Sublime bones, and piquant roses….

Posted on December 4, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness
by changing anything but his own disposition
will waste his life in fruitless efforts.”

~~ Samuel Johnson ~~

Iconic Golden Gate Bridge, with boat….

Hajime…. Since there is time (Always… Tardis, remember?), we’ll take a break, first. Hang on; I’ll be back….

It’s been some time since I went for a walk before dawn. In retrospect, it was much the same as all the other times I’ve done so in my life, in that I always find the rest of the world quiet, and, for as much as it can be, at peace, if only on the surface. Such instances of solitude out in the BBR are rare, and it is wise to absorb as much of the calmness into one’s spirit while one may. If naught else, it provides us, or, me, anyway, some inner strength to face the other times when peace is not as readily found. That would be pretty much all the time one spends dealing with society, so, a good stash of inner peace is always welcome.

Now, then…. If I’ve managed to keep any of those who began this mess thus far, I’ll note today’s Pearl is pretty standard. The old-school pearl is pretty special, in some ways; the message it contains is fairly standard, but, the path it takes to get there is rather less so. You’ll see. The poem speaks to the same issue as the previous paragraph, in its way, and the music is Mozart. Not the most engaging of menus, I would guess, but, up to our usual standards, and, thus, acceptable, if only in our dreams. Dreams are, after all, as big a part of our reality as is the flesh and blood world in which we spend the greater portion of our time. I often wonder if the Australian aborigines don’t have it right, when they profess to believe dreamtime is when we are most real, and our standard reality is the true dream. Sounds fairly coherent to my way of perceiving; it’s at least as much so as any of the common religious philosophies people tend to cling to, don’t you think?

Well, I think so. Before we get any further into what conceivably could turn into a controversy, let’s get on with what we have for y’all today. I can’t say it is the best we’ve ever done, but, it ain’t crap. On that elegant note, let’s see what’s down there to find….

Shall we Pearl?….

“We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves.”

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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You had to know, given what you’ve seen already, this was coming. Try to enjoy it, anyway, okay? I know I will….

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

Classical Music

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Today’s poem is, again, one of mine; it’s been a while since I last posted it, and the message it delivers is our point for the day, hence, no shame. Enjoy!….

Accentuated Lessons

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

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

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

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

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Naked Pearls

Clearly obscure….

*******

Just Say “Know!”

~~ Realist Bee ~~

*******

“For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.”

~~ Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” ~~

*******

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held
is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd;
indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind,
a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.”

~~ Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals ~~

*******

“There is what there is and what we wish there was.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

*******

“Tiger gotta hunt. Bird gotta fly.
Man gotta sit and wonder why, why, why.
Tiger gotta sleep. Bird gotta land.
Man gotta tell himself he understand.”

~~ Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ~~

*******

“There is no birth without pain.”

~~ Carl Jung ~~

*******

“There are worse things than dying.”

~~ Kalas ~~

*******

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

Though we don’t like to keep stats, I’m sure this one fits right into some category; I wouldn’t presume to even guess which it might be. In fact, the degree of how much I don’t care should be expressed in Celsius, to keep the figures smaller; otherwise, y’all might think I don’t even like myself. I do, though, so, rather than get any further into such irrelevant material, I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow, when we’ll make yet another effort to break completely free of the chains of sanity. Go figure, eh? Be real, ffolkes; there’s really not much choice if you don’t….

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….

Empirical evidence of intuition….

Posted on November 10, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else.”

~~ James Thurber ~~

A Rose for Carole….

Hajime…. Well, it’s done. I’m not sure how I did it, but, since it is patently a gift horse, I won’t quibble. There’s some music, a decent poem, and a crusty old-school pearl, which together complete the required elements of a standard Pearl of Virtual Wisdom. Beyond their mere existence, and presence here in their correct slots, I make no claims; doing so could seriously affect not only any honor I might possess, but could easily destroy all the fragile equilibrium I have so recently attained. So, I won’t.

What I will do is demonstrate some compassion, by NOT bombarding y’all here in the intro with any of the usual supply of dross, or drivel, or even doggerel. Instead, I’ll note my feelings of relief and gratitude for the passing of the recent unpleasantness. The process of enduring the crap so ubiquitous during the election frenzy is exhausting, so, it’s a pleasant contrast to only have to listen to the moaning and groaning from all those who didn’t get what they wanted. Especially since having to listen is easily controlled, by switching off any TV’s, radios, or other venues that might regale me with such idiocy.

Yes, the election has made me grumpy, but, that’s nothing new, right? For now, let’s just get on with getting this mess done, and posted. To do that, we’ll have to get started, so, let’s just do that, right here, right now….

Shall we Pearl?….

“A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away.
He must have time to modify his shape.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

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

Today’s musical selection once again falls into our default category because, yes, I’m lazy, and didn’t feel like even thinking about another genre….It’s okay, we’ll all be fine; today, and the future, will demand much of us, so we must learn to “go with the flow”, so to speak…. Enjoying it is the simplest solution, ffolkes…. Reportedly, this collection comes with a slide show of great works of art… Bonus!….

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Classical Music

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

I know I’m in the now, if only…..

Oh, there it is again, fiddle faddle;
Begone, I said, vamoose, skedaddle!
It looked at me as if I were insane:
Scoffed, it did, filled me with pain.

Where does it come from?
Where does it live?
I’d stick out my thumb,
if I had more to give.

If only, should, would, could it be?
It went away again, this time free.
It will be back again, this I know;
or I’m wrong, and it won’t show.

Who cares?
Who hears?
Such goings on wobble the sphere,
I wish it wouldn’t do that here.

I’ve been wrong before…..

~~ gigoid ~~

4/19/2013

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*******

I’m running late, thanks to a small fur-bearing extortionist, and my own demons. No complaints, just a comment, made only because SB decided to be uncooperative. Here’s an old, old-school pearl from a while back that will fit the necessary bill neatly…. It’s a bit random, and silly to boot, but, what the hell….

From 1/11/2015:

I’m feeling a bit silly today, along with the normal (!!!…) degree of angst over the news; Smart Bee was sympathetic enough to find the perfect group of pearls with which to address both emotional states at once…. Go figure, eh? This one is both fun, and quite pointed, with some sharp thorns adorning the roses…. There were a lot of them, so, brace yourselves, and for goodness sake, put down your adult beverages so you don’t spew on the keyboard….

“I drank what?” — Socrates

“The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward.” — John Maynard Keynes

“We have had no good comic operas of late, because the real world has been more comic than any possible opera.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Quotable Chesterton

“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” — Hanlon’s Razor

“Good God,” said Arthur, “it looks just like the sea front at Southend.”
“I’m relieved to hear you say that,” said Ford.
“Why”
“Because I thought I must be going mad.”
“Perhaps you are. Perhaps you only thought I said it.”
Ford thought about this.
“Well, did you say it, or didn’t you?” he asked.
“I think so,” said Arthur.
“Well, perhaps we’re both going mad.”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “we’d be mad, all things considered, to think this was Southend.”
“Well, do you think this is Southend?”
“Oh, yes”
“So do I.”
“Therefore we must be mad.”
“Nice day for it.”
“Yes,” said a passing maniac.
“Who was that?” asked Arthur.
“Who–the man with the five heads and the elderberry bush full of kippers?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. Just someone.”
“Ah.”

— From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

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

“If you ever reach total enlightenment while you’re drinking a beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

“If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning, and you could only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the paper?” — Smart Bee

“When something irritates you, think of this: How else would we get pearls?” — Smart Bee

“For to err in opinion, though it be not the part of wise men, is at least human.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Against Colotes

Finally, to finish off this nonsense, we move on to what good ol’ Socrates said, immediately after voicing his surprise, as related in the opening line of this pearl….

“Sure, everyone always said ‘Socrates what is the meaning of life?’ or’Socrates how can I find happiness?’…. Did anyone ever say ‘Socrates, hemlock is poison.’???????” — Socrates, minutes before death

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

I really haven’t a clue how this got done, but, since it is, I’ll go post it. I’ll even issue our standard warning/disclaimer, by letting you know, I’ll be back tomorrow, hopefully in a more rational state…. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

‘Old Nick’ portrayed by committee….

Posted on July 9, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“You cannot do a kindness too soon,
for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

Acting cute….

Hajime…. In the Golden Age of Science Fiction, an author named A. E. Van Vogt wrote books which were, and are, quite popular among aficionados of the genre, whether new, or old, such as myself. Personally, I had read half a small town library full of it, along with my other reading, by the time I graduated from high school, and moved away to attend UC Berkeley, in 1968. Of them, three in particular are in my mind today, as I sit to begin today’s Pearl.

The three books are titled, “The Voyage of the Space Beagle”, “The Weapon Shops of Isher”. and, “The World of Null-A”. Each of them, for me contains a certain idea, or set of ideas, which were, and are, embedded in my world-view, either as basic data/information to be considered in all transactions with reality, or regularly used as a means of ordering my own thoughts for optimal possibilities for positive results, meaning, I will be comfortable with whatever takes place. After all comfort is what we humans are seeking, in the final analysis… It might be more accurate to say we wish to not be uncomfortable. which we do not enjoy, and will go to extreme efforts to avoid.

By this time, you will, no doubt (given my sobriquet, you should realize how significant it is for me to say that….), be wondering just what the hell is going on here, with good reason. I claim to be honest, so, what the hell, I’ll be honest. I’m drunk. Soused might be closer to the exact degree, but, drunk gives y’all the correct flavor of my status. In actuality, the flavor is honey; Jim Beam Honey to be precise. Damn good stuff. I find it to have a flavor requiring no chaser, as well as a pleasantly slow onset of inebriation, enabling the sort of loquacity you are currently witnessing, as I type merrily along, knowing full well I will have to re-read it in the morning, to make sure there isn’t anything too, well, drunk, to make it unworthy of posting.

Of course, if that happens, you’ll never know, will you? Wonderful thing, delete buttons. Okay, where was I? Oh, right. A. E. Van Vogt….. So, to be succinct….

In the “Space Beagle”, the concept of a new field of science, named Nexism, was outlined. The concept was based on the idea of everything in the universe being connected, which, when properly understood, can lead to understanding of how human perceptions can be manipulated, through the connections to the real world, of which most of us humans are not aware. A short example: emotions, such as unreasoning fear, can be stimulated by the application of subsonic sounds, combined with semi-audible propaganda, in conjunction with visual stimuli in strobe pulses.

In the Weapons Shops of Isher, the concept of resisting overwhelming force, in a strategic, tactical sense, was explored through a story which is an obvious metaphor for modern culture. It approached the idea from unusual direction, which of itself taught the lesson to be learned….. This has led me to my recent thoughts and ideas regarding low-tech solutions to high-tech weaponry, with some success, I might add.

Last, The World of Null-A, which refers to a world based on a concept of Non-Aristotelean progression of thought, moving outside the boundaries of order, to the inclusion of chaos. In all three books, the primary story line is fascinating enough to make the extraordinary seem common, making it easier to comprehend without reaction.

Here is where we get to the punch-line. It’s really too bad I’m now at the point where I must either pull this together into a point, or go to bed….. Here is the point. Or, points. All these books, in the world of metaphor, were speaking about human nature, and how that nature is, has, and can act in reality, whether to its advantage, or detriment. All our flaws, as well as all our talents and characteristics of extraordinary capability, are shown in a realistic, in full acknowledgment of our weaknesses, and celebration of our strengths. As such, they fit very well into my own predilection for a universe in which it is possible to be all we are able to be…. and, not in a US Army sort of way…..

Pretty grandiose, eh? Oh, well, chalk it up to the whiskey, if you wish. I certainly did. Hey, it got us to this point on the page, with what turned out to be a rather entertaining little piece of blather. In case y’all didn’t catch the transition, it’s morning, I’m no longer inebriated, & after reading the above, I can honestly say, I won’t be trying to write while drunk any more. While it ain’t bad, and, by gosh there isn’t a single typo I can find, it’s not exactly the finest piece of mental acrobatics of my career. Go figure, right?

Ah, well, such is life in the blogosphere; you never know quite what you might find. Today, you found an epic Pearl, so, why don’t we get on with the slow, by getting it on the toad…..

Shall we pearl?….

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful.
He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful.
Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either.
But if he wants to, I say let him!”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

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Kate Wolf

Image from www.youtube.com via Google Images

Today’s musical selection is a compilation of most of this artist’s recorded songs, which comprises her body of work, as she passed away several years ago…. Outside California, she isn’t too well known, I think; here, she is an iconic figure, representing what I believe to be the best of folk music….. A voice like a clear bell, and all the compassion and love in the world come through in every word she sings…. Enjoy, ffolkes; it doesn’t get any better….

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Kate Wolf

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“Irreverence is the champion of liberty and its one sure defense.”

~~ Mark Twain, Notebook, 1888 ~~

Today we have a graphic example of what Mr. Twain spoke of so eloquently in the above quote. I often forget to use humor in my ranting, yet it remains our greatest weapon to use against those who would treat the rest of the species as prey. Laughing at them is much more effective than any thousand words of indictment….. Nobody in our time was better at this than George Carlin, so, for today, you get George, instead of me, ranting…. Try to enjoy, let yourself laugh as necessary, and think about it all, for it’s all true as the day is long….. In a few appropriate spots, I have added a pearl or three, to help the thought processed move in the right direction….

Also, at the end of the section, you will find a link, to the site of a friend, where he has put together some excellent memes regarding modern life which I found to be perfectly rational, and good to see. Go check it out, and listen particularly to what is said in the final meme, from an unexpected source….

“A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility”

~~ Aristotle ~~

“It could probably be shown by facts and figures
that there is no distinctly native American criminal class
except Congress.”

~~ Mark Twain Following the Equator (1897) ~~

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”
.
~~ William Shakespeare, “Henry VI”, Part IV ~~

https://talesfromtheloublog.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/memes-in-the-matrix/
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Here is a poem I wrote last year, while living in Hell…. Don’t know why, but, it seems like the right choice for today’s mess….

Infidelia

There’s a certain
panache,
almost a feeling of
glory,
one feels
upon returning

from

Hell

Purgatory.

Or,
so those say,
who say those
sorts of things,
I guess.

I don’t know,

for sure.

I didn’t go

there.

I only went

Hell.

I only live

Purgatory.

But,

I like it.

Right now,

anyway.

Other times,

not

so much.

It’s not bad,
if I don’t
think.

Sigh.

Too bad.
I
do.

~~ gigoid ~~

11/17/2015.

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

Naked Pearls

Classic Notes on the Process of Living

*******

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

~~ Semisonic’s “Closing Time” ~~

*******

“The best way out is always through.”

~~ Robert Frost ~~

*******

“I never like to think of the future. It comes soon enough.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

*******

“But what am I?
An infant crying in the night:
An infant crying for the light,
And with no language but a cry.”

~~ Alfred Tennyson — In Memoriam, liv, Stanza 5 ~~

*******

“Do you agree?” — Blake

“Do I have a choice?” — Avon

“Yes” — Blake

“Then I agree” — Avon

*******

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

~~ Herodotus ~~

*******

“For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.”

~~ Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” ~~

*******

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

Done. I was a bit unsure if it would ever get this far, apparently, like with most of our fears, without good reason. I could explore that, but, I’ll be good, so I can persuade one or two of y’all to come back tomorrow, when I’ll give this another shot. Until then, let’s all try to be good to each other, okay? Okay! See y’all on the flip side, as we used to say downtown….

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….

Polite reasons to marinate….

Posted on May 27, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Malice drinks one-half its own poison.”

~~ Seneca ~~

It’s MY prey; don’t touch it….

Hajime…. What passes for a muse in my world seems to have taken a hiatus this morning; probably got tired of me tossing & turning most of the night, & went off to find something more entertaining to do. This, of course, has some rather significant effects upon the Pearl I had planned for today, since, now, I’ve got nothing in the way of creative urges to fulfill, or even find. So be it. We’ve been here before, and it’s all about trusting the process. Of course, that makes the assumption we can find & recognize the process, which is not a given, by any means.

But, it’s a good process, so, we’ll find the trust inside, somewhere, sometime today, I’m sure. It’s been there every time before, so, odds are good. However, we’ll give it a better chance, by cutting this intro short, and getting on with the rest of today’s mess. It always seems to work out better that way, and, who am I to fuss with tradition? Let’s try this new device I found in the Tardis yesterday while doing the monthly cleaning…. Let’s see what happens when I push this button, right here…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: “Of course it is none of my business, but –” is to place a period after the word “but.” Don’t use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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Image from lispat.info via Google Images

I feel like some easy listening today, so, here is a two and a half hour of some pretty soothing music…. Enjoy!….

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

Celtic Music

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

https://youtu.be/49En0xjh0Xg

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I’m running late again; in addition, I’m late. This does strange things to my persona, but, you knew that. Today, it means you get a somewhat new, if not completely inane form of a rant. It’s a “Do it yourself” rant. Below, you’ll find some pearls, each with a connection to each other, and to our Beloved Ruling Class, in some degree. Just put them together, to formulate a rant of your own making, simply by allowing them to show your thoughts which direction to follow. Pretty slick, eh? Well, okay, so it’s merely slippery; so be it….. Enjoy, ffolkes. If nothing else, it’s all in good fun, and does have some rather cogent points…. Go figure, eh?….

*******

“All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

*******

“Taxes are not levied for the benefit of the taxed.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

*******

“They made us many promises, more than I can remember,
but they never kept but one;
they promised to take our land, and they took it.”

~~ Red Cloud ~~

*******

“I don’t vote. It just encourages them.”

~~ A Maine woman ~~

*******

“He that will not reason is a bigot.
He that cannot reason is a fool.
He that dares not reason is a slave.”

~~ William Drummond, “Academical Questions” ~~

*******

“If anything can go wrong, it will.”

~~ Murphy’s Law ~~

*******

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

~~ William Rose Benet ~~

*******

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

After the odyssey….

Portraits of iconic symbols, crashing, singing, forgotten;
evolving into mature innovation, as yet pale, and rotten.
Still water justly breeds, impenetrable primal verses resound;
unholy moments tarry, emotion swirls in passion unbound

Spiritual ovulation precedes each pregnant pause;
gravid, time moves on, following destiny’s cause.
Cast adrift on waves of confusion, to a final, damp landing;
salvation beckons sweetly, fed well on understanding.

Dreams directly fall, in night’s grey bower, unbidden;
lingering flavors in simple taste, lovingly, cleverly hidden.
Childish laughter sounds, joyful, bright, and clear;
no need ever to hide, no more monsters to fear.

Temper most foul arrives under unregistered mail;
forgotten taunts live on, lashed by an ancient flail.
Plain dealing delivers such lasting specks of honest hate;
savage in retrospect, never hasty, always running late.

Forever, cries an ambient lover of the pending night;
his pale, weak issue forms its own failing light.
Still, fortune favors such as those who apprehend;
Sweet love of Gaia, let it never end.

~~ gigoid ~~

3/10/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Life at Large

*********

“By letting go, it all gets done.”

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~

*********

“Living Dead the path is chosen,
to live forever is to die forever.

To not know when you’ll die
is to find life wherever you are.”

~~ Alagad ~~

*********

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

~~ Aristotle ~~

*********

“The animal knows, of course.
But certainly it does not know that it knows.”

~~ Teilhard de Chardin ~~

*********

“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.”

~~ Phaedrus — Book i, Fable 26, 12 ~~

*********

“Put forth your effort
With no thought of gain.”

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

*********

“Be patient and tough;
someday this pain will be useful to you.”

~~ Ovid ~~

*********

“Work is not an end in itself;
there must always be time enough for love.”

~~ Robert Heinlein ~~

*********

“…. For my purpose holds;
To sail beyond the sunset, and the light
Of all the western stars, until I die.”
~~Tennyson ~~

~~ The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ~~

*********

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

I did it. This, as much as anything else that will happen today, is something of a surprise, if not a complete conundrum. Since it fulfills all the standard requirements, I declare it done, and, thank goodness. I’ll try again tomorrow, ffolkes; it can’t be any worse, right? Right. 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….

Mmm…… Lizard gizzards in aspic!….

Posted on March 30, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Distrust interested advice.”

~~ Aesop ~~

Artist’s rendition of Mars One Habitat Hydroponic Farm

Image from Space.com

Having been up for almost an hour already, I am unusually alert and rational to begin. Nonetheless, here I sit, as I have for the last ten minutes, wondering what the hell to put in the huge, blank white space in front of me. It’s a scary sight, believe me, when my mind is as blank as the screen, but, with less definition to the blankness…. It kinda makes me wonder just what the hell I think I’m doing here. Even when I rant, with the most accurate, up-to-date information, and tellingly real indictments of real people, it doesn’t feel as if anyone who needs to hear it is listening….

Ah well, lack of readership isn’t any big deal for me; I don’t write for anyone else. But, it is nice to think that what I say isn’t completely wasted, in terms of effectiveness; we all like to make ourselves felt in this world, hopefully making it a better place. But, in today’s world, almost everyone alive, other than the monied elite, hasn’t the time to spare from the daily demands upon them to think about how enslaved they are; it’s not an easy thing to think about, anyway, so, most people never even try….

As a result, we have the world we live in, which does its very best to keep each and every one of us under the complete domination of a small group of psychopathic money grubbers, who believe in nothing but themselves, and their own desires. What more proof do you need, than to just look around, and see that 99.999% of the entire human race is too busy to even think about their own slavery? How many people out there in the great unwashed masses even knows they haven’t a single one of the freedoms our forefathers tried to secure for us? I’d say the number five would be about right…..

And, sadly, even those five don’t have the time to do anything about it, other than shrug and get back to work so they can eat tonight….

Having thus completely ruined a perfectly fine intro with a mini-rant, I think it would be best to just go on, & see if I can’t find a bit of inspiration by picking a video for today; maybe it will help me find a reason to keep going, other than the primary goal of maintaining a grasp of reality that won’t hurt anyone, except, perhaps, me…. SIGH….

I meant to tell you; I have a new method for getting past this sort of issue. Here’s how it works…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Human language is like a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, when all the time we are longing to move the stars to pity.” — Gustave Flaubert

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Image from Smithsonian Folkways via Google Stock Images

To sublimate the urge to rant today, as well as provide some musical counterpoint to your reading, here is one of the twentieth century’s most influential musicians, whose work and life were a throwback to the days of the troubadours in the Middle Ages, when music and songs carried the most powerful political messages from place to place…. It was not for nothing the court jesters of the time were considered the most dangerous courtiers of all who served the Kings…. Woody had his faults, like anyone, but, his music told the story of his time like nobody else…. Enjoy!….

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Woody Guthrie Library of Congress Recordings Pt.1

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https://youtu.be/dUiVRIuCOCY

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“It is only logical that the pauperization of our soul and of the soul of society coincides with the pauperization of the environment. One is the cause and the reflection of the other.” — Paolo Soleri

It may confuse you a bit to see the picture I use to grace the ass-end of these Pearls at the top of this section…. That’s okay, it’s supposed to do that, so, I win….

Today’s ranting section is to be devoted to a very simple lesson….First, assume the attitude expressed by Dozer, the bulldog…. Having achieved that state, keep the above quote in mind, as you think for a moment about the state of our world today, noting how accurate a picture of reality it paints…. Then, read the following Rules…. You may note that almost every problem we have in our world today can be directly attributed to the failure of some man to follow these rules…. It’s that simple, and the fix is just as simple…. Unfortunately, it can’t be applied, as each man must make his own choice to follow these rules, and there are too many who refuse, out of their own sickness of spirit….

Think about it; if just HALF the men in the world followed these rules, what sort of world would it be? I’d bet, a better one…. You tell me….

“My greatest fear in life is that no-one will remember me after I’m dead.”

~~ Anonymous ~~

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Image from Google Stock Images

I’m up early enough to search, so, you get a bonus today…. no poem from me…. Instead, we’ll go with someone known for their brilliance in this respect…. I hope you enjoy it, right before it chokes you…. just kidding! Us poets can be a bit emotionally unstable, y’know?….. This one was, but, hey, what’s a bit of psychosis between friends?….

Witch Burning

In the marketplace they are piling the dry sticks.
A thicket of shadows is a poor coat. I inhabit
The wax image of myself, a doll’s body.
Sickness begins here: I am the dartboard for witches.
Only the devil can eat the devil out.
In the month of red leaves I climb to a bed of fire.

It is easy to blame the dark: the mouth of a door,
The cellar’s belly. They’ve blown my sparkler out.
A black-sharded lady keeps me in parrot cage.
What large eyes the dead have!
I am intimate with a hairy spirit.
Smoke wheels from the beak of this empty jar.

If I am a little one, I can do no harm.
If I don’t move about, I’ll knock nothing over. So I said,
Sitting under a potlid, tiny and inert as a rice grain.
They are turning the burners up, ring after ring.
We are full of starch, my small white fellows. We grow.
It hurts at first. The red tongues will teach the truth.

Mother of beetles, only unclench your hand:
I’ll fly through the candle’s mouth like a singeless moth.
Give me back my shape. I am ready to construe the days
I coupled with dust in the shadow of a stone.
My ankles brighten. Brightness ascends my thighs.
I am lost, I am lost, in the robes of all this light.

~~ Sylvia Plath ~~

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“If you are out of trouble, watch for danger.”

~~ Sophocles ~~

I guess, somewhere deep inside, I always knew I’d find proof of Murphy’s existence in other cultures; now, I’m sure. The quote at the start of this section, from Sophocles, to my mind, is absolute proof of this. I’d bet, if we had someone who actually spoke ancient Greek, we’d find the actual translation of his words were a direct match of the lyrics from the old Grateful Dead song, “Uncle John’s Band”, to wit: “…. and, when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door.”

In celebration, I’ve put Smart Bee at work to dig up some appropriate pearls to go with the idea of a deeper knowledge of the powers of Chaos and Entropy, and their Earthly manifestation, Murphy himself…. I’m not entirely sure about the results, but, hey, I’m the one who set it loose without supervision…. Here is what SB came up with; be careful, it’s a bit strange…..

“Ignorance can be cured, but, stupid lasts forever.” — Aristophanes

“If you pray hard enough, water will run uphill. How hard? Why, hard enough to make water run uphill, of course!” — Robert Heinlein

“Should I do my BOBBIE VINTON medley?’ — Zippy the Pinhead

“If It doesn’t matter, and what if it did?” — Smart Bee

“How can I tell…that the past isn’t a fiction designed to account for the discrepancy between my immediate physical sensations and my state of mind?” — Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

“Ah, Louie, Louie….oh…me gotta go!!” — The Kingsmen

“I like smoke and lightning, heavy-metal thunder; racing with the wind, and the feeling that I’m under.” — Steppenwolf

“Dying is a wild night and a new road.” — Emily Dickinson

“Will I dream?” — HAL-9000

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Well, I’ve done it. As is normal for me, I’m not entirely sure exactly WHAT I’ve done, but, I do know it’s done, and, right now, right here, that’s all that matters…. Okay, so, it’s not ALL that matters; it’s all that matters to me, and, now, to you…. until you decide to go do something else. This might be a good time for that, as I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Any soft-pedaling should look natural….

Posted on December 8, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.”

~~ Seneca ~~

I can thoroughly identify with Seneca today; his statement on life gives a perfect voice to how I feel…. For about ten days now, I’ve been experiencing a new physical phenomenon, during which much of my skeleton sings to me, while my left hip, shoulder, and my hands all provide a counterpoint of shrill, soprano high notes to augment the song being sung, with sharp high notes, shooting into my brain with knife-like intensity, just for fun….

This takes place for a good portion of the day, interspersed with minor periods of relatively pain-free time, during which I try to act normally, just as if I didn’t think it would start again in a few minutes…. Otherwise, I’d have never gotten anything done, at all….

It’s not only becoming tiresome, it’s gone beyond old, into ancient news, that I’d just as soon turned to dust, along with me, and everything else, because I just don’t give a SHIT about any of it…. In fact, I’m seriously considering withdrawing from the human race completely, & becoming a reclusive curmudgeon, even more so than I already am, to the point of claiming hermit status…. I swear, I’m not far from just buying weapons, and putting up signs that trespassers will be shot…

Add into the daily picture that there are other people to deal with, and I’m convinced…. It’s time. I am sick and fucking tired of having to deal with other people, at all…. I’m at a point where even friends are included in those who are annoying me; I am almost ready to start biting ffolkes, which I can truthfully say is the first time in my life to have experienced this kind of angst, so great even those I care about are excluded…. and I don’t feel an ounce of guilt about it, either…. Even the compassionate concern people can show would be unwelcome just now; I’m just not in the mood to be nice to anyone….

In fact, at the moment, ‘nice’ sounds really stupid, and not at all the kind of thing I want associated with my name…. Some of what is transpiring in my life just now is a result of my being ‘nice’, and I can tell you, for sure, that old saw about ‘no good deed goes unpunished’ is spot-on the money….. I’ve acted out of compassion, producing results which are all-too-predictable, as well as uncomfortable; in addition, such produces critical judgments from others, which, while true to varying degrees of context, nonetheless do naught to help me feel better about any of it…. I just can’t help operating from the basis of compassion; call me a fool, but, it’s just the way I’m made…. I guess I took the sage seriously, when he said,

“Our purpose in this life is to help each other, and if you can’t help them, at least don’t cause them any harm.” — Buddha

Now, of course, it’s all muddled, and unclear…. So, I now must wait, until right action becomes clear, a process complicated by pain, and the difficulty it adds to thinking at all…. You see, all I want to do right now is crawl in a hole, and hide from it all…. Unfortunately, that would be even MORE uncomfortable than I am already…. not to mention what it would do to my hair…..

No, it wasn’t a typo; I just wanted to see if y’all were paying attention…. I wasn’t, so, it kind of caught ME unawares, as well…. Oh well, I can see it’s going to be one of those days…. I may as well get us out of here, and start trying to fill in the rest of this mess…. Oh, look, here’s an opening into the rest of the Pearl, right there ahead in the fog…. See it? It’s kind of a shiny one, isn’t it? Let’s catch it while we can, okay? Okay…. Hang on, ffolkes, I’m taking us in!….

Shall we Pearl?

“A man is not aware of his virtues (if any). Nevertheless, one hopes that they exist.” — Edward Abbey

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Music always works for me…. Here is a playlist compilation of the best movie themes played by an orchestra…. Enjoy!…

Great Orchestral Movie Themes

http://youtu.be/tc9nVR6jOxU?list=PL5AC591AD481576F9

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“One always overcompensates for disabilities. I’m thinking of having my entire body surgically removed.” — The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“There is no opinion so absurd that some philosopher will not express it.” — Cicero

I’ve decided to let my sense of the absurd take over the rest of today, so, this is all you get in the way of a rant…. These two pearls express almost perfectly how I feel; rather than complicate my life, and yours, they will have to do…. If nothing else, take with you the lesson implied….

So be it….

gigoid has spoken…. Well, sort of….

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A couple of months ago, I wrote a poem during another episode of pain much like this has been…. Since I’m being absurd, here ’tis again…

Tempered Flesh, with Blood

Tiresome, the darkness, sitting in the sun,
submissively balancing over the pit.
Quiet as old terror, each brick one by one
building crescendo, sans music, sans style, sans wit.

Shadows thrown offer speculative fiction,
earning respite from burgeoning miscellany.
Light’s presence offers potential benediction,
if not divine, perhaps, then, beautifully zany.

Hours pass in days, minutes in a week,
challenging Reality to argue, adding a subtle smirk.
One humbly submits in hope of grace, small respite to seek,
in spite of prescient insistence ’twill never work.

Wave upon wave crash against the bloodied shore,
wearing down all natural defense.
All light is extinguished, darkness evermore;
if preserving life and love, sin no more.

~~ gigoid ~~

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This pearl was constructed for the most part, yesterday, during a period of space from the agony that held sway most of the day. The final two entries, (though fifth and sixth in the list below) were picked out this morning, to fill in the necessary remaining thoughts leading to our point…. That point, naturally, has been left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader….

“It is in the shelter of each other that people live.” — Irish proverb

“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.” — Alice Walker

“I exist as I am, that is enough.” — Walt Whitman

“The chief good he has defined to be the exercise of virtue in a perfect life.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xiii

All cruelty” springs from weakness.” — Seneca

“No human thing is of serious importance.” — Plato

‘T is strange, but true; for truth is always strange,
— Stranger than fiction.

~~ Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Don Juan, Canto xiv, Stanza 101~~

Hmm… I hadn’t noticed before putting all of it together, but, this seems to be a paraphrase of Axiom #6 of Peruaosophy, to wit: “And God so loved the world, She said, “Quit whining!”…. Works for me….

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All in all, I think I’ve done well, if only because I made it this far….. Y’all can make your own judgments as to that; that’s your job, after all…. Me, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I haven’t retreated to some cave in the mountains….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Out of walnuts, again? Call the fusileers…

Posted on December 4, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Grief has limits, whereas apprehension has none.

For we grieve only for what has happened,

but we fear all that possibly may happen.”

~~ Pliny the Younger ~~

Today’s picture was found via my news reader, RSS Owl; it was originally the Astronomy Picture of the Day on the NASA website, a day or so before Halloween. On the NASA site where it is located, links are available to point out the Halloween-oriented objects in the sky, such as the Ghost Nebula, the Skeleton Nebula, etc…. It’s pretty cool, but, not as cool as the picture itself, showing the Devil’s Tower (from the movie re: first contact, Close Encounters of the Third Kind…), with the entire Milky Way spreading across the sky above…. Simply gorgeous, and inspiring to one who has always believed the stars to be our destiny….

At this point, usually, I’d make some comment about how we humans are denying ourselves our own destiny, by the acts we allow the predators among us to pursue in their mad quest for power over everyone else…. Today, however, I’m going to ignore the impulse to rant that I display so often, and get on with this Pearl, difficult though it is to bite my lip, or in this case, allow my hands to stop typing…. I even have the built-in excuse of pain to justify such a procedure, as it is still raining here in NorCal…. Hell, just getting these few paragraphs done will be an ordeal; I’m already just about ready to quit, or to take a break to spray on some magic rub…. good idea….

Ah, much better…. The problem now becomes obvious; where do I go from here? Oh, wait, there’s an idea…. Hold on while I try to pin it down long enough to see what it is….. Nope, that won’t do; it’s too specific; we need something a bit more general to play with…. How about…. no, that won’t work, either; too obvious…. Well, shoot, this is embarrassing, isn’t it? I feel like a computer with a loop of 404 messages, for sure. Hmm…. I know, I’ll cheat, just as if I were an elected official…

Hah! Fooled ya! No cheating going on here, boss. We don’t do cheating here; hell, I wouldn’t know where to begin, having not indulged in it in a very long time… Well, there was that time at Kaiser, but, they pissed me off, and deserved what they got…. I suppose it wouldn’t be too hard to find a way to do so, but, I just noticed we are far enough down the page to legally end this…. which, as may be surmised, comes at a perfect time, right before we gave up entirely, and slipped into our old standby, nonsense and blather….

This intro section, I would guess, is also an example of blather, but, relatively well disguised as an intelligent discussion of current events here on ECR…. What? Oh, I guess it isn’t so well disguised, is it? Oh, well…. The hell with it, I’m outta here…. See y’all down below, ffolkes, I’m done with this….

Shall we Pearl?

“Honor is the reward of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

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“Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?” — Friedrich Nietzsche

I may be pulling my covers, but, I love these cat videos…. I can watch cats for a long time without becoming tired of it; they have more personality than most humans I’ve met, for sure…. Plus, this allows anyone who is jonesing for some quality laughter to indulge themselves fully…. Anyone who doesn’t at least smile or chuckle at the first video, shows proof they have NO sense of humor at all…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. and try not to waste the ENTIRE day on this….

10 HOURS Epic Funny Cats ! (BIGGEST Cats Fails Compilation in the World)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJUBwNguJpQ

“What comes from this quarter, set it down as so much gain.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Adelphoe, Act v, Sc. 3, 30, (816.)

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Once more, I’m resorting to the archives, since I can’t type worth shit today…. It ain’t Sartre, or Ibsen, but it ain’t bad….

From 2/20/2013:

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

As I sit here, I can almost feel myself getting older…. It seems to be a predilection of being this age, that one becomes somewhat introspective, looking back over our time here on Earth, and making judgments about what we’ve done, or are guilty of leaving undone, in our lives. This preoccupation seems to be innate, but, I don’t necessarily see a lot of it in others my age, in my experiences out in society at large.

Here, on WordPress, the normal demographics of population diversity seems to run a bit higher, in that respect, than it does out in the Big Blue Room…. probably something to do with the fact that those here on this site are, if nothing else, highly educated enough, and/or affluent enough, to partake in the Internet’s community dialogue…. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that there are still millions of folks out there who have never, and never will, see any of what transpires here, for whatever reason, educational, financial, or merely indifference…. In that group of people, those my age are concerned much of the time with survival, and tend to be directed outward, to deal with the mechanics of that critical issue.

To that group, introspection is a luxury they cannot afford to indulge in themselves, as it takes time away from activities and mental attitudes necessary for surviving. I have been living on the edge of that group for a couple of years now, and can only be thankful that I am close enough to the edge to be able to afford this luxury; I do have to make sacrifices to have it, so I appreciate it a lot. It was a pain in the derrière, literally, to have to leave home to find internet access, so, not having to do so is a big plus for me.

In my time of introspection, I’ve spent a lot of it fighting off guilt, for the things I’ve done in my life that don’t meet with my own approval, as so aptly referred to by Mr. Twain. We all have those things hidden in our memories, those failures of ethical or moral standards we set for ourselves, and looking back on them is hard, as there is nothing we can do to change it. We have to learn to forgive ourselves for such transgressions, because no one else, not even God, if ones choose to believe in the traditional dogma, can change the past. (Query: Can God build a wall so strong He can’t knock it down, or a rock so heavy He can’t pick it up?…. Just wondered; sorry, little side trip….)

Since we cannot change the past, nor go back and try to make things better, if nothing else, we must learn to hold those little kernels of painful memory inside us, and find a way to deal with the little nugget of discomfort that will always accompany such memories. It is a delicate procedure, as we must deal with chastising and scolding our own selves, while still maintaining our self-love, without which we can never be comfortable, or comforted. One cannot accept love from another unless they feel it is deserved; it will sour and spoil all the flavor of the interaction, dooming it to failure, and pain.

How do we maintain this self-image of someone who is worthy of being loved by others? Well, that, my friends, is a very long story, indeed, and one I’m not going to start here and now, as it could be days before I surfaced again, and we’re already at the point where most folk’s minds, as well as those of regular ffolkes, will be losing interest, unless I pull some literary magic, or set off some figurative fireworks. Currently, my supply of fireworks is low, so we’ll leave a deeper discussion of this subject for another time. For now, let me say this….

We are all creatures of a Universe that puts a premium on flexibility, especially of mind. This flexibility is enhanced when we spend time on ourselves, in introspection, and inner dialogue, and is ultimately part of what is the only way to ever really achieve any balance or stability in life. It gives us the proper perspective on how we fit into the rest of the picture, and points the way to the greatest degree of successful interaction with the other parts of that universe. It is the best way to stay in touch with what we are, and what we need to be, to survive, and to make our lives meaningful in some way.

“We are injured and hurt emotionally – not so much by other people or what they say or don’t say – but by our own attitude and our own response.” — Maxwell Maltz, “Psycho-Cybernetics”

Well worth a dollar, or a moment or two of your time, I’d say…. Try something new and different, spend some time in your own head…. Of course, one should (careful, there’s that word!….) be cautious in this, as with any potentially mind-altering activity like mindful introspection…. You never know when a preconceived notion will jump up and bite you….. and those ingrained prejudices can be hard to spot, as they tend to hide behind walls of ignorance and fear….. Remember yesterday’s pearl…. The Snark might actually be a Boojum…. Catch it, cook it, eat it with some fava beans and a nice Chianti, and then get on with your life….

🙂

Note from 2014: To end such a discussion properly, a pearl of appropriate measure should be included, to wit:

“Has the world always been like this, or have I been too wrapped up in myself to notice?” — The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

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Here is a three-fer of my own works; don’t worry, they’re all short, and to the point….

Tiny Truth, Just in Time

I’ll leave history to say if it’s a crime,
as it will always do….
Who may challenge the prerogative of Time?….
Nobody, that’s who….

~~ gigoid ~~

————————————————————–

Striking Gold

Madness comes and goes, it’s true,
whenever it chooses to do so.
Living’s much like wearing a shoe,
when all you are is a toe.
~~ gigoid ~~

—————————————————————

Territorial imperative….

Beauty must define, as augment to existence,
as life must be more than mere subsistence.
Nature demands more.
Truth helps.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Today’s final pearl came together in spurts yesterday, with only the last two entries found, at last, this morning…. It’s getting hard to put this together, ffolkes, having to come back to it so often, due to necessary breaks in the action to go somewhere to moan piteously…. Ah well, it came out well, for all that, as a group of pearls to provide us with some of the better ideas we humans have stumbled across in our search for wisdom…. It’s a seven-star pearl, with a final, extra pearl to help point the way to the point…. All the great advice in the pearl can be absorbed by observing the truth in the last line….

“How did the great rivers and seas gain dominion over the hundred lesser streams? By being lower than they.” — Lao Tzu

“Doing it the hard way is always easier.”– Murphy’s Paradox

“When washing your face, can you see your true self? When walking, can you feel the rotation of heaven? When speaking are your words without guile? When you shop are you aware of your needs? When you meet the suffering, do you help? When you meet conflict, do you work toward harmony?” — Deng Ming-Dao

“Beware of the “Black Swan” fallacy. Deductive logic is tautological; there is no way to get a new truth out of it, and it manipulates false statements as readily as true ones. If you fail to remember this, it can trip you – with perfect logic. The designers of the earliest computers called this the “Gigo Law”, i.e. “garbage in, garbage out”. Inductive logic is MUCH more difficult – but can produce new truths.” — Lazarus Long

“The best plan is, as the common proverb has it, to profit by the folly of others.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book xviii, Sect. 31

“The supreme triumph of reason is to cast doubt upon its own validity:” — Miguel de Unamuno

“Give, expecting nothing thereof” — St. Thomas Aquinas

Remember, ffolkes, all the above starts with this:

“Doubt is the key to knowledge.” — Persian Proverb

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“It was a big one, Pa, but, I beat it!”

Well, that’s the way it feels, anyway…. All in all, it’s not too shabby; it’s definitely done, which makes it perfect for our purposes…. Funny how that works, isn’t it? See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

How much for the colorful ceramic penguins?…..

Posted on June 8, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Thoughts and fears of many years are with me tonight; company for the lonely man. Yet nothing I’ve thought or felt is truly mine, for time wins all the small battles in life, and steals away even our youth…. Elegantly, the universe falls apart, with beauty, grace, tears, and blood…. We are all victims of entropy, still cowering at the noise of the Big Bang, unsure, even at this late date, that we are truly God, as intended from the first. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe it is too late; as it is, it will be our early out, sent to bed with no dinner, no cigar, and no hope…. Reality’s teeth are sharp…..

Well…. that’s…. well, that’s something, that is…. I can’t quite say just what that may be, but, that’s something, for sure…. I kind of like it; it’s a bit odd, but, consistent, and quite lovely in some respects…. It can stay, even if it doesn’t MEAN anything in particular… though, in looking at it, it COULD be a rather depressive view of Reality…. I think, instead, we’ll regard it as just another fantasy; it works a bit better that way, and won’t cause so much folderol if we use that as our basic premise…. Not that there is any penalty for being wrong, other than your confusion….

Now that has been made as clear as it can be, (not very, I admit…) we can get on with our usual affairs, such as they may be in this state of mind. What state is that? I’m not sure, but it might just be some sort of physical state, like ice on the verge of melting, a very poignant moment…. The air in here today is a little heady, I’m afraid; not sure why. I woke up rested, if not completely comfortable, and feel okay, all in all…. It’s my head that is feeling strange….. I suppose, one could say that is relatively normal, for me, but, if they did say that, I’d have to object, if only for form….

Objections aside, how do you think this is going? I’m sort of trying a new Joyceian-style stream of consciousness kind of writing…. It’s fun, and a real challenge to keep from going completely off the rails. I’m not entirely sure it’s what will be our final format for the intro, but, it’s working today, in a manner of speaking…. I’m already at the legal limit, so that’s good….. Now, if I can only figure out how to get us out of here with some style….

I know, we’ll just use method #4, the old standby…. It always works, just because it’s so damn ruthless…. Oh well, nobody’s ever been hurt, and what’s a few articles of clothing in the bigger picture, eh? Nothing important, I’m sure… In any case, I’m going to put it to work now, so, hang on….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Hurting yourself is not sinful — just stupid.” — Robert Heinlein

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

I like the quote above by Heinlein; it’s a part of his philosophy of life with which I’ve always identified strongly. It actually has a piece that precedes this line, which makes it only more powerful as a guide to living…. that piece states, “Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other “sins” are invented nonsense.,” a statement that, to me, makes the whole thing perfect as a rule of thumb for being moral and ethical in one’s dealings with others…. It also places religious dogma in its proper place, i.e., identifying it as superfluous nonsense that has no actual counterpart in reality…..

I’m not going to start ranting on religious dogma now, though this has been a relatively perfect lead-in for such a discussion; instead I’ll refer you to my archives, where you can find any number of such rants…. For today, I’ve brought in some pictures, one I stole borrowed from a web site, and the others from my camera…. Let’s see what sort of mess Smart Bee and I can make of them, okay? Okay!…..

Picture: Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media / London Daily Telegraph

______________________________________________________

“There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. But there is no evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough you will know. So why fret about it?” — Lazarus Long, aka Robert Heinlein

Okay, so, I lied, a little…. I’m still not going to rant about this, but, this statement, to me, puts the lie to just about EVERYTHING the religious cults have tried to pummel into your brain ever since you were knee high to a duck, or, in this case, a really cute wolf pup. The pup seems to be saying something, or trying to make a point somehow, so why not imagine him making a really good point of philosophical realism, rather than some jokey little stuff to try to pull out a chuckle…. This, I think, is much classier, if a bit harder for some folks to swallow…. Oh well, I suppose you could say that about ALL of reality….

“I don’t like to commit myself about heaven and hell – you see, I have friends in both places.” — Mark Twain

Hmm…. We seem to be sticking to a theme today, and I don’t have anything to do with it; Smart Bee keeps throwing these up in front of me…. What else can I do, but, go along with the program…. The picture above was taken while riding one of the buses I must use to get around town these days…. It’s a picture that shows some of the land for sale here in this city, where the economic downturn in the last couple of decades, (for which we can thank our good ol’ buddy, Ronnie the Reagan….), has turned much of the area into a ghost town, at least by appearances….

Yep, ffolkes, we here in Amurrica are STILL trying to get over the application of “trickle down” theory that was his byword, a theory which did a real number on our economy, sending it straight down the tubes, as intended…. Thanks to the Reagan years, which were then augmented and made worse by the Bush years (16 years of financially ruinous insanity by the Shrubs has taken the last almost eight years to just get back to where we were in the 70’s….), the entire economic system we live under was usurped for the exclusive benefit of the rich and powerful, in a blatant period of not-so-covert manipulation of the world’s money markets, solely to benefit those at the top of the heap, and keep those at the bottom just where they are….

Ah, but he was such a great communicator, wasn’t he? Well, when he could stay awake long enough to remember his lines, I guess so…. I always thought he was more of a strict asshole than anything else; his smarm tended to get on my clothes, whenever I forced myself to listen to him, and I really hated that smug expression he’d get when he was manipulating the public…. He pulled the wool over so many eyes, I’m surprised anyone at all could even see him…. but, I guess that was the idea…. It kept attention on him, while his cronies were busy rifling the treasury….

It’s all commonly held knowledge, ffolkes, for anyone who can actually read…. The evidence of what I’ve just said is all there, in black and white; all it takes is for someone to look at it with clear, unprejudiced eyes, and mind…. Rather than the heroic icon he made himself out to be, Reagan was the worst political disaster of the twentieth century for the American people…. The rich folks loved him, as did the stupid…. and they still do…. If they admitted what he did, they would have to admit their own foolishness at being conned, and they would rather keep on being stupid, than admit to any such thing….

“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.” — Albert Einstein

Beauty needs no explanation, as with love, and the only reason this is here… This is one of those serendipity pictures, which I took while literally on the move…. I was waiting on a bus, & spotted this little flower bush in the center of the street, with some other plants…. I was taking the picture when the bus pulled up, and had to do it quickly, so as not to miss my ride…. It came out really well for such a hurried shot, so, I’m using it, just because they’re such pretty flowers… and I’m such a closet romantic….

“Look into my eyes and try to forget that you have a Macy’s charge card!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Sometimes, Zippy is more profound than anything I’ve ever seen in a King James Bible…. To my mind, this reeks of social irony, and could be the rallying cry for the revolution, when it comes…. Or, maybe not; it’s hard to tell with all the stuff we have to wade through, but, this isn’t any worse than any of the crap I hear on TV, or from the pulpits of this country…. and it’s certainly much more honest and forthright than anything we’ve heard out of Washington D.C. in the last eight years….

Okay, I’m done fooling around with this format…. besides, I’m out of pictures…. My back and hips have kept me from getting out and about for a few days now, so new pictures have been hard to come by, unless taken from the Net, like the wolf pup…. Ah well, such is life in the big city, and since I’m retired, I’m trying to cut back on my whining….. It’s not working, is it?…. Oh well….

Y’know, maybe there’s more to this blogging stuff than I thought…. Then again, who cares? It’s all a wash, when you consider that even though I publish for all to see who can access it, some of those who access it are people in windowless rooms, in a building somewhere in D.C., where faceless myrmidons of the government are listening to everything we write, and publish anywhere on the Net, over our phones, or, no doubt, on paper….

How many of you would care to wager the NSA can also read snail mail, at their demand? We all know that the government can intercept mail; it’s been happening for a long while, and is nothing new….. This whole NSA spying issue is merely an extension of that kind of activity, which governments will perform any time they feel threatened….

I’d better bring this to a close, before it begins to resemble an actual rant, rather than a disjointed effort to create a new format for pearls…. I’m guessing one more aphorism should do the trick…. Yeah, that’s the ticket….

“Cleverness is not wisdom.” — Euripides

Oops! We’d best go on; I’m pulling my covers here….

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

This poet needs little introduction; just make sure you are prepared to feel real…..

Are You Drinking?

washed-up, on shore, the old yellow notebook
out again
I write from the bed
as I did last
year.
will see the doctor,
Monday.
“yes, doctor, weak legs, vertigo, head-
aches and my back
hurts.”
“are you drinking?” he will ask.
“are you getting your
exercise, your
vitamins?”
I think that I am just ill
with life, the same stale yet
fluctuating
factors.
even at the track
I watch the horses run by
and it seems
meaningless.
I leave early after buying tickets on the
remaining races.
“taking off?” asks the motel
clerk.
“yes, it’s boring,”
I tell him.
“If you think it’s boring
out there,” he tells me, “you oughta be
back here.”
so here I am
propped up against my pillows
again
just an old guy
just an old writer
with a yellow
notebook.
something is
walking across the
floor
toward
me.
oh, it’s just
my cat
this
time.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

Having ranted sufficiently, if not overly thoroughly, found a proper, fitting poem to accompany the work, my reward for such efficiency is an old-school pearl, naturally…. If I can just get this knife out of my hip for a little while, all would be very cool…. Ah well, maybe diving will make it ease off a bit; it’s worth a shot…. No set parameters here today; what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG, for those among you that speak geekish….)…. I’d brace myself, but, that’s just me…. Y’all can do what you want….

Liar, n.: A lawyer with a roving commission. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Cheese food is not cheese.” — Mom’s Hint #052

“Hope is nature’s veil for hiding truth’s nakedness.” — Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896)

“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” — Mark Twain

“A new broom sweeps clean, but never trust an old saw.” — James Thurber

“Good God,” said Arthur, “it looks just like the sea front at Southend.”
“I’m relieved to hear you say that,” said Ford.
“Why”
“Because I thought I must be going mad.”
“Perhaps you are. Perhaps you only thought I said it.”
Ford thought about this. “Well, did you say it, or didn’t you?” he asked.
“I think so,” said Arthur.
“Well, perhaps we’re both going mad.”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “we’d be mad, all things considered, to think this was Southend.”
“Well, do you think this is Southend?”
“Oh, yes”
“So do I.”
“Therefore we must be mad.”
“Nice day for it.”
“Yes,” said a passing maniac.
“Who was that?” asked Arthur.
“Who–the man with the five heads and the elderberry bush full of kippers?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. Just someone.”
“Ah.”

— From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“Perilous to all of us are the devices of an art deeper than we ourselves possess.” — Gandalf the Grey

Y’know, sometimes, this just works better than other times…. This is one of those times….

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

“Well, my mind’s been goin’ through these changes,” he sang, blithely ignoring the time and space…. Then, realizing where he was, he came back from the edge of insanity, to bid his guests goodbye…. and with that little declension, I’m back…. to bid thee adieu until tomorrow, in the firm belief there will BE a tomorrow…. for now…. See ya, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

We’re inspecting hot beef sandwiches…

Posted on March 15, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Howdy… Come on in, & look closely at this paragraph…. Please note the obligatory placement, here at the front of this article, where one expects to find it, in all its introductory glory. If it were another kind of paragraph, we wouldn’t be able to abuse it like we do here at ECR…. The others are all too vocal in their complaints. This one seems to just lie there and take whatever I throw its way, never complaining. Of course, it never does much to help, either…. it just sits there, allowing me to force practically ANYTHING down its gullet, to see if we can come up with something new and fresh for ffolkes to enjoy. I suppose it would be nice if it had a bit more pizazz, but, hey, what do you want in an actual intro?…. Style? Hah! Interest? Bah!…. A bold faced LIE! That’s what we need!…. It always works for Barack….

Sorry, couldn’t help myself….. I get carried away by my enthusiasm at times, as you may have noted…. or not. Regardless, I do tend to go a bit overboard in certain literary instances; it’s habitual, you see, from my misspent youth, the major portion of which I spent as a captive journalist in an unnamed Third World country….

I was on safari with my family when I was very young, when I was taken by slave hunters, and sold to a business man in China…. He forced me to slave away my tender years in his newspaper office, chained to a desk in the Features section, writing fluff pieces for the insert magazines in the weekend edition…. It was a torturous way to grow up, and I don’t miss it, except, occasionally, I’ll feel a pang of nostalgia for the fond memories I have of removing my master’s head from his shoulders with a nice, sharp katana….

Now that we’ve had our little sojourn into the land of fantasy, and a short break or two, (I’m a bit stiff this morning…. and not in a good way….), I think I’ve figured out how to extricate myself from this intro section with a bit less pain than usually is the case…. we’ll use some WD-40!…. It’s amazing how many things can be unstuck by a little bit of this technological magic…. Just a bit of it, right on the keyboard, and there’s no typing on it for hours, until it has all ‘penetrated’ to its required depth….. I know, it SOUNDS perverted, but it really isn’t any big deal, and for all its a tool, AND a household tip, it’s actually pretty clean in its habits…. Doesn’t whine much, either…

Of course, now that we’ve adopted this somewhat odd method of introductory shenanigans, there is a distinct possibility of becoming hidebound, or, alternately, completely deranged….. Both have been seen in clinical trials of this product, so, we’ll have to wait and see on those…. In the meantime, I’m looking back over what’s been done so far, and it’s not bad…. I don’t see any blood anywhere, and nobody has asked for any bandages; this makes for a nice, quiet morning, don’t you think? I do, sort of…. think, that is…

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It is only the superficial qualities that last. Man’s deeper nature is soon found out.” — Oscar Wilde
_____________________________

This pearl will be what I call an odd duck…. well, I guess one could say it already is, and I’m just pot/kettling, or, prognosticating without a license…. Any who, in the normal course of events in our mornings around here, a rant would be the order of the day for this point in time…. A rant, however, requires from me a certain state of mind, fueled by outrage, supported by angst-filled emotional turmoil left over from my days as a certified, full-on crazy dude, before I tore up my certificate, and went natural….

As is patently obvious by this time, that state of mind is in a different state, probably Minnesota by this time. (I don’t KNOW why it would, or should be Minnesota…. that’s just what was in the note…), so a rant won’t be forthcoming, despite having beau coups material to choose from out in the BBR…..

What I DO have for you is a very, very good article by one of my favorite columnists, on one of the subjects about which I tend to rant, to wit: recent events in the central arena of the political circus, wherein we have DiFi (Her Gargantuan Majesty, Senator Dianne Feinstein….), and her current feud with the CIA, over the continuing cover-up of their involvement in torture during the Shrub’s reign, a cover-up they have been (clumsily) trying to extend to include her precious Senate Committee on Intelligence, by refusing to show documents, or hacking into Congressional computers to try to steal back documents they didn’t want seen…. She is now pissed off at them, big time, and the following article discusses that issue with great clarity and insight….

After you read the article, like a good little Gentle Reader, I have included a nice little seven-star pearl for your reading pleasure, and, hopefully, your eventual enlightenment…..

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/DiFi-bites-the-hand-that-fed-her-5315594.php

(The parameter for this pearl is: “Politics, schmolitics…. Back off! We’re talkin’ business here!”…. Joe Lobbyist…)

CUI BONO? [Latin] What good would that do _me_? — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary

(You will find this engraved over the doorway to every law school in America….though, in many cases, the translation reads, “What’s in it for ME?”)

“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 17

“God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of his own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players, to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.” — Gaiman and Pratchett, Good Omens

“There’s no problem so awful that you can’t add some guilt to it and make it even worse.” — Calvin and Hobbes

“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” — Joseph Joubert

“All the world’s a Schrödinger Box, and we are merely kitties.” — Smart Bee

“We read of a certain Roman emperor who built a magnificent palace. In digging the foundation, the workmen discovered a golden sarcophagus ornamented with three circlets, on which were inscribed, “I have expended; I have given; I have kept; I have possessed; I do possess; I have lost; I am punished. What I formerly expended, I have; what I gave away, I have.” — Gesta Romanorum — Tale xvi

No, I don’t know, so, please, stop asking me why it turned like that…. It just did, and wouldn’t let me turn it back…. Oh well, there must be a lesson in there we need to learn…. I’ve found that to often be the case when I don’t get a pearl’s subconscious point at first look… It can take a few readings, and some percolation of ideas before it becomes clear just what my inner sage was trying to get us to see…. I think, though, given the pearls I see here, you can trust that this lesson is one worth meeting the challenge to figure it out….
_____________________________

There are days when finding the right poem becomes problematic…. Usually, it’s because I can’t make up my mind, not for any esoteric, intelligent reason, so there’s no need for sympathy…. I’m just telling it like it is…. Any who, in many of those cases, as in today’s instance, I turn to the person whom I most admire as a poet…. If you asked me “why”, my only response would be “because”…. because of poems like this….

Death sets a thing significant
The eye had hurried by,
Except a perished creature
Entreat us tenderly

To ponder little workmanships
In crayon or in wool,
With “This was last her fingers did,”
Industrious until

The thimble weighed too heavy,
The stitches stopped themselves,
And then ‘t was put among the dust
Upon the closet shelves.

A book I have, a friend gave,
Whose pencil, here and there,
Had notched the place that pleased him,–
At rest his fingers are.

Now, when I read, I read not,
For interrupting tears
Obliterate the etchings
Too costly for repairs.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

_____________________________

I don’t know if it is obvious to y’all, but I’m suffering today from severe burn-out; my creative juices are dried up, to the point of choking me on dust when I try to compose anything more complex than whining, as is patently the case today. Rather than subject y’all to any more of my less-than-dignified complaining, we’ll go for another old-school pearl, with the only parameter being that the each included pearl should say something “nice”…. Let’s see how realistic THAT is….

“For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive.” — David H. Lawrence

(It took me four readings of this before I finally figured out what other name David H. Lawrence is known by…. think, “D.H…”) (Yeah, me too…. Doh!)

“There is no difference between a wise man and a fool when they fall in love.” — Murphy’s laws on sex

“It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money.” — Elinor Goulding Smith

“Sir? She’s giving “Reality” as a *previous* address!” — Smart Bee

“Do not do unto others as you would they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.” — George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903), Maxims for — Revolutionists: The Golden Rule

“I think fish is nice, but then I think that rain is wet, so who am I to judge?” — The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“Consider the daffodil. And while you’re doing that, I’ll be over here, looking through your stuff.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

I don’t care what anyone says…. I like it. Since it, surprisingly, measures 8 on a scale of 10 for whimsy, it may be one of the better pearls we’ve found in some time…. I hope reading it is as much fun for you, as putting it together was for me….
_____________________________

Having thus completed the required number of sections, without calculating the cost, or the consequences, I shall now proceed to perform the last act of defiance…. meaning I’ll go post it, regardless of how insane that may seem to anyone else…. I stopped worrying about that a long time ago, thank goodness…. Fair warning: see you tomorrow….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid the dubious

Because it mostly resembles a codfish….

Posted on August 24, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Oh, no!”, he cried. “Now what?” Sound familiar? It does to me…. Sadly, this sounds just like what I say almost every time I get up to another of Mr. Murphy’s less than welcome surprises. I’m certain I’m not the only one, either, because I refuse to believe that this kind of stuff only happens to me…. If that were true, I’d be seriously looking for God, to register a complaint, and, since I’m pretty certain that God doesn’t have an office, or keep office hours (hard to accomplish when one is a delusion….), it’s just more productive to take care of it myself…. I know, this makes me one of those heathens, and makes certain that Satan will hold me a place in Hell, right? Well, okay, as long as the A/C works, I’m good with that….

Sorry, didn’t mean to get all crusty right off…. I talked myself into that corner, and there wasn’t any other way out but through sarcasm, so, please, bear with me, as I try to stabilize my neuronic pathways, using my usual bee balm, aka coffee, blessedly strong and sweet. I’ve gulped down a good six ounces so far, and it’s starting to have some effect, so, we should be good to go in just a few moments…. I made this pot really strong, even for me, so it has a dose of caffeine in it big enough to win the Derby, and shouldn’t take long to bring surcease to those parts of my brain that are crying out for it, in such pitiful voices….

The piteous sounds of addictive neurons have faded into mere echoes, and the morning ablutions, including a second cuppacoffee, are well in hand, so, our way is clear to head off into the hinterlands of perception, to find what there is to find out there to play with this morning. I’m thinking it’s a Smart Bee day, as I ranted yesterday pretty hard, to the detriment of my hips and back… Since old-school pearls, and archive-diving, are less time consuming, we’ll most likely go that route today…. Not that it matters to the three or four readers who stop by…. 😆

It’s rather ironic, actually…. In the last few days, and weeks, I’ve written some pretty powerful stuff, concerning main-stream news subjects that concern everyone in this country… According to the WP stat-bots, I’ve got 302 followers now, but, only about twenty of them are visiting the site on any kind of regular basis, at least, if the Likes and Comments are any indication. The site traffic stats also show small numbers, so I don’t know what to believe…. Ah, well, since I don’t really care if anyone reads it at all, it isn’t an issue that bothers me much…. I just hate not having accurate information…. Well, there is that, plus, I’d really like to be able to know that more than just a couple of folks read what I’ve got to say, because much of it is stuff that this country NEEDS to think about….

So be it…. shouting into the wind is one of my favorite things to do, so, I’ll just keep at it, and hope that the traffic picks up…. Maybe if I pick better poetry?…. Hard to do, since I already post the world’s best poets regularly…. If I keep my own stuff out of the mix, it’s a pretty classy line-up, so not much to complain about there…. No es importante, I’m going to do what I do, no matter how many, or few, folks, or even ffolkes, stop by to read it…. Someday, maybe after I’m gone from this plane of existence, all the millions of words I’ve penned will be published for real, and the world can see what they’ve missed…..

Until then, shall we Pearl?….

A monk said to Joshu, “Your stone bridge is widely renowned, but coming here I find only a heap of rocks.”

Joshu said, “You see only the stones and not the bridge.”

The monk said, “What is the bridge?”

Joshu said, “What do you think we are walking on?”
_____________________________

As ~~threatened~~ promised, below is an old-school pearl. This one was created using the “whatever” technique, which lets SB do the picking, whereupon, I deal with the results in a flexible manner, necessitated by the seeming lack of purpose, but enabled by the level of skill that I’ve developed over time of making something out of nothing…. another metaphor for my writing, I suppose….. Any who, this time, SB was instructed to pick some quotes that show the evolution of the BRC and the theory of government, contrasted by its relevance to the evolution of humanity at large…. I think it came out well…. It’s certainly obscure enough…. just enough, though…. all the needed information is there, if one can let go, and allow the mind to follow the path suggested by the pearls…. Enjoy!…..

“I hate to mention things like this in this feature, but it is one of the more pressing problems in America today, and that is the lack of tap-dancers in the Miss America contest.” — Smart Bee

Their feet through faithless leather met the dirt,
And oftener chang’d their principles than shirt.

— Edward Young (1684-1765) — To Mr. Pope, Epistle i, Line 277

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

“And waste their music on the savage race.” — Edward Young (1684-1765) — Love of Fame, Satire v, Line 228

“If you made a better rat than a human, that’s not much to boast about.” — Sirius Black, J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter”

“The message of history is clear: the past lies before us.” — Smart Bee

“Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.” — Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
_____________________________

Today’s choice of poems comes from one of my favorites, Shel Silverstein, who passed away in 1999. The range of feeling in his poetry is astounding, as is his talent of expressing those feelings in the simplest of language…. Abondanza!….

God’s Wheel

God says to me with a kind of smile,
“Hey how would you like to be God awhile
And steer the world?”
“Okay,” says I, “I’ll give it a try.
Where do I set?
How much do I get?
What time is lunch?
When can I quit?”
“Gimme back that wheel,” says God.
“I don’t think you’re quite ready yet.”

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

Cloony The Clown

I’ll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn’t, just wasn’t funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn’t, just wasn’t funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, “Go back to bed!”
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, “I’ll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown.”
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With “Hah-Hah-Hahs” and “Hee-Hee-Hees.”
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, ‘cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,”THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT –
I’M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT.”
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.

~~ Shel Silverstein ~~

_____________________________

I was going to be lazy, and pick something from the archives to put here, but, what the hell…. It’s still early, and I’ve got the time… Here is another old-school pearl (still no rant in there, thankfully….), a harlequin, random variety, picked entirely by SB, with no parameters whatsoever…. Should be “interesting”….

“Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don’t practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us — and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along.” — Carl Sagan, “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection,” Parade, February 1, 1987

(Note the date, please; it is obvious that Carl had yet to process the evidence that proved this had already happened, to wit; Reagan was still in office, and his economic policies were just starting to kill the American economy from the top down….)

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

“Many candles can be kindled from one candle without diminishing it.” — The Midrash

“Stereotypes are like a supermarket. They are convenient, economical, and useful. They do our thinking for us. We don’t have to waste time trying to make sense of our ignorance. Stereotypes slice through the niceties of language, tide us over the loose ends we don’t understand and wrap up into a comfortable package our narrow-mindedness about everything and everybody except ourselves” — Chuck Stone (Washington Post 6/3/96)

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” — Sun Tzu

“Listen carefully, I’m lying!” — Little known part of the Oath of Office, as administered to the POTUS every four years…..
(Sorry, couldn’t resist overruling SB on this one…. it’s just too perfect….)

“Anaxagoras said to a man who was grieving because he was dying in a foreign land, “The descent to Hades is the same from every place.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Anaxagoras, vi

Well, I think it’s interesting, and that’s what counts, right?…. Since it’s my blog, we’re going with that theory for now….
_____________________________

“The chief aim of wisdom is to enable one to bear with the stupidity of the ignorant.” — Xystus I

There are those who would say the above is a somewhat arrogant statement, in which they’d be correct, to a degree. However, I can only respond, “and your point would be?”…. I’m not going to apologize for being smarter than the average bear; it’s not as if all my vaunted intelligence has enabled me to rule the world, now, has it? Nor has it made me rich, or famous, or widely known and respected, other than, I hope, amongst the few people I call friends… As for the rest of those folks out there, who get upset at having to use their brains for something other furniture, well, too bad, so sad, my bad, fuck it…. And I mean that in the nicest possible way….

Not sure where that came from, ‘cept that I like the quote, and felt it needed some comment or other to ease its passage into infamy…. Now that I’ve disrupted my own routine unmercifully, I should probably look for some way to bring this all to a close, before it gets completely away from me…. Oh, look! Here’s a spot now!….. Since I’ve completed all the required steps, and we have a good opportunity, I’m outta here….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

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

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Sublime bones, and piquant roses….

How much for the colorful ceramic penguins?…..

We’re inspecting hot beef sandwiches…

Because it mostly resembles a codfish….

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