Deploy the ducks, Desmond….

Posted on April 24, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Heresy is another word for freedom of thought.”

~~ Graham Greene ~~

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, BC

Hajime…. Our Pearl today is a bit of a poser for me, but, I decided that won’t stop us, not today. I’m going to visit my grandson, and I am determined nothing will get in the way of that. I am so focused on that, I’m going to give y’all an unprecedented opening, as short as I can make it. Today, literally, what you see is what you get, because I’m flipping the switch on our most radically efficient Tardis toy, right now. I’d hold on if I were you….

Shall we Pearl?….

“At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path toward it, and the will to follow that path, if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and environmental impediments.” — Aung San Suu Kyi

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Johann Sebastian Bach

Image from openculture.com via Google Images

I decided yesterday I wanted something inspiring, classical, and new to this venue. I don’t believe I’ve used these, but, if I have, I shall expect y’all to respect my privacy, and say nothing about that. I’ll return the favor in the foreseeable future…. Right. Regardless of all that, I think you’ll enjoy these; a lot of people think they’re pretty special, myself included…. Enjoy!..

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Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concertos

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https://youtu.be/NCPM8DEsvmc

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The fresh rant upon which I’ve been working continues to morph on me, so, we go once again to the archives, this time for another in our long series of indictments of the Dogma Dogs and their millennia-long deception, for which they will forever be damned, according to their own morality, what little of it exists… Deluded assholes, insisting on sharing their delusion with others, to our mutual denigration…. Enjoy!…. Or, not, up to you, as always….

From 11/24/2012:

“Happy is he who dashes the heads of his enemy’s children against rocks.” — Psalms 137:9

I don’t know about you, but that kind of strikes me as a little harsh, don’t you think? I mean, talk about exploring the deepest depths of evil possible to the soul of man! And we thought that our modern rock and rap lyrics were funky?….. Rappers get pretty nasty, but I haven’t heard this degree of nasty from anyone on the radio…. yet…. Not that I haven’t heard some egregious BS, but nothing so graphic and personal as this little song from the priests of Judaism…. fine upstanding fellows that they are…. NOT!!

First, I have to say, I hope this is a sham, or at the very least, a misquote. If it is an accurate reprint from that Psalm, well, it indicates a number of things to me, some about the past, some about the present…. Mostly, though, when I read it, I get a horrible visual image in my mind’s eye of some grinning moron holding a baby by the ankle, and….. no, I’m not going there, even for the writing practice…. I guess I’m a coward, if that means I’d have to continue to make graphic a concept that should never ever have even occurred to anyone, much less been written down….

What was the purpose of this, I wonder? As a teaching song? As a victory hymn? From an Old Testament version of the 3 Stooges? I’m not even sure I want to know that much about it, come to think of it…. It kind of makes one wonder, what kind of culture would have such a concept as a part of its morality…. but, sadly, through most of human history, if I’m not mistaken, acts like this, and others just as egregiously violent and cruel, have occurred over and over, and continue to do so today in some parts of the world, where civilization is only a thin veneer over the native cultures.

Our own society shows signs of the kind of culture that would grow out of such concepts, a sort of casual attitude about violence when aimed at an objectified enemy. The less humanity we ascribe to those enemies, the easier it is to perform inhumane acts against them…. Just another of the charming traits of which our species may boast….. It fits right in with our tendency to react with anger to fear, and with our tendency to act violently to achieve our ends. Sometimes, it’s enough to make me wonder how we got as far as we have down the evolutionary path.

“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau

This concept is probably what has saved us, at least to this point. We are indeed creatures of a dual nature, reflecting the duality of existence in which we live, and perceive in the universe. The light to our dark side, our saving grace, are these elements of compassion and empathy that we can also display, given the right circumstance and opportunity. The Dalai Lama, who has been known to show some rather deep wisdom, has said that compassion and kindness are his entire religion, and that mankind cannot survive without living according to the precepts of such characteristics. I happen to believe he is most likely correct.

The attitudes that that Old Testament culture created and sent crashing through Time are bound to lead us to extinction, for they completely ignore the laws of nature. Our own greed and unwillingness to accept our own place in nature will remove us from this life, as surely as we are stripping the earth of its material resources in our search for wealth and power. None of the people involved in that effort to achieve power are either aware of, or willing to consider, their own complicity and guilt, and will fight to their own death to preserve their assumed right to oppress the rest of reality in their personal quest for domination.

The sad part is that they are taking the rest of us with them down that road…. and it is all because basically, deep down where it counts the most, a lot of people are, quite simply, assholes….. Quite frankly, the universe will be better off without the great majority of them. It’s a shame all the good ffolkes have to pay the same price, isn’t it?…… Ah well…..

“May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead” — An Irish toast

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Fatal Supplication

But what becomes of our deepest dangerous dreams?
Does fantasy rescue any part of life’s imperiled favor?
Reality becomes but silvery pairs of mismatched teams,
Dining with affable elegance, such diffident waste to savor.

Who decides what sorrows to carry bravely to term?
Will fragrant moments of sanity make hasty manifestation?
Only Time’s patient mutability sends messages so firm,
Yet salient impersonal vexation lends credence to ripe imagination.

Can folly bring out sadness and rampant visions of beauty?
What kindness can be found in distant open relations?
With countless faces the dead disturb with dire impunity,
From separate caches of wisdom come simple stylish privations.

Shall shallow emotion serve to provide such explanations?
When does avaricious intensity assume primary focus?
Plain answers slide softly through with multiple mitigations,
While conceptually indignant concepts engage a fatally personal locus.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/20/2012

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Our final pearl for today is a collection of nine most excellent gems of brilliant luster, all speaking in a general way of Life at Large, with an ample portion of Things We All Should Know, But Often Forget. There’s also a bit of Things You May Never Have Considered, which provide just the proper bit of spice to liven it up. All in all, it’s a damn good pearl, so, pay attention. There might just be something you need….

“We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.” — Bumper Sticker

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

“At ebb tide I wrote a line upon the sand, and gave it all my heart and all my soul. At flood tide I returned to read what I had inscribed and found my ignorance upon the shore.” — Kahlil Gibran

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” — Oscar Wilde

“Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.” — Voltaire

“Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, it hopes for the future, and it does not brood over the past. It’s the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things that are missing. If you don’t have love in your life, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough.” — Ann Landers

“I say love, it is a flower; and you, it’s only seed.” — (Bette Midler) The Rose

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” — Muir’s Law– John Muir, American Naturalist — My First Summer in the Sierra , 1911, page 110.

“You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything. So I thought, once. So did we all. And the truth is that as a man’s real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he _must_ do.” — Ursula K. LeGuin, “A Wizard of Earthsea”

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“Heaven doesn’t want me and Hell’s afraid I’ll take over….”

~~ gigoid ~~

How do you like the latest incarnation of our newest innovation, to wit: a final, closing pearl upon which to set loose my final creative urges, whatever they may be? I have yet to make a final judgment on whether to continue, but, today’s version is one I like. I found the above statement without attribution; not surprising, as I’ve heard it many times for most of my life. Since it fits my persona so well, I thought I’d just claim it for today, without any intent to harm, with merely the desire to be silly, and, perhaps, eke out one final chuckle from the Gentle Reader…. Without knowing how it will work, I’ll make my escape, with the usual caveat; I’ll be back tomorrow to try again…. 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….

Bordering on rhubarb pie….

Posted on April 16, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“All virtue is summed up in dealing justly.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

White’s Tavern, Belfast, Ireland

Est. 1630 by Royal License

Hajime…. I slept, sort of. Since my lower back decided, right at bedtime last night, to go into sever spasming mode, I had to take a break, go to the local pub, and apply some C6H11O6 to the problem. It worked, naturally, even if I did have to walk home, due to no cabs being available. Not a problem when three sheets into the wind, I assure you. I then crashed, and actually slept for 6 solid hours, only to arise to the glory of the morning after….

SIGH…. Such is life in the big city, I guess. I haven’t got much today, so, other than the old-school pearl, we’ll be archive diving today. So be it. And, so be it, now. I am in such a state I don’t even have any tricks or traps I can use, so, we’ll just have to get on with the show without them. It’s a little ugly, but, that’s the deal…. Here’s how that looks….

Shall we Pearl?….

“My great mistake, the fault for which I can’t forgive myself,
is that one day I ceased my obstinate pursuit of my own individuality.”

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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

Since we are in suppressed state, a bit of our default is in order. I hope you enjoy it; as usual, it was picked solely for the picture it showed….

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Classical Music

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https://youtu.be/nG4bUpPQZ60

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

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

I had intended to write a discussion based on the above statement, which, if you’ve been here a lot, you have seen previously. But, upon reflection, this really needs no embellishment. According to what I was taught about being a Man, by my father, Sarge, this is exactly correct. He never said so, in so many words, but, this is how he lived, and my brothers and I knew, this was what he expected from us…. That’s enough for me.

So be it.

gigoid has spoken…..

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When life calls, ready or not….

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

9/10/2012

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Oh, boy! Our final pearl today is my favorite kind. Strange, obscure, full of whimsy and ironic truths, it winds its way with unerring imprecision to the final pearl, which brings all of it together into a nice little package. The shape, size, and contents of that package are, to me, quite clear, but, then, all of what I said about the pearls fits me, too, so…. Enjoy!….

“If you’re going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance.” — Whimsical Bee

“Ask a toad what is beauty?…a female with two great round eyes coming out of her little head, a large flat mouth, a yellow belly and a brown back.” — Voltaire

“Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul.” — Mark Twain

“Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Organic life, we are told, has developed gradually from the protozoan to the philosopher; and this development, we are assured, is indubitably an advance. Unfortunately, it is the philosopher, not the protozoan, who gives us this assurance.” — Bertrand Russell

“Smoke a little dope and walk out in the air: the stars are all connected to the brain.” — The Who

“How could the drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“All of a sudden, I want to THROW OVER my promising ACTING CAREER, grow a LONG BLACK BEARD and wear a BASEBALL HAT!!… Although I don’t know WHY!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Never miss a good chance to shut up.” — Scott Beach’s grandfather

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Let it never be said I faded under pressure. It’s done, though I can’t say at all how it turned out. Nor will I make any further attempt to be coherent, as it is becoming rather an onerous task. In fact, I think I’m going back to bed. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as I’m still upright and semi-conscious….

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….

Doubtful dreams, dubiously delivered….

Posted on March 22, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

~~ Anais Nin ~~

Beauty can be found even in ugliness…

Hajime…. I am empty of words. Those five you see in the previous sentence are the best beginning I could think to write, which goes to show just how empty I am at this moment. In spite of the unexpected sleep that I got, I’m tired, and grumpy, and just not in the mood. For anything.

Since there is nothing to say, I suppose I’ll go with the flow, and try to get a Pearl done without any sort of input from any sort of creative force. Talk about trusting the process…. Now we will see just how reliable the process has become, or, we’ll see an even greater mess than usual. The only fair way to judge it will be from the other end, so, we’ll go there, as quickly as possible. In fact we’re leaving now….

Shall we Pearl?

“Those who really deserve praise are the people who, while human enough to enjoy power, nevertheless pay more attention to justice than they are compelled to do by their situation.” — Thucydides

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Today I feel like hearing from a revolutionary artist. This man’s music is the best example I can think of, for he lived, and made his music, for the people…. He was Jamaican, but, his attitude about humanity was perfectly Irish, for he believed implicitly in their belief, to wit: It is in the shelter of each other that people live….. Enjoy, ffolkes; and, live up to the lyrics….

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Bob Marley
Legend

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https://youtu.be/LMIKy9Orl80

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Since I’ve nothing fresh to say, here is a discussion of morality & ethics from the archives; it will do just fine for the mood I’m in….

From 2/12/13:

I am an asshole. A jerk. A prick. A foul-mouthed, misbegotten excuse for a human being…. I, as is true of virtually all seven billion of my peers on this planet, am nothing more than a hypocrite, deserving of eternal residence in the lowest pits of hell for my perfidy….. What, you might ask, prompted this viciously personal outburst of self-denigration? Well, let me tell you….

Most of us, at some point or another, sit down from time to time to think about our actions, those we are considering, and those we have acted out in the past, to get some perspective on how those actions have conformed to our ethical and moral beliefs. In other words, we sit in self-judgment; whether we do so to praise or to chastise doesn’t matter, ultimately, as long as it is an honest appraisal, and we do not flinch from owning up to our baseness where it is found…..

This is why I am forced to curse myself…. Because I’m not a Catholic, or any other faith that espouses such mummery, (I don’t mean to pick on Catholics…. some of my best friends, etc….. 😆 ….. They’re just an example everyone recognizes, and can relate to as similar to their own….)…. Any who, because I’m not of that Tribe, I don’t have the luxury of confessing to a priest, who would then reassure me that I am still one of the Chosen Ones, and send me on my way having learned nothing but a false sense of entitlement.

I can’t just pass off what I may have done in my life to some faceless butthead in a dress, who, no doubt, has a great laugh at the expense of the penitent, when he and the other priests get together in the rectory for a few drinks, passing around all the latest tall tales and outtakes from the confessional booth…..

I consider myself to be a morally upright person, and hope that my actions reflect that. But, I know for certain that, like every other human being who ever lived, I don’t always live up to those moral beliefs, and fall from grace on occasion…. If I were a less honest man, I’d say that there were mitigating, or at least explanatory reasons for my failures to hold to my own standards, but, if I tried that, my Dad would kick my ass from now until Thursday the next time I see him, so I’m not going to take that chance…. I take full responsibility for my actions, base and cruel as they were, and no one can hold me in lower regard than I do….

I had considered using this venue as a confessional, to air out my transgressions on the stage of reality, but, I don’t think that would be any more ethical than confessing to a priest…. Confession may make a difference to the penitent, by absolving him/her from any lingering guilt that could adversely affect them (i.e., they feel better about themselves after receiving absolution…), but, in truth, it doesn’t mean a damn thing, as nothing is done to balance the scale, in a karmic sense, especially for whatever creature or person that was the victim of the cruelty. The only act that would mean anything would be for the perpetrator to use the experience to motivate them to two things….

One, to try to repair whatever hurt or pain they have caused another creature…. man, animal, doesn’t matter…. They don’t deserve to be victimized, no matter their form, and ALL one can do, to fix any harm they have caused, is the least they should do…. Second, use the experience as motivation to make a change in themselves, to act with greater understanding, greater compassion, and greater control over themselves and their feelings…. which is what guilt is all about, right?…. The difference is that, when one confesses to a priest, and receives absolution, there is no motivation to make any changes in their actions…. They know none is necessary, since they can relieve themselves of any guilt they may feel by confessing…. so, why bother?

On the other hand, when one assumes the responsibility for their own actions, the guilt doesn’t go away…. I will never forgive myself for some of the things that I’ve done in my life (nor will I share them in any attempt to gain forgiveness from anyone else…. it’s none of their fucking business….)(Besides, that whole confessional thing just sounds too much like a blackmail scheme…. the people who confess are sure putting their fate trustingly into the hands of those priests, aren’t they?). That simple fact is what keeps me from falling into the same ethical trap I did when I lost my cool, and acted without thinking, or took my feelings out on innocent bystanders….. Not going to happen again, a sentiment which, I’m sure, is NOT what you can expect from any religicos after confession….

You will note that there are no pearls associated with this discussion…. That’s because I am such an asshole, none were needed to stimulate me into spilling my guts, so to speak…. Besides, I couldn’t find a proper pearl for the beginning of such a somber subject by the time I was ready to write about it…. But, Murphy must have liked the way I dissed myself, because, hunting for an appropriate closer, afterward, I found these two, which, together, make a grand finishing touch for this subject…. Think of them as bookends….

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” — J. C. Watts

Boy, that hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it?….. I’ve got these two quotes reversed in the order in which they make the most sense, but, given the state of things here, that isn’t surprising, is it…. This is the one that probably should go at the front of this piece, so, just put it there in your mind, okay? Thanks….. (Note from 2014: Actually, you may, or even should, ignore all of these final comments about pearls, as they are currently out of context, given the fact the pearl that now graces the front of this discussion is so perfectly suitable….)

“We tell lies when we are afraid, . . . afraid of what we don’t know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger.” — Tad Williams, Spoken by Dr. Morgenes, To Green Angel Tower (part of — Memory, Sorrow and Thorn)

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This is an older poem of mine, about an old friend of mine, my constant companion, pain…. It’s one of many, I’m afraid….

Denial of Comfort

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

9/6/2012

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I don’t know, so, please, don’t ask. It’s just the way it came out, so, deal with it as if it were actually a real pearl…. It’s all I can suggest….

`The time has come,’ the walrus said, `to talk of many things.
Of shoes – of ships – of sealing wax, of cabbages and kings.
And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings.’

~~ Lewis Carroll ~~

~~ The Walrus and the Carpenter, from Alice Through the Looking Glass ~~

“By space the universe encompasses and swallows me up like a dot; by thought I encompass the Universe.” — Pascal, Pensees, n. 265

“Certainly the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you; if you don’t bet, you can’t win.” — Lazarus Long

“A wise man first determines what is within his control; all else is then irrelevant.” — Epictetus

“You should hammer your iron when it is glowing hot.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 262

“The great consolation in life is to say precisely what one thinks.” — Voltaire

“And that’s the way it is…” — Walter Cronkite

“‘Scuze me while I kiss the sky…” — Jimi Hendrix, Purple Haze

“Bert? Are you awake Bert?” — Ernie

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Well, it’s done, and that’s the best I can say of it. Moreover, I won’t try to make any excuses or apologies. I’ll just go now, and try to do better tomorrow, should that prove possible, or even imaginable. So be it. See y’all then, should I live through the day & night…. Odds are good….

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….

Fluffy pieces of hydrated carbon steel….

Posted on March 12, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind.”

~~ Antoine de Saint Exupery ~~

By any other name…

Hajime…. Well, I’m here. It’s been a tough week here at ECR, and in Northern Cali, as the rain continues to move in and out, bouncing the barometer around like a super-ball, keeping me in the throes of inflamed arthritic joints for hours & days on end…. Ah, well, such is life for us old farts, at times; it’s a good thing we’ve had lots of practice by now, or nothing would get done at all. But, I digress, as usual…. I’ve been working on a discussion for the rant section, but, it’s grown so epic it’ll need to wait, so, you’ll see an older pearl there today. Otherwise, it’s all as normal as we get around here, and pleasant as white bread toast.

Naturally, having begun today’s mess with a chatty, informative tone, we’ll need to find a different direction to take, to get us toward the oyster beds we prefer to inhabit during our time together. Y’all wouldn’t have any ideas, would you? No. Okay, well, let’s see. Oh, I suppose I could…. no, just did that. Hmm, how about this one? Nope, look, it’s broken. Well, I guess I’ll just have to use the Tardis, and have it washed tonight. Yeah, that’s the ticket….

Okay, if y’all will just file out of the cabin, and head over into the Tardis, we’ll get this slow on the toad for the day. I appreciate your flexibility, and your patience in waiting for me to get my act together enough to put one of these things together. C’est marvellieux! As a thank you, I have entered all your names in our contest, for a chance to win a chance to stay behind next time. Bonus! Okay, I’m done…. Well, I can’t think of any more nonsense, so, that’s the same thing…. Look, what’s that?…. Duck! No, goose!…. Ah, hell with it; Luigi, throw that switch….

Shall we Pearl?

“Thoughts are mightier than strength of hand.”

~~ Sophocles — Phaedra, Frag. 854 ~~

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Playing For Change

I discovered this organization a few months ago, and have been nearly obsessed with taking part in their quest, as it fits in perfectly with my own views of how we can possibly achieve some kind of harmony in the world at large. Laughter, music, and love are the answer to all our problems, if freely felt, and given without regard for any delusions that demean humanity, such as religion, politics, or the seriously negative concept of money. None of them are necessary for people to live, as long as we live, as we always need to, in the shelter of each other….

As I listened yesterday to the first couple videos, which I got when I joined the organization as one of their contributing Ambassadors, my resolve to follow this path was strengthened, especially when I chose to listen first to Imagine, John Lennon’s summary of human wisdom, and then One Love, Bob Marley’s matching manifesto, two of the PFC’s iconic statements of purpose, in song…. The film’s participants exhibit such joy, such freedom of spirit, I weep, every time I watch, as musicians from all around the world join to play the tunes, together… I suggest listening to as many as you can, then, join, begin to share the music, and the love it creates….. Enjoy!….

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Playing For Change

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https://youtu.be/iBnoBetIk1w

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Here is a discussion of the principles of personal security, from 2014. It’s a bit long, but, pretty good in spots; I hope you enjoy it….

From 5/5/2014:

I found these two articles yesterday, after posting the Pearl…. As you’ll see, they provide the perfect jumping point for what follows…. I suppose that, as always, ‘perfect’ is a question-begging word to use, but, hey, I calls ’em as I sees ’em…. when I can find my glasses….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/03/everyone-is-under-surveillance-now-says-whistleblower-edward-snowden

I had originally intended to have some words regarding this article, as it speaks to some rather important points…. but, then, I saw the following article, and my angst went right through the roof, stimulating the rest…. Now, read this one…. & just include it all together; it’s all of a piece, anyway….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/18/cia-torture-architect-enhanced-interrogation

Here, then, is an excellent example of the definition of ‘gigo’, (garbage in-garbage out), from the psychologist responsible for the design and codification of many of the torture methods, including “water boarding”, used by the CIA at Guantanamo Bay, and elsewhere around the world….. His comments, which I will examine below, are so egregiously INSANE, I had to read the article in pieces, as I found myself shouting at him, every time he opened his mouth to make one of the reported statements…

I cannot BELIEVE this man was found to be an adequate psychologist, passing his tests and arguing his doctoral thesis, without having at least the basic innate ability to display even an ounce of compassion; I also don’t understand, at all, how he could be considered anything other than the US’s version of the Nazi scientist, the one at Auschwitz, who sent the Jews into the ovens….

Ah, yes, Josef Mengele…. the infamous, iconic mad doctor, the real version, the model for what all the comics use as the ultimate villain so often, whose insanity threatens the entire world, and everyone in it…. I tell you, ffolkes, those people in Washington, D.C. are totally out of control…. I’m not kidding; the current crop of elected officials, as well as the appointees put in place by those (I stared at this point for a long time, and still cannot, for the life of me, think of an expletive that it harsh enough…, so we’ll go with a classic….) assholes, all exhibit every single symptom of the violently insane, who believe their own twisted version of reality is the only real one, who hold on to their paranoid delusions so tightly, nothing, and nobody, can tell them differently….

Hell, I don’t even need, in this case, to resort to my special knowledge and experience, of working with the violently insane as a therapist for over 20 years…. These guys lay it out so clearly, right out in public, there’s no need for me to have to explain…. Their own words convict them whenever they condescend to open their mouths about what they truly believe….

Here, let me show you a couple of examples from the second article listed… The comments in quotes are by the protagonist in this drama, James Mitchell, (Piled High and Deep), Ph.D., formerly of the CIA, the psychologist regarded as the architect of the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation” program…. a description taken straight from the article…. You’ll be able to recognize my comments by the anger and vulgarity the statements produce in me….

“The people on the ground did the best they could with the way they understood the law at the time,” he said. “You can’t ask someone to put their life on the line and think and make a decision without the benefit of hindsight and then eviscerate them in the press 10 years later.”

You can’t? Why not? These people were in no danger; there is no danger, no life on the line, when someone tortures another; only the one being tortured is in danger. And if you do something so obviously WRONG, it doesn’t fucking matter a bit how long it is, you SHOULD be vilified in the press. There is no reason on this Earth why anyone shouldn’t KNOW torturing another human being, for ANY FUCKING REASON AT ALL, is NOT morally defensible. This principle is true even in cases where the ultimate goal is considered good; you’ve no doubt heard the saying, “the end does not justify the means.”

If they didn’t know it was wrong, why didn’t they do it out in the open, where everyone could see what they were doing? Fucking assholes think that their own parafuckingnoia should excuse anything they do….

“Everything you know is wrong.” — The Firesign Theater

“I’m skeptical about the Senate report, because I do not believe that every analyst whose jobs and promotions depended upon it, who were professional intelligence experts, all them lied to protect a program? All of them were wrong? All of these [CIA] directors were wrong? All of the people who were using the intel to go get people were wrong? And 10 years later a Senate staffer was able to put it together and finally there’s clarity? I am just highly skeptical that that’s the truth.”

This one’s easy….and so obvious, I again shouted this at the screen, hoping the asshole would hear me, “Why, yes, you bloody idiot, they CAN, and WERE, all wrong…. and every damn one of them WOULD lie to protect a program, which, in their minds, equals money, or influence….” Then, of course, I realized I was shouting at my computer, so, I sat, tried to calm down, & began to type, to try to release some of the venom and bile that collected so quickly in the face of such evil insanity…. It started when the assbite used the phrase, “Senate staffer” as if that position was held only by persons of dubious character…

When you start from a premise that is wrong, there is no way to make it come out right, and every damn one of those directors started with the idea that whatever they did, right or wrong, shouldn’t be made public knowledge, and that such clandestine prevarication is justified by their goal (which they refuse to consider as anything other than right…. perfect “ipse dixit” logic….)

“If you get the first one in the wrong hole, you’ll never get all buttoned up right.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This, of course, is completely contrary to the values upon which our nation was supposedly founded; thus, any acts that indulge in that sort of paranoia, which were made on the basis of that idea, are, from the start, WRONG…. It really is that simple ffolkes, and I don’t understand quite WHY the public doesn’t get that, when listening to these lying, insane fools who pursue their delusional fantasies at the expense of the rest of us….

I reiterate…. “Everything you know is wrong.” — The Firesign Theater

Bloody fucking assholes, every damn one of them…..

“If I had a large amount of money I should found a hospital for those whose grip upon the world is so tenuous that they can be severely offended by words and phrases yet remain all unoffended by the injustice, violence and oppression that howls daily about our ears.” — Stephen Fry

I’d say the good doctor Mitchell would be one of the first admissions…. I’ll leave you to consider the following, which pretty much sums up what I see happening in the world today, just about everywhere I look…..

“It is okay to be ignorant in some areas, but some people abuse the privilege.” — Smart Bee

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Momentary Terror

Absently casual, memories pester endlessly
leaving only bleeding remnants, amiable and loving.
Coming awake, I cry to still the pain, shamelessly.

Elsewhen, time gives surcease, if only to live,
shoring broken pilings, worn and gray.
Passing on, I laugh at the pain, accept all it will give.

Time will build a shelter, warm and ever safe
save for Fate’s busy hands.
Enduring, I follow the pain, knowing it will chafe.

Fixed against a darkened sky of starry black
such beauty brings us to our knees.
Entranced, I welcome the pain, ’tis all I lack…..

~~ gigoid ~~

12/27/2013

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Naked Pearls

Esoterica

*********

“Books aren’t written to be believed in, but to be questioned.”

~~ Umberto Eco ~~

*********

“If a man take no thought about what is distant,
he will find sorrow near at hand.”

~~ Confucius ~~

*********

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”

~~ Sir Edmund Hillary ~~

*********

“Never fear shadows.
They simply indicate there’s a light shining close by.”

~~ Fearless Bee ~~

*********

“I can handle reality in small doses,
but as a lifestyle it’s much too confining.”

~~ Lily Tomlin ~~

*********

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

~~ Mark Twain ~~

*********

“Where pain predominates, agony can be a valued teacher.”

~~ Frank Herbert ~~

*********

“Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

*********

“OVER the underpass!
UNDER the overpass!
Around the FUTURE and BEYOND REPAIR!!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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

I did it. I had my doubts, as is my wont, but, it’s done, with some minor cheating. I hope y’all enjoyed today’s effort, which, believe me, was an effort. I shall make another attempt at this tomorrow, if all goes well. If not, well, you’ll hear from me….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Baleful gazes and worn-out cliches….

Posted on March 7, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I may be going to hell in a bucket, but at least I’m enjoying the ride.”

~~ Bob Weir ~~

Leelu being diligent….

Advanced Nap Training Session

Hajime…. Oh, what the….? Ah, okay. It’s fine; never mind. Good morrow, ffolkes. And, how are y’all this fine morning. Bet you never thought you’d hear me say that one, did ya? Nor did I, he said, with a crooked grin. Nor did I necessarily mean for such adjective to direct or determine the course of your day, which is, as ever, completely up to you. Me I get tired, very tired, of hearing “Have a nice day!”. and have taken to replying, “Not today, thanks. Got other plans….” It does generally discourage conversation beyond that point, but, hey, I was on my way out, anyway, right?….

Isn’t Leelu cute? I think so, and I’m pretty familiar with cute, having raised a daughter, as well as lived with cats, kittens, dogs, frogs, snakes, and other forms of domesticated and semi-domesticated livestock for my entire life. We had a dog when I was born; another dog taught me to walk. We had goats, parakeets, fish…. If it wasn’t overtly dangerous, I’ve been around them pretty much the whole road I’ve traveled, one way or another. However, none of that is either relevant to the current task at hand, nor, probably, of particular interest to most folks, and even most ffolkes. (I’ll explain that some day, for those who don’t know why I label people in such a manner…. Maybe. Then, again, maybe not. Probably, I’ll forget.)

Okay, where was I? Oh, animals. Or, more prudently, not. Perhaps, at this point, it would be best to go on to another intro-appropriate attempt; the above seems to be a bit, shall we say, off-topic, if not completely non-sequitor? Whatever the hell it is/was, we’re not there anymore, we’re here, fortunately, so, we can, should we choose to accept the mission, hare off in some other idiotic direction. Alternately, we could calmly, and with some dignity, hare off in some other ridiculous direction. Or, I could just stop, and we’ll get on with the rest of today’s mess…. Yes, I think that’s the best idea.

Now, if only we can figure out…. Wait. I know. We’ll do it this way…. Watch close, it’s tricky…. No, no, not for me, for you…. Watch….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

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

Today’s video is, once again, set to default position; this, of course, means you get more classical music. It’s not as if you HAVE to listen, but, if you do, it will soothe your spirit as you read…. Try it, you’ll like it…. It’s not a guarantee, but, trust me, it works….

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Mozart Symphonies

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https://youtu.be/Mv6J25zOanw

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I’m running late, and Leelu wants her time, so, I’m forgoing the rant I had planned to write, using the statement below from Hemingway. Instead, here is the intro section from a Pearl posted about two years ago, which is one of the best I’ve done, both rant, and intro-wise…. I hope you enjoy it, and, of course, treat it with mindfulness for its content….

“Cowardice … is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.” — Ernest Hemingway

From 2/25/2014:

Terrible things could happen now…. they could, you know. And, we’ll deserve every second we experience of mind-numbing, soul-chilling, petrifying terror, because, hey, we’re the ones who left the door wide open, inviting it to enter our domain, bringing with it our ultimate doom…. Yes, it’s our own damn fault, and we will know the truth of the matter, because we have been warned, having previously been given wisdom such as this….

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” — Albert Einstein

This is not new wisdom, that we’ve never before seen or suspected; history has provided us with innumerable instances proving the truth of this aphorism….. Time after time throughout our short span of existence on this world, we find examples of men or women who had prior knowledge of an issue, and, by their silence, allowed it to take place, to the detriment of all…. It doesn’t make it right, but, it is certainly not an uncommon issue for mankind…. Such issues are not, perhaps, of those we are given by Reality, our favorite gifts, …. In fact, many don’t look on this, or any knowledge, as gifts, and THAT is a big part of the entire problem….

Our problem is a failure of spirit, that has to do with a basic virtue, one that has been claimed as the basis for all other virtues; without this characteristic, none of our finer qualities are ever seen in the light of day…. That pillar upon which all other virtue rests, then, is Courage…. Yes, plain and simple, courage….

I have found, in my fairly long life, that most of mankind, I’m afraid, are cowards…. I’m not an exception, though it IS something I’ve tried hard to mitigate…. Fear is a hard thing for most of us to admit, even though it isn’t considered abnormal; it’s strength, and the way it causes us to lose control frightens us… However, that is also its saving grace, as the guilt one feels, for having given in to it, can, and does, stimulate us to greater effort, whereupon we can find that courage within ourselves, the next time we are in danger of giving in…. This is how almost everything we do, and have done, of an ethical nature, ever gets done…. because someone discovers they DO have the courage to act when there is danger to themselves, or to those for whom they care…..

That is what it takes, you see…. No virtuous act can ever take place, unless good people have the courage to act in the face of the Evil that exists, in spite of the fear they feel in the presence of that Evil. If they don’t summon, or find somewhere with themselves, the courage to act ethically, or morally, if that is needed, then Evil has free rein to let itself out to play in human affairs, to the detriment of us all….

Each of us has to find that courage within ourselves, the courage to put aside our fear, to carry on with what we know to be right, even though expediency and comfort are left behind in such cases…. Living with honor and integrity is never the easiest path we can take; it is always fraught with danger, because it doesn’t avoid evil, because it’s too hard, but, rather, confronts it, endeavoring to deal with it in a straightforward, upright fashion…. thus, preserving one’s own honor, when forced to have truck with what always leaves us feeling a bit dirty….

Now that we have wandered so far afield this morning, I’m not sure what will happen to this Pearl…. Minor ranting isn’t uncommon in the intro, but, I do try to limit it to no more than eight or ten paragraphs, so we don’t take forever to get into just the first section…. a resolution which, this morning, is NOT unfolding according to plan…. Allow me to sum up, and get on with it, if you will…

All of what I wrote above is true and complete, to the best of my knowledge, and constitutes a fairly accurate assessment of today’s situation here on planet Earth…. Evil is out there, and when we… that’s you, and me…. fail to stand up to it, look it in the eye, and tell it to “fuck off, you bloody sod!”, then it will continue to manifest its existence, causing untold pain and suffering for us all…. So, be brave, ffolkes, and don’t let Evil have its way without at least some token resistance, ‘kay?…. “Kay!…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, “To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.”” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

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

To finish off this section, here is the perfect pearl to go with the above….

“It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.”

~~ Arthur C. Clarke ~~

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

Mad Dogs at Bay

Wicked, angry red scenes of imminent demise
haunt my dreams each night.
Fearful visions of destructive surprise
leave me sweating in terror, as well they might.

Small, mean, ugly, with beady little eyes,
pundits gather like maggots, bloated and vile,
grunting, snuffling, mumbling outlandish lies,
enslaving the ignorant with patience and guile.

Society’s denizens exist as volunteer slaves.
Living and dying by script, completely blind.
Never allowing any resentment, no making waves.
Never knowing joy, nor any peace of mind.

Free men will not be controlled, ’tis said;
No coercion, no illusion can cloud their sight.
No threats, no pain, no fear they dread;
their only duty to keep to the right.

Dreams are mere reflections of our inner fears,
whispering, close against doors shut fast.
Mocking our mostly irrelevant tears,
clearly marking the future as our sordid past.

~~ gigoid ~~

7/15/2015

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

Our final pearl today is somewhat esoteric. In general, it speaks of the mind, and how we learn to use it, but, it’s not quite that simple, I think…. You’ll see…. Enjoy!….

“If you think education is expensive,
Try Ignorance.”

~~ Andy McIntyre ~~

“I am defeated, and I know it, if I meet any human being from whom I find myself unable to learn anything.” — George Herbert Palmer

“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” — John Cotton Dana, libraria (motto of Kean College of New Jersey)

“In the end it will not matter to us whether we fought with flails or reeds. It will matter to us greatly on what side we fought.” — G. K. Chesterton

“The hands that help are better far than the lips that pray.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

“The effect of one upright individual is incalculable.” — Oscar Arias

“There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dangerous.” — Hannah Arendt

“What we know is not as important as who we are.” — Subtle Bee

“Knowledge by suffering entereth,
And life is perfected by death.”

~~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning ~ A Vision of Poets, Conclusion ~~

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

Once again, we have reached the final section, without having, to my knowledge, caused any bloodshed, unless it be amongst the targets of my vitriol, for whom bloodshed is the intended result. Having thus spit out the last of my humanity, I shall fold my tent, and fade into the sunrise, or sunset, depending on where you reside on the planet. Are we confused yet? Good. My job here is done. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; of that you may be sure….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Fill in with plastic adobe….

Posted on March 3, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

~~ Voltaire ~~

Winter Blooms

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

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

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

Shall we Pearl?….

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

~~ Les Brown ~~

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

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

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Marin Bluegrass Festival
1974

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https://youtu.be/dNAP8jP0pzA

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The World Is Too Much With Us: Late And Soon

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

~~ William Wordsworth ~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So be it. gigoid has spoken….

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

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

Augmentation: Inner Aye

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

3/2/2016

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

Naked Pearls

Random Gems

*******

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

~~ Lao-Tzu ~~

*******

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

~~ Clare Booth Luce ~~

*******

“Set the cart before the horse.”

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

*******

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

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

*******

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

~~ Cicero ~~

*******

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

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

*******

“Be and not seem.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

*******

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

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Portions of augmented tuxedo milk….

Posted on February 6, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“To know much is often the cause of doubting more.”

~~Michel de Montaigne ~~

Leelu’s Auntie Mame

Hajime….. Today’s Pearl is a strange one, but, since that’s nothing new, we won’t comment on that. It has a bit of a cheat, in that the rant section turned into an old-school pearl, Naked variety, with some rather telling points about one of our most commonly held societal delusions. I shan’t speak to the rest, which lives up to our usual lack of standards, since it’s all my work. So be it.

And, as for this intro, I’m going to apply the same philosophy as we are applying in general today, to wit; no ups, no extras. This is all you get, and you’ll like it. Promise, and I don’t do make them lightly. In view of that, and, our need to pursue efficiency as far as we can, even if we never quite catch it, this is the end of this intro. Yep, you heard me. It’s done…. Watch…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“As long as anyone believes that his ideal and purpose is outside him, that it is above the clouds, in the past or in the future, he will go outside himself and seek fulfillment where it cannot be found. He will look for solutions and answers at every point except where they can be found–in himself.” — Erich Frohm

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Billie Holiday

Image from wsj.com via Google Images

I felt like the blues today; what better blues can one find than this woman’s music? In my mind, it can’t be done. Enjoy!…..

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Billie Holiday
Lady Sings the Blues

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https://youtu.be/6ZsrEg8kK4s

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Naked Pearls

Imagine

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

~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~

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“The first clergyman was the first rascal who met the first fool.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

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Your Highness, I have no need of this hypothesis.

~~ Pierre Laplace ~~
~~ to Napoleon on why his celestial mechanics make no mention of God ~~

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“Anyone who tries to `enlighten’ you is probably selling something.”

~~ Jen Howard. ~~

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“People who look through keyholes
are apt to get the idea that most things are keyhole shaped.”

~~ Mindful Bee ~~

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“If people are good only because they fear punishment,
and hope for reward,
then we are a sorry lot indeed.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

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

~~ Voltaire ~~

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“I contend that we are both atheists.
I just believe in one fewer god than you do.
When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours.”

~~ Stephen Roberts ~~

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“An it harms none, do what thou will.”

~~ Wiccan Credo ~~

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Being a cat tree
is a pleasant pastime
for the both of us.~~ gigoid ~~

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For The Blind Poet, Embraced

I sit to open a vein, exposed in public places,
happy to be written, judging by the faces.

None can see the price so willingly paid,
at the feet of imagination is that cost weighed.

Still shadows of reality shine quite as well
to hide all the bleeding as if under a spell;

While visions and fantasies vie for attention,
hoping to win once-hoped-for final mention.

Technology may or may not rue its day
never knowing or caring its part to play.

All the precious moments of inspiration
Fall ever short of our own imagination.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/30/2012

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Naked Pearls

Observations on Life Lived Well

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“A mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought, alone.”

~~ William Wordsworth ~~

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It’s a fool’s life,
a rogue’s life,
and a good life
if you keep laughing all the way to the grave.

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

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

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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“I am the shadow my words cast.”

~~ Octavio Paz ~~

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“Always obey your superiors–if you have any.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

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“Tilting at windmills hurts you more than the windmills.”

~~ Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love” ~~

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“. . is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood.
“It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness.
It cannot be.”

~~ Frank Herbert, Dune ~~

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“It isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out,
it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.”

~~ Astute Bee ~~

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“If birth is a miracle, is not death also a miracle?”

~~ Realist Bee ~~

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It’s done, such as it is. It’s all mine, too, so, no complaints allowed re: freshness, okay? Besides, y’all know I’ll be back to try again tomorrow, right? Right. There doesn’t seem to be any reason not to, so, as Arnie said so infamously, I’ll be back…. 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….

Distant sounds of hilarity….

Posted on January 30, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“There is nothing so arrogant as ignorance.”

~~ Erasmus ~~

Showing her colors….

Hajime…. Okay, so, here we are once again, without a clue. Oh, there are hints of a clue, but, nothing we can use to help us get any of this done. No, we’ll just have to do what we do best, which is fake it, best we can. Of course, this means we’ll have to take some shortcuts, as a blogging friend calls them…. a nicer word than ‘cheats’, to be sure. I’m still not certain what sort of karmic burden such will add to my account, but, it’s way overdrawn, so, what the hell?….

Now we’ve established the proper tone of curmudgeonly empathy, so to speak, it would be best, I’m thinking, to just get on with it. There are, of course, hazards involved, but, we’ve taken as many precautions as we could think of; it is a shame what happens seldom matches what we predict. Our insurance guy hates that. But, we’ve paid the premiums, so, they have little choice but to carry on, which we shall proceed to do right now. I have a new toy to try out; you let me know how it works, okay? Let’s do this…

Shall we Pearl?….

“Neither do the ignorant seek after wisdom. For herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself; he has no desire for that of which he feels no want.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

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Image by Asama Moru via deviantart.com via Google Images

I’m not ranting today, so, I’ll let George do it for me; he’s much better at it, anyway…. Enjoy, ffolkes, as he goes after our Beloved Ruling Class with a vengeance….

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George Carlin

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https://youtu.be/Hy-sVByUHqE

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Since George filled in above with a most excellent indictment of the BRC, lets go to the archives to find one to take some shots at our old friends, the Dogma Dogs…. Enjoy!….

From 9/8/2012:

It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf. But the gulf lies elsewhere. It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought. — Smart Bee

Yet more proof of Murphy’s presence in Life…. or, in my life, anyway….. Yesterday I wrote about this subject, expounding as I am wont to do with no little enthusiasm, trying to bring some clarity to a naturally murky subject (it’s hard to pin down anything solidly when the subject under discussion is a matter of conjecture, not physically present to be examined….). Then, later in the day, I come across this one short paragraph, that summarizes my 3-400 words succinctly in three lines, and very clearly, for all its brevity. SIGH….. So much for originality, eh? Though I don’t know who said it, I salute them….

“In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.” — Edward P. Tryon

Once more, I have to agree with the author, especially as it gives a sort of pat on the shoulder to the paragraph above, as if sharing an obvious point. Serendipity, I say, and well met….

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” — Bernard Bailey

This one, when viewed in light of the previous two quotes, made me smile, big….. now, why is that? Because when he says a lot, he means, A LOT OF PEOPLE!…..

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Funny how people under stress always get so close to the truth; it makes the one who hears it more nervous and upset than he who said it…. or it that just me? Of course it is…. Why shouldn’t it be me? What’s the matter with me? Don’t you like me?….. Sorry…. any who, let’s see what else the magic can find….

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?…

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

~~ T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” ~~

I’m not sure why, but this excerpt from T.S. Eliot seems to be the perfect finishing line for the above meandering treatise…. and it is as close to a verifiable point as we’re going to get today, I can tell…. so, best leave it be for now, and go on to something else…. Or, in this case, to something the same….

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Funny Bones

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

5/3/2013

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Image from historywatchers.com via Google Images

Today’s final pearl earned a new icon for the top of the section, simply because it took an effort of herculean proportion to rip the quotes from Smart Bee, who seems to be in a snit…. Ah, well, it will pass, I’m sure, & for the nonce, we have an excellent group of philosophical observations on living from a wide variety of ffolkes….. I hope you enjoy it…. If nothing else, it’s a great pic of Plato & Aristotle, eh?….

“…life is long enough if it is well-spent.”

~~ Erasmus ~~

“In anything at all, perfection is finally attained, not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery , Wind, Sand & Stars

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that balances are correct.” — from “Manual of Maud’Dib” by the Princess Irulan

“The poetry of earth is never dead.” — John Keats, On the Grasshopper and Cricket

“Never fear shadows. They simply indicate there’s a light shining close by.” — Positive Bee

“In the midst of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

“Just as there are laws of Conservation of Matter and Energy, so there are in fact Laws of Conservation of Pain and Joy. Neither can ever be created or destroyed. But one can be converted into the other.” — Spider Robinson

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

“If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree or the wings of a vulture – that is immortality enough for me. And as much as anyone deserves.” — Edward Abbey

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Thought there seems to be little I can do about it, we’re done for today. Rather than try to figure that out now, I’ll leave you to work on that as a homework assignment, fully optional, of course. Me, I’ll be back tomorrow, as long as my keyboard holds up….

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….

Three frozen minuets, if you please….

Posted on January 7, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

The miracle is not to fly in the air,
or to walk on the water,
but to walk on the earth.

~~ Chinese proverb ~~

Festive Display of the Law of the Jungle

Galway ~ Ireland

Hajime…. Well, ffolkes, here I am, such as I am. I used up my ranting angst last night for today’s ranting section; it’s a good one. Powerful message, anyway, if not perfectly disseminated. ‘T will do for our purpose. With that said, I believe today just might be the day I create a new record here on ECR; this is going to be, perhaps, the shortest intro I’ve done since 2001, or thereabouts. Hmm, not in the dictionary, but, you get the idea…. Oh, right. Short, I said…. How short? This short….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.” — W. Somerset Maugham

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Having walked a lot yesterday, I’m tired, & in the mood for some classical music. Here is another mix from someone who also likes to have music while reading…. As usual, I picked the one with a picture I liked the best today….. Enjoy!…

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Classical Mix

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https://youtu.be/2v1NicefAfE

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“Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.”

~~ Plato (428-348? B.C.) ~~

We all know Plato is thought to be one of the most influential thinkers in history; little did we know just HOW correct this particular example of his conjectures/assertions were to be in the final analysis of human nature; nor, I think, did anyone guess/believe how NOT paying attention more closely would cost the entire species.

As humanity exists in today’s world, virtually every man alive is, not merely unaware of this powerful description, personally, but is, as well, completely ignorant of the implications of this simple truth for society, by virtue of their ignorance of self…. This is, essentially, why the most common human male unconsciously bears an unwarranted sense of entitlement, which allows them to put aside any moral, or ethical, rational considerations, in favor of what they WANT….

These boys, for they never become what I would consider men, live their entire lives without examining their own feelings; it is discouraged from birth, by dress, by the attitudes of their parents, siblings, and any peers, all of whom are under the same illusion of superiority, based solely on physical strength, on a gross level. In short, from birth, men are taught “might is right”, and anyone who doesn’t learn to fall in line is branded for life, with any number of labels, which have attached to them a perception of shame for the bearer, all of which discourage individuality and introspection, while simultaneously encouraging the completely unnatural, divisive attitude of false entitlement.

Thus, these ‘boys’, in men’s bodies, learn to abuse women, or any other creature they wish to intimidate, such as the weak and/or vulnerable, or animals. They are taught it is their right, and duty, to “get what they can, and hold it”, usually justifying with such grand logic as “chicks dig dudes with money”… or, a car, or power, or whatever their personal fantasy entails…. and, as behaviorally shaped by commercials on TV….

Finally, without ever having learned any restraint, they learn the most dangerous of these perversions of rationality, they learn it is acceptable to kill to achieve their own desires, at no cost to their own sense of self, or conscience, if any….. These attitudes are all the more insidious for their its most attractive feature, to wit: there is no personal responsibility borne by those who assume the mantle of what I term rogue males of the human species… None of any of what I have described above is ever examined, or discussed, or acknowledged, in public, or in private…. Thus, darkness covers the entire human culture on the planet. Many of the rational men and women in history who HAVE resisted such insanity have noted, “Repression can only exist in silence.”

I saw a picture flash by on my screensaver a moment ago; the subject was a face shot of a lovely young woman, draped in a softly white, almost transparent shawl/scarf, with a pensive expression, fingers of one hand to her chin, with heavily accented eyes… My first thought was of Keats, or another poet’s verses on love…. Then, in a faint echo, from the deep past, I heard, in an accent much as that of the TV character Gomer Pyle (or Goober; perhaps Gomer was talking to his cousin…), a voice saying, “Boy, I’d sure lahk to fuck that!” I realized, even though the thought, or the feeling that spawned such a vile epithet in regard to any woman, was not mine, it was one I have heard so many times, the attitude it represents is embedded in the very culture in which all the men on this planet, mostly (certainly more than 90%…) have been raised since their birth….

I have actually heard, in defense of the human male’s urge to fight, and fuck, whenever he likes, this urge, or, in truth, false sense of entitlement, is based on natural laws, such as the behavior of the lion in re: they will fight over the right to copulate with any female willing & in season. Of course, these idiots, (excuse my mild flame….), when it is pointed out they are completely wrong, both as to motivation of the lion, as well as the consistent non-lethal results of such fighting, and the natural urges involved, (they don’t want to hear how the males never fight the females… ever, unless they are, for their species, insane…) they refuse to listen, or even, if invited, to go actually watch a pride of lions for some time, to try to understand what is actually going on, rather than assuming what they WANT to be true, is as they wish it to be in reality…. (see Plato, above….)

I challenge any one of my readers, male of female, to dispute this assertion> Any who do so, if you would, please provide some sort of justification for doing so. I’d hate to flame anyone on my own blog for trying to do so without any sort of evidence at all. I’m willing to listen to any reasonable contrary opinion, as long as it is presented in the same framework I am offering with mine.

My own evidence lies partially in my own experience as a male growing up in this culture, and, 65 years of experiencing, observing, and studying (with books and social intercourse, i.e. discussion), the human species, and, its society,, throughout human history, with a focus on trying to understand the nature of the bloody beast. I may not be Aristotle, or Plato, but, I’ve sure as hell read more on the subject(s) than they ever had the chance to do, for sure and for certain….

Go ahead. I’ll wait…. While we are waiting, how about an old-school pearl, touching on some of what we’ve been discussing, sort of, in general, or, that vicinity…. You’ll see…. Some of it, if one observes closely, provides some of the evidence for my assertion, if in no other way than to point one’s study/focus/thoughts in a certain direction, in order to find the tangible proof….. Trust me not; follow them to their end, and it will be there for you to perceive, inside yourself, as verified by what you see in the world…. Or, ask/comment below, and we’ll try to come to a consensus both can accept…..

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“MTV – Why Johnny can’t read, tie his shoes, speak, think.” — Truthful Bee

“A man would still do something out of sheer perversity – he would create destruction and chaos – just to gain his point…. and if all this could in turn be analyzed and prevented by predicting that it would occur, then man would deliberately go mad to prove his point.” — Feodor Dostoevsky, “Notes From the Underground”

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” — Voltaire

“There are more horses’ asses in this world than there are horses.” — Grandma Soderquist’s conclusion

“A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.” — Sir Barnett Cocks

“Independent self-reliant people (would be) a counterproductive anachronism in the collective society of the future […] (where) people will be defined by their associations.” — John Dewey (1859-1953), educational philosopher, — proponent of modern public schools. 1896 — “The Tyranny of Government Schooling”, John Gatto, 1992

“Clinton wants us to sacrifice – We should start with the politicians. Which do you recommend – burning at the stake, an altar & knife job, or the tried-and-true ‘Feed the Volcano’ method?” — Don Meyer dlmeyer@uiuc.edu

“If the Catholic church couldn’t stop Galileo, then governments won’t be able to stop things now.” — Carlo de Benedetti of Olivetti on the folly of trying to regulate information technology

“Give a monkey a brain, and he’ll think he’s the center of the universe.” — Ouch! Bee

“A “pacifist male” is a contradiction in terms.” — Lazarus Long

“He who is bent on doing evil can never want occasion.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 459

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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

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Naked Pearls

Being Human

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“The more clearly you understand yourself
and your emotions,
the more you become a lover
of what is.”

~~ Spinoza ~~

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“When nothing is sure, everything is possible.”

~~ Margaret Drabble ~~

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If you can distinguish between good advice and bad advice,
then you don’t need advice.

~~ Van Roy’s Second Law~~

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“In our haste to deal with the things that are wrong,
let us not upset the things that are right.”

~~ Unknown Bee ~~

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“Man is great by thought.”

~~ Blaise Pascal ~~

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There is always more than we see.

~~ Mindful Bee ~~

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“He who possesses most must be most afraid of loss.”

~~ Leonardo Da Vinci~~

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“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.
We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence,
but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

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“Man is free to think as his reason tells him.”

~~ Spinoza ~~

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Not too bad, I think. With the help of the Tardis, it’s even done at a reasonable hour…. To echo the brevity seen in today’s intro, I’ll merely say this: Bye, ffolkes. See y’all mañana, if my luck holds…..

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….

Past, last fasts are finest kind….

Posted on December 21, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

~~ Yoda Bee ~~

Saturn’s Moons, Aligned

Image from NASA via Space.com

Hajime…. Whew! Usually, as I sit to begin, I’m still half-awake. Today after half-a-cuppa, a visit to the throne, and a fast, hard 15 training session with Leelu (it seems to hold her for a while, if I feed her afterward…), I’m fully awake, if a bit out of breath…. She demands we move fast in the morning, as she’s been waiting for hours, no doubt, for me to wake up….. Ah, well, new routines always take time to feel comfortable with, so, so be it…..

With that being said, I’ve kinda messed up any nonsensical beginning; it also seems rather inappropriate to get too silly, or weird, after such a, well, realistic, if boring, beginning…. As is my apparent habit, it has taken me only one and nearly a half paragraphs to lose my way. It’s a shame, really; I had this really strange, yet compelling opening all ready to go, then got distracted by Leelu to play, and, poof, out the window of my mind it went…. I guess I should shut that window….

Well, as long as we are this far down the page, I may as well wind this up and get on to the rest of the mess we’ve cooked up for y’all today. It’s not bad, as Pearls go; in fact, since some of it is from the archives, it should hold up quite well. Sometimes, it’s easier to poke holes in things when one uses an older style tool, from the days when brute force was our primary method of living…. Oh, wait…. Hmm. I guess I can’t say it WAS our primary characteristic as humans, because, as we see every day in the news, we still do violence quite well, and often…. Oh, well, there goes ANOTHER paragraph, down the tubes to oblivion….

Never mind. We’ll just employ one of our new toys, found in that drawer in the corner. The one we tried out before worked well, didn’t it? May as well try another one…. Let’s see what this little gadget, in such a nice, black color, will do when we push this button, marked, “Elsewhere”…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“I have tried marijuana, hashish, psilocybin, opium and heroin, but none of these have changed my way of seeing as much as has understanding the process of evolution by natural selection.” — purported J.B.S. Haldane quote

(Addendum: I must say, if J.B.S. found this to be true, he needs to find a new drug dealer; he’s getting ripped off….. Just sayin’…..)

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Image stolen from FB long ago

As might be surmised from the picture, and, to balance the raucous video we enjoyed yesterday, we are going Classical. We start with Brahm’s Lullaby, then, follow it with nearly 12 hours of soothing music, designed to help babies sleep (like they need help…..). Whether or not it works, it IS soothing to listen to, which is fine with me today…. Enjoy!

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Brahm’s Lullaby Plus

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https://youtu.be/YZQQws9wmSQ

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I find myself spending a lot of the energy I previously put into ranting, by commenting on other WP blogs. Some of my recent comments approach the epic; so far, no one has objected, so, why not? It’s probably why I haven’t felt like letting it all out here, as is my habit. Feeling better gives me more opportunity for surfing the blogs I follow, so, this is, no doubt, a good thing… Since I have so many older rants in the archive, I figured, why not use them here? Indeed, “why not?” is a good question any time….

Here then is a rant suggested by WP at the bottom of yesterday’s post, in a blog from the LAST time we were working up to a Presidential election…. I made some observations then which are perfectly appropriate as a response to the upcoming charade; I found the comments I made regarding the GOP candidate from that year to be quite similar, in fact, eerily similar, to the entire GOP lineup of candidates in this year…. Go figure….

From 9/30/2012:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” — Alexander Frazer Tyler (1748-1813), — The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic

It seems to me that we, here in America in the early 21st century, are just about at the selfishness phase(s). We’ve been using and squandering a large portion of the available resources of the planet now for quite a while, and apparently haven’t learned to play well with others yet, as a culture. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that we have entered the complacency stage, as we seem also to feel entitled to have so much, and share so little with the rest of the planet, which is a complacent sort of arrogance.

Elitist, to be sure. And in the election coming up in November, we have as one of the choices possibly the most elitist candidate ever to run for the highest office (though Reagan was no slouch at that….) (come to think of it, neither was Franklin Roosevelt, but he seemed to be able to put it aside, for the most part…. He wasn’t nouveau riche, you see; he still had some degree of noblesse oblige left in him….) Mitt the Twitt Romney is unapologetically elitist, and doesn’t seem to care who knows it, even the voters…..

“Whereas it has been known and declared that the poor have no right to the property of the rich, I wish it also to be known and declared that the rich have no right to the property of the poor.” — Smart Bee

Even if we leave aside all the myriad of reasons that Mitt is unqualified for the position of POTUS, and, my use of the word myriad is both intentional and accurate, his sheer arrogance and lack of sincerity should be enough to convince people of his unsuitability for the office. There are literally thousands of reasons not to give this egregious fool such great power, all of which indicate he would abuse that power from day one. But none of those reasons even matter…. to me, his greatest point of detraction is that he is, plain and simple, an asshole, or, as is sometimes used in lieu of that word, a dick….

Actually he is both an asshole and a dick, as those words are commonly defined. The running mate he chose is a perfect indicator of how little he cares about the voters, other than what they can do for him, not the other way around. Pauly, the Lyin’ Ryan is, if anything, a bigger asshole than Romney, though he might not be as big a dick, and is no more ashamed of it than his ostensible boss. Each of them is a bare-faced liar. Each of them displays the compassion and sincerity of a sub-lieutenant in Satan’s Army, on a good day. Each of them (Romney & Ryan) is motivated by simple greed, and the desire for power, and, of course, the wish to be handed the keys to the national treasury.

Both have been manipulating the system since their well-funded time in college; neither has ever even held a job that could be considered an actual job; they’ve been sucking at the public teat for their entire adult lives. Now, they are making their grab for the ultimate prize for a thief…. the keys to the national treasury, handed over by ignorant voters who buy into their lies, because they think that these two pieces of white bread will save them from the scary black man as President…. They are counting very heavily on the racist fears of part of the population to carry the tide of victory in their direction; moreover, they are feeding that fear as much as they can, with constant lies and misrepresentations, without even the illusory benefit of sincerity….

As we all know, I could rant about these two all morning, but there are things I need to do today, even though it is Sunday, and I don’t want to spend any more time stirring up shit, even though the shit is only what clings to the Republican ticket every time one of them opens their mouths to spit out another lie….. But, we’ll get on with the day, and try to find something more positive to do…. Just make sure y’all get out there and vote on November 6th, ffolkes, we need to show these assholes that there are more of us than there are of them, and we still have the vote on our side…..

“If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and measures you want to vote for… But there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.” — Lazarus Long

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

After the old rant above, only one of my poems is appropriate; it’s kind of silly, but, I like it. Why wouldn’t I?…..

Geezer to Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks.
They talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.

“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.

Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

12/23/2012

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

Naked pearls

A pearl of balance, about Life, lived well…

“Dream as if you’ll live forever.
Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.

~~ James Dean ~~

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

“It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

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

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point
than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.”

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

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

“Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to none.”

~~ William Shakespeare ~~

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

Virtue could see to do what virtue would
By her own radiant light, though sun and moon
Were in the flat sea sunk. And Wisdom’s self
Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude,
Where with her best nurse Contemplation
She plumes her feathers and lets grow her wings,
That in the various bustle of resort
Were all-to ruffled, and sometimes impair’d.
He that has light within his own clear breast
May sit i’ th’ centre and enjoy bright day;
But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts
Benighted walks under the midday sun.

~~ John Milton — Comus, Line 373 ~~

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

“He who learns but does not think, is lost!
He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”

~~ Confucius~~

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

“If you love the sacred and despise the ordinary,
you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.”

~~ Lin-Chi ~~

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

“Be strange… it’s cool out there.”

~~ Hunter S. Bee ~~

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

“Dream as if you’ll live forever.
Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.

~~ James Dean ~~

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

Gee, that was fun…. Really, it was. But, it’s over now, so, in the words of Death from yesterday’s final pearl, I guess I’ll put the chair up, shut out the lights, & lock the door on the way out…. See y’all tomorrow, if they don’t shut off my power….. Bill’s paid, so we’re good to go….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

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

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