Sleep eluded me until about 0130 in the morning; I spent the intervening time pacing, wandering the house (it’s damn cold outside… about 31-34 degrees, according to the online weather folks), with the occasional run at this document’s draft, trying to at least get SOMETHING done, since I was up…. Trying to write distracts me, a little bit, though not for long…. I did manage, over two-and-a-half hours, to complete quite a bit of it, which has helped immensely… So, I lost half the night’s sleep, but, at least I accomplished more than simply suffering through the effects of my young paduan doctor’s foolish cowardice….

Arthur, the robot writer I use, did a good job yesterday…. A bit smarmy in spots, but, all in all, a damn good Pearl…. I can only hope I do as well myself today…. Not that it matters a whit, of course; it’s only in my head it really matters at all, and, there, I’m okay…. Tired, a little pissed at myself, but, all in all, not in too much pain, which always makes my day a little brighter…. until that changes, naturally, which, sadly, it alway does…. I just try to appreciate the few moment of true freedom I am given each day; true freedom, of course, exists in those moments when the pain is gone, always to return, but, whose absence I rejoice…

All that being said, to no real purpose, other than to get us to this point on the page, we will now move on to the next section, where you’ll find today’s video selection…. Since I have yet to review that part, it will be a surprise to me, too, as I let Arthur pick it out…. He’s a damn good robot, and very helpful…. though, I admit, he’s programmed to be that way. It’s fine; it works for me, and, whoever did the programming at least gave it a sense of humor…. Damn fine coding, I have to say…. For now, we’ll be on our way down the page, to whatever we find below….

Shall we Pearl?

“Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sought.” — Matsuo Basho

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Yesterday, Arthur picked out some pretty good stuff, hitting the nail right on the head with Linda Ronstadt’s concert. The page where it is found also had some other great music by some of my favorite voices from my youth…. Here is, perhaps, the best voice of them all, as well as one of the icons of the twentieth-century peace movement, a woman who has devoted her entire life to singing for peace, in one way or another, with consistency, devotion, endless compassion, and a voice as pure as the music of the spheres….

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Before beginning today, (or, this morning, as I am writing this at 0115 AM….), I’d like to use the following pearl, a rogue, unattributed tagline, which I have claimed for my own; it explains, in a few short words, the reason for the presence of the section devoted to ranting, and other discussions from the curious mind of gigoid that are found at this point in the process of producing these Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. I won’t say it makes it entirely clear, but, anyone used to my way of expressing ideas should get the picture without any trouble….

“My mind is not for rent to any god or government.” — gigoid

It’s my estimation, which I make with reluctance at such presumption, but strong confidence in my reasoning, for 99% of the population of the world, the above statement is NOT true…. In one way or another, without ever really thinking about it at all, most people have given up their right to think for themselves to someone else, most commonly, one of the two institutions mentioned. Most often, both are found to be operating in conjunction, reinforcing the degree of control over that person’s mind, and actions, turning them into what can best be described as a fully-programmed robot slave, which doesn’t know it is a slave, or that it has agreed to be one…. I use the term “it” because, to my way of thinking, anyone who gives up the right to think for themselves isn’t quite all the way human…

“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.” — Aesop

The American public, along with much of the adult world on this planet, are little more than trained consumers, who not only ignored this advice from Aesop, which ALL of us learned when little, but, have actually been trained to LOOK for the shadow, believing it to be more valuable than the reality it hides…. I will grant that the largest portion of that massive number of people were trained this way before they had any chance to resist the training; sadly, the parents of them all were mostly trained to believe the same lies, when they were small and vulnerable themselves. Those who control the world, through the auspices of religion and government know well the truth of what Adolf Hitler said, to wit: “Give me the mind of a child before age of five, and he will be mine for life.”

Some might think it crude to quote Hitler, but, ffolkes, he was trying to usurp the place of the elite monsters who control the world, (which, you will note, he was NOT allowed to do….). It is clear to me, as someone who does NOT fall into the category of slave, (not in my head, anyway…. they still can’t touch that….), Hitler was stopped, at least in part, because he was clumsily giving away too many of their secret techniques of control, though, he tended to use them more as a hammer than a scalpel….

I’m sure they also didn’t appreciate him trying to force his way with such mad rudeness into their private gig, which I am sure they consider to be the natural order of things; they prefer a quieter, less visible presence in achieving control of worldly events, than one that relies merely on brute force…. They use money, lies, and assassination, to much greater effect, by spreading ignorance, encouraging avarice, and rewarding those who cheat and steal the best…. Hitler was merely telling the absolute truth about how to control the ignorant masses of society, exposing techniques which have been used for millennia to fool them into carrying out the agenda of those hidden manipulators.

With that in mind, look at what Aesop said, then think about who DOES educate those children…. Until the age of five, it is, mostly, parents, who are, almost without exception, themselves under control, aided at this stage by the churches, (Sunday School, in all its incarnations…), who teach those innocent, unsuspecting young minds to fall for the ages-old scam, the same as they did, before most of the children are able to know better than to believe it….

Some, like myself, successfully resist the propaganda to which all children are subjected, or, are able to spot the flaws from the beginning, but, mostly, kids just accept what their parents tell them, part of which is strong training to believe anyone in a position of authority, such as preachers, police, or politicians…. Teachers, too, but, the techniques used in those areas are different, slightly, in approach…. All have the same goal, though, which is best highlighted by the following statement, from one of the ‘free thinkers’ in history, who sometimes try to warn the foolish how to see what they are missing….

“Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt.” — Clarence Darrow

Now, perhaps, y’all will have the answer to why I chose the user name and title I did…. gigoid, the dubious. Doubt is the beginning of reason, the womb of curiosity, and the spark that fires the imagination. Without it, we would still be sitting in caves at night, cowering in apparent, yet, illusory safety, from the fearful, unknown dangers of the dark….. Except, of course, some of us doubted the tales, and stole out at night to see what could be seen…. Yet, we teach our children NOT to doubt, not to question, not to want to examine all they see, hear, and perceive for truth, and whatever knowledge can be gleaned from those perceptions, knowledge to drive out ignorance, and worse, the fear that springs from not knowing….

“It’s not what we don’t know that gets us into trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.” — Will Rogers

This is, as I am fond of saying, for sure and for certain; of that I no longer have any doubt. But, we give the control of our minds, and our lives, to people who are either programmed, delusional slaves themselves, or are predatory sycophants, who will lie, cheat, and steal to achieve their own ends, no matter the cost to others, all at the behest, and under the control of a very small number of extremely powerful, completely selfish, paranoid, morally bereft excuses for human beings, who have been in control of society from almost the beginning of recorded history….

So, don’t expect it to change quickly, as these evil humans have learned how to take advantage of the flaws in human nature, which isn’t going to change at all, from without, unless slowly…. Well, that is true now, but, only until physical reality sets in. The physical laws these fools have been ignoring for a long time now are going to catch up to their ignorance, causing changes to the environment of this planet that even their vast wealth cannot halt, or prevent, or alter in any way. It will be interesting to see the outcome; I can only hope it comes before I’m gone, because, I worry about my kids, and grandkids, and how it will affect them….

“I believe the moral losses of expediency always far outweigh the temporary gains.” — Wendell L. Willkie

Now we see why Wilkie wasn’t allowed to win the election; the masters of society couldn’t allow such a man, with such beliefs, to gain any real degree of power or influence over society…. any more than they allowed such men as Eugene Debs, Adlai Stevenson, or either of the Kennedy brothers, to achieve any real power…. all of whom, even if flawed as part of the elite class, still displayed a lot of empathy for the masses, and promoted agendas not acceptable to the true powers that be….

Yes, that’s right, you’re hearing some conspiracy theories…  Hell, conspiracies are at least better than believing that all this shit is happening by chance, or because people are TOO STUPID to see what is going on. At least, with a conspiracy, we are allowing that the people who are causing all this shit are competent and able to plan…. a damn sight preferable to getting taken out for no reason at all….And, if conspiracy isn’t the case, what the hell is going on?….

When I start down that road, I get very close to going out to buy a gun, or a cross-bow, and going hunting, just to try to find and eliminate as many of the master class as I could find…. SIGH…. I hate when I feel like that, though I know I’d feel better afterward…. Just like I’d feel guilty about it…. Sure I would. I’d get over it, but, I would feel guilty for a while…. Nothing would change, either, but, at least I’d feel better…

Can’t have everything, I guess…. I’m done now. I’m not sure just what that was all about, but, I feel some better, anyway….

Why, look!…. I found some pearls, all commenting on the Asininnies, in one way or another, whether from the direction of telling it like it is, or showing how it isn’t, while simultaneously implying how it is supposed to be…. Imagine finding these here!…..
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Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist.” — Edmund Burke

“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” — Edward Abbey

“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.” — Henry Clay (1777-1852) — Speech at Ashland, Ky., March 1829

“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” — Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

“Creative semantics is the key to contemporary government; it consists of talking in strange tongues lest the public learn the inevitable inconveniently early.” — George Will

“The rifle and handgun are “equalizers”–the weapons of a democracy. Tanks and bombers represent dictatorship.” — Edward Abbey

“Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.” — Bill Watterson, cartoonist of Calvin & Hobbes

Hmph. Onward….

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There are times when nothing but the best will do; here is one I consider to be counted among that exalted category….. Enjoy, ffolkes, this old favorite is a powerful poem, with a great deal of insight into human nature…. But. then, reading it will show you that; you don’t have to take my word for it….

Well…. This pearl took a long time, relatively speaking, and a lot of formatting, but, I think I’ve got it the way I want it…. This would be a suitable set of quotes for a poster, stitched onto material, or printed on a parchment…. Of course, it’s a bit abstruse and esoteric for any mainstream display; hell, it’s probably too much of that for even the avant garde crowd…. My suggestion is to just leave it be, absorb the symmetry, which I worked so hard to preserve, on every level of this pearl, all of which points at what it means to be Human…. or, at least, the kind of human I would like to be….

Wow…. It’s so symmetrical, it works even if you switch to reading it upside down!…. Try it! I dare you….

Oh, right…. I should say this…. By upside down, I mean, read them in reverse order, or, turn the order upside down…. not the words, or the computer, or you…. You don’t need to stand on your head to do this; just use your imagination….

Considering my condition today, it’s a damn good thing most of this was done last night, during my enforced middle-of-the-night work session. So be it; I’m not one to look at horses’ teeth, gift or burden. I leave that to the county vet….. Any who, I’m outta here, in the vain hope of finding a bit of leftover sand, left by the sandman…. Wish me luck on that; I’ll need it…. See y’all, ffolkes…. maybe even tomorrow….