Tag Archives: You

Twice-baked brains, aux bleu….

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Ffolkes,

“Service to others
becomes a necessity
in seeking virtue.

~~ gigoid, 10/9/2018 ~~

eugene vineyards

New Vineyards near Eugene, Oregon….

In the past eight days, since last posting a Pearl, the various parts of today’s post fell together in a random order that eventually achieved some coherency just yesterday. My life outside this room where the computer lives has been, more than I care to think it could be, ‘interesting’, and I use that word in the oriental sense, not occidental. Friends in crisis, personal demon wars, trying to stop smoking tobacco, risky business, all have occurred of late in rapid=fire succession, unwilling to allow one the time to either prepare, or recover. SIGH…. (that’s a West Counties sigh, long, sad face, slowly indrawn breath exhaled with force and a shake of the head….). ‘Tis easy to see why I’m so hard-pressed to get anything done, with so much distraction from any purpose I choose to follow….

But, all of us live in the same reality (that’s why I explore it….), with one difference, that being our own perception of it. That said, it remains both no MORE difficult, or, any LESS difficult than anyone else’s reality, no matter how perceived; in the end, we all must face it alone. That’s why I have come to believe so strongly in the old proverb about ‘living in the shelter of each other’; without each other, we all get lost, and lonely. Sometimes, that can happen even when we are with each other, so, it’s a good thing to also remember the other old proverb, i.e., ‘if you want a friend, be one’….

I’m doing some writing on the side for a friend, and have also procrastinated on getting it done as quickly as I like, so, I’m gonna leave this be so it can get posted, & do my best to quit complaining at myself long enough to get something else done. Wish me luck, ‘cuz I have a feeling I’ll need it….. For the nonce, I’ll see you down the page a ways….

Shall we Pearl?

“Go softly, for you tread on my dreams.”

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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john lee chicken mambacom

John Lee Hooker

Image from chickenmamba.com via Google Images…

Here’s another artist who should need little introduction. If one knows anything of the blues, he is an icon; if not, well, he’s still an icon, just one of whom you don’t know, to your loss…. until now, of course. I’ve included two live videos, as anything he does live is impeccable, IMHO…. I hope you enjoy it….

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buddah-out-to-lunch_s

For old times’ sake, just because….

From 10/16/2014:

“The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.” — Steven Weinberg

In the past year and some time, I’ve written many words… more than I care to think about just now, and a number that some would say deserves the term “interminable”….. None of them comes closer to summarizing how I feel about life in general than this…. I’ve never seen it before, to my knowledge, which detracts in no way from its deep resonance with my core beliefs.

I spend a lot of time discussing those parts of life that lean toward the direction of farce, with no little outrage at the depth of human cupidity and well, bozoid tendencies. In my own way, I suppose, this could be construed as my own effort to try to understand the universe, and our place in it…. I hope so, anyway…. because understanding life has been my only quest for the greatest part of it that I remember, reaching back to when I was five or six, and desperately trying to blend in with all the orange monkeys, while secretly wearing my own coat of blue…. For the two years after beginning school, and being exposed all day to the world outside my family, the gap between myself and my peer group seemed to be unpredictable, in terms of what they perceived, and what I could see and understand.

This isn’t to imply I was an outcast; merely an “egghead”, or other such complimentary terminology, as I found the actual school part of it all quite simple. This did, on the positive side, give me enough time to learn to adapt, and make myself likable for other reasons… sports being one, and applying the principle of “to have friends, be a friend”; I was always generous with helping others in school, with whatever I could do. Plus, I do LIKE people, as a rule…. they often disappoint, but, if one pays attention, they also never fail to amaze, in so many ways.

This study of my peer group from my first memories has persisted throughout my life, and remains today my primary focus of self-directed education, so to speak. I love to sit in public places and watch crowds; I don’t much like being IN crowds, so much as watching them interact with each other, all according to the dancing rules we all learn, from kindergarten onward…. From the first time I ever attended a county fair, my favorite activity at each, was to race through all there was to see, spend all my disposable income, and then spend the remainder of my time sitting near the front gate plaza, watching the people as they came to the fair….. endless entertainment, and still is…. only now, I walk the streets when I’m able, or sit in the public parks, libraries, and coffee shops, wherever I live….

“Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

One of the things I’ve learned about people is that human nature is just that… a force of nature. It has not changed much, if at all, since we humans were living in grass huts at the junction of a river; there are still good people, and bad people, and they are most often the same person…. because we all have our own unique view of the world, and our own feelings about what we see and believe we understand. We don’t always have all the information we need at critical times in our lives, and so make decisions that affect our behavior or outlook, decisions which become habits, leading us to believe these habits are justifiable because they work to keep us comfortable…. until they don’t. Life always changes, there is nothing that can stop it from doing so; if we do not learn to change ourselves, to adapt to the changes in the universe around us, it will end up destroying us.

The universe has no mercy, no pity; these are human concepts, and not a part of reality at all. But, being human, we crave justice, for things to be fair…. we bend our efforts to changing the universe to meet our wishes, never realizing that it is folly, that reality does not work that way, and there is nothing at all we can do to alter that reality according to our wishes without suffering the consequences. How quickly those consequences will result in our demise as a species is, of course, a matter of some debate. I tend to believe that we are nearing a breaking point, and the universe is going to be submitting a bill for payment to us, for the damages to our living domicile for which we are responsible, in the very near future…..

It must be noted that most of what I write about, whether I write well, or merely a lot, lends itself equally well to tragedy as it does to farce. In fact, it should also be noted that this is a good metaphor, for human nature. We are contradictory creatures, you, and your Uncle Bob, your Aunt Shirley, and I, and everyone else who makes up human society, filled with warring impulses, and wildly differing viewpoints. The expression of our nature in the real world reflects all of that, in all its tragic, farcical, gloriously foolish splendor…. We inspire and disgust each other on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, especially if one watches a lot of TV, with its completely distorted approximation of reality…. I have pretty much given up on TV completely, as it merely serves to fuel my outrage, and that, as you may have noted already, needs no further encouragement….

Well, a thousand or so words should be enough for a retrospective musing on human nature….. especially when they flow out as smoothly as these. I’ll leave this here, and most likely come back to it another day…. I will leave you with this fine observation from Mssr. Darwin, of The Origin of Species fame…. a book which gave birth to perhaps the finest scientific advance of the millennium, the since-proven Theory of Evolution….. surely a magnificent creation of the human spirit that encompasses both of the elements, farce and tragedy, we explored above….

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

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Comedy_Tragedy

“But groundless hope, like unconditional love, is the only kind worth having.”

~~ EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow, “Cynthia Horner’s Eulogy”, Apr. 1994 ~~

Unsolicited Gratitude

Fear becomes familiar when reality bodes us ill
pain assumes first position, no matter our will.
Powerless, we founder, no strength to prevail
anguished and afraid, against unwanted Fate we rail.

Still, a grain of hope deep inside, hidden well against need
gives us reason to survive, our starving souls to feed.
Failure of courage burdens time, of being bested,
until our souls, in submission, become foully infested.

Bitter tears wash through us each day, with little care,
no thought, no feeling, no wish, or need to be fair.
Rendered clueless, confusion falls upon us, as prey,
we surrender a piece of our soul, little as we may.

Yet, always, a bright beam of hope is seen from afar,
no matter how dreary, or dark, it may seem where we are.
None knows, nor would consent to tell, it seems
from whence it hails, or why it so brightly gleams.

Saving our sanity, absolving our unwanted fears,
dispelling the myths and lies that come with the years.
Each man has known the precious gift that hope may give
And gives glad thanks, as long as he may live.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/10/2012

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

Stones on the Path….

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“Fate is a river. Free will is a paddle.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

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“We can not live for ourselves alone,
our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads.”

~~ Herman Melville ~~

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“Time carves all.
Let yourself be carved to attain your true nature.”

~~ Master Po ~~

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“What I gave, I have; what I spent, I had; what I kept, I lost.”

— old epitaph

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

~~ Matsuo Basho ~~

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“Creation is a mighty joke, but the laugh is at my own expense.”

~~ Meher Baba ~~

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“All is flux, nothing stays still.”

~~ Heraclitus (540?-480? B.C.) ~~

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Well, there you go…. Such as it is, I offer it up for your perusal, and, hopefully, your approbation. If not, well, the effort is always worthwhile, for all one may learn. I’ll quit pontificating, or, even merely being naturally pedantic, long enough to bid thee farewell, until the next time, which will probably be in a day or three. Who knows? This little foray may have broken the dam upon my fountain of expression; I guess we’ll see, won’t we? Until we do, y’all be well, & happy as you may be. As has probably become obvious by now, if nothing else, you can leave the ‘being strange’ part to me….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3

À bientôt, mon cherí….

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Deft, or daft? You decide….

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Ffolkes,

“Virtue is its own reward.”

~~ John Dryden ~~

posing-leelu

The Look….

Hajime….

“It is not necessary to light a candle to the sun.”

~~ Algernon Sidney — Discourses on Government, Chap. ii, Sect. xxiii ~~

Though I managed to finish this Pearl yesterday, between my walking & playing in the BBR, and listening to music, I find myself somewhat lacking in ideas this morning to introduce it. Originally, I’d intended to write a short, pithy discourse using the above quote as a springboard. That fell by the wayside when I gazed at it this morning, & found I had nothing I wish to relate, either on the idea of government, or lighting candles, even metaphoric ones. So, with that elegant opportunity wasted, I move now to a more efficient, if less elegant technique, so I can get it posted in a relatively timely fashion.

Even this is sounding rather stilted, formal, & not at all what I had in mind when I began. Rather than try to make it into something it is not, I’ll just use my experience at blog manipulation to move us down the page, to where the material is distracting enough to make us all forget we ever had anything else in mind. To do that is a fairly simple task, for we can utilize old #4, which has earned its place as our default escape tool over time. It’s actually pretty cool, as long as you hang on to something….

Shall we Pearl?….

Beverly: “We will start with the assumption that I am *not* crazy.”

~~ “Remember Me”, Stardate unknown ~~

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ray-lamontagne-wesley-mann-03-billboard-650

Ray LaMontagne

Image from Billboard.com via Google Images

I only recently discovered this artist’s music, though, apparently, I’ve been listening to it for years, on the air waves. Perhaps it is me, but, I often hear music while I’m out and about, or riding in someone’s car, music I enjoy listening to, but have no clue as to the artist’s name. After a number of years of hearing a certain voice, I’ll ask, or discover the artist’s name; I then have a chance to explore their work to see if they’re someone I’ll listen to more, or even procure it for my personal use via purchase or download. This man’s work has been on that edge of my awareness for a long time now, & I am very pleased to have discovered him, and, with him, an entire genre of modern music of which I’d been unfamiliar. I hope you enjoy him as much as I find I do….Abondanza!….

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Ray LaMontagne

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Comedy_Tragedy

Blue chameleon

It’s hot today, with chances of pain & rain.
So it says on the news.
Guess there’s nothing to do again
unless it’s sing the blues.

The blues are gettin’ old, though.
So I say, & I should know.
I been singin’ the bloody songs, y’know?
For what seems a long row to hoe.

S’pose it could get better someday.
I’ve heard that tune before.
Always seemed out of tune anyway;
I ain’t waitin’ any more.

Bang those drums & kick the cans.
May as well raise some hell.
Clang together some old pots & pans;
It hides the little voices so well.

Never worry, don’t you fear at all.
We’ve got certificates of note.
Bureaucratic protections, officially small.
Non carborundum illegitimi, he wrote.

Time, and circumstance, wrote me today.
It came in the daily mail from home.
It said I shouldn’t write unless I say
you’ll be charged for the distance you roam.

~~ gigoid ~~

5/28/2016

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pearls_3

Naked Pearls

Notes on being human….

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“Wherever you come near the human race
there’s layers and layers of nonsense.”

~~ Thornton Wilder, Our Town ~~

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“Nothing is so easy as to deceive one’s self,
for what we wish, that we readily believe.”

~~ Demosthenes ~~

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“Thinking, understanding, reasoning, willing, call not these Soul!
They are its actions, but they are not its essence.”

~~ Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375) ~~

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“Every extension of knowledge arises
from making the conscious the unconscious.”

~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~

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“Those oft are stratagems which errors seem,
Nor is it Homer nods, but we that dream.”

~~ Alexander Pope — Essay on Criticism, Part i, Line 177 ~~

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“We are the hurdles we leap to be ourselves.”

~~ Michael McClure ~~

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“Sherlock Holmes observed that once you have eliminated the impossible,
then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer.
I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.”

~~ Douglas Adams, “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” ~~

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It’s done, & though I’m not sure exactly how that happened, I’ll take it. I’ll also disdain any further folderol (love that word), & merely bid thee adieu until we meet again. That should only take a day or two, as I’m starting to find a balance I haven’t enjoyed in very long time. To provide my Gentle Readers with the opportunity to experience the same, I’ll just say, see ya, & leave it at that…. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Featured Image -- 14761

À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Bitter whimsy…

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“Rotten wood cannot be carved.”


~~ Confucius ~~


~~ Analects, Book 5, Ch. 9 ~~


homebase


gigoid’s hideaway….


Hajime…. Bitter whimsy, indeed, my friends. It’s been at least three days since I last sat to compose a Pearl, though I’ve spent a little time collecting pearls to use. Most of my time, sadly, has been spent feuding with the powers that be, in the guise of banks, and robotic zombies in service to soulless corporations. As usual, the conflicts in which I’ve been compelled to engage have ended in what can best be called a draw; I get what I need, the myrmidons get confused, and we both feel a bit unsettled afterward. Mostly, it works, though there seems to be little point to any of it.


In fact, if you consider our opening lines from Confucius (the real one, not the one with the weird fake accent everyone uses… this is from the books he actually wrote, back in the days of Lao Tzu and the emperors of various dynasties in China…), taken together with the intro closing quote from Bert Russell, it gives the flavor of how my time out in the BBR has gone, for the most part. Relatively productive in terms of task completion, but, with the concomitant angst and stress from having to deal with mundanes, myrmidons, zombies, and simple idiots, to go along with the more rarely encountered true human, those who are able to display rational behavior, and a human ability to display empathy toward others.


I miss the conversations involved in blogging; in the past six or so years, I’ve met some of the best ffolkes I’ve ever known; several have become very good friends, and I am reluctant to completely give up the time I spend connecting with them. But, I am finding, also, I am less filled with the background of tension that comes from having to soak up so much bad juju, which is hard to avoid if one follows current events. There are literally dozens of issues being played out in the world today, all of which are relatively critical in nature; the failure to meet some of the challenges necessary to resolve those issues will have serious effects on the entire world, including our own species, effects which conceivably lead to our demise as a species. It ain’t pretty, ffolkes; humanity has been ignoring the basic rules of reality for a long time, hoping against hope the delusions/illusions upon which we have based our existence are powerful enough to withstand conflict with the real world. I’m unhappy to report, they aren’t….


But, that’s a rant for another time, yes? Yes. For now, I’m going to once again slough it all onto a back burner, & throw together a Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, just because I can, and, probably should, given the alternative, which none of us should contemplate without a better handle on things…. For now…


Shall we Pearl?


“In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice,

and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper,

and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.”


~~ Bertrand Russell ~~


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mikegordon__leo_kottke


Image from LIVEmusicblog.com via Google Images


Leo Kottke has been a legendary performer on the 12-string guitar for most of my life; I first saw him in concert in my first year at UC Berkeley, where he blew me, and the rest of the audience, right out of our shoes. Mike Gordon is much younger, but, no less a phenomenon, as a studio bassist, and for the popular rock band, Phish, with Trey Anastasio complementing his bass licks on lead guitar with his improvisational genius. Leo and Mike got together prior to Phish, to play in concert, also making a number of albums treasured by aficionados of great improvisational music…. Enjoy, ffolkes; these are two of the best, having fun together….


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Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon Live






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Comedy_Tragedy


Adjectives of Quality ~~ Bloody Friday


A baleful lump of ironic introspection

sits upon my shoulder today

leaving traces of fey reflection

with a smattering of true dismay.


Resistance may be futile, many have said,

belief didn’t necessarily follow.

Abnegation of fear marks all bills paid,

leaving such empty threats hollow.


Symbolic courage never sleeps so deeply

as when delusion holds sway.

Bartered virtue, sold far too cheaply,

stands in shame, until honor fades away.


Too many culprits exist to count just one;

all of us bear obvious blame.

Evil is as evil does, only, when it’s done,

it begins again, all same-same.


Nobody seems to care enough to deny the lies.

Ignorant fear rules humanity’s masses.

When evil passes unremarked, innocence dies;

silence equals guilt, leaving only hope’s ashes.


Reality screams; tales of terror unfold,

flames fanned with purposeful malice,

insidious dangers hide beneath atrocity untold

as Gaia weeps into an empty chalice.



~~ gigoid ~~


10/3/2015


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pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Odd, but, true….


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“Everything can be filed under “miscellaneous”.”


~~ Dilbert, Scott Adams ~~


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“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth:

(1) not going all the way; and

(2) not starting.”


~~ Buddha ~~


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“Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free.”


~~ Subtle Bee ~~


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“The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves

as the sole cause of all our adversities.


~~ Sophocles ~~


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“As I look at your image,

I see only the light which was not absorbed.”


~~ Mark Middleton ~~


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“It will not out of the flesh that is bred in the bone.”


~~ John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part ii, Chap. viii~~


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“What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?”


~~ Ursula K. LeGuin ~~


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‘Tis now 0510, which means this process has done its job admirably; I’m still relatively sane, and nobody died in my vicinity, whether due to my action, or inaction. Plus, compared to the general run of mundanes, I’m still sane, and as free as anyone in this sad old world can be. Rather than entertain any opinions of a different nature, I’ll just ease my way off screen, & get on with the re-ordering of my personal reality. It’s a tough job, but, who else will do it, if I don’t? No one. Since that remains the case, I’ll see y’all later; the exact date remains, at this point, a mystery, but, don’t fret, it won’t be too long… It seems to keep pulling at me…. See ya, ffolkes….


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….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Bones & stones in the dust….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper

until drops of blood form on your forehead.”


~~ Gene Fowler ~~


dancing ferries


Dancing ferry boats, Victoria, B.C.


Hajime…. Having awakened in what can be termed a funk, if not an actual ‘mood’, I find myself unwilling to put a lot of effort into today’s mess. As a result, I can also say, the results bear out the funk, perfectly. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s not good; it does fulfill all of our standard requirements. More than that, I will refrain from addressing, lest I further worsen what is already promising to be a funky day. Rather than complain, any more than I’ve already managed, I’ll limit myself to one paragraph, & just get on with it, before I either change my mind altogether, or having given up, let Murphy have his way. What you see is, patently, what you get….


Shall we Pearl?


“It’s like deja-vu, all over again.”


~~ Yogi Berra~~


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


Yep, you guessed it; more classical music. It’s a default day, & this is my default. Chosen, as per norm, by random methods developed over time to decrease Murphy’s influence. It doesn’t work, but, we use it anyway… Enjoy!….


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Classical Music






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Comedy_Tragedy


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 ~~


4/17/2013


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pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Getting there is half the fun….


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“There is more to life than just avoiding death.”


~~ Jeff Hummel ~~


*******


“I prefer to be true to myself,

even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others,

rather than to be false,

and to incur my own abhorrence.”


~~ Frederick Douglass ~~


*******


“Anywhere, anytime,

I’d sacrifice the finest nuance for a laugh,

the most elegant trope for a smile.”


~~ Edward Abbey ~~


*******


“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.”


~~ Booker T. Washington ~~


*******


“Whatever games are played with us, we must play no games with ourselves,

but deal in our privacy with the last honesty and truth.”


~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~


*******


“Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.”


~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~


*******


“Are we THERE yet?”


~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~


*******


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


Still here? Lucky you. I am, shall we say, near the edge, where it seems to be my lot to remain today…. Oh, well, at least it’s a nice view from here. I’m gonna go now, before I do, or say anything I’ll regret later. Of course, that will depend entirely upon whether, or not, I decide to go back & read this again, which might just tip me over into a free-fall through the vast spaces I can see from where I stand. Or, sit. Whatever. I’m outta here, ffolkes, to go find my equilibrium, if it is to be found. I’ll need luck, but, save yours; I’ll pick some up where I find it…. See y’all tomorrow, given a fair wind and a rising tide…..


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….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
A direct correlation to oblique references….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“If possible, try to find a way to come downstairs that doesn’t involve

going bump, bump, bump, on the back of your head.”


~~ Pooh in Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne ~~


dublin-street


Outside Trinity College Gate, Dublin, Ireland


Hajime…. Abandoning all hope of dreaming, the old man arises, muttering, to stumble forth, falling into routine with a sigh of relief, which lasts until realizing ’tis, once more, shy of 3 AM. Accustomed to the darkness, he finds his way to the computer, where he sits, to begin another day, in search of the remaining tatters of sanity to be found in the darker corners of the mind.


Then, of course, he realized what a stupid idea that was, so, he started over. Good morrow, ffolkes. And how are y’all? Good. As you can tell by now, my mind is a pretty blank slate…. I’m pretty sure I’m also out of chalk with which to write on it. But, here I am anyway, typing away just as if I had some clue as to what to put here. I could go with some nonsense, or try to salvage the almost clever opening lines, but, it all seems a bit superfluous, when I realize I’m already done, & none of this will make any difference, other than how I feel about it… That, of course, isn’t relevant, either, but, we’ll pretend it is, just to finish off this paragraph with a touch of certainty, an article thus far absent.


How’s that? I think it’s going to have to do for today; keeping at this, when there’s nothing in there to pull out, would be even more useless a pastime than even we can pull off with any aplomb. (Another hard-to-find article around here…) Rather than continue to torment y’all, and myself, I think I’ll just get on with it, so we can get this posted by the time I’ve set for a deadline. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Now, if only I could lay claim to having a clue as to where to go, we’d be all set. Since I can’t in good conscience do so, I’ll do this instead, providing proof of the pudding, as so eloquently stated by Mssr. Heywood, just below….


Shall we Pearl?


“Better is halfe a lofe than no bread.”


~~ John Heywood (c. 1565) ~ Proverbes, Part i, Chap. xi ~~


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


ana-myspace


Ana Popovic


Image from myspace.com via Google Images


A friend sent me a video of this young artist yesterday, after listening to the Bonnie Raitt video I used. Needless to say, I’m impressed, and have a new crush… Enjoy, ffolkes, this woman can play….


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






Ana Popovic Live






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


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


Comedy_Tragedy


Premises, premises….


Tricked, I stumble, and I fall

dreaming, through an abandoned palace.

Frightened and wary, unheard my call

fading into memory, no cup, no argent chalice.


The people, crushed, cry out to be freed

asking only to take part, or travel.

Nascent oaths spotlight such bursting need

fed by treachery, deep from our well.


Only the wicked shall find their way blocked

justice seeks them, snug in their hole.

Faint praises never touched, but naked, stalked

singing no gospel, no soul, no rock and roll.


Only the promised will remember the way

from unforgiven trails of sorrow.

To live life, and give death no sway,

saving grace for our only tomorrow.


~~ gigoid ~~


9/6/2012


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


pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Pungently obscure, but, tasty….


*******


“How many Zen masters does it take to change a light bulb?”


“A tree in a golden forest.”


~~ Sardonic Bee ~~


*******


“He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.”


~~ Rafael Sabatini ~~


*******


“A clown is a clown and will always be a clown.”


~~ Babbaluche the cobbler ~~


*******


“There are some things that are so serious that you have to laugh at them.”


~~ Niels Bohr ~~


*******


“If only we’d stop trying to be happy we’d have a pretty good time.”


~~ Edith Wharton ~~


*******


“Once you can accept the universe

as being something expanding into an infinite nothing which is something,

wearing stripes with plaid is easy.”


~~ Albert Einstein ~~


*******


“A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a Unicorn.”


~~ Hacker proverb ~~


*******


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


The only thing about which we may feel any sort of accomplishment today is to realize it’s done. Rather than beat this particular horse any more, now it’s dead, I’ll just take my leave, with all the dignity I can muster. I will, with some trepidation, but, much hope, try this again, maybe even tomorrow. Wish me luck, ffolkes; I’ve a feeling I’ll need it this 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


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Oatmeal is friendly food….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


“In answer to the question of why it happened,

I offer the modest proposal

that our Universe is simply one of those things

which happen from time to time.”


~~ Edward P. Tryon ~~


ensenada-plus-036


Midday light show, La Bufadora, Ensenada…


Hajime…. My purpose here today is single-fold; to get done with this, before I reach complete melt-down mode. I don’t know exactly why I’m in such a state, but, to deal with it most efficiently, it’s best to get this done, & move directly into hunker-down mode, my most powerful state of protective insulation from Reality. I don’t even care much today, so, I’m letting the process dictate the results. I’ve trusted it for this long, so, may as well keep on doing so….


I have nothing stirring in my conscious mind to put into this section; even my unconscious is in limbo. To avoid any accusations of either pandering, or, whining, I’ll just quit trying to be coherent, & get on with what we have for your perusal today. Nothing else to do, but, smile, & get on with it. Smiling may be pushing it, so, we’ll just move on to the latter…. It’s simple, really; this is all there is to it….


Shall we Pearl?


“Do not settle for less than the best your own excellence can command.”


~~ Anne McCaffrey ~~


Oops….


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


bonnie (2)


I’ve had a mad crush on this woman for decades, & still regard her as one of humanity’s treasures, for any number of reasons, most of which she displays every time she performs…. Besides, the year is already 3 days old, & we haven’t used her yet…. Enjoy, ffolkes; I will, so, you may as well, too….


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





Bonnie Raitt Live





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


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


Comedy_Tragedy


Semblance of Time


The dreams and visions of modern times are pallid and pale

filled with fear and loathing instead of joy and wonder.

Reality is aging poorly, submitting less data to loudly regale

Sad faded images lacking substance, or proof of thunder.


Sisters and brothers of nightly performance speak in spite

building up scars to protect, or keep a semblance of sanity.

Knowing illusion is near and dear, steeped in muscular delight

while compassion and intelligence get smothered by humanity.


Loneliness soon became the friend of many sizes of fools

stealing through mazes of social tests as if truly wise, or old

while companies of sterile opportunity are hiding their tools

from anyone who might be feeling even a little bit bold.


Painful momentary flashes seem to outline society’s fate

until soft, heavy monuments to elder gods fall from grace.

We’re all getting tired of being told we’re far too late

and never ever nearing tolerance, nor regaining any face.


A hard message awaits us all when we dare to even stay

of life’s uncaring disposition and curmudgeonly faux heart

Only with the strength of a hero may such tales make way

Only a poet may turn such pain into a valid work of art.


~~ gigoid ~~


10/5/2012


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


pearls_3


Naked Pearls


Gentle reminders….


*******


“Is the glass half empty or half full?

To some the glass is irrelevant.”


~~ Subtle Bee ~~


*******


“Grub first, then ethics.”


~~ Bertolt Brecht ~~


*******


“The higher you climb, the more you show your ass.”


~~ Alexander Pope, “The Dunciad” ~~


*******


“If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants.”


~~ Albert Einstein ~~


*******


“‘But he hasn’t got any clothes on,’ a little boy said.”


~~ from The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen ~~


*******


“The next best thing to doing something smart is not doing something stupid.”


~~ Flo Capp’s Observation ~~


*******


“If you can’t change your mind, do you still have one?”


~~ Caroline Malmgren-Davis ~~


*******


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


I did it; it’s done. That is, really, all there is to it today. In fact, it’s so done, I’m outta here, with no ups & no extras. Mark this date on your calendars, ffolkes; it’s likely you’ll never see it like this again…. See ya….


Y’all take care out there,

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

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

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
The world is my oyster, I shall not whine….

			
						

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Ffolkes,


 




“Don’t store garlic near other victuals.”


~~ Lazarus Long ~~


Posing Leelu


Leelu, platting her next move….






Hajime…. Today, our opening line from Lazarus Long has more meaning than usual, as well as more than is immediately obvious upon first reading it. To understand Lazarus’ point, one must put in some heavy, yet subtle thought on the matter, before the light dawns….. Some see it right away, but, for those who do not, & may mistrust me on this, let me assure you, it isn’t talking just about garlic…. 


For us, today, it has more meaning because it fits in with the day I had yesterday… at least, up until writing this, of course. Who can say what may happen after? Not me, nor will I even attempt such foolishness. I AM old enough to know better; moreover, I’m old enough to listen when I tell myself that.


I was awakened at 0722 by Leelu, who was annoyed a bit when I rolled over & ignored her for another twenty minutes of sack time…. Once up, coffee brewing, we played for a few minutes, then I distracted her with food while I drank my first cup, & tried to complete yesterdays’ Pearl; some of that episode was related there.


Today, I have managed, in between our mutual training sessions, to complete this Pearl, a full 17.5 hours ahead of the time I usually post, at 0600, or as close as I can get. AND, Leelu now will jump up almost anywhere I ask her to, on command…. Bonus!


Yay! Now, I can even try to work a day, or two, ahead…. To complete this Pearl, tomorrow morning, I’ll just need to write is the closing section, which I like to compose on the day I post…. That way, nobody knows if the Tardis was involved, or not…. Plus, it’s good practice for evading cyber-security paranoiacs…. such as our own government. Ya gotta do what ya can to confuse your metadata; then they can’t predict you as well…. and, they certainly don’t need to know when I use the blue box…. if you get my drift.


Ahem…. Anyway, this one’s done, complete with a new poem, freshly written yesterday, and two, yes, two sections with old-school pearls jammed with metaphor, as well as a touch of smarm and innuendo…. What’s a pearl without a little innuendo, eh? Not much to write home about, that’s for sure. To ensure this introductory section doesn’t even come close to that particular standard of quality, I think we’ll get on with the course of business for today, and get this slow on the toad…..


Shall we Pearl?….


“The present is only a mathematical line which divides that part of eternal duration which we call the future, from that which we call the past.” — H. P. Blavatsky


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


dropkick murphys


Image from youtube.com via Google Images




Today’s video selection s a band to which I was introduced by a friend, a couple months ago, via Twitter… I’m not sure, exactly, why this seems appropriate, but, since I’ve listened to it, I have to say, it fits. I guess I feel like being raucous…. Enjoy, ffolkes; everyone else in this video did….








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


















Dropkick Murphys 

Live: St. Patrick’s Day 2002


















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“War would end if the dead could return.”


~~ Stanley Baldwin ~~


Dont keep calm






    As is probably becoming obvious by now, to me, if to no one else, ranting is becoming more of a chore than a joy. This doesn’t mean it’s over, or, there will be no more of them; it just means, now, I have to think of something else to do to sublimate the anger, and disillusionment I experience every damn day, not only reading the news, which never seems to change for the better, but, by walking on the damn streets, where all the bullshit the Asininnies have been, and, are up to, is becoming annoyingly ubiquitous.


That said, anyone who’s been here before already knows what is coming; any newbies will just have to figure out what happened later. For now, just read the following pearls, let them run around playing in your head, and you’ll have an idea of why I rant so fucking often….. I hope. If not, well, there’s always tomorrow……


 


Naked pearls



How’s the water in there?



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




“Water really has no value…. until the well runs dry.” — Subtle Bee


“Government, today, is growing too strong to be safe. There are no longer any citizens in the world; there are only subjects. They work day in and day out for their masters; they are bound to die for their masters at call.  Out of this working and dying they tend to get less and less.” — H.L. Mencken


” — Bother! said Pooh,as he joined Black September.” — Twisted Bee


“How do you like the new America? We’ve cut the fat out of the government, and more recently the heart and brain (the backbone was gone some time ago).  All we seem to have left now is muscle. We’ll be lucky to escape with our skins!”– Carlinesque Bee


“Monotheism is a gift from the gods!” — Sardonic Bee


“It seldom happens that a man changes his life through his habitual reasoning. No matter how fully he may sense the new plans and aims revealed to him by reason, he continues to plod along in old paths until his life becomes frustrating and unbearable – he finally makes the change only when his usual life can no longer be tolerated.” — Tolstoy


“Huh?” — Joe Average, Anywhere, Amurrica


“God Himself has no right to be a tyrant.” — William Godwin — “Sketches in History” 1784


 


Onwards Christian Soldiers,

Onwards Buddhist Priests.

Onward, Fruits of Islam,

Fight till you’re deceased.Fight your little battles.

Join in thickest fray;

For the Greater Glory,

of Dis-cord-i-a.Yah, yah, yah,

Yah, yah, yah, yah.

Blfffffffffffft!

 

~~ An Erisian Hymn~~~~ by Rev. Dr. Mungojerry Grindlebone ~~~~ KOB Episkopos, THE RAYVILLE APPLE PANTHERS ~~ 






The last line of the hymn, perhaps, says it all best….. Most days, I feel a Bronx cheer is the best response one might have to everything outside one’s own space…. which is about all we have any sort of control over…. Ah, well, Life goes on, doesn’t it? So far, so good…..


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


Sir I admit your general rule

That every Poet is a Fool

But you yourself may serve to show it

That every Fool is not a Poet








~~ rendered from the French by Pope ~~




 


Comedy_Tragedy








 


 


Manifesto, sotto voce










In retrospect, I’ve gotta say,

it’s all been rather a muddle.

Life’s tough, ‘they’ say, it’s just that way.

Lots of misery, not much cuddle.








Me, I’ve found life a bit different

than ‘they’ seem to have done.

It’s all been rather excellent;

I’ve had loads & loads of fun.






 


Sure, there’s been some bad shit.

Who can’t say that?

All of that pales, all of it

when one hugs a dog, a child, or a cat.


 


I’ve seen, fought, and felt, more than my share,

the presence of evil in life.

The pain that remains often seems unfair;

I ask why I chose to deal with such strife.


 


I can always find the answer in the same place,

right where it has ever resided.

All we need to do is embrace

the joy we’ve given, and been provided.


 


 


Simple is good.


Balance is good.


 


Life can be both.


 


 


~~ gigoid ~~


 


 


 12/19/2015




 




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




infinity






Naked Pearls








Life to Death








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

    




“Nowhere is now here.”~~ Nakagawa Soen Roshi ~~




“It is past all controversy that what costs dearest is, and ought to be, most valued.” Miguel de Cervantes — Don Quixote, Part i, Book iv, Chap xi


(Comment, sotto voce: Is this not an excellent definition of Life? — gigoid)


“Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.” — Adolph Monod


“When an idea is wanting a word can always be found to take its place.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


“When Alexander asked Diogenes whether he wanted anything, “Yes,” said he, “I would have you stand from between me and the sun.” — Plutarch — Life of Alexander


“At the bottom no one in life can help anyone else in life; this one experiences over and over in every conflict and every perplexity: that one is alone. That isn’t as bad as it may first appear; and again it is  the best thing in life that each should have everything in himself; his fate, his future, his whole expanse and world.” — Rainer Maria Rilke


“The world is no nursery.” — Sigmund Freud


“Be obscure clearly.” — E.B. White


“When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.” — Chinese Proverb


“When the first living thing existed, I was there waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I’ll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights, and lock the universe behind me when I leave.” — Death




Knowledge by suffering entereth,


And life is perfected by death.


~~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning ~~


~~ A Vision of Poets, Conclusion ~~






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


Done; not only done, but, done before I got up. Good thing, too; it’s taken me damn near an hour to wake up enough to write this. Ah well, planning solves many problems, if the plan works. Since it did, we’ll get on with the business of leaving, and, leave. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as my computer stays up, and the angst stays down…. I know crazy optimism, again…. Deal with it, until tomorrow….


 


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










Featured Image -- 5343




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Baffling signs of regeneration….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“When you look into the eyes of friends,


there is a feeling in your heart that will never end.”


~~ The Monkees ~~


Magicat


Leelu, the Invisible Magicat






Hajime…. Patience can be hard. Since to explain that would eliminate all the style points I made for not complaining in the first place, I think I’ll just say I’d like to see anyone ride a unicycle with one foot tied behind their back, as I have been for many moons now, while fighting off the pain I’ve had the past three days, and still be patient. But, anyone trying wouldn’t be interested in why it should, or shouldn’t, have been brought up at all. Then, we could point out how non sequitor that was, and go on to the next paragraph.


Sorry. Got lost there, trying to find my way back to my original thought, and got completely twisted around, until there was no sense or meaning left at all. I am more confused than when I began, too, so I guess it has a bit of a cumulative effect. That’s a little scary, given the time of day, and our own status as elements of randomness, at large in a world we never made.


I’ve notice something rather important. I’m not really here. My head is here, making my hands type, but, in truth, my mind is turned to sleep, which has again eluded me for three days, with no end in sight to the lack. My absence probably explains, or at least, highlights, why the first two paragraphs went rogue so fast. I just don’t have enough spare neurons just now to do this with any panache. Rather than fall below what standards we DO have, I’ll have Guido take us over to the oyster beds, and we can get this slow on the road…. You first….


Shall we Pearl?….


“It is not enough that we swallow truth: we must feed upon it, as insects do on the leaf, till the whole heart be colored by its qualities, and show its food in every fibre.” — Coleridge


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





jefferson starship




Jefferson Starship


Image from metrolyrics.com via Google Images




Today, we’re going deep into the past; I almost brought out the Tardis to help. Here is another iconic San Francisco band, which evolved out of the Jefferson Airplane of Haight Ashbury/Summer of Love fame,. Yep, that’s Grace Slick, Jorma, Jack, Papa John Creach, and the rest of the band responsible for many of the finest songs of my youth…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. Hey, why not? Oh, I’ll remind you rock & roll sounds better if you turn it all the way up….







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

















Jefferson Starship

5/28/82
















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le penseur-rodin




    It’s been a bad day and night; suffice to say I’ve another one to forget. Here’s a discussion from the beginning of 2013, regarding ethics, and more…. Enjoy!….


From 2/19/2013:


Yesterday, on Monday, the 18th, another blogger came by the blog to read my post, and made the comment below…. It was such a compelling comment, I am reproducing it here, verbatim, to attempt to give it the attention it deserves, as a very good question indeed….


“I just finished a book by the NY Times ‘The Ethicist’ called Be Good. It was about how to be ethical in various practical circumstances. It made me realise how little I care about being ethical in many minor ways. Just by living it seems that we inflict suffering – it’s impossible to be completely in the right at all times, or for one’s impact on the world to be only good (car driving, for instance, or milk drinking). So the aim is to minimise the bad rather than eliminate it – every bad thing not done is something to feel slightly better about.???” — butimbeautiful, 2/18/2013


In the final analysis, I agree with the part of this that states that it isn’t possible to be perfect in our attempts to be completely ethical, without entering into the realm of good vs. bad, and having to make a decision that is not exactly the most ethical, or that will cause pain or hurt to another. Sometimes, as is pointed out, we must do so for the sake of our own safety, or for another ethically acceptable reason, but, mostly, it turns out to be a decision based on expediency, or, what is most convenient, or most comfortable, for the person making the decision. Ms. beautiful surmises, then, that the aim should be to minimize the effects, and to accept the karmic burden without guilt over things we cannot control….. if I am reading it right….


I am compelled by my own beliefs to disagree, to a certain extent…. In my mind, ethical perfection is a goal, one that we are constantly trying to reach…. Once we start lowering our own standards in the struggle to reach that goal, we take the risk of allowing this expedience to become an acceptable reason to abrogate our duty; it becomes not an anomalous decision, but a common one, used any time we have our own reasons to not wish to comply with a certain ethical request, or decision to be made. There is an old saw about the “slippery slope” one enters when deciding to make ethical decisions, and this is exactly what it refers to…. taking that first step onto the slope is risky, and often disastrous…..


I think it is better, most of the time, to try to maintain one’s ethical standards, no matter the cost to my own feelings, or to anyone else’s. The respect I gain for myself by doing so can easily outweigh any guilt or discomfort I might feel from having to let my standards down, and makes the effort worthwhile, in my mind. I’m not always going to succeed, as I am human, like everyone else, but, if I can, I will NOT lower my standards for the sake of expedience….


So, I guess what I’m saying is, I agree that we, as humans, cannot always meet the ethical standards we set up for ourselves…. but, it is a mistake to believe that not meeting those standards is okay…. I think that ethical perfection is not only possible, but critical, and the practice of always trying to maintain one’s standards is worth the pain it may cause, both to myself, and to others…. because, in the final analysis, I refuse to give up my self-respect for the sake of expediency, that modern society forces us to confront every day….. Patting myself on the back for NOT doing bad isn’t the same as doing good, no matter how logical it may seem….


In my head, all these arguments and discussions eventually get to a point where the easiest way to express my own thoughts on the matter is to bring in one of my oldest pearls, one I’ve used often, one that fully explains, and fully expresses my feelings on morality and ethics…. I will use it now to finish off this pearl, before it gets any more cumbersome…. just pay attention to this one, as it forms a large part of my own personal view of life, and how it should be lived…..


“Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please — this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!

So learn to say No – and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.) ”


— Lazarus Long, in Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein.


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





Comedy_Tragedy




Gently Came a Wounded Child





But you shall not escape my iambics.


Soft, sinuous patterns of unearthly beauty 

blithely commune with sinking stars, 

as pale shadows of former virtue hover 

near, ever clean, ever tolerant. 

These unbidden habits are worn with age and care, 

ready now for dissolution, 

welcoming gladly the kiss of Death’s handmaiden. 


Unknown to all, the child stands aside, 

weeping for the lost days of youth, 

days that now shall never be, 

nor yearned for ever after. 

Only darkness shall lay upon the landscape, 

cold, hard, eternal. 


Such then are the signs and portents 

as we enter into the unknown future, 

they are grave indeed. 


Uncertainty will be our sole companion, 

as the search for hope yields no result. 

The lamentations of the gods 

shall sound the elegy for Man, 

who never learned to see the gift that was made, 

so many echoes ago, in the hopeful past; 

thus will we pass this plane of existence 

as we came, baffled and afraid….





~~ gigoid ~~




written 2/2/2012


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





Yin-Yang-symbol-sun-and-moon




Naked pearls    


*****


“I exist as I am, that is enough.” 


~~ Walt Whitman ~~


*****


“Nothing helps scenery like ham and eggs.” 


~~ Mark Twain ~~


*****


“What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.” 


~~ Bertrand Russell, “Sceptical Essays”, 1928 ~~


*****


“Is truth not truth for all?” 


~~ Natira, “For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky,” stardate 5476.4. ~~


*****


“All cats are NOT gray after midnight.  Endless variety …” 


~~ Lazarus Long, The Notebooks of L.L. ~~


*****


“An ass thinks one thing, his rider another.”


~~ Smart Bee ~~


*****


“”Why Not” is in fact an excellent reason.”


~~ Practical Bee ~~


*****


“His own character is the arbiter of every one’s fortune.”


~~ Publius Syrus — Maxim 283 ~~


*****


“Our real self, the soul, is immortal.

We may sleep for a little while in that change called death,

but we can never be destroyed.

We exist, and that existence is eternal.

The wave comes to the shore,

and then goes back to the sea;

it is not lost.”


~~ Paramahansa Yogananda ~~




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


I’m not going to make any excuses, but, I’m tired. All I can think of is sleep. I’m going to go try to find some. See y’all tomorrow, should I wake 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


The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch




dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Makes good nonsense to me…

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				3			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,




“For fast acting relief, try slowing down.”


~~ Lily Tomlin ~~


2-18-2015 004


Memories of Spring




Good morrow, he said, with some trepidation…. Then, with some relief, he turned it over to me, whereupon I told him to get some rest & try not to worry, as there’s no hope, anyway. Resigned, he went off to bed, weeping, the poor sod. Meanwhile, since he’s imaginary, I put it behind me, and tried to figure out some way to get back to Reality from the point we find ourselves, somewhat to the East of anything remotely real…. Oh, wait, look, there’s Leelu, so, we weren’t as far out as I’d thought….


Hmm. Even for me, that’s a bit off center, isn’t it? Oh, well, just a little experiment in connective tissue manipulation; the results should be tabulated by the end of the post today, if you’re at all interested. Of course, that assumes we will make it that far, an untenable prediction, to be sure. But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and, we gotta, so. what the heck? Luigi, regulation 27 has kicked in; we’d better fire it up & get on our way. Ffolkes, if y’all could buckle up, our insurance guys will let us be off…. Hang on….


Shall we Pearl?….


“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” — Lao Tzu


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





Paladin


Haveguncard



    Paladin, the protagonist in this weekly TV show from my youth, was one of my role models as a boy; he provided weekly lessons in how to act with honor in all sorts of situations, which, for one who understands the power of metaphor, and, raised by an Army Master Sergeant, was an excellent classroom…. Enjoy!….




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Have Gun ~ Will Travel


















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Dont keep calm




“Our affluent society contains those of talent and insight who are driven to prefer poverty, to choose it, rather than to submit to the desolation of an empty abundance. It is a strange part of the other America that one finds in the intellectual slums.” — Michael Harrington


I’d planned a rant based on the above quote, but, I just don’t have one in me today…. Instead, here is a rant that poured out of me during the intro section on the date listed below…. It’s not bad for an off-the-cuff diatribe…. Enjoy!…


From 4/6/2014:


Ffolkes,


Having long been cognizant of the risk involved in living a life of free will, I accept the inherent danger, without qualm or resentment, as the just cost it represents for the boon of living free. As our favorite Founding Father, Tommy J, was fond of saying, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance; it’s cost is counted only in the blood of its defenders.” Well, I think he said it; it might have been one of the others…. but, it SOUNDS like mi amigo Tomas, so I’m going with that. The danger, as it turns out, is not from the world at large, so much as from the Australopithecean inhabitants of that world, specifically a certain small part of the impossibly fecund  group of naked, hairless apes who infest the surface of the planet with me….


Now, this may sound as if I have a rather poor opinion of my fellow man…. In that, you would be right, insofar as it goes. Individually, I like some of them very much, and tend to try to spend what time I have to interact with those whom I can get along with, just like everyone else… The rest of them, as far as I am concerned, are pretty much superfluous, in most ways, and I figure the world would be a nicer place if they’d all just go away somewhere where they won’t bother those of us who only wish to get along, without trying to take advantage of anyone else….


The small group to whom I refer above, however, make the process of living with them a veritable pain the bloody ass, as they have no more desire in Life than to steal from everyone else….. These assholes will lie, cheat, & ultimately, will act, literally, in any way they feel will get them what they want, no matter how unethical, or immoral it may be. Their entire purpose in life is to see that THEY, and they alone, are in control of other people, and of the resources our society uses to maintain life and culture; in that purpose they are single-minded, quite ruthless, deliberately heedless, and completely uncaring, as to how much pain and misery they may cause to other people in the process of achieving their goals.


Now, the assholes who act like this are not a very large group of people…. but, for all of our history on this world, over 5,000 years, at least, this small group of snakeheads have conspired against the rest of humanity, diligently working to set themselves up as the oppressive, shadowy forces behind the Powers That Be in life, a task at which, for the most part, they have been quite successful. The number of people in the world who are in essential control is much smaller than the grand majority of people are aware…… These are NOT the people who get elected, or however they are chosen to lead a nation; the real power lies with those who control those leaders from behind the scenes, telling them what they can and cannot do…..


This number, of the true masters of our society, is, realistically, far less than a thousand men and/or women, world-wide…. Once the structure of control has been established, it doesn’t take a lot of manpower to maintain the status quo, since the vast majority of people in the world are not aware of the true picture of how society is arranged….. This cluelessness, I might add, is a sufficient degree of ignorance to enable those in power to remain there as long as they wish…. They have had a very long time to practice the skills they need to remain both in charge, and in the background, and they are VERY, VERY GOOD at them, believe me…..


I know these people are out there; I also know that they know they are not completely invisible, due in part to others such as myself, who refuse to leave in place any of the wool they keep trying to pull over our eyes. They know exactly what writers and/or ffolkes are out there in the world, who are watching them WITHOUT being fooled…. Hell, they probably have our addresses, and an idea of how many weapons we keep on hand….


They don’t care, as long as they are able to maintain their control, and their obscurity from the public eye…. If, by chance, the majority of the blind, ignorant public became aware of how much they are controlled, and for how long they have been the dupes of these human predatory vultures….. well, those shadowy snakeheads wouldn’t last very long…. A mob of humans is an ugly thing, with no conscience at all, once it has been set in action….. There is little chance of it ever happening, but, hey, there’s always hope, right?….


I note from the above that my rant for today can be considered as done…. Since, despite the evidence presented thus far, my brain is NOT in what I’d call “sharp” status, I think I’ll take this as it lies, & not worry too much about how it got there… That’s probably for the best, as I don’t have a bloody clue as to how it all came to be…. Hell, I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing right at this moment, much less have I kept track up to now…. it didn’t seem necessary, and, now, it would be more dangerous than what we’ve already done, so, we’ll stop here….


Whew! Thank goodness…. it almost got away from me there…. Now that we’re back in the saddle, so to speak, let’s ride, or, dive, whichever is more appropriate…. I think we’ll dive, as we have the scuba gear, and nothing to ride, anyway…..


Shall we Pearl?…..


“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” — Marcus Aurelius


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Comedy_Tragedy




Momentary Terror


Absently casual, memories pester endlessly 

   leaving only bleeding remnants, amiable and loving. 

Coming awake, I cry to still the pain, shamelessly.


Elsewhen, time gives surcease, if only to live,

   shoring broken pilings, worn and gray.

Passing on, I laugh at the pain, accept all it will give.


Time will build a shelter, warm and ever safe

   save for Fate’s busy hands.

Enduring, I follow the pain, knowing it will chafe.


Fixed against a darkened sky of starry black

   such beauty brings us to our knees.

Entranced, I welcome the pain, ’tis all I lack…..


~~ gigoid ~~




Written 2/24/2012.


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





About Hopi Indian Symbols




    Today’s final old-school pearl turned out a bit odd; it’s a classic seven-star, with a somewhat obscure endpoint. Such as it is, here ’tis….




“A word is dead

When it is said

Some say.

I say it just

Begins to live

That day.”


~~ Emily Dickinson ~~




“Grain grows best in shit.” — Ursula K. LeGuin


“Belief in the supernatural reflects a failure of the imagination.” — Edward Abbey


“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.” — Maya Angelou


“The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.” — Albert Schweitzer


“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne




I feel like one

Who treads alone

Some banquet-hall deserted,

Whose lights are fled,

Whose garlands dead,

And all but he departed.


~~ Thomas Moore — Oft in the Stilly Night ~~




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


“And, another one bites the dust….” Far be it from me to deny reality its due; with that caveat in mind, I shall take my leave for another day (or, more, if Murphy gets his way…). So be it. See ya next time, ffolkes, with any luck at all….




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








Dozer




À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Offenders will be coated in Teflon….

			
						

				Posted on   by  			

			
						

				5			

					


				

			
Ffolkes,




“Time cancels young pain.”


~~ Euripides (431 BC) ~~


Opportunity_Rover_Sees_Rock_Spire-a3f7bbf0bff2eafe6a9e967b29440382


Rock Spire on Mars ~~ Rover Curiosity’s next target for research


NASA photo from Space.com




Good morning….. Let’s keep this on the up and up, okay? Step lively, ffolkes, Luigi’s in a hurry today….


Shall we Pearl?


“We are as different from one another on the inside of our heads as we appear to be different from one another on the outside of our heads. The world “out there” is as much a projection from inside our heads as it is a perception. It is almost unbelievable that we are all dealing with the same reality. We operate on a kind of loose consensus about existence.” — Robert Fulghum “It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It”


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






beatles


Image from freepiks.com via Google Images




No matter how anyone feels, or thinks of the music these four lads made together, it cannot be gainsaid to point out it was the major influence over the lives of millions of young people for a long time, acting as one of the primary cultural influences of the time…. Enjoy, ffolkes; this is part of the cultural legacy we all share, at least, in the Western world….




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The Beatles











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https://youtu.be/xp5Rb7-F-hY


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Dont keep calm




“In any group of five people, one will be confused, one will be conniving, one will be honest, and two will be trying like hell to figure out where they fit in this group.” — Smart Bee


While I find this statement from SB to be fairly accurate, it fails, I believe, to completely cover the situation when five people get in one place to interact…. In addition, by the statement’s content itself, it fails to be clear; if one is confused, and two are still trying to figure out their place in the group, I’d say it comes down to one good guy, one bad guy, and three people stuck in bozoid mode; in short, all five of them are most likely confused, as anyone trying to make this fit into reality would be….


I suppose that goes to show how not everything said is worth adopting into one’s system of beliefs, even though it may sound relevant on the surface…. It also goes to show how looking further into any statement (to wit: being dubious….) is an important skill, and one everyone would do well to use when examining any idea… In fact, yesterday, the final section contained a word on that idea from Gautama Buddha, which I’ve always felt expressed the concept as well as it’s ever been done, to wit:


“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.  Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.  Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.  Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.  But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” — The Buddha


Below you’ll find a video, complete with link to the You Tube page where it resides, on a subject that concerns all of us here in this country, not merely the five of us now under discussion…. Why don’t y’all take a moment to practice the lesson just learned from the Buddha, practicing your new perceptive skills on the material you’ll see in the report…. Then, we’ll talk….


I found the article at my friend’s site, here: https://talesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/corruption-is-legal-in-america-550/






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Corruption is Legal in America


















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It’s easy to see, after watching the video, how things have gotten as bad as they are; not only have the bankers Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Ben Franklin, George Mason, and Thomas Paine all warned us about done exactly as predicted by those founding fathers, they’ve done it right in front of our eyes, with our tacit, complicit approval. They’ve successfully pulled off history’s largest long-con, and now have the entire American public believing…. what? What do they believe?….


Nothing. That’s the trouble. 98% of the people I see don’t even realize there is a problem. They look around, and wonder why they can’t seem to make the American Dream come true, without ever looking behind any of the claims with which they were brought up to believe, to see how they’be been manipulated, and lied to, from the time they were first born, by the government, by the churches, by their own parents, because they too are brainwashed slaves, who know no better than to fall for the same old crap they’ve been falling for their entire lives…


Me, I’m tired of it, so I’m doing what I can to quit the grid, to remove myself from the constraints so successfully welded around the necks of most of society…. I won’t detail my efforts, lest someone try to block them. But, I don’t intend to allow anyone to tell me how to live, ever. so, it must be done…. I don’t know what others may do, but, my own plans are to mitigate the effects of the overall status of society on my life, as best I can…..


In the meantime, I’m done for today; I don’t think I have any real angst left. The American people long ago lost their own freedom, giving it up willingly, trading it for a false sense of security, a state which has no corresponding match in Reality. NOTHING is ever completely secure; entropy and the power of chaos are part of Nature, and there is nothing one can do about it. All we can do is control ourselves, and not be a part of the slavery in which the powers that be would have me engage….


So be it.


gigoid has spoken….


“What I tell you three times is true.” — Lewis Carroll, “The Hunting of the Snark”


Believe me, ffolkes, I’ve told y’all this far more than three times…. You are being lied to, and manipulated; you are a slave. The only hope you have is to realize it, and make the necessary changes within yourself…. Otherwise, well, have a nice life, slaving away so someone else gets rich..,


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





Comedy_Tragedy




    I’m in a strange mood today…. Here’s one of mine, just so you can’t blame anyone else for any of this…. This one was written on 10/13/2012:






Honorable Request


Days, filled to a brim with fluff and time, pass

dimly into memory, bit by combative bit,

ever mournful, yet loud with life and sass,

only in dream do we meet, and dance, and flit.


Souls, spinning ’round in gleeful wonder, comply

as they must, never given a reason,

somberly proper, yet limber and quite spry,

dancing on to greet each bright new season.


Storms, angered by apathetic care, rage

proceeding into ministerial glare, unknown,

clothed in colors, purified solely with sage,

past an infinite future, already flown.


Life, plumbed to its depths and secrets, keeps

flowing with currents, strong and fairly found,

love stands, asking release, as it slowly weeps,

seeking refuge unasked, to stay honor bound.


~~ gigoid ~~




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





Peace76




    I was going to try to explain this pearl, but, I can’t. Oh, I could, but, I can’t. It would be best if we just leave it at that, I think, as it will become apparent before you’re finished it is a pearl of great beauty and scope…. All you gotta do is leave your mind to me…. Let’s see what it says, shall we?….


“As the wild duck is more swift and beautiful than the tame, so is the wild – the mallard – thought, which ‘mid falling dews wings it way among the fens.” — Thoreau


“I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.” — ee cummings


“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.


“All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten.  Remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned–the biggest word of all–look.” — Robert Fulghum


“As one gets older, one discovers everything is going to be exactly the same with different hats on.” — Noel Coward


“Everything may happen. [Omnia fieri possunt.]” — Seneca, Epistulae ad Lucilium, Epis. LXX, 9


“Remember there’s an “if” in the middle of life.” — Smart Bee


“Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)


“I have no idea what that meant.”  – Dot (Warner; Yakko & Wacko are her brothers)


Well, I like it….


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


There are some mornings when it surprises me no end to reach this point. I haven’t a clue, really, as to how it got done, but, it’s done. Hopefully, one or two of the five or six things which have been engaging too much of my attention of late will resolve themselves shortly, and I can look for a bit of peace, all-too-absent of late…. That said, I’m outta here, with great reluctance, but, a feeling of accomplishment. That’s something, I guess. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. I have hope, anyway…. Call me Ishmael…. I won’t answer, but, go ahead….




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








Kowabunga!




À bientôt, mon cherí….