Miso, marmalade, or muskrat?….

Posted on June 14, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Nature forms us for ourselves, not for others;
to be, not to seem.

~~ Michael de Montaigne ~~

~~ Essays, Book ii, Chap. xxxvii, ~~

Bar at the Old Swan, London

Hajime…. Of the nearly 80 hours I spent in London in 2013, many were spent in the public house you see pictured today at the top of this page. The Old Swan, established in 16something, was about as typical a pub as you’ll find anywhere in England. Since it was located about one block from my B&B in Kensington, I spent many a happy hour observing the day and night life of the Londoners who frequented the old pub. This morning, I chose the picture simply for the good memories it brings, of a trip I’d dreamed of my entire life.

Today, I appreciate the memories, as they are a welcome change from the OTHER memories recently flooding my brain, of other times and places that bring back an entirely different kind of memory, the kind that will drop one right into the morass of depression in a heartbeat. Bugger that today, as they would say in the Old Swan; I’ve got other plans. Since I do, why don’t I curtail this intro yet again, thus preventing further maudlin introspection, in favor of moving things along to their natural end. Sounds a bit more productive, as well as comfortable. Well, as close to comfortable as I get, these days….

Doing just that has become much easier, now I’ve managed to figure out all the toys in the Tardis. Since I have, I’m going to apply this one, which may be the most efficient one I’ve come across. It’s pretty simple, really, and works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The pessimist complains about the wind;
The optimist expects it to change;
The realist adjusts the sails.”

~~ William Arthur Ward ~~

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

The Man

By now, most of y’all have heard the sad news regarding Eric Clapton. He has begun to suffer from degenerative neuropathy, which will make it progressively more painful, and difficult to play his guitar. Since I’ve regarded him as the best player alive for most of his, and my life, this is bad news for all who appreciate good music, and those who play it with such heart and soul. Here is a mix of live cuts compiled by another fan of his, which I hope you enjoy as much as I will….

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

Eric Clapton

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

https://youtu.be/O_j9KEjrY4o?list=PLbw8R6g9XbgpA-Cig38RiV49hcdihzNc9

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

Since I’m up a little late, here is a rant from the archives, on a subject important to ALL of us…. Still trying to get the message to those who need it….

From 6/14/2012:

“We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism. Land can be healthy or sick, fertile or barren, rich or poor, lovingly nurtured or bled white. Our present attitudes and laws governing the ownership and use of land represent an abuse of the concept of private property…. Today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see and nobody calls the cops.” — Paul Brooks, The Pursuit of Wilderness (1971)

This statement is now over 50 years old, according to the attribution. From what I can see in the real world, it remains as true today as it was when uttered. We are killing our planet, or rather, we are killing ourselves, and making the planet suffer in the process. No matter how God-like we believe our powers to be, I don’t believe we can quite destroy a whole planet. But, we can sure make it a tough place to survive, and we are doing that rapidly…. I refer to to the World Clock once again….

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock/env/

Why are we doing this to ourselves? I’m not the only citizen who is asking this question; there are actually millions of people like me who are aware of how bad things have gotten, and I’ve seen a lot of printed material on the subject. The problem is that nobody with any power to make changes to society at large is at all concerned with the problem, because A) They tend to deny it, as it doesn’t match their delusional view of reality, and B) They don’t care…..

The first reason, denial, is rooted in the avarice and selfishness of those who seek political and/or religious power. Their purpose in life is to “get” as much as they can, gathering resources, money, and power over others to their bosoms like a mother cradles her babe. This purpose keeps them focused on their own goals, and denial is the simplest way to deal with any ideas that are contrary to those goals. There is a popular saying these days, that I’ve heard many, many times, most often with a smile and a wink, to show that the person wants us to believe they are kidding, when they really are not…. that saying goes, “He who dies with the most toys, wins….” That’s America, all over….

The second reason, indifference, was taught to these folks by the Christian religion. That’s right, religion is responsible, fully and completely, for most of what is wrong in today’s society. This statement will no doubt cause some consternation among those believers who are still buying into that shell game, but it is nonetheless true. It is difficult to build a rational institution when one’s beliefs are based on a basic untruth. More simply, false conclusions are the only possible result of beginning with a false assumption….

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

What, you ask, is this false assumption? Well, I hate to be the one to break it to them, but hey, Mankind is NOT the top of the food chain. Mankind is NOT superior to the other animals, and plants, that live here with us. Mankind is NOT the “owner”, or the “steward”, or the “ruler” of this world. We are not the “Lords of Creation”, nor do we either deserve or actually possess the entitlement so many of our beloved ruling class feels, or claims. We are nothing more than a fortunate (for us) accident of Nature, no less than any other creature, but no more, for certain….

Here the free spirit of mankind, at length,
Throws its last fetters off; and who shall place
A limit to the giant’s unchained strength,
Or curb his swiftness in the forward race?

~~ William Cullen Bryant — The Ages, xxxiii ~~

It is unfortunate in the extreme that so many people believe this prideful boast! Being able to reason hasn’t improved our morality. Being able to imagine has not increased our empathy, or our compassion, though it should. As a species, looked at from an outside viewpoint, we are much less efficient as an animal than are almost any of the other animals we know of; dogs and cats are far superior morally, ethically, and operationally than are humans; I would add they are more intelligent as well, but the humans out there won’t believe that, even though it is obvious to me. I mean, who is feeding who here? Although still subject to the cruelty to which humans so often resort, dogs and cats control their humans pretty well, as a rule…..

“Dogs are animals that poop in public and you’re supposed to pick it up. After a week of doing this, you’ve got to ask yourself: Who’s the real master in this relationship?” — Anthony Griffin

All this goes back to the same old message that I’ve been sending out for years. If this species, Australopithecus modernus, does not make a change in it’s mental viewpoint, in our morality and how that makes us deal with the world, we’ll all be dead within 200 years. The planet will recover; all the poisons we’ve pumped into the environment will be neutralized, and the damage we’ve done will heal over time. But, we will be gone, if we don’t figure out how to change the whole way we deal with reality, from the top of society down…. I hate to be a cynic, but I don’t see it happening, and that is just sad…..

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

~~ Cicero ~~

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

Off the proverbial cuff….

I never meant to kill that period of time,
it didn’t give me any choice.
It tried to hem me in without reason, or rhyme,
refused me any vote, or any voice.

You have to admit, I buried it deep and fast,
just as if I cared.
I knew, though, it would never last,
or ever be fully repaired.

No news, no pictures can bring it back,
once is all we get.
No pleas of public good, or even public lack;
in stone the past is set.

Futuristic visions now occupy my dreams,
I’m ready to go on.
Look! It fills up the screen, and it gleams!
Where’s the moment I’m sitting on?

Now, I remembered, at long, long last,
is all we really can hold.
Every moment goes by so bloody fast,
we’d best fill them all with beauty, warm and bold.

~~ gigoid ~~

4/30/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Further Notes on Life at Large

*********

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

~~ Deng Ming-Dao ~~

*********

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”

~~ Walter Winchell ~~

*********

“Self-pity is the worst poverty.”

~~ Hazrat Inayat Khan (Sufi writer) ~~

*********

“He who boasts of his ancestry praises the merits of another.”

~~ Seneca ~~

*********

“Perseverance is more prevailing than violence;
and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together,
yield themselves up when taken little by little.”

~~ Plutarch — Life of Sertorius ~~

*********

“Education is not a preparation for life;
Education is life itself.”

~~ John Dewey ~~

*********

“Whatever you can lose, you should reckon of no account.”

~~ Publius Syrus — Maxim 191 ~~

*********

Knowledge is gained by learning; trust by doubt;
skill by practice; and love by love.”

~~ Thomas Szasz

*********

“What fools these mortals be.”

~~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca ~~

*********

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

Having submitted my usual outpouring of blather & nonsense, I shall forgo further torturous prattle, to bid thee adieu for another diurnal period. Little did we know, when we began, just how strange it would get, but, as they’re fond of saying downtown, what the hell? It’s finished, and, around here, that’s all that’s required. Well, we also try to do this each day…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; such is our lot, and we welcome it. Go figure….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Perspective ALWAYS matters….

Posted on November 16, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“According to the proverb, the best things are the most difficult.”

~~ Plutarch (46-120 AD) ~~

~~ Of the Training of Children ~~

A Garden Path in Galway

Hajime…. We take drugs very seriously at my house… Now, before anyone goes off on some weird tangent, I’ll say this: first, I found the statement in Smart Bee, and it fit so well, I had to steal it…. Second, it’s perfectly true, but, not in the way most folks would think it might be construed. What I mean by such a statement is exactly what it says; we take them, and very seriously.

That being said, we may now proceed on to more important things, such as getting this fucking Pearl done, as it didn’t get done yesterday, thanks to some levels of pain I haven’t experienced in over a decade…. What great fun we had, remembering back to those days of yesteryear, when life was shit, with no cherry, on top or anywhere else….. ‘Twas indeed a day to remember to forget…..

Fortunately for us all, pain, like any memory, fades in time, and, though this morning bodes ill for another such day, I have my plans to deal with it, involving yet more drugs…. But, don’t worry, they’re legal in this state. I mean, OF COURSE, they’re legal, if reluctantly. I’m quite sure, if the Big Pharma companies had their way, it wouldn’t be, for the use of these “drugs”, which have been used my mankind since the time we lived in trees and caves, promises, in time, to put them out of their very lucrative business, which involves keeping everyone sick, so they can sell them more poisons.

End of mini-rant. Let’s go on to the rest of today’s mess, shall we? It promises to be a little more pleasant, at least in tone, if not quality. But, then, if you wanted quality, you’d be somewhere else, now, wouldn’t you? Yep. Don’t worry, I know exactly how good all this is, compared to the general run of things online, so, don’t worry you’ll hurt my feelings. Besides, me and pain, we’re old friends…. For now…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate -and quickly.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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

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

Yep, you know what that picture means, don’t you? Yep. Classical music, which is all I can think of to play right now…. might have something to do with the Grateful Dead jam I’m listening to, which sounds much like a long classical, bohemian piece….. until now, as they begin to break into a jauntier tune, (I Know You Rider), in a famous jam from 1979 or so….. Ah well, you can’t hear it, anyway, unless you’re a Deadhead, and go download it yourself…. But, you can enjoy this collection of great older stuff…. Your choice, as always…..

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

Classical Music

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

https://youtu.be/jgpJVI3tDbY

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

I don’t have it in me to rant, but, given the above statement from Albert, I think we can put together an old-school pearl to show just how the world has been put into the position we now find ourselves, as well as who is to blame, and, how we can make the necessary changes…. Quite a lot for a few quotes, isn’t it? Well, you’ll see…. Enjoy….

“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” — Oscar Wilde

“The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

“You cannot conquer a free man, the most you can do is kill him.” — Lazarus Long

“Forbid a man to think for himself or to act for himself and you may add the joy of piracy and the zest of smuggling to his life.” — Elbert Hubbard

“As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy.” — Christopher Dawson, “The Judgement of the Nations”

“It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.” — H. L. Mencken

“For every disease that doctors cure with medicine, they produce ten in healthy people by inoculating them with that virus which is a thousand times more powerful than any microbe: the idea that one is ill.” — Marcel Proust (1871-1922)

“The highest treason, the meanest treason, is to deny the holiness of this little blue planet on which we journey through the cold void of space.” — Edward Abbey

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

Since yesterday was one of my worst days ever, I thought a poem written on a very similar day might work. You tell me….

Gauges of Pain

Consciousness devolves in pools of gripping fears
holding hostage any hope of serenity,
sharp stabbing motions and greedy tears
nary a moment passes without common calamity.

Always a surprise, nothing soothing ever found,
leaving only breathless clinging pain,
salvation seemingly absent, it muffles all sound,
bringing ever more sadness and rain.

Solitude is ever present to claim my time,
lonely hours and relentlessly long days,
no radio plays such music in secular rhyme
happy, vibrant voices belong to elder ways.

Life can be justified it seems to say,
by hopeful favored moments of pleasure,
seemingly friendly, pointing out the only way,
to bring back happiness in minimal measure.

Days of horror and embarrassing tears
serve ever to drive wretched hours to withhold
promising naught but sorrow in coming years,
black, bitter memories that never grow old.

Cold, cold the days fly by,
can it really be our only token?
Never to say, or know just why
the pain never stops, even when spoken…

~~ gigoid ~~

(Yes, yesterday was NOT a good day…. why do you ask?…..)

Griefe brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,
For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.

~~ John Donne ~~

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

I’m somewhat surprised at how this pearl turned out; it was mostly serendipity at work, I believe, which dictated the icon you see adorning the top of this final section. It’s a long pearl, with 13 gems shining out with some brilliance. The opening from Keats, and the close by Bryant may, at first seem out of place with the rest of the pearls, but, in truth, the form the perfect bookends to the ideas between, marking a section with some of the more off the beaten track when it comes to advice on living life with some style to go along with the virtue we all seek…. (Sure we do..) Enjoy!

In a drear-nighted December,
Too happy, happy tree,
Thy branches ne’er remember
Their green felicity.

~~- John Keats ~~

~~ Stanzas ~~

“A priest advised Voltaire on his death bed to renounce the devil. Voltaire said, “This is no time to make new enemies” — Attribution unclear

“A gift of flowers will soon be made to you. Don’t eat them this time.” — Cute Bee

“First, learn to love yourself, and then you will learn to love others.” — Chen-It Ong

“Waiting is.” — R.A. Heinlein, ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’

“Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich.” — Sir Thomas Browne

“Smile, but sharpen your knives.” — Found without attribution; probably a Fremen proverb (the original would have said “chyrsknife”)

“None but a fool is always right.” — Hare

“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

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

“Character is a victory, not a gift.” — Our old friend, Anonymous

“Courage conquers all things.” — Ovid

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year,
Of wailing winds and naked woods and meadows brown and sear.

~~ William Cullen Bryant ~~

~~ The Death of the Flowers ~~

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

It’s done. In the final analysis, that is all that can be said of it, as it should be. Having fulfilled my self-imposed duty for the day, (while making no claims of quality, lest we find ourselves in court), I’ll take my leave, post-haste, to go begin the process of consuming sufficient herbal oils and essences to mitigate my agony…. Wish me luck, ffolkes, I’ll need it…. See y’all tomorrow, come Hell, or High Water…. I’ve been through both of late, so, that’s no empty promise….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Are we liable for the fish livers?….

Posted on August 31, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life:

that word is love.”

~~ Sophocles ~~

Defiant Beauty

Good morning…. According to Princess Irulan, beginnings are a time to take particular care in our actions, for they can affect the course of the future. Though not quoted exactly, it remains true by all evidence to be found. Hence, I am taking care with this Pearl, for it is a special one to me.

I was going to explain in the ranting section, but, a sort-of rant grew into that space, so, we’ll cover it here…. This Pearl will be, possibly, the last you will see for a period of approximately two weeks, with a few exceptions, should I find the time while moving from place to place. Yep, I’m hitting the road. as I’ve threatened to do for a while now. I leave tomorrow morning early to catch a flight to Europe. where I’ll be exploring the places I’ve wanted to see for a long time….

I’m so jazzed, I can barely think, much less write, but, duty is duty, once chosen. I’m going to show extreme discipline today, by NOT fussing around at all here in the intro. Business done, we’ll go directly to today’s effort/mess, after telling you the only posts you might see are some photo essays of my travels…. Keep your eye on this space for more news. If all goes as planned these Pearls will resume on approximately September 18, the day after my return flight. Given my age, it might be the 19th; I don’t recover as quickly as when I was younger…. For now,

Shall we Pearl?….

“The hour is striking so close above me, so clear and sharp, that all my senses ring with it. I feel it now: there’s a power in me to grasp and give shape to my world. I know that nothing has ever been real without my beholding it. All becoming has needed me. My looking ripens things and they come toward me, to meet and be met.” — Rainer Maria Rilke, from Book of Hours

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

This song is an iconic folk/rock song, written by a legendary songwriter who never made it big in the mainstream, but, was known and loved by all his musical peers. The song Seven Bridges Road has been covered by a huge number of artists, including the biggest, most well known version by The Eagles… Following the link to the page where the video is kept will show you a number of other covers, of this song, and his other works…. I’d forgotten all about him, until a friend sent me the song as a quiz…. Enjoy!….

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

Seven Bridges Road
Steve Young

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

https://youtu.be/Ok27kvEy4os

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

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

[From an announcement of a congress of the International Ontopsychology Association, in Rome]:

The Ontopsychological school, availing itself of new research criteria and of a new telematic epistemology, maintains that social modes do not spring from dialectics of territory or of class, or of consumer goods, or of means of power, but rather from dynamic latencies capillarized in millions of individuals in system functions which, once they have reached the event maturation, burst forth in catastrophic phenomenology engaging a suitable stereotype protagonist or duty marionette (general, president, political party, etc.) to consummate the act of social schizophrenia in mass genocide. — Random Smart Aleck

I LOVE this! It’s an absolutely irrefutable statement of the human condition; it’s a bit sticky to get through, but, if one is able to follow the convolutions and anomalies inherent in such a gem of gobbledygook, one finds it is absolute truth. In essence, when boiled down into its simplest expression this says, and, I quote: “People fight, kill each other, lie, cheat, steal, and, in general, have a history of mad violence because they are, incontrovertibly, bat-shit crazy.”

“The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to the beginning.” — Writing Rule 44

Oh, shoot! I had this really cool thought process all worked out to use, with the help of the above quote, which, on first look, has little to do with this rant. But, I was going to amaze y’all with the brilliance of the connection, before using the switch to demonstrate the point to be made…. However, my excitement for the upcoming trip has completely obliterated it. Nowhere to be found….

Ah well, I guess I’ll just perform another chameleon-like color change, and move toward a lesson of ethics…. Ah, I know…. Instead of worrying about all the other bat-shit crazy denizens of the planet, let’s just consider the words of the Buddha…. Here are two of my favorite of his aphorisms, both a huge part of my own philosophy of life… You can take these as given, for anyone wishing to life with honor and peace…. See ya down the page….

“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it… Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings — that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” — Buddha

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

Funny Bones

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 5/13/2013.

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

Thankfully, today’s final old-school pearl came together fairly smoothly. It’s another group of good advice; pay heed to these, and your life could very well go a lot smoother than heretofore possible…. Really…. Or, not. Up to you, actually…. Enjoy!….

“Each of us visits this Earth involuntarily, and without an invitation. For me, it is enough to wonder at the secrets.” — Albert Einstein

“It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Learning is ever in the freshness of its youth, even for the old.” — Aeschylus (525-456 BC) — Agamemnon, 584

“To use words but rarely is to be natural.” — Lao Tzu

“Ya gotta be subtle!” — Mike Hammer

“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To philosophize is to doubt.” — Montaigne

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” — Leo Buscaglia

So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

~~ William Cullen Bryant — Thanatopsis ~~

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

There will be one more Pearl, tomorrow morning, right before I pack the final items, including the computer, to bid thee a fond adieu…. Until then, I won’t bother with the usual penultimate nonsense. I’ll just say, see ya tomorrow, ffolkes. Count on it one last time, for the nonce….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Borne to be filed….

Posted on April 16, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“You could not step twice into the same rivers;

for other waters are ever flowing on to you.”

~~ Heraclitus ~~

January Spring in California

Pale, shaking, I sit to type, knowing full well I’ll never finish this one…. I’m not up to this, ffolkes, not today… I got most of it done yesterday, so, that’s what you’re getting, without any polish or stain…. In fact, this is it…. If it gets posted, I’ll consider it a victory over Reality….

I win…. which is good, if unrealistic….

Shall we Pearl?

“It is by not always thinking of yourself, if you can manage it, that you might somehow be happy. Until you make room in your life for someone as important to you as yourself, you will always be searching and lost …” — Richard Bach, Spoken by Leslie Parrish, The Bridge Across Forever

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

Image from http://www.notrecinema.net via Google images

I’m STILL in love…. SIGH…. fantasies are all we have some days….

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

Marianne Faithfull

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

https://youtu.be/j8JJ6du3Vio?list=RDj8JJ6du3Vio

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

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

First posted online, via Triond, in June of 2012:

Shouting into the Wind

Exploring extinction from a non-rhetorical view….

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

Here the free spirit of mankind, at length,
Throws its last fetters off; and who shall place
A limit to the giant’s unchained strength,
Or curb his swiftness in the forward race?

~~ William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) — The Ages, xxxiii ~~

“Time destroys the speculations of man, but it confirms the judgment of nature.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)

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

Unheralded Sagacity…

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

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

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

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

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

“Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity.” — Socrates

“Every one is bound to bear patiently the results of his own example.” — Phaedrus (c. 8 A.D.) — Book i, Fable 26, 12

“Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.” — Frank Herbert

“The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather to what he does not say.” — Kahlil Gibran

You know you’ve achieved perfection in design,
Not when you have nothing more to add,
But when you have nothing more to take away.

~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~~

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

As noted, that’s all you get…. See ya, ffolkes, should I recover in time…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Numerous system monitors attended in mufti….

Posted on December 6, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A wise player ought to accept his throws and score them, not bewail his luck.”

~~ Sophocles (496-406 BC) ~~ Phaedra, Frag. 862 ~~

For the last 10 days or so, we’ve had some weather here in NorCal, mostly of the rainy variety. While the resultant water levels in our reservoirs, miniscule though they may be, are welcome, it’s been something of an ordeal for me, as I have reached a stage in my life where all those old wives tales, and cultural truisms about aging are coming home to roost, right here in my own skeleton. We hear all our lives how old ffolkes can predict the weather, due to feeling pain in the joints prior to any changes…. I’ve always assumed it was a myth, but, since my own joints have started to complain whenever the weather gets wet, I can see how it may eventually become precognitive….

While it may be convenient to know when rain is coming, I can’t see why we have to use pain as our gauge….. but, then, nobody asked me, did they? Nope…. In fact, I’d wager NONE of us got asked; it’s just the way it is, and we can like it, or lump it…. Me, I’m trying to figure out how to either ignore it (the pain), or bury it in an avalanche of heavy drugs; the former is better for my liver, but the latter is more efficient in dealing with the pain…. so, I’ll take the risk… At this end of my life, it seems like a better deal, as my days are numbered, anyway…. I’d rather be comfortable, which, I’ll admit, is awfully human of me….

But, though that is a perfect lead-in for a rant on human nature, I’m not in the mood to rant…. It does happen, even though it still may force its way into the forefront of my consciousness, should any stimulus catch my attention, such as a random headline about the BRC, or another of our current crop of Asininnies…. There are a lot of opportunities just now for obtaining rantable material; the issues now in the public eye are perfect examples, to wit: the recent spate of injustices by police and grand juries, or the immigration mess going on in Congress…. But, none of it inspires me today; I’m still recovering from the last ten days of misery and drug-induced mental fog, I suppose; even my emotional responses are blunted right now, due to energy levels at rock bottom….

Due to the pain I’ve had, I’ve been filling in parts of these Pearls whenever I can, at times when my hands are more flexible, without the constant ache…. So, they seem a bit choppy to me, even though the finished product may not reflect that. S’okay, though, as I don’t believe it has caused much of an actual loss of quality; that has already been determined to be little affected by whatever method I choose…. probably something to do with the overall averages, which don’t seem to reflect all the methodology differences. Whatever it is. it works for me, especially since the process of describing the issues has brought us to the jumping off point, once again without our cooperation, or our notice….

I’m going to take advantage of that, right here, right now…. As you may have guessed, for y’all, that means just one thing, to wit: it’s time for y’all to tighten up those belts, put down your adult beverages, and hang on, because we’re goin’ in hot and hard…. Well, perhaps not so hot, but, hard, for sure…. We’ll be okay; we just upgraded the bumpers…. See how shiny they are now?…..

Shall we Pearl?

“If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” — Chinese Proverb

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

Here is a classic Sherlock tale, A Scandal in Bohemia… In this episode, Holmes comes up against the only woman, in his eyes, who ever bested him in a case, the beautiful Irene Adler…. These You Tube versions of the old BBC shows are, in my mind, excellent interludes of pure entertainment, made even more enjoyable for the lack of commercials…. Enjoy….

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes – S01E01 – A Scandal In Bohemia

http://youtu.be/ou_CarzFiEM

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

“It’s even worse than you think…..” — Smart Bee

Here is a virgin rant…. This is one of my earliest rants against the system, as it exists in today’s world. It shows some of my more egregious writing style errors, some of which I’ve cleaned up to reflect what I’ve learned in the interim…. All the points listed herein are still valid, even though my own situation, as described at the end, has improved vastly, since I fully retired on SS disability…. Today’s rants, much more specific in terms of targeted categories, were built on the same angst as this one; now, they are simply more effective at indicting the responsible parties…. Constant practice makes for constant improvement, eh?…. Well, one may hope….

From 6/7/2012:

“Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.” — Smart Bee

I think this is obvious to the point of becoming natural law. It’s a very close insight into human nature, and I don’t know about y’all, but it sure is true for me. Today is a perfect example of this….

I feel trapped a lot of the time. Hemmed in by the very society who is supposedly there to support me in my efforts to pursue my life’s goals and aspirations. Of course, anybody over the age of 10 realizes any support from society most often resembles a slap to the head, but, the point is, society’s purpose for existing is to aid it’s citizens in maximizing their experiences, for their own benefit, which, in the process, benefits society. I mean, that is what its purpose is MEANT to be; I don’t think it would be very beneficial to continue, if this isn’t the case. Society is supposed to work in such a way that all of its members have an equal chance to succeed in whatever they undertake in life… ostensibly, it’s sole reason for existing at all….

In reality, it doesn’t work that way, for the simple reason that some of the folks in the game have changed the rules; simply, they play by rules which suit themselves, and what they want. What they want is total control of everyone else…. They’re pretty good at it, too. For close to 8,000 years now, the beloved ruling class has set things up in our culture to favor themselves. They have lied, cheated, stolen, killed, repressed, oppressed, and generally acted in a manner that the rest of humanity considers immoral, unethical, and inhuman, at the core. They have done this right in front of our eyes. The rules and laws that are agreed to by all were written to favor those in power, not those who serve.

Though every church shouts out how moral and ethical it is, and spouts off about the virtue of faith and obedience, they do so not from spiritual surety, but from avarice and ambition. Though every government claims to have the welfare of the people as its purported goal, the only people who gain are those who are already wealthy. The rest go on welfare alright, but not the kind they should be able to expect….

And that is why it pisses me off so badly…. as humans, all we really want to do is be happy. It isn’t so much to ask. Most folks are happy when they have enough to eat, a place to sleep, and someone they love to be around. It soothes our nature to be able to share such feelings, hence the accuracy of the quote from Smart Bee above. We just feel better when we can share good feelings with others…. But, we are constantly blocked from doing so, by the society we live in.

In today’s culture, we are put in a situation where it takes all of our time and effort just to obtain the things we need; food, shelter, clothing. Gathering enough resources to ensure an ample supply of all three takes more than one person can make, thanks to the economic picture in a world where 1% of the population controls 99% of the money and resources. Unless one throws aside all of one’s humanity, becoming one of the ruthless ones, indifferent to the suffering of others, who inhabit the 1%, making enough to get by in today’s society just isn’t possible… I know, I’ve spent the last 55 years trying, and I’m a pretty talented guy….

Now, I don’t care about being rich. “If you want a life of trouble, fill your house with treasures…”, a Chinese proverb so old I don’t know who said it. But, I’ve believed it all my life; as a result, I’ve always worked only to get enough to live comfortably, and to provide stability and opportunities to succeed for my family. I’ve never given in to the urge to take advantage of others, or to cheat, or steal, or lie in order to get ahead; if I didn’t get ahead on merit, I stayed where I was.

It didn’t seem to matter much, anyway. The system is set up so that, at each step up the ladder of financial gain, the rules become more complicated, and are still set up to deny advancement. (I.E., as you make more money, they take more taxes…. In order to borrow money, you must already have money…. etc…) Lately, the government has been less creative in their lies as to why they are taking money from the average Joe….

In all three of the last raises I earned when I was still working, the extra money in my check was taken away by furloughs, a method of reducing my hours. Each time I expected to make a bit more, they would take away another day’s work, thus eliminating the advancement in pay…. The justification given was rationalization implying state employees made too much anyway, so, taking away their money was going to balance the budget… Funny how that didn’t work out that way….

Being retired from working has had two effects for me…. It gives me way too much time to be able to look at reality, to find the flaws and kinks causing all the friction and conflict in the world. Unfortunately, it has also made the task of obtaining the three necessary items for survival more difficult, by reducing my income drastically, to the poverty line, and at the same time, making it more physically difficult to accomplish what I need to do. SIGH…. Murphy is such an ASSHOLE!

Okay, I’m done. I could go on most of the day, but it’s starting to sound whiny to me. I’m not a victim. I will be alright, eventually. I will be more than alright. But, it pisses me off royally that I can’t spend more time sharing my heart with others, rather than sharing my thoughts…. My heart is much more fun to be around, mostly…. at least I’d like to think so. Now, if I can only get it to climb out of the hole of depression it has crawled into so much lately, perhaps I can find a way to cheer it up…. as long as Murphy will give me a breather now and again….

“Don’t ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun — and neither can stop the march of events.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

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

As many of y’all know by now, every once in a while, you’re going to see a poem, or two, by this lady…. I’ve decided more than enough time has passed since we saw her; therefore, to be as pompous as possible in two short lines, today’s choice is one of my favorites of hers…. It never fails to soothe my fevered brow….. and the pomposity soothes my sense of propriety, for whatever THAT’S worth….

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,–
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Today’s final pearl is what Mary Poppins would term “PPIEW” (Practically perfect, etc….) Each one is a strong stand-alone pearl, while, together, they form a nearly perfect set of standards for anyone wishing to live an honorable life, based on reason and compassion…. Enjoy, ffolkes; even the format today will help to center your thoughts….

Virtue, dear friend, needs no defence,
The surest guard is innocence:
None knew, till guilt created fear,
What darts or poison’d arrows were.

~~ Horace (B.C. 65-8) ~~

“I don’t think it would have all got me down quite so much if just once in a while- just once in a while- there was at least some polite little perfunctory implication that knowledge should lead to wisdom, and that if it doesn’t, it’s just a disgusting waste of time.”

~~J.D. Salinger~~ Franny & Zooey ~~

“No matter how cynical you get, it’s impossible to keep up.”

~~Lily Tomlin~~

And bear unmov’d the wrongs of base mankind,
The last and hardest conquest of the mind.

~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~The Odyssey of Homer, Book xiii, Line 353 ~~

“The only way to compel men to speak good of us is to do it.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

“It is your resistance to ‘what is’ that causes your suffering.”

~~ Buddha ~~

~~ William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) ~~ Thanatopsis ~~

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

I’m not sure how it happened, but, this one came out fairly well, even without a fresh rant…. go figure…. Ah well, I’ve got enough time in at this job to be able to say, without fear of contradiction, it’s done, and that’s all there is to say about it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; I don’t think I’m up to pushing my luck any further….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Let’s prime the pump with sad kittens….

Posted on July 26, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy.” — Hippocrates

One Pan Grilled Seafood & Vegetable Paella

Ah, hell…. with all of the incredible vastness of space and time… and I end up here…. Tell me, what good is it having the power of a Time Lord, and never being allowed to use it without factoring in entropy’s influence? Calculating temporal slippage with pencil and paper just isn’t working out, and nobody can find me a decent slide rule at a price I can live with; I keep ending up back here, when I’m trying to get back into the future… Actually, I’m only here because I couldn’t find the Tardis at all this morning, having forgotten, again, where I parked it…. Or, maybe that was WHEN I parked it? Hmm… I’ll have to check that later….

Above, you see a picture of the signature dish made by the Balaguer family, at their small, but popular and busy restaurant in the Bay Area. The dish, called “One Pan Grilled Seafood & Vegetable Paella”, is made according to the traditional family recipe, just as served in the family’s restaurants in Spain, where the dish was originally perfected, passed down to each succeeding generation .

I found the picture and recipe in an article in the food section at SFGATE on the web, so you can too, by searching at the site under the name of the dish… I love paella, and this version looks amazingly delicious, by visual evidence, (obviously…. ya gotta love that food photography….), and by my scan of the ingredients and procedure…. (I’ll bet y’all sometimes forget I’m a chef…. one look tells me all I need to know about what it will taste like….) It will be expensive, but, about a dozen people will be incredibly happy with their tummies when I try it out….

Paella has always been a favorite of mine, since first being exposed to it at a night out while in college. Then, later in life, I attended culinary school, in 1986-87; naturally, when it was my turn to cook lunch for the entire school (as the production chef for the daily employee and student lunch, one of our assigned tasks), I chose to make paella according to the traditional Spanish recipe common to all the regions, with shrimp, chicken, and Andouille sausage, along with the saffron rice that characterizes the dish…..

The hard part of that deal was the fact that I was making the dish for about 300-400 culinary students, including housekeeping, and office staff, as well as generally having about 30 or so restaurant & hotel business teachers/instructors, including the Wine Editor for the Wine Spectator, an industry magazine, who was teaching a class in wines that week. (Cooking as chef for a meal for the chefs who instructed us each day, at lunch and dinner, was another assignment, for last semester students….) By the time it was done (it’s a long process, and labor intensive for that many people), I was sick of tasting it, so couldn’t really tell if it was as good as I wanted…. but, nobody got sick, and I got a lot of kudos for a good meal from a lot of people I respected, so, I was happy with it….

Oh, gosh, look… I’ve blathered and nattered and piffled around, talking about the picture, and the old days so long, I’ve completed a full-sized intro, though it doesn’t really provide much of a lead in, to anything other than, possibly, brunch…. but, it’s still legal, and that’s all we care about here, even if we are delusional about being royal…. We’re not so delusional we believe it, though, which is our saving grace, as it were…

For now, let it be enough to know I’m not dangerous, or violent… not any more. I served my time, and have had therapy up the yin-yang…. Besides, they never found those deleted files, so, I’m clear of all that….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Some things don’t need the thought people give them.” — Calvin

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

I’m up late, after a long, HOT day yesterday, during which I did very little beyond pant in front of the fan, sleep, and complain about the heat…. Well, not the last part; I just wanted to…. I didn’t have the energy to go look for rantable material, so, y’all will have to make to with the following, which is more of a short discussion than a rant…. though it does have some rant-like qualities, as it takes some mild shots at our old friends, the talking heads of Washington, D.C…..

From 1/15/2013:

“Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.” — Udana Varga, c. 500 B. C.

This particular rephrasing of the Golden Rule from ancient India shows how long the concept has been around; in fact, it is a rephrasing of writings that are even older. This rule of behavior in society has been commonly held knowledge since the beginning of civilization, whenever one chooses to mark that date. Given that presence in the basket of things that are known by all, it brings to mind the question, “Why the fuck doesn’t anyone do this?”….. Well, that’s what came into MY mind, so deal with it…..

The Golden Rule is accepted by all societies on Earth as being the key to a peaceful existence, yet those who consistently ignore it, and break it with regularity, seem to always end up as the ones who are in charge of that self-same society. Everyone alive knows the rule, but many choose to not follow its advice and direction, instead making it their purpose in life to acquire power over others, giving them both the ability, and the right, to harm others at their whim. I say right, because we have only those rights we can defend, and we, the common folk, do not defend ourselves against the BRC…. most of the time, whatever the BRC says is passively accepted by society, sometimes with regret and resignation, but mostly with reluctant acquiescence.

Me, I’ve never really been able to grasp what it is in those people, that allows them to hurt others without suffering pangs of guilt. I know it is possible to suffer feelings such as that, and still ignore them, but it seems to me like those in power have learned to not even feel the guilt, having somehow come to be able to justify their desire for power as rational and right, rather than evil and cruel. It’s as if they come to decide they are destined to lord it over others, and thus feel only satisfaction at the suffering of others. It doesn’t make any sense to my world view, but, I understand that is how it works for them. Sick bastards….

Yes sick…. in my mind, any person who wants a public office in this country, one requiring election, is a sick person, riddled with all sorts of delusions and aggrandizement, and should be isolated from the rest of us, as it (greedy ambition, and the desire for power) can be a contagious condition. I don’t care how many logical sounding arguments or positions the person is able to spew out, they are mentally ill, and should be forced into treatment, for the safety of all society.

In fact, I think it would be a good thing if we started talking about some political control, rather than gun control. I think the political world needs regulation much more than do guns…. Guns are going to be used against people, it is what they were designed for, and people aren’t going to give them up, or stop doing crazy stuff with them, just because of a few regulations…. But, the politicians NEED to be regulated, much more than they are, and it really can’t wait…..

“Under every stone lurks a politician.” — Aristophanes

This particular subject is an easy rant for me, with all the major characteristics of a good subject right out there to see and write about. As such, I could probably go on all day without running out of stuff to poke at in this area of human nature. But, I’ve made my point, I think, so we’ll save some of the energy for later. Let it suffice to say, how someone feels about the Golden Rule is usually a good indicator of how they feel about politicians, et al.

A real politician will look you in the eye, tell you they support the Golden Rule wholeheartedly, then will turn right around and say the exact opposite to your enemy. to gain their support. And, they’ll never feel a moment’s guilt over doing so…. If they did, how could they ever consider trying to be elected in the first place? Just wanting that kind of power is a clear sign of mental illness, guaranteed….

“My CODE of ETHICS is vacationing at famed SCHROON LAKE in upstate New York!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I was done with this, but fate intervened…. Just to show how our culture has developed under the influence of the delusions fostered by the lies of the BRC, consider this, which I found in the 13th Bathroom Reader….

One of our cultural myths says that the soldiers at Valley Forge under Washington during the Revolutionary War starved during winter because there was no food anywhere for them. The truth is, there was plenty of food, but the farmers in Valley Forge sold it all to the British Army, who were able to pay cash….

Kind of takes away from the grandeur of the alleged events, and puts the lie to any elements of implied nobility, doesn’t it? Conversely, it does rather support what I’ve outlined above, wouldn’t you say?…… Sick puppies, all of them, and always ready, and willing, to take advantage of human greed….

“If any man can convince me and bring home to me that I do not think or act aright, gladly will I change; for I search after truth, by which man never yet was harmed. But he is harmed who abideth on still in his deception and ignorance.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vi, 21

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

I realize that I am an odd duck; the large, red, noisy nose is a dead giveaway…. Like most of us who fit into this particular category, I don’t much care, nor do I spend any time worrying about trying to change that. Another of the probable methods to be able to successfully identify those such as myself is our eclectic taste in poetry…. and who, may I ask, is more eclectic than Emily?….. Nobody…. To my way of thinking, there’s nobody better, either…..

A Clock Stopped — Not The Mantel’s

A clock stopped — not the mantel’s
Geneva’s farthest skill
Can’t put the puppet bowing
That just now dangled still.

An awe came on the trinket!
The figures hunched with pain,
Then quivered out of decimals
Into degreeless noon.

It will not stir for doctors,
This pendulum of snow;
The shopman importunes it,
While cool, concernless No

Nods from the gilded pointers,
Nods from seconds slim,
Decades of arrogance between
The dial life and him.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Most likely, I don’t have to tell y’all what will come next; if you’ve been here before, you’ll recognize the signs and symptoms. If not, well, you’ll be okay; lots of lesser ffolkes have already lived through it, so, you will too…. No doubt, you’ve got some preconceived notions of what a pearl should be like, or, if not, some preferences… All I can suggest is for you to leave them at home, for they will NOT serve you here….

That being said, here is a random, harlequin pearl, with parameters known only to whatever gods may be in the vicinity…. I sure don’t have a clue…. I just write ’em…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it promises to be a good one, after a fashion….

“All my life I have had an awareness of other times and places.” — The Star Rover, by Jack London, 1914

All that tread
The globe are but a handful to the tribes
That slumber in its bosom.

— William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) — Thanatopsis

“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Consider the little mouse, how sagacious an animal it is which never entrusts its life to one hole only.” — Plautus (254-184 BC) – Truculentus, Act iv, Sc. 4, 15, (868.)

Power, like a desolating pestilence,
Pollutes whate’er it touches…

— Percy Bysshe Shelley

“If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” — Clint Eastwood

“Although our information is incorrect, we do not vouch for it.” — Satie

I was right, again….. and, no, it doesn’t get old….

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

Well, this has been an interesting morning, to say the least (something I have a hard time with, obviously….). Even the ending came up on me quickly, so I am unsure of just what to put here today…. I guess I’ll just say, I hope you enjoyed today’s effort, and I’ll see you tomorrow…. Anything else would be anticlimactic….. Y’all be cool, now, hear?…..

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

gigoid

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

View Full Profile →

	katiemiafrederick on Are those Foster Grants to blo…
	katiemiafrederick on Funk-o-matic accessories are o…
	katiemiafrederick on Dodge those taxes with dignity…
	katiemiafrederick on Dodge those taxes with dignity…
	katiemiafrederick on But…. but…. what a…

gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: William Cullen Bryant

Are we liable for the fish livers?….

Let’s prime the pump with sad kittens….

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: