Is late REALLY better than never?….

Posted on December 18, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“You can never beat anything that fights laying on its back.”

~~ Sifu Bee ~~

The Huntress Returns Home with her Prey….

Hajime…. This is going to posted late; my body is making up for lost sleep time these days, I guess. I’m sleeping a lot, which is by no means a complaint. I’ll testify, anytime, anywhere, ’tis far better than the alternative of no sleep at all…. It means I’ll again have to adjust my hours of operation, which will annoy Leelu; cats are not good with changes to their environment, or routines, as we know. Ah well, what’s a few more scratches among the multitude, eh?

Golly, (and, isn’t THAT a fine old expression!), now I’m lost, both already and again. If it were a novelty, I could claim ignorance; since it’s not, I’ll just cop to it, and get on with the rest of today’s mess, such as it is. I spent much of the day yesterday thinking it was today; I guess all the Tardis use has gotten my time sense a bit skewed. Since that’s so, I’ll cut today’s intro short (Leelu is also demanding attention, which will slow this process a bit….)

I fired Luigi, and Guido, & sold the plane. We’re going to go with tech toys from now on, so, you may not notice the transitions so much; there is much less turbulence when traveling as molecular particles, though there IS always the (slight) risk of them not re-coalescing into the correct configuration; if you nose ends up where your belly button used to be, well, just file the forms when we get back, and it shouldn’t take more than a day of two for the charms to return you to normal….

That said, let’s get this slow on the toad….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.” — Socrates

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

I’m late, and, grumpy, for unknown reasons, so, we’re going with something soothing. Don’t know exactly what, but, it WILL be a classical piece. So be it.

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Symphony # 40 in G minor
W.A. Mozart

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https://youtu.be/2HbMzu1aQW8

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What you own is your own kingdom
What you do is your own glory
What you love is your own power
What you live is your own story…

You don’t get something for nothing
You can’t have freedom for free
You won’t get wise
with the sleep still in your eyes
No matter what your dream might be.

— N. Peart

I decided last night to spare y’all the burden of another rant. The world, as we know it, has gone to shit, but, I don’t feel like talking about it today…. Instead, I am reposting two items which are related. The first is a picture of The Desiderata, (Google is still there, if you don’t recognize it…. for the history of the document; you’ll see it below), to which I was first exposed during my first year of college, the same year I was introduced to the Tao Teh Ching, and the very great pleasure of wine-tasting and appreciation. At 17, and a long-time, voracious reader, all three had a very deep effect on me, and my future….

I’ve read, at times, and heard people say The Desiderata is not all its made out to be; it was only written in the first part of the twentieth century, AD, but, they say, it pretends to a much older wisdom, by its tone of positive assertion in all its pronouncements. To that I say, so what? As far as I know, the author never made a big deal about it; he admitted it was a summary of all humanity had learned about living, from one viewpoint only. I don’t give a shit what ‘they’ say; if it is merely a compendium, so the fuck what? Claiming it is so doesn’t alter the truth, or the wisdom, of any part of it I remember reading, so, I say it is the truth, verified by my own experience, in living a full life for 65 years, so far….

The second item is related because everything in it is a result of my experience, my reading, and, any degree of understanding I may have achieved about Life, and being human…. It’s Peruaosophy, of course, my own philosophy of what Doug Adams calls 42…. Life, the Universe, and Everything. I first wrote it at age 20 or 30, and have added only one axiom since that time. Regardless of any humorous expressions in it you may find, I am serious as a dead baby about trying to live according to these precepts….

Enjoy, ffolkes; if there is anything in Life that isn’t covered in one of these two documents, well, I just plain don’t know what it is…. Let me know if y’all think of anything, and, we’ll see if we can adjust it as needed…. You tell me. First, the Desiderata……

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Peruaosophy

The wisdom of pearls…
(The world is my oyster; which way to the pearls?)

Axioms

1) I think I am; that’s close enough.

2) The nature of the Universe is Change.
Unpredictable, innovative transformation of Reality is the Norm.
If you have a problem with this, you’re in for a rough ride in Life.

3) Thou art God, you know. Let’s do lunch.

4) Excellence is its own reward.

5) Girls think differently. So do boys. Don’t fight it.

6) Axiom #2 X axiom #5 = And god so loved the world, she said, “Quit whining!”

7) Do your Duty. Respect Life. Honor the Truth. Share your Love.

8) Go back. Everything you need to know is in the first seven axioms.

gigoid

For the record, upon re-reading, and in light of recent strengthening of a certain class of evidence, two letters in the above statements have been changed from previous versions, to make it more closely reflect my current thoughts on all of this….. Anyone spotting it, shh. Anyone who wishes to ask about which letters, may do so in the comment section below. Doesn’t mean I’ll tell you, but, it doesn’t really matter, as it won’t be going back to the way it was, and, if you REALLY must know, it’s been posted before, so, eventually, Google would find it for you, somewhere in the four years of my archives….

So be it.

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I’m tired of my own poetry. Here is somebody else’s…. Don’t worry, I just wrote it so brusquely because I wrote it before picking anything…. Rather than putting on your metaphorical smarty-pants, though, put on the real ones…. You may need them….

The Statesman’s Holiday

I LIVED among great houses,
Riches drove out rank,
Base drove out the better blood,
And mind and body shrank.
No Oscar ruled the table,
But I’d a troop of friends
That knowing better talk had gone
Talked of odds and ends.
Some knew what ailed the world
But never said a thing,
So I have picked a better trade
And night and morning sing:
Tall dames go walking in grass-green Avalon.

Am I a great Lord Chancellor
That slept upon the Sack?
Commanding officer that tore
The khaki from his back?
Or am I de Valera,
Or the King of Greece,
Or the man that made the motors?
Ach, call me what you please!
Here’s a Montenegrin lute,
And its old sole string
Makes me sweet music
And I delight to sing:
Tall dames go walking in grass-green Avalon.

With boys and girls about him.
With any sort of clothes,
With a hat out of fashion,
With Old patched shoes,
With a ragged bandit cloak,
With an eye like a hawk,
With a stiff straight back,
With a strutting turkey walk.
With a bag full of pennies,
With a monkey on a chain,
With a great cock’s feather,
With an old foul tune.
Tall dames go walking in grass-green Avalon.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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This pearl is about mindfulness…. Trust me. Or, not; your choice. You are, after all, human, and that is the one and only power we have in this universe…. On that, trust isn’t required; it’s in your contract.

“Friends should be preferred to kings.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

**********

“There are two ways of teaching people:
You can teach them how to think, or you can teach them what to think.
Socrates taught people how to think,
Jesus taught people what to think….
and look what happened to them.”

~~ Mindful Bee ~~

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“It happens in an hour, that happens not in seven years.”

~~ Proverb ~~

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“Some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you.”

~~ Ancient Sage Bee ~~

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“Descartes thought an animal,
that couldn’t talk couldn’t think,
or so he taught,
but to surmise,
my cat thinks otherwise.”

~~ sig of Glyn Hanton ~~

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“I can do a score of things that can’t be done.
I can find a thing I cannot see, and see a thing I cannot find.
The first is time, and the second is spots before my eyes.
I can touch a thing I cannot feel, and feel a thing I cannot touch.
The first is your heart, and the second is sad and sorry.”

~~James Thurber, “The Thirteen Clocks” ~~

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“On the whole human beings want to be good,
but not too good and not quite all the time.”

~~ George Orwell, collected essays ~~

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“Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.”

~~ Baltasar Gracian ~~

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“Don’t let the same dog bite you twice.”

~~ Chuck Berry ~~

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Boy, do I need a cat trainer! Ah, well, soon enough is soon, so, we’ll just take our leave now, so I can go treat these wounds from my rather annoyed 7-pound Princess/familiar…. See y’ll tomorrow, ffolkes, come what may…..

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….

Apocalyptic party favors, on toast….

Posted on December 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A religious conservative is a fanatic about a dead radical.”

~~ Observant Bee ~~

I DON’T want to know….

Leelu in Denial

Hajime…. One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in my life, as it must be in every life, is to be willing to be patient, when a desired goal, or the completion of a chosen duty, requires us to wait for more than a little while to achieve our desire…. A fancy psychiatrist would label such a task as “delayed gratification”, and would charge you outrageous prices to listen to you while you explore your own psyche to find the key to making it one of your skills. Or, one may, as I found to be useful, learn to watch, and observe the world without judging what I saw, until there was some sort of clear result I could identify, and use for myself, if warranted.

In short, by the age of, oh, four, or five, I had figured out it’s a better thing to be patient, say, to get somewhere where a wall is in the way, rather than get angry at the wall. By waiting, and watching I could learn how others dealt with the wall…. I found, every time, one of them would know a good way around, or over, or through the wall without any difficulty…. The waiting part was filled up watching most people bang their heads against the wall, thinking, by doing so, it would move out of their way…. The wall won that argument every time…. No brainer, even for a four-year-old hairless ape….

Over the years, the patience begun to learn then was often reinforced by other life-lessons, always with the same results, as well as the same average number of people who never learned the lesson…. Not all do, by any means…. Many who do, don’t use the skill for good reasons; it is nonetheless effective for them than it is for those who do use it honorably….. But, sadly, many people, whom I would consider to be more cunning than intelligent, become patient, and crafty, and thus are successful in taking advantage of the less so…. Far too many of them become lawyers, or preachers, or politicians, or ‘cops’, or/and other categories of human activity which attract those who have more ego than integrity…..

Now, at this point, you may predictably and appropriately ask, what the devil does all this have to do with Pearls of Virtual Wisdom?…. Good grief, ffolkes! Y’all have been here enough to know better; it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with any of that. It was just me, wandering around on the keyboard, following a train of thought, to take up this space so I don’t really have to think up anything new….. How’m I doin’?…

Good. Speechless is exactly what I was shooting for…. Now that’s done, we can get this slow on the toad, and, leave, too, for the oyster beds, where, hopefully, I will/have/wouldn’t dare find some damn fine pearls for our morning, or whenever, consumption, digestion, and, well, the rest of that alimentary shit….

Hah! Guido! Fire it up and get me/us out of here; I don’t think we should wait for anyone who isn’t on board already. We won’t have time to frisk them….

Shall we Pearl?….

“You mean now I can SHOOT YOU in the back and further BLUR th’ distinction between FANTASY and REALITY?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Jerry & David

Image from YouTube.com via Google Images

Back in the day, after CSN&Y stopped playing as a band exclusively, David Crosby started a project, recording sessions with a number of rock musicians/songwriters/performers of the era…. The band/project was named PERRO, an acronym for the Planet Earth Rock & Roll Orchestra…. This is one of the sessions, with at least one, and, no doubt, more than one, of the best of the best playing along…. I listened to the beginning, which is an instrumental piece showing off some pretty hot licks and outbursts of joyous noise…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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Jerry Garcia & David Crosby The Perro Sessions – circa 1971

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https://youtu.be/WELRag-wuwo

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“Humanity has in the course of time had to endure from the hands of science two great outrages upon its naive self-love. The first was when it realized that our earth was not the center of the universe, but only a speck in a world-system of a magnitude hardly conceivable… The second was when biological research robbed man of his particular privilege of having been specially created, and relegated him to a descent from the animal world.” — Sigmund Freud

Dr. Siggy makes a good point in this; like much of what he said, it was, and is, ignored by most people. Some of his thoughts, on human nature, and, psychiatry, were dead wrong, but, mostly, he was a minutely accurate observer of people’s behaviors, and, an astute analyst of the flaws in the nature expressed by those acts. The blow to the human ego that all men felt when the knowledge of which he speaks became public, was so deep, our society is still reeling from the impact. The human ego is so powerfully motivated by belief, it finds it extremely difficult to NOT protect the ego’s delusions, of which it has many, by using the imagination, or, simple denial, to keep the truth of reality from ever entering the consciousness….

This, naturally, has, for a long time, caused numerous problems for people, which continue to the present; problems in their relations with each other on both a personal level, and, on a societal level…. It is clear, obviously so, to me, this flaw in our nature, the inability to put aside ego in favor of reality’s demands, is at the root of practically every issue we face today…. However, I am not in the mood to explore that flaw, or its implications, at this time. So, we’ll go back about a year and a half to a discussion of the effects of this on society, as it exists today, written fresh (mostly) on that date…. It’s a pretty good one, so, bear with the length, if you will….

From 4/17/2014:

“A government that fears its people is a government that should be feared.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10769041/The-US-is-an-oligarchy-study-concludes.html

“The US government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country’s citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern Universities has concluded.”

My initial reaction to this opening line from the article to which the link leads was, “Oh. Really? How droll….” In case it’s unclear, that is sarcasm….
My second thought was, “Duh…”, because, well, hey, no-brainer, right? It’s only obvious, and has been since the 1850’s, when the “military-industrial complex” became a real person, at least in the courts….. The third thought that went through my mind was, “Why did I have to read this on the front page of a BRITISH news paper, while never having seen a single article on the report from an American news outlet?”

But, then, hey, oligarchy, right? That means the elite, the rich, the BRC, or, as I’m fond of calling them, the Asininnies, don’t want to hear about it, so, none of the news outlets THEY control will ever show that report, or, if they do, it certainly won’t be on the front page…. Any more than they wish to have ANY of their shenanigans paraded in front of the public eye; they’re well aware of how badly the rest of the country would react to that, if the notion that they were oppressing the rest of us, and worse, shamelessly lying about it all, ever became a common perception….

I could spend a few paragraphs here, detailing to you just how they lie, or relating just how often, and how completely these assholes are fucking over the rest of society…. but, it isn’t necessary, when such a plain and obvious indictment is right there in front of me, a report that does nothing if not confirm what I’ve been trying to get across to the people out there who need to know, for a long time now….

“Elections amount to little more than choosing between the scum that floats to the top of the barrel and the dregs that settle to the bottom.” — L. Neil Smith

The perverted masters of society, consisting of that 1% who control the money and resources of our planet, usurped our system of government within DAYS of the signing of the Constitution, and have continued to solidify their control for the last 240 years since that event…. Their biggest victories have come from their purchases, which gave them exclusive possession of the souls and loyalty of the judges in the federal court system, first in the early 1800’s, then, later, to the huge win in the middle of that century, when corporations were first declared to have the same rights as real people, a decision which ensures the establishment in society of the legal precedents that ensure their complete control….

What normal, real person, with merely their own skills and efforts as resources, can compete, monetarily, or time-wise, with a corporation, to buy the loyalty of congress and the courts? Only its owners, or the owners of other governments, er, corporations, who have the resources to contest what they wish, can hope to supply any restraint upon what they desire…. No average person has the time or resources to spend on any issue that a corporation can bring to bear, thus guaranteeing the common man’s views will NEVER take precedence in the courts….

It ain’t a particularly pretty picture, ffolkes, but, it IS an accurate description of modern reality…. more than we could hope, and certainly more than we could ever need, or want…. but, accurate, nonetheless….

Enough so to thoroughly disgust me, to the point I’m not going to rant any more…. I’m getting too worked up…. I can feel my blood pressure going up as I type, never a good thing….. So, we’ll switch modes, and go find some pearls with which to round out this discussion, hopefully with some humor, or at the very least, some bloodthirsty accusations of perversion against those assholes who think we are not on to them….. Enjoy!….

“Hope is very dangerous….” — Servalan

(In our society, it is not merely dangerous, it is toxic….)

“After 2% of the vote is in, the networks tell us who won. It makes the other 99% of us feel a bit unnecessary… How come the networks are so good at picking the presidential winner, and so bad at picking hit shows?” — Smart Bee

(You don’t think they have information they’re not sharing with us, do you? Nah…. of course not…. Why would they do that?….)

(If you believe that, I have a wonderful opportunity for you, a chance to own the biggest bridge in New York, for a very nominal price…. Cash only, no checks….)

“When neither their poverty nor their honor is touched, the majority of men live content.” — Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)

(This is required learning in the schools that produce the fleets of lawyers who inhabit the halls of government…. Check it out sometime, how ALL the actions our leaders take are designed to keep from arousing the public’s ire, by avoiding the stimulation implied in this rule codified by The Prince….)

“There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan

“All military type firearms are to be handed in immediately… The SS, SA and Stahlhelm give every respectable German man the opportunity of campaigning with them. Therefore anyone who does not belong to one of the above named organisations and who unjustifiably nevertheless keeps his weapon… must be regarded as an enemy of the national government.” — SA Oberfuhrer of Bad Tolz, March, 1933

(I keep expecting to see a bill with this wording hit the floor of the House any time now, with a few minor changes to reflect the passage of time…. Every time there is another random shooting in this country, the pundits break out something like this to put through Congress, in the deluded hope that it might change something, which they refuse to believe cannot be changed, without changing human nature….)

“All you have to do is… Spot The Looney!” — Monty Python

(A very apt description of the voting process here in ‘murrica….) (Addendum from2015: Everywhere else. too, it seems…)

“Being against torture ought to be sort of a bipartisan thing.” — Karl Lehenbauer

(One would think this is true, until you actually look at what they are DOING, instead of what they are SAYING….)

“Faith: not wanting to know what is true.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)

(Another fine delineation of how the voting process works in the oligarchy we call home…. Plus, do you see how smoothly this dovetails in with what the preachers preach from their pulpits?…. Funny how that works, eh?….)

Okay, so that’s eight pearls, an even number, which will never do…. We’ll go with one last pearl, in what I know to be a futile attempt to bring one of them down for good…. I’ll try to make it a good one, a fitting finish to an epic melding of irritated ranting and old school pearling….

“For in religion as in friendship, they who profess most are ever the least sincere.” — Sheridan

(I probably don’t need to make this suggestion, but, since when do I listen or pay attention to crap like that? You can substitute the word “politics” for “friendship” in this, without changing or reducing its validity…. which is why it’s here….)

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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 ~~

9/12/2012

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Snoopy’s Dance of Joy

Image from pinterest.com via Google Images

Today’s final, old-school pearl is rather special, in a way…. I chose a new icon for this kind of pearl, which I can only call unique. The message, to me, is perfectly clear, as the choice of icon will be, once you have begun the process. If it isn’t clear to you, don’t worry. Just read them all, let them roll around in your head a while, and you’ll begin the dance…..

“Every creature has within him the wild, uncontrollable urge to PUNT.”– Snoopy, aka Charles Schultz (Some sources say this is Unknown; trust me, I know
Snoopy….)

“What I like is when you’re looking and thinking and looking and thinking… and suddenly you wake up.” — Hobbes

“All I can say is that if, whenever you are asked where you live, you seize yourself by the throat and start choking, it is apt to cause comment” — R. Hull

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

“With one long breath, caught and held in his chest, he fought his sadness over his solitary life. Don’t cry you idiot! Live or die, but don’t poison everything…” — Saul Bellow

A process which led from amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously progress, though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known.” — Bertrand Russell

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” — Mark Twain

“How infinitely superior to our physical senses are those of the mind! The spiritual eye sees not only rivers of water but of air. It sees the crystals of the rock in rapid sympathetic motion, giving enthusiastic obedience to the sun’s rays, then sinking back to rest in the night. The whole world is in motion to the center. So also sounds. We hear only woodpeckers and squirrels and the rush of turbulent streams. But imagination gives us the sweet music of tiniest insect wings, enables us to hear, all around the world, the vibration of every needle, the waving of every bole and branch, the sound of stars in circulation like particles in the blood. The Sierra canyons are full of avalanche debris – we hear them boom again, and we read the past sounds from present conditions. Again we hear the earthquake rock-falls. Imagination is usually regarded as a synonym for the unreal. Yet is true imagination healthful and real, no more likely to mislead than the coarse senses. Indeed, the power of imagination makes us infinite.” — John Muir, American Naturalist (1838-1914)

“All poets are mad.”

~~ Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy ~~

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All I can say, ffolkes, is, Whew! I’m almost not glad I’m done today; it all came out just how I like it best. Ugly and real, yet, with a certain charm one is forced to acknowledge, only due in small part to the (small caliber) weapons pointed at you…. Think of it as more like fungus; it grows on one.

Okay, I’ll stop. It was just too much fun; cathartic, even purgative, in a gentle way (ALWAYS preferable, trust me; I know. No shit. Well, not currently, but, oh, well never mind. I said I’d stop….).

SIGH. I’m done now. I’ll go. Really, I will, just as soon as I get this one last, traditional failure-guaranteed, final attempt to get ANYONE at all to at least smile out of my head; it’s best, believe me. Would I lie? That way, I don’t let it out on some poor sap on the street, when they aren’t expecting it….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I have to hack into somebody’s server farm…. Hah!…. (Boy, that was bad. Can I have another one? No? Oh, okay. Bye for now….)

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

No arguing, or it’s okra for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner…

Posted on December 7, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Follow it and you will not see its back.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

Mountainous ice shoreline on Pluto

Image by NASA via the New Horizons Spacecraft

Hajime…. Today, I’d like to begin with a paean. Don’t worry, context will let you figure it out, if’n you don’t already know. It’s a paean to people, of course, because, hey, people here, myownself. And, I don’t even care if my, or your, spellchecker hates that word. It’s not very many people, so it’s not a very big paean, but, it IS sincere, so, I have to do it. I’m funny like that, I guess….

I LOVE these people. Quite simply, and, quite truly. I’ve never met any of them in the flesh, yet I know of them, and their lives, their ideas, their families, just as they know mine, by having read their blog for more than four years, minimum; the reverse, naturally is true. There are about forty or fifty people I still see regularly, perhaps more, and, always some newbies.

These ffolkes, on the other hand, have been here every day they were healthy enough to be at a computer, or were otherwise prevented by simple non-access to the Net. They, of course know who they are, so I don’t have to say it; all I want to say is, I love you, and thanks for being. I’m old enough now to know there are never any wrong times to tell those you love that you do; how many times have you passed up the chance?

I try not to pass them up when I think of it, and, this paean of gratitude, and sappy emotional stuff that DOES count in the final Quiz, is for them, the people I consider my WordPress family….. May whatever light is left in the world shine on all of us, for as long as we can hold the darkness at bay…..

Now, you may wonder what prompted today’s emotional outburst, other than the PTSD I live with each day? Well, easy. I wrote a Haiku. That’s all. It’s a damn good one, and, it’s placed where it happened when it leaked out of whatever part of my brain had been holding it. You’ll see, if you’re strong enough; it’s not really hidden, just put where it has to be. It was prompted by two things, yesterday’s Pearl title, and, the sight of one of the aforementioned family friends icon appearance, from where I know he lives, across the world…. I had to smile, and, there it was, right in front of me… Trust me, it’s a good haiku….

So, how’m I doing with the new, mysterious intro technique? Is it holding your interest? No? Ah. Oh, well. ‘S okay, we’re done here anyway. Even if YOU aren’t dazed and confused, I certainly am, so, we’re good to go. Luigi has been practicing, because he heard what a good job Guido did while he was off on his vacay…. Let’s see if it takes…. Luigi! Let’s do it!…. Hang on, ffolkes; I’m a little nervous myself, if the first paragraphs didn’t clue you….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.”

~~ Robert Heinlein ~~

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Wolfie

Image from sumwear.com via Google Images

Whenever I experience my deepest moments of personal darkness, I turn to the music of this man, and, in particular, this piece. Some consider it the finest music anyone in our species ever created; I am not judge enough to say. All I can say is, listen, and enjoy…. If you don’t, well, you might consider joining another species….

I’ve included only one video version, but, two links. The second is to a longer version, written and recorded on a separate You Tube page. Enjoy either, or both, your choice…..

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Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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https://youtu.be/o1FSN8_pp_o

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https://youtu.be/Hp3SKP2fji4

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Le Penseur ~ The Thinker ~~ August Rodin

“Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth.” — H.L. Mencken

I knew there was a reason I liked Henry’s work; it appears his mind and mine traveled on some very familiar paths in our personal journey in search of the Truth. This statement is one I could have easily made myself, if he hadn’t already said it over a hundred years ago. But, I will happily agree with every point he makes in it, without reservation, and with absolutely no regret….. Should anyone, anyone at all, take umbrage thereby, well, all I can say to them would be, tough shit. It’s the plain and simple truth, so, deal with it. Or, shut up….. Oh, sorry, forgot one part…. Put up, or, shut up….

Sorry, don’t mean to be rude; I do get tired of fundies, who can shout anything except an actual thought of their own, and, it seems they all have some sort of religion. I know, strange, huh? To think, in this day and age, people still fall for that stuff…. I’m sure glad I don’t have to put up with it too often any more….. Okay, I’ll stop, I know it’s getting deep. But, I think y’all know of whom I speak, and if not, well, I can point you to a human representation, not even a religious figure, but, one who has utilized and perfected ALL of the same sort of sleight of hand language and outright lying to fool people into believing what they say…. Any politician would do as an example, especially in this year’s GOP crop, but, of them all, the Trumpette is probably the absolute worst example I can think of, showing what a dildo a human being can become, by living their lives completely on illusion.

SIGH…. I remarked recently to a fairly intelligent doctor I met, “You know, reason is losing the battle.” He just smiled & said, “I know what you mean….”

‘Ere you go. You know, that’s probably enough of a rant for one day. If I get any takers to my challenge, I can make it a piece for this section at a later date. Hmm…. not much, is it? Oh, okay, maybe a few pearls, just to fill up the space…. We’ll see what we can find on the BRC, or one of the categories of Asininny we use…. Ooh, ooh, I know! I found an old pearl, from the early days here on ECR, and it’s perfect as an accompaniment for today’s rantless rant….. It’s one of my finest older pearls, and I hope you enjoy it. It takes some nasty shots at the BRC…. Most of it is from our old friend, SB, since he’s a pretty Smart Bee….

From 9/4/2012:

So there I am, cruising along in the database, and all these little pieces of observational excellence from Smart Bee keep popping up in my face. I figure that he (Smart Bee) must have something he wants to get across to the readership out there, and who am I to argue. If I don’t do this, I could spend years trying to find a new quote there…. Smart Bee is very insistent when he gets a wild hair like this…. So, just follow the bouncing thought ball to the conclusion that is most obvious….

Sex! Lies! Drugs! Money! Power! Corruption! Man, I love Congress! — Smart Bee

Gun Control – the belief that government, with its great wisdom and moral superiority, can be trusted with a monopoly on deadly force. — Smart Bee

It has been determined that most teenage girls lose their virginity during the summer months. This stands to reason, since congress is recessed at that time. — Smart Bee

Vote Democrat. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee

Vote Republican. It’s easier than thinking. — Smart Bee (honest, both are in there….)

Congressional National Bank. Ours bounce higher and farther! — Smart Bee

“Crime does not pay … as well as politics.” — Alfred E. Newman

That should get the proper point across…. you may now smash face on keyboard to continue……

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Comedy_Tragedy

Today’s poem was written only recently, but, fits in so well with the apparent theme for today (which is never obvious until I’m nearly done), I couldn’t resist using it again. It’s a lamentation of current reality, thus, perfectly complements the rest of the Pearl…. Enjoy!….

Adjectives of Quality ~~ Bloody Friday

A baleful lump of ironic introspection
sits upon my shoulder today
leaving traces of fey reflection
with a smattering of true dismay.

Resistance may be futile, many have said,
belief didn’t necessarily follow.
Abnegation of fear marks all bills paid,
leaving such empty threats hollow.

Symbolic courage never sleeps so deeply
as when delusion holds sway.
Bartered virtue, sold far too cheaply,
stands in shame, until honor fades away.

Too many culprits exist to count just one;
all of us bear obvious blame.
Evil is as evil does, only, when it’s done,
it begins again, all same-same.

Nobody seems to care enough to deny the lies.
Ignorant fear rules humanity’s masses.
When evil passes unremarked, innocence dies;
silence equals guilt, leaving only hope’s ashes.

Reality screams; tales of terror unfold,
flames fanned with purposeful malice,
insidious dangers hide beneath atrocity untold
as Gaia weeps into an empty chalice.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/3/2015

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Our final pear for today is old-school, as always. This one came out a little strange; it wanders around through a number of currently problematic issues in society, while still managing to describe reality as it is, and should be….. proving the ultimate lesson to be learned about reality, to wit: it is what it is, and that’s all it is….. Enjoy!…..

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

~~ Picasso ~~

“Humor is the best antidote to reality.” — Funny Bee

“There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year’s course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” — Carl Jung

“You must be either the master or the servant, the hammer or the anvil.” — Goethe

“It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.” — Voltaire

“That God is not other than the universe…does not diminish God but rather elevates the universe….those who choose to make an attempt to overcome their egoism find their efforts aided by forces outside their conscious control….the movement toward self-realization is inherent to the structure of the universe….The Mayhayana Dharmakaya radiates love and compassion to all, impersonally like the sun.” — David Loy

“I … reject the argument put forth by many fundamentalists that science has nothing to do with religion because God is not among the things making up the universe in which we live. Surely if a necessity for a god-concept in the universe ever turns up, that necessity will become evident to the scientist. “– physicist Ralph Alpher, Theology of the Big Bang, Religious Humanism, Vol. XVII, No. 1 (Winter 1983), pg. 12

“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv

Mind Food

Lies can taste very
good sometimes. But the truth can
fill you up, always.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/6/2015

(for Ashi-san)

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It’s a little bit of a bother lately; it seems my routine must alter itself, to become accustomed, again, to sleeping on a regular basis. Who knew one could completely destroy, or at least, ignore, our circadian rhythms so strongly? I had apparently become used to being up 24/7, and am finding it a bit of a struggle to fit sleep into the picture…. Oh, well, I guess I’ll get back to normal, some day…. Or, as close as I’ve ever been to normal, anyway, which, to be honest, isn’t terribly close…. In fact, I’ve never even been in the same room with normal, so, it should be a new experience….

See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I’d call it a promise, but, some might take it as a threat, so, we’ll just leave it alone, and say, 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….

Some fava beans and a nice Chianti….

Posted on December 2, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Wisdom begins in wonder.”

~~ Socrates ~~

Galway Streets

Entrance to the Spanish Arch

Galway, Ireland

Hajime…. As y’all know from previous Pearls, the word, ‘hajime’ is Japanese, meaning, “begin” or, “beginning”. It is spoken to two judoka, or karateka, as the word to start a match between them. I use it here, simply because it brings me a small bit of focus, merely to speak it in my head. I need the focus, because this is a special Pearl, in some ways. Two events occurred today to break the monotony of my semi-reclusive existence, as I fight my way past the issues I’ve been facing all year. One I’ll relate just below, in this section; the other will serve as today’s rant replacement for that section. First, the SECOND event, in terms of when they happened; the first resulted in the second…. You’ll see..

Surviving a near-death experience somehow makes the day go by a little more quickly, it seems. Why, look! Here it is, a little past midnight on another sleepless night, and I’ve already been nearly dead, only talking myself out of allowing myself to die because it simply would have been too embarrassing to have been found in the position in which I was almost destined to succumb. Fortunately, my breath was so bad, and I was laughing so damn hard, Death’s Handmaiden wouldn’t kiss me, so I had to get up and carry on…

I know that isn’t the most detailed or illuminating passage; ‘s okay, it wasn’t intended to be. Here is where I tell you what happened, so we can get on with the rest of this mess. First, let me stamp your papers, then we won’t have to do it later. Good, just line up over there and let the scanner pass over the bar code attached to your forehead at the gate. Thank you for your cooperation and sheepleness….

Okay, obligatory insult’s done…. Here’s what happened: Leelu the Magicat performed an act of extraordinary skill, bravery, and nobility (I kid you not: I’ve got graphic proof…). It seems I’ve been adopted by a five-month old cat superhero/sorceress/warrior princess, all rolled into one. To reward her for her act of selflessness, I began to play with her, throwing her favorite old chewed up piece of crumpled paper for her to fetch.

Because my shoulder was stiff, I made a terrible throw, which disappeared near some furniture, hidden well enough she couldn’t puzzle out where it ended up, though she’s usually good at that. I went to see, and saw it had, ironically enough, found it’s way into the most inaccessible spot in the room, behind a chair, and a table, with a box in the way, right in the corner of the room. I had to laugh at my own bozoid throw, as I was in a LOT of pain, and retrieving it was bound to be difficult…. Sure enough, getting down to stretch out where I could reach it put me in a very odd position, and I began to laugh even harder, feeling the irony and ridiculousness of my position….

Then, I had another vision, of having a heart attack where I was, from laughing so hard, and being found there, in that absurd position, into which I’d gotten myself to play with a cat. I know autopsy techniques are sophisticated enough to show I had died from laughing, so, the whole world would probably hear about, and laugh themselves silly at the bozoid nature of my demise. That vision made me laugh so damn hard, I almost fulfilled it…. Only the sheer fear of that embarrassment kept me from choking right there, killed by my own stupidity.

There, that should get the day begun on the correct note. Always good to start with a keen appreciation of the depths of foolishness we can encounter in this reality, I find. Well, sometimes I find it; other times, not so well. Well enough today, though, we can skip all the normal foolishness, of which we have a nearly never-ending supply, to get on down the page to find out what Leelu did…. Guido’s still on duty; something’s up with Luigi…. Any who, he’ll get us to the beds on time, if we let him get going, so….. have a seat, & we’ll be on our way…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive.” — C. W. Leadbeater

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Traffic

Image from alamy.com via Google Images

woodstock-20-600x450

Woodstock

Image from michaelbaisdennow.com via Google Images

I believe the pictures say all that needs said regarding this performance. Enjoy!…..

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Traffic @ Woodstock

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https://youtu.be/N0tf8FIPZsw

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“In a war of ideas, it is people who get killed.”

~~ Stanislaus J. Lec ~~

Ha! You thought you’d see Leelu here, didn’t you? Don’t worry, you will. The above is just the quote I’d chosen to springboard for today’s rant (hate to verbify a noun, but, hey, it worked… expediency rules, right?); The Tale of Leelu begins now….

As I paced around yesterday, in the afternoon, I noticed Leelu staring oddly, with some focused fixation, at a spot near the wall on the kitchen floor. She watched it a while, when it struck me what I was seeing…. which you will see below, as corroboration of my tale…. You see, some of us cat people (Personally, I am both a cat AND dog person, but, I digress…. ) have known for a long time cats have unusual mental powers, which they use to protect our plane of existence, from attacks by nightmare creatures from other dimensions. Many millennia ago, in Egypt, Bastet gave all cats these powers as a gift to the planet’s creatures.

Cats can open, or close wormholes between the universes; this is how they can appear and disappear at will, often seemingly while looking right at them. Remember the actual true solution to the puzzle of Schrödinger’s Box; when the box is opened, the cat is neither dead, nor alive; it is gone. When they sense a wormhole opening, they watch to make sure no demons/nightmares get through before they can close it….

If she’s doing something else, you tell me….

Magic 012

Three minutes without moving….

Still watching after six minutes….

Taking a closer look….

Finishing the edges of the closure….

Relaxing after her efforts….

A well-earned rest….

So…. that’s how Leelu saved the universe yesterday. You never have to worry with a Magicat in the house…. even if one has a near-death experience while trying to reward her after her nap…. SIGH…. Hopefully, cats will never realize what Bozos we humans are; they’d leave us in a heartbeat….

See? Now, wasn’t that better than a rant….. Definitely less stress on the keyboard…. and, I hope you enjoyed it…. Just wait until I figure out how to upload videos from my camera…. won’t that be fun?

Leelu thinks so…. but, then, there isn’t much she doesn’t think is fun…. See ya….

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Sublimation

In the deepest, darkest hours of the night,
horror drapes the shadow of fear on a tortured mind.
Endless, hopeless, wave after wave of fright
weave a tapestry shroud, stifling, brutally unkind.

Fear, then pain, trade off in durance vile,
offering only blackness as a temporal guide.
No moments of clarity, no comfort, no guile
with no respite, nor any safe place to hide.

Hour after hour, time stops dead in its tracks,
the path back to sanity ends, no big surprise.
Every passing second becomes new hope, dashed,
while our remaining strength fades and dies.

God shall never be forgiven, nor ever praised.
No such pale, sad illusion can explain such reality.
Any reasonable chance for joy to be raised,
requires more than mere ghostly personality.

Hope isn’t needed if one finds the center of the soul;
all the answers we ever need are there.
Killing fear, creating joy in life, for these there’s no toll.
Love, friendship, & laughter, are ever the healthiest fare.

~~ gigoid ~~

12/1/2015

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More Naked Pearls

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“Speech is but broken light upon the depth
Of the unspoken.”

~~ George Eliot ~~

“Silence is evidence of a superb command of the language.” — Damn Smart Bee

“Courage atrophies from lack of use.” — Mindful Bee

“Friends should be preferred to kings.” — Voltaire

“Everyone thinks his own burden heavy.” — French Proverb

” Just as too much charity is the handiwork of a fool, so too much patience is the hallmark of a coward.” — Kabbalah

“Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.” — Margaret Lee Runbeck

“In’I no expect to be justified by the laws of men.” — Bob Marley

“How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one’s culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light.” — Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams

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Not too shabby for a long-term throw-together Pearl; I’ve certainly done worse. It gives me some hope for tomorrow, no matter how illogical that may be. Moreover, it allows me to once again say, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I’ve already made the reservations….

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….

ALL policies are foreign….

Posted on November 23, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Illusion is the first of all pleasures.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

Leelu, asserting her will….

Hajime….

Other than the fact I’ve been up now for six days, there’s no really good reason not to do this. Therefore, I’ll do it. I won’t, however, make any claims as to quality, or, for that matter, quantity. It’s here, it’s done, deal with it. I have to, so, you may as well. I’m also damn tired of coming up with new shit for this intro, so, fuck it. Let’s do this…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“It is the edge and temper of the blade that make a good sword, not the richness of the scabbard; and so it is not money or possessions that make man considerable, but his virtue.” — Seneca

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Antonio Vivaldi

Image from 8tracks.com via Google Images

Today’s musical selection is, without doubt, my favorite single piece of classical music. When I worked the night shift, this concerto got me through more hours than any other piece… Enjoy!….

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The Four Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi

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https://youtu.be/GRxofEmo3HA

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Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent

I’ve a fresh rant brewing, but, ’twasn’t done, and, besides, it’s been a tough night. I’ll sublimate, again, with a nice little discussion from the archives. Enjoy!….

From 4/17/2013:

“A thing is not proved because no one has ever questioned it…. Skepticism is the first step towards truth.” — Smart Bee

As I was cruising through Smart Bee this morning, looking for inspiration for section 3, I came across this little gem, unattributed. It sounds like it could have come from a number of different philosophers, all of whom are noted for their wisdom and perspicacity (another great word….). It is also a part of the human flaw that has contributed to many of the problems we face as a society, and as a species.

Actually, it might be more accurate to say that the lack of this in humans is part of the flaw; most people one talks to would not agree with this idea, as stated. In fact, it is directly opposed to the educational premises of many cultures, especially those heavily influenced by religions, such as those in Mexico, Central and South America, where Catholicism is a powerful factor in society, and in the governing of that society. India, and much of the Eastern Hemisphere, too, have societies that are heavily influenced by religion, though with more participant sects than is true in the Western Hemisphere; Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, to name a few, are always a contributing factor in the political events that have shaped history.

“The common dogma [of fundamentalists] is fear of modern knowledge, inability to cope with the fast change in a scientific-technological society, and the real breakdown in apparent moral order in recent years That is why hate is the major fuel, fear is the cement of the movement, and superstitious ignorance is the best defence against the dangerous new knowledge. When you bring up arguments that cast serious doubts on their cherished beliefs you are not simply making a rhetorical point, you are threatening their whole Universe and their immortality. That provokes anger and quite frequently violence.” — G Gaia

As a result of this influence, many people tend to reject skepticism, as it doesn’t fit in with what they have been taught, which is to never question anything told to them by persons in positions of authority. Churches tend to encourage this sort of attitude, as their outrageous claims of divinity, and supernatural events performed by their deities, do not stand up well to scrutiny by an objective eye. The leaders of the churches thus play right into the hands of the Beloved Ruling Class, as they counsel their flocks to obey worldly, temporal authority as readily as they are conditioned to obey the secular variety…..

“I just stepped on a factoid!” – Zippy the Pinhead

Thankfully, not all of humanity is defenseless against this sort of conditioning. There are many ffolkes out there who don’t buy into the sort of psychological blackmail being promulgated by the preachers, priests, imams, and shamans of all shapes and sizes around the world, and a large number of them seem to end up blogging, right here on WordPress…. So, I end up preaching to the choir pretty often. But, that’s okay, too, because I know that occasionally, one of those folks who do believe in what they are told, without any questions or doubts, will read this, and, if nothing else, will think about what I’ve said…. Who knows, maybe I’ll go viral, and the whole world will remember that WE ALL ARE GODS?”…… (Remember? Axiom # 3…. “Thou art God, you know…. Let’s do lunch….)

“Youth of today! Join me in a mass rally for traditional mental attitudes!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I suppose that’s a note from my subconscious, to let me know I’ve gone far enough off the rails for now, and should let these good people get on with their lives, rather than wandering around in mine…. Goodness knows where we’ll end up…. So, anyway, just remember to cultivate your sense of doubt, your “crap detector”, as it were, and never, ever take anything “on authority”, without tangible proof…. You’ll find Life to be less confusing that way; certainly, it makes it a lot easier to look yourself in the mirror in the morning…..

“This is patently absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities.” — Bertrand Russell

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Accentuated Lessons

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

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

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

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

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/27/2012.

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A slightly recalcitrant SB finally gave up a closing pearl for this one, an event it’s been putting off for twenty-some hours. I think it came out well; the final result makes the wait worthwhile for me. Enjoy, ffolkes….

“I must invent my own philosophical systems, or else be enslaved by other mens'” — William H. Blake

“I’m the one who’s got to die when its time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.” — Jimi Hendrix

“Is consciousness just a special form of hallucination?” — Frank Herbert

“The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. ravel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.” — Louis L’Amour, Ride the Dark Trail

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

“All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life. Then, even the holiest of words are only words.” — Deng Ming-Dao

I saw Eternity the other night,
Like a great ring of pure and endless light,
All calm, as it was bright;
And round beneath it,
Time in hours, days, years,
Driv’n by the spheres
like a vast shadow mov’d; in which the world
And all her train were hurl’d.

~~ Henry Vaughan ~~

~~ The World ~~

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This one is another testament to stubbornness, as much as anything else. Nonetheless, it’s done, and that’s all I care about. Especially at almost 2 AM. I guess I’ll go get it posted, and see if maybe I can fall out for an hour…. Fat chance. I will, however, be back tomorrow, regardless of whether or not Fate allows me to gather Morpheus’s boon to my breast….. Who needs sleep? Apparently, not 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….

Saved by the smell of a bell….

Posted on November 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion

— i.e., none to speak of.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of NGC 7049 in the constellation of Indus, in the southern sky. A family of globular clusters appears as glittering spots dusted around the galaxy halo. Astronomers study the globular clusters in NGC 7049 to learn more about its formation and evolution. The dust lanes, which appear as a lacy web, are dramatically backlit by the millions of stars in the halo of NGC 7049.

Constellation Indus, NGC 7049

Click to see enlarged image

Buenos dias, gente…. In my most egregiously avaricious dreams, I’ve never really wanted much; to live about 200 years, and, to see my kids happy is about what it has boiled down to. Beyond that, I’m pretty content with what I’ve got, and what I’ve always had…. Money, other than as a tool, has never entered into anything I’ve wanted. It’s probably due to having heard, somewhere from someone, before the age of 11, “If you wish a life of trouble, fill your house with treasure.” For some reason, that struck a chord in my young mind, so, I thought about it pretty long and hard, considering. The result was a firm conviction to never seek treasure, or possessions, or more than I needed to survive relatively comfortably.

Of course, I didn’t think it quite that way at 11; some of that evolved over time, as I learned to apply it to my life over the years…. Now I’m an OOF, I can look back, and feel pretty good about it all; you see, other than those times I’ve made bad internal decisions, same as any human, I’m happy with all I’ve done, and have now…. In looking back over HISTORY (all caps intentional, giving it oomph, to imply ALL of it….), I can honestly say I’ve lived my life at least as honorably as I could, (not to mention, a good deal more honorably than many of histories more famous figures) given the handicaps implied in having the unfortunate luck to have a Human nature, which pushes us all to find and take the easiest way much of the time, rather than the right way…. It’s a basic flaw in all of us; male, female, skin color, whatever, we all are inherently lazy(*), and, it’s gotten us in trouble for centuries now….

(*) About the hard stuff in life, anyway…. stuff such as physical work, morality, ethics, emotional growth, cultural growth…. You know, nothing most folks can’t do without, as long as nobody asks them to be responsible for anything.

Gosh. That’s sort of heavy, isn’t it, for an intro? I don’t know exactly what happened, other than to say, sorry, if appropriate, for engaging too many neurons right off the bat, especially after the light-hearted feel to the opening line from Lazarus. It all just flowed out; even Leelu was entranced…. Well, for a while…. She came up, sat & watched intently as I typed all of the above; she got up then, walked directly in front of my face, and went to lie elsewhere, a clear clue to change direction, I’d say. Especially since it’s NOT morning, nor is this even today’s Pearl I’m working on (I think; sometimes I can’t always remember where the Tardis has left me, especially when I’m writing….)

There. That should do it. We’ve successfully disengaged from the serious vein with which I started this mess; now, we can really start fucking things up, as is our usual habit this time of day. You know, we’ve had some good results from letting Luigi indulge his love of speed; I think we’ll try it again today. That means restraints are now optional, but, we insist you put your beverage in the holders provided…. Thanks…..

Luigi! They fell for it; take it away!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”

~~ last words of Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator [1890] ~~

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

Itzhak Perlman

Image from palmbeachpost.com via Google Images

I tried to download the entire playlist, consisting of 98 videos, but, apparently, they’ll play, but not follow. Ah well, just let the music play; anything this man plays becomes better than originally intended by the composer. I first saw him play when he and I were both children, on the Ed Sullivan show, where I was astounded at the talent he displayed, playing some classical tune I don’t remember, but, with such obvious joy, it impressed me very strongly…. Witness now possibly the finest violinist of the twentieth century, and beyond, one of mankind’s treasures, and a testament to the power of the human will, to not merely overcome his handicaps, but, to show how truly insignificant they are in comparison to the human spirit…..

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Itzhak Perlman
Tango

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https://youtu.be/dsU9zmnZ37g?list=PL5EBFB25FBF920152

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Morning Muse

I’m having a bout of insomnia, thanks once more to my lovely personal physicians, may they always be infested with fleas…. Normally, or, as close as we ever come to normally, that would/could produce a rant of its own; tonight/today, however, it has stimulated merely some mild annoyance, and a wish for a bit of peace (some sleep would be nice, too…. SIGH…. Ya never know what you’re gonna miss until it’s gone, do ya?). We’ll deal with that in our default manner, with a short, meandering little pearl from 2012. Enjoy, please, or suffer the consequence, to wit: a short period of severe boredom….

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….

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

On 9/8/2012, when I wrote and posted the above treatise, I also used this poem as the choice for the day. It still fits, and makes perfect sense, given the ending of the above section…. Enjoy!….

Portrait of a Lady

Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself–as it will seem to do–
With “I have saved this afternoon for you”;
And four wax candles in the darkened room,
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet’s tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid.
We have been, let us say, to hear the latest Pole
Transmit the Preludes, though his hair and fingertips.
“So intimate, this Chopin, that I think his soul
Should be resurrected only among friends
Some two or three, who will not touch the bloom
That is rubbed and questioned in the concert room.”
–And so the conversation slips
Among velleities and carefully caught regrets
Through attenuated tones of violins
Mingled with remote cornets
And begins.
“You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends,
And how, how rare and strange it is, to find
In a life composed so much, so much of odds and ends,
[For indeed I do not love it . . . you knew? you are not blind!
How keen you are!]
To find a friend who has these qualities,
Who has, and gives
Those qualities upon which friendship lives.
How much it means that I say this to you–
Without these friendships–life, what cauchemar!”

Among the windings of the violins
And the ariettes
Of cracked cornets
Inside my brain a dull tom-tom begins
Absurdly hammering a prelude of its own,
Capricious monotone
That is at least one definite “false note.”
–Let us take the air, in a tobacco trance,
Admire the monuments,
Discuss the late events,
Correct our watches by the public clocks.
Then sit for half and hour and drink our bocks.

T. S. Eliot

I don’t care what anyone says…. this is some good stuff….. a worthy goal to shoot for, wouldn’t you agree?…… Not in hope of exceeding, but merely to equal the power of this man’s work is worthy of any effort…..

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

You may wonder why the girl is laughing, and, sure enough I’ll tell you…. She’s laughing at me, for my emotional investment in how these come out; while this one was processing itself, I went through all sorts of mental contortions trying to decide what it meant, and, getting all worked up at HOW it came together….

It seemed at first as if it would go on forever; I had the first seven gems in place in no time. It then took a strange turn, and the pearls became rare as their counterparts in reality. Eventually, it sorted itself out, sort of; I still am unsure of exactly what it’s trying to say about Life at Large, beyond the obvious advice to use one’s mind to one’s best advantage…. Perhaps that’s enough…. Either way, the little girl had fun, and so did the camel….

Xenophanes speaks thus:–

And no man knows distinctly anything,
And no man ever will.

~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pyrrho, viii ~~

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

“Doth perfect beauty stand in need of praise at all? Nay; no more than law, no more than truth, no more than loving kindness, nor than modesty.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 20

“To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“He who knows best knows how little he knows.” — Thomas Jefferson

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” — Benjamin Franklin

“Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 22

“It is not length of life, but depth of life.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go.” — La Fontaine

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

Some days this process sort of runs itself; much of today’s post fits into that category easily. But, it has that one distinctive characteristic for which we constantly strive, to wit: it’s done. As such, we’ll go post it, and start on tomorrow’s mess, to get a running start at it, so to speak. Until then, y’all be chill, and good to each other…. I’ll be back, and we all know who said that….

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….

If only it were visible….

Posted on October 28, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“While it is true that you are free to say what you think in this great land,

it should be said that it is helpful to think what you are going to say

before you do it.”

~~ Sardonic Bee ~~

Backyard Springing

Good morrow…. Somehow, it hardly seems worthwhile worrying too much about an introductory section; not knowing when, or, at this point, IF this will get posted precludes any sort of relevance, or, any solid connection to real-time in reality. So, I won’t. Worry much, that is, a state made patently obvious by the tenor of what you’ve thus far seen. So be it. If I don’t need to care, then, I won’t care…. Wowie! That means I can go right off the edge, and nobody can say anything!….

Okay, so, maybe I’ll save that for later; there’s always time to go insane in my world. That, however, being the case, perhaps we’d best not push our luck, taking this, instead, as an indicator of some rather unusual politeness by the Universe, reminding us just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should do it. I’ve probably made a bad habit of choosing poorly in that respect, a number of times, so, maybe it’s time to admit I’m getting older, and make the choice to be sane, rather than heading out for the fringes immediately upon noting the open door…..

Damn! Sounds really boring…. But, what the hell? It can’t hurt to try it this once. Luigi, fire it up, but, take it nice and easy, okay? We’re gonna do it right for a change…. maybe. The rest of you, look busy, or, at least, interested….

Shall we Pearl?

“Science is a way of talking about the universe in words that bind it to a common reality. Magic is a method of talking to the universe in words that it cannot ignore. The two are rarely compatible.” — The Phantom Stranger, “The Books of Magic”, by Neil Gaiman

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

Image from jacksonville.com via Google Images

Here is a nice little piece to listen to while enjoying today’s Pearl; Emmylou is one of my favorites, and I think it’s a perfect start to the day…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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Emmylou Harris

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

https://youtu.be/NsyI1dpL7s8

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

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

I had thought to rant; however, being without internet service causes a dearth of fresh headlines; finding new events about which to rant is a bit problematic, as is patently obvious. But, the first quote below, which had been destined for a discussion, will instead be used to head a nine-star group of thoughts on our BRC, or, as they are known in the mainstream media, our “leaders”, as well as some more general thoughts on democracy, government as a whole, and some of the reasons things have gotten as ugly as they appear…. You’ll see, and, if any of it strikes a chord, well, feel free to comment, to which I will eventually respond…. Enjoy!….

“When I see a congressman giving his opinion on something, I always wonder if it represents his *real* opinion or if it represents an opinion that he’s designed in order to be elected. It seems to be a central problem for politicians. So I often wonder: what is the relation of integrity to working in the government?” — Richard Phillips Feynman (1918-1988), “What Do You Care What Other People Think?”

“The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.” — Albert Einstein

“To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice.” — Cervantes

“Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a congressperson can.” — Ridiculously Observant Bee, mimicking Mark Twain

“All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.” — Noam Chomsky

“Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on “I am not too sure.” — H.L. Mencken

“The devil is the father of lies, but he neglected to patent the idea, and the business now suffers from competition.” — Josh Billings

“Terrorism: deadly violence against humans and other living things, usually conducted by government against its own people.” — Edward Abbey

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” — Dwight Eisenhower, April 16, 1953

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

Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused or disabused;
Created half to rise, and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled,–
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 13 ~~

Above, in the ranting section, we spoke of political man; in his famous epic poem, Alexander Pope speaks of the whole man, and, as far as I’m concerned, nailed it with every last verse. It’s a very long work, so, to save space and time, I’ve only included the above excerpt to read here; the rest of it can be found at the link below. It’s worth reading, and thinking about, no matter how long it takes….

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/essay-on-man/

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

Seven stars, birth to death…. what more would a pearl need? Nothing…. Enjoy!….

“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” — Ursula K. LeGuin

“Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.” — W. Edwards Deming

“We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it – and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.” — Mark Twain

“The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them… Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne,1580

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

“Our virtues and vices spring from one root.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Dharma: What is the greatest mystery of all?

Yudishthira: That each day, death walks the earth, and we continue to live as though we were immortal.

~~ The Bhagvad Gita ~~

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

By the time anyone sees this online, it will probably be tomorrow, relative to when it is actually being written; thank goodness for the Tardis, eh? We’ll carry over the discovery made in the intro, re: “don’t worry, it don’t matter”, and let this little spew serve as our closing thoughts. Hmm… risky, but, probably okay, given the state of entropy today. If the Space/Time Continuum can hold together, it’ll all be fine. I’ll see y’all on the other side of that decision, if it goes the way we hope; if not, well, most likely, nobody will notice, anyway….

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….

Apt portrayals of St. Vitus’ Dance….

Posted on October 24, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“All reality is aspect dependent.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

The Major Oak, England

Image from the UK Guardian 8-6-15

Good morning…. As the tale goes, more kings were chosen while standing under this tree than in any other place in England; the tree is at least 1100 years old. I thought it made a nice opening shot, with a lot of history. But, then, we all know I’m a bit more than just a bubble off plumb, so, I suppose that could have contributed to the issue. Ah, well, it matters little, as it achieved its purpose, to give us something toward which we may address our beginning remarks. Not bad for an old tree, eh?…

Sadly, this leaves us with our other usual conundrum, to wit: where do we go from here? Hmm… I could whine a bit, but, I’m tired of hearing it myself, so, the rib will just have to complain quietly today. I suppose I could go with some nonsense; we’ve got unlimited supplies of it, as you know by now, so there’s no danger of bombing the inventory. Unfortunately, that sort of nonsense would require more chutzpah than I can currently summon for my use, so, we’ll have to go with one of our old escape clauses, I think….

Why look! There’s one right there, just waiting for us to find it. Ha! And, it’s a #4! Bonus….. That does mean y’all should grab a stanchion, or other stationary object, & hang on for dear life; the #4 can be a bit of a bumpy ride…. It works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

Happiness is the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

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

Since this is being posted late, if at all, we’ll go with one of our standard default selections, one which I know will please the largest percentage of listeners….. Enjoy!…..

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

Mozart: Who Else?

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

https://youtu.be/E2LM3ZlcDnk

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

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

“Not all politicians should be shot.
One should be saved for the archives.”

~~ Ruthless Bee ~~

In honor of the opening quote, which I hold to be one of the most perfect pearls to ever annoy an oyster, I’ll forgo a rant, in favor of the rather elegant 13 star pearl SB managed to help me create in lieu of such indulgence. It takes some rather unexpected turns, but, gets to a point I find rather hopeful, in a personal sense, if no other. Well, you’ll see…. or, you won’t, in which case, you still may enjoy the pokes taken at some of our favorite targets…. As a last resort, you can hate it, which will go directly onto your karmic spreadsheet…. Enjoy the workout on your neurons, at least….

“The world has taken on a thickness of vulgarity that raises a spiritual man’s contempt to the violence of a passion.” — Charles Baudelaire

“… But when he [the people’s champion] has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”

“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” — Charles de Gaulle

“Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it’s better than no government at all.” — Logical Bee

“The forces of a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.” — Jawaharlal Nehru

“Government is the only known enemy of intelligent life.” — Sardonic Bee

“Government should be weak, amateurish, and ridiculous. At present, it fulfills only a third of the role.” — Edward Abbey

— Bother! said Pooh, as he found a politician in his honey pot.

“Richard Nixon: He told us he was going to take crime out of the streets. He did. He took it into the damn White House.” — Ralph Abernathy

“Each time that Americans hold another election, about the only thing they learn is that they did not learn much from the last election.” — Observant Bee, again

“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“When the need arises — and it does — you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don’t farm it out — that doesn’t make it nicer, it makes it worse.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“While the builders of the cages sleep with bullets, bars and stones,
they do not see your road to freedom that you build with flesh and bone.”

~~ True Patriot Bee ~~

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

Making Room

Our souls, they say, are like shapeless, infinite bags
in which we put all our pain, all our joyous wonder.
Broken hearts and thrilling love, riches to rags,
endless perceptions of serenity, and thunder.

‘Tisn’t simple, this spiritual journey to peace
memory is fickle, easily led astray;
darkness, ever lurking, without surcease
turning innocence to harm, from simple play.

Balance is the key.

Timing is everything.

Good can change bad, bad can change good.

Pain makes room for more joy in our souls.

The only power we need is the power to change ourselves.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written in 2013.

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

I had a great opening pearl for today’s final section, but, SB was NOT willing to cooperate sufficiently to go any further toward a new pearl. So, I went into the archives, and found this neat little semi-odd rant/old-school pearl on religion…. Since I didn’t rant above, why not? It’s not too long, and it’s a pretty good little indictment of the perpetrators of history’s most pernicious, persistent delusion….

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

“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!…..

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” ~~

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

Well, there you go. A slap shot, to be sure, and, not what I’d consider my best work. Oh, well, it was worth it, and, for y’all, if nothing else, the price is right, yes? All it costs is a bit of your time, and see all you get for it? Great bargain, in anyone’s book. Now I’ve entered fantasyland again, we should probably go. See y’all next time, ffolkes, whenever that might be. Hell, it could even be tomorrow!…. Ya never know, and, what’s more, neither do I….

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….

Cream pie has no observable limits….

Posted on August 23, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“My nose feels like a bad Ronald Reagan movie…”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

“Do ya think they’ll let us enter the Iditarod, Alonzo?”

Image from the UK Telegraph 8-4-2015

Good morning…. You may have noted the absence of the little pieces of ASCII art I was planning to include here from now on…. That’s because I don’t speak HTML, and couldn’t figure out how to enlarge them on the final viewing page of the posts; all I could get them to do was show up in their smallest incarnation, which was way too small…. So, they’re history, and I say that with gusto and aplomb, just as if anyone had really noticed, or gave a rat’s ass….

Oh! Wasn’t THAT lovely!…. Okay, ffolkes, I’m here, but, I don’t think I’d go any further than that. (And, probably shouldn’t even try….) But, I’m up, at 0230 again, so….. If I have to be here, somebody’s going to pay!…. I’ll try not to make it my Gentle Readers, but, I’d stay alert, if I were y’all. I’m afraid, in this mood, I can be a bit unpredictable….

Oh, nobody’s in any real physical danger (unless, of course, they panic at loud noises, or can’t find any appreciation at having to absorb a few minor blows to the head….), but, the stress levels have been known to top out the scale on occasion; it’s really no problem, as we offer Valium for those of our readers who need it, or, even, want it. We’re not your mother…

Nor are we particularly sane at this point in time (like that wasn’t already clear!…). Of course, sanity is a bit of a slippery concept around here, anyway, (hell, it’s not even included in the insurance!), so, none of that is of any particular significance…. Actually, I guess we COULD say that NONE of the above has any particular significance, and, we’d be right about that, too. We like being right, it’s so much easier, and cheaper, than being left.

Okay, that’s it. I’ve crossed the line, again. I’m making an executive (i.e., ruthless) decision, to get us the hell out of here before we manage to do something that could stimulate litigation. We HATE that! (Who doesn’t?…) Okay, I’m done. Let’s get on with this mess, okay?….

Shall we Pearl?….

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

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

Image from listal.com via Google Images

This will, no doubt, remove any covers I may have had for my romantic nature, which, due to extensive training as a curmudgeon, I try to conceal as best I can… This piece was sent to me a few days ago by a friend, and I was so enchanted, I decided to include it for the enjoyment of my Gentle Readers…. If you can’t find it in yourself to sigh a couple times, and to feel some joy at the music and story, well, y’all need to lighten up… Enjoy!….

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

Elvira Madigan -Piano Concerto No.21

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

https://youtu.be/qi_J3_co3dQ

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

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

As the iconic picture above indicates to those Gentle Readers who inexplicably frequent this blog, we’ll be dipping into the archives today. It’s not that I don’t have time to write a fresh rant; in fact, I have one in progress. But, it’s looking as if it won’t be done soon enough, as it keeps growing on me. So, I’ll do the exact thing tomorrow’s rant will address, and cheat….. This is a little follow-up to a religirant from the day previous to the date you see below; it’s pretty light, all things considered, so, enjoy the day off from wearing your thinking caps….

From 9/8/2012:

“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!…..

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” ~~

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

Today’s poem was chosen merely because it’s the one which hasn’t been used for the longest time; last posted in 2013, this one is one of my personal favorites, no matter how it compares qualitatively with any of the others…. I hope you enjoy it….

Unheralded Sagacity…

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

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

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

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

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 4/17/2013.

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

Today’s final pearl is pretty typical; it speaks about some of those things in life it can be important to remember, in order to live the life we choose to live…. Well, in one sense, I suppose we all do that, whether we choose or not; not choosing is also a choice…. But, I digress…. Enjoy, ffolkes; once you get past this, it’s a piece o’cake….

“If you would know a man, observe how he treats a cat.” — Smart Bee

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” — Robert A. Heinlein

“Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.” — Henry Van Dyke

“Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.” — Bertold Brecht

“To be able to say how much love, is love but little.” — Petrarch

It is a man”‘s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” — Buddha

“The choices we make dictate the life we lead. There is no destiny; you make your own fate.” — Smart Bee

“Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is boring without it.” — Pearl S. Buck

If of all words of tongue and pen,
The saddest are, `It might have been,’
More sad are these we daily see:
`It is, but hadn’t ought to be.’

~~ Francis Brett Harte ~~

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

Not only a piece o’cake, but, chocolate marble cake with a caramel-buttercream frosting!…. Yum! Unless, of course, you’d prefer the German Chocolate, which we keep on hand. No? Too early for that much sugar? No worries; it’ll keep. Having completed my self-inflicted duty, so will I, until tomorrow, when I’ll get up at goodness knows what hour to begin all this again…. Oh, yay. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I don’t see any way I can get out of it….

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….

Darkness has an odd coefficient….

Posted on August 20, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Enjoy the present hour,
Be thankful for the past,
And neither fear nor wish
Th’ approaches of the last.

~~ Abraham Cowley (1618-1667) ~~

Please! Everybody take your seats so we can get started!

Image from the UK Telegraph 8-4-2015

Those readers who have been here consistently will know right away something is up. Those who have not will merely feel a slight bit of uneasiness, without knowing why. Those who are here for their first taste of Consensual Reality, gigoid-style, are in for an epiphany, of sorts; the direction it takes is completely ruled by their own inner needs. The rest of us, well, we’re going out for breakfast….

Of course, breakfast will consist solely of a bit of smarmy dialogue, but, they don’t know that. I’ve decided, as is by now obvious, to sever all connections we had to normal reality, and spend the day out on the fringes. There wasn’t a damn thing to write about where we were, so, it became necessary to move the encampment out to the suburbs of sanity, where things start getting a bit random…. There’s more variety here to choose from, which appeals to my basic laziness….

Since there will be no rhyme (well, maybe one or two) nor reason (I think you’ll agree that won’t be a problem today…), perhaps we’d best not dally here in the intro. Randomness and silly, when combined in such quantities, can easily overwhelm the ballast pumps, causing us to wallow a bit. No wallowing allowed, of course, so, we’ll be monitoring that particular system closely today. All part of the service….

There, I think that brings us to the required point of insanity. Luigi is getting a bit impatient, so, let’s all tighten up those seat restraints, make sure all beverages have been placed in the appropriate holders, with lids firmly attached, apply makeup, and be on our way…. We’ve got a long way to go today, and Luigi always likes to go slow on Wednesdays…. Tuesday is his day off, and he’s always a bit sluggish the day after moulting….

Shall we Pearl?….

“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.” — Voltaire

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

If you’ve been here before, you’ll know I love the guitar. Leo Kottke is a virtuoso of the instrument, most famous for his work on the 12 string. I’m not familiar with Mike Gordon, or Phish, as I’ve gotten a bit out of touch with modern artists and music, but, the band (Phish) has a good reputation, and, if Leo sat down to play with him, I imagine he’s pretty good; this should be a good little piece of entertainment for those of us who appreciate live music… and, who doesn’t?…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. there’s no reason NOT to do so….

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

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon (Phish) Live

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

https://youtu.be/fTh7DHIeJCM

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

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

“Money can’t buy happiness.”

I have, naturally, applied the science of dubiousity to this axiom, one I’m certain everyone has heard; hell, it’s so ubiquitous, I didn’t bother with any attribution…. I’m happy to say, after a period of serious cogitation upon the issue, it is possible to add a few words which would demonstrate this idea to be, if not false, at the very least, amenable to mitigation. Let’s try it this way:

“Money can’t buy happiness, unless spent in service to others.”

In other words, it is the act of gathering money, or, more accurately, the avarice which leads to gathering and hoarding money, with its attendant lure, of giving power over those who don’t, which absolutely precludes bringing happiness to those who acquire it for the purpose of serving themselves. Money is merely a symbol, of the value people place on their time; by giving it to others, these “normal people”, (I contend such philanthropy is the instinct of a ‘normal’ human being….), increase their positive karmic burden, thereby freeing themselves from ego, and the suffering so natural when one becomes attached to ‘things’.

Our world is currently embroiled in a conflict covering the entire planet, one which has been raging for centuries, since the very beginning of our first attempts to build a culture. The conflict is a direct result of the duality of human nature, and can be held responsible for every moment of suffering, and of joy, experienced by mankind. The very duality of our nature, which reflects the duality of reality, sets us at odds with each other, as the two sides of us war for dominance….

One side is our lust for life, the other is our reason; those who live by the dictates of the first are those who act from their ego, who desire money, and power over others in order to feel as if they are a success in life. Those who live by reason have no such appetites, understanding that it is only by helping one another, we all may survive the complexity of this terrible, yet wonderful Reality in which we have been dumped….

Dumped? Well, that’s a bit harshly phrased. and, I don’t mean to imply there is anyone responsible for that; no, I just meant we are here, and we don’t have any idea why, or how we got here. Truthfully, neither of these questions is really important, not to the Universe. But, for some reason, they are important to us humans, so, we have to discuss them endlessly, such as here, in blogs such as ECR…. Funny how that works, eh?…

Any who, we see, now, how the duality of our nature keeps us in conflict with each other; the two camps of human attitudes will be forever at odds, until one or the other has become ascendant…. If it is those who live by their base nature, by desire and ego, well, I don’t believe the species is long for this world…. I’m pretty sure, if we don’t turn the other way, toward reason and compassion toward life, well, we are ALL doomed, regardless of how much anyone WANTS it to be otherwise….

That’s enough darkness for one morning…. I actually didn’t plan to do this, but, hey, that’s life in the blogosphere, right? Right… I’ll leave you with a final thought, then we’ll wrap up the rest of this, forthwith….

“You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you ever risked disapproval? Have you ever risked a belief? I see nothing particularly courageous in risking one’s life. So you lose it, you go to your hero’s heaven and everything is milk and honey ’til the end of time, right? You get your reward and suffer no earthly consequences. That’s not courage. Real courage is risking something that you have to keep on living with, real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness. Real courage is risking one’s cliches.” — Tom Robbins

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

Painful candor

I sit, and ponder, then try to write…
seeking always to keep from sounding trite.
My record so far is less than grand;
we’ll not be striking up the hometown band.

Poems come to me, with cadence and rhyme,
that’s the easy part, every time.
Finding words of wisdom herein to include,
makes short shrift, however, of my attitude.

Still the words keep floating up in my head,
harbingers of danger, of wisdom, of dread.
Challenge is issued. in the weight of persuasion
Fey shadows of intent for any bright occasion.

Following along becomes habit and routine,
which naturally tells us where we have been.
New vistas beckon just out of sight
Pulling me forward, from day into night……

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/19/2012.

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

Today’s final pearl is, at its core, perfect. I didn’t plan it that way, it just happened. I was building a group based on the principles of Karma, and, lo and behold, what I got is Karma embodied… Even the final line, which may SEEM inappropriate, is perfect. All you have to do is think about it with the correct twist in your shorts…. and THAT makes it perfect for today’s Pearl….

“It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.” — Moliere

“He only profits from praise who values criticism.” — Heinrich Heine

“A thick head can do as much damage as a hard heart.” — Smart Bee

“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.” — Josh Billings

“If you think you’re free, there’s no escape possible.” — Baba Ram Dass

“One should count each day a separate life.” — Seneca

“Say the secret word and the duck is yours.” — Groucho Marx

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

Okay, well, that went pretty well. Since it did, I’m going to perform a rapid exit, virtual stage left, so as not to tempt fate. It’s been rather a good day, hasn’t it? Smooth as a baby’s bottom. On that odd note, I shall bid thee adieu for another day. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the ferry makes it across the channel….

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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Tag Archives: Voltaire

Some fava beans and a nice Chianti….

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