Ffolkes,
Written when asked to share her “beauty tips.”
It was read at her funeral years later.
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.
I’m hoping no one ever asks me where I got this, because I just don’t remember. I know when I found it, I made sure I had it saved in a way allowing me to eventually print it, but, that’s all. Just as well; I’m hard pressed at times to accept the ragging I get for being such a romantic. Being a romantic sort, though, doesn’t prevent me from recognizing truth, and beauty of spirit, and Ms. Hepburn, with this statement, proves she possessed both, in ample measure…. It’s also a good way to start today, with the subject matter in section one being somewhat appropriate to the sentiments expressed here, i.e. compassion, kindness, and love…..
On a personal note, I am in the throes of relieved joy; my vertigo has finally passed away, with no lingering background noise in the nerves, and no lingering dizziness. It has been said, “True relief is the release from pain.”, and I am here to testify, it also works on what may be called malaise, that pervasive sense of WRONGNESS that slithers along the nerves, like static on a phone line, keeping us a bit edgy & jumpy, without even knowing why we feel that way, a miserable condition most know from having a cold, or the flu, when that misery feels as if it has settled into our very bones…. That sort of nervous edge is exhausting, as we fight against it, muscles tensing & releasing in sympathetic fervor, until we are completely drained, without having exerted ourselves at all….
When it goes away, the relief is immense, seemingly leaving us joyful and elated, again with little obvious reason…. I have to say, it is quite a relief, which doesn’t make itself felt until the condition is no longer bothering us…. It also allowed me to get some actual, restful sleep, so, that’s something, right? Right…. I might even figure out a way to make this pearl better because of it…. NAH! Never happen, but, it’s nice to consider now and again…
Actually, I’m going to be a bit on the ruthless side this morning, as this will be the last of the intro paragraphs… not that I’m really concerned with making things better; I feel like I’ve hit my peak, at least writing-wise…. but, that doesn’t alter my mood, which is determined and resolute in its determination to make serious changes around here. I find myself, these last few days while my movements have been curtailed again by my physical condition, thinking a lot of what is going on with my body, with all the new and annoyingly repetitive breakdowns of my various bodily functions…. Pain, chronic fatigue, joint stiffness, vertigo complicated by old concussions (as I finally found out….), all are becoming far too familiar, and, essentially, are keeping me from doing what I WANT to be doing…. and, I say….. BASTA!
Enough! I’m done being a cripple, and an invalid. I’m tired of allowing my body to prevent me from doing what I want to do, and I’m not going to put up with it any longer…. I’ll be going into healing meditative trances, dieting (correctly), performing katas and forms, and otherwise establishing a routine of physical maintenance the like of which I’ve avoided for about twenty years now, since learning of the first of the physical conditions that are plaguing me…. including, less time here at the computer, as sitting so much certainly is NOT helpful…. In the interests of encouraging the will power it will take to see myself through to the other side, I’ll end this intro now, so we can get on with the day…. as I mentioned, I believe, rather ruthlessly….
Shall we Pearl?…..
“A priest asked: What is Fate, Master?
And he answered: It is that which gives a beast of burden its reason for existence. It is that which men in former times had to bear upon their backs. It is that which has caused nations to build byways from City to City upon which carts and coaches pass, and alongside which inns have come to be built to stave off Hunger, Thirst and Weariness.
And that is Fate? said the priest.
Fate … I thought you said Freight, responded the Master.
That’s all right, said the priest. I wanted to know what Freight was too.”
— Kehlog Albran, The Profit
No, it means nothing…. or, possibly, even less than that….. I just thought it was funny…. which it is…. If y’all don’t think so, well…. Okay….. I do….
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“To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child. For what is man’s lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Orator
Our culture is sick. It has been so for millennia, though many would argue that point, being, as I’ve said before, asininnies at the core, and not able to admit they don’t know…. thus, they are perpetually unable to learn…. We live in a sick society, ffolkes, one that, in great part, is suicidally determined that we shall NOT survive as a species…. Only a species determined to die would allow one half of its members to continuously, and irrationally, abuse and oppress the other half of the two genders, as if the wildness of our nature holds complete sway over any ability to reason we may show…..
This pervasive abuse, of women, by men, is far too ubiquitous to ignore, or deny, yet, the largest portion of people alive today don’t even know they are fully trained and indoctrinated, minds controlled absolutely, by their acceptance, and belief in a set of delusions, that keep us from ever reaching the potential we may have as a species, as they forever keep the two sexes from understanding one another…. In the past, I’ve written a number of posts on this subject, which tends to get my juices flowing rather well…. Whenever I think of how some men treat women, it only strengthens my feelings of anger, and my desire to go buy a gun, to start eradicating at least a few of the problems…. or, rather, the physical manifestations of the problems, otherwise known as pimps, or snakeheads….
A couple of days ago, Emma Watson, the young woman who grew up playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, gave a speech at the UN, addressing the delegates to announce the formation of a new organization, called HeforShe, at http://HeforShe.org/, dedicated to stopping the historical pattern of misogyny and abuse by men, calling on all men, (in my mind, all REAL men….) to join the fight to save their sisters, mothers, and lovers from the habitual sexism and unconscious patterns of abusive behavior and attitudes that have held us ALL back for so long…. Only when men are as aware of the issue as are women, can there be any hope of making the needed changes in society….
Below, I’ve placed four items to note…. the first is a copy of the text of the speech made by Ms. Watson at the UN, the official UN released copy…. also included is a link to the YouTube video of the speech, as well as a YouTube player, so you can watch the speech yourself, right here, if you wish…. All I ask is that you either read it, or watch it; it isn’t long, but, it is VERY IMPORTANT that everyone alive be aware of this issue….
So, please share this link with others, and help spread the word to the snakeheads and pimps…. their day is done, and the good people of society are coming to get them gone, or get them dead, whichever they prefer….. Listen up ffolkes, and pay heed….. This one is for real…. The fourth item, of course, is a pearl to finish the points to be made…..
“It is easy for men to talk one thing and think another.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 322
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
“A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful. Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either. But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain
“So many jerks, so little ammunition.” — Smart Bee
‘T is virtue makes the bliss, where’er we dwell.
~~ William Collins ~~
— (1720-1756) — Oriental Eclogues, 1, Line 5 —
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Today’s video is not musically oriented; instead, for your entertainment, a movie, in five parts, a BBC production of Dorothy L. Sayers’ novel, Clouds of Witness, with actor Ian Carmichael playing Lord Peter Wimsey, the Edwardian Age’s modernized version of Sherlock Holmes, the aristocrat detective, in a delightfully complex, dreadfully British, well-acted, authentic, drawing room comedy/murder mystery, worthy of its reputation as one of the detective novel genre’s most influential works, considered on a par with any of Agatha Christie’s stories….
In this case, we find Lord Peter and his man, Bunter, running about, feverishly, in the search to find evidence to clear his brother, the Duke of Denver, who has been charged with murdering their sister’s fiancé, gathering the necessary facts from Paris, to New York, to Yorkshire, to London, all with a veneer of polished inanity covering a brilliant story…. Enjoy….
Oh, right, almost forgot…. you can find the next four installments by using the link, which takes you to the You Tube page of the first episode, where all of them are listed….
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In certain instances, my mood goes into some strange places…. when it does, I find one poet most often seems to have a poem that fits the mood I feel…. Emily Dickinson, of course…. Plus, this seems like one to go well with today’s message/theme, as it is one of Emily’s sadder pieces…. Well, it makes me sad, anyway…. but, it also makes me feel as her work always does….. human….
It would be life,
And life is over there
Behind the shelf
The sexton keeps the key to,
Putting up
Our life, his porcelain,
Like a cup
Discarded of the housewife,
Quaint or broken;
A newer Sevres pleases,
Old ones crack.
I could not die with you,
For one must wait
To shut the other’s gaze down,–
You could not.
And I, could I stand by
And see you freeze,
Without my right of frost,
Death’s privilege?
Nor could I rise with you,
Because your face
Would put out Jesus’.
That new grace
Glow plain and foreign
On my homesick eye,
Except that you, than he
Shone closer by.
They’d judge us–how?
For you served Heaven, you know
Or sought to;
I could not,
Because you saturated sight,
And I had no more eyes
For sordid excellence
As Paradise.
And were you lost, I would be,
Though my name
Rang loudest
On the heavenly fame.
And were you saved,
And I condemned to be
Where you were not,
That self were hell to me.
So we must keep apart,
You there, I here,
With just the door ajar
That oceans are,
And prayer,
And that pale sustenance,
Despair!
~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
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Do not attempt to find any deeper meaning in this pearl than you may see on the surface; it is deliberately shallow, intended only as an example of mankind’s obvious tendency to engage in activities that range from the sublime to the ridiculous, not as a journey of one direction, either way, but, more like a bloody yo-yo, up and down, up and down, over and over again, just as if we had no memory at all…. Enjoy!….
“There is nothing that is meritorious but virtue and friendship; and indeed friendship itself is only a part of virtue.” — Pope (1688-1744)
“The purpose and function of government is not to preside over change but to prevent change. By political methods when unavoidable, by violence when
convenient.” — Edward Abbey
“I know the road, I know where it goes; that’s why I’m going so slow…” — Smart Bee
“Cogito, ergo sum. (I think, therefore I am)” — Rene Descartes
“Cogito sum. Circa de basta. (I think I am. That’s close enough.) — gigoid, Peruaosophy, axiom 1, 1986
“Now I’m concentrating on a specific tank battle toward the end of World War II!” — Zippy the Pinhead
“Hmph! Seriousness. Hmph! Sobriety. A Jedi craves them not.” — Yoda, Jedi master, a long, long, time ago, in a galaxy far away….
See? Even in the state I’m in, I can do this with my eyes closed…. and, probably should do so more often…..
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In spite of myself, I seem to have finished this Pearl…. huh. When I began, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do so….. I suppose I’m in a bit of a flutter, as it is raining (a complete, though welcome, surprise….), and I feel (relatively) good, both of which aren’t usual around here of late… I’m going to do the sensible thing, and go enjoy that, so, I’d best bring this to a close…. With no further ado, I declare this Pearl of Virtual Wisdom to be complete, and give y’all leave, to, well, leave…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. for now….
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
“The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.”
À bientôt, mon cherí.
gigoid 