Tag Archives: William Blake

Sales of knave Ulysses….

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Ffolkes,

Virtues are acquired through endeavor,

Which rests wholly upon yourself.

So, to praise others for their virtues

Can but encourage one’s own efforts.

~~ Nagarjuna (c. 100-200 AD) ~~

Mixed days 003 (2)

Rest Stop


Good morrow…. ‘Tis another day, it seems. Ah, and, another month. as well… So be it…. I can deal with it; can you?

Of course, I do have an advantage; the powers of a Time Lord come in quite handy, several times (hah!) a day. But, naturally, those are only a small matter of invested time (hah!) to acquire, right? Anyone with the correct time (hah!), and the available time (hah!), with a natural curiosity, and the strong flexibility of mind necessary to handle the ambiguity involved, can learn the necessary skills and techniques. Believe me, if you’d met some of the other Time Lords, you wouldn’t feel so impressed with the ability, or as reluctant to believe in your own powers….

You see, it’s all revolves around one simple factor, one everyone knows, yet, doesn’t really believe. Most simply put, Thou Art God…. Or, if you prefer, God Thou Art…. Heck, even Art, you’re God, too….  all same same. That’s it. You see, we all have the power of imagination, (almost) every single one of us; this is something no one will deny…. I say ‘almost’, of course, to indicate there are SOME people who choose to demonstrate a complete unwillingness to use it, or respect it, or acknowledge its true power, but, hey, to each their own….

Whether those folks, or you, believe it or not, your imagination gives you the same power as any god you can think of…. (The proof thereof is reserved for a discussion later on, at another time (hah!)…. Until such time (hah!), it may also be used as an exercise for the Gentle Reader….). Time, therefore, becomes, like memory, a matter of volition; it only exists in our consciousness so everything doesn’t happen at once. Sort of a filing system for the limited physical envelopes we inhabit, the actual machine (biologically expressed) in which our minds and consciousness are housed; it makes it easier to find what we need at any given moment of time (hah!)….

Okay, I’ll have pity now (hah!)…. Obviously, I could do this all day (hah!) (okay, that’s the last one…); what else are powers for, if not to use? Especially when I get to mess about with somebody’s sense of reality…. Makes it all worthwhile somehow….. Maybe I need an ethical tuneup?….. Nah! I just need to get on with this whatever-it-is, which, since I’ve begun, I have to finish… You start, you finish, that’s it….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Anger a dragon not, as you are tasty & go well with Brie.” — Elvish Dragon humor

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wolfgang-amadeus-mozart

    Today is a default musical choice…. I feel like some Mozart, so, here, for your listening enjoyment, and for the raising of your IQ (a scientifically proven result of listening to Mozart’s music….), I give you his Symphonies No. 40, and No. 41….

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Dont keep calm

“The majority is never right.”

~~ L. Long  (1912-) ~~


I had originally intended to compose a fresh rant today. However, in perusing old Pearls yesterday, I found this, which not only suits my mood perfectly, but, also the quote I had chosen. Hey, look at it this way; there’s no NEW bad news to rant about, for the moment, at least…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this was a GOOD one…

From 11/11/2012:

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” — Albert Einstein

It may have come to your attention I tend to speak, or write, in a manner that indicates I know what is Truth, and what is Knowledge, and my opinion is certain. And, in this, you’d be correct; my self-confidence is pretty healthy…. I would like to point out,  however, the laughter of the gods rings in my ears a lot….. just like it does almost every second that a politician speaks. I, however, can hear the laughter, and make adjustments accordingly, per the dictates of reality. They don’t hear it at all….. Of course, they already know that what they are saying is a lie (they are, after all, politicians; it’s what they do….), and, thus, wouldn’t admit it if they did hear it…..

One reason for my confidence, aside from a perfectly normal, loving set of parents (can’t stress enough how important that is in allowing kids to grow up feeling good about themselves….), is that I am smarter than your average bear, AND, can prove it. See, almost everyone feels like they are better than average; it amazes me how some of them can come to that conclusion, but it’s true. Ask any number of people you like to tell you if they are average, or above average, or below…. I will bet you serious money that almost every one of the ones you ask will say they are above average. Yet, arithmetic will deny that assertion, as it is purely impossible for ALL of them to be so endowed….. Those of us who ARE above average usually will question our own level of expertise, if only to verify our own position on the scale, because we know for a FACT that AT LEAST half of the people are below average. That is, after all, the definition of average….

It is an unfortunate fact that being below average tends to cause resentment toward those who are not; this is a root cause of may of our society’s ills, though not one easily considered, by those above, or below the line. None of us, gifted, average, or mundane, are comfortable with the differences between is in our perceptive abilities; it doesn’t seem fair, and part of our nature rebels at that, silly as it is, considering the nature of reality. But, it is so, and there is naught to be done about the simple fact that some ffolkes are smarter than others. It doesn’t mean they are better, nor does it mean they are stronger, or more fit to survive. As one great philosopher, whose name escapes me right now, has said, “There is no evidence yet to be seen that intelligence has any survival value.” (I THINK it was Arthur C. Clarke…. but might have been someone else…. I’ll let you know when it comes to me, or Smart Bee shows it to me again…. it doesn’t really matter, it’s still the truth…..)

“To a Europe exhausted by nearly two centuries of religious wars, [Isaac] Newton’s works were first and foremost a message about God; that He did not behave in a capricious or arbitrary fashion, in response to either His will or human prayer, but in accordance with absolute, unwavering, and humanly discoverable laws of nature which governed him and all his works. He had become the infinitely perfect Clock-Maker, his works fathomable by the human mind.” — Forrest MacDonald

As I’ve made abundantly clear previously, I don’t believe in God…. well, that isn’t entirely accurate. Let’s just say that the God that religions all  describe seems to me to be too much like a cranky, dyspeptic old man, and not enough like a god, to suit my perceptions of reality. But, let us suppose that a God did create Man, and ask ourselves why He would create such a nature, giving us such variable characteristics, knowing the problems to which it would inevitably lead? I’ve spent a great deal of my life having to hide my intelligence from most of those I meet, since revealing it always produces the aforementioned resentment. This has given me an idea of the answer to that question…. at least, a possible one.

“Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.” — Aesop (620-560 B.C.)

We exist, in the mind of God, as a species. Individuals are less important in defining the nature of Man than is the entire species, yet it is our individuality that makes us each what we are. So, it suggests to me that there is some purpose to this bell curve on which all of our abilities can be shown to exist. That purpose, to my mind, is this; none of us, quick of mind, or slow-witted, is very well suited to survive on this planet. Other animals are faster, stronger, more dangerous, and show a greater ability to deal with their environment than do we. So, why are we given intelligence, since it doesn’t seem to serve much purpose, in any manner that will help to ensure our survival as a species?

Well, it seems to me that a God, one with the kind of sense of humor and irony that I would think would be well-developed in such an entity, would think it a grand jest to make us learn to depend on each other. In order for mankind to survive, we will ALL need to be involved…. and that means that the resentments we each may engender in the others must be set aside, and we must learn to appreciate the qualities we have as individuals in order to achieve the kind of harmony that such a God would insist upon in a creature of His devising. What a grand joke it is, too! The smarts can’t make it without the dumbs, and vice-versa, and the necessary changes in attitude to achieve such harmony are essential, if we are to achieve our potential as a species….

“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” — Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), Sign of Four

Just an idea, but, I think it makes sense…. it certainly makes more sense than the divisive, elitist crap that most religions serve up. People aren’t special just because they believe in a particular version of God, or a particular church, or anything. They only become special when they put aside all that sort of disharmonious claptrap, and try to understand, and learn to appreciate, those qualities in others that really count, such as loyalty, honesty, bravery, tolerance, and a willingness to see the best in our fellow man….

When someone comes up with a vision of a God who makes loving our fellows MORE important than loving Him, or for goodness sake, worshiping Him, then maybe I’ll consider adopting it as part of my world-view. Alas, the men who run the churches (and they’re all men, too…. what’s up with that? Sounds like another subject to explore some day…..) only want us to agree with them, because it gives them power over us. You see, preachers are merely politicians in the larval stage…. and we all know what THEY want, don’t we? Yep……

“I think he’s a few pipes short of a church organ.” — Smart Bee

Note from 2015: As to the final pearl, maybe, maybe not…. It could be his organ has extra pipes, which allows him to joyously play complex melodies most folks can’t/don’t want to hear…. As a friend is fond of saying, “odds are good”…..

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Comedy_Tragedy

    Since sleeping last night didn’t seem to work, I got up, opened a vein, and, well…. this is what came out…. I hope you enjoy it; it seems to have been prompted by the above rant, in conjunction with some of my more recent rants… Sort of…. Any who, onward…

Weeping Softly

Relative cost seldom turns an ignorant mind
from dogma blindly chosen to heed
Taking responsibility is a terrible mental grind;
atrophy of perception more simply fills the need.

Just another cattle farm, grazing unknowing slaves,
 yet two-legged leather coats are all the rage.
Hustle, how they bustle, chasing the newest caves,
Disposing of income, never turning a page.

Blind consumers led by fat pallid leeches,
painfully obvious liars, grimacing in joy.
Fortune and future ensured, lounging on beaches,
served by lackeys, aka the healthy pool boy.

Dogma dogs are as bad as a sore tooth,
in fact, they’re conceivably much worse.
Encouraging slavery, sharing delusions, even knowing the truth;
they know they’re lying, chapter and verse.

Why, I ask; why does it still strip me bare?
Stupidity is its own reward, I keep telling myself.
But, no matter how often I try not to care,
I can’t put people back on the shelf.

~~ gigoid ~~


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13923408614402

    Imagine my astonishment, when I began to go through Smart Bee for today’s old-school pearl; rather than the usual recalcitrance, I found the following pearls all together in a group, as if they’d been sitting there, poised & waiting, impatiently, at that, for me to find them…. All eleven gems presented themselves to me, in slightly different order, mixed in among only eight other pearls, all of which were obviously thrown in just to confuse me, or, as a test to see if I was awake….

Fortunately, I was, because it turned out to be one of the finest 11 star pearls I’ve ever put together. It’s got some new quotes, some old quotes, and one from SB, all of which together make one damn fine recipe for a good life, well lived…. Well, I think so….

To see the world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

 Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

~~ William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence” ~~


“You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing, and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.” — Krishnamurti, “Think On These Things”

“The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. The Professor at the Breakfast-Table

“Bow to no patron’s insolence. Rely on no frail hopes; in freedom live and die.” — Seneca

“From the errors of others a wise man corrects his own.” — Publius Syrus

“Those who talk about the future are scoundrels.  It is the present that matters.” — Smart Bee

“The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.” — Carl Sagan

“Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind as of opening the mouth is to close it again on something solid.” — G. K. Chesterton

“Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?” — Abraham Lincoln

“How you do anything is how you do everything. — Zen proverb

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

~~ Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” ~~


Be glad I put aside my glee in section one; I see, at least, four places in the above pearl where the insertion of a (hah!) would have been, if not appropriate, unsurprising and logically placed to maintain consistency of the ironic tone we ended up with today…. I didn’t, though, so, whew!…. Now do you get an idea of why I NEED the powers of a Time Lord?…. An entire completely purposeless paragraph talking about how lucky we are because something DIDN’T happen….

Well, it’s pretty clear to me, and I’m glad I figured it out…. You are too, you just don’t know it…. I suggest you don’t think too much about that; it could cause undue stress to our relationship….

Yes, it’s sardonicism… so, sue me. I think it’s hilarious, but, then, the joke’s on me, isn’t it?…. That part shouldn’t require any thought….

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Whenever a new poem leaks out, it’s a good day, regardless of any other events which may or may not have taken place…. To ensure leaving on a high note, we’ll accomplish that little chore right here, and, right now…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. Wild horses, ya know?….

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

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Your own, private Readme.txt….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




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



~~ Lao-tzu~~



August 1 2014 031 (2)



Gratuitous image by gigoid




Okay, ffolkes, we’re gonna do this a bit differently today….. This is an introductory section, right? Right. So, here is today’s Pearl of Virtual Wisdom. Pearl, meet your readers. Shake hands. Good boy. Now, go & get to work…. “Okay, boss!”….


There, that was easy, wasn’t it? Now we can just get on with it…. I like this….


Shall we Pearl?


“The truth is always the strongest argument.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Phaedra, Frag. 737


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“If you get confused, listen to the music play.”



~~ Robert Hunter ~~






syf 3





Robert Hunter, whom you see quoted above, has been the primary lyricist for the Grateful Dead since shortly after their formation, back in the early 1960’s; their 50th anniversary as a group will be celebrated this year, on July 4th in Chicago. The remaining band members will be giving a concert for three days, with Jerry Garcia, the heart and soul of the band, and, one of the most influential rock musicians ever, the only member who won’t be there, having passed in 1995, at the age of 53. The video link below, and the player, provides you with all of the collected videos for this years Dead Covers Project…. Enjoy!….






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Dead Covers Project 2015
















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le penseur-rodin


Le Penseur ~ August Rodin






It’s not late, but, I have stuff to do right away today, so, here is a change of pace….


From 4/3/2014:


I originally intended to rant about this article, but, after perusing it myself, I find it’s only more proof of the prediction I made last week, as to how the pundits in Washington, (you know, those assholes who hang out at the White House, and in the halls of Congress), would be acting in the coming weeks,  after the poTUS (Please note: the word president is NOT capitalized deliberately; sufficient respect for the office to justify capitalization must be earned….) stated his intention to “ask Congress” to reform the NSA regulations on spying…. So far, the president has mouthed his lies just as predicted, and the expected response has gone exactly according to what I said would occur…. It’s a gift…..


No, really, they’re going through ALL the contortions I figured they would, just as if they were paying attention to what I said…. which makes it, sort of, lacking in virtue to rail at them right now…. They’re being so PATHETICALLY stupid, it’s hardly worth the time it takes to run them down, and, in fact, doing so might just be considered abusing the handicapped….


So we’ll do this… Read the article, so you know just what they’re up to, silly as it may be…. Right now, they’re just doing as I said, and creating more questions and confusion around the issue of the torture report Feinstein and the Senate want to see, while Obama came out with some new, toothless suggestions for changes to the regulations that don’t really change much of anything…. all of which is muddying water that was already unclear….


After that, come back to this section, where you’ll find the latter half of this pearl, which will consist of an old-school pearl, with the parameters set, once again, to shoot at our beloved ruling class, in all its ugly glory….



http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Demands-grow-to-release-Senate-torture-report-5369929.php


“Official truths are often powerful illusions.” — John Pilger, _Distant_Voices_, 1992


“This isn’t Anarchy, this is Chaos.” — Smart Bee


“How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance.” — Petrarch


MACHINATION, n.  The method employed by one’s opponents in baffling one’s open and honorable efforts to do the right thing.


So plain the advantages of machination

It constitutes a moral obligation,

And honest wolves who think upon’t with loathing

Feel bound to don the sheep’s deceptive clothing.

So prospers still the diplomatic art,

And Satan bows, with hand upon his heart.

R.S.K.


— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


“I looked up the word “politics” in the dictionary and it’s actually a  combination of two words; “poli,” which means many, and “tics,” which means bloodsuckers.” — Jay Leno


“Every man’s life, liberty, and property are in danger when the Legislature is in session.” — Gideon J. Tucker


“By all means, take the moral high ground — all that heavenly back lighting  makes you a much easier target.” — Solomon Short


Not bad at all for a game of “pick up sticks”, post-neo-intellectual version, eh? I think, in truth, if any pundits forgot to duck, several of them COULD be bleeding now….


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Comedy_Tragedy




    I found another triple poem, written by a classical author of prose and poetry, in the three-poems-in-one style I like immensely. The effort it takes to even THINK about making one of these is daunting, to be sure, but, some day, I’m going to try my hand at this…. This one, I think, is damn good But, then, Blake DID have a pretty decent reputation, didn’t he?




The Tyger



Tyger! Tyger! burning bright          What the hammer?  What the chain?

In the forests of the night,          In what furnace was thy brain?

What immortal hand or eye             What the anvil?  What dread grasp

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?      Dare its deadly terrors clasp?



In what distant deeps or skies        When the stars threw down their spears,

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?         And water’d heaven with their tears,

On what wings dare he aspire?         Dare he laugh his work to see?

What the hand dare seize the fire?    Dare he who made the lamb make thee?



And what shoulder & what art,         Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

Could twist the sinews of they heart? In the forests of the night,

And when thy heart began to beat      What immortal hand or eye,

What dread hand & what dread feet?    Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?



 ~~ William H. Blake (1757-1827), ~~






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lao


Lao Tzu






This one needs little introduction….


“Life is doing things, not making things.” — Aristotle


“I am ignorant of absolute truth. But I am humble before my ignorance, and therein lies my honour and my reward.” — Kahlil Gibran


“There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.” — Han Suyin, “A Many Splendored Thing”


“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 43


“Faith does not offer the least support for proof of truth.” — Nietzsche


“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” — T. S. Eliot




Although a cloth be washed a hundred times,

How can it be rendered clean and pure

If it be washed in water which is dirty?



~~ Nagarjuna (c. 100-200 A.D.) ~~






Honor. Courage. Reason. Patience. Compassion. Humility. Perspective. Not in that order, necessarily, but, all present & accounted for…. I don’t know; it all sounds like a pretty good approach to living, don’t you think?…. Well, I do….


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Well, ffolkes, I made it. Having done so, and without any bloodshed, I’ll softly fold up my tents, and fade away into the day. See y’all tomorrow, presumably….




Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…



When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.



Which is Why….



Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.



gigoid, the dubious



PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.



“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch




Featured image

À bientôt, mon cherí….







		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Metaphoria is no longer a threat…. it’s Reality….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“A note of music gains significance from the silence on either side.” — Anne Morrow Lindberg


“When you’ve seen one non-sequitor, the price of tea in China.” — Smart Bee


“Remember – more than three shakes is a wank.” — Written on urinal


“Pulchritude possesses exclusively cutaneous profundity.” — Smart Bee


“A pearl of virtual wisdom gains significance from the ignorance of the bozo on either side.” — gigoid






English


    Hmm…. it seems I’ve decided to start the day with a five star pearl, complete with graphics, to state the underlying premise of the pearl’s meaning/POV/relation to reality….. In this case, it’s all very real, and connected, or, if not, it wants to be… and should be…. We here at ECR are, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, not into the abuse of language, unless needed to ward off the forces of evil, or protect the innocent…. which, in our society, either happens all the fucking time, or seldom, and, never, with any real predictablilty…. I know, that’s just the way it is, but, I don’t have to like it, exactly, do I? No….


Fortunately, though, I do….. Like reality, and English, and, for that matter, any and all languages…. not that it’s ever done me any good. People still don’t understand me, but, that’s one of those, “been there, done that” sort of things, so we won’t go there in the intro; we’d never get anywhere if I start whining too early…. I do TRY to be an adult, even if it doesn’t always work…. Since I have now completely lost my way, with not a single clue as to what I meant to do when I started writing, I’d best begin the long, slow process of casting around for something to actually address…. SIGH…. You are SO strict!…..


Now, don’t you feel better? I know I do; getting that much nonsense out in just two paragraphs is quite a release…. Plus, it gets some of the administrative BS out of the way without letting anyone know it’s even happening, right in front of them…. I’m not even required to tell you what that means, or even costs, as it’s all covered in the forms you signed on the way in…. after, of course, we accessed your account for the entrance fees…. You knew about that part, right?….


No? Oh well, your signature says you did, so, we’re covered, and you’ll never notice the hidden fees, anyway; it’s working like planned, and that’s good. The revolutionary committee can use the funds…..


Let me caution you, though, and remind you; this is all a joke, right? Y’all didn’t sign anything, and I have no frigging idea who is even out there, unless they let me know by commenting, or hitting the Like button…. the Net is still THAT anonymous, anyway, though I’m sure the NSA has a way to know who is where, reading what…. That, after all, is what metadata is all about, and they’ve had over ten years to play around on our internet without most of us knowing anything about what they were doing…. not until Edward Snowden dropped his bombs, anyway….


Since it IS a joke, I’m going to pretend as if we actually had a punch line ready, to bring matters to a satisfactory close…. We don’t, of course, have anything of the sort, but, since we’re only pretending, I didn’t want to pay for a real punch line, so y’all will have to make do with what is in the bag over there…. You see it? Yeah, that’s it, the grimy yellow one with the nuclear material logo…. If you’d just hand in to me….. Thanks… Oh, my, it IS filthy, innit? Oh, but, look, here’s a #4 ending…. we can plug it in right here, and….


Shall we Pearl?…..


“A heart is not judged by how much you love but by how much you are loved by others.” — The Wizard of Oz


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“Why ask me? I’m just visiting reality.” — Smart Bee, channeling gigoid again….


Okay, ffolkes, your vacation is over….. Below is a fresh spate of ranting, with an old-school pearl at the end, comprised of quotes that jumped up for attention when looking for some enhancement for future pears, and for a specific type of quote for another section…. They fit in with what the headlines had stimulated me to write, I couldn’t resist, naturally, even though the ranting portion of what is here is ample for any section on its own….


I have, apparently, lost all sense of proportion when it comes to this sort of outrage, engendered in me when I observe the crap going on out there in the public arena, because it seems to be the only way to reduce the negative effect on me…. Well, it’s the one I’ve chosen, so, either way, here it is… Like reality, even if you’re only visiting, as I tend to do on occasion, you have to choose, and then deal with the consequences of your choice….


http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/08/28/cops-cuff-12-protesting-low-security-guard-wages-at-sf-apple-store/?cmpid=hp-hc-bustech


It occurred to me when I was perusing the headlines that, in the recent past, we’ve seen a LOT of headlines just like this one. Without reading the article first, I wanted to note the following thought/question that came to mind…. I was under the impression that, in the United States, protesting was protected by one of the amendments to the US Constitution, as part of the first 10, known generally as the Bill of Rights….


One of them, specifically the First Amendment, (indicating its importance in the minds of the men who created it as our guide to how we would have our government structured, and operated….), guarantees the right of any American citizen to peacefully assemble, to petition the government for a redress of grievances, by specifically stating that Congress, or the States, may not create and pass any laws to the contrary…..


In spite of this, how often do we see American citizens, not merely arrested for exercising their right to protest, but, abused, jailed, and prosecuted for it…. under the guise of “protecting the public order”, which has become more important to many than their freedom…. Okay, now I’ll go read the article, to see what the police and government have to say that justifies ignoring the First Amendment to the US Constitution…. After, I’ll most likely rant to beat the band, so, if you’re going to skip that, now would be the time to read the poem….


So, it seems to be an acceptable phenomenon, at least to the media, for the police in such instances to not even have to comment on why they made arrests, unless they do so with some sort of overreaction, or in an abusive manner than will grab headlines…. They just make strategic arrests of those they believe are the active leaders of the protest, with the intent, and usual effect, of both removing the direction the activists provide, and intimidating and distracting the remaining citizens, er, protesters…..


Hell, you can tell how the issue has progressed, or, if you will, evolved…. All you have to do is to listen to the police, on their radios, talking to each other…. Listen to the words they use to describe the citizenry…. mostly they are words that objectify the people, by calling them names that take away their humanity…. suspect, unsub, subject, male & female individuals, etc…. all are removed from any emotional content, and placed in the arena of battle language….


Enough on those fools…. Next we come to a governor of one of our fine states, his wife, and the corporate asshole who gave them money to give his business a boost…..


“As if the world and they were hand and glove.” — William Cowper (1731-1800) — Table Talk, Line 173



http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Closing-arguments-set-in-former-Va-governor-trial-5720480.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld


I can’t even write about this, ffolkes…. In this story, none of us come out looking very good…. Not the governor and his wife, not the man who bribed them, not the state, or the courts, and, most specifically, not the public, as the story unfolds without anyone commenting much, or even actually paying much attention (other than the few media hacks who keep dragging it back into the public eye whenever somebody in the court at their trial scratches an itch…. The media, on this story, seems to feel that if they keep shoving our faces in it, we’ll think they’re cool for kicking everybody when they’re down…. In truth, the whole issue disgusts me so much, we’ll go on….


http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Hillary-Clinton-on-Ferguson-We-are-better-than-5719406.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea


Hillary is all about implications and subtext when she talks these days; she knows everything she says is looked at with a microscope decorated with the Presidential Seal…. she REALLY, REALLY wants to be president of this country. You can see it all over her face, especially in the picture adorning the page where you’ll find the article above….. She is shamelessly using the tragic events in Missouri to spread all the lies and innuendo she can,  getting the public broken in, and used to hearing this sort of crap from her, all the while creating an image, showing herself as the thoughtful, compassionate woman, yet, one strong enough to run this superpower country, better than any man, especially her idiot of a husband….


Now, if anyone can point out anything…. anything at all, in what she says, or does, to alter that opinion, please, feel free to bring it up, along with any justification arguments you may wish to add…. I don’t expect much response, as there isn’t anything out there that fits that description, that I’ve been able to find, anyway, and I looked pretty hard…. Hillary is a politician, not a woman, or a man-like woman; she’s one of the psychopathic, mega-maniacal, arrogant assholes who want to control everything everybody else does, for their own aggrandizement and personal gain, not because they are altruistic at all, but, because they are possessed of overpowering ambition, and a complete lack of human connection, that allows them to sociopathically create their own set of rules, where everyone in the world loses, except for them….


Sorry, all you hopefuls out there, with the great desire to see a woman in such a position of power, wrongly thinking it will make any difference at all…. This is not, as I said, a woman, but, a politician, right down to her bones…. And, as per my personal experience over the last 50+ years of observing and analyzing presidential elections, and the candidates who run for that office, has shown me, there is not a single politician at that level of the game who tells the truth, at all, unless it somehow will benefit them, and help them achieve their goals…. It is the nature of the beast; a politician can no more keep from lying than they can keep from acting like an asshole…. which means, never…


And yes, it pisses me off, that they even have the chance to get their fingers in the public treasury, and direct this nation for a period of time it usually takes two decades to recover from, or longer….


Enough for now…. y’all can, no doubt, fill in your own ranting on these issues, so, here are a group of pearls to help keep the outrage simmering, or, at least, allow you to laugh about it….




And finds, with keen, discriminating sight,

Black ‘s not so black,–nor white so very white.


~~ George Canning ~~

(1770-1827)

 — New Morality —




“Riches are the savings of many in the hands of one.” — Eugene Debs (1855-1926)


QUORUM, n.  A sufficient number of members of a deliberative body to” have their own way and their own way of having it.  In the United States Senate a quorum consists of the chairman of the Committee on Finance and a messenger from the White House; in the House of Representatives, of the Speaker and the devil.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”




Blest paper-credit! last and best supply!

That lends corruption lighter wings to fly.


~~ Alexander Pope ~~

(1688-1744)

— Moral Essays, Epistle iii, Line 39 —




“Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society; and any departure from it, under any circumstance, lies under the suspicion of being no policy at all.” — Edmund Burke


“Now we are going to set this pile of evil ablaze.  But remember, because these are children’s toys, the fire will spread quite rapidly. So, please stand back and try not to inhale the toxic fumes.” — Minister in “Krusty Gets Busted”, from The Simpsons


What a great finish! Krusty knows how to stick it to the establishment, right in the eye with a sharp, filthy stick…. my kinda guy….


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


In honor of the whiskey I consumed late last night, in a frantic, futile attempt to smother the pain long enough for the meds & chocolate to kick in, so I could sleep, here is one of the poems of the most famous poet of all time…. who never wrote a poem without being firmly drunk…. Enjoy!….




Alone And Drinking Under The Moon


Amongst the flowers I

am alone with my pot of wine

drinking by myself; then lifting

my cup I asked the moon

to drink with me, its reflection

and mine in the wine cup, just

the three of us; then I sigh

for the moon cannot drink,

and my shadow goes emptily along

with me never saying a word;

with no other friends here, I can

but use these two for company;

in the time of happiness, I

too must be happy with all

around me; I sit and sing

and it is as if the moon

accompanies me; then if I

dance, it is my shadow that

dances along with me; while

still not drunk, I am glad

to make the moon and my shadow

into friends, but then when

I have drunk too much, we

all part; yet these are

friends I can always count on

these who have no emotion

whatsoever; I hope that one day

we three will meet again,

deep in the Milky Way. 


~~ Li Po ~~




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


Above, you may have noted my use of the word ‘futile’ to describe my attempts at sleeping last night…. While forgoing any details, suffice it to say that very little of what I attempted had any success, and leave it at that…. So, what you get here, in the depths of my fatigue and liver-related misery, is the fastest sort of pearl I can create…. Let’s see what Smart Bee has in the way of items to ease me out of here with the least fuss, and noise…. Wish me luck….


“Even in mathematics, the sacred yoni appears in both the shape and substance of 0, the void, while the lingam appears in the shape and substance of 1, the creative lightning, and out of the union of the 0 and 1, all of the numbers of creation can be generated in binary notation.” — Robert Anton Wilson


“What the people believe is true.” — Native American Proverb (Anishinabe)


“Prize that which is best in the universe; and this is that which useth everything and ordereth everything.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, v, 21


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


“Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold — but so does a hard-boiled egg.” — Smart Bee


“Only ideas that we actually live by are of any value.” — Hermann Hesse




A truth that’s told with bad intent

Beats all the lies you can invent.

It is right it should be so;

Man was made for Joy and Woe;

And when this we rightly know,

Thro’ the World we safely go,

Joy and woe are woven fine,

A clothing for the soul divine.


~~ William Blake ~~ 

(1757-1827) 

Auguries of Innocence, 53




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


Okay, not too shabby, considering the source, and the condition of the source….. Quality, or lack thereof, notwithstanding, it’s done, and nobody can make me do it over…. which is probably just as well…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!








					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
13 Simple Steps to A Newer, Cleaner Planetary Unit!

			
						

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Ffolkes,


May seventeen foul demons from the deepest hells of Mordor make fun of your face! There, take that! I guess THAT will teach you!…. Back, foul fiends, begone with you!….


Huh? Oh, sorry, forgot it was time for that….. Half a second, let me just….. ugh! Okay…. last one dispatched…..Come on in, I was just putting away these old attitudes, and they didn’t want to go. I have new ones ordered up & delivered every few years, just to make sure the ones I have aren’t getting too inflexible, or unable to adapt to changing conditions…. Nowadays, what with the new, forced adaptations we’re going to be going through, it’s a good idea to rotate out the old ones regularly, lest one be caught with one’s spiritual pants down, so to speak… While the new ones are always cool, the service that delivers them doesn’t haul away the old ones, so, that part is up to me, & I thought I’d get a head-start on that this morning, since I was up at four in the AM….


Today, I’ll be creating a different sort of Pearl….. and I’m not even going to tell you how, or even why….. How, you may ask, am I able to show you such a fine example of showmanship, and still keep the inner workings of the process to yourself? You say I can’t ever seem to shut myself up, so how do I expect to do it now? Simple…. Oatmeal, dried into a crust, burnt, and shoved down my nose…. Then, we prop up my stiff carcass at the keyboard, boot up the computer, and hope for the best…. Seems to work pretty well, so far, every time…


Disgusting, yes? I hope so, that’s what I was shooting for…. I wouldn’t even have minded a case or too of spew, as long as y’all remembered to use the bags provided in the seat back in front of you. Oh, jeez, Harry, did you have to use the one with the hole in it? I told that flunky not to recycle them, but, do they listen? Of course not…. Well, sorry, I guess you can use the old towels in the corner there, and, if you need it, there’s some Windex in the cabinet under the bathroom sink…. go ahead and use that, if you think it will help…. Thanks for trying….


Well, now that the excitement is, hopefully, over with for one morning, (I’m not sure I want to encourage this much hilarity again; we’ve used up a pretty fair supply of paper towels, and we’re only done with four paragraphs or so….), WHERE shall we begin?…. Oh, I just have so many things I want to tell you…. I’ve been so busy, thinking, and…. oh, shit…. I’ve been thinking again, but, as usual, I forgot to fire up the backup server, so there’s no extra copy if I forge…… well, shit, again…. If I forget, is what I was saying, when it struck me forcefully that, hey, I already forgot!…. Damn…


Okay, new plan…. First we wobble, then we Pearl…. and since, by the evidence presented above, we’ve wobbled aplenty, we’ll now be going on to the meat of this sandwich, or, whatever may come next in this plane of Reality, such as we find it…. a bit worn, but still willing to play the game…..


Shall we Pearl?….


“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of our men and women. Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.” — Thomas Paine

_____________________________


Yesterday, part of the ranting portion of the program spoke about lawyers…. Serendipitously, one of the old pearls that I went to read, upon the suggestion of the WP suggestion bots, who put their ideas at the bottom of my posts, had a wonderful rant about lawyers, specifically, from way back in November of 2012…. Here ’tis, to finish off my remarks on those oh-so-despised members of our Asininny class…..


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


“He who dies a thousand deaths meets the final hour with the calmness of one who approaches a well remembered door.” — Heywood Brown


I almost passed this by when I first read it, then I thought a moment about it, and it occurred to me that it sounds like a defense of cowardice, which is what we usually associate with the phrase “He who dies a thousand deaths”…. Upon further reflection, though, that phrase, though certainly appropriate for describing the state of uncontrolled fear that brings a human to react with cowardice, could also be used to describe some of my own experience in dealing with violence. To generalize that thought, it could be said that a person who faces situations where death is hovering nearby, always a threat to manifest its presence in reality, is also dying a death each time, because their imagination is always aware of that proximity of possibility….


I made the mistake once of counting how many times I faced off with a person who wanted to rip my head off, and would have done so had I not acted to prevent that from becoming reality. Suffice it to say it was entirely too many times, though somewhat less than a thousand (not by much, but less….), and my imagination was stimulated into conjuring visions of possible outcomes that included my own death, each and every time.


Of course, the key to success in such situations is to be able to put aside, or ignore, those visions, in order to keep them from becoming real, and I learned very well to react very quickly in a way that allowed me to control the outcome, rather than random chance or, worse, having the other party assume that control. Fortunately for all involved, I never lost…. at least, not in the sense of becoming physically injured, or dead. (Nobody else that I controlled was ever hurt or killed,  either, a fact I’m pretty proud of…. and mental injuries are another story, entirely….)


The quote above is one that I find to be a comfort to me as I get closer to the time when death will come to make my acquaintance in this lifetime. As a conscious being, I naturally have to believe that my mind, or soul, if you prefer, will not cease to exist; only a change that we do not understand will happen, one which no one has ever successfully explained with any degree of certainty. There is, of course, no evidence to support the belief that we do not merely stop existing, like the flame of a candle, when we die, that we will somehow “wake up” somewhere else, according to our particular set of preferences in such philosophies.


Nothing tangible can be produced, or has ever been produced, that makes such a belief a conclusion; contrarily, there is also no evidence available that it is not true. We each have a strong feeling that our soul is indestructible, like energy of any type, but no incontrovertible proof is available for either side of the issue. 


Thus, we can only hold on to our sense of spiritual connection to the universe, that part of us that knows that, like sunlight, or electricity, or heat, our conscious mind is a manifestation of energy, one that, like all the other kinds of energy we perceive, does not cease to exist, ever. It may change forms, or even types (as light can become electricity, or motion become heat….), but it does not leave the universe at all.


To me, and to certain philosophies, the qualities of water are a good example to use as a way of understanding this principle. Water cannot be destroyed. You can, by altering its temperature, cause it to change form, from ice, to water, to steam…. but it cannot be destroyed at all. Our minds, and thoughts, can be thought of as water, ever flexible, ever changeable, yet never ceasing to exist in any way, and retaining within its being all the qualities that make it, and us, what we are…. another unique part of a beautifully complex and wonderful reality….


To me, that is, indeed, a comforting thought….


“If I am I because you are you, and if you are you because I am I, then I am not I, and you are not you” ~~ Hassidic rabbi

_____________________________


Again, it seems serendipity is guiding my attention…. In searching this morning for a poem a bit off my usual track, I came across this one, from William Blake…. In light of my recent rants on how America is, well, heading for the toilet, and not to enjoy a soothing episode of relief, but, to get flushed…. Perhaps, my imagery isn’t exactly the most elegant for its intended purpose, but, you get the drift….


Any who, I thought it was interesting to see how someone from another country viewed ours, from the vantage point of the past…. Blake was an interesting man, to say the least…. A poet of little renown in his own time, he is now considered one of the most seminal Romantic poets; in addition, he painted, and one contemporary critic was moved to remark of his work in no small way, when he described Blake as, “far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced” (Information from Poemhunter.com).




America, A Prophecy


The shadowy Daughter of Urthona stood before red Orc, 

When fourteen suns had faintly journey’d o’er his dark abode:

His food she brought in iron baskets, his drink in cups of iron:

Crown’d with a helmet and dark hair the nameless female stood;

A quiver with its burning stores, a bow like that of night,

When pestilence is shot from heaven: no other arms she need!

Invulnerable though naked, save where clouds roll round her loins

Their awful folds in the dark air: silent she stood as night;

For never from her iron tongue could voice or sound arise,

But dumb till that dread day when Orc assay’d his fierce embrace.

‘Dark Virgin,’ said the hairy youth, ‘thy father stern, abhorr’d,

Rivets my tenfold chains while still on high my spirit soars;

Sometimes an Eagle screaming in the sky, sometimes a Lion

Stalking upon the mountains, and sometimes a Whale, I lash

The raging fathomless abyss; anon a Serpent folding

Around the pillars of Urthona, and round thy dark limbs

On the Canadian wilds I fold; feeble my spirit folds,

For chain’d beneath I rend these caverns: when thou bringest food

I howl my joy, and my red eyes seek to behold thy face–

In vain! these clouds roll to and fro, and hide thee from my sight.’ 


Silent as despairing love, and strong as jealousy,

The hairy shoulders rend the links; free are the wrists of fire;

Round the terrific loins he seiz’d the panting, struggling womb;

It joy’d: she put aside her clouds and smiled her first-born smile,

As when a black cloud shews its lightnings to the silent deep. 


Soon as she saw the terrible boy, then burst the virgin cry: 


‘I know thee, I have found thee, and I will not let thee go:

Thou art the image of God who dwells in darkness of Africa,

And thou art fall’n to give me life in regions of dark death.

On my American plains I feel the struggling afflictions

Endur’d by roots that writhe their arms into the nether deep.

I see a Serpent in Canada who courts me to his love,

In Mexico an Eagle, and a Lion in Peru;

I see a Whale in the south-sea, drinking my soul away.

O what limb-rending pains I feel! thy fire and my frost

Mingle in howling pains, in furrows by thy lightnings rent.

This is eternal death, and this the torment long foretold.’


~~ William Blake ~~


_____________________________


Now you see the nefarious genius of my plan…. I’ve created an entire pearl, using primarily work I accomplished over two years ago…. Pretty slick, eh? Now I have time to prepare myself mentally for the important event I have on my plate for a couple hours from now…. What happens at that time will play a big part in determining the physical AND emotional tenor of a lot of the next few months, (or, alternately, it could have little effect at all, which is okay, as long as one particular issue is resolved to my satisfaction….)…. so, I’m looking forward to the challenge of making things come out the way I intend…. SIGH….. Shaping Reality to suit our needs and purposes can be exhausting…. So, here is my third cheat of the day…. but, I think you’ll agree with me that it couldn’t be any better if it was fresh….


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

11/16/11

Ffolkes,


Good morrow to you…. let us begin as we mean to go on….


“Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” — Gene Fowler


This line is included today merely to give y’all an idea of what I go through every morning to produce this…. whatever it is. It is a pretty good description, actually, because when I’m done, I actually feel battered and bloody….. Actually, bloody well-used-up is what it is. Maybe it’s easier for other writers; I don’t know. But for me, to produce something that my standards will allow me to publish for others to read, is much like having a piece of my soul ripped out, taking a a kidney with it. 


The funny thing is, though it hurts a lot, I wouldn’t stop doing it, even if I could. The pain of creation, which. after all. requires destruction first, is a worthy payoff for the sense of accomplishment I get when I see one of my pieces online for all to see. Quite a rush actually….


“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.” — Aldous Huxley


This observation, as far as I can tell, is 100% accurate, and because it is, many of the problems society is facing are easily explained, if not easily resolved. For example, when was the last time you gave a thought to what else besides oxygen is in the air that you take into your lungs on the average of 15-20 times per minute.? When you last got a glass of water from the tap, did you stop to think about what was in the water you use to drink, cook with, and bathe in? As Mr. Huxley pointed out, most folks, yourselves included, seldom think about or appreciate such simple necessities, or what might happen if they were no longer available.


What will we do when the air is so full of carbon dioxide that the amount of oxygen in it is decreased below the point where it will sustain life? Will we all have to wear breathing apparatus in order to brave the outside world? What will happen to all the other animals if there isn’t sufficient air? What will you do when the water you drink is no longer safe to consume? We need water as much as we need air; our chemical make-up is 90% water, and not having enough of it to replace what we lose is a sure path to the grave within a matter of days.


There are other issues connected to this subject; the consistent degradation of our planet’s ecosystem has a great many negative effects, small and unnoticeable at first, but growing larger over time until they are added to the list of processes that will eventually lead to extinction of all of this planet’s life forms.  Part of the problem is that it is a slow, insidious process, this degradation, and the deleterious outcomes are not evident until too late to reverse.


You must remember, the Universe doesn’t care, one way or the other, whether we survive or not; the rules are the rules, and fighting against the natural laws of our space-time continuum is a fool’s bet. Like it or not, we, as a species, are going to need to make some serious changes to the way we do things, if we are to survive at all. And we will need to do it starting yesterday….


“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.  Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” — Albert Einstein


I really admire Albert Einstein, and not because he was a great scientist, as well as one of history’s shining examples of men and women who greatly advance human knowledge, purely out of their love of mankind. I also admire that Albert’s wisdom was not restricted to the principles of physics and math; he had a unique way of looking at the world, spiritually, and physically, in a simplistic fashion, and had the ability to share his deep insights into life and the universe, for the benefit of others. He was an eternal optimist, and as the above quote demonstrates, had a firm grip on the concept of living with honor and dignity.


He believed in the inherent goodness of every man, living his life in a way that stands as an example for the rest of us, of how to live well. I cannot wholly agree with what he states above, because I have a much darker view of what human nature is capable of, and less faith in mankind’s willingness to submit to natural law. But what he said does show with clarity where our salvation lies, and in his own inimitable manner, he shares his deeper knowledge with the rest of us in the hope it will inspire others to act honorably….


“To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give of oneself; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sing with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier: this is to have succeeded.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson


From what I gather in my study of 19th century American writers, a lot of the best were what I would call masters of advanced curmudgeonry. Emerson, Walden, Thoreau,  were all libertarians living in compromise with a democracy, and spent much of their time either complaining about society, or hiding from it in their forest retreats. This is not to say that what they wrote was bad or mistaken in premise, necessarily, but if you read their work with this in mind, it becomes apparent that they didn’t much like other folks, or put much trust in their rationality.


But, as the included quote indicates, being a curmudgeon doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t understand humanity, or what it takes to make life complete. This paragraph from Mr. Emerson demonstrates this perfectly. One cannot argue with conviction that all of these attributes listed, and experiences from a long life, are positively rooted, and make perfect sense. Whether or not we actually have all of these characteristics is unimportant; the list remains valid, even if incomplete. And, it provides anyone with a good map and directions that can be useful to us in our pursuit of happiness….


So much for another day…. Hopefully, you have consumed a fair portion of food for thought, and found it palatable enough. If not, feel free to let me know, and I’ll see if I can come up with something more savory…. in the meantime, y’all take care out there….

_____________________________


So much for the sanctity of the mind, eh? We’ve put the lie to that one rather well today, haven’t we? If nothing else, I’m pretty sure I felt the foundations of Reality tremble in fear for a few moments, and we can’t hope for any better than that….. See ya…..


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….




—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


dozer3



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
This absinthe is perfectly unacceptable….

			
						

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Ffolkes,

First, the strings….. violins, violas, cellos, basses, all start to softly play a slow melody, gently persuading the ear and mind to follow. For a moment the soft sound is all you hear, then, very insidiously, the woodwinds begin to softly play the counterpoint melody with the strings, so that together they are slowly and gently playing a mellow, but happy tune….. After a couple of bars of this, the horns start to add in their pointed notes to the rhythmic tune of the other instruments….


Now we have a lively tune, starting to fill up the area with sound.  As the woodwinds gather speed and urgency, the percussion section begins to keep the beat, with deep bass notes filling the bottom bass line, and the snare drums, and the tom toms adding their syncopation and fast, randomly spaced riffs to the spaces between the notes of the rest of the orchestra.  More and more instruments join in, guitars, mandolins, piano, harps, until the entire thrilling sound of an orchestra in full flight grabs hold of the soul, and lifts the listener up to the heights of feeling, into higher realms of thought, into pure feeling….. until, with unbound joy, the author quietly begins to weep…..


Wow…. I had no idea that was in there. I started to write the above paragraph, with the intent of trying to emulate the feeling one gets listening to a live orchestra as it begins to wind its way through a symphony….. and had no idea that it would be so real that I would burst into tears at the climax….. I don’t know if it is just me, or if what I wrote is that powerful….. Perhaps you could let me know if it has the same effect on y’all?….. Every time I go back to read it, so far, it gets me, and I start to leak….. It’s probably just me, with my softened emotional status, and feelings that are always close to the surface….. but, it could be the paragraph, too, so if it has that effect on anyone else, I’ll know I’m on the right track with what is written there….. thanks in advance to anyone who comments….


Well, that was an unusual start to a day…… it’s been a long while since I burst into tears of joy like that…. The last time I can remember that happening was about 5 years ago, during a morning commute…. I was driving, and came up over a hill between Sonoma and Napa, where I worked…. as I broke over the hill, and came from behind the hill that was blocking the morning sun, I burst into a scene of such imposing dramatic beauty that I literally burst into tears of joy at the sight.


The sun was just rising across the lower end of the Napa Valley, and as it broke over the opposite hills to the east, it lit up the sky and clouds with an unearthly bright light, with the clouds assuming a golden, shining hue, outlining each cloud, making the grey appear like noble pewter and silver, surrounded by gold, patterned across the electric blue of the sky.  The incredible beauty of the scene just tore through all my thoughts and  emotional callouses, and brought up a burst of joyful tears…. It was an incredible sight, and an incredible feeling, one I’ll never forget….


I don’t think I’ll be able to top that feeling this morning, but we may as well give it a try. Tears of joy, here we come……. Shall we Pearl?…..

__________________________________


Okay, so here’s the deal…. I started this Pearl, and this pearl, some time ago this morning, and everything since the beginning has undergone some sort of morphology, or sinuous, serious lack of stability, and everything changes….. again. This started out as a rant, morphed into a ramble, then changed again…. now, it is an old school pearl, with several quotes all pointing at the same idea, though some are pointing with a finger, and some with a sausage… but, I like sausage, so that works for me…. in any case, the idea being pointed out can take the heat…. enjoy!


“As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity.  I collected some of their Proverbs.” — William Blake (1757-1827), The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-1793)


“Governments which suppress freedom of speech… act like children who shut their eyes in order not to be seen.” — Ludwig Boerne, _Die Freiheit der Presse in Baiern_, 1818


“Bigotry dwarfs the soul by shutting out the truth.” — Edwin Hubbel Chapin


“What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967), “Sceptical Essays”, 1928


“Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I’m rich.” — Daffy Duck, from Looney Tunes Ali Baba Bunny (1957, Chuck Jones) (Also stated by Mitt Romney, 1997)


“We start this life alone and we end this life alone, it is what we do in between with the people and the world around us that matters.” — Larry G. Smith


“Oh dear, now I’ve made a terrible mess of things.  And all I wanted to do was rule the universe.” — Dr. Zachary Smith

__________________________________


We may not know much, but one thing’s fo’ sho’:

There’s things in the cosmos that we cannot know.

Shine light on electrons — you’ll cause them to swerve.

The act of observing disturbs the observed.


Which ruins your test.     But then if there’s no testing

To see if a particle’s moving or resting

Why try to conjecture?        Pure useless endeavor!

We know probability — certainty never.


— Smart Bee


That’s right, Smart Bee…. there was no attribution with this delightful little poem, so it must have been some random hacker who donated it to the database I use ( to wit: Smart Bee….) It is a perfectly logical presentation of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, one of the touchstones of modern physics, and one with which all hackers are familiar, since they need the math that is involved in expressing Heisenberg’s principle to write their programs, to create their “hacks”, as it were….. I love it! Perfectly cadenced and rhymed, it says what is true, and does it in an entertaining way…. I’m jealous…..   🙂   Hmm…. I’m jealous, but I feel a poem coming on……


Parenthood


Alternative questions always get in the way,

figuratively speaking, rudely barging around.

Still, no question is stupid, no matter what they say

An answer shall be given, a penny for a pound.


How else can our little ones learn to think,

than by asking direction, to show them the way?

They ask us to answer, with a smile and a wink,

To give them our wisdom, with all that we say.


No question too little, nor too large for them to ask,

and no given answer ever thought out of line.

Knowledge is their legacy, and their given task,

to pull wisdom’s nuggets from that eternal mine.


~~ gigoid


Okay, not the best, but not bad…. I think there is more of it still in my head, percolating, so it might reappear some day, in a slightly expanded form….. meanwhile, I hope you enjoy my little rhymes….


“If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?” — Thomas Henry Huxley


Wouldn’t you know it? Just when I finish a pearl, more appropriate quotes keep popping up on the same subject I thought I was done with….. here’s a bit more basic wisdom on poetry, and knowledge, and education….


“No one can go very far in the discerning enjoyment of poetry who is incapable of enjoying any poetry other than that of his own time and place. It is in fact a part of the function of education to help us to escape – not from our own time, for we are bound by that – but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our own time. ” — T.S. Eliot

__________________________________


In life’s small things be resolute and great

To keep thy muscle trained: know’st thou when Fate

Thy measure takes, or when she ‘ll say to thee,

“I find thee worthy; do this deed for me”?


— James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) — Epigram


Yes, yes, this pleases cute owl!….. *see photo, below…. It pleases me, also, dear Readers. This is old fashioned wisdom, but only to those to whom Duty remains a primary motivating factor in all their actions; or, if naught else, serves as a touchstone for determining the relative importance of differing choices of action. I especially like the metaphor of the muscle for the power of reason and will, and how it must be used, and used thoroughly, in order to remain in prime condition for action when needed. Which is to say, hopefully, always….

Aye, this pleases cute owl, completely…. remember axiom # 7 of Peruaosophy, which says, “Do your Duty.  Respect Life.  Share Your Love.  Honor the Truth.”   That’s all you really need……

__________________________________


“Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overawes our little anxieties and doubts: The sight of the deep-blue sky, and the clustering stars above, seems to impart a quiet to the mind.” — Edwards


Well…. I have no idea what to say….. It is my custom, and habit, to go back over each day’s pearls/Pearl and read it straight through once, to get the overall effect that a reader would/will get by doing so. Today, I can report that I have done so, and I remain speechless, hard as that is to believe. I have no idea how this all came about. I don’t even remember half of it, and I wrote it….. But, speechless or not, it is done, and all I can say is, “So be it”……  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
On safari in search of marketable mold…..

			
						

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Ffolkes,

If I hear one more idiot tell me, or anyone else, that global warming is a hoax, or just a theory, I’m going to knock them down, and do naughty things to their genitalia. (Ouch! At least I said it without being vulgar….)  I’m serious. For the last week, here in California, in August, the weather has been comparable to a chilly spring; I’ve had to turn on the heat on more than one morning, and last night, it was so cold I had to wear a T-shirt to bed, which I usually disdain. For pity’s sake, it’s August in California… even here near the water, we should be seeing days with a temp over 85, often going into swelter mode on hotter days.


I’ve lived here in this state, minus a few months here and there, for all of my damn-near 62 years, and I have never seen weather this strange. It’s hot and dry in the winter, or it rains massively for 5 days, then stops for 5 months. The summers are unpredictable, too. The unusual is made more dramatic for the effect it has on people who generally count on the weather to be amenable; we do like our BBQ time, even in winter. But, now we can’t count on it to act as we expect, and it is bothersome on some lower, unfelt level of our consciousness, kind of like the feeling one gets going on vacation, and wondering what we might have left running back at home….. a niggling bit of discomfort with no obvious cause…..


Another study was released recently, by the most prominent scientist in the world who previously had spoken out against global warming, because he didn’t believe it was being caused by mankind. He released a statement that he had, as any reasonable scientist would, gone back over the evidence, and had reversed his opinion. He now not only believes that global warming is taking place, but that the evidence is clear that the changes are being caused by the carbon monoxide being pumped into the air in unprecedented amounts. He reversed his position so thoroughly that the people who had hired him for the study (a group of industrialist types who wanted him to disprove the ideas around climate change) had to come out to publicly deny his statements, causing them no end of embarrassment.


“Man’s deliberate destruction of his own habitat–planet Earth–could serve as a mighty theme for a mighty book worthy of a modern Melville or Tolstoy. But our best fictioneers confine themselves to domestic drama–soap opera with literary trimmings” — Edward Abbey


Since I’ve turned the intro section into a mini-rant, I’d most probably be wise to get on with the rest of today’s effort. I just had to say all this to get it out of my head; it’s been bothering me a lot, especially in the mornings. I guess I’m unaccustomed to shivering in August….. ah well, I can’t fix any of it right now, so we’ll try to salvage the rest of the morning with a bit of diving and expounding….. Shall we Pearl?……

___________________________________


“A good laugh is sunshine in a house.” — William Makepeace Thackeray


If the above from Mr. Thackeray isn’t part of a poem, it should be…. Laughter is also a good way to start the day, an assertion I challenge anyone to deny. In view of that, I offer the following as proof that our Congress is full of the most interesting, and amusing, IDIOTS in the entire world…..


The award for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan.  During an  impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to “expand oyster and clam research,” a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan.


DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are having to artificially propagate oysters and clams.


HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature’s oysters?


DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter is that female oysters through their living habits cast out large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large amounts of fertilization……


HOFFMAN: Wait a minute!  I do not want to go into that.  There are many teenagers who read The Congressional Record.



LSHMCCOMN!!  (Laughed so hard my coffee came out my nose….)   Can you believe that? Can a human being be THAT stupid? I suppose the answer is, Yes, they can, because it’s right there in black and white. This Clare Hoffman person was obviously rescued from an abusive childhood spent in another dimension, because she has clearly never met an American teenager…..


Oh, I suppose she is right in that SOME teenagers read the Record…. all six of them are in advanced study programs in Political Science at six different schools around the nation. Other than those six, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of, or seen, any teenager reading the Record; I’d wager 99% of them couldn’t tell you what the Record is, much less know how to find a copy to read. I guarantee the Google results for that search are so dusty they’ve never been wiped off since they were stuck up on the shelf back in the 80’s, soon after Google first fired up the search engines….


Misanthropology: the study of why people are so stupid and why most of them should die, SOON! — Smart Bee


It kind of gives you that funny feeling in the gut (similar to indigestion….) that indicates extreme fear, to know that the members of Congress are this dumb. I mean, it’s probably a good thing they are; the less they actually do, the less things get messed up. However, it’s also frightening to think that these people are responsible for any new legislation to saddle us with. In addition, it’s kind of scary to think of them being in charge of deciding on things like human rights, or war, or anything really important. This kind of thinking (or lack thereof) indicates that the decisions they make might not be the best we can come up with…. for goodness’ sake, these people decide on how many atomic bombs we are to keep! Do you really want someone like this Hoffman person making those kinds of decision in your name? I think not…….


I think my biggest regret concerning this whole scenario is that we not only allow these people to sit around an talk about dipshit stuff like this…. we pay them to do it!  Hmm…. that, unfortunately, begs the question, “if we allow them to do this to us, and pay them for doing it, what does that make us?”  Food for thought, eh?……

___________________________________


A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,

And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,

And the dry stone no sound of water. Only

There is shadow under this red rock,

(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),

And I will show you something different from either

Your shadow in the morning striding behind you

Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;

I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

— T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land


I came across this excerpt from The Waste Land yesterday, and was curious to read the entire piece, as I didn’t recall much of it from the one time in English class when we went over it. It is truly an amazing piece of work, over 450 lines of powerful verse, almost all of which is metaphorical, a veritable feast of images that explore human nature, and requires close attention to read. It’s well worth it though; there are a lot of little tidbits and nuggets like this, that stand out as special. If you would like to read all of it, a copy can be found at this URL:  http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html   I hope you enjoy it as much as I did…..

___________________________________


To see the world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

— William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence”


It is poetry such as this that has kept me from writing more of it over the years. To my mind, this is just about as good as it gets; beauty, elegance, and deep insight, expressed easily and with passion. It’s hard to believe that anything I might write could be compared to this without coming out looking like the red-headed step-child in a family of blonds; it’ll never quite fit in comfortably.


But that was before; this is now, and my latest efforts at poetry give me some hope. I can now see how it might be possible to come up with a poem that approaches this kind of extraordinary presence, with a lot of effort, and a bit of luck. Until now, I’ve confined my efforts mostly to Haiku, as it seemed to be the only format I could create well. It’s kind of nice, and heartening, to realize that I may someday grow enough in my head to achieve some sort of quality in my poetry; life doesn’t end at 60 these days. 60 is now the new 40, and my prime intellectual creativity is yet to come……


Beauty is in reach

for any who wish to strive.

Elegance abides.


~~ gigoid


That will do me for one day…. I can feel a poem percolating in my head, so we’ll see what comes up later today, and hopefully have something new and exciting for tomorrow’s Pearl…… Abondanza!

___________________________________


Well, it’s probably not the best Pearl ever…. but it works for me, so off it goes, willy-nilly, to titillate and inspire…. or at least enhance. It’s a wrap…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..




—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Seven? With one towel and lip gloss?….

			
						

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Ffolkes,

Despite the heat, we stayed inside the camouflaged brush hut, peering out through the firing holes to observe the surrounding forest. A clearing opened to view, about 20 feet away to the east, at the edge of a thick copse of ironwood trees. Nothing moved, in the trees, or the clearing, though the cries and screeches of many birds and animals punctuated the air of the otherwise silent forest. 


As I gazed out into the clearing, sweat rolled down my back and sides, but was insufficient to stifle my excitement. Soon, if we were lucky enough to have picked the right path to watch, I would have the honor and glory of bagging the very first trophy head, the very first time one of the world’s most elusive, vicious, and fearsome beasts would be brought down in their wild state. Nothing would keep me from bagging my very own feral politician…. or even better, one of its pack mates, a ruffle-crested preacher…..


Well, one can dream, can’t one? This is the type of dream I’ve been having of late, just before waking up. I don’t know whether it is a good thing or not, but it’s a good feeling in the dreams when I bring one of those suckers down…. and goodness knows the ranks of both preachers and politicians could use some thinning. The herds they gather in are getting kind of extensive, and before you know it, they’ll be infesting our neighborhoods. Can’t let that happen; they’re already too much of a nuisance in the world, and should be eliminated just like any pest that brings disease and death along with it……


Now imagine me saying that in Ricardo Montalban’s voice, or James Earl Jones’….. Sounds more impressive doesn’t it? Funny how things are… Since I really don’t have much more to say here in the intro, perhaps we’d best just get on with it…. Probably for the best…. shall we Pearl?

___________________________________


The Angel


I dreamt a dream! What can it mean?

And that I was a maiden Queen

Guarded by an Angel mild:

Witless woe was ne’er beguiled!


And I wept both night and day,

And he wiped my tears away;

And I wept both day and night,

And hid from him my heart’s delight.


So he took his wings, and fled;

Then the morn blushed rosy red.

I dried my tears, and armed my fears

With ten-thousand shields and spears.


Soon my Angel came again;

I was armed, he came in vain;

For the time of youth was fled,

And grey hairs were on my head.


William Blake


I find this to be an intriguing piece, and can relate to the emotions he evokes, at least the part on aging. I thought it might be nice to begin with a classic, rather than ending, and I was write…..

___________________________________


If solid happiness we prize,

Within our breast this jewel lies,

And they are fools who roam.

The world has nothing to bestow;

From our own selves our joys must flow,

And that dear hut, our home.

— Nathaniel Cotton (1707-1788) — The Fireside, Stanza 3


I am beginning to think it is a poetry day. I like this particular piece, as it drives home a point common in Eastern religions, that happiness lies within one’s self, not in the outer world. Mr. Cotton here also expresses another part of that viewpoint that he shared with Emerson and Thoreau, that travel is not necessarily beneficial. 


While I see the point to which they refer, I cannot agree with that assessment, as I happen to believe that traveling the world, while not necessary to being happy, can be a very good path to finding it within ourselves. The experience we gain from traveling teaches us about how we deal with the world, and self-knowledge is the true path to the happiness within….


The secret is to not travel simply for the purpose of seeking happiness, to pay heed to the old saying,  “it is better to journey than to arrive.”  As the poem, and many sages throughout the ages have noted, true happiness is not found in the world, so going about looking there for it is a waste of time and energy. But, I disagree with the above that it cannot be found there; if it is within us, then it is still there, whether we are at home or abroad.


The trick is to use the journey to learn about one’s self, thus finding within the self all that is needed to be happy. This knowledge can only enhance the experience gained in dealing with different parts of the world, and to my mind, makes the happiness all the sweeter…. 


I mean, really, would you rather be happy at home, finding the pleasure in simple chores, or would you rather be in Dublin in a centuries old pub, singing drinking songs, and finding new ways to live happily?…. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll take the pub, every time…..

___________________________________


“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” — Genesis 1:28


Is it any wonder that our society is falling apart? Given the above, I think that any doubts one may have about who and/or what is responsible for the mess in which we find ourselves are pretty well dispelled. This decree of Entitlement is taken seriously by every priest, every preacher, and every politician who ever trod American soil (the phenomenon is world-wide, but for now let’s just concern ourselves with our problems here at home….). Did you ever hear a clearer statement of justification for hatred, bigotry, and prejudice? If you can answer yes, I’d be interested in hearing it, as this is just about as clear an expression of elitism as any I’ve ever heard….


Perhaps it is just me, but I find this to be disgusting. It is a clearly false assumption, based entirely on hearsay that was uttered by men who wanted to have control over others, and wanted to establish in the minds of those others the idea that God gave them the right to do so. I’m not sure just how they got everyone to believe them, to buy into the delusion, as it seems completely obvious to me that it is a lie of major proportion. 


But, they did, and for well over two millennia this idea of Mankind being the Lords of Creation has led us down a primrose path, straight to the edge of extinction…. The efforts of sages, philosophers, and clear-thinkers throughout the ages has not been sufficient to convince the majority of Mankind that our entire societal make-up is based on a lie, in spite of the simple fact that it is true….


As long as the majority of people in this country, or any other, for that matter, accept this lie, this entitlement, then the changes necessary to survival for our species are never going to happen. This sort of separation from the remainder of the Circle of Life is what will keep us from ever becoming part of that Circle. Our species will not survive, if we do not choose to join the rest of reality; we cannot survive alone, and every action taken to divide us from the other inhabitants of Earth pushes us further down the path to extinction. 


It pisses me off no end to know that this inevitable end is all because the majority chooses to embrace a lie, a delusion, rather than having the courage to face the universe as we are….

___________________________________


What we have here is as close to a “normal” Pearl as it gets, considering how little “normal” has to do with this process. I’m letting it fly as it is, though both of the above ranting sections could easily be expanded; my ranting chops are a little stiff this morning, though, so they will have to do…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..




—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Dreaming, the sleeper sleeps on….

			
						

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Ffolkes,

This could take awhile, as I have no pearls on tap, and must first go diving, and I never know how long it may take. So bear with me, as I sacrifice my comfy bed in exchange for a dip in the world wide ocean of facts and fantasies….. I hate to quote Arnie, but, I’ll be back…..

___________________________________


“A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man.  In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker.” — H.L. Mencken


To tell the truth, I’m getting a bit tired of harping on this subject. But, I’m also still filled with outrage and chronic disbelief at the sheer effrontery of the so aptly named professionally dishonorable men who are trying to gather enough blind people together to ensure their nomination for next year’s election.  Oops, wishful thinking I guess; I mean the election later this year. I have yet to encounter a day in the last few weeks where the news has no new comments or statements from one of the group of wannabe’s, and every one of those reported utterances is fuel for the fire of outrage merrily burning out of control in my brain.


Their statements are becoming more grandiose, more insipid, more personal, and more derogatory toward opponents with each passing day; one of the most desperate is so scared of losing he has begun a series of attacks of a personal nature on the President and his own Republican opponents for the nomination. No issues are being addressed now, it’s all a matter of who can paint the ugliest picture of the other guys in the remaining days before Super Tuesday (what a crock!). It will be interesting to me to see who does the best in these upcoming primaries on Tuesday; it will give me an idea of just how far down the road to perdition we’ve gone, and how far it is to get back to a normal world…. a long time, I’m afraid, but we’ll just see what happens……


“I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends…that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.” — Adlai Stevenson


….and just so you don’t think I pick on Republicans exclusively…..


“I looked up the word “politics” in the dictionary and it’s actually a  combination of two words; “poli,” which means many, and “tics,” which means bloodsuckers.” — Jay Leno

___________________________________


“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence…  From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security, and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable….  The very atmosphere of firearms every- where restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.” — George Washington (bogus?)


Bogus or not, it’s true. If George didn’t say this, then Thomas Jefferson, or George Mason did say it, or something very close to it. I’ve read passages from Tom Jefferson’s letters that parallel this statement perfectly. I’ve included it today because I want to reiterate its importance in today’s society. It is becoming increasingly clear that the powers that be are trying to take away the basic freedoms that Tom and both George’s fought for so eloquently; the Bill of Rights is now abridged, and the next step is to make those abridgments permanent.


The federal government and politicians are always spouting off about gun control, trying to limit the public’s right to arm themselves, blaming it on the criminals who have no compunction against using their guns to achieve their own ends (funny how much that sounds like what the police do on a regular basis). They do this because they firmly believe that only they have the intelligence, integrity of purpose, and restraint to have guns, and can be trusted not use them inappropriately. Of course, they say that, but once all of our guns are gone, and they are the only ones who have them, tell me, what is there to keep them from using them on us? Honesty? Riiiiight. Do I even need to point out how often they lie to the public? Restraint? Sure, ask the Afghanis or the Iraqis how much restraint they have witnessed (ask their civilians, they’re the ones we were killing over there, a great many more than military casualties…..).


So, you may, if you so desire, sit there and buy into the bogus fears promoted by the beloved ruling class, and calmly watch while all of your former freedoms are sold into slavery. Or, like me, you can make sure you are well-armed, and hunker down to wait for the fools to come and try to take your guns away from you. Give me 10 seconds warning, and they will find out that a free man cannot be controlled; you might be able to kill him, but in my case, at least, they should be aware that I guarantee the price to be exacted will be much higher than expected…..

___________________________________


If parts allure thee, think how Bacon shin’d,

The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind!

Or ravish’d with the whistling of a name,

See Cromwell, damn’d to everlasting fame!

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744)  — Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 281


I was talking yesterday with my old friend, Tom, and we got to talking about how much age is affecting us, in ways that now seem obvious as to cause, but which in former years we had no clue of their developing importance. An example of this is sleeping; our sleep habits now are much different than previously, due to age-related conditions such as BPH or hypertension. Other things assume higher priority as we age, and when younger, we had no clue that we would be even thinking about such subjects, nor that we would be spending inordinate amounts of time dealing with the ramifications. It’s all good, we weren’t bitching about it, just observing. But it brought other thoughts to mind, thoughts that didn’t have so much weight for the younger me…..


I’m talking about death, of course, and the legacy we leave behind, that which demonstrates best our raison d’etre, our purpose, our answer to the question, “What’s it all about, Alfie?”. In my younger days, thinking up new and funny lines to put on graves was, at best, an undertaking of no more than a couple of minutes of mild hilarity. Now it’s a matter for serious thought and internal debate; one never wants to be caught unprepared for death. It would embarrass me no end to not have my affairs straight before I submit my final post in the blog of Life, to have no memory of me survive past the temporary grief of my children and friends who might outlive me.


Our lives as humans on this plane of existence are short, and so being, they create in us a strong need to have some piece of us that is immortal, that does not give in to the laws of nature, and insists on persisting in a form other than flesh. If we can’t live forever, then we will settle for living in memory, preferably with some physical presence, such as a headstone, or a statue. But, even if it is only in memory, it is comforting to know that those we love will keep the best part of us with them, and that is the love we share; it acknowledges no barriers at all, not even that of death…..


Man will survive into eternity. He’s too stupid to know when he’s beaten. — Unknown, (one of the lesser-known Greek philosophers…)

___________________________________


To see the world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

— William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence”


I tend to write about the parts of human nature and society that annoy me, or more often, outrage me; there’s plenty of stuff happening in the world that accomplishes either or both every day. As a result, it may seem like I’m a curmudgeon all the time, and firmly believe that we’re all going straight to my version of Hell, sometime in the next two weeks. And you’d be right in that estimation, for the most part.


But in reality, I am not so pessimistic as it may sound, and I find life to be all I could hope for as a human, full of beauty, grace, and loving kindness. I see these features every day, in almost every interaction I witness  between people. A great many people out there in Life At Large are decent, honorable folks, and they interact with others in that light. There are also many who are not so squeaky clean on a moral level, but who fight against their own nature to change themselves for the better.


There is human misery aplenty, but there is also human love unlimited, as the dance of balance that takes place every instant of existence spins gaily along the ribbon of Time. One need only open the eyes, the mind, and the heart to see beauty in every direction, and in every moment…… and the poem above from Blake, is a perfect example of that serendipity…..

___________________________________


As I awoke this morning,

When all things sweet are born,

A robin perched upon my sill

To hail a happy morn.


He looked so young and fragile,

So sweetly did he sing,

That thoughts of joy and happiness

Into my heart did spring.


I smiled discreetly to myself

As I paused beside my bed,

Then quickly brought the window down,

And smashed his little head!


— another gem from Anonymous–


See? I do have a sense of humor…. I just find it to be more effective if I don’t let it out much. Better surprise factor…. and this poem by our old friend Anonymous has all the elements I admire…. perfect rhyming, cadence, and structure, grace, beauty, and in the last line, true to life. Admit it. You’ve had the same feeling, those homicidal (aviacidal?) tendencies toward an early bird bragging about his breakfast, now, haven’t you? I’m honest enough to admit to having succumbed to this attitude frequently in my youth, though in my case it was generally directed toward a rooster rather than a robin. In any case, it’s worth a moment’s giggle…..

___________________________________


When I awoke this morning, almost two hours after my normal wake up, I was uncertain how today’s missive might turn out. I shouldn’t have worried; I’m happy with it, at least now that it’s over. Might just be the relief at that, but hey, I’ll take what I can get. Meantime, y’all take care out there……


—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!




 

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
The laughter of the gods is bitter….

			
						

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Ffolkes,

Yes, I can feel it…..the gods are laughing at us, and it is bitter indeed. We fight, we learn, we struggle to live well, and in the end, Time kill us all. It can be a hard row to hoe, most of the time, with short periods of intense joy. The cost is high, and the rewards are few, but choice. And in the end, we are all the same…..dinner for the worms.

I know exactly why I am sitting here with tears rolling down my face; it’s private and personal, so I won’t share it. But, once again, mortality has reared its ugly head to remind me that the time we have is ephemeral, and destined to end. The only redeeming factor I am aware of right now is the need in me to live well, with honor, and with dignity. In the end, that is all we have; if we have been loved, then it all seems worthwhile….. living without it must be the loneliest existence I can imagine….


“Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other.” — Euripides, Orestes (408 BC)

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“If you can see a thing whole… it seems that it’s always beautiful. Planets, lives…But close up, a world’s all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life’s a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful a life is, is to see it from the vantage point of death.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, Dispossessed


It’s funny how when I am thinking about a certain idea or event, quotes on that subject seem to throw themselves in front of me. This one, from one of my favorite authors, from perhaps her best book, is completely apropos, and offers a good piece of advice. Often we forget to look around us to see the beauty in everything; our heads are usually spinning too fast from dealing with life today. So it is good once in a while to step back, and get a look at the bigger picture, in order to regain the proper perspective. When we forget to do this, we become rather surly creatures, always barking and snapping at people who are only trying to help. Getting back in touch with the beauty there is in living well becomes a welcome change….

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The Moving Finger writes; and having writ,

Moves on; nor all your Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

— Omar Khayyam (died c.1133) — Rubaiyat, Stanza lxxi


What I said above is still operating; I must be subconsciously directing my software to give me what I need….. that’s some deep magic! Whenever I read this gem from Omar Khayyam, I am reminded of a quote by a woman, little known to many, who was most likely the greatest woman athlete of her time, possibly of the entire 20th century; her name was Babe Didrickson Zaharias.


 From Wikepedia: “Didrikson gained world fame in track and field and All-American status in basketball. She played organized baseball and softball and was an expert diver, roller-skater and bowler. She won two gold medals and one silver medal for track and field in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.”Any who…..the quote, which I must admit to paraphrasing, as I couldn’t find it online in my hasty search, goes thus: “After you have hit the ball toward the cup, there’s no bringing it back….”


And that’s the truth…..so deal with it…..

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— How many Reaganists does it take to change a light bulb?


Ten: One to deny that the bulb is burned out, one to clarify the denial (“The bulb is really just dim”), one to blame the bulb burning out on the Carter administration, one to blame the bulb burning out on Congress, one to ask for a Constitutional amendment that will prohibit bulbs from burning out, one to replace the bulb with a kerosene lamp, one to borrow money from the Japanese to pay for the kerosene, one former Reaganist to lobby his old colleagues for a special favour for the kerosene importer, one to cash the cheque for investing in the kerosene importer, one to send the bill to the next generation.


I’m in the dark as to who created this, although I know he/she was most likely British; note the spelling of ‘favor’, and ‘check’. But, regardless of its origin, it is perfect, as far as I can tell, and it saves me a lot of time having to go through the entire litany of his crimes against nature and his fellow man. In my opinion, Ronnie was a fascist war-monger, who didn’t give a rat’s ass for anyone else, especially if they weren’t white, Christian, and preferably from Orange County, or Hollywood. 


His entire political career, to me, is a perfect demonstration of how the general public doesn’t want to hear the truth; they would rather hear lies that make them feel good about themselves, delivered by a charming, handsome, trustworthy ACTOR!  A bad actor, too; I’ve seen some of his movies; he, and you may quote me, well, he stunk. His acting had the emotional range of a teaspoon, and his features resemble a wooden board; hard and static. It isn’t surprising to me that his most successful film was the one where his co-star was a chimpanzee, who had way more acting chops than Ronnie did.




The saddest part is that those folks are still out there. Why, just a few years ago, here in California, they all got together and forced a recall of the governor (wholly unjustified, I might add; he got caught trying to balance the budget), electing in his place one of Ron’s admirers, another actor, known far and wide now as “The Governator”, Arnie the Austrian import. Courtesy of this brand of ignorance, the California economy is still attempting to regain its balance after 5 additional years or so of inept Republican Reaganomics. I’ll tell ya…..sometimes I despair for the human race……


“I don’t believe a tree is a tree, and if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all.” — Ronald Reagan, Sacramento Bee, 9/14/66 (huh? what does that mean?)


“I’ve never killed a man, but I’ve read many obituaries with great pleasure.” — Clarence Darrow (1857-1938)  Hear, hear!

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Tyger! Tyger! burning bright          What the hammer?  What the chain?

In the forests of the night,          In what furnace was thy brain?

What immortal hand or eye             What the anvil?  What dread grasp

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?      Dare its deadly terrors clasp?


In what distant deeps or skies        When the stars threw down their spears,

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?         And water’d heaven with their tears,

On what wings dare he aspire?         Dare he laugh his work to see?

What the hand dare seize the fire?    Dare he who made the lamb make thee?


And what shoulder & what art,         Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

Could twist the sinews of they heart? In the forests of the night,

And when thy heart began to beat      What immortal hand or eye,

What dread hand & what dread feet?    Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


— William H. Blake (1757-1827), “The Tyger”


What could I possibly add to this?  It’s incredible. Three poems in one, all excellent…. enjoy!….

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“It’s OBVIOUS..  The FURS never reached ISTANBUL..  You were  an EXTRA in the REMAKE of “TOPKAPI”..  Go home to your  WIFE..  She’s making FRENCH TOAST!” — Zippy the Pinhead


Ahhh….datsa nice! Sometimes Zippy is the perfect antidote to imminent depression; just reading one of his quotes is like a wild roller coaster ride through the outskirts of insanity, but better, since you can’t fall out of the car. Like coming home to an orgy. Or driving your car with your James Dean on….. it just feels good. And what could be a better recommendation? It’s good to engage in nonsense once in a while; it makes it easier to keep track of Reality, which, if left to its own devices, becomes dark and dreary. Better to spew now and again……

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I’m almost afraid to go back over this one; it might bite. But, it’s done for another day, so we’ll let if fly, along with the trained pigs I have in the barn…. Y’all take care out there…..




—

Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes

I just sits.


gigoid


Dozer
Kowabunga!