS to be President can be accused of not being ambitious, and, in the process, sociopathic….

“No people in the world ever did achieve their freedom by goody-goody talk and moral suasion: it being immutable law that all revolutions that will succeed, must begin in blood, whatever the answer afterward. If history teaches anything, it teaches that.” — Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)

In this case, we aren’t talking about freedom, unless by that one means, freedom to stay alive…. and the BRC isn’t going to do anything about it, I don’t believe…. Or, rather, I’ll believe it when I see it, and, so far, no dice in that respect. I’m enough of a cynic to believe, sadly, that it isn’t GOING to happen, either… because I don’t believe that the POTUS, or the rest of the BRC, gives a damn about the rest of us, as long as they have their own….. This much is obvious from history, but, when did mankind at large ever pay any attention to history?….

If you have some evidence that contradicts that belief, I would dearly love to see it…. Truly, I would, because, quite frankly, my own intelligence, and the evidence I have now, forces me to conclude that we humans are shortly about to come to a bad end…. not with a bang, not with a whimper, but, choking to death in our own planet’s toxic air, victims to our own stupidity, and cupidity….

Daniel: “We’re damned if we do, we’re damned if we don’t; we need other options…” — from Stargate

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

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 ~~

4/1/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Lesser Known Stuff re: Life at Large

***********

“No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

***********

“I think it’s good that everyone becomes food.”

~~ Hobbes ~~

***********

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe,
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest,
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison,
restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures
and the whole nature in its beauty.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

***********

“I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years,
and I’m happy, Doctor, I finally won out over it.”

~~ Elwood P. Dowd ~~
~~ played by Jimmy Stewart in Harvey, 1950. ~~

***********

“A man makes no noise over a good deed,
but passes on to another
as a vine to bear grapes again in season.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations, v, 6 ~~

***********

“In handling a stinging insect, move very slowly.”

~~ Lazurus Long ~~

***********

“Character is that which can do without success.”

~~ Emerson ~~

***********

“An infinite universe presents infinite examples of unreasoned acts,
often capricious and threatening,
godlike in their mystery.
Without god-powers, conscious reasoning
cannot explore and make this universe absolutely known;
there must remain mysteries beyond what is explained.
The only reason in this universe is that which you,
in your ungodlike hubris, project onto the universe.
In this, you retain kinship with your most primitive ancestors.”

~~ Raja Flattery, “The Jesus Incident”, Frank Herbert ~~

***********

“The worst fear is the fear of living.”

~~ Theodore Rosevelt ~~

***********

“Entropy requires no maintenance.”

~~ Amanda Walker ~~

***********

“Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.”

~~ Ancient Human Wisdom ~~

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

As noted in the intro, we’re trusting the process today; this means I’ll be out of touch a while, to forgo any unpleasantness, should this prove to be less acceptable than we calculated. Ah, well; so be it. My Gentle Readers can take anything; they do, after all, hang out here…. As for me, well, we’ll try this again tomorrow, to see if we can’t find some elegance or actual literature in there somewhere…. Until then, y’all try to stay strange, because it’s cool out there…..

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….

Bald gestures provide unwarranted relief….

Posted on January 21, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“You can lead a yak to water
but you can’t teach an old dog
to make a silk purse out of a pig in a poke.”

~~ Opus ~~

Scottish Coastline near Invergordon

Hajime…. Yesterday, I took advantage of some cat nap time to complete today’s Pearl, which turned a bit epic on me. There’s a fresh discussion of human nature & society, an old poem from 2012, and a rather epic old-school pearl to finish it off. Quite the mess, I should think, which is why the music should make it all better….

Since this is done, for the most part, I’ll stick it in the Tardis, & deliver it to the WP editor in the morning, once we figure out the proper settings. This, of course, is a bonus, because now I can work a day ahead, giving me more time to play with Leelu; the older she gets the more she requires attention, it seems. But, she’s worth a bit of effort, so, no big deal. It does mean, though, this intro will be, once again, shortened more than we are accustomed to find it. C’est la fucking vie, right?

Here is how that works….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don’t know.”

~~Bertrand Russell ~~

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

Bonnie Raitt

Today’s video isn’t a video, though watching Bonnie play is my idea of heaven. I decided to show y’all WHY she is my favorite artist in Rock & Roll/Blues/R&B/Pop/you name it. She plays guitar like BB King, and sings like anyone’s idea of an angel. Plus, hey, red hair & a gorgeous smile, y’know? What’s not to like?…. Here is a compilation from her album(s) of Best Hits…. I don’t have to tell you to enjoy; I know you will. She can rip your heart out. put it right back in, then melt it….

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

Bonnie Raitt

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

https://youtu.be/2oXLukzYoKc

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

“Nature is not human-hearted.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

Long before there was much going on in the Western World, other than a few cities in Europe, such as Athens, human thought reached a pinnacle in China, when Lao Tzu shared the Way of the Tao with the world, in the Tao Teh Ching, and in writings we have had passed down through the ages by other scholars who studied the Way. This particular aphorism is one few in today’s world would ever consider, much less use to help themselves deal with the world as it exists….

Life today has become so complicated, it is difficult for even the most competent individuals to maintain any sort of balance in life. Maintaining the basic requirements for a comfortable life takes so much mental & physical effort, very few have the wherewithal to spend more than a minimum amount of time thinking about such things as human nature, the nature of Reality, or philosophy in general. There just aren’t enough minutes in the day. Sadly, by failing to consider notions such as our opening quote, their lives are made even more difficult than it is, or, needs to be.

We, being human, tend to judge the universe, and what happens around us, according to our preconceived, or previously held, ideas of how it works; this tends to lead us to believe in what we want as good, and what we do not wish to be bad, in simplest terms. Such a tendency is reinforced by the structure of society as it is, a society which reflects the nature of its members, to wit: it is believed that humans can control reality to get what they want…. Sadly, this is an illusion, for reality will change, no matter whether we participate in those changes, or not; we have no say in any of that; to attempt to do so only leads to frustration, and conflict, for the universe is what it is, and not subject to our judgment of it.

Thus we have come to a point in history where we are “governed”; society has embraced the illusion that individuals need protection from the universe’s changes, and, government is just the one to do it. For some reason, people have come to believe A) they are incapable of understanding or dealing with life at large, and, B) they need others to help them do so. I’m not sure just how it got established in people’s minds, but, there it is, so, what can we do about it? It isn’t true, by any stretch of the imagination, yet, people still wish for government to order life so they don’t have to think, only do what they are told is right….

This foolish dependency, which has no actual basis in reality, has led to other illusions, which are commonly held to be true. For example, there is the notion of “Rights” which, according to the theory, is something all people should have…. Yet, so far, the only ‘right’ that seems to be ours is the right to live, and, in time, to die…. Beyond that, it’s all a crap shoot, ffolkes, and anyone who tells you otherwise has a hand in your pocket….

“Rights” is a fictional abstraction. No one has “Rights”, neither machines nor flesh-and-blood. Persons… have opportunities, not rights, which they use or do not use.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

The other illusion which has plagued the progress of humanity falls into the same category, to wit; humans were created by a supernatural being who cares about them, and wishes them well…. This seems, to me, to be somewhat wishful thinking, for there is no evidence whatsoever to be found which gives any such indication on the part of Reality. Everything else we perceive tells us, simply, our existence matters not at all to Reality. It went along just find before we arrived, and will do so after we have departed this plane of existence… All the available verifiable evidence is clear on this….

Yet, mankind at large seems to prefer to have their thinking done for them; as long as they are reasonably comfortable, the average person will never think of such issues, or use their mind for much beyond deciding which snack to grab at the next commercial. This innate laziness, while useful when applied with rationality, is more than merely harmful when abused in such a way, for it has led us to another issue which, according to the rules of Reality we already know, cannot be ignored, or denied….

“People who take issue with control of population do not understand that if it is not done in a graceful way, nature will do it in a brutal fashion.” — H. Kendall

Yes, ffolkes, the world has become a dangerous place, not because of how we humans have used our capabilities, but, rather, because of how we have failed to take full advantage of them, by learning our own true nature, and how to use those abilities we have to create change, rather than constantly trying to maintain the status quo…. Life is change, and only the dead do not have to obey that law….

“God is not all-powerful as he cannot build a wall he cannot jump.”

~~ Blaise Pascal ~~

See? This is what the human mind is capable of…. a far cry from dogma or kings……

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

Penance, Made Simple

After all the dross is sent away
a celebration can begin,
time will face up to space, to stay
willing, to shine from within.

Anger and confusion come in to share
brushing reason aside,
eager to welcome all that is fair,
alert to danger, eyes wide.

Re-gift the wicked with their own pain
stand with the just;
fail to partake of the ill-gotten gain,
living in honor, the only must.

Standing fast in the face of wrong
is its own prize and reward.
Holding on to truth makes us strong,
well worth working toward.

Little is left to chance by fate
our lessons are never free of cost.
Seldom does reality make us wait
only when alone, are we lost.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/23/2012

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

Today’s final, old-school pearl is an epic monster, which speaks, in a general, yet incredibly detailed way, of Life at Large, and how to approach it with dignity, serenity, reason, and virtue…. And, why not? The world needs all the virtue, and reason, it can get just now, trust me….

***********

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

~~ Alexander Pope — Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 289 ~~

***********

“He would be the finer gentleman that should leave the world
without having tasted of lying
or pretense of any sort,
or of wantonness or conceit.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, ix, 2 ~~

***********

“To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Journal”, 20 December 1822 ~~

***********

“A good listener is not only popular everywhere,
but after a while he gets to know something.”

~~ Wilson Mizner ~~

***********

“Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in
silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all
persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to
the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive
persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser
persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep
interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the
changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the
world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the
grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things
of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do
not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and
loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a
child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to
be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is
unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive
Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of
life, keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.”

~~ Max Ehrman, “Desiderata” (1927) ~~

***********

“… as sight is in the body, so is reason in the soul…”

~~ Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics ~~

~~ Bl. I, Ch. 6, 10966, lines 29-30 ~~

***********

“[T]he earth does not belong to man;
man belongs to the earth.
This we know.
All things are connected
like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of life;
he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web,
he does to himself.”

~~ Chief Seattle, 1854 (c.1786-1866) ~~

***********

“There is no wealth but life.”

~~ John Ruskin ~~

***********

“Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.”

~~ Amelia Burr ~~

***********

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

Done; not merely done, but, done a day early. Not bad for an old fart. Since I’ve probably tortured enough people for one day, I’ll take my leave without fanfare, merely a quick bow, and exit, stage right… or left, or down, which is, I guess, the proper direction to send you. See y’all tomorrow, if the plan comes together…. Looking good so far….

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: Taoism

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